ChiGoose

I think there’s a very good debate to be had about the cluster munitions (on the one hand, they would be very helpful for clearing Russian trenches and defense, but on the other hand, duds pose a lethal risk to civilians post-battle), but to frame it around a treaty we aren’t party to seems disingenuous.

If you had read the article you posted, you would know that the US is not a signatory to that treaty…

I mean, most of what I see is reactionary contrarianism, goalpost moving, and strawman arguments. It’s kinda difficult to determine what you actually stand for. Don’t tell me you believe in the uniparty BS…

Do you just view everything bad in the entire world as the fault of the Dems? Just quick reactionary no-thought commentary: bad = Dems fault. Good = GOP. Not everything in the world revolves around the President of the US.

How exactly?

It’s truly Bizzaro-World stuff that the party of Reagan is big mad that we’re spending a fraction of our military budget to absolutely decimate Russia’s army and ability to make war without putting US troops in the line of fire.

They don’t even have to rely on the CFR if they don’t want to. Russia’s war crimes are very well documented and reported. They could find evidence if they even bothered trying to look: Ukraine: Apparent War Crimes in Russia-Controlled Areas (Human Rights Watch) U.N.-backed investigation finds evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine (PBS) Evidence of Russia’s War Crimes and Other Atrocities in Ukraine: Recent Reporting on Child Relocations (US State Department) Holding Russia Accountable for War Crimes Is Harder Than It Looks (Foreign Policy) Russia used "starvation tactics" against Ukraine civilians, investigators claim in new war crime allegation (CBS) Russian soldiers ‘forced me to dig my own grave’: US lawmakers hear accounts of alleged Russian war crimes (CNN) There have been 50,000 alleged war crimes in Ukraine. We worked to solve one (NPR) Ukraine War Crimes Investigations and Prosecutions (American Bar Association) If you do not believe that Russia has been committing war crimes than you either aren’t following the war at all or your partisan bias requires you to ignore the overwhelming evidence.

Yes.

I’ve been pretty consistent on this. Don’t know what your deal is.

I do this weird thing where I read. And then I base my opinion on what I can find to be reputable sources. You should try it some time! It’s helpful!

Ukraine has some real problems. As a former Soviet state, it has a long history of corruption. That’s what ended up leading to the people wanting to move out of Russia’s sphere of influence and towards the West. That doesn’t fix everything instantly. They’re far from perfect. But the question is: are they making progress? They still have corruption but now people are actually getting arrested and punished for it. That’s a step in the right direction. But people want to point out the very real issues with Ukraine as a reason we should just let Russia steamroll them and take over the country. I think that’s insane. We can be adults and recognize that while Ukraine isn’t perfect, they are working on getting better, and they are by no means comparable to the murderous authoritarian kleptocracy that is Russia.

Russia’s Smoking Guns How to Prove the Putin Regime’s War Crimes in Ukraine “After more than 16 months of war, investigators have acquired an increasingly clear picture of Russian crimes. These include the massacre of hundreds of civilians in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, in the early weeks of the war; reports from formerly Russian-occupied areas such as Kherson, in the south, where Russian personnel plunged civilians’ hands into boiling water or pulled out their fingernails; and Izium, in the east, where hundreds of mass graves were found after the Russian retreat in September. ” - ”One of the most egregious crimes has been the deportation of children. Since the early summer of 2022, eyewitnesses began telling the Reckoning Project that Russian forces in Mariupol were rounding up Ukrainian children and sending them to Russia. In February 2023, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab reported that more than 6,000 Ukrainian children had been taken to Russia and identified 43 different facilities in Russia that had been holding them. These children came from the Donbas and other areas that had fallen under Russian control. In March 2022, the mayor of Mariupol said that “hundreds” of local children had been taken to Russia during the Russian occupation of the city. Some were separated from their parents as families were fleeing the city: parents were brought to so-called filtration camps—facilities used by Russian forces to detain and interrogate Ukrainians—and the children were bused across the border to Russia. Some were taken to the Far East; some traveled on as many as three airplanes. Some parents have been told that their children were being sent to summer camps in a safe area of Ukraine; instead, they were taken to the Russian Federation. Once in Russia, Ukrainian children have been forced to undergo Russian indoctrination. Some have been forced to give up their Ukrainian names and take Russian ones. They are then given “lessons” in Russian history. Not only is this process clearly organized by the Russian government but it is also not the first time that Moscow has pursued it.”

Putin’s soldiers are torturing, raping, and murdering Ukrainians. So… maybe not a “draw”

I don’t know anything about her but I saw this on my timeline and it’s Bowers himself making the statement. I think we talk too much about the incitement to violence on Jan 6th and not nearly enough about the fake electors or wire fraud.

“Is freedom worth fighting for?” is an interesting question right after the 4th of July…

I admittedly had not seen that. Do you have a link?

The fake electors and wire fraud schemes are probably the least talked about areas where there is serious legal jeopardy for the Trump team

In their defense, can you think of a better and easier way to run up massive deficits so you can justify cutting aid to people who aren’t rich?

Mostly just looking at news from those with experience with war talking about what to expect based on what we know, and the OSINT community has been a very good at documenting some specifics on the battlefield. I don’t watch TV news and imagine its brand of infotainment isn’t good at war coverage. Due to fog of war and the need to push their side’s narrative, I generally treat anything directly from the lines, especially from the Russians or Ukrainians themselves with a hefty dose of skepticism unless it’s been independently verified. Here are a couple of articles that help ground expectations around the counteroffensive: Ukraine right to be cautious with counter-offensive, top NATO official says (Reuters, July 3rd) Ukraine counter-offensive will be long and bloody, says US Gen Mark Milley (BBC, July 1st) Ukrainian Counter-offensive is making mixed progress (The Economist, June 14th) There’s also claims I’ve seen that Russia has lost half its fighting effectiveness but those seem to come from a UK official, so I’m not sure how much of that is true versus trying to boost morale. Bottom line as far as I’ve seen: Ukraine is still probing Russian lines for weaknesses and where to commit their main forces. Since it’s Russia’s turn to be on the defense, this is going to be much more difficult for Ukraine than what we’ve seen so far. Especially given Russia’s entrenchment and minefields.

You do realize that the counter offensive has barely started and that Ukraine has yet to commit their main (NATO trained) forces yet, right? Also, nobody would benefit from the destruction of the nuclear plant but it would be a significant problem for Ukraine.

The new trope is that if you acknowledge that gays exist, it means you’re literally grooming children for pedophiles. It’s disgusting and obviously false. But some people are so far down the internet brain worms rabbit hole enough to believe it. And then they sit around and wonder why gays won’t vote their way…

What theory is that? Please tell me what I believe since you seem to know so well. All I’m saying is that if you want to cite someone for their legal analysis and have people respect that, maybe cite someone with a legal background or experience in the law. It’s fine for people to have their own opinions but if you’re trying to convince someone of something in a particular field, maybe use someone with experience in that field…