Hanaguma

Yeah, if only those stupid voters would wake up and understand how grateful they should be /s The most basic and simple question voters think about is this: "Are you better off now than when the President took office" And the answer is clear. Gas was $2.50 under Trump, $3.50 under Biden. Inflation sub 2% under Trump, 8% under Biden. Mortgage sub 3% under Trump, over 7% under Biden. Now you can argue those numbers all day, but they are visceral and dominate voters' minds.

I'm gonna have to go ahead and agree with you here. The debate between Newsom and DeSantis last week, for better or worse, was at least moderatly substantive. And the participants were at least energetic and sentient. The higher-ups of BOTH parties should make an agreement that the two grumpy old men will not get their nominations. Then run an actual primary campaign on both sides. The country would only benefit.

As I said before, Putin runs a country with a tiny economy and is bankrupting it. Europe could easily put him in check if they wanted to. But they don't. The Europeans have gotten lazy, and gotten used to having their big brother across the Atlantic do all the heavy lifting. Both in Europe and around the world. They have underspent on defence, and then balked when called out about it. Well, now they can pay the price. Time to take the bull by the t1ts and stir themselves into some semblance of strength. For North America, China is by far the greater threat, and Asia the more important area of interest. Russia has almost zero ability to project power very far beyond their land borders- certainly not like China can.

Curious- what atrocities are being committed by the IDF? I havent heard too many tales of the gang rape of young Gazan girls by the IDF, nor the torture of children and elderly.

Like I said, European nations can easily take care of each other. If Finland wants protection, they could form an alliance with Germany or France or the UK. All those countries have economies that dwarf Russia. NATO served its purpose and needs to be put out to pasture. A Europe based organization is by far a better fit for the region.

In other words, no they were not conquered. Plus they are all virtual border regions of Russia, so hardly projection of power. I don't see the big threat at all. Nothing that Europe cannot or should not handle if they had the gumption.

WHoah! Did Russia conquer all those countries?

An ogre with a broken leg and asthma is not the threat that he was when young and strong. And Russia is a shadow of the Soviet Union. Their ability to project power is virtually nil. Like I said, if all of Europe can't muster up the energy to fight off a country with 10% of the EU's GDP, then maybe they deserve to be conquered. But they certainly don't need to be defended by anyone other than themselves.

Then Europe can defend itself. The EU has more than enough economic power to provide a robust continental defence without relying on Uncle Sam. As you said, the threat that NATO was formed to protect against, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, are gone. And so is NATO's raison d'etre. The real enemy to fear now is China, not Russia and its Canada-level GDP.

But Europe could make the decision to stop buying Russian gas. If they had the stones, that is. Other countries could provide it, they could switch to more nuclear power- a very green option. Not sure what other end game is realistic. Ukraine doesn't have the combat power to push the Russians back. One thing the Russians have traditionally been very good at militarily is defence. They are stubborn, and engineer their territory very well. The Ukranian army would bleed itself white throwing itself at the Russians if they try to regain all their lost land. So that leaves us with a settlement. Either that, or the Europeans can start using their OWN militaries to attack the Russian troops currently in Ukraine. And I don't think they are willing to do that.

Because France, like so many countries, has watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest a few too many times. It is very hard to get someone committed to a mental hospital unless they already commit a serious offense.

NATO seems to be straying farther and farther from the "North Atlantic" part of the name these days...Ukraine being a member makes as much sense as Turkey. Which is zero. A Russian guarantee could be tied to access to Europe as a client for resources etc. And the EU would be free to station troops in Ukraine for "training missions" at their leisure. But it seems like Europe is reluctant to actually spend much of their own money without getting a bit assist from Uncle Sugar.

The "Religion of Peace" strikes again.

Neither was Gaza.

End game? Russia gets Donbass and officially gets to keep Crimea. Ukraine agrees to not join NATO, but can join the EU. Russia guarantees Ukranian sovereignty.

You might want to bow to the master Norm MacDonald on this one...

That would work, except for one tiny flaw in that pesky piece of paper they call the Constitution.... presidents have to be natural born citizens.

Frankly, UNRWA just needs to go a way. They have been an impediment in Gaza and indeed all Palestinian areas. The material they teach children is shocking- no wonder they support Hamas 75%. Not to mention that 80 years as refugees is enough. Time for a programme of de-Hamasification, followed by aid to build up Gaza that does not get stolen by terrorists or fat cat supporters living in luxury overseas.

I heard it more like, "the best part of you ran down the crack of your mama's ass and made a brown stain on the mattress. I am partial to, "someone should pull a cvnt over your head and fvck some sense into you!"

Not a fan of the Ram these days. He comes across all smarmy, like the kid in class who would always ask the teacher, "did you forget to give us homework?" at the end of class. My dream would be Nikki Haley for Pres, plus Kristi Noem for VP. Or possibly Tim Scott, although he seems almost too nice a guy for bare knuckle politics.

If you want evidence from an 'unbiased source' about Hamas' tunnels, how about Al Jazeera; Some of these are serviced with oxygen tanks, water pipes and electricity lights. An exclusive video from Al Jazeera Arabic from 2021 shows concrete-reinforced corridors leading to an underground office with a functioning phone line and rooms storing weapons. The system is believed to have a periphery, with shallower tunnels easier to destroy from the surface, and a core which is where the commando centres, weapons storages, missiles and, more recently, some of the about 240 Israeli captives taken by Hamas, are believed to be. Tunnels allow fighters to conduct surprise attacks and to move quickly across the strip without Israeli eyes being able to trace them. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/13/very-risky-israel-faces-months-long-campaign-against-hamas-gaza-tunnels

Would CNN do?

I get it. It was OK for Hamas to torture and murder babies, as long as they didn't behead them. Gotcha. Beheading was only for adults. Like the Thai farm worker who was beheaded while still alive. Or the German girl, Shani Louk- they waited until she was dead before they beheaded her. Obviously Hamas has standards.

Whenever Hamas releases the so-called casualty figures, the media should use the phrase "without evidence" every time. This is the group that claimed 500 deaths in an Israeli hospital bombing that turned into 50 deaths in a failed terrorist missile crash. To say "take their numbers with a grain of salt" is altogether too credulous.

...and so it begins. Any weapons found are safety checked and unloaded before journalists are allowed inside. That is standard procedure. As is putting them in the open for all to see. Much like how the Thai police proudly display seized drugs and various illegal goods on a table before the media's cameras.