Popular Comments

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

DaveSchmidt said:

To ask it another way: You wouldn’t make each and every one of those concessions, if you had to, in order to save all the lives that have been lost on both sides of the war?

Would you be OK with Russia or China overthrowing our government and installing a puppet?  Do you think it we should just be passive and accept that because someone might get hurt?  How would you feel if your country was taken over for the benefit of another country?

I remember when people thought Trump was a Russian puppet and they were pretty pissed off.  

Absolutely not.  If Russia or China attempted a coup using NGOs and their intelligence agencies, I think the only rational defense would be to invade Canada.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: The NYT Spelling Bee Thread

got the QB. It's been a good week :-)

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: The Rose Garden and White House happenings: Listening to voters’ concerns

mtierney said:

Meanwhile, back in another NYC courtroom, this is happening…

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/13/nyregion/jury-selection-menendez-trial.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sk0.DT5n.Vti3R1DuVDuJ&smid=url-share

Gold bars were found, concealed into the lining of his suits — really?!

Let everyone know when you find a defense of Menendez in his current legal difficulties by a poster on MOL, or a local Democratic politician, or a NJ Democratic politician, or a national Democratic politician.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

I did. He's a liar and those who believe him are dupes. Take, for instance, where he talks about WWII -- he conveniently skips over the fact that the war began, not with Germany attacking the USSR, but with the USSR and Germany allied and jointly attacking Poland. In the context of Ukraine, his talking about millions killed very pointedly skips over the millions killed by the USSR.

His speech is full of similar dishonest omissions and misdirections. It's a speech that relies on his audience's ignorance and credulity.

Like  3 Likes

Discussion: The Rose Garden and White House happenings: Listening to voters’ concerns

I rarely post videos, but this is one of my favorite VP Harris moments. She may not come across as warm and fuzzy but I'm not personally looking for that in someone who could possibly move into the Presidency. She had my interest in the Democratic Primaries and was one of my picks. 

Like  2 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

We have huge divides in our country related to Trump supporters and people with Trump derangement syndrome and it may well come to war. Not going to go there because I want to stay on topic. But, suffice to say that people being pissed off may yet lead to civil war. . .

You can put me on the record as being against starting a civil war, no matter how much you think starting one would be justified.

nan said:

DaveSchmidt said:

Nan has been clear: There was absolutely nothing else that Putin could have done.

I did not say that. Read my last post to you -- What I said was that I could not think of something else that Putin could have done. The rest of you don't seem to think much of my viewpoints so I'm asking you what Putin could have done instead of invading (while keeping his country safe -- so just not invading was not enough).

“Don’t do it” is absolutely an acceptable answer. I believe that a country run by foreign NGOs with missiles staring at it is preferable to one that sends thousands of people to their deaths because it started a war.

You, it appears, disagree.

Like  2 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

nohero said:

Yes, it's "old news" that the reason for the "special military operation" in 2022 was to overthrow the Ukrainian government and install one subservient to Moscow. The news link was added just in case there was more disinformation saying otherwise.

No. They wanted to end the war and had a tentative agreement until Boris Johnson showed up in April.  

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/09/02/diplomacy-watch-why-did-the-west-stop-a-peace-deal-in-ukraine/

If they wanted to overthrow the Ukrainian government they would have done that.  They wanted to demilitarize the west in a slow grinding way and that's what they have done.  Ukraine is out of men and the weapons are scarce.

Russia invaded because they wanted to end the war? That doesn't make any sense. Russia invaded and tried (but failed) to make it into Kyiv. It was in the news and everything.

Like  2 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

drummerboy said:

what other choice did he have?

are you effing kidding us?

if he had chosen peace and not war, what do you think would have happened to Russia? To RUSSIA, not to him.

Learn the difference.

Russia would have been destroyed. 

Exactly how.

No shots would have been fired.

No Russian territory would have been occupied.  Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia would have remained occupied.

You are effectively mocking countries that have undergone real existential crises and survived - Poland, Germany, the Baltics, Finland, etc., etc.

Like  2 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

Some people delight in constructing paths of breadcrumbs leading backwards from historical events and then proclaiming that said historical event was inevitable.  People float the myth that the Treaty of Versailles was the cause of WW 2 and that FDR knew that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor.  

These arguments about the cause of war in Ukraine are no different.  The reality is that there were many decision points along the trail from 1994 to the present when different decisions could have been made that would have changed history.  The U.S. could have done some things differently.  Putin could have made different decisions.  I reject the argument that the U.S. is unilaterally responsible for the war.

Like  2 Likes

Discussion: What does Putin want (and whatabout it)

nan said:

tjohn said:

nan said:

They did not have enough men to take Kyiv.  It was a diversion.  They left as a good will gesture after the peace talks--which then broke down.  Of course western media turned it into huge cinematic deal. 

It's hard to decide which of Nan's ideas are the most bizarre, but this one is up there.

Not as bizarre as Putin thinking he could take the city of Kyiv with the number of troops he had surrounding the city at the time. 

Weren't you the person who suggested we all reference the Institute for the Study of War for "real" information?

Make sure you read the article I posted about their funding and biases. It might just surprise you.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/russia-ukraine-war-isw/

Considering that the attack on Kyiv, if successful, would very likely have given Putin the quick win he wanted, I don't believe for a minute that it was a unserious diversion.  Secondly, while I can think of many cases of military operations intended to be diversions from main thrust, I am hard-pressed to think of any that were not expected to succeed.

The most obvious explanation for the failure of the attack on Kiev is that it failed for operational reasons - in other words, the Russians didn't have the skills to pull off a large, fast-moving combined arms operation.  And that is not a criticism of Russia, really. Very few armies can manage large operations without a huge amount of practice.  The German Army of WW II is really the only army I can think of that managed large scale operations well from the beginning.

Like  2 Likes