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And Trump ended up making Saudi Arabia very happy by scuttling the agreement with Iran which is now on the verge of possessing nuclear weapons. Biden certainly wouldn't have made the Saudis happy in that way. But hey, that was quite a party! https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/world/middleeast/trump-glowing-orb-saudi.html

It's a widely shared opinion that a worldwide recession is coming. And yet, oddly enough, crypto's value is in a sharp decline. Does that tell you anything? I think it tells us a lot about the rationality of your position that instead of addressing these issues, you reach for emotional explanations of criticisms. Calling critics "haters" and "hateful" and coming up with unbacked allegations about their motivations such as "Is it because you missed out buying it and are self-righteously trying to convince yourself that you made the right decision to not buy BTC 10 years ago or even 5 years ago when it was $1-2k." are not exactly indicative of rational thinking.

China is doing well, is it? It has had to retreat on its support of Russia out of fear of the consequences for its industry of incurring sanctions for trading with Russia. Chinese companies have withdrawn en masse from doing business with Russia and China has refused to honor Russia's request to supply it with weapons. China just got rebuffed by small Pacific island nations in its blatant grab for power. India has moved much closer to the United States in the wake of Chinese aggression in the Himalayas. Industries are moving supply chains out of China because if its increasingly arbitrary and irrational governance. As for Saudia Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, and Brazil, considering the irrational and grandiose nature of their leaders, with the possible exception of the UAEk is it any surprise that they are not getting along with the USA?

Apparently, you believe that the rise in the ruble is a measure of strength of the Russian economy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reason the ruble has risen so much is that Russia can't spend them on the supplies it needs to fuel its economy. If Russia were able to make those purchases the cost of the ruble would decline. https://marketmonetarist.com/2022/04/03/the-ruble-has-appreciated-exactly-because-the-sanctions-work/

What do you think it means when I wrote "By your logic the same could said of virtually any organization. That not all the members of it agree."?

Again, what is the value of a load of grain in railcar compared to other cargo that trains would be transporting. How would that change Russia's current targeting of the Ukrainian rail system?

Far from being punished, the UK still enjoys privileges that other non-EU nations (except for the affiliated like Norway, for example) don't. Like tariff-free trade. I guess you no longer subscribe to the common Brexiter interpretation of "Brexit means Brexit".

This is an exceptionally ridiculous comment. By your logic the same could said of virtually any organization. That not all the members of it agree. You think you are making a serious point by calling those in charge of making such determinations "elitists"? Just a coincidence that such a designation dovetails with your political beliefs?

A truckload of grain is a very low value target. Even if Russia had abundant precision missiles, it wouldn't make much sense to target them.

This nonsense about inflated fiat money comes from a basic misunderstanding of what currency is. Dollar bills are not like stock. They are not shares of something. The question isn't how much each dollar can buy now compared to say, 20 years ago, but how many total dollars on average one has compared to 20 years ago. If your purchasing power is greater now than it was 20 years ago, then you're ahead. If less, then you're not. In the wake of the stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression, the purchasing power of the dollar actually rose. Does that mean Americans were more prosperous? Deflation is a symptom of an economy in trouble.

It's funny. Brexit supporters claim that the EU is a kind of dictatorship. And yet, when it's unable to stop its members from paying in rubles, it gets mocked for being weak. That's some fearsome dictatorship!

Could be argued? It's obviously in violation of the treaty. Whether or not it was fair is not the question. The UK agreed to that provision. And nothing in Article 16 or elsewhere allows them to unilaterally change that.

Yes, Putin has repeatedly demonstrated the awesomeness of the Russian military. A military that Ukraine has defeated in one compaign and has taken back territory from Russia as well as losing some. And this despite Russia's big advantage in arms. Have you considered the possibility that Russia may not be able to keep up the pace of its offensive for much longer?

Right. The USA is forcing the Ukrainians to accepts its weapons?

Apparently, the left has taken just about the whole world since gasoline prices have risen worldwide. Just consider the case of the UK and that Marxist-Leninist Boris Johnson.

Really? How about the longer it goes on the greater the chance Russia has of being driven from the Ukraine. How are the Russians doing in Kharkiv?

Just because they speak Russian at home, that doesn't mean their allegiance is to Russia.

It's funny. I believe it was Johnson who claimed that the removal of the European Court of Justice as the arbitrator was a minor change. It turns out it will only affect a mere 10 out of 13 clauses.

Really? I thought it was addressed to atheists.

The thing about religious people I admire most is how they stick to their convictions about the primacy of morality: "In 2011, 30 percent of white evangelicals said that "an elected official who commits an immoral act in their personal life can still behave ethically and fulfill their duties in their public and professional life." Now, 72 percent say so — a far bigger swing than other religious groups the poll studied. White evangelicals also are less likely than they used to be to say that "strong religious beliefs" are "very important" in a presidential candidate. That share fell from 64 percent in 2011 to 49 percent this year." https://www.npr.org/2016/10/23/498890836/poll-white-evangelicals-have-warmed-to-politicians-who-commit-immoral-acts

How about the Finns? Are they European enough for you? After over 75 years of remaining neutral, they decided to join NATO.

What don't you understand about the fact the destroying huge quantities of your armaments is actually a brilliant tactical feint. And losing elite troops is more of the same. Not to mention the deaths of thousands of other troops. And the imprisonments of Russian intelligence officials for the accuracy of their intelligence reports. What's more, I'm sure that Papillon can produce scores of military experts praising the success of Russians Kiiv "feint".

You can't unilaterally change the terms of a a treaty and not abrogate it. A treaty is like a contract between 2 or more nations or pan-national entities. One party doesn't get to change the terms after its signed.

Onward Christian Soldiers!

Sure. So, every source that's reporting on the legislation is conspiring to promote a big lie? Nowhere have I seen a report that claims this aid is really a loan. Not one reporter has looked at the legislation and corroborated your claims. You've got nothing except ridiculousness to back you up.