All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[CaptainEurope]

In my experience, most Assad-stans also use the hashtag #GenocideJoe and demand that Ukraine fend for itself. And I have no use for them, nor any patience.

[Tami]

Ukraine hits back at Pope Francis over 'white flag' remark urging peace talks with Russia

When the Pope and the Catholic Church screw up, they really screw up.

The response by outraged Ukrainians was immediate.

“Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote Sunday in a post on X.

Kuleba also called out the Vatican for its “strategy” in the first half of the 20th century, an apparent reference to accusations that the Catholic Church failed to act against the Nazis during World War II. “I urge to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past,” Kuleba added.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued his own thinly veiled criticism in his nightly address Sunday, accusing Francis, without naming the pope directly, of “virtually mediating” the conflict from thousands of miles away.

“Russian murderers and torturers are unable to march farther into Europe only because they are being held back by Ukrainians holding arms under the blue-and-yellow flag,” Zelenskyy said. “There used to be many white walls of houses and churches in Ukraine, but they have now been scorched and ruined by Russian shells. This speaks volumes about who needs to stop for the war to end.”

Ukraine’s ambassador to the Vatican, Andrii Yurash, told NBC News that Kyiv could not accept that the victim of the aggression, rather than the aggressor, was being asked to raise the white flag. “Nobody at the time of World War II was proposing to the people enslaved by Hitler or those who were suffering or fighting him to start peace negotiations,” Yurash said in a phone interview from the Vatican. “Because a truce with Hitler was suicide and death. Similarly, a truce with Putin is suicide and death.”

And the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church responded to Francis’ comments Sunday by saying that Ukrainians “cannot stop defending themselves, because capitulation means their death.”

Some of Ukraine’s closest allies were also critical. “How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine?” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wrote on X. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also appeared to address the pope’s remarks Monday, without directly referring to him. “President Putin started this war and he could end it today but Ukraine does not have this option,” Stoltenberg said. “Surrender is not peace.”

[Dalak]

There was gassing, though…

There was gassing there, and there is gaslighting by you. Him telling foreign countries not to help his enemies is hardly him calling the US for help.

That's what I imagined he was talking about, but I'll wait for him to confirm.



It would be weird to ask someone who's against you, to help you (against himself, basically). A first needed step is for that someone to stop. That first step was never taken. "Hardly" implies that what he did was nothing of the kind, but he only asked for the bare minimum because anything else was one bridge too far, not because asking for direct help was in a different direction.

And don't tell me you can spot gaslighting, because any topic you've been commenting on, you've shown not to be able to.

Weren't you the one who said to have been conditioned from an early age by radio?

I wish I’d been “conditioned” like you into fluency in a different language.

If you aren't adhering to any particular incident, Then this article in the independent about one of those "gas attacks", is as good a reply as any.

comictimes, you've been here a bit over a month and you're already accusing another poster of gaslighting or not recognizing it in arguments he's made on "any topic" (The exact accusation is unclear). You also are accusing them of being "conditioned" and you seem to be ignoring evidence posted by Zelena to respond to Tendrin with evidence that doesn't refute the other gas attack. If you don't think that Assad gassed his own people at all, I'll ask you to say so plainly. If you think that CE is conditioned in some way simply by listening to english-language radio . . do you have any evidence that they were doing such things at the time he was listening to it?

As an aside, I've found that if someone isn't getting a point I'm trying to make or is avoiding it it's better to make things crystal clear, so that also might help you in the future.

[Kirby101]

If you aren't adhering to any particular incident, Then this article in the independent about one of those "gas attacks", is as good a reply as any.

There is a question about 1 out of 300 gas attacks. 98% by Assad.
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/17/69554...an%20civilians.

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/17/69554...an%20civilians.

As an esteemed poster said. "Oh, brother".

Your initial comment about Assad asking us for help is still a red herring and of no legitimacy. I see no reason to further such a disingenuous discussion.

[AnakinFlair]

In what should be a surprise to no one, Trump is once again attacking E. Jean Carroll in interviews and rallies.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

In what should be a surprise to no one, Trump is once again attacking E. Jean Carroll in interviews and rallies.

Trump just can't help himself. To quote Reese in The Terminator: "That's what he does! That's all he does!" Trump constantly needs someone, anyone to attack, and since Carroll dared to stand up to him in court, that makes her Public Enemy Number One in his eyes. The fact it's a woman causing him all that consternation is doubly galling to him. Meanwhile, if I'm Carroll, I call up my lawyers and file yet another lawsuit against Donnie Diarrhea Mouth.

[CaptainEurope]

In what should be a surprise to no one, Trump is once again attacking E. Jean Carroll in interviews and rallies.

I so hope she sues him again, or even asks the court successfully to deny him bond, so he'll have to sell one of the 18 holes at Bedminster or something.

[CaptainEurope]

Trump floats 'cutting' retirement spending, drawing quick pushback from Biden

The Republican nominee-in-waiting said that “there’s a lot you can do in terms of cutting” when pressed on CNBC about the solvency of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

[comictimes]

comictimes, you've been here a bit over a month and you're already accusing another poster of gaslighting or not recognizing it in arguments he's made on "any topic" (The exact accusation is unclear). You also are accusing them of being "conditioned" and you seem to be ignoring evidence posted by Zelena to respond to Tendrin with evidence that doesn't refute the other gas attack. If you don't think that Assad gassed his own people at all, I'll ask you to say so plainly. If you think that CE is conditioned in some way simply by listening to english-language radio . . do you have any evidence that they were doing such things at the time he was listening to it?

As an aside, I've found that if someone isn't getting a point I'm trying to make or is avoiding it it's better to make things crystal clear, so that also might help you in the future.

It was the other way around (do you quote without reading the quoted text?). I replied "how would you know?"; it's clear from his comments that he has been conditioned to view the world (as evidenced by his stance on several key topics already) in a certain way. Being German, but having been raised in a pro-American environment after the war, I can see how. An who's "them"? Who else did I say was conditioned?

Post I ignored?

I don't know who gassed who, but from I can gather, I'm the only one here who isn't certain it was Assad. Given the lack of proof, and how little confidence the agencies involved in the investigation give, I have to ask how that conclusion was reached. With much more going on in Gaza, which we can openly see, much less people are on the side of South Africa, in the ICJ case.

It's not "simply english-language radio", But "British Forces radio".

BTW, has being here for 10 years make you feel like you can pull rank on a new member? It doesn't speak highly of the community.

There is a question about 1 out of 300 gas attacks. 98% by Assad.
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/17/69554...an%20civilians.

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/17/69554...an%20civilians.

As an esteemed poster said. "Oh, brother".

Your initial comment about Assad asking us for help is still a red herring and of no legitimacy. I see no reason to further such a disingenuous discussion.

There's nothing more disingenuous than being a sophist. Those who believe in nothing and take refuge in rhetoric to avoid the truth, because for them there isn't any. My initial comment is perfectly in line with the underlying meaning, which you understand, as I surmise from the fact that you've ignored the already given explanation. And not happy with seeking to get embroiled in discussions about what a red herring is or not, you directly put words in my mouth, which on a written medium, is quite a silly thing to do. I never said Assad asked the US for help, the same way that the poster I was initially replying to, didn't.

If there's so many gas attack confirmed, how come there's no case against Assad in the ICJ?

[Kirby101]

Quote Originally Posted by Catlady in training View Post
The main factor in the difference between getting involved in the affairs of other countries and helping other countries is simple: they asked for that help.
Putler can also try to twist his invasion as freeing Ukraine from western influences or whatever is his justification of the week, but that will not pass since nobody asked for such "help".
Ukraine asked us (as in, all countries in the free world) to help them, so providing what they asked for is not interfering. When in doubt, looking at any situation from the perspective of consent usually helps to make it more clear.

So did the Syrian government, and who has the U.S. led coalition been helping all this time?

Quote Originally Posted by Kirby101 View Post
Assad asked for our help?????

He asked for help, didn't he?

Syria's Bashar al-Assad calls on foreign countries to end support for rebels

Sure, buddy.

[JackDaw]

I so hope she sues him again, or even asks the court successfully to deny him bond, so he'll have to sell one of the 18 holes at Bedminster or something.

As I’ve suggested before I don’t think the Donald has enough “money” to pay the various damages already awarded against him.

He certainly hasn’t got enough cash, no way near. And who knows the true extent of how heavily mortgaged his property assets are? And if he has to sell quickly…he’s unlikely to get premium values for him, once buyers sense a seller needs money quickly they drive hard bargains.

The book value of a building might be 500 million…but then we all know he over-values..400 million of that might be owed to bank, and nobody may want to buy it quickly.

As the Punisher has suggested before (I think) money may be flowing in to help him from all sorts of unsavoury sources. If he wins the Presidency, I can easily see him getting mired in scandal after scandal. I guess the cynical view is that the time he needs to spend on that may cause him to do less damage elsewhere.

[Dalak]

It was the other way around (do you quote without reading the quoted text?). I replied "how would you know?"; it's clear from his comments that he has been conditioned to view the world (as evidenced by his stance on several key topics already) in a certain way. Being German, but having been raised in a pro-American environment after the war, I can see how. An who's "them"? Who else did I say was conditioned?

Post I ignored?

I don't know who gassed who, but from I can gather, I'm the only one here who isn't certain it was Assad. Given the lack of proof, and how little confidence the agencies involved in the investigation give, I have to ask how that conclusion was reached. With much more going on in Gaza, which we can openly see, much less people are on the side of South Africa, in the ICJ case.

It's not "simply english-language radio", But "British Forces radio".

BTW, has being here for 10 years make you feel like you can pull rank on a new member? It doesn't speak highly of the community.



There's nothing more disingenuous than being a sophist. Those who believe in nothing and take refuge in rhetoric to avoid the truth, because for them there isn't any. My initial comment is perfectly in line with the underlying meaning, which you understand, as I surmise from the fact that you've ignored the already given explanation. And not happy with seeking to get embroiled in discussions about what a red herring is or not, you directly put words in my mouth, which on a written medium, is quite a silly thing to do. I never said Assad asked the US for help, the same way that the poster I was initially replying to, didn't.

If there's so many gas attack confirmed, how come there's no case against Assad in the ICJ?

I asked if you had evidence for your accusations, since you've only been here a bit over a month and accused a poster with a history lasting years of whatever accusation you still haven't clarified on "any topic". Instead of doing so you just kept stating your opinion like it must be factual. Regardless of however long someone is posting, that's not rational. Instead of accusing me of pulling rank with no evidence again, you could actually answer questions asked of you. You also didn't use the phrase "how would you know?" which you said came from the quotes I posted when anyone can read that they weren't there either.

BTW I quoted Zelena's post you ignored the evidence in and your response to it waiting on Tendrin to respond, so playing dumb is very disingenuous.

Overall, I don't think you are trying to debate in good faith and my Conspiracy Brain has several theories for behavior such as this which I'm not going to get into as I have no evidence for them.

[Reverse Happy]

Donald Trump won't give 'a penny' to Ukraine if elected, Orbán says

I don't know how much clearer the choice can get for anyone who didn't sleep through history class (or several decades IRL), and yet American voters are THIS close to blowing it.

[zinderel]

So!

Trump is floating cuts to Medicare and Social Security (which will disproportionally hurt his own voters, as the GOP skews older). Of course, his support for white nationalism and Christian extremism will continue to garner their support, even when he’s literally costing them their lives.

Rep Virginia Foxx is using her position of power to attempt to bully the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, Local 2325 of the United Auto Workers to walk back their resolution in favor of a ceasefire, by intimating that it is ‘antisemitic’ to want the Israeli government’s slow genocide of innocents for the crimes of their leaders to stop. *eyeroll*

A Trump appointed judge has SHOCKINGLY stood with big business interests against the rights of workers who produce all the labor AND profit to organize and demand change from their paymasters.

And Karla Jacinta Romero, the trafficking victim who’s harrowing story Katie Britt recounted with all the breathy intensity of a desperate camp counselor telling a ghost story to disinterested children, has come forward and fired back at the Serena-Joy wannabe (seriously, not only the whole breathy, submissive aesthetic…not only the kitchen setting…but her wearing a dress in one of the acceptable colors for a Wife, to boot…?) for distorting her story and attempting to use it for political gain.

Good start to the week.

[comictimes]

I asked if you had evidence for your accusations, since you've only been here a bit over a month and accused a poster with a history lasting years of whatever accusation you still haven't clarified on "any topic". Instead of doing so you just kept stating your opinion like it must be factual. Regardless of however long someone is posting, that's not rational. Instead of accusing me of pulling rank with no evidence again, you could actually answer questions asked of you. You also didn't use the phrase "how would you know?" which you said came from the quotes I posted when anyone can read that they weren't there either.

BTW I quoted Zelena's post you ignored the evidence in and your response to it waiting on Tendrin to respond, so playing dumb is very disingenuous.

Overall, I don't think you are trying to debate in good faith and my Conspiracy Brain has several theories for behavior such as this which I'm not going to get into as I have no evidence for them.

You say you want clarity, but your posts are intentionally convoluted.