Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: "What we're seeing is exactly Ukraine becoming the Afghanistan of Europe." pic.twitter.com/XvpaOdtwE1

— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) June 17, 2024

As often, this is a good read by Stephen Walt, Harvard's legendary professor of International Relations: "Morality Is the Enemy of Peace"https://t.co/D0jJyNWIuw

Whether you look at Ukraine, Gaza or in the West's dealings with China, as soon as disputes are framed in highly…

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) June 18, 2024

"As Walt writes "framing [conflicts] in moral terms makes it harder to reach a peace settlement, because anything short of total victory inevitably invites a powerful backlash from critics fearing that these critical values are being sacrificed." Also "even a mutually beneficial deal with a supposedly 'evil' regime is seen as a cowardly failure to uphold key moral principles."

This is why you should generally be fearful and suspect when leaders start speak the language of "values": ironically and hypocritically it all too often precedes and enables immense human suffering."

Germany won't like this. They're being de-industrialized, invaded, and soaked x 4.

🇺🇸🇪🇺🇺🇦 “Fair” distribution of costs for Ukraine among NATO members and coordination of assistance will reduce the burden on the United States
- Stoltenberg

Pay up Europe! pic.twitter.com/mtCDlB33Rq

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 18, 2024

BBC finally coming around and covering Ukraine's forced coscription problem:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz994d6vqe5o



Conscription squads send Ukrainian men into hiding
1 day ago
By Jean Mackenzie, Reporting from Odesa, Ukraine

Quote:

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Dark storm clouds threatened to upend Serhiy and Tania's beach wedding. But as the couple walked down the long white staircase to greet their guests, the empty chairs signalled there was a bigger problem. In total, half of their guests were missing.

Their family and friends sent their apologies but explained that the risk of attending had been too great. What if they had been caught by one of the conscription squads, which now roam Ukraine's streets?
With many of its soldiers dead, injured or exhausted, the Ukrainian government has stepped up its efforts to mobilise more men.

A new law, introduced in May, requires every man aged between 25 and 60 to log their details on an electronic database so they can be called up. Conscription officers are on the hunt for those avoiding the register, pushing more men who do not want to serve into hiding.

...Over the phone, the couple's friend of 15 years, Maksym, relayed such tales. Among the dead are around a dozen of his friends and acquaintances. "There are more than a million police officers in Ukraine, why should I fight when they are not?" he said.

Maksym, who has a young daughter and wife who is seven months pregnant, said he was sorry to miss the wedding but was afraid of being "grabbed" by conscription officers who he likened to "bandits".

The mobilisation squads have a fearsome reputation, especially in Odesa, for pulling people off buses and from train stations and ferrying them straight to enlistment centres.

For those avoiding the draft, public transport is now off limits. So too are restaurants, supermarkets, and weekend trips to the park to play football.

"I feel like I am in a prison," Maksym said.

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Putin's first visit to North Korea in a quarter century is brought to you by Biden, just like he brought us the Sino-Russian alliance.

The effects of Biden's idiotic foreign policy will still reverberate long after we are all dead.

— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) June 18, 2024

Two prognosticators are now saying Russia will eventually take Kiev, the birthplace of the Russian church.

BREAKING: Russia signs mutual defense alliance with North Korea

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) June 19, 2024

An article offering new details on the Istanbul peace deal.

It appears that early on, when Russia suffered some losses, they offered a favorable peace deal to Ukraine. Zelensky and the US subsequently smelled blood, and decided to seek more. They miscalculated, and Russia's war machine ramped up.

bneIntelliNews: Fresh evidence suggests that the April 2022 Istanbul peace deal to end the war in Ukraine was stillborn

""But Putin and Zelenskiy surprised everyone with their mutual willingness to consider far-reaching concessions to end the war. They might well surprise everyone again in the future," says the authors...."

March 10th: "... Ukraine had already conceded giving up its Nato ambitions during the Belarusian talks, enshrined in the Constitution since 2014, and returned to its neutrality stance that was previously enshrined in the Constitution."

"Ukraine's relationship with Nato played a key role in the talks. Kyiv demanded that if it gave up its Nato ambitions it wanted firm security guarantees from Nato and Russia to ensure its security something its Western partners were unwilling to agree to...."

"...The communiqu also included another "stunning" concession: it called for the two sides to seek to "peacefully resolve their dispute over Crimea" next ten to 15 years. Russia has refused point blank to talk about the status of Crimea since it was annexed in 2014."

There were details to work out: borders, guarantors, missiles and military size allowed, etc. And the USA was brought in late to discussions.

https://www.intellinews.com/fresh-evidence-suggests-that-the-april-2022-istanbul-peace-deal-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine-was-stillborn-321468/

Like Netanyahu.

🇺🇦🇷🇺‼️🚨 “Zelensky does not end the war, cause if it ends then are election. He will lose them and they will hang him and he knows that.

He’s the biggest beneficiary of the war.”

— Anti Russian activists

Kiselyov (Kiev, TV host)
Alfred Kokh (Germany, Former Deputy Prime… pic.twitter.com/qEWOHiYUVp

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 19, 2024

Savvy.

🇻🇳🇷🇺🚨‼️ Vladimir Putin arrived in Vietnam

Let’s see what agreements they sign, LGN and nuclear energy is expected. pic.twitter.com/MKRV78GfXM

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 19, 2024

They need to prop up their war regime, that's why they keep a large contingent in the main cities. They also have thousands manning the borders with the EU to prevent men from escaping forced conscription.


The problem with NATO and Ukraine/Russia, summarized:

At the Swiss "peace summit", the president of Poland called for "decolonizing" Russia by breaking it up into 200 smaller ethnic states
- A "peace summit" that did not invite Russia or discuss Russian security concerns or peace. Instead it was a forum to rally support for more war pic.twitter.com/BoUVzm054E

— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) June 20, 2024

Ugh. Poland asking for Russia on its doorstep. Ukraine has a limited history and an illegitimate president 'leading' a corrupt state.

Unit2 is MIA. Did he volunteer?

bear2034 said:

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Unit2 is MIA. Did he volunteer?

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Probably tired of taking a beating on this and other threads, can't blame him for bailing out.

Wow…

Seen at the Euro 2024 match today between Ukraine and Slovakia.

Ukrainian fans protesting the tyrannical Zelensky regime, displaying a Ukrainian flag that says:

“GIVE US ELECTIONS BACK!”

The Ukrainian delegation had the flag removed before halftime… pic.twitter.com/nveqZ7WUOC

— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) June 21, 2024

Ukraine to Zelensky: We want our elections back!

I've listened to several new voices (to me), and they all seem to have some similiar, tough conclusions:

Ukraine stays on the same path, and NATO / US don't negotiate a realistic peace, Putin may go all the way to the Polish border. Ukraine down to ten battalions, possibly a total of only 30-40,000 active troops? (Russia well over 750,000)

A risk of nuclear war in several spheres. Thick-headed American bureaucrats who think we can use 'tactical nukes' against Russia. Then Hezbollah shelling northern Israel, Egypt possibly enters the war, and possibly Turkey and or Iran.

And now Russia and NK kissing cousins. Will Russia hand off military technology to NK?

Disaster.

Cal88 said:

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bear2034 said:

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Unit2 is MIA. Did he volunteer?

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Probably tired of taking a beating on this and other threads, can't blame him for bailing out.

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Probably tired of trying to educate the idiots like you. I don't blame him, some people like you are a waste of time.

🇬🇧🇺🇦🇷🇺 “We provoked this war”

— Nigel Farrage says NATO and EU expansion provoked the war. pic.twitter.com/CbjgAWQygN

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 21, 2024

calpoly said:

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Cal88 said:

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bear2034 said:

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Unit2 is MIA. Did he volunteer?

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Probably tired of taking a beating on this and other threads, can't blame him for bailing out.

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Probably tired of trying to educate the idiots like you. I don't blame him, some people like you are a waste of time.

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Agreed, you trying to keep up with me on this and other subjects definitely is a waste of your time.

Ritter labels the Russia-North Korea relationship a "Game Changer" for NK, Asia, and yes, ourselves. Russian nukes & missiles in NK?

Thank you, Sullivan, Blinken, Austin, and probably HRC.



And after his trip to NK, Putin went to Vietnam. Ouch.

AunBear89 said:

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Sounds like a Trump Rally.

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This post makes less sense than your other mostly senseless posts. I suppose your anger schtick sometimes covers your lack of wit.

AunBear89 said:

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If someone is too stupid to understand a simple post, then that's a "Them problem." Perhaps if that stupid someone reread the post I was replying to - their own post - they might get a clue.

Let's spell it out for the morons:
"This sounds like a firehose of falsehoods."
In reply "Sounds like a Trump rally."

Firehouse of falsehoods = Trump Rally

I hope that cleared things up for the pin headed.

And once again, a witless moron questioning someone else's wit would kill irony, if compassionate conservatives hadn't done so decades ago.

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Darsh. Actually a firehouse of falsehoods sounds like Fauci talking about vaccines. Darsh. Actually a firehouse of falsehoods sounds like somebody defending Biden as he emptily looks into space. Darsh. Actually a firehouse of falsehoods sounds like Democrats talking about how they want to secure the border. Darsh. Actually a firehouse of falsehoods sounds like liberal NIMBYs wanting to help the homeless while voting against any development in their neighborhood. Darsh.

Anyway, I suppose you could call political rallies by both geriatric candidates a firehood of falsehoods. The reference was to U2 calling such for information and posts he disagreed with, mostly saying it was Russian disinformation. That appears to have gone over your head