Best Of

I mean I've only seen the highlights but surely Trump is simply taking a side in one of the oldest and most difficult dilemmas. What is worth giving up to stop the killing.

Why is dealing with that impossible question so reprehensible.

We see it in aid all the time (enable/support the tyrants to get food to the citizens..)

Yes, he’s decided that giving up Ukraine is worth it to stem the expense to the US.
The democratically elected government of Ukraine - along with the opposition, judging by their public comments yesterday, disagree.

Chuck into the mix Europe’s future security, which the US has apparently decided is no longer a matter for them, then a polite no thanks is in order.
No skin in the game, no say.

All that, of course, is predicated on Europe getting its shit together over the next few days and weeks.

I would like to see Europe get its shit together in the next 24 hours.

The billions the UK promised yesterday are a good start.

Lets show the Americans we can help defeat Russia with or without them - but if its without them, they don't get a say in what happens afterwards.

What jobs will guarantee exemption from being called up to fight in this proposed EU war against Russia?
I'll get my lads writing their job applications out ASAP.

Who said anything about the EU? Or war with Russia?

Russia is a small country, it is smaller than Italy economically. It is not some mighty bear that we should be afraid of.

Ukraine is able to defeat Russia with our backing, we have no reason or need to go to war, just continue to support Ukraine.

Do you think what is happening now (what you want to continue with) is going to allow Ukraine to defeat Russia.

Eventually, yes.

And that is a legitimate view, if misguided in my mind. It means thousands more deaths of people that are not you or your family but so be it. Trump's is that he wants the killing to stop. With all the compromises that involves. Why is that view so reprehensible.

Donald Trump’s distaste for killing foreigners has been noted as one of his biggest failings by the PB panzer corps (armchair division) many times before. We are in truly dark times when a US President gets queasy about half a million deaths.

The ending of various USAID programmes is going to kill tens of thousands of foreigners. Trump has not the slightest problem with it.

I strongly doubt it. The ending of bizarre and troubling funding of such organisations as the BBC by USAID is certainly going to do very little harm.

https://mutualaidsudan.org/

"Now, Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in both 2024 and already in 2025, are facing an 80% reduction in already-insufficient resources due to recent USAID cuts."

Mutual Aid Sudan is funded by the following organisations (ai)

The Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan is supported by 15 philanthropies and other organizations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Center for Humanitarian Leadership, and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

Leaving aside the fact that anything with Bill Gates is a huge red flag to me, why can't the organisations that actually set up this initiative, who it would appear are not short of a bob or two, fund it?

We know you believe in conspiracy theories. If we didn’t, the fact the you think funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a “huge red flag” would tell us.

Bill Gates' publicly stated views and agenda are quite enough of a red flag to me, leaving aside anything else. I also note that his wife says she divorced him due to his association with Epstein, so I'm not sure he qualifies as the all-round nice guy you seem to suppose he is.

Prince Andrew has become the punchline of a joke due to his association with Epstein, but Bill still seems to be feted (by some) as a wonderful global philanthropist. Now having to do a bit more actual philanthropy because his charities are going to be given less grants by the US Government. Which we're meant to feel terrible about.

No the red flag is your interpretation of his stated views and agenda which bear little relation to reality. They are what tell us you are a lunatic conspiacy theorist.

Is he a nice guy? I have no idea. Is he wrapped up in the Epstein stuff? Again I have no idea. But neither do you.

What I do know is the work he and his foundation have been doing has been helping to save the lives of hundreds of thousands - probably millions - of people around the world.

And unless you are one of the anti-vaxxer conspiracy morons then it should be obvious to you as well.

I mean I've only seen the highlights but surely Trump is simply taking a side in one of the oldest and most difficult dilemmas. What is worth giving up to stop the killing.

Why is dealing with that impossible question so reprehensible.

We see it in aid all the time (enable/support the tyrants to get food to the citizens..)

Yes, he’s decided that giving up Ukraine is worth it to stem the expense to the US.
The democratically elected government of Ukraine - along with the opposition, judging by their public comments yesterday, disagree.

Chuck into the mix Europe’s future security, which the US has apparently decided is no longer a matter for them, then a polite no thanks is in order.
No skin in the game, no say.

All that, of course, is predicated on Europe getting its shit together over the next few days and weeks.

I would like to see Europe get its shit together in the next 24 hours.

The billions the UK promised yesterday are a good start.

Lets show the Americans we can help defeat Russia with or without them - but if its without them, they don't get a say in what happens afterwards.

What jobs will guarantee exemption from being called up to fight in this proposed EU war against Russia?
I'll get my lads writing their job applications out ASAP.

Who said anything about the EU? Or war with Russia?

Russia is a small country, it is smaller than Italy economically. It is not some mighty bear that we should be afraid of.

Ukraine is able to defeat Russia with our backing, we have no reason or need to go to war, just continue to support Ukraine.

Do you think what is happening now (what you want to continue with) is going to allow Ukraine to defeat Russia.

Eventually, yes.

And that is a legitimate view, if misguided in my mind. It means thousands more deaths of people that are not you or your family but so be it. Trump's is that he wants the killing to stop. With all the compromises that involves. Why is that view so reprehensible.

Trump doesn't want the killing to stop. He wants Ukraine to surrender, after which hundreds of thousands will be killed by Russia. Stopping the war doesn't bring
peace, it enables genocide.

I think this probably needs a bit of an accompanying explainer?

Not for anyone who has been paying attention for the last decade

Well given that you seem to think that's what you've been doing, perhaps you will favour us with an explanation of how demographically challenged Russia, having achieved all its territorial ambitions, is going to slaughter 200,000+ innocents.

Historically, conquering armies have had little trouble in massacring civilians.

In Ukraine, we have detailed, criminal case grade evidence of murders, expulsions and kidnapping of children in the areas occupied by Russia. En masse.9

In addition, the original plans for the Russian invasion were captured. They included mass arrests of the political and intellectual classes, as part of a plan to eliminate the idea of Ukraine as a separate state to Russia, culturally.

So you need to explain why you think that the Russians would behave differently in any areas of the Ukraine they conquer from now, to the way they behaved (and planned to behave) in those they have conquered.

Its funny Topping how during and after Covid you were able to recognise that "but people are dying" isn't a surefire argument winner to take away people's liberties, even temporarily, yet you seem to think "but people are dying" is a surefire argument winner to permanently subjugate people to living under a totalitarian dictatorship.

There are some fates worse than death. If people are willing to fight against dictatorships I respect that, I don't think that people are dying is a reason to end a just war.

That could very well be the most hypocritical and least self-aware comment that anybody has made on PB, ever. Well done to you.

Being a Ukrainian Ultra on pb.com requires a certain level of intellectual incoherence and unending attraction to amor fati. The following two lemmata must be simultaneously upheld:

1. The armed forces of the Russian Federation are so weak that a broken failed state that's a quarter of the size can, if supplied with endless amounts of money and weapons, inflict a stinging defeat of such magnitude that the invaders will be repelled and the Russian military threat will be neutralised in perpetuity.

2. The armed forces of the Russian Federation are so strong that the UK must embark on a socially ruinous program of rearmament or the double headed eagle, twice imperially crowned will be flying over Piccadilly Circus by next (Orthodox) Christmas.

Two straw men, in one post.