Regardless how one feels about Zelensky...his treatment in front of TV cameras to be seen the entire world over is absolutely SHAMEFUL!!! Zelensky still is the head of a country and due respect should be given. Trump always talks about 'respect'...well? Of course, a president that calls another nation a 'shit hole'...it takes one to know one.
The real scapegoats are the Ukrainian and Russian casualties. “Scapegoat” has the same OE root as “landscape” which would translate as land/sheep - any decent landscape painting would naturally have sheep in it. It was a big hassle separating the goats from the sheep, and a few that could not be distinguished between, the “sheep/goats,” were slaughtered. Thus we have “scapegoats,” which in this case are the peoples being fed into the war machine as cannon-fodder. And for your Putin quote - now we know the reason for Herr Drumpf's red ties.
Trump is at his core a businessman so maybe Trump is sincere about wanting to make deals. Successful deal making requires that everybody gives something and everybody gets something. Arguably international trade facilitated advanced societies. War impedes international trade. Thus to a man devoted to business practices war is a negative. Personally the reason I voted for Trump in 2016 was because I thought the country needed to be run by someone with business acumen. I did not understand at the time, nor do I believe did he, how the bureaucracy would resist. But he had four years, and, finally, competent strategists to plan a hostile takeover of the bureaucracy. Hallelujah. Whether by design or providence his strategies have rendered completely useless the oft-repeated fearmongeting threat of "[B]ut, but, but the go-o-ovetnme-ee-ent will be shutdo-o-o-o-wn!!!!"
Trump is acting in bad faith as he is trying to grab the mineral rights before negotiating peace with Russia. He is callously trying to profit from a war the US provoked and lost. Is Zelensky's signature worth anything as his term as president ended last May?
"As things stand, the state of play looks defined by (a) a clear desire by the Americans to cut and run, and (b) by the Europeans to prolong the war and keep the Americans entangled in Ukraine, even if only by way of a ‘backstop’.
The Americans are unlikely to change course; their priorities are China and what the Europeans end up doing will ultimately be a matter for the Europeans. If the war is prolonged, the US is unlikely to care that much. Rhetorically, it can talk about how it tried to bring peace but Zelensky and the Europeans weren’t ready for it. In practical terms, if the Russians continue to be engaged in a war, absorbing resources, then so be it. Whether this is an intentional ‘division of labour’ plan is immaterial, when the effect is just that: the Europeans will keep the Russians occupied, and the Americans can turn their attention to China.
None of this helps in securing a lasting peace, certainly not in the short term. Whatever agreement the Americans reach with the Russians, if any, won’t mean much ‘on the ground’ as far as the war is concerned, without the Europeans and the Ukrainians being willing to also accept terms. Any peace settlement would require agreements with both the Americans and NATO and Ukraine. An agreement with the Americans but not with NATO, and without buy-in from the Ukrainians, is insufficient to achieve a settlement of the root causes of the conflict, as far as the Russians are concerned."
Minerals for arms? The deal is a joint venture to extract rare earth minerals. That can only be done in a peaceful setting. Which is why the US insists on this initial agreement being signed (BTW the Ukrainian parliament did approve it) before proceeding with: 1) a specific agreement; and 2) peace talks.
"A unipolar world is a recipe for global fascism. When a singular world power prevails over all others, it renders the world static rather than dynamic. Options must remain open. There must be a free flow of ideas and innovations, along with an inviolable international rule of law. All cultures should have the right to exist with their own self-determination. We can no longer afford to see the world in terms of winner-take-all and the immature jousting of great powers for supremacy. We are now in the era when planetary survival is the ultimate consideration and we all have a roll to play proving we are worthy custodians of planet Earth."
I am writing a full repudiation to the Green Party of Canada, after receiving an incredibly poorly supported screed on the topic of "Trump", with bigoted references to Russia, China and Iran. It's 9 pages to rebuke.
Regardless how one feels about Zelensky...his treatment in front of TV cameras to be seen the entire world over is absolutely SHAMEFUL!!! Zelensky still is the head of a country and due respect should be given. Trump always talks about 'respect'...well? Of course, a president that calls another nation a 'shit hole'...it takes one to know one.
This was a diplomatic debacle for Trump as he shows the world who he really is - a bully in the bully pulpit.
Rich 'daddy' should have sent him to a Swiss finishing school...to learn manners.
Probably took him to a brothel.
It's up to Trump and his minions to label Mr. Z their former puppet. But that would entail owning up to their crimes. So Z is portrayed as a hero.
The real scapegoats are the Ukrainian and Russian casualties. “Scapegoat” has the same OE root as “landscape” which would translate as land/sheep - any decent landscape painting would naturally have sheep in it. It was a big hassle separating the goats from the sheep, and a few that could not be distinguished between, the “sheep/goats,” were slaughtered. Thus we have “scapegoats,” which in this case are the peoples being fed into the war machine as cannon-fodder. And for your Putin quote - now we know the reason for Herr Drumpf's red ties.
He was back to the blue with Benny Shmuel.
Suits are theatre costumes!
The "Windsor Tie" is a symbol of the "Yoke of Conformity".
Or, a symbol of acceptance until one is killed for discrediting the paradigm.
But zElensky was among thieves, and while coked-up felt he could act what bravado was left in him...
until the crime boss put him in his place.
Trump is at his core a businessman so maybe Trump is sincere about wanting to make deals. Successful deal making requires that everybody gives something and everybody gets something. Arguably international trade facilitated advanced societies. War impedes international trade. Thus to a man devoted to business practices war is a negative. Personally the reason I voted for Trump in 2016 was because I thought the country needed to be run by someone with business acumen. I did not understand at the time, nor do I believe did he, how the bureaucracy would resist. But he had four years, and, finally, competent strategists to plan a hostile takeover of the bureaucracy. Hallelujah. Whether by design or providence his strategies have rendered completely useless the oft-repeated fearmongeting threat of "[B]ut, but, but the go-o-ovetnme-ee-ent will be shutdo-o-o-o-wn!!!!"
How would that minerals-for-arms deal be acceptable to Russia?
Trump is acting in bad faith as he is trying to grab the mineral rights before negotiating peace with Russia. He is callously trying to profit from a war the US provoked and lost. Is Zelensky's signature worth anything as his term as president ended last May?
According to this analysis, it doesn't matter to the US if peace in Ukraine is achieved:
https://warwickpowell.substack.com/p/is-an-independent-europe-post-trump
"As things stand, the state of play looks defined by (a) a clear desire by the Americans to cut and run, and (b) by the Europeans to prolong the war and keep the Americans entangled in Ukraine, even if only by way of a ‘backstop’.
The Americans are unlikely to change course; their priorities are China and what the Europeans end up doing will ultimately be a matter for the Europeans. If the war is prolonged, the US is unlikely to care that much. Rhetorically, it can talk about how it tried to bring peace but Zelensky and the Europeans weren’t ready for it. In practical terms, if the Russians continue to be engaged in a war, absorbing resources, then so be it. Whether this is an intentional ‘division of labour’ plan is immaterial, when the effect is just that: the Europeans will keep the Russians occupied, and the Americans can turn their attention to China.
None of this helps in securing a lasting peace, certainly not in the short term. Whatever agreement the Americans reach with the Russians, if any, won’t mean much ‘on the ground’ as far as the war is concerned, without the Europeans and the Ukrainians being willing to also accept terms. Any peace settlement would require agreements with both the Americans and NATO and Ukraine. An agreement with the Americans but not with NATO, and without buy-in from the Ukrainians, is insufficient to achieve a settlement of the root causes of the conflict, as far as the Russians are concerned."
Minerals for arms? The deal is a joint venture to extract rare earth minerals. That can only be done in a peaceful setting. Which is why the US insists on this initial agreement being signed (BTW the Ukrainian parliament did approve it) before proceeding with: 1) a specific agreement; and 2) peace talks.
Oh well, this has been rendered moot.
I realize my response to the WH dressing down;
I took it just like watching a crime movie, Mikie Corleone, or Tony Soprano waxing poetically about "Offers one can't refuse".
premission to use this:
"A unipolar world is a recipe for global fascism. When a singular world power prevails over all others, it renders the world static rather than dynamic. Options must remain open. There must be a free flow of ideas and innovations, along with an inviolable international rule of law. All cultures should have the right to exist with their own self-determination. We can no longer afford to see the world in terms of winner-take-all and the immature jousting of great powers for supremacy. We are now in the era when planetary survival is the ultimate consideration and we all have a roll to play proving we are worthy custodians of planet Earth."
I am writing a full repudiation to the Green Party of Canada, after receiving an incredibly poorly supported screed on the topic of "Trump", with bigoted references to Russia, China and Iran. It's 9 pages to rebuke.
Good to see you were referenced to the Duran.