quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by wcb6092:
Biden created our border crisis. Poland did not create theirs. Biden bringing up the comparison highlights his own failure.

Uhhhh… No. He did not create our border crisis. We’ve had a border crisis since the 70’s. He may have exacerbated things to make it a whole lot worse currently, but he did not create it. That’s giving him waaaaaay too much credit.[/QUOTE



President Trump had it pretty much under control, more than any other President in a long time. Remember when he had the Mexican Government holding back the illegals and the crossings went way down? And that with was with opposition from the Democrats and the leftist judges.

No Biden caused the crises we are now seeing.

Opinion piece from The New York Times. (Yes, I know. If you’re afraid of getting cooties from it, just move on.)
===========================

America Thinks the War Is About Ukraine. Russia’s Neighbors Disagree.

By Karolina Wigura and Jaroslaw Kuisz

WARSAW — The symbolism was striking. On March 12, two weeks into Russia’s brutal bombardment of Ukraine, the leaders of France and Germany held a joint call with President Vladimir Putin. Just days later, three prime ministers from post-Communist Europe — Polish, Czech and Slovenian — traveled to Kyiv by train, despite the danger.

This divergence exposed a sharp divide in how Eastern and Western NATO member states view the war in Ukraine. For Western countries, not least the United States, the conflict is a disaster for the people of Ukraine — but one whose biggest danger is that it might spill over the Ukrainian border, setting off a global conflict.

For Central and Eastern European countries, it’s rather different. These neighbors of Russia tend to see the war not as a singular event but as a process. To these post-Soviet states, the invasion of Ukraine appears as a next step in a whole series of Russia’s nightmarish assaults on other countries, dating back to the ruthless attacks on Chechnya and the war with Georgia. To them, it seems foolhardy to assume Mr. Putin will stop at Ukraine. The danger is pressing and immediate.

While the West believes it must prevent World War III, the East thinks that, whatever the name given to the conflict, the war against liberal democratic values, institutions and lifestyles has already started. Both positions have merit. But Mr. Biden’s visit to Poland on Friday, a day after an emergency NATO summit, is a vital opportunity to forge a common understanding. Both sides, West and East, must present a united front against Russian aggression. The alternative is disarray and destruction.

At the root of the divide is history. Across centuries, Central and Eastern Europe have experienced the chilling effects of Russian imperialism. From czarist Russia to the Soviet Union, many countries through the region had their independence stamped out, their societies oppressed and their cultures marginalized. The trauma caused by the cyclical loss of territory and statehood is one of the most important elements of collective identity across the region.

Many Central and Eastern Europeans share an anxious sense of themselves, a nervous sovereignty. Their independence, restored with such great effort after 1989, could easily be lost again, as the 20th century proved all too painfully. In the tragic fate of Ukraine, and earlier of Chechnya and Georgia, they see not only their own traumatic past but also their possible future. “We will be next” is the phrase on many lips.

In this febrile atmosphere, NATO’s cautious steps look to many Central and Eastern Europeans like an echo of the phony war of 1939, when France and Britain undertook only limited military actions and did not save their eastern ally, Poland. At that time, too, horrible stories from bombed Warsaw and other cities filled the media. Yet the allies were determined not to be drawn in too deeply. Their military inaction temporarily delayed the spread of the war across the globe, but did not stop it.

Whether the analogy is apt matters less than the fact that it expresses a deeply felt intuition about what might come next. That’s been visible in the way East and West have approached the war. Throughout, those geographically closer to Russia have urged a tough response. Now that Russia’s full brutality has been revealed, Western countries are weighing whether to impose more sanctions on Russia, send more weapons to Ukraine and intensify diplomatic efforts to end the war.

But Eastern countries would prefer to go further still. Suggested measures in the region include imposing a no-fly zone — as President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly urged — or sending NATO troops across the Ukrainian border, even if only as a peace mission. The Polish government recently offered its MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, something Western allies considered a move too far.

Yet Central and Eastern Europeans are convinced that they are right and have the moral high ground. They believe that they were correct all along with their warnings about the Nord Stream pipelines and Russia’s other geostrategic designs on Ukraine and former Soviet states. For a long time, such opinions were dismissed as Russophobic, irrelevant in comparison with the fruits of economic cooperation with Russia. Today these warnings seem horribly prescient.

That doesn’t mean the region’s leaders ought to lapse into self-congratulation or even damn the “stupidity” of the West — as Czeslaw Milosz, the Nobel Prize-winning Polish émigré writer, called it — for its failures of foresight. The aim instead should be to communicate better with Western partners, something Mr. Zelensky, in his addresses across the world, has shown how to do.

This is of utmost importance. One thing Mr. Putin wants is for NATO partners to be divided and at cross purposes, as the alliance was in its response to the Kremlin’s aggressive military actions in 2008 and 2014. Those acts returned partitions to the region, along with pro-Moscow puppet leaders, political kidnapping and forged elections. The invasion of Ukraine, as Eastern countries see it, is just the next attempt by Russia to upend the geopolitical order through territorial acquisition.

Leaders in the region are in a unique position to spell out the stakes of Mr. Putin’s aggression and so help the West to better understand the level of risk. Yet the fact remains that Central and Eastern European countries would like to involve NATO in the conflict on a broader scale, while the West continues to prioritize global peace.

It is a tragic dilemma. And far from approaching resolution, it seems to be just beginning.

LINK

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
As to the original question (Re: "Is that idiot Biden gonna...?": This was unwise, unless that's his goal:

quote:

Biden declares Putin 'cannot remain in power' in fiery Warsaw remarks
BY ALEX GANGITANO - 03/26/22 02:07 PM EDT

President Biden on Saturday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t remain in power and hit the autocrat over the destruction the American leader says Putin is wreaking on the Ukrainian people.

Full article: Biden declares Putin 'cannot remain in power' in fiery Warsaw remarks

Then they try to walk it back and say only the Russian people have the ability to change the regime.

I don’t know, sure sounds like Biden is promoting an insurrection.

Biden overstepped when he adlibbed. Putin is now complaining of CANCEL culture. He indicates that the West is trying to cancel Russian culture. What a piece of work!

Well, historically speaking, they do have a culture that glorifies oppressive totalitarianism and aggressive military expansion. So he's not wrong.

But that's like saying the Allies were just trying to cancel Nazi culture during WW2.

Well, Russia is now confiscating foreign companies' goods.

Russia is going to be a commerce wasteland.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news...nctions-reprisal-nzz

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Biden overstepped when he adlibbed. Putin is now complaining of CANCEL culture. He indicates that the West is trying to cancel Russian culture. What a piece of work!

As much as I hate it, it's better than GULAG culture.

Perhaps the Swiss should have planned ahead and had its country’s business interests pull stock before making the announcement to join in sanctions; a lot harder to steal that which is not there to steal.

I'm pretty sure the watch industry was unaware of their government's plans.

Moron


After Biden Sparks "Global Uproar" With Regime Change Comment, Blinken Awkwardly Tries To Walk It Back

His handlers have got to be freaking out every time he goes off script.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Just before they invaded Ukraine, they “pulled back“ and started “redeploying back to Russia“, then suddenly just went in heavy and hard.

What’s to say this is not another fake out by them?

Well, we know they don't have a One Inch Death Punch like Bruce Lee did.

On the other hand, it's not like they've shown an ability to use distance to develop momentum, either.

Then there's the punch line to the joke: if they concentrate on Donbas, then everyone knows where to find them because they're concentrated there.

I bet congressional stock options leading up to this debacle would tell an interesting story. Congressional members, their friends and families.

Superb. A riff on The Pirates of Penzance

Very creative and well done.

Maybe it's time for a Haiku as well.

Russian armor cross
border. Javelin fly true.
Tractors tow stuck tanks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Modern Day Savage,

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
...

America Thinks the War Is About Ukraine. Russia’s Neighbors Disagree.

By Karolina Wigura and Jaroslaw Kuisz

Another brilliant piece by the WSJ editorial team. Once again, thank you for taking the time to post this.

quote:

In this febrile atmosphere, NATO’s cautious steps look to many Central and Eastern Europeans like an echo of the phony war of 1939, when France and Britain undertook only limited military actions and did not save their eastern ally, Poland. At that time, too, horrible stories from bombed Warsaw and other cities filled the media. Yet the allies were determined not to be drawn in too deeply. Their military inaction temporarily delayed the spread of the war across the globe, but did not stop it.

So, the conscious decision not to get involved only emboldened an enemy into continuing his plans for domination, allowed him more time to solidify his position, gather additional resources used to continue his war efforts, seize the initiative...and ultimately led to a longer more widespread war, spreading more destruction and death, and imposing an even greater human and financial cost to fighting the war.

The only difference I would point out here is that unlike German success in WW2, Putin is getting his ass handed to him by a far inferior force. The Germans were able to take vast amounts of real estate and hold it for years. The Russians have barely made gains beyond what they already controlled in the first place. I’m not sure at this point that the Russian military is capable of pulling off a multi-front war involving several other neighbor countries. They aren’t doing so well with the one they are menacing.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Superb. A riff on The Pirates of Penzance

Fantastic.
The original of that patter song is my favorite of the lot.

But it definitely needs this line in there somewhere:
“When I can tell at sight a Mosin-Nagant from a Javelin”

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/c963-HaxFvY

And this too:

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:
Maybe it's time for a Haiku as well.

Russian armor cross
border. Javelin fly true.
Tractors tow stuck tanks.

Biden's Reckless Words Underscore the Dangers of the U.S.'s Use of Ukraine As a Proxy War

As grave of a threat as deliberate war is, unintended escalation from miscommunication and misperception can be as bad. Biden is the perfect vessel for such risks.

Glenn Greenwald
https://greenwald.substack.com...words-underscore?s=r

quote:

WARSAW — The symbolism was striking. On March 12, two weeks into Russia’s brutal bombardment of Ukraine, the leaders of France and Germany held a joint call with President Vladimir Putin. Just days later, three prime ministers from post-Communist Europe — Polish, Czech and Slovenian — traveled to Kyiv by train, despite the danger.
....
Leaders in the region are in a unique position to spell out the stakes of Mr. Putin’s aggression and so help the West to better understand the level of risk. Yet the fact remains that Central and Eastern European countries would like to involve NATO in the conflict on a broader scale, while the West continues to prioritize global peace.

There's a saying amongst travelers when visiting between America & Europe:
American's think a 100-years is a long time
European's think a 100-miles is a long ways

The diplomatic corps of Western European EU & NATO members have been living comfortably, several generations past the Cold War, pushing the instruction manual of Soviet aggression into the archives, while looking forward to the next group retreat; German bridge & road building has moved past the armor-rated requirements from the Cold War. Meanwhile, the newer members from Central & Eastern Europe, the memories of Soviet aggression are still fresh and the scars remain visible. Stoltenberg and team, need to pull it together and make sure everyone knows their rolls, while the Western countries have the economies and manpower, the Eastern countries have the insight.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Biden overstepped when he adlibbed. Putin is now complaining of CANCEL culture. He indicates that the West is trying to cancel Russian culture. What a piece of work!

He and Harris are pathetically, if not dangerously bad, at ad libing. While Harris has served as a county and state DA, like most politicians today, their careers have been laid-out by free-riders and hanger-on's, having to smooth-out the path, patch-up their fuck-up's and making sure their feet don't jump into their mouths. Biden continues to complicate things...smh

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
His handlers have got to be freaking out every time he goes off script.

Then why the hell are they letting him out of the basement? This guy is screwing up on an unprecedented basis every time he touches a podium so why is he allowed to speak?

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Biden's Reckless Words Underscore the Dangers of the U.S.'s Use of Ukraine As a Proxy War

As grave of a threat as deliberate war is, unintended escalation from miscommunication and misperception can be as bad. Biden is the perfect vessel for such risks.

It takes tact, intelligence, and delicate covert coordination to wage a successful proxy war. Our current retarded, brain dead, president and his administration of morons and grifters have none of those attributes, which make them so incredibly dangerous trying to play this role. Biden slipped with the regime change comment (big surprise), which changes almost everything between the relationship between Putin and the US.