[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]

April 2025 Photo Theme - Red - Antigone - Apr 1, 2025 - 6:45pm
 
New Music - R_P - Apr 1, 2025 - 5:52pm
 
The Dragons' Roost - triskele - Apr 1, 2025 - 5:29pm
 
Is there any DOG news out there? - Red_Dragon - Apr 1, 2025 - 4:16pm
 
Democratic Party - Red_Dragon - Apr 1, 2025 - 3:48pm
 
Republican Party - Red_Dragon - Apr 1, 2025 - 3:38pm
 
Great Live Shows - ScottFromWyoming - Apr 1, 2025 - 2:29pm
 
Trump - R_P - Apr 1, 2025 - 12:20pm
 
Health Care - R_P - Apr 1, 2025 - 11:47am
 
Things You Thought Today - GeneP59 - Apr 1, 2025 - 11:44am
 
Name My Band - GeneP59 - Apr 1, 2025 - 11:41am
 
Radio Paradise Comments - GeneP59 - Apr 1, 2025 - 11:39am
 
March 2025 Photo Theme - Three - Isabeau - Apr 1, 2025 - 11:29am
 
::odd but intriguing:: - Proclivities - Apr 1, 2025 - 10:54am
 
volcano! - Steely_D - Apr 1, 2025 - 9:56am
 
NY Times Strands - geoff_morphini - Apr 1, 2025 - 9:08am
 
Wordle - daily game - geoff_morphini - Apr 1, 2025 - 8:59am
 
NYTimes Connections - ptooey - Apr 1, 2025 - 8:55am
 
The Obituary Page - Red_Dragon - Apr 1, 2025 - 7:41am
 
Today in History - Red_Dragon - Apr 1, 2025 - 6:51am
 
Mixtape Culture Club - miamizsun - Apr 1, 2025 - 5:18am
 
Tech & Science - Steely_D - Mar 31, 2025 - 7:47pm
 
USA! USA! USA! - R_P - Mar 31, 2025 - 4:03pm
 
Basketball - oldviolin - Mar 31, 2025 - 2:30pm
 
260,000 Posts in one thread? - oldviolin - Mar 31, 2025 - 2:22pm
 
Pernicious Pious Proclivities Particularized Prodigiously - R_P - Mar 31, 2025 - 2:16pm
 
Economix - R_P - Mar 31, 2025 - 12:02pm
 
Israel - R_P - Mar 31, 2025 - 11:30am
 
Musky Mythology - Red_Dragon - Mar 31, 2025 - 11:21am
 
What the hell OV? - oldviolin - Mar 31, 2025 - 8:06am
 
Artificial Intelligence - miamizsun - Mar 31, 2025 - 5:10am
 
Bowie fans, check this out - Steely_D - Mar 30, 2025 - 8:03pm
 
Immigration - R_P - Mar 30, 2025 - 5:56pm
 
Love & Hate - oldviolin - Mar 30, 2025 - 12:12pm
 
RadioParadise FAQ List Submission - jarro - Mar 30, 2025 - 11:42am
 
Tomato-philes - Red_Dragon - Mar 30, 2025 - 10:17am
 
• • • BRING OUT YOUR DEAD • • •  - triskele - Mar 30, 2025 - 9:21am
 
Live Music - oldviolin - Mar 30, 2025 - 9:08am
 
• • • The Once-a-Day • • •  - oldviolin - Mar 30, 2025 - 9:04am
 
Outstanding Covers - R_P - Mar 29, 2025 - 7:34pm
 
Cats Reaction to Humming: - KurtfromLaQuinta - Mar 29, 2025 - 4:36pm
 
Billionaires - R_P - Mar 29, 2025 - 2:32pm
 
Songs with a Groove - oldviolin - Mar 29, 2025 - 12:22pm
 
President(s) Musk/Trump - R_P - Mar 29, 2025 - 11:01am
 
TV shows you watch - rgio - Mar 29, 2025 - 9:46am
 
Lyrics That Remind You of Someone - oldviolin - Mar 29, 2025 - 7:57am
 
Derplahoma! - Red_Dragon - Mar 29, 2025 - 7:47am
 
Earthquake - geoff_morphini - Mar 28, 2025 - 10:27pm
 
RightWingNutZ - R_P - Mar 28, 2025 - 1:56pm
 
Climate Change - R_P - Mar 28, 2025 - 1:31pm
 
Photography Forum - Your Own Photos - Isabeau - Mar 28, 2025 - 12:39pm
 
Strips, cartoons, illustrations - Proclivities - Mar 28, 2025 - 12:33pm
 
Canada - R_P - Mar 28, 2025 - 11:48am
 
The Grateful Dead - Red_Dragon - Mar 27, 2025 - 6:30pm
 
Baseball, anyone? - ScottFromWyoming - Mar 27, 2025 - 4:36pm
 
Freedom of speech? - R_P - Mar 27, 2025 - 3:05pm
 
Education - R_P - Mar 27, 2025 - 1:46pm
 
Turkey - R_P - Mar 27, 2025 - 11:31am
 
Upcoming concerts or shows you can't wait to see - ScottFromWyoming - Mar 27, 2025 - 10:13am
 
How do I get songs into My Favorites - vince_francais - Mar 27, 2025 - 7:29am
 
Great guitar faces - sunybuny - Mar 27, 2025 - 6:34am
 
The Perfect Government - NoEnzLefttoSplit - Mar 26, 2025 - 11:22pm
 
PBS - Steely_D - Mar 26, 2025 - 12:01pm
 
Framed - movie guessing game - geoff_morphini - Mar 26, 2025 - 10:07am
 
Music Videos - JimTreadwell - Mar 26, 2025 - 1:47am
 
Tatarstan - ans716 - Mar 26, 2025 - 1:37am
 
MIXES - R_P - Mar 25, 2025 - 5:27pm
 
China - R_P - Mar 25, 2025 - 12:26pm
 
M.A.G.A. - Proclivities - Mar 25, 2025 - 5:04am
 
The Missing Letter game - ScottFromWyoming - Mar 24, 2025 - 4:29pm
 
Bug Reports & Feature Requests - BenHM3 - Mar 24, 2025 - 1:20pm
 
#hashtag Games - Steely_D - Mar 24, 2025 - 11:17am
 
COVID-19 - R_P - Mar 24, 2025 - 11:14am
 
Good Deals !!! - ScottFromWyoming - Mar 23, 2025 - 9:42am
 
Styles, Swift, Lorde - "OK New Artists" - Steely_D - Mar 22, 2025 - 4:23pm
 
Index » Regional/Local » Europe » Ukraine Page: 1, 2, 3 ... 121, 122, 123  Next
Post to this Topic
R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 15, 2025 - 10:18am

Britain wants Ukraine’s minerals too
It’s not just Trump. The UK views critical minerals as a government priority and wants to open up Ukraine’s vast resources to British corporations.
When UK officials signed a 100 year partnership with Ukraine in mid-January, they claimed to be Ukraine’s “preferred partner” in developing the country’s “critical minerals strategy”.

Yet within a month, Donald Trump had presented a proposal to Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky to access the country’s vast mineral resources as “compensation” for US support to Ukraine in the war against Russia.

Whitehall was none too pleased about Washington muscling in.

When foreign secretary David Lammy met Zelensky in Kyiv last month he reportedly raised the issue of minerals, “a sign that Starmer’s government is still keen to get access to Ukraine’s riches”, the iPaper reported.

Lammy earlier said, in a speech last year: “Look around the world. Countries are scrambling to secure critical minerals, just as great powers once raced to control oil”.

The UK foreign secretary was correct, but Britain itself is one of those powers, and Ukraine is one of the major countries UK officials – as well as the Trump administration – have their eyes on. (...)

Red_Dragon

Red_Dragon Avatar

Location: Gilead


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 3:29pm

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:


oh, that's rich.  This is the second time when backed into a corner, you suddenly come out with criticism of Russia.  Sorry mate, not buying it. 

You know what I think? I think any country under attack has a right to defend itself. It therefore has a right to source its defenses from wherever the hell it can get them. 
All the more so, when the aggressor is on a demonstrable path of ethnic cleansing and imperial expansion as in this case. 

Yet 99% of your posts about Ukraine are pro-Kremlin and how resistance is futile and they should just surrender and accept their fate. When you get called out on the inconsistency, you come up with same lame moral equivalence that "neither are justified." Sorry man. Not credible.


Violence is never justified; always rationalized. Russia invaded Ukraine - a sovereign state. Defending themselves is the rational thing to do.

In terms of ending this war, Russia can end it anytime they like.
R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 3:28pm

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
oh, that's rich.  This is the second time when backed into a corner, you suddenly come out with criticism of Russia.  Sorry mate, not buying it. 

You know what I think? I think any country under attack has a right to defend itself. It therefore has a right to source its defenses from wherever the hell it can get them. 
All the more so, when the aggressor is on a demonstrable path of ethnic cleansing and imperial expansion as in this case. 

Yet 99% of your posts about Ukraine are pro-Kremlin and how resistance is futile and they should just surrender and accept their fate. When you get called out on the inconsistency, you come up with same lame moral equivalence that "neither are justified." Sorry man. Not credible.

It's unfortunate that victims of UDS have this habit of spinning and misrepresenting the opinions of people with whom they disagree. As posted before: only simple binaries exists. For/with us or for/with the enemy. If you don't take the maximalist position then you're appeasing. Black & white. Good vs. Evil

There's always a third (or fourth) position...
Noam Chomsky: US Military Escalation Against Russia Would Have No Victors
Russia’s invasion is a war crime, Chomsky says, but the U.S. shouldn’t escalate this conflict between nuclear powers.
NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 3:18pm

 R_P wrote:

Red herring, because neither are justified despite your ad hom straw man claiming otherwise.


oh, that's rich.  This is the second time when backed into a corner, you suddenly come out with criticism of Russia.  Sorry mate, not buying it. 

You know what I think? I think any country under attack has a right to defend itself. It therefore has a right to source its defenses from wherever the hell it can get them. 
All the more so, when the aggressor is on a demonstrable path of ethnic cleansing and imperial expansion as in this case. 

Yet 99% of your posts about Ukraine are pro-Kremlin and how resistance is futile and they should just surrender and accept their fate. When you get called out on the inconsistency, you come up with same lame moral equivalence that "neither are justified." Sorry man. Not credible.
R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 3:09pm

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
No, it's not. Just more smoke and mirrors on your part. 
Attacking unarmed civilians is a war crime. 
In Gaza as it is in Ukraine. 

Red herring, because neither are justified despite your ad hom straw man claiming otherwise.
NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 3:03pm

 R_P wrote:

No, it's not. Just more smoke and mirrors on your part. 
Attacking unarmed civilians is a war crime. 
In Gaza as it is in Ukraine. 
R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 3:00pm

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
I've got a 5-year old son. Don't need anymore kindergarten bells and whistles right now thanks. 

This is precisely what you do repeatedly. You post everything you get your hands on about ethnic cleansing in Gaza, 
then when the Russias do the very same thing as the Israelis you find it entirely justified.
Not sure if you are aware of it , but it makes you look entirely hollow.

You actually don't give a shit, do you? It's all just something to instrumentalize.

Straw man.
NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:53pm

 R_P wrote:

🚨 Tone Police 🚨

I've got a 5-year old son. Don't need anymore kindergarten bells and whistles right now thanks. 

This is precisely what you do repeatedly. You post everything you get your hands on about ethnic cleansing in Gaza, 
then when the Russias do the very same thing as the Israelis you find it entirely justified.
Not sure if you are aware of it , but it makes you look entirely hollow.

You actually don't give a shit, do you? It's all just something to instrumentalize.

R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:45pm

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
you are calling anti-missile defences and intelligence that stop a shit ton of innocent people getting killed "treats"?

Where were you born?

🚨 Tone Police 🚨
NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:37pm

 R_P wrote:

It's outrageous! And these are still Biden's treats that were in transit.


you are calling anti-missile defences and intelligence that stop a shit ton of innocent people getting killed "treats"?

Where were you born?


R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:35pm

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
ewww...   that is really grotesque given the circumstances.

almost on a par with turning Gaza into a hotel development 

no, hang on, I think it is almost worse than that.

It's outrageous! And these are still Biden's treats that were in transit.

NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:32pm

 R_P wrote:
Grovel and you get your treats again.

ewww...   that is really grotesque given the circumstances.

almost on a par with turning Gaza into a hotel development 

no, hang on, I think it is almost worse than that.
R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:26pm

Grovel and you get your treats again.
NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:21pm

Philips O'Brien:

First impressions on the US-Ukraine deal are that Ukraine has shown that its always best not to grovel, apologize or become desperate with Trump. He cut their aid, helped kill their people, and they kept fighting with their head held high. They made him look cruel and he blinked


me: still not trusting it yet. 
NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 11, 2025 - 2:03pm

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrii Yermak:

"The main achievements, the results of today's meeting are the immediate resumption of American assistance and intelligence sharing.We also discussed all the issues related to the process of ending the war,ending the war by a just peace"


hard to believe/trust at this stage.   but color me surprised. Wasn't expecting that.
VV

VV Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 10, 2025 - 10:47am

 Lazy8 wrote:

Funny, you never mention the Ukrainians' interests. Or the Georgians, or the Chechens,

Or the Poles' or the Latvians' or the Finns' or the Estonians' or the Moldovans' or the Czechs' or the Slovaks' or the Slovenians' or any number of nations that only recently escaped from under the boot of the Russian empire and don't want to go back under. Your worldview has no place for them, other than as pawns in games between major powers.

Obama, like Trump, was negotiating over the future of Ukraine without involving the Ukrainians. He appeased—rather than confronted—an expansive authoritarian state intent on growing by conquest. That looks like a mistake from 2025, but what do we—the world—do now?

It's clear from both rhetoric and actions that Putin intends to reconstitute the Russian empire, to seek dominance over eastern Europe and the Baltics. Europe (other than Orban's Hungary) recognizes that threat. The answer you keep cutting and pasting to this threat is to either look the other way, pretending it isn't real, or to sympathize with the source of that threat.

You may get what you want. The irony here is that this politics of raw power you favor is now a threat to your own country. What will you do if this modern Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact emerging between Putin and Trump actually holds this time, and the mighty powers stick to their agreed spheres of influence, carving up the world between them?

You may prefer one form of authoritarian to another, but you won't get a choice of which boot you have to lick.

+1

Once a former Soviet satellite... always a Soviet satellite (apparently). 

R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 8, 2025 - 12:40pm

 Lazy8 wrote:
The irony here is that this politics of raw power you favor is now a threat to your own country.


Clearly can't help yourself. Ironically, there's more than a little projection involved there (But muh American Power!). See the infantile cartoon, Mr. Birch.
NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 8, 2025 - 10:37am

 Lazy8 wrote:

Funny, you never mention the Ukrainians' interests. Or the Georgians, or the Chechens,

Or the Poles' or the Latvians' or the Finns' or the Estonians' or the Moldovans' or the Czechs' or the Slovaks' or the Slovenians' or any number of nations that only recently escaped from under the boot of the Russian empire and don't want to go back under. Your worldview has no place for them, other than as pawns in games between major powers.

Obama, like Trump, was negotiating over the future of Ukraine without involving the Ukrainians. He appeased—rather than confronted—an expansive authoritarian state intent on growing by conquest. That looks like a mistake from 2025, but what do we—the world—do now?

It's clear from both rhetoric and actions that Putin intends to reconstitute the Russian empire, to seek dominance over eastern Europe and the Baltics. Europe (other than Orban's Hungary) recognizes that threat. The answer you keep cutting and pasting to this threat is to either look the other way, pretending it isn't real, or to sympathize with the source of that threat.

You may get what you want. The irony here is that this politics of raw power you favor is now a threat to your own country. What will you do if this modern Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact emerging between Putin and Trump actually holds this time, and the mighty powers stick to their agreed spheres of influence, carving up the world between them?

You may prefer one form of authoritarian to another, but you won't get a choice of which boot you have to lick.


spot on.
That has always been the most glaring logical inconsistency in all of R_P's posts. After screeds of anti-American posts (some of which are quite justified,  I might add) he has always been completely blind to other empires doing exactly the same thing as what he found so despicable about US policy. Be it Chinese handling of Tibetans or Uighurs, Russian handling of its satellite states, etc. Not a word. 
With that he has eroded all values-based justification for his own world view and reduced it all to purely power-based politics.  And in doing so, he ironically lets the US off the hook, because if it is all just about power, then they are entirely justified in doing what they do, however they want. 

I actually don't think this is R's actual view of things, but by failing to criticise powers other than the US, he has basically painted himself into a corner. Either we should have a values-based system and we can hammer out those values, or we don't. The default option is naked power.

@R_P, tell us where we are wrong without making some vacuous "we don't share ideologies" or "if you don't get it by now" comment. You could maybe start by explaining why the Tibetans don't get the same treatment from you as the Palestinians, for instance.

Lazy8

Lazy8 Avatar

Location: The Gallatin Valley of Montana
Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 8, 2025 - 9:37am

 R_P wrote:
You just don't (want to) get it. I don't justify this war. The people that predicted the war, and in some cases the likely outcome, didn't justify it either. They warned you what might happen. FAFO.

Agent Obama (2016) on core interests, using the language of 'realist' IR academics:

Funny, you never mention the Ukrainians' interests. Or the Georgians, or the Chechens,

Or the Poles' or the Latvians' or the Finns' or the Estonians' or the Moldovans' or the Czechs' or the Slovaks' or the Slovenians' or any number of nations that only recently escaped from under the boot of the Russian empire and don't want to go back under. Your worldview has no place for them, other than as pawns in games between major powers.

Obama, like Trump, was negotiating over the future of Ukraine without involving the Ukrainians. He appeased—rather than confronted—an expansive authoritarian state intent on growing by conquest. That looks like a mistake from 2025, but what do we—the world—do now?

It's clear from both rhetoric and actions that Putin intends to reconstitute the Russian empire, to seek dominance over eastern Europe and the Baltics. Europe (other than Orban's Hungary) recognizes that threat. The answer you keep cutting and pasting to this threat is to either look the other way, pretending it isn't real, or to sympathize with the source of that threat.

You may get what you want. The irony here is that this politics of raw power you favor is now a threat to your own country. What will you do if this modern Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact emerging between Putin and Trump actually holds this time, and the mighty powers stick to their agreed spheres of influence, carving up the world between them?

You may prefer one form of authoritarian to another, but you won't get a choice of which boot you have to lick.
R_P

R_P Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Mar 7, 2025 - 10:35pm

 Lazy8 wrote:
How utterly predictable.

Try again. Justify this war—the hundreds of thousands dead, the millions displaced and homeless, all of it—without engaging in this infantile retort.

You just don't (want to) get it. I don't justify this war. The people that predicted the war, and in some cases the likely outcome, didn't justify it either. They warned you what might happen. FAFO.

Agent Obama (2016) on core interests, using the language of 'realist' IR academics:

Page: 1, 2, 3 ... 121, 122, 123  Next