ChiGoose

Not necessarily, but it's a very slippery slope to global chaos and potential war should Ukraine fall. The idea that Russia would just stop with Ukraine and other anti-Western powers would take no lesson from their success is just wish-casting and requires ignoring history and what we're currently seeing. Authoritarian powers are looking to test the commitment of the West to democracy and freedom. It's why China has been pushing the belt and road initiative, and it's why Russia has been interfering in elections in western countries. There's also a populist isolationist movement rising in America that would have us turn away from the world. ~80 years after we built a global ecosystem with us at the top, many in America would rather cede that responsibility to China or whoever else would grab it. Should we abandon Ukraine to Russia, it'll give the green light to whoever wishes to challenge us for global hegemony. Defending Ukraine requires us to risk none of our soldiers and just a fraction of our annual military budget to essentially destroy Russia's ability to make war. If we can't even rise to that, why would China think we'd intervene should it invade Taiwan? Would North Korea really believe that we would defend South Korea? Foreign adversaries are watching for weaknesses in our commitments and we seem happy to show them what they want to see.

Probably Moldova. They already have their little green men there in Transnistria. Also, if Ukraine falls because the West fails to support it, that gives the green light to China, Iran, and even North Korea.

I mean, there was a hope that it would cause friction with the oligarchs but there isn’t a “one weird trick” to end the war.

Who thought taking the super yachts would end the war?

Here’s a good analysis of how the F-16 could change the environment in Ukraine: The air war over Ukraine

Also consider that the country has been under decades of state controlled media propaganda while any dissenters are done away with. Given that environment, is there anybody left who could potentially take over after Putin that would be much different than him?

Ukraine needs air superiority. The US would never attempt the operations Ukraine is trying without it. And we’ve seen why. We are finally letting them use F-16s and giving them training but the delay has really cost them. Trying to maneuver through minefields while under enemy fire isn’t a good way to fight. Blowing up the minefields through the air and suppressing enemy positions with aerial bombardment is how you get the ground troops to advance effectively and safely.

There are no good options. We know that Russia is a revanchist regime that wants to restore its former empire. We know they have nukes. We know that they have a history of invading their neighbors. We know they also have a history of using peace deals and ceasefires to re-arm themselves before violating the agreements and resuming their wars (Chechnya, Ukraine). We know they are currently at war with Ukraine. We have intelligence reporting that they think NATO commitment is weak and they may test our Article V commitment. So from what we can tell, we have two options: stop them in Ukraine in a manner that makes it clear their revanchist aims will fail; or let them take Ukraine, emboldening them to spread further into Europe and risk drawing all of NATO into a broader war. For me, that’s an easy choice: beat them in Ukraine. The money spent ensuring that Ukraine can push Russia back to its own borders is a small fraction of what we’d have to spend when Russia pushes into NATO nations in Europe. Same with the lives that will be lost.

The money issue in Congress is enabled by the two party system.

If people really are tired of the two party disaster that is our political system, we need to do away with First Past The Post voting. Until then, third party challengers will always be a joke and detrimental to their own causes.

Judge fines Donald Trump more than $350 million, bars him from running businesses in N.Y. for three years "Judge Arthur Engoron ordered the former president and the Trump Organization to pay over $350 million in damages, and bars Trump "from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for a period of three years." He also continued "the appointment of an Independent Monitor" and ordered "the installation of an Independent Director of Compliance" for the company."

She should step down from the prosecution of this case. Even if her actions don’t end up amounting to actual impropriety, they certainly appear unethical and are clearly distracting from the case. There’s no reason that she can’t withdraw from the case and have a deputy take the lead. The longer she stays involved, the more this is going to be a circus.

Not sure what I’m being tagged here for but I will try to opine a bit based on this post. I didn’t want Biden in 2020 and I definitely don’t want Biden in 2024. That being said, I’m a realist who understands that we unfortunately live in a two party system. Third parties are a joke unless and until we fix our election system. Biden was the first Dem I voted for president and if my choice is between him and Trump, he’ll get my vote again in 2024. While Russia did interfere in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign was very willing to accept their help, the 2016 election was not stolen in any sense of the word. Trump won. Maybe the Dems shouldn’t have nominated the one candidate who was almost as unpopular as Trump. If there’s some other specific question you were hoping I would answer, let me know.

Ah. So you were just making up someone else’s position because it allowed you to demean them without actually engaging in discourse or even basic thought? Nice one!

What is my opinion on Israel?

According to the actual reporting that is referenced here but conveniently not linked (because verification is for suckers apparently), the US rejected the ceasefire because it would not negotiate a ceasefire without Ukraine's participation in the discussions. Which seems like the obvious thing to do. Also, if you look at the terms of the ceasefire, it would basically just be letting Putin rearm and refresh his troops before resuming the war. Interesting that the Neville Chamberlin crowds throws around terms like war mongers without ever directing it at the people who are actually responsible for the war...

Russia preparing for military confrontation with West, says Estonia ""Russia has chosen a path which is a long-term confrontation ... and the Kremlin is probably anticipating a possible conflict with NATO within the next decade or so," Kaupo Rosin told reporters at the release of Estonia's national security threats report. A military attack by Russia is "highly unlikely" in the short term, he said, partly because Russia has to keep troops in Ukraine, and would remain unlikely if Russian buildup of forces was matched in Europe." Full Estonian Intelligence Report "Putin aims to secure victory in Ukraine to demonstrate geopolitical superiority over the West and reshape the European security landscape. While Putin may believe that time is on his side, counting on Western and Ukrainian fatigue, the West should not overestimate Russia’s strategic planning. As an intermediate goal, Russia would likely prefer to freeze the conflict on its own terms. To achieve this, Russia employs nuclear intimidation and covert communication." (Executive Report Item 7.) "Russia has largely managed to maintain its position in most former Soviet territories outside the European Union despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. Moldova, however, stands out as it continues to pursue a pro-Western course at the national level. Russia is attempting to tilt Moldova back into its orbit by influencing the country’s electoral process in 2024-2025." (Executive Report Item 8.) "Russia and China both share opposition to the United States and its allies, but unlike Russia, who is preoccupied with its war in Ukraine, China focuses more broadly on realising its global ambitions, seeing and cultivating its partnership with Russia within a larger framework, seeking to establish a global network that operates on China’s terms. Chinese and Russian media and ideological cooperation are likely to align the foreign policies of both countries further." (Executive Report Item 12.) Seems like it might be a good idea to crush Russian imperial ambition now instead of going the appeasement route...

He clearly hasn’t. And he’s repeatedly demonstrated a very low level of reading comprehension so I’m not sure how much good it would do for him to actually read it.

Aaaand in this long rant of ignorance you have demonstrated that you didn’t read the report, don’t understand how the law works, have been spoon-fed misleading information about Hur’s conclusions, suffer from severe Dunning Kruger, and just make up whatever reality you want that makes you feel good. Once again, take a break from the internet because you seem to be suffering from terminal online brain.

I’m just stating the facts that under the law, no prosecutor would bring charges because the intent component would likely lose. Hur agrees. All he has is a statement. Everything else could be knocked down be a rookie defense attorney.

You’re so far down your little rabbit hole that you cannot even differentiate facts from opinions. You’d benefit from cancelling your internet service. It seems to have rotted your brain.

Yes, you’ve made it abundantly clear that you do not care or even understand facts or the law or how prosecutions work and simply want an excuse to feel good about rooting for a criminal.

I really just don’t understand how people can read the report and come to the conclusion that he’s not being charged because he’s mentally unfit. It’s written in fairly plain language. I wouldn’t think you’d need a law degree to understand it.

I don’t understand how people still get it this wrong when the reports are public info. Just read them!

You should try reading the report. Even just the summary. As Hur explains, what they could present to the jury is that Biden said he had classified documents in his house in 2017. That’s about it. Hur tried to find any additional corroborating evidence that put the documents there at that time but could not find any. Biden has a laundry list of defenses to raise doubts about his intent. No prosecutor would press this case. Hur also explains why Trump’s case is different from Biden’s and why Trump’s actions support an indictment. The documents are public, read them for yourself.