US Erection 12 *AND* 16 *AND* 20 *AND* 22 *AND* 24 *AND* Beyond

[Megaterio Llamas]

I have been stealing the money. The war must continue. Do you want fellatio.

https://t.me/Slavyangrad/120920

[Per]

Mëds/Meg, do you not think the previous administration of the USA and maybe even 1st term of DT wanted Ukraine to poke the bear? After all war = $$$. Probably not DT as he is bed with Russia.

They probably didn’t expect it to go this long. I do agree Europe has relied to long on USA and it’s time they manage their own affairs. Same as Canada.

100% Reef. And Ukraine is getting the shittiest deal imaginable, the old hegemon has abandoned the proxy and has cashed out, leaving the Europeans holding the bag. Everybody is getting screwed here. But they absolutely need to adapt to the situation. Ukraine doesn't need to give away it's mineral wealth to negotiate terms of surrender wih Putin. They need to get rid of the Z-man somehow and sit down with Vlad.

If anyone should be removed from negotiations, it is Putin who has an outstanding warrant from the ICC for war crimes.
Removing Zelensky would be a gross violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. He was elected president in fair and free elections in 2019, beating the incumbent Poroshenko, who was the candidate the US favoured and who replaced Yanukovich in 2014.
Zelensky got nearly 75% of the vote. Now, after the election his popularity dropped and was in the 40’s shortly before the war, like Trump’s is now, but after the Russian invasion the Ukrainians rallied around him and his popularity soared. In recent polls it lies around 70%. Not as high as when he was elected, but still a massive support. Had elections been held in 2024 he would most likely have won by a landslide. But of course you cannot hold elections when 20% of your territory is occupied by enemy troops and Russia is terror bombing the cities on a nearly daily basis. There were no elections in Britain between 1934 and 1944 because of the war. Does that make Churchill a dictator?


Churchill at the White House in his war outfit.

To remove Zelensky, the elected leader of Ukraine’s people, would be a gross injustice to them and show that they will not receive any justice in the negotiations that follow. That it is all rigged by the Russians.

And there's nothing stopping the Europeans from working out a security arrangement for their continent with the Russians. But they need to be willing to drop the Biden/Blinken/Nuland narrative and look at the facts on the ground. They could really benefit from reopening trade with the Russians, the place can provide all the energy and resources they need as well as a big market for their products.

I guess we will see if anyone has the imagination it takes to work something out. Hopefully a new European political elite eventually emerges from the wreckage of this failed policy.

The failed policy was the one of the 1990’s, when we welcomed the Russians with open arms. European companies invested heavily in Russia and we opened our markets to them. We thought that through trade and inclusion we could build a long lasting peace. We were so confident of this that we cut military spending in half compared to what we spent during the Cold War and Germany allowed themselves to become totally reliant on oil and gas from Russia, even investing in pipelines through the Baltic Sea. There was an IKEA in every major Russian city. But it turned out this was a huge mistake.

We were completely unwilling to realize that Putin was just biding his time while rebuilding the Russian army that had been downsized under Gorbachev and Yeltsin. We protested somewhat over the atrocities in Chechnya, the invasion of Georgia and the war crimes in Syria. We did impose some sanctions when Crimea was annexed, but we did not stand firm, and this show of weakness encouraged the later full scale invasion of Ukraine.

The policy of appeasement and an outstretched hand has failed miserably. The only thing Putin understand is might.
As long as he is in charge we can not ease restrictions or show weakness. Which is a problem, as our military forces are much smaller than they need to be. At present we have to rebuild our own military forces while simultaneously supporting Ukraine in their fight for freedom and sovereignty. In this Europe would need assistance from the US, but it is now dawning on us that Trump is more interested in creating bonds wuth Russia and is willing to throw Ukraine and the traditional American allies under the bus. This is troubling in deed.

Oh, and as for ”big market”, the Russian GDP is lower than Canada’s, roughly on par with Italy. It is a failed country.
I’d rather do trade with Canada.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Incredibly fascinating video of a man that completely lacks backbone:

https://youtu.be/xw3RFzX4AW4?si=0KY9a9IAmFZfCqmZ

[mod edit: Mark Kelly Asks Top Defense Official Nominee If Russia Invaded Ukraine, And He Cannot Respond ]

I’d like to say that I’m surprised by how chicken shit the mighty red MAGA Trump fucks are when it comes to Putin but I’m not. Their “fearless” leader was given a “doctors note” for “bone spurs” so he didn’t have to go fight for his country thanks to dear ole Daddy Trump.

He bumped his gums about PP wanting to "knock him out" a few days ago. He then said he 'beats the hell' out of people. Trump couldn't beat the shit out of a dirty diaper. The videos of him attempting to golf and his back fat rattling around he swung or the disturbing tennis video where his thin flabby white legs jiggle around while his boiler is full pull and this man has called himself an athlete. Special Olympics? Afraid to fight, and Loopis on the Bad News Bears is qualified to comment on MLB. He isn't. His clown pardon isn't worth a drop of piss in the ocean.


Pete is scum.


Donald can still save himself.

[Per]

Russia has moved up to number four in Purchasing Power Parity GDP Per, behind only China, The US, and India.

Here's a list of the top twenty

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ ... omparison/

Sure, GDP can be calculated in different ways. PPP is better for comparing quality of life, but than you typically look at GDP per capita. PPP takes into account the price level within the country, which tends to be lower in poor countries, and then compensates for this.

If you look at GDP in USD, which I think is more relevant when talking about international trade, it’s a different picture. OK, Russia is still in eleventh place, it’s a big country, but below both Canada and Italy.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY ... _desc=true

If the cocaine comic has 70% public support I'll eat my shoe.That's complete bunk

The cocaine thing is also afaik Russian disinformation. As is the 4% support story.

70% is according to Statista. Other sources have him at 57 or 63%. Polling is not an exact science.
Still very strong numbers.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/110 ... g-ukraine/

https://www.dw.com/en/what-ukrainian-op ... a-71774172

https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/zele ... 025-02-21/

This is from the University of Manchester:

According to their latest findings, 63% of Ukrainians approve of Zelensky’s performance as president, a notable increase from the previous year. Additionally, large majorities view him as a patriot (74%), an intelligent and knowledgeable leader (73%), and a strong figure guiding the country through war (65%).

The notion that Zelensky is deeply unpopular is not only inaccurate - according to the researchers, it is a blatant attempt to distort reality in favour of Russia’s geopolitical ambitions. Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine should hold new elections ignores the fact that democratic processes in Ukraine remain intact, and that Zelensky would remain a frontrunner in the most likely electoral scenarios.

Among likely voters, he commands 32-41% support - far ahead of rivals like former President Petro Poroshenko and Dmytro Razumkov, who trail in the single digits. Zelensky's only strong contender would be Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Commander in Chief and currently Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, but he has not publicly voiced any political ambitions.

“Trump’s claim is not only factually incorrect, but also irresponsible and anti-democratic - Zelensky remains a fairly popular political leader in Ukraine. Spreading misinformation about his legitimacy directly aids Kremlin propaganda and undermines the Ukrainian people’s right to determine their own future.”

Professor Olga Onuch

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news ... opularity/

[Megaterio Llamas]

^^ I deleted that post because I decided it was a little too mean. And I don't want to be mean to you Per

[Megaterio Llamas]

This story was broken by Bloomberg in the US.

US suspends all military aid to Ukraine in wake of Trump-Zelenskyy row

Decision affects ammunition, vehicles and other equipment including weapons in transit

The Trump administration has suspended delivery of all US military aid to Ukraine, blocking billions in crucial shipments, as the White House piles pressure on Kyiv to sue for peace with Vladimir Putin.

The decision affects deliveries of ammunition, vehicles and other equipment, including shipments agreed to when Joe Biden was president.

It comes after a dramatic blow-up in the White House on Friday during which Donald Trump, infuriated over the collapse of a deal that would have given the US access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, told Volodymyr Zelenskyy he was “gambling with” a third world war. The Ukrainian president was told to come back “when he is ready for peace”.

A senior administration official told Fox News: “This is not permanent termination of aid, it’s a pause.” Bloomberg reported that all US military equipment not in Ukraine would be held back, including weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland. It said Trump had ordered the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, to execute the pause.

Moscow celebrated the decision, with the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the US had been “the main supplier of this war so far”.

European and Nato allies were not informed in advance, a Polish foreign ministry spokesperson said.

“This is a very important decision, and the situation is very serious,” Paweł Wroński told reporters. “This sentence may sound banal, but it has great political significance – it [the decision] was made without any information, or consultation, neither with Nato allies, nor with the Ramstein group,” he said. The Ramstein group is an alliance of 57 countries that have coordinated aid to Ukraine during the war.

Governments in Europe, fearful of an emboldened Russia during a US administration that resents a cold war-era pact to support its allies against aggression, have rushed to boost their own military spending.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced proposals on Tuesday to strengthen Europe’s defence industry and increase military capabilities by mobilising close to €800bn (£661bn). The EU is holding an emergency summit on Thursday.

The White House decision followed a meeting that included Hegseth and the vice-president, JD Vance, along with the secretary of state, Marco Rubio; the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard; and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Trump appeared to be pushing Ukraine towards capitulation. “To stop aid now means to help Putin,” Merezhko told Reuters. “On the surface, this looks really bad. It looks like he is pushing us towards capitulation, meaning [accepting] Russia’s demands”

Razom for Ukraine, a Ukrainian advocacy group, said: “By abruptly halting military assistance to Ukraine, President Trump is hanging Ukrainians out to dry and giving Russia the green light to continue marching west. Razom for Ukraine urges the White House to immediately reverse course, resume military aid and pressure Putin to end his horrific invasion.”

The US Congress has approved $175bn (£138bn) in total assistance for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion nearly three years ago, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. In December, shortly before leaving office, Biden announced an additional $5.9bn in security and budget assistance.

US assistance to Ukraine includes military aid, budgetary assistance largely delivered through a World Bank trust fund, and other funds that had been delivered through the US Agency for International Development, which has been throttled by the Trump White House.

Some of the money sent by the US to Ukraine helps the country pay the salaries of teachers and doctors, and keeps the government running.

Weapons assistance from the US has been facilitated through two programmes: presidential drawdown authority (PDA), which allows the president to quickly transfer weapons and equipment from US stocks to foreign countries without the need for congressional approval; and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), under which military equipment is procured from the defence industry.

In total, the US has pledged $31.7bn of weapons aid to Ukraine through PDA. The majority – well over $20bn, according to a Reuters analysis – has been shipped.

The announcement pertains mainly to aid that had been previously approved but not yet disbursed. Trump has not approved any new aid under his own presidential authority since taking office and a new congressional aid package appears unlikely, at least in the near term.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/ ... yy-updates

[Topper]

By buying energy from Russia and giving loans/grants to the Ukraine, the EU, Britain and Canada are finding both sides of the war.

[Chef Boi RD]

Good morning Tariffs!

Recession incoming.

[5thhorseman]

I lost track of what's going on because of tariff fatigue. They're on. They're off. They're steel and aluminum only. Whatever.

US GDP is now projected to plummet in the first quarter.

[Chef Boi RD]

Recession by mid 2025

Randall Bartlett told BNN Bloomberg in a Monday interview that based on Desjardins’ analysis of the economic impacts of Trump’s proposed tariffs, he and his team believe “it will be very difficult for the Canadian economy to not fall into recession” within a few months if tariffs are imposed.

“Ultimately, retaliatory tariffs are just going to exacerbate that and also lead to higher inflation, so it will provide a bit of a challenge for the Bank of Canada in terms of contending with a negative shock to gross domestic product (GDP) and at the same time, upward pressure on inflation,” he said.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/ec ... esjardins/

[Cornuck]

Soon nobody will be worrying about Ukraine.

Nicholas Enrich, the acting assistant administrator for global health at USAID:

Enrich estimated that without USAID intervention, more than 16 million pregnant women and more than 11 million newborns would not get medical care; more than 14 million children would not get care for pneumonia and diarrhea (among the top causes of preventable deaths for children under the age of 5); 200,000 children would be paralyzed with polio; and 1 million children would not be treated for severe acute malnutrition. There would be an additional 12.5 million or more cases of malaria this year, meaning 71,000 to 166,000 deaths; a 28–32% increase in tuberculosis; as many as 775 million cases of avian flu; 2.3 million additional deaths a year in children who could not be vaccinated against diseases; additional cases of Ebola and mpox. The higher rates of illness will take a toll on economic development in developing countries, and both the diseases and the economic stagnation will spill over into the United States.

But the money is going to good use ( #PumpAndDump ) :

Trump announced that the government will create a strategic stockpile of five cryptocurrencies, spending tax dollars to buy them.

Not that the DJIA is a great indicator for regular people, it's down 2.5% in 5 days.

And finally:

the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecast a dramatic contraction in the economy in the first quarter of 2025. Evaluating current data according to a mathematical model, it moved from an expected 2.9% growth in gross domestic product at the end of January to –2.8% today.

Edit: Oh - and can't forget this one (a lot of people in tornado and hurricane areas rely on these services):

The Trump administration has informed NOAA that two pivotal centers for weather forecasting will soon have their leases canceled, sources told Axios.
Why it matters: One of the buildings is the nerve center for generating national weather forecasts.

[rikster]

It's a good time to remember that in the eyes of many Trump is a Russian asset...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsIntuxmXf0

The findings of the Mueller Report regarding Russian interference were undereported even by the left leaning outlets in favor of focusing on collusion, after reading the full report it was shocking to understand how brazen and extensive the Russians efforts were...

And during his first term, Trump only increased the suspecion that he is a Russian asset...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2DxiDNRhzc

It really does boggle the mind the reality we are living thru..

[Tciso]

So, is there a 25% tarrif on all trades? If we get a 1st for Boeser, do we have to send a 4th to Donald?

[Chef Boi RD]

It's a good time to remember that in the eyes of many Trump is a Russian asset...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsIntuxmXf0

The findings of the Mueller Report regarding Russian interference were undereported even by the left leaning outlets in favor of focusing on collusion, after reading the full report it was shocking to understand how brazen and extensive the Russians efforts were...

And during his first term, Trump only increased the suspecion that he is a Russian asset...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2DxiDNRhzc

It really does boggle the mind the reality we are living thru..

You mean Krasnov? Donald who?

[Blob Mckenzie]

I'm pissed I didnt lob some money into XRP in the summer. Curious how things will play out with the Pig in the Wig steering the ship.