This time the Americans are 100% not coming to the rescue. The wacko in charge of Germany is putting his collapsing country at severe risk. It’s becoming an open question whether people should actually live in these countries. 
Quote
Ian Proud @proud_diplomat18h
Last time this happened, Russia wheeled out the Oreshnik missile.
How long before we see it again, perhaps against a NATO target?
When I was growing up, we had a saying about attempting to do something that flies in the face of common sense; “you’re pissing up a rope”. So how is it that nobody in this administration can seem to grasp this same idea? Putin holds all the aces, he has time on his side, he will never concede to anything that does not produce the “exact” results that he wants and he sure as hell is not going to be intimidated by a deluge of empty rhetoric and idle, unenforceable threats.
Yeh, sometimes Trump’s braggadocio can get a little tiresome, but I don’t think he’s stupid and surely he’s got to realize, as you say, that he has no cards either and sooner or later it’s all gonna come down to “put up or shut up”.
I think humility dictates a very different stance: His history of accomplishment argues strongly against stupidity, and I have argued elsewhere that there is no evidence of significant cognitive decline. The other things we can be relatively certain of are that he is fighting a deep state that's a century old, a completely antipathetic media, big money, and a political landscape that is still largely controlled by old guard establishment types like Graham, McConnell, and Schumer. Back to that deep state, it has already tried to kill him 3 times and has a history of taking out prior presidential efforts to control it, JFK, RFK, and Nixon. Part of what he's doing is trying to stay alive and keep Vance alive. That is all a very tall order. We can criticize his handling of it, but he has so far been much more successful than any of us.
So, we know he has to manage the forces arrayed against him and somehow still accomplish his main priorities, which are economic and, by extension, retrenchment from wasteful foreign endeavors. He has been antiwar since Viet Nam, and one of the things he's proudest of from his first term is that he entered into no new wars. Assumptions that he is now suddenly pro-war just don't wash. What he can and can't do to prevent wars is a different question.
The other obvious thing is that, after watching him troll the left and the media for a decade, it makes no earthly sense to take him literally when he says something. All this hubbub about calling Putin crazy is a perfect example. He obviously has to behave like he's not Putin's puppet, and he knows that Russia will keep prosecuting the war until Ukraine and Europe surrender. He's said as much. The important part of the Truth Social post is not that shell game but what he says at the end. It's not his war. That's really all he said there.
"Assumptions that he is now suddenly pro-war just don't wash."
How about assumptions that actions speak louder than words, since "it makes no earthly sense to take him literally when he says something"?
If he was always anti-war, why did he objectively prepare Ukraine for its proxy role, in ways that Obama did NOT do. And then brag about it? Does it make any earthly sense to take him literally when he says something like, hey, I'm against wars? When his actions show him preparing for a new war of aggression against Russia?
Or should we take him literally if he says something like, hey, I'm against genocide? When his actions objectively show him facilitating a genocide that he could objectively stop with a phone call? And he doesn't make the slightest attempt to take the issue to the American people--who, polling shows, oppose genocide.
"Trying to stay alive"? At what price to others? How about trying to keep the principles that made the West great (MTWGA?) alive?
ZH relayed RT reporting this morning that the massive strikes on UA last may have been in response to the Ukes’ attempts to shoot down Putin’s helicopter near Kursk earlier in the week.
If true (always a big if given the fog of propaganda here), what could Z and his puppet-masters potentially expect to achieve short of WW3? Well, I guess that’s rhetorical, insofar as the current PM, who would become acting President, until Medvedev could be restored to the Presidency, is Medvedev’s handpicked guy. There would be no palace intrigues or a destabilizing succession battle, as the Putin power structure is pretty much calcified in place. Would be going from frying pan to fire. Pure insanity.
And what does this tell you about how stupid this L14 guy, to make a phone call to Z as just about his first official act? As if the Russians would then have anything to do with him. Idiotic.
Keep weeding! “Numerous studies support the notion that regular gardening is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline and age-related memory loss. Gardeners have greater lifetime improvement in mental abilities, including memory, problem-solving, and word fluency, compared to non-gardeners. They also live longer.” R Malone
Interesting and somewhat comforting. I still have the nagging feeling though that there are tons of weeds in the backyard that I didn't remember to pull up! Oh, the wonders of age!
Well, for decades I mostly raised roses--60-70 at any given time, of all sorts. I've gone to shrubs and perennials that don't need the winterizing, so I only have a few roses now. Mostly Rose de Rescht. Now it's more of a naturalized effect.
FWIW, I sang in a Ukrainian Greek Catholic choir for years. They were the only people I've ever encountered--and I spent much of my professional career interviewing East Europeans--who openly praised Nazi genocidal policies.
I grew up amid the East Coast Ukrainian diaspora, mostly WW2 refugees, and never encountered pro-Nazi attitudes the first four decades of my life. With Ukraine being caught in the middle between the Soviets and Nazis, I grew up hearing that both groups behaved evilly, but with the Soviets being more brutal.
I moved out twenty years ago to a part of the Midwest with very few Ukrainians, so this Nazi stuff must be a relatively new development. If so, very sad: Ukrainians used to be a people focused on Christ. Sigh.
Trump is intentionally promoting distraction via his esoteric pomposity and obtuse insanity. He has become a lightning rod for attention and reaction all over the planet. And all of this is but a smoke screen to obfuscate his actions behind the scenes. No one can claim to accurately predict what he will do next, so stasis becomes an inadvertent norm. Ukraine muddles on toward disastrous defeat still believing in the Hail Mary pass. Israel relentlessly continues its genocide of Palestinians still believing that the world will eventually forgive them for this atrocity. Both of these nations will meet a reality far different from their delusions. Trump could have stopped both these calamities but that would only have postponed the day of reckoning. Hard bottoms should be hit sooner rather than later.
I agree that Trump is not a paragon of statesmanship, nor do I condone his speaking style and poor decision making, especially with regard to the people he surrounds himself with. But he worked for his wealth (as opposed to looting from the public coffers) and that required intelligence and a strong work ethic. Never forget that in Butler PA he rose to his feet with a bloody ear and thrust his fist into the air. That gesture alone speaks louder than his pompous rhetoric.
Anita Dunn during Obama years said their strategy was to blow smoke all over the place so people wouldn't focus on what they were actually doing behind the scenes.
Philip Pilkington @philippilk
This time the Americans are 100% not coming to the rescue. The wacko in charge of Germany is putting his collapsing country at severe risk. It’s becoming an open question whether people should actually live in these countries. 
Quote
Ian Proud @proud_diplomat18h
Last time this happened, Russia wheeled out the Oreshnik missile.
How long before we see it again, perhaps against a NATO target?
When I was growing up, we had a saying about attempting to do something that flies in the face of common sense; “you’re pissing up a rope”. So how is it that nobody in this administration can seem to grasp this same idea? Putin holds all the aces, he has time on his side, he will never concede to anything that does not produce the “exact” results that he wants and he sure as hell is not going to be intimidated by a deluge of empty rhetoric and idle, unenforceable threats.
When Trump had that meeting with Zelensky in the Oval Office he told him “You have no cards” he was projecting.
Yeh, sometimes Trump’s braggadocio can get a little tiresome, but I don’t think he’s stupid and surely he’s got to realize, as you say, that he has no cards either and sooner or later it’s all gonna come down to “put up or shut up”.
I'm starting to think he is that stupid, SMH.
I think humility dictates a very different stance: His history of accomplishment argues strongly against stupidity, and I have argued elsewhere that there is no evidence of significant cognitive decline. The other things we can be relatively certain of are that he is fighting a deep state that's a century old, a completely antipathetic media, big money, and a political landscape that is still largely controlled by old guard establishment types like Graham, McConnell, and Schumer. Back to that deep state, it has already tried to kill him 3 times and has a history of taking out prior presidential efforts to control it, JFK, RFK, and Nixon. Part of what he's doing is trying to stay alive and keep Vance alive. That is all a very tall order. We can criticize his handling of it, but he has so far been much more successful than any of us.
So, we know he has to manage the forces arrayed against him and somehow still accomplish his main priorities, which are economic and, by extension, retrenchment from wasteful foreign endeavors. He has been antiwar since Viet Nam, and one of the things he's proudest of from his first term is that he entered into no new wars. Assumptions that he is now suddenly pro-war just don't wash. What he can and can't do to prevent wars is a different question.
The other obvious thing is that, after watching him troll the left and the media for a decade, it makes no earthly sense to take him literally when he says something. All this hubbub about calling Putin crazy is a perfect example. He obviously has to behave like he's not Putin's puppet, and he knows that Russia will keep prosecuting the war until Ukraine and Europe surrender. He's said as much. The important part of the Truth Social post is not that shell game but what he says at the end. It's not his war. That's really all he said there.
"Assumptions that he is now suddenly pro-war just don't wash."
How about assumptions that actions speak louder than words, since "it makes no earthly sense to take him literally when he says something"?
If he was always anti-war, why did he objectively prepare Ukraine for its proxy role, in ways that Obama did NOT do. And then brag about it? Does it make any earthly sense to take him literally when he says something like, hey, I'm against wars? When his actions show him preparing for a new war of aggression against Russia?
Or should we take him literally if he says something like, hey, I'm against genocide? When his actions objectively show him facilitating a genocide that he could objectively stop with a phone call? And he doesn't make the slightest attempt to take the issue to the American people--who, polling shows, oppose genocide.
"Trying to stay alive"? At what price to others? How about trying to keep the principles that made the West great (MTWGA?) alive?
If Trump's words are not to be taken literally, should the Russians then look at his actions? Or lack of actions?
21: Don’t take this personally, but I sure hope that you’re wrong. We barely survived the last 4 years of stupid, I don’t think we can do another 4.
ZH relayed RT reporting this morning that the massive strikes on UA last may have been in response to the Ukes’ attempts to shoot down Putin’s helicopter near Kursk earlier in the week.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-tried-attack-putins-helicopter-mid-flight-russia-alleges-responds-massive
If true (always a big if given the fog of propaganda here), what could Z and his puppet-masters potentially expect to achieve short of WW3? Well, I guess that’s rhetorical, insofar as the current PM, who would become acting President, until Medvedev could be restored to the Presidency, is Medvedev’s handpicked guy. There would be no palace intrigues or a destabilizing succession battle, as the Putin power structure is pretty much calcified in place. Would be going from frying pan to fire. Pure insanity.
Exactly.
And now POTUS, seemingly unaware of the possible attempt on Putin by Ukraine, is making ridiculous , unhinged statements on his Truth Social account.
Those seem to be the only sort of comments he makes these days. I think he likes the shock value.
And what does this tell you about how stupid this L14 guy, to make a phone call to Z as just about his first official act? As if the Russians would then have anything to do with him. Idiotic.
Thanks for the update. I've been outside weeding flower beds.
Very therapeutic, Mark. And what Trump should be doing at home.
Keep weeding! “Numerous studies support the notion that regular gardening is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline and age-related memory loss. Gardeners have greater lifetime improvement in mental abilities, including memory, problem-solving, and word fluency, compared to non-gardeners. They also live longer.” R Malone
Interesting and somewhat comforting. I still have the nagging feeling though that there are tons of weeds in the backyard that I didn't remember to pull up! Oh, the wonders of age!
The flowering of the mind. ;o)
Ha! Interesting. It's a compulsion.
A healthy one! More elegantly expressed by François Fénelon: “De mémoire de roses, je n’ai jamais vu mourir de jardinier!”
Well, for decades I mostly raised roses--60-70 at any given time, of all sorts. I've gone to shrubs and perennials that don't need the winterizing, so I only have a few roses now. Mostly Rose de Rescht. Now it's more of a naturalized effect.
The Russians stole hypersonic technology from the U.S. over 10 years ago and the U.S. has no operational hypersonics and the Russians do?
They spent these 10 years investigating who did it, Russia, China, or Israel.
I'm sure Kash and Pam will be right on it, Cos. As soon as they've told us who flew to Epstein Island! :)
Makes the US hypersonic techs look positively daft.
They blame US weakness on 'Russian theft'.
Russia is the donkey now for western failures and calamities. Something goes wrong--pin it on the donkey.
On Saturday's video report, The Duran's Alex Christoforou said that Russia is being blamed for the fires on K. Starmer's property.
CHRIST IS RISEN!
Born in the 1960s, I grew up a Ukrainian Greek Catholic in the US. Have never been to Ukraine.
What's this talk above:
"However, rest assured that the Greek Catholics (who are the bedrock of Ukro-Nazi sentiment in Ukraine)..."?
Are my coreligionists Hitlerites?
Where'd the whole idea and label come from?
Please, read some history.
FWIW, I sang in a Ukrainian Greek Catholic choir for years. They were the only people I've ever encountered--and I spent much of my professional career interviewing East Europeans--who openly praised Nazi genocidal policies.
I grew up amid the East Coast Ukrainian diaspora, mostly WW2 refugees, and never encountered pro-Nazi attitudes the first four decades of my life. With Ukraine being caught in the middle between the Soviets and Nazis, I grew up hearing that both groups behaved evilly, but with the Soviets being more brutal.
I moved out twenty years ago to a part of the Midwest with very few Ukrainians, so this Nazi stuff must be a relatively new development. If so, very sad: Ukrainians used to be a people focused on Christ. Sigh.
Trump is intentionally promoting distraction via his esoteric pomposity and obtuse insanity. He has become a lightning rod for attention and reaction all over the planet. And all of this is but a smoke screen to obfuscate his actions behind the scenes. No one can claim to accurately predict what he will do next, so stasis becomes an inadvertent norm. Ukraine muddles on toward disastrous defeat still believing in the Hail Mary pass. Israel relentlessly continues its genocide of Palestinians still believing that the world will eventually forgive them for this atrocity. Both of these nations will meet a reality far different from their delusions. Trump could have stopped both these calamities but that would only have postponed the day of reckoning. Hard bottoms should be hit sooner rather than later.
I'm not convinced. I think he just isn't thinking critically and is all over the place. No 4D chess.
I agree that Trump is not a paragon of statesmanship, nor do I condone his speaking style and poor decision making, especially with regard to the people he surrounds himself with. But he worked for his wealth (as opposed to looting from the public coffers) and that required intelligence and a strong work ethic. Never forget that in Butler PA he rose to his feet with a bloody ear and thrust his fist into the air. That gesture alone speaks louder than his pompous rhetoric.
Anita Dunn during Obama years said their strategy was to blow smoke all over the place so people wouldn't focus on what they were actually doing behind the scenes.
Revolution with a heavy emphasis on looting the wealth and resources.
All publicity is good publicity. Until it's not.
Trump says Russia "stole" hypersonic tech from the US under Obama.
He went on:
"And then you see, they waved one of those 'neuralyzer' thingies in our faces.
Now we can't remember shit about hypersonics.
Those Russians are sneaky, I tell ya"
Great, apt quote choice, Marvin!
You make more sense than Mr."Crush and Kill!"
Was that from Ghostbusters?
Men In Black :-)
On Leo Frank:
https://theamericanmercury.org/2013/04/100-reasons-proving-leo-frank-is-guilty/
My guess was Leo Frank was used as an Casus belli / excuse to create the Anti-Defamation League, and his innocence / guilt did not matter.