heybruce

I'm against US warships in the Black Sea for tactical and practical reasons: Getting there would be incredibly risky and unnecessary. Whether US warships should fire on the PRC if it attacks Taiwan depends on how the situation unfolds. The Taiwanese people don't want to go under Xi's rule, especially after seeing how Hong Kong has been treated. If China goes in with guns blazing I would hope the US would help Taiwan blaze back. There are also practical considerations; Taiwan is a critical part of the world economy. A great deal of essential technology would fail without inputs from Taiwan, and that would make the supply issues caused by the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine look like a tea party. I'm not commenting on the horrors of not getting a new phone every year, I'm talking about the horrors of people going hungry because distribution systems fail.

Summary: You're not ok with wars of conquest but you don't want to get involved and you don't care if Russia has violated the 1994 Budapest Memorandum in which the US, Russia and other countries gave assurances to respect Ukraine's borders. I assume you prefer to deal with wars of conquest using harsh language. Or is that going too far? I'm not concerned with the semantics of whether Taiwan technically qualifies as an independent nation, I'm concerned with what is right for Taiwan and the world. Letting Russia and China bully and invade neighbors at will is not good for the world.

Looks good, I'll look into it. Thanks.

Considering "Stumblin' Joe's" legislative and diplomatic accomplishments, especially when compared to Trump, I'd say they voted smart. Of course I base my opinions on facts, not on whatever it is that makes you believe the lies Trump tells.

So you're ok with wars of conquest, empire building, might makes right, etc. I'm curious, is there any point at which aggressive, unchecked expansion by China would upset you? Any countries you don't want to see taken by force?

But you're ok with Russia invading its neighbors, locking up all political opposition, sending assassination teams to other countries...

"Putin himself has repeatedly made clear that he denies Ukraine’s right to exist and is determined to extinguish Ukrainian statehood." https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/peace-is-impossible-while-vladimir-putin-denies-ukraines-right-to-exist/ You don't consider that a fight for survival? Ukraine has a legitimately elected government that is tackling corruption with popular support from its people. Russia has none of those things, and doesn't want Ukraine to have them, or to even exist. Seems like a fight for survival to me.

When do you imagine that Russia would have entered into good-faith negotiations with Ukraine? Try telling that to the other countries that clearly want US and/or NATO support in defending themselves against Russian aggression. Once again, the imaginary negotiation opportunity.

More "US proxy war on Russia" nonsense. Poor, sweet, innocent little Russia can't even invade its neighbors without friends of those neighbors offering a helping hand. So unfair.

The border is open to those who meet legal requirements for entry. Others can attempt to cross illegally, but face consequences if caught. That makes the border open in the same way as every secure facility I've worked in. I case you didn't notice, border crossing all over the world were down significantly during the Covid pandemic. Interestingly, border encounters during the Obama years were lower on average than during the Trump years. Perhaps we should bring back the Obama policies. https://www.statista.com/statistics/329256/alien-apprehensions-registered-by-the-us-border-patrol/ "that surely has an impact shows that you are speculating. While you're at it try speculating on the number of jobs filled by these immigrants, taxes paid, money spent, new jobs created, etc. Immigration grows an economy. Not try to get back on topic.

Are you aware that the US is not fighting in Ukraine?

"Lies and faulty logic, if one can use the term logic." I did not state that in the post you replied to. You edited my post to put those words in there for some reason. Why? Russia attempted to seize Kyiv and other key cities in the first days of the war, and failed miserably, losing many of their best troops and equipment. Do you think that was Russia's plan? "Russia’s initial military action in Ukraine suggests its forces are making an audacious thunder run to capture key cities on the way to Kyiv, where they hope to isolate and eventually decapitate the Western-backed government and install new leadership loyal to Moscow, analysts and Pentagon officials said Thursday. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/02/24/ukraine-russia-military-strategy/ Talking about talks without including Russia is not "suing for peace". Try using the phrase correctly.

Where is this line you keep referring to? In your head?

I directly addressed your nonsensical post and you respond with more nonsense. Typical. Borders aren't open, few people want open borders, the topic is not about borders, and you are desperately trying to deflect.

The results were good? Please provide a credible source to support that claim.

Ok, I assume you are a troll. As explained; you make the claim, you provide the source. Forum rules. Run away! Run away!

I'm sure you would love to provide sources, but Fairey Tales (especially those like "The Emperor Has No Clothes") are not allowed as sources.

I'm not in full agreement, but I concede that your provision that Urkaine be guaranteed NATO membership makes the overall proposal worth considering. However that is a decision and negotiation for the Ukrainian people.

Would you prefer that I call Russia a commodities dependent state? Ukraine is fighting for survival. Russian soldiers are fighting because they will be shot if they refuse to do so. Let's see which side has the greatest will to resist.

There's a lot of that going around. Anyone who believe the election was stolen or other Trump lies is a nutter.

You claimed that inflation began before Covid. I gave sources showing overall inflation was around 2% for years before Covid. So you replied with unsourced claims that some types of inflation were above 2%. Now you are making unsourced claims that these types of inflation were hurting the bottom 50%. Take a consistent stand and give real sources. I won't debate someone who makes stuff up.

More unsourced claims.

Read the forum rules. You made the claim, you have the obligation to provide the source. Since you still won't give your source I assume it has no credibility. You must be very embarrassed by it. Understandable, your out of context paragraph reads in a very speculative manner. Overall inflation is what determines the overall increase in the cost of living. Your unsourced claims about how some types of inflation are higher than the average and unsourced speculation about how that hurts some people more is the argumentative equivalent of flailing about.

Right, regulate energy prices. Because we all know that nothing improves an economy more than the government dictating prices.

I posted "no failure" because Ukraine was expected to fall within days, and it's still standing. Are you going to dispute that? NATO is suing for peace? Really? Please provide a source for that one. Do you think abandoning Ukraine will make Taiwan look less tempting to China? Explain that one. All those places around the world that think they're protected by the US are watching, so the US needs to see this through.