Best Of

Putin says it’s impossible from a legal standpoint to sign any agreement with Ukraine because it doesn’t have a legitimate government. There we go again.
https://x.com/yarotrof/status/1994062033684152808

Look, I'm not taking that little squirt Putin seriously unless he demands all of:

Ukraine
Belarus
Moldova
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Georgia
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
Alaska (Russian till 1867)
Finland (Russian till 1918)
The central part Poland (Congress Poland*, Russian till 1918)

* approximating to today's Voivodeships (regions) of Mazovia, Podlachia, Lodz, almost all of Lublin, and parts of: Warmia-Masuria (tiny bit), Kuyavia_Pomerania, Great Poland, Opole (tiny part), Silesia, Little Poland, and Carpathian Foothills (tiny part).

What about that chunk of Iran they effectively controlled in the early '40s?

I can't really get my head around the Russian attitude. They already have literally the largest country in the world. And they can't run that with any degree of competence! Why don't they just stick to what they have, maybe try to run it a bit better so its population isn't in terminal decline, the few remaining people perpetually drunk and depressed. Once they manage that maybe we can talk about handing over chunks of other people's countries for them to fuck up.

If you realise it's feudalism, it makes a kind of sense. Putin thinks ultimate sovereignty for Ukraine vests in Russia and him personally because of a bunch of Swedes in Kyiv in the 8thC or whenever. He's OK with someone running the place with due allegiance shown, but it's his. No more negotiatable than his name is Putin.

@Cyclefree had it right yesterday.

Just scrap the spend on digital ID and put it into the Justice Dept.

Uncharacteristically simplistic for you? What has one thing to do with the other?

The justice system is massively underfunded, thanks to spending cuts over the last decade and a half.

Rather than completely changing the basis of how we administer criminal justice (with minimal public debate, and significant implications for individual liberty) in order to cut costs, there is a very strong case for simply funding it better to do its job.

The money has to come from somewhere, and the digital ID scheme (also controversial, and quite likely useless) seems as good a place as any.