Ukraine

[CUSP82 Administrator Admin of the Month Dec 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close CUSP82]

I agree that Putin seems to be in a better position to dictate terms.

Not sure that diplomacy was impossible to achieve though. Looking at Zelensky's profile, I just wonder how on Earth he managed to get elected. The man has virtually zero qualifications for the job. I am not defending Putin here. I am simply suggesting that a more competent person for the presidency of Ukraine may have taken a better stab at diplomacy. But of course, no guarantee that would have avoided war either..

Zelensky was elected by the people of Ukraine. Maybe they think he had enough qualifications to run the country. He's sure better than the bubblehead we got and they say Joe had great qualifications.

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

At least Joe isn’t congratulating Putin for doing a great job in acquiring vast lands at minimum expense

[Marlon LGHanger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marlon LGHanger]

At least Joe isn’t congratulating Putin for doing a great job in acquiring vast lands at minimum expense

Are you that daft? Don't you know sarcasm when you read it?

Trump - “He’s taken over a country for $2 worth of sanctions,” he said, “taking over a country — really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people — and just walking right in.”

The sarcasm = $2 dollars worth of sanctions.

Gotta stop reading the NY Slimes! Those people are not journalists, they're morons.

[CUSP82 Administrator Admin of the Month Dec 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close CUSP82]

Julius Ceasar; he really was a terrible man. He slaughtered millions of people on his way to power. in doing so he created an empire that brought many good things to Western culture and yet we admire him for what he did and forget about all his atrocities. Mussolini of Italy became a bum after he started chillin with Adolf but before that he was the only Italian leader who got the trains to run on time and the mail delivered regularly. Chairman Mao; he created the beginnings of an economic giant we call China today. He sure did kill a lot of people though.
We have been told to learn through history. Now none of the guys I mentioned were choir boys were they? The world hates them. Now an intelligent man will not ignore the faults but will also look at things they accomplished and learn how they did it. They could have been ruthless, or clever or at times even both. If you want to get the train to run on time how did Mussolini do it? Does that mean you love the guy? Not at all but you could learn a bit from him. Want to build an empire? See what ole Julius did. I am sure besides killing lots of people he somehow made some clever moves to get him where he got. How did Mao get so many people to follow him?
Oh my Trump said he admired Putin for his cleverness in taking Ukraine, first Crimea and now the whole country so he must love Putin. Take the names and personalities out;if you want to take over a country Mr X had a way it worked. You may not like how he did it but you did a learn a way to take over a country. Hey maybe you'll try that way one day if you want to take over a country or learning from that experience you might try a more peaceful approach. Now if you dare say that guy sure was clever the way he took over the country then you must be as evil as the guy who did the bad thing. That's childish. I still remember how great a running back OJ Simpson was but because I admire his skill as a player does that mean I love a murder? Get real!
My daughter was 3 and I was at the park with her by the swings. There were 6 swings and a little boy was on one swing. My kid told me she wanted to go on the swings. I said go ahead. She said she wants to go on the swing the little boy was on. I said but the boy is on that one. She said she'll get him off.
I watched her walk toward the swing being close enough to stop her if she tried to push him off. She got about 5 feet from the swing,pointed and shouted " there's a worm on that swing". The little boy started to cry and got off. My kid turned to me and said now I can go on that swing.
Did I like what she did? No way I was pissed but I had to give her credit that she figured out a way to get what she wanted in a non violent way. You can admire someones action and not have to be in love with that person or even respect them;. It's the act, very often a single act that deserves respect eve if the guy is an ass.

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

Are you that daft? Don't you know sarcasm when you read it?

Trump - “He’s taken over a country for $2 worth of sanctions,” he said, “taking over a country — really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people — and just walking right in.”

The sarcasm = $2 dollars worth of sanctions.

Gotta stop reading the NY Slimes! Those people are not journalists, they're morons.

I do not read The NY Times. I watched the video of his speech. It wasn’t sarcasm, it was mean spirited drivable, which he excels at. The ass even said he would have prevented it. You know, the guy who wanted to withhold military aid until the Ukrainians generated dirt on his political rival.

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

Stalin was also considered a great politician and was responsible for transforming the Soviet Union into a major industrial power. Yet, to achieve these results he executed close to 800,000 of his opponents while approximately 1.5 million perished in the gulag system under his autocratic dictatorship. Indirectly, another 1 - 2 million died during the famines that flourished under his policies.

Adolf introduced the Volkswagen to the world and his autobahn influenced the construction of the Interstate Highway system in the U.S. But, we know the rest of the story.

Sometimes the ends do not justify the means.

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon

Things can get very tragic, quickly. Nasty.

[Marlon LGHanger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marlon LGHanger]

Anyone remember the Stallone movie Cliff Hanger? Great line by bad guy John Lithgow "Kill ten people and they call you a murderer, kill ten thousand people and they call you a conqueror" LOL

[Marlon LGHanger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Marlon LGHanger]

I do not read The NY Times. I watched the video of his speech. It wasn’t sarcasm, it was mean spirited drivable, which he excels at. The ass even said he would have prevented it. You know, the guy who wanted to withhold military aid until the Ukrainians generated dirt on his political rival.

You don't get sarcasm....
Did Putin invade Ukraine when Trump was President? Did Xi invade Taiwan when Trump was President? Did Little Rocket Man keep testing missiles when Trump was President?
NO, NO and NO again! You know why? Because they knew when Trump told them not to do it otherwise there would be dire consequences. He told Putin he'd turn Moscow into glass. They all feared him because he was scary unpredictable .... Orange Godzilla LOL

[not2big Senior Super ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close not2big]

Did I miss something? When did XI invade Taiwa? N. Korea never shot off misses. -
Actually, beginning May 4, 2019 through March 2, 2022, there have been sightings of at least ten short range ballistic missles from ranges in North Korea. On October 2, 2019, the fat kid launched a missile from a submarine that traveled about 450 KM and again on March 2, 2020 he launched a missile that traveled 240 KM.

The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, General John Hayden said on January 17, 2020 that North Korea is building new missiles, capabilities and weapons "As fast as anybody on the planet." He further stated that North Korea is learning from its mistakes while making advances in its missile programs.

I agree Putin did not invade Ukraine under Trump; however, did Trump do anything to get Putin out of Crimea?

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

Of note....

The Chinese Embassy in Kyiv issued a notice on February 24 in anticipation of Beijing’s need to organize the return of an estimated 6,000 Chinese nationals living in Ukraine, mainly in the cities of Kyiv, Lvov, Kharkov, Odessa, and Sumy.

“Given the rapidly deteriorating situation in the country, Chinese nationals and companies are facing high security risks. For this reason, the embassy is preparing charter flights and asked all Chinese nationals to voluntarily register,” the notice read, as paraphrased by the Global Times.

[Pegasus AdministratorPE Gym EditorPEGym Hero ☺ Admin of the Month Mar 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Pegasus]

Zelensky will probably die defending his country . He deserves respect .
Diplomacy was never going to work because it takes 2 to make it work .
Putin had already invaded his country twice ( Crimea and the Eastern regions) . He has also done similar to other places a number of times previous .
There were 3 countries that warranted safety and borders of Ukraine when it gave up it's nukes ,the US the Uk and Russia .

[Johnny D ModeratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Johnny D]

I agree Putin did not invade Ukraine under Trump; however, did Trump do anything to get Putin out of Crimea?

Like the 3 US Presidents before him, Trump exacerbated the political tension in the region and did nothing to help the situation. You can argue all day long over whether Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, or Biden handled the situation better or worse than the other guy while completely ignoring the fact that not a single one of them worked in a positive direction. The invasion is on Putin, for sure, but ALL of the US Presidents since the fall of the Soviet Union contributed to escalating tensions (not to mention setting examples here and there how to invade a weaker country for your own interests) when they had opportunities to do better.

[CUSP82 Administrator Admin of the Month Dec 2014PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close CUSP82]

What could any of them have done better?

[BigO AdministratorPEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close BigO]

Putin doesn't want NATO at his border, he's not wrong to keep them away from them.