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Manit0u
Poland17444 Posts
And as far as news from the front go it seems that Ukrainians have launched a new offensive in the Kursk region, capturing 2 settlements and threatening 2 more. In the Pokrovsk direction the Russian offensive seems to be stalled and there are reports of Ukrainians actually going on the offensive and pushing them back in several places. Russian have some minor gains in the Kupiansk region though. Not much and nothing vital but it could pose a threat in the future. | ||
KwarK
United States43262 Posts
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Mohdoo
United States15725 Posts
My armchair political philosopher perspective is that Europe needs to be bold and ignore "red lines" by providing specific aid or directly entering Ukraine right now to show the US does not dictate European foreign policy. If Europe collectively had the balls to be so brave, I think they could band together and totally be more trouble than either the US or Russia feel like engaging with. Europe doesn't need to be stronger than the US or Russia. Europe just needs to be prohibitively troublesome to ignore. Europe leaping a few levels of courage to act in Ukraine unilaterally would achieve 2 goals at the same time: Blindside Russia and deeply harm their attacks on Ukraine and take back their seat at the table of US decision making. Right now Europe can be pretty safely ignored by Europe and Russia. The whole EU risks becoming a vassal state if they let this continue too long IMO | ||
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JimmyJRaynor
Canada17019 Posts
On February 13 2025 10:07 Mohdoo wrote:If Trump wants Greenland, Trump does not want Greenland. He is a Flim Flam Man. He is saying he wants Greenland to create other openings. Probably as a way to justify something different he is going to request in the future. I heard this saying about Trump recently. "he should be taken seriously but not literally" Look at how he bamboozled Canada and Mexico into increasing border protections under the threat of tariffs only to slap tariffs on them days later. He does not want Canada. He does not want Greenland. These places won't vote Republican. There is an outside chance he might go after the most right wing province in Canada and that's about it. Generally speaking, Trump is not looking to take over giant masses of land. | ||
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maybenexttime
Poland5669 Posts
Trump ain't creating any openings. He's closing doors. America's allies are starting to see the US as a hostile country. The master negotiator is paying with a currency beyond his grasp - America's soft power, which is evaporating rapidly. | ||
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CuddlyCuteKitten
Sweden2654 Posts
On February 13 2025 12:18 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Trump does not want Greenland. He is a Flim Flam Man. He is saying he wants Greenland to create other openings. Probably as a way to justify something different he is going to request in the future. I heard this saying about Trump recently. "he should be taken seriously but not literally" Look at how he bamboozled Canada and Mexico into increasing border protections under the threat of tariffs only to slap tariffs on them days later. He does not want Canada. He does not want Greenland. These places won't vote Republican. There is an outside chance he might go after the most right wing province in Canada and that's about it. Generally speaking, Trump is not looking to take over giant masses of land. Still making the mistake of not listening to him. He is very easy to predict, he wants what he says and if he can he does what he wants. | ||
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Legan
Finland496 Posts
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Excludos
Norway8190 Posts
On February 13 2025 12:18 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Trump does not want Greenland. He is a Flim Flam Man. He is saying he wants Greenland to create other openings. Probably as a way to justify something different he is going to request in the future. I heard this saying about Trump recently. "he should be taken seriously but not literally" Look at how he bamboozled Canada and Mexico into increasing border protections under the threat of tariffs only to slap tariffs on them days later. He does not want Canada. He does not want Greenland. These places won't vote Republican. There is an outside chance he might go after the most right wing province in Canada and that's about it. Generally speaking, Trump is not looking to take over giant masses of land. He didn't bamboozle anyone but the average American voter. Step 1: Let the previous administration do all the work Step 2: Invent a crisis Step 3: Pretend that Step 1 is a direct response to Step 2, but done under your supervision Step 4: Take all the credit Step 5: Have people repeat it on an internet forum because they've never heard of Step 1 | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland26085 Posts
On February 14 2025 01:16 Excludos wrote: He didn't bamboozle anyone but the average American voter. Step 1: Let the previous administration do all the work Step 2: Invent a crisis Step 3: Pretend that Step 1 is a direct response to Step 2, but done under your supervision Step 4: Take all the credit Step 5: Have people repeat it on an internet forum because they've never heard of Step 1 Remarkably accurate | ||
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JimmyJRaynor
Canada17019 Posts
On February 13 2025 16:27 maybenexttime wrote: It was already pointed out to you several times that Mexico and Canada increased the border security as per agreements made with the Biden administration. Trump ain't creating any openings. He's closing doors. America's allies are starting to see the US as a hostile country. The master negotiator is paying with a currency beyond his grasp - America's soft power, which is evaporating rapidly. Source? and I already pointed out to them that many additional border security arrangements were made over and above what was originally agreed. off topic about Canada/US relations. + Show Spoiler + Canada's border Czar was not agreed upon during Biden. Trudeau called Trump a "skilled negotiator" DURING the negotiations of additional border measures. Canada is scared shitless of tariffs dude. It is a huge stick Trump used in 2018 and he is using it again. Closing doors? After Trump slapped tariffs on Canada in 2018 what happened? Did Canada stop selling to the USA? no. Export levels are as higher as they've ever been in Canada's history. Canada and the USA bicker over their trade deals since the first one was invoked since 1988. Mulroney stated Bush was acting in the manner of a tin pot dictator. There have been numerous incidents over the years. Canada has painted itself into a corner with a bunch of "really dumb decisions on how the country sells its energy". 80% of Canada's exports go to the US. Trump will wield these tariffs as a stick to get concessions from Canada in the next USMCA negotiations and get a better deal for the USA. Places like Hamilton, Ontario and Windsor Ontario will lose jobs by Justin Trudeau's own admission. Those jobs will head south as the USA ramps up Steel production. any time you'd like a serious, in depth discussion that includes facts and sources about Canada/US relations head over to the Canadian politics thread. Your response indicates you probably just read headlines though. I'm in Canada 90 days a year and in the USA ~230 days a year. | ||
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pmp10
3358 Posts
But then that Trump move was very predictable. I wonder if EU plans to change anything regarding Ukraine. They can always let Trump play the villain while they protest until hoarse. | ||
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Gorsameth
Netherlands21960 Posts
On February 14 2025 02:56 pmp10 wrote: Its theatre, ofc they knew this was an option. But Trump is Trump and he can change on a dime based on the last person to talk to him.So it seems EU is surprised at being sidelined in initial talks. But then that Trump move was very predictable. I wonder if EU plans to change anything regarding Ukraine. They can always let Trump play the villain while they protest until hoarse. And there isn't much the EU is going to be able to do. They don't have the production to keep Ukraine supplied and haven't ramped up anywhere near fast enough to take over from the US. | ||
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Dav1oN
Ukraine3164 Posts
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1890068942246351108 US negotiating with Russia directly over Ukraine and EU while Russia is a clear agressor is just beyond any reasoning | ||
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Mohdoo
United States15725 Posts
On February 14 2025 03:21 Gorsameth wrote: And there isn't much the EU is going to be able to do. They don't have the production to keep Ukraine supplied and haven't ramped up anywhere near fast enough to take over from the US. I would argue EU loses way too much by letting this stand. Previously, EU was still at the table. Even though USA had the biggest dick in the room and was mostly in charge of how things go, Europe still had a lot of sway and their opinions mattered. They are entirely giving up on having any amount of actual independent world politics influence if they let Trump totally exclude Europe from this. If Europe decided to just ignore the red lines and have their airforce directly involved in Ukraine, it would change everything and it would show they aren't letting themselves drift into officially functioning as an American vassal state. Europe is not powerless. There is an enormous amount they can do, but they would need to muster the courage to go for it. Does it totally suck ass needing to get directly involved? Yes, absolutely. But it sucks 10000x more ass to officially designate themselves as non-powers. Trump just ignoring Europe and throwing away Ukraine is too much of a castration to let stand. | ||
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KwarK
United States43262 Posts
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Simberto
Germany11636 Posts
On February 14 2025 03:33 Dav1oN wrote: Every time I listen to Trump officials it makes me sick. And that's not only about Ukraine but about US foreign policy in general, looks like a fever dream (props to the journalist for the efforts tho) https://x.com/atrupar/status/1890068942246351108 US negotiating with Russia directly over Ukraine and EU while Russia is a clear agressor is just beyond any reasoning Not only foreign policy, domestic policy as well. It is just fucking insane. They are making horribly bad choices that will very obviously turn out horribly bad for the country (though maybe they personally may grift enough that it is a net positive for them). And yet that seems to be what (at least half, but i hate having to put that qualifier) of their population wants. They elected this shit. After the shit told them exactly how it was going to smear themselves over their faces, their cars, and everyone around them. And now they are cheering it on, utterly oblivious that they are in for a really smelly future. | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland26085 Posts
On February 14 2025 03:51 KwarK wrote: President Musk has declared NATO is obsolete because the Cold War is over. Presumably he’s aware that Russia is literally invading Eastern Europe as we speak and so the only reasonable conclusion is that he’s on their side. If Estonia is invaded I’d rate the chances of the US fighting Russia at approximately 0%. They successfully conquered the US. Ah yes, some more genius political observations from Mr Musk. What is it about paper tiger Russia that so many are enamoured with? Like really? Argh | ||
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WombaT
Northern Ireland26085 Posts
On February 14 2025 03:33 Dav1oN wrote: Every time I listen to Trump officials it makes me sick. And that's not only about Ukraine but about US foreign policy in general, looks like a fever dream (props to the journalist for the efforts tho) https://x.com/atrupar/status/1890068942246351108 US negotiating with Russia directly over Ukraine and EU while Russia is a clear agressor is just beyond any reasoning Happy cake day man, despite the shit fucking news that’s dropping On February 14 2025 04:04 Simberto wrote: Not only foreign policy, domestic policy as well. It is just fucking insane. They are making horribly bad choices that will very obviously turn out horribly bad for the country (though maybe they personally may grift enough that it is a net positive for them). And yet that seems to be what (at least half, but i hate having to put that qualifier) of their population wants. They elected this shit. After the shit told them exactly how it was going to smear themselves over their faces, their cars, and everyone around them. And now they are cheering it on, utterly oblivious that they are in for a really smelly future. It will require some balls. This may ultimately backfire on the MAGA zealots, and man I’d love to see it. But also not just for reasons of schadenfraude. If the US continues to piss on everyone’s cornflakes to the degree it’s not a reliable ally anymore, well being so tethered to it makes less and less sense. I think many have wanted it to be less influential/dominant for quite some time, but it’s never been especially feasible to force the issue. But if you poke the sleeping animal in the zoo enough, eventually it’ll wake up. I’m not a lunatic, of course it’s always going to wield a lot of influence through its size and power projection, there’ll still be plenty of that whatever happens. | ||
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Gorsameth
Netherlands21960 Posts
On February 14 2025 03:36 Mohdoo wrote: For one the EU can't do shit about not being at the table.I would argue EU loses way too much by letting this stand. Previously, EU was still at the table. Even though USA had the biggest dick in the room and was mostly in charge of how things go, Europe still had a lot of sway and their opinions mattered. They are entirely giving up on having any amount of actual independent world politics influence if they let Trump totally exclude Europe from this. If Europe decided to just ignore the red lines and have their airforce directly involved in Ukraine, it would change everything and it would show they aren't letting themselves drift into officially functioning as an American vassal state. Europe is not powerless. There is an enormous amount they can do, but they would need to muster the courage to go for it. Does it totally suck ass needing to get directly involved? Yes, absolutely. But it sucks 10000x more ass to officially designate themselves as non-powers. Trump just ignoring Europe and throwing away Ukraine is too much of a castration to let stand. Yes, sure we could go directly to war with Russia. I was in favour of moving into to Ukraine 3 years ago to get them to back off but the last 3 years have shown that the EU has no balls. And that was before Russia's disinformation campaigns successfully installed numerous governments that are much more pro-Russian. | ||
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Gorsameth
Netherlands21960 Posts
On February 14 2025 04:04 Simberto wrote: I'd be happier about America fucking around and finding out if they were not likely to drag the rest of the world down with them.Not only foreign policy, domestic policy as well. It is just fucking insane. They are making horribly bad choices that will very obviously turn out horribly bad for the country (though maybe they personally may grift enough that it is a net positive for them). And yet that seems to be what (at least half, but i hate having to put that qualifier) of their population wants. They elected this shit. After the shit told them exactly how it was going to smear themselves over their faces, their cars, and everyone around them. And now they are cheering it on, utterly oblivious that they are in for a really smelly future. | ||
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