This guy is a well regarded NYT reporter. This sort of nonese is highly illustrative of why perspectives in this country are so twisted
https://x.com/AsteadWH/status/1895557388675268612
No attempt to present things for what they are. Everything is presented through presumed second order effectsâŚwe imagine people will like this because support for Ukraine has fallen and therefore this was a good move.
Report what is and let the people make up their mind about it. Stop trying to model how you think people will respond and judge things only through whether your model says it was politically savvy or not. This is just such a broken way to think about the world.
The rift is now very stark an clear, unless one is blind or born yesterday.
These are still incomming.
ButâŚThe true and very difficult question is, what matter, as in physical aid, will come out of this ?
A car crash of a precidency?
I wish I had more money right now. The obvious stocks to buy are Rheinmetall, Thyssenkrupp, Kongsberg etc. Never in recent history have it been easier to predict the rise of those stocks (they have already risen and will continue to do so).
And no, I have absolutely nill moral qualms regarding investing in the strategic arms inustry of my country and continent.
They talk about it like theyâre observing some sort of video game - rather than the real world.
https://x.com/Mpolymer/status/1895583987286028582
Indeed and hardly a surprise. It is difficult for many to admit to themselves that they chose the wrong leader. But it is hard not to have contempt for these people. âher skirt was too short, it is actually understandable that he could not control himself and dragged her into an alley to rape her. She wouldnât have died if she didnât try to resist himâ.
Bit rough on dogs!
Itâs essentially now up to us:
But how can we do it fast enough ? Most people do not realise how heavy this lift is. How much money must be funneled into it, from budgets. It means that certain sectors, must get less money, in favour of expanding armed forces and incredibly expensive procurement. As an example, see UK thread. Starmer chose to cut foreign aid and UK defence plan is extremely timid and far from enough in these times, particularly now (just an example, this isnât about the UK). There are budget areas that must be cut that will be much more politically painful than foreign aid, and the political domestic resistance will be heavy and loud. Problematic. Very problematic.
Can we succeed at all in time to reverse the impending danger ?
There is no money left in public budgets: itâs all been funnelled upwards.
And this is why we are where we are.
Seems that why this went badly, and no surprise, was that Trump expected Zelensky to roll over in abject gratitude, which was never going to happen and Trump and Vance had a monumental dummy spit.
It show the calibre of the geese running the US.
Whatever Americans may think, overseas this will have dragged US back a very long way in the eyes of most overseas, few like bullies and that is what we have just seen attempted.Aligning the US with Putin may not exactly appear to be a stroke of genius around the world.
I,for one am interested in Australian politicians, generally brown nosing, to these events.
Yes, well. The UK may not be the best example due to so many spending cuts and austerity. I just mentioned it specifically because of the convo over there. Foreign Aid is morally right, but it is also Soft Power (it builds relations, helps in a lot of related sectors and itâs not only given by states because we are nice alone). It is clearly an example of an area which is likely to be prioriticised less in the coming years when Hard Power becomes a more important priority than Soft Power, not only in the UK; right or wrong.
Anyway, it is going to be painful, no matter what and I am not an economist so I do not know how much one gains and lose by taxing the super wealthy so and so (capital flight is also an issue and etc., not just straight forward despite what is ethically correct). I havenât studied these numbers.
Itâs a disgusting scenario anyway. Norway is in a good position, since we have the Sovreign Wealth Fund. We will likely spend from that to boost procurement from what I hear, but most states are not in our position and some have debt.
Because essentially, this is correct. There is no silver lining here and there are going to be tough years ahead.
https://x.com/michaelh992/status/1895585456211075191
The irony being that there are so many signs that Russian capacity to fight is terminally degraded. Trump is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for America, at least in the terms of Americaâs traditional interest.
Every middle power in the world should be working on nuclear capacity now. Nuclear non-proliferation was a scam.
I know.
I know and THAT hurts so much. People, including me, talk about severe Ukrainian manpower issues, and that is true. But Russia is having itâs own enormous problems (itâs army is losing its mechanisation, losing so many more tanks and ifvs a week than they are able to produce and refurbish) and cannot sustain this for years due to financial constrains. And if aid to Ukraine was scaled seriously up, Russia would have little choice but to negotiate. But it has not happened. Focus has gone to the Middle East, to other political issues, that are all very important, but not critically so for us at such a precarious time when the neighbourâs house is burning and the fire is threatening to spread. There was no great increase in military aid to Ukraine after the Ukrainian counter offensive failed in 2023, which was a bonkers choice where the West just kicked the bloody can down the road.
It is maddening.
Anyway, I didnât think I would be arguing for nuclear proliferation, but thatâs becoming a glaring necessity now, given the army Russia is building in the rear and how it is bound to scale up hybrid attacks, like sabotage of critical infrastructure. It is locked on this path and they smell weakness and opportunity and the attacks on European industry and infrastructure will increase in severity now, unless something magically happen. Their main foreign policy goal is the destruction of NATO and establishing empire and spheres of influence and then there are many targets for them to invade that would not so easily trigger article 5. Not now at least. Entanglement is almost impossible to avoid.
One needs to realise that Ukraine has 650 000 (more, but rough approximate) men and women under arms now and are battle hardened. This is not the case in the rest of Europe, at all.
https://x.com/KareemRifai/status/1895581362771673424
https://x.com/yashar/status/1895601454225744172
The Trump administration will make an important address to the nation, said Marco Rubio.
Withdrawal from NATO, pact with Russia, declaration of war against Canada, who knows.
I jest, but not much. Something to watch and dread. It will not be anything good. Unless you are MAGA, then it is going to please you.
Aha, it is likely this:
The Trump administration is considering ending all ongoing shipments of military aid to Ukraine in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyâs remarks in the Oval Office on Friday and his perceived intransigence in the peace process, a senior administration official told The Washington Post.
The decision, if made, would apply to billions of dollars of radars, vehicles, ammunition and missiles awaiting shipment to Ukraine through the presidential drawdown authority, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.
The consideration of withholding arms for Ukraine as it fends off a full-scale invasion from Russia underscores the dramatic plunge in relations between the erstwhile allies after the contentious Oval Office exchange between Zelensky, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The official pushed back on the notion that Trump and Vanceâs confrontation with Zelensky was premeditated and noted that efforts were made to strike a more positive tone in planning ahead of the meeting as indicated by Trumpâs dropping of his accusation that Zelensky is a âdictator.â