HomeSteak -- I'm with you, and well aware of Russia's current influence.

I was responding to awooga and suggesting that while NATO may have postulated a standard (universal) response if a member was attacked, it's quite apparent that the response will not be standardized.

MistaT recognize they don't need to do anything in hungry financially and as you said I don't mean a country like Poland. It's the Baltics I think he would be looking to test and I don't think it's as clear today what would happen in reality. Putin has operated on he takes these actions knowing the west is sluggish and often takes time to respond which then makes it hard to actually do anything.

JazzG public debt can be eliminated in one year with a relatively limited but progressive capital tax. Even a one time tax. There is no need to gut the government. That's just what the billionaires who steal your money want you to believe.

Gazza M it works. It’s an admission that after half a century of the Cold War and centuries of slavery, this is a fundamentally right leaning country. Etched in its psyche. Win within that context unless you plan a revolution.

Claudius if you keep moving the Democrats to the right the Republicans also move to the right and you get what we have now with Trump, Musk and co.

Gazza M If the Democrats went looking for the votes of two in three citizens who heard about the UnitedHealthcare assassin and thought "Yeah I get why you'd do that", they'd be in better shape.

It's not enough to wait for Trump to get sent packing, the next candidate to oppose the phalanx of fascist meltdown needs a plan, a mandate and a battalion of picks to replace the Hegseths and Bonginos going into office now.

Speaking of not having a mandate, Starmer recording nett negative approval, and a majority of UK voters thinking Labour is incompetent just six months after their victory, tells you how that goes.

Qwiss I hear what you’re saying. I just don’t think Americans think of concepts of equity the way we might. All this stuff runs counter to the American dream. It’s not coincidental that the US should be the place that generates so many billionaires - and the same people who can’t afford medical services will openly say don’t tax the billionaires more because they’ve earned it. You have to break a lot of beliefs of what it means to be American for a Bernie type to garner enough votes to win

Wish someone would just shoot this dangerous blowhard down.

Burnwinter meanwhile, none of them have of course mention what Putin wants.

I've been an anti-imperialist since I was a little university Marxist in the late 1990s. Feels bizarre to me that I go on Twitter and it's full of Silicon Valley MAGA fascists saying how unfair it is the United States pays for 70% of NATO.

I want the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible, but backing Ukraine into a very difficult spot and giving Russia a freer hand in negotiations won't help with that.

I've got plenty of sympathy for Ukrainians who've been walked into a Russian massacre by NATO nations and are now having the rug pulled.

Claudius I think there's a bit too much recieved wisdom in that. Look at the New Deal. America is capable of some social reforms.

Burnwinter a lot of people predicted Ukraine would end up like Afghanistan and here we are.

Wouldn't be surprised if Zelensky is replaced soon.

Pepe LeFrits He may have come put well in a PR sense but his meeting was a total failure, given the entire purpose of it was to try to persuade Trump to adopt a more moderate position on Ukraine.

I don't think Ukraine was the only thing on his agenda, he went there to suck up, give Trump a royal invitation and try to avoid the UK being hammered with tariffs. He came out it with talk of a potential free trade deal so I think he has done alright. Even now he is kind of acting like a bridge between Ukraine and the Americans, trying to make sure that deal doesn't collapse, he was very wise not to join in with other Europeans and start tweeting after that Zelensky meeting. The way the European nations are starting tweeting together did seem very suspicious to me....