(Image by NEIVANMADE)
As of 7:00 PM EST/2:oo AM local time in Ukraine, all of eastern and central Ukraine is under air raid alerts for drone swarms.
The Trump natsec delegation is preparing to negotiate with Russia. I’m not sure why given that the US is not a party to Russia’s genocidal re-invasion of Ukraine – as in it is not one of the two sides actually fighting – and because the Trump natsec team has decided to do so without the Ukrainians. You know, the people that have been fighting the genocidal Russian re-invasion for just shy of the past three years.
They’re walking back already because they know Putin’s goals remain maximalist. Let’s see whether US starts pushing for ceasefire while details are supposedly hammered out. Ukr army will not stop defending before it has a clear, feasible deal w security guarantees. Anything else leads to surrender
— Maria Popova 🇨🇦 (@popovaprof.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM
BREAM: Given the cost that the Ukrainian people have paid, why would they not have a direct seat at the table?
WALTZ: President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM
President Zelenskyy was traveling to the UAE today, so there’s no address. However, he did sit for an interview with NBC News.
Zelenskyy: “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.”
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM
And that settles that.
Here’s the full video:
Waltz also had some thoughts about what the US is “owed” by Ukraine:
I’d like to remind you that there was no deal or agreement on that. However, Ukraine did sign a written agreement in which the U.S. provided “security assurances” in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons. We would now like our nuclear weapons back
— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Waltz is a retired US Army Special Forces/a Green Beret. The motto of the Green Berets’ is de oppresor liber: to liberate the oppressed. COL (ret) Waltz seems to have forgotten this.
We also now know more about the US proposal regarding Ukraine’s mineral resources:
⚡️’A colonial agreement’ — former Ukrainian official slams US minerals deal, AP reports.
The U.S. delegates in Munich did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM
From The Kyiv Independent:
The United States offered Ukraine “a colonial agreement” on exchanging Ukrainian rare earth minerals for U.S. military aid, a former senior Ukrainian official told the Associated Press (AP) on Feb. 16.
The comment comes after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a draft of the agreement to President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 12. Zelensky refused to sign the document, saying it did not sufficiently protect Ukraine’s interests.
“For me is very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment,” Zelensky said.
The president did not give details as to the problems with the document.
“It’s a colonial agreement and Zelensky cannot sign it,” a former senior Ukrainian official told the AP. The former official spoke under the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely.
The current and former senior Ukrainian officials who spoke to the AP said that the U.S. delegates at the Munich Security Conference did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
According to the senior Ukrainian official, the U.S. delegates were more focused on the commercial aspects of a future partnership and did not have “ready answers” to how Ukraine’s mineral deposits could be protected in the event of ongoing Russian aggression.
White House National Security Council Spokesperson Brian Hughes said Zelensky’s refusal to sign the agreement was “short-sighted.”
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz also encouraged Zelensky to take the deal in comments to Fox News on Feb. 16.
“Zelensky would be very wise to enter into this agreement with the United States,” he said.
“We’re talking about growing the pie for the Ukrainian economy.”
Waltz has previously said that the U.S. needs to “recoup” the costs of former military aid packages to Ukraine.
Ukraine has signaled that it is open to developing a partnership in resource extraction with the U.S. and other partners in exchange for security guarantees.
After his address to the Munich Security Forum yesterday, President Zelenskyy sat for a question and answer session with Christiane Amanpour. I have the video of his address from yesterday, which includes the Q&A session, queued up to start at 27:46, when the interview starts.
The UK:
⚡Starmer open to deploying British troops for Ukraine peacekeeping effort.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in an article for the Telegraph on Feb. 16. that he did not take lightly the idea of placing British servicemen and women in harm’s way.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 16, 2025 at 6:55 PM
From The Telegraph:
We are facing a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent. This is not only a question about the future of Ukraine – it is existential for Europe as a whole.
Securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty for the long term is essential if we are to deter Putin from further aggression in the future.
To achieve it, Europe and the United States must continue to work closely together – and I believe the UK can play a unique role in helping to make this happen, just as we did this past week in stepping in to convene and chair the Ukraine Defence Contact Group.
First, Europe must step up further to meet the demands of its own security. So I am heading to Paris with a very clear message for our European friends. We have got to show we are truly serious about our own defence and bearing our own burden. We have talked about it for too long – and president Trump is right to demand that we get on with it.
As European nations, we must increase our defence spending and take on a greater role in Nato. Non-US Nato nations have already increased defence spending by 20 per cent in the past year, but we must go further.
Russia is still waging war and Ukraine is still fighting for its freedom, which is why we must not relent in our efforts to get the kit Ukrainians need for their fighters on the front line. While the fighting continues, we must put Ukraine in the strongest possible position ahead of any talks.
The UK is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine. This includes further support for Ukraine’s military, where the UK has already committed £3 billion a year until at least 2030. But it also means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.
I do not say that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way. But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country.
The end of this war, when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again.
But second, while European nations must step up in this moment – and we will – US support will remain critical and a US security guarantee is essential for a lasting peace, because only the US can deter Putin from attacking again. So I will be meeting president Trump in the coming days and working with him and all our G7 partners to help secure the strong deal we need.
We must be clear that peace cannot come at any cost. Ukraine must be at the table in these negotiations, because anything less would accept Putin’s position that Ukraine is not a real nation.
More at the link.
It is nice to read, but I do not see this happening.
Poland:
⚡️Zelensky’s proposed European army ‘will not happen,’ says Polish foreign minister.
There will be no joint European Union army to counter Russian aggression and compensate any withdrawal in U.S. support, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told local television on Feb. 15, Reuters reported.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 16, 2025 at 6:53 AM
From The Kyiv Independent:
There will be no joint European Union army to counter Russian aggression and compensate any withdrawal in U.S. support, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said to local television late on Feb. 15, Reuters reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 15 called on Europe to create a unified army at the Munich Security Conference to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine and Europe.
“Many leaders have talked about Europe needing its own army. An army of Europe. I really believe that the time has come. The armed forces of Europe must be created,”Zelensky said during his speech.
In response to a question about creating a unified European armed forces, Sikorski said that “we should be careful with this term because people understand different things,” Reuters reported.
“If you understand by it the unification of national armies, it will not happen,” Sikorski told TVP World. “But I have been an advocate for Europe, for the European Union, to develop its own defense capabilities.”
Zelensky’s proposal came in light of waning U.S. military support for Ukraine and Europe writ large. Ukraine hopes to see Europe fill the looming gap in its fight against Russia. Sikorski acknowledged a need to expand European militaries.
“If the U.S. wants us to step up in defense, it should have a national component, a NATO component, but I also believe a European EU component, EU subsidies for the defense industry to build up our capacity to produce, but also an EU force worthy of its name,” Sikorski said.
Sikorski also said Poland would not put troops on the ground in Ukraine. “Poland’s duty to NATO is to protect the eastern flank, i.e. its own territory.”
Georgia:
Day 81. Many went to the Church next to the Parliament to honour the memory of two children that died from the regime’s neglecting of safety standards in Batumi before moving on to blocking the road as is the principled tradition. #GeorgiaProtests
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 12:40 PM
To honour the children, the feisty Public Broadcaster protesters performed their traditional entrance into Rustaveli in complete silence. We all held our flash lights lit. Only our friends the stray dogs barked.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Many went to Batumi today to protest the death of two children due to the regime neglection of all safety standards. Others gather at the Ministry of Economy in Tbilisi. Yet the regime is on the offensive, absolutely audacious and unaccountable. Unsurprising, though – 1/2
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 9:03 AM
they have reached such a level of lack of legitimacy, that any tiny accountability or responsibility could snowball to trigger their collapse. And they know it. This is why there will never ever be any semblance of justice in Georgia as long as they are in power. #terrorinGeorgia 2/2.
— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Today marks the 36th day of the jailed Georgian journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli’s hunger strike. Her mobility is severely limited, and doctors have warned that after 30 days without food, the risk of organ failure becomes critical.
Illustration by Dato Simonia
— Katie Shoshiashvili (@kshoshiashvili.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Back to Ukraine.
As tall of talks about a “peace plan” for Ukraine go on, fascist Russia is continuing its nightly drone attacks on democratic Ukraine, practically without comment from Kyiv’s allies. Last night Russia launched 143 drones. It regularly attacks with 100+ drones.
— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 4:28 AM
“talk of talks”
— Euan MacDonald (@euanmacdonald.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Good to see CNN using a war map indicating the territory liberated by Ukraine since 2022. This offers a far more realistic picture of the overall military situation than maps that only mark the Ukrainian land still under russian occupation
— Meanwhile in Ukraine (@meanwhileua.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Cool, Putin gets premium treatment as a revered dear partner as well as everything he has stolen and even much more — Ukraine gets a spit in the face, an extorted $500 billion bill, no security guarantees, and a new Russian offensive to kill it as soon as Russia is ready.
The Art of the Deal.
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Am I surprised that a ghostwriter wrote the Art of the Deal entirely?
😆😆😆
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Absolute chaos happens when there is no coherent plan or organization. At the end of the day, I’m not sure if any U.S. official statements carry weight anymore, because it all comes down to what President Trump thinks is right at that particular moment
— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Optic fiber FPV drones of the Magyar unit destroy Russian tank and SPG which were hiding in a hangar.
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 3:36 PM
/2. You can help Magyar to raise funds for his new project (1100 optic fiber FPV drones). You can find all details in comments on their official channel: youtu.be/L7Y5OdkK7no?…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Mykolaiv Oblast:
Last night, the russian strike also damaged the Mykolaiv Terminal Power Plant, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported.
Currently, 46 thousand households remain without heat‼️
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Mykolaiv: Another russian drone detonated on a children’s playground, just 20 meters from an apartment building.
The explosion shattered windows in nearby buildings, damaged interior doors, and littered the entire yard with debris and building materials.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Mykolaiv after today’s russian drone strike on the city.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:02 AM
⚡️Russian drone strikes hit power plant in Mykolaiv Oblast, leaving over 100,000 Ukrainians without heat.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 16, 2025 at 9:53 AM
The Kyiv Independent has the details:
Russian air strikes in the early hours of Feb. 16 shook southern Ukraine, leaving over 100,000 residents in Mykolaiv Oblast without heat, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“This bears no relationship to military action and the situation on the front. This once again proves that Russians are fighting against our people, against life in Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote of the strikes on his Telegram channel.
Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaliy Kim wrote earlier in the day that the attack on the region included nine Shahed drones, with blasts and wreckage from the drones damaging five high-rise buildings and injuring one 64-year-old man.
“This was done deliberately to leave people without heat in below-zero temperatures and create a humanitarian catastrophe,” wrote Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who said that as of shortly before 1 p.m. Kyiv time, 46,000 people were still without heat.
Radio Free Europe published video from parts of Mykolaiv affected, showing shopping centers with their walls demolished and stores with windows blown out.
Ukraine had recently seen some reprieve from Russia’s continuous attacks on civilian energy infrastructure thanks to an unusually warm winter. Temperatures overnight are forecast to drop to -9° Celcius in Mykolaiv.
The same night, Russia launched a total of 143 drones, of which Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 95. Forty others and two Russian ballistic missiles also missed their targets, per the official tally.
Several elderly civilians in Kherson and Kharkiv Oblasts were also injured in the broader Russian air campaign last night, according to local officials.
A friend in Mykolaiv just messaged—Russia’s drone attack completely destroyed power generation. Over 100,000 people without heat. Yet, three years in, some still buy Russia’s BS about Ukraine bombing itself.
— Maria Avdeeva (@mariainkharkiv.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Kyiv:
Finally a Sunday in the sunshine in Kyiv
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 8:30 AM
There’s a museum in Kyiv that you absolutely should visit when you’re in town….😎
This small room is like 1% of that giant awesomeness under the Motherland Statue.
I spent 6 hours to see it all.
The entire history of Ukraine in wax and many more things.
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 10:50 AM
— Illia Ponomarenko (@ioponomarenko.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Kharkiv:
Several explosions reported in Kharkiv! The city is under russian drone attack right now!
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Putin’s-desire-to-stop-deaths is in Kharkiv skies right now ‼️ air defense is working to shoot it down.
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:21 PM
If you ever wondered how two different native speakers translate something into English, here you go:
Gamlet Zinkivskyi’s newest mural now stands at the entrance to Kharkiv.
“No room for the cautious”
— Iryna Voichuk (@irynavoichuk.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 5:07 PM
New street art adorns Stella, marking the entrance to Kharkiv. Can roughly be translated to “Careful people – do not enter here.”
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 4:58 PM
The Kursk cross border offensive:
/1. 47th Brigade of Ukraine repels Russian attack under Soviet flags on the Kursk front. t.me/brygada47/1257
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 8:29 AM
/2. 47th Brigade of Ukraine repels Russian attack under Soviet flags on the Kursk front. t.me/brygada47/1257
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Russian attack under fucking Soviet flags. t.me/pozyvnoy_ist…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 8:01 AM
/2. “Right now it’s just a complete mess near Nikolskoye. The 155th column, fucking hell, under red flags, like at a parade, went head-on into a swarm of Ukrainian drones along a mined road!!!! Don’t rub your eyes, we wrote everything correctly – precisely under the red flags of Victory…
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 7:50 AM
/3. …and precisely along a mined road. Details will come later. We pray for the guys who are now in the fields!”
“Gudkov, Tatarchenko, Solodchuk – you are complete scum! (Russian commanders). These are not planning errors – this is betrayal and murder!”
— 🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Konstantynopol, Donetsk Oblast:
A Russian armored column was destroyed near Konstantynopol, Donetsk region. The tightly packed impact zones suggest they ran into dense minefields—vehicles detonated while attempting to maneuver around wreckage. Ukrainian artillery then finished the job, striking the trapped convoy.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Pokrovsk:
British intelligence reports that Russia’s main priority near Pokrovsk is to cut off Ukrainian military supply lines. Despite heavy losses, the enemy is trying to capture key routes, including Highway H-32, to disrupt supplies.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Kherson Oblast:
Ukrainian forces have destroyed a Russian ammunition depot in a forest on the Kherson front. It seems that, in the near future, the Russian occupiers will be left without supplies.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Krasnodar Oblast, Russia:
Krasnodar region, russia. Oil refinery on fure for sone reason 🔥
— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Southern Russia:
Meanwhile, the south of Russia came under a drone attack this evening. The air raid alert affected multiple cities, including Gelendzhik, Tuapse, and Novorossiysk. In Slavyansk-on-Kuban, air defense activity caused damage to homes and vehicles.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reports from monitoring channels
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
That’s enough for tonight.
Your daily Patron!
A new video from Patron’s official TikTok!
@patron__dsns
Open thread!
Medium Cool – All Things Gene Hackman
Steve LaBonne
The minerals thing is insane. A protection racket minus the protection. Jesus I hate being ashamed of my country.
Yutsano
We all know the real reason the US government offered such a shit deal right?
Also: Patron getting skritches gives me life.
VA in SC
My father is dead. He was a ww2 B17 pilot. He would not believe what his 3 sons have brought with this betrayal of our allies, our Constitution, our children and grandchildren’s future.
It’s a mercy he is not alive to witness this.
Elizabelle
@VA in SC: Agreed. It’s a tragedy, and small mercies for your father, and all the original antifascists, not to see how far their — OK, mostly sons but a lot of daughters, too — have fallen. They bring shame and cowardice upon themselves.
This is the 21st century fascists, it is not “us”, but it is so devastating to watch.
brantl
My mom died during the Douche 2 years, and predicted the invasion of Iraq, before even 9/11, even before Douche 2 was elected. I am very sorry she’s gone, but happy she didn’t see this shameful behavior.
Jay
Thank you, Adam.
funlady75
thanks Adam..
Nukular Biskits
Adam, like you, I had issues with the “overly cautious” (and I’m being very generous with that phrase) approach of Biden’s team WRT Ukraine.
But the Trump Admin … is just outright criminal. Fuck them.
ETA: And, as always, kudos.
dr. luba
@VA in SC: My mother is 92, and got to experience WWII in western Ukraine: invaded by the Soviets in 1939, then the Nazis in 1941.
She is appalled by how many Ukrainian-Americans still support Trump. But more appalled by Trump himself and what America has become.
Jay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum
Ben Cisco
There’s been a member of my family on the wall for the United States of America going back to the Civil War. I’ve always been of the opinion that THAT war never ended; I HATE that I’ve been proven right.
John S.
Mike Waltz is a hack. I know people back in Florida who worked for him, and the stuff they think is awesome about him makes me cringe.
I wouldn’t expect much from him.
Adam L Silverman
@Ben Cisco: It ended. Unfortunately, the Union won the war, but lost the peace to the confederates. The latter rewrote the history, overthrew, reconstruction, and reinstated slavery in all but name through Jim Crow. The entire FedSoc interpretation of the constitution is reading the US constitution as if it was the confederate one.
Jay
There wasn’t a ceasefire after Minsk I, there wasn’t a ceasefire after Minsk II, because ruZZia never stopped attacking.
There wasn’t a ceasefire during the Turkish mediated “peace talks”,
There won’t be a ceasefire this round either,
And any “peace deal” ruZZia and the neutered US come up with, will not be accepted by Ukraine or Ukraines actual allies.
YY_Sima Qian
@Adam L Silverman: You once linked to an X or BlueSky post about Chinese artist Xu Weixin, who has been posting a new drawing about the Ukraine War every day since the start of the current invasion.
Now, the WSJ just did an article on him (gift link below):
The fact that he is now a US green card holder currently living in the NYC probably helps. He probably would not have gotten away w/ it if he is still the dean of the Art School of the prestigious Renmin University.
OTOH, he is still largely able to post his images to Chinese social media, & letting his work do the commentary. The times he has been restricted on Chinese social media were when the censors probably thought he was commenting on Chinese politics.
AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team
Thank you Adam. Was just thinking about you as I read about Project Russia in the Washington Spectator (not familiar with them as a source).
I’m sure your reading list is over-full, but would be curious whether you think there’s anything to that piece if you get a moment to skim. No problem if not.
Hope you and the critters are doing ok.
hotshoe
The list of men whom I wish god would call home immediately is 1) Musk 2) Trump … and somewhere in the top 10 is that disgusting mafioso Mike Waltz. Given his treachery and overt threats about the minerals, Waltz might rise to third on the list.
Brainworm Kennedy might end up causing deaths of fellow American citizens — but half of them will deserve whatever happens to them for their stupidity in “owning the libs” by refusing medical science … Meanwhile, Waltz gleefully plans on killing completely innocent Europeans starting when he encourages Ruzzia to take out Ukraine in revenge for Ukraine “disobeying” Mango Mussolini. So, yeah, Waltz is definitely higher on the list than the other scumbags whom ReThugs have foisted upon us.
Adam L Silverman
@AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team: Troy bounces back and forth from being a journalist to being a major conspiracist. He lost me a few years ago when he started going off about UFOs. Anyhow, the book series does exist, you can buy an English translation on Amazon. It also appears he plagiarized a chunk of that article from this reporting by Cleveland 13 News.
Ben Cisco
@Adam L Silverman: I concede the point to your expertise.
Ken B
@Jay: We didn’t live up to any other part of the agreement, why would we live up to that part?
In a way it’s good that Trumpov isn’t offering any security assurances. Anything he offers would be worthless, but the Press would lap it up and see any reluctance on Ukraine’s part as intransigence.
Though I’m not too optimistic they’ll see how shitty what Trump is trying to do is, and less optimistic that they’ll say so if they do.
pieceofpeace
Thanks for your reports, thoughts and opinions, Adam. And commenters…
way2blue
@YY_Sima Qian: Thanks for the link and thanks to the artist for his willingness to devote his craft to this conflict.
Jay
@hotshoe:
Hummm, the (at the time) “second best” Army in the world couldn’t take on the #32 and win.
and it turns out that the “second best” Army in the world, even with Iranian, NORK and Chinese help, isn’t even the “second best” Army in ruZZia. (Ukraine is #1, Free Russia is #2).
Not a lot of “Mercans” know this, but the US isn’t even in the top three of weapons and money sent to Ukraine.
AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team
@Adam L Silverman: Very helpful context, ty so much.
Chris
@Adam L Silverman:
So much “this” to your last sentence.
The preamble to the C.S. constitution kind of says it all. It largely follows the preamble to the U.S. constitution… minus the clause about the general welfare, plus a clause making an explicit reference to God. In other words, exactly what the U.S. constitution would have read if it had been retconned by a group of National Review op ed writers.
It’s impossible to overstate how much all of modern conservative ideology leads back to the Confederacy.
Gin & Tonic
On that mural in Kharkiv, I believe Kate has the more accurate translation.
Gloria DryGarden
@Chris: I hadn’t realized this. You guys are making an important point here. Might this be something you write an open thread about?
I’ll send a note to M M.. perhaps he might do so.
Bupalos
@hotshoe: If I could pick one polarized phrase of amorality to be retired it would be this “so stupid they deserve to die” thing.
One hears it almost constantly in internet venues.
How does one get from the reality that everyone starts perfectly stupid, through the reality that developmental and educational environments are almost perfectly unequal, to the finishing point where people with the wrong development and education deserve death?
Bupalos
@Jay: I don’t want to let go of this point, because it matters and because getting it wrong it subtly leading to friendly ground for the kind of anti-anti Putinism that the likes of Glen Greenwald traffic in:
Russia and Putin are the only ones who broke that agreement. We’re all disappointed in Biden’s caution and horrified by Trump’s transactional destabilization. But no one else actually broke the peace or that agreement.
Jay
@Bupalos:
A you tube channel I watch, had a “great post”.
MAGgot sent an email to his entire family, that he did not want to hear anything from them about politics, economy, anything, during Xmas dinner, because with out a secondary education or even high school, he had taken an IQ test, and it showed his results as the very middle of the bell curve, (98), so he was smarter than any of them, because he was higher up on the bell curve, eg slightly less than average IQ
Only death fixes stupid.
Viva BrisVegas
If we are talking about refunds, how about a couple of hundred billion dollars from Uncle Sam for those allies who were deceived into following the US into Iraq?
Jay
@Bupalos:
If you are talking about the Budapest Memorandum, yes, the US broke it, multiple times and still today.
Adam L Silverman
@Gloria DryGarden: I’ve done posts on it here in the past. Or a post at least.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Jay:
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
J.R.R. Tolkien through the mouth of Gandalf
The golden rule works here too.
But for the grace of God, go I is the one I lean on the most.
I cannot figure how we can put this country back together if we do not lean into e pluribus unum. Maybe you can.
AlaskaReader
Thanks Adam
hotshoe
@Bupalos:
Well, seeing what as those anti-vax anti-cooperation anti-empathy MAGAts are genuinely lethal to our collective society, seeing what as their “free choice” to get themselves infected with vaccine-preventable diseases which they in turn spread to innocent babies who are too young to get vaccinated and to others for whom vaccines don’t work … they absolutely deserve to die for their own stupidity before their stupidity murders other people. I’m not in the least bit ashamed of wishing for them to remove themselves (or to be removed by an act of god) from the space we have to share with them. I am completely certain that it’s moral to wish them to receive the deaths they deserve before they can kill me off with their mean stupid and selfish choices. I am not amoral at all. Self defense is always recognized as moral.
Keep your own stupid preaching to yourself. You’re wrong and you’re not welcome.
Jay
@HopefullyNotcassandra:
We had a hydraulic former at my previous place of employment. Joined malleable pipes, ( copper, cast iron, aluminum) together in a watertight, pressure tight seal. 138 metric tons of pressure.
We had to put a “DANGER, do not stick your penis in here” warning label on it.
Yes, there was an incident
Yes they tried to claim a “workplace” injury,
Yes they tried to sue the Company.
MobiusKlein
@Bupalos:
I don’t alway agree with you, but on this 100%
I certainly stray into the Darwin Awards mode when contemplating Trump voters, but know it’s a shameful way to think.
Jay
@MobiusKlein:
It’s not.
They deserve everything, and hard, it’s what they voted for.
Jay
Perun on ruZZian manpower through out the war,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja6-espHVSE
Jay
@MobiusKlein:
Put in another way, do you also have a sad for the Bucha rapists, killers and sadists?
MAGgot’ s voted for what they voted for, the “Leopards Eating Faces Party”.
They don’t deserve any sympathy or support.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Speaking of Trump’s Peace, are the Russians really part of this or is this Trump negotiating with himself? Everything I’ve seen about Putin says Russia is truly fucked by this war between the debt Putin forced on the Russian banks and loss of working age Russian men, and Putin is basically gambling that if he takes all of Ukraine some mircale will happen that will save him.
MobiusKlein
@Jay:
I reject your analogy here.
Jay
@Enhanced Voting Techniques:
Dolt 47 and his staff are not “negotiating” they are capitulating.
Jay
@MobiusKlein:
Tough shit.
MobiusKlein
@Jay: Can we take it down a notch here, with attacking each other? PPWSOT?
Jay
@MobiusKlein:
That would be a “no”.
MobiusKlein
Catcake is so cute!
Jay
LMFAO at the MAGgot reply
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Jay:
The person who did that is the cause of his own misfortune. I hope his suit gained him nothing and cost him the defendant’s attorney’s fees.
Gollum was much worse.
If we can bear treating our deluded and delusional neighbors like human beings, perhaps they can find their own way home.
Tolerance of intolerance is a suicide pact as Karl Popper warned us during World War II. No doubt that is true.
There has to be a way to navigate this, though. We don’t need pounds of flesh. We need to stand together to save our union so we can get back to perfecting it.
Think of how much progress we could make for everyone if we finally break the fever grip of the electronic demons manipulating the gop like puppeteers.
Gloria DryGarden
@Adam L Silverman: oh. Cool.
I hadn’t seen it before, and I’m glad to absorb this point of view into my awareness. I’m new, just started coming to bj last may, and had a few breaks when things got too uncomfortable for me here. So I easily could have missed it.
bjacques
@HopefullyNotcassandra: you and Bupalos knock yourself out on both of those things. Let us know how it goes. Here’s a polite answer. The rest of us , being human, have a finite capacity for compassion, and none for those idiots, as we are under a lot of stress with the promise of much more, thanks in great part to said idiots. We’ve got to save ourselves first.
You both sound like those pundits who admonish incoming Democrats to “reach across the aisle” despite it never being reciprocated, and fall silent when Republicans take office. Like those pundits, you tacitly confirm the Republicans’ intransigence by preaching to us and not to them.
If you redeem a MAGAt or two through your compassion, which they clearly see as weakness, then there may be something in what you say. For now, you’re just blowing smoke.
Don’t distract us while we’re taking aim.
Jay
@HopefullyNotcassandra:
After 6 decades of idiots voting,
I have no shits to give.
Had an underworker gloating about how he voted for the Con’s, Canadian Rethugs, and they won,
Handed him his layoff notice.
He was like “whut?????”
I replied, that’s what you voted for.
The US is now an enemy state. Period.
Gloria DryGarden
Getting pretty cranky here.
earlier today on blue sky something mistermix said, that I’m contemplating:
Im trying that angle, just because when I hold ill wishes for others, it’s usually me that gets stung; that stuff often comes back on the sender. And I don’t like being there. Of course I think things, I just try to return to thoughts that don’t feel so dark
Jay
@bjacques:
Thank you.
Jay
@Gloria DryGarden:
Just enjoy the letters to the Tsar that he doesn’t know what his Cossacks are doing.
bjacques
@Gloria DryGarden: you could look on Schadenfreude as a seasoning but not a meal. And there are many different ways to say “well now, you done fucked up”. If the particular MAGAt is someone you care about, maybe ask what they plan to do now—showing some interest in them—but take your cue from how they answer. Random trolls who cross your path get the full treatment. Whatever works for you.
Chetan Murthy
Somehow Bupalos got dropped from the pie filter. Well, he’s goin’ back in. Jesus, six feet of wrong in a four-foot package.
CapnMubbers
@AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team:
@Adam L Silverman:
Publication date for the linked Spectator piece citing Troy is December 12, 2024; for the Cleveland 13 article, February 4 presumably this year. Plagiarism on whose part?
CapnMubbers
@CapnMubbers: Missed the edit window. The Spectator article was by Troy, not citing him.
Adam L Silverman
@CapnMubbers: Thanks. Good catch.