movielover said:

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That's the go to pablum of the Left. But we've already covered the record number of sanctions against Putin during the Trump presidency, initiated by both sides (see, honesty). And President Trump sending Javalina defensive missiles to Ukraine (Obama sent pillows), and DJT arguing AGAINST the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

It was Democrats who fabricated Russian dirt, along with the help of Igor Danchenko, the FBI, DOJ, and MSM
... Obama drew a line in the sand on Crimea, and Putin stepped over it. .

Maybe next week will bring a new day to Twitter if Musk fires 3,000 employees, including those censoring Conservative voices.

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Just read this simple overview. Don't dismiss it, but actually grok that what you are saying is factually wrong and packaged information that you use to defend a conclusion rather than arrive at a conclusion flowing from fact. There are very good explanations for Putins actions vis a vis the US/Ukraine as it relates to Trump. Your descriptions fail at context and the conclusions drawn by experts in the field:

Trump/Putin

You are also straight factually wrong about Putin not taking military action or attacking under Trump. He attacked Ukrainian naval vessels in Sea of Azov during Trump and he launched a very successful disinformation campaign that sabotaged our election and weakened NATO and the West. All of this was done without critical words or actions from Trump, instead Putin was lauded, protected, and trusted more than US intelligence by Trump.

By the way, you never answered my 5 simple true or false questions. Are you another of the posters who just spam post but who will not be held to account or take an actual position or give a straight answer? Another handle of a banned poster perhaps? Please take a look above and answer. I will answer 5 questions of yours directly if you would like.

MinotStateBeav said:

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bearister said:

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The sole purpose of tRump's relations with foreign leaders while he was POTUS, most of which were illegally conducted secretly from any 3rd persons in our government, was to personally enrich himself.

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if he wanted to enrich himself, why didn't he take the presidential salary?

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Because he is smart enough to know that such a symbolic act would appeal to simpletons who ignored where the real money was coming from.

MinotStateBeav said:

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bearister said:

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The sole purpose of tRump's relations with foreign leaders while he was POTUS, most of which were illegally conducted secretly from any 3rd persons in our government, was to personally enrich himself.

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if he wanted to enrich himself, why didn't he take the presidential salary?

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It's called a loss leader where tRump comes from.

bearister said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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bearister said:

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The sole purpose of tRump's relations with foreign leaders while he was POTUS, most of which were illegally conducted secretly from any 3rd persons in our government, was to personally enrich himself.

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if he wanted to enrich himself, why didn't he take the presidential salary?

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It's called a loss leader where tRump comes from.

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President Trump had:

Low inflation.
Humming economy.
No new wars.
China confronted.

The UniParty had to do something ... so they shut down the economy and doubled down on election Rigging.

dimitrig said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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bearister said:

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The sole purpose of tRump's relations with foreign leaders while he was POTUS, most of which were illegally conducted secretly from any 3rd persons in our government, was to personally enrich himself.

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if he wanted to enrich himself, why didn't he take the presidential salary?

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Because he is smart enough to know that such a symbolic act would appeal to simpletons who ignored where the real money was coming from.

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And it worked! Why didn't he take his salary? Jesus Christ, he gave up $400,000 to make millions. Hell, just on billing the govt. for hotel rooms for Secret Service agents alone. But that was only the very tip of the iceberg. Amazing that that doesn't bother you people.

…he cut under the table deals with the House of Saud for billions. Just ask Jared.

….and he manipulated the stock market with tweets.

Same thing Bubba Clinton and HRC did.

What is crack addict Hunter Biden doing these days? Loved that note, "10% for the Big Guy". Somebody had to pay for Joe Biden's mansion.

And his unaccomplished brother, with no background in development, landing a Billion dollar deal to build homes in the Middle East.

The laptop from he-ll.

Big C said:

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dimitrig said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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bearister said:

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The sole purpose of tRump's relations with foreign leaders while he was POTUS, most of which were illegally conducted secretly from any 3rd persons in our government, was to personally enrich himself.

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if he wanted to enrich himself, why didn't he take the presidential salary?

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Because he is smart enough to know that such a symbolic act would appeal to simpletons who ignored where the real money was coming from.

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And it worked! Why didn't he take his salary? Jesus Christ, he gave up $400,000 to make millions. Hell, just on billing the govt. for hotel rooms for Secret Service agents alone. But that was only the very tip of the iceberg. Amazing that that doesn't bother you people.

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That's dumb, he could have taken the salary and made millions. But he lost millions while serving as president. Hrmmm you guys aren't too sharp.

It seems that all threads on this board eventually revert to partisan discourse around Donald Trump...

Bringing it back to the topic, while still remaining on the issue of partisanship:

A Morning Consult poll released on Monday found that only 29 percent of registered GOP respondents believe the U.S. has an obligation to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

By comparison, 56 percent of registered Democrats and 38 percent of independents believe that the U.S. has a responsibility to assist Kyiv in the war.

Overall, 42 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. has an obligation to help Ukraine, according to the survey.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3702492-only-29-percent-of-gop-voters-say-us-has-an-obligation-to-help-ukraine-poll/

Cal88 said:

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It seems that all threads on this board eventually revert to partisan discourse around Donald Trump...

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You don't get to forget about Donald Trump just because he's been embarrassing you for the last 7-8 years. After all, the right wingers bring up Obama and the Clintons all the time.

Only 42%, not a majority.

Sleepy Joe (Obama / Rice) and Blinken didn't prevent the incursion. Peace through strength = Democrats no comprendes.

Interesting take on the foreseeability of Russian aggression against its neighbors and how little it has to do with NATO.

The war in Ukraine is not a random catastrophe. It is the logical result of Russia’s trajectory since the 1990s.

The Baltic states warned Europe and the West about it. And no one listened, writes @edwardlucas.https://t.co/SGB0ITCig6

— World Politics Review (@WPReview) October 25, 2022

Quote:

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But the Western finger-wagging continued unabated. These countries should accommodate Russian interests, they were told, by giving privileged language and citizenship rights to Soviet-era settlers stranded by the Soviet Union's collapse, even as the military occupation by Russian forces continued until the end of August 1994.

In 1993, Sergei Karaganova foreign policy hawk and Kremlin adviserargued that Russia should use military and other means to protect "Russian-speakers" in the Baltic states and elsewhere. Yet "Russian-speaker" is not a political category; to see the absurdity of what became known as the "Karaganov doctrine," one might imagine Britain intervening in India on behalf of "English-speakers."

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More and more we are seeing pushback on Putin from within Russia. I suspect more people will find themselves defenestrated but it's not going to be enough to stop word from getting out about how poorly Russia's military is doing in this war.

Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Russian tycoon behind the mercenary group Wagner, personally told Putin that his military chiefs are mismanaging the war, U.S. officials said. https://t.co/9Co4IuGc5C

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 25, 2022

Meanwhile in Russia: TV hosts clearly regretted the moment they asked an expert for his opinion regarding the Kremlin's allegations of a so-called "dirty bomb" Ukraine is supposedly planning to detonate. pic.twitter.com/b725cJA2W2

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) October 25, 2022

dimitrig said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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bearister said:

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The sole purpose of tRump's relations with foreign leaders while he was POTUS, most of which were illegally conducted secretly from any 3rd persons in our government, was to personally enrich himself.

---

if he wanted to enrich himself, why didn't he take the presidential salary?

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Because he is smart enough to know that such a symbolic act would appeal to simpletons who ignored where the real money was coming from.

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Thank You.
This was an obvious political ploy.
But his followers are so gullible they fell for it.

Unit2Sucks said:

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Interesting take on the foreseeability of Russian aggression against its neighbors and how little it has to do with NATO.

The war in Ukraine is not a random catastrophe. It is the logical result of Russia’s trajectory since the 1990s.

The Baltic states warned Europe and the West about it. And no one listened, writes @edwardlucas.https://t.co/SGB0ITCig6

— World Politics Review (@WPReview) October 25, 2022

Quote:

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But the Western finger-wagging continued unabated. These countries should accommodate Russian interests, they were told, by giving privileged language and citizenship rights to Soviet-era settlers stranded by the Soviet Union's collapse, even as the military occupation by Russian forces continued until the end of August 1994.

In 1993, Sergei Karaganova foreign policy hawk and Kremlin adviserargued that Russia should use military and other means to protect "Russian-speakers" in the Baltic states and elsewhere. Yet "Russian-speaker" is not a political category; to see the absurdity of what became known as the "Karaganov doctrine," one might imagine Britain intervening in India on behalf of "English-speakers."

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More and more we are seeing pushback on Putin from within Russia. I suspect more people will find themselves defenestrated but it's not going to be enough to stop word from getting out about how poorly Russia's military is doing in this war.

Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Russian tycoon behind the mercenary group Wagner, personally told Putin that his military chiefs are mismanaging the war, U.S. officials said. https://t.co/9Co4IuGc5C

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 25, 2022

Meanwhile in Russia: TV hosts clearly regretted the moment they asked an expert for his opinion regarding the Kremlin's allegations of a so-called "dirty bomb" Ukraine is supposedly planning to detonate. pic.twitter.com/b725cJA2W2

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) October 25, 2022

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Not surprisingly, the biggest russian warhawks are not the US or UK, it is the baltics and Poland, or the countries that would be invaded next if Russia succeeds.

dimitrig said:

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MinotStateBeav said:

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bearister said:

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The sole purpose of tRump's relations with foreign leaders while he was POTUS, most of which were illegally conducted secretly from any 3rd persons in our government, was to personally enrich himself.

---

if he wanted to enrich himself, why didn't he take the presidential salary?

---

Because he is smart enough to know that such a symbolic act would appeal to simpletons who ignored where the real money was coming from.

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Being on the board of Burisma and selling paintings for $100,000+???

golden sloth said:

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Cal88 said:

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It seems that all threads on this board eventually revert to partisan discourse around Donald Trump...

Bringing it back to the topic, while still remaining on the issue of partisanship:

A Morning Consult poll released on Monday found that only 29 percent of registered GOP respondents believe the U.S. has an obligation to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

By comparison, 56 percent of registered Democrats and 38 percent of independents believe that the U.S. has a responsibility to assist Kyiv in the war.

Overall, 42 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. has an obligation to help Ukraine, according to the survey.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3702492-only-29-percent-of-gop-voters-say-us-has-an-obligation-to-help-ukraine-poll/

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Personally, I dont believe the US has an obligation or responsibility to help Ukraine, nonetheless I believe the US should help Ukraine, and I want Congress to allocate more funds and weapons to support the Ukrainian defense of their country.

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Yeah, I have questions about the wording of that poll. You can think that we should support Ukraine without thinking we are obligated.

Excellent summary of US politicians statements about Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

DiabloWags said:

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Cal88 said:

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Also, many factories in energy-intensive sectors such as paper, glass, cement, steel, aluminum etc have already shut down their operations in Europe due to higher energy prices, demand has been lower.

https://www.world-today-news.com/the-world-famous-duralex-glass-factory-has-closed-for-months-due-to-skyrocketing-energy-bills/

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And yet PORSCHE just announced record sales.

Porsche Profit Soars With 911 Sales Driving Returns https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-28/porsche-profit-soars-with-911-sales-driving-returns

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Porsche is a bit unique, as a luxury product, whose global clientele has been growing steadily. Supply having been restricted, they can command sky high margins, enough to absorb the large increase in energy costs.

Other German manufacturers haven't fared so well. The more energy dependent, the more precarious the situation is, example for paper producers:

https://www.iamexpat.de/career/employment-news/german-toilet-paper-manufacturers-struggle-amid-energy-crisis

DiabloWags said:

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Youre comparing toilet paper manufacturers to a luxury sports car manufacturer?

You dont think that an automobile company isnt energy dependent?

Really???

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Very strong luxury brands like Porsche or Ferrari are going to be fairly immune from the European energy crisis, partly because going into this crisis their supply has been throttled by the covid supply chain disruption, so they have long backlogs. There has been global pent up demand for these products, from a segment that has been growing and is ready to put up with large price increases that the manufacturers are passing on due to higher input costs.

Those luxury brands are a relatively small segment of German and European industry.

My claim is that skyrocketing energy prices in Europe are severely hurting all sectors of the economy that are dependent on this input. Your argument here about demand for Porsches is irrelevant, a strawman. I've given the example of a German paper factory, and a French glassware factory. Here is another example, the largest aluminum producer in the Netherlands:

https://amsterdamfox.com/news/aldel-the-largest-aluminum-producer-in-the-netherlands-went-bankrupt/

Ii would also guess Dutch agriculture will also be severely hampered, due to its reliance on natural gas to heat greenhouses, and the high gas prices raising the cost of fertilizers. And that is indeed the case:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/no-tulips-amsterdam-gas-crisis-hits-dutch-greenhouses-2022-09-07/

Quote:

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Greenhouses have helped make the Netherlands the world's second largest agricultural exporter after the United States. But the 8 billion euro ($7.9 billion) industry grew up with cheap gas, and is now facing a crisis that will hasten a switch to other energy sources and could see many businesses fail.

With Russia restricting gas supplies in response to Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, European prices have soared to 20 times the level of a year ago.

Industry group Glastuinbouw Nederland says up to 40% of its 3,000 members are in financial distress. That could mean less out-of-season fruit, vegetables and flowers in European supermarkets

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Cal88 said:

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My claim is that skyrocketing energy prices in Europe are severely hurting all sectors of the economy that are dependent on this input. Your argument here about demand for Porsches is irrelevant, a strawman. I've given the example of a German paper factory, and a French glassware factory. Here is another example, the largest aluminum producer in the Netherlands:

https://amsterdamfox.com/news/aldel-the-largest-aluminum-producer-in-the-netherlands-went-bankrupt/

Ii would also guess Dutch agriculture will also be severely hampered, due to its reliance on natural gas to heat greenhouses, and the high gas prices raising the cost of fertilizers. And that is indeed the case:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/no-tulips-amsterdam-gas-crisis-hits-dutch-greenhouses-2022-09-07/

Quote:

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Greenhouses have helped make the Netherlands the world's second largest agricultural exporter after the United States. But the 8 billion euro ($7.9 billion) industry grew up with cheap gas, and is now facing a crisis that will hasten a switch to other energy sources and could see many businesses fail.

With Russia restricting gas supplies in response to Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, European prices have soared to 20 times the level of a year ago.

Industry group Glastuinbouw Nederland says up to 40% of its 3,000 members are in financial distress. That could mean less out-of-season fruit, vegetables and flowers in European supermarkets

---

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Bloomberg: Europe Aluminum Cuts Get Deeper by the Day as Power Crisis Bites
- Speira to curtail production immediately at plant in Neuss
- Europe metal industry warns of 'permanent deindustrialization'

"European aluminum is buckling under the pressure of surging energy costs, with two more producers announcing cuts in the past day as the local metals industry reiterated it's facing an "existential threat."

"Speira GmbH will cut production at its smelter in Germany by 50% until further notice, while Europe's largest aluminum smelter, Aluminium Dunkerque Industries France, said on Tuesday it will reduce production by 22% by the end of the month."

LightMetalage: European Aluminum Smelters Face Closures
Impacted by Exorbitant Energy Prices and the War in Ukraine

"...In August 2022, Slovaco announced that it would close the smelter, as there was no sign of improving energy prices. The closure will be completed by the end of September 2022.

"Trimet in Germany cut aluminum production by 30% at its 135,000 tpy Hamburg smelter and 165,000 tpy at its Voerde smelter, as of January 2022. In March 2022, the company announced that it would further cut aluminum production at its Essen facility by 50%, due to higher energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine. The company noted that before electricity prices jumped in Europe, power accounted for about 40% of smelting costs. However, that figure has grown substantially."

https://www.lightmetalage.com/news/industry-news/smelting/european-aluminum-smelters-face-closures/#:~:text=In%20August%202022%2C%20Slovaco%20announced,smelter%2C%20as%20of%20January%202022.

Reduced aluminum supply should mean even further inflation in the aluminum sector.

With western weapons, Ukraine is turning the tables in an artillery war


https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-artillery.html

cbbass1 said:

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golden sloth said:

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Unit2Sucks said:

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Interesting take on the foreseeability of Russian aggression against its neighbors and how little it has to do with NATO.
hps://twitter.com/WPReview/status/1585013645993451543

Quote:

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But the Western finger-wagging continued unabated. These countries should accommodate Russian interests, they were told, by giving privileged language and citizenship rights to Soviet-era settlers stranded by the Soviet Union's collapse, even as the military occupation by Russian forces continued until the end of August 1994.

In 1993, Sergei Karaganova foreign policy hawk and Kremlin adviserargued that Russia should use military and other means to protect "Russian-speakers" in the Baltic states and elsewhere. Yet "Russian-speaker" is not a political category; to see the absurdity of what became known as the "Karaganov doctrine," one might imagine Britain intervening in India on behalf of "English-speakers."

---

More and more we are seeing pushback on Putin from within Russia. I suspect more people will find themselves defenestrated but it's not going to be enough to stop word from getting out about how poorly Russia's military is doing in this war.
hps://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1584839114569949185

hps://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1584725196581523456

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Not surprisingly, the biggest russian warhawks are not the US or UK, it is the baltics and Poland, or the countries that would be invaded next if Russia succeeds.

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You're kidding, right?

Exactly how much westward progress did Russia make in its "imperial expansion" before the 2008 Bucharest Summit??

How much did NATO expand from the 1990s to 2008??

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The only connection to NATO is that Putin and his yes men badly miscalculated NATO's strength. They thought NATO was weak and would allow them to take Ukraine with no support for Ukraine's sovereignty and they were wrong. Putin is going to pay the price, along with the hundreds of thousands who will die in this war of needless aggression.

You can continue to blame NATO all you want, but this is Putin's war and is 100% on him. All he's done is strengthen NATO and increase its membership.