Scott75

I think this article builds off of Professor Sachs' speech at the European Union, a thread of which I made here recently: This new article focuses exclusively on the Ukraine war. His article can be seen here in its entirety: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/lasting-peace-ukraine Quoting from the introduction and conclusion of his article: ** The time has arrived for diplomacy that brings collective security to Europe, Ukraine, and Russia. March 6, 2025 There should be little doubt about how a lasting peace can be established in Ukraine. In April 2022, Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of signing a peace agreement in Istanbul, with the Turkish Government acting as mediator. The U.S. and U.K. talked Ukraine out of signing the agreement, and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have since died or been seriously injured. Yet the framework of the Istanbul Process still provides the basis of peace today. The draft peace agreement (dated April 15, 2022) and the Istanbul Communique (dated March 29, 2022) on which it was based, offered a sensible and straightforward way to end the conflict. It’s true that three years after Ukraine broke off the negotiations, during which time Ukraine has incurred major losses, Ukraine will eventually cede more territory than it would have in April 2022 — yet it will gain the essentials: sovereignty, international security arrangements, and peace. In the 2022 negotiations, the agreed issues were Ukraine’s permanent neutrality and international security guarantees for Ukraine. The final disposition of the contested territories was to be decided over time, based on negotiations between the parties, during which both sides committed to refrain from using force to change boundaries. Given the current realities, Ukraine will cede Crimea and parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, reflecting the battlefield outcomes of the past three years. Such an agreement can be signed almost immediately and in fact is likely to be signed in the coming months. As the U.S. is no longer going to underwrite the war, in which Ukraine would suffer yet more casualties, destruction, and loss of territory, Zelensky is recognizing that it’s time to negotiate. In his address to Congress, President Donald Trump quoted Zelensky as saying “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.” [snip] The time has arrived for diplomacy that brings collective security to Europe, Ukraine, and Russia. Europe should open direct talks with Russia and should urge Russia and Ukraine to sign a peace agreement based on the March 29 Istanbul Communique and the April 15, 2022 draft peace agreement. Peace in Ukraine should by followed by the creation of a new system of collective security for all of Europe, stretching from Britain to the Urals, and indeed beyond. **

I don't really see the issue being one of left vs. right, but rather those who favour authoritarian leadership over those who favour a more discourse based one.

I've listened to parts of Jeffrey Sachs' speech to the European Union in the past and thought it was quite good. The full article can be seen here: https://consortiumnews.com/2025/02/27/jeffrey-sachs-the-geopolitics-of-peace/ For those who haven't heard of Jeffrey Sachs, here's the short bio that's at the end of the article: ** Jeffrey D. Sachs is a university professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed The Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is also president of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a commissioner of the U.N. Broadband Commission for Development. ** This article is essentially his speech, with a few things that he referenced in his speech added in. He gave it on February 19, 2025. Quoting the introduction and conclusion of his speech: ** This is an edited transcript of Professor Jeffrey Sachs’ speech in the European Parliament at an event titled “The Geopolitics of Peace,” hosted by former U.N. Assistant Secretary General and current BSW MEP Michael von der Schulenburg, on Feb. 19, 2025. The transcript has been edited for clarity and annotated. Thanks to all of you for the chance to be together and to think together. This is indeed a complicated and fast-changing time and a very dangerous one. So, we really need clarity of thought. I’m especially interested in our conversation, so I’ll try to be as succinct and clear as I can be. I’ve watched the events very close-up in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Russia and Ukraine, very closely for the last 36 years. I was an adviser to the Polish government in 1989, to President Gorbachev’s economic team in 1990 and 1991, to President Yeltsin’s economic team in 1991 to 1993 and to President Kuchma’s economic team in Ukraine in 1993 to 1994. I helped introduce the Estonian currency. I helped several countries in former Yugoslavia, especially Slovenia. After the Maidan, I was asked by the new government [in Ukraine] to come to Kyiv, and I was taken around the Maidan, and I learned a lot of things firsthand. I’ve been in touch with Russian leaders for more than 30 years. I also know the American political leadership close-up. Our previous secretary of treasury, Janet Yellen, was my wonderful macroeconomics teacher 52 years ago. We have been friends for a half century. I know these people. I say this because what I want to explain in my point of view is not second-hand. It’s not ideology. It’s what I’ve seen with my own eyes and experienced during this period. I want to share with you my understanding of the events that have befallen Europe in many contexts and I’ll include not only the Ukraine crisis, but also Serbia 1999, the wars in the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, the wars in Africa, including Sudan, Somalia, Libya. These are to a very significant extent the result of deeply misguided U.S. policies. What I will say may well surprise you, but I speak from experience and knowledge of these events. [snip] Audience Member: Do you think the way out of this conflict is a Finlandization of Ukraine? Jeffrey Sachs: Excellent question. Let me just report one aspect about Finlandization. Finlandization landed Finland No. 1 in the World Happiness Report year after year. Finland is rich, successful, happy, and secure. That’s pre-NATO Finland I’m discussing. So “Finlandization” was a wonderful thing for Finland. When Sweden and Finland and Austria were neutral, bravo. Smart. When Ukraine was neutral, smart. If you have two superpowers, keep them apart a little bit. If the United States had any sense at all, it would have left these countries as the neutral space in between the U.S. military and Russia, but the U.S. has far too little sense. **

Larry Johnson thinks it's unlikely that Zelensky will apologize, I think he may well be right. As I've said before, Trump has his flaws, but one flaw he does -not- have is this crazy wishful thinking of many warmongers on both the left and the right. I suspect that the most important statement Trump made in his tiff with Zelensky was this one: "Trump: [shouting] “You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War Three. You're gambling with World War Three" Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-zelensky-transcript-in-full-every-word-of-astonishing-white-house-exchange-over-ukraine-russia-war/ar-AA1A0EtW I firmly believe that Trump is right on this. Zelensky was considering getting nukes even -before- Russia's military operation in Ukraine began, and Putin was certainly listening- he even responded, and all of this was before his operation. Zelensky hasn't changed course and his wish to get western powers to escalate things to this level has been something he's done repeateadly, even getting the U.S. and other western powers to literally help him bomb Russia. What if Putin was a bit less restrained and decided to bomb the countries that were helping bomb Russia back? Scott Ritter suggested this could have indeed led to World War III in an article he wrote back in September 2024: https://consortiumnews.com/2024/09/19/scott-ritter-72-hours/ Fortunately, Putin decided to avoid doing this, and perhaps for this reason alone, World War III didn't ensue. Trump, to his credit, wants to avoid these types of possibilities entirely. I've heard that he also wants to essentially have an Israeli style Iron Dome for the U.S., with satellites able to take out nukes from orbit and the like. I think diplomacy's a -much- better option, but it goes to show that Trump takes the potential of World War III quite seriously, which is something that Biden, who I think most would agree wasn't really all there by the end of his term, didn't seem to a lot of the time (there were thankfully some exceptions).

We may just get a chance to see. Indeed.

I suspect we won't. I think the following 2 paragraphs from an article written by Larry Johnson is a clear sign that this war is coming to a close: ** What a day. The fallout from Friday’s rumble in the Oval Office continues and it is not good news for Ukraine. Although Zelensky caught some love from a motley collection of Eurocrats over the weekend in London, it was meaningless. More empty promises from European countries with no military clout and floundering economies, all vowing to support Ukraine, maybe. The UK’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, promised to provide troops and planes to secure a peace in Ukraine and then, moments later, conceded it would only be done if the US provided firm security guarantees. Trump already has said, “NO,” to that proposal and is not going to reverse position. Then, late this afternoon, news broke that Trump had pulled the plug on providing further military and financial assistance to Ukraine. While Trump suggested this might be only a temporary hold, provided that Zelensky get on his knees and return to the Oval Office to kiss Trump’s ass, I think it is unlikely that the Kievan Cocaine Cowboy will wipe the white powder from his nostrils, clear his head, and apologize to Mr. Trump. Zelensky is too far gone. ** Full article: https://sonar21.com/trump-pulls-the-plug-on-further-aid-to-ukraine/ Things were hard enough with the United States' help. Without it, I'd be surprised if the war lasts until the end of the year. Perhaps some isolated pockets of resistance from the Neo Nazis that played such an integral role in getting it all started in 2014.

Interesting article that just came out a few hours ago, thought it might merit a thread of its own. Link to it is here: https://sonar21.com/trump-pulls-the-plug-on-further-aid-to-ukraine/ Quoting the short article below: ** What a day. The fallout from Friday’s rumble in the Oval Office continues and it is not good news for Ukraine. Although Zelensky caught some love from a motley collection of Eurocrats over the weekend in London, it was meaningless. More empty promises from European countries with no military clout and floundering economies, all vowing to support Ukraine, maybe. The UK’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, promised to provide troops and planes to secure a peace in Ukraine and then, moments later, conceded it would only be done if the US provided firm security guarantees. Trump already has said, “NO,” to that proposal and is not going to reverse position. Then, late this afternoon, news broke that Trump had pulled the plug on providing further military and financial assistance to Ukraine. While Trump suggested this might be only a temporary hold, provided that Zelensky get on his knees and return to the Oval Office to kiss Trump’s ass, I think it is unlikely that the Kievan Cocaine Cowboy will wipe the white powder from his nostrils, clear his head, and apologize to Mr. Trump. Zelensky is too far gone. Zelensky will bear the blame in Ukraine for alienating the Trump administration and you can bet that senior intelligence and military officers, who will now be denied assistance they were counting on, will turn their wrath on Zelensky. Whatever tantrum or defiant show of resistance Zelensky decides to present to the outside world, that will be short-lived. Russia will likely further intensify its military operations against the Ukrainian forces, which already are suffering significant losses all along the line of contact. And the prospect for a quick collapse of Ukraine’s military appears more plausible as compared to the situation one month past. At the same time that President Trump is turning up the heat on Ukraine, he has ordered the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State to review existing sanctions on Russia and submit a list recommending which ones to lift. I think one of the first to fall will be air travel between the two countries. When the full truth of US financial support for Ukraine is eventually revealed, Americans will be shocked to learn that USAID played a pervasive and powerful role in funneling money to whip up public enthusiasm for Ukraine and to entice mercenaries to enlist. In addition, USAID funding to media outlets in Ukraine was a critical element in pushing memes proclaiming Ukraine as a democracy, Zelensky as a popular leader and Russia as military and economic basket case. With Trump pulling the plug on that operation, the facade of lies is being exposed and starting to crumble. I discussed some of these issues on Monday with Nima and with the Judge: **

Yep, but she was definitely good comedy material :-)...

Yep. Just means it'll be even more embarassing for Europe as Russia continues to win on the battlefield.

Good point. At the very least, I think Trump understands that any further escalations with Russia is an absolutely idi*tic course of action. Probably why he said this of Biden's helping Ukraine to bomb Russia: Trump says it was 'st*pid' for Biden to let Ukraine use US weapons to strike deeper into Russia | Yahoo News I did some digging and found that missiles were still being launched at Russia in January and early February, but it's my hope that this has finally stopped now that Trump and Putin have talked.

I don't know if some here would or would not go into battle themselves, but it doesn't change the fact that it'd be a dumb idea even if they would. As I've pointed out, it was the west which has consistently provoked Russia for years in Ukraine, while Russia fruitlessly tried to find some diplomatic solution. People say that Putijn is bad and all that, and perhaps he is in some ways, but when it comes to Ukraine, he tried for 8 years to find a diplomatic solution and by the end of those years, I think he made it quite clear what made him finally go to war in Ukraine. In the speech he gave on February 24, 2022, the day he started his military operation in Ukraine, which even he has begun to call a war, he said this amoung other things: ** This brings me to the situation in Donbass. We can see that the forces that staged the coup in Ukraine in 2014 have seized power, are keeping it with the help of ornamental election procedures and have abandoned the path of a peaceful conflict settlement. For eight years, for eight endless years we have been doing everything possible to settle the situation by peaceful political means. Everything was in vain. As I said in my previous address, you cannot look without compassion at what is happening there. It became impossible to tolerate it. We had to stop that atrocity, that genocide of the millions of people who live there and who pinned their hopes on Russia, on all of us. It is their aspirations, the feelings and pain of these people that were the main motivating force behind our decision to recognise the independence of the Donbass people’s republics. I would like to additionally emphasise the following. Focused on their own goals, the leading NATO countries are supporting the far-right nationalists and neo-Nazis in Ukraine, those who will never forgive the people of Crimea and Sevastopol for freely making a choice to reunite with Russia. They will undoubtedly try to bring war to Crimea just as they have done in Donbass, to kill innocent people just as members of the punitive units of Ukrainian nationalists and Hitler’s accomplices did during the Great Patriotic War. ** Source: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/statements/67843 Putin doesn't mention the fact that about a week before this speech, the Ukrainian military had once again begun a military assault on the Donbass region. I'm not sure why he didn't do this, but former Swiss Intelligence Officer Jacques Baud presents clear evidence that this was in fact happening in an article I believe you've seen before. For anyone else reading this who hasn't seen it, it's here: https://scheerpost.com/2022/04/09/former-nato-military-analyst-blows-the-whistle-on-wests-ukraine-invasion-narrative/ In summary, Putin tried diplomacy for years and realized that the west just pretended to play along in order to further build up Ukraine's military. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted as much soon after Russia's military operation began: https://www.donbass-insider.com/2022/12/10/angela-merkel-admits-that-the-minsk-agreements-were-only-signed-to-give-ukraine-time/ I think in the days leading up to his military operation in Ukraine, he realized that diplomacy just wasn't enough, or at least not the kind that only involved words. Aggressive negotiations were necessary.

What do you believe he lied about?

They did: ** In fact, as early as February 16 [2022], Joe Biden knows that the Ukrainians began to shell the civilian populations of Donbass, putting Vladimir Putin in front of a difficult choice: to help Donbass militarily and create an international problem or to sit idle and watch Russian speakers from the Donbass being run over. If he decides to intervene, Vladimir Putin can invoke the international obligation of “ Responsibility To Protect ” (R2P). But he knows that whatever its nature or scale, the intervention will trigger a shower of sanctions. Therefore, whether its intervention is limited to the Donbass or whether it goes further to put pressure on the West for the status of Ukraine, the price to be paid will be the same. This is what he explains in his speech on February 21. That day, he acceded to the request of the Duma and recognized the independence of the two Republics of Donbass and, in the process, he signed treaties of friendship and assistance with them. The Ukrainian artillery bombardments on the populations of Donbass continued and, on February 23, the two Republics requested military aid from Russia. On the 24th, Vladimir Putin invokes Article 51 of the United Nations Charter which provides for mutual military assistance within the framework of a defensive alliance. In order to make the Russian intervention totally illegal in the eyes of the public we deliberately obscure the fact that the war actually started on February 16th. The Ukrainian army was preparing to attack the Donbass as early as 2021, as certain Russian and European intelligence services were well aware… The lawyers will judge. ** Full article: https://scheerpost.com/2022/04/09/former-nato-military-analyst-blows-the-whistle-on-wests-ukraine-invasion-narrative/

Ah ok, well that certainly sounds good 🙂

I actually think Trump is trying to cut off the oxygen of this fire, which is definitely a good thing. I just finished watching a 47 minute talk wherein Deep Dive Youtuber Daniel Davis interviewed Professor John Mearsheimer to hear his thoughts on Trump and Vance's tussle with Zelensky today, I think it was well worth my time. It can be seen here:

Exactly. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, USSR leader Khrushchev decided to make a deal with JFK: Russia would remove its nukes from Cuba and in return, the U.S. would remove its nukes from Turkey. A wise move on both leaders part to avoid further escalation: Business Insider published an article in 2018 that posited that there were 9 times that the world was on the brink of nuclear war- 4 of those times were during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It looks like the Ukraine crisis has had at least one such incident and I suspect Trump would like to ensure that there aren't any more. I believe most sane people would want to avoid the U.S. having a nuclear war with Russia. They even made an acronym for it- MAD, short for Mutually Assured Destruction.

Quite an interesting showdown. Quoting from the article: ** President Trump and Vice President JD Vance loudly berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday in an explosive televised shouting match unlike any seen in the Oval Office between an American president and foreign leader in modern times. Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance castigated Mr. Zelensky for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in its war with Russia and sought to strong-arm him into making a peace deal on whatever terms the Americans dictate. With voices raised and tempers flaring, Mr. Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine altogether if Mr. Zelensky did not go along. Talking over the Ukrainian leader, Mr. Vance told Mr. Zelensky that it was “disrespectful” for him to come to the Oval Office and make his case in front of the American news media and demanded that he thank Mr. Trump for his leadership. Mr. Trump jumped in and told the Ukrainian leader, “You’re not really in a good position right now” and that “you’re gambling with World War III.” “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,” Mr. Trump added. “And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.” Minutes later, Mr. Trump seemed to call off the rest of the visit. “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” he wrote on social media. “I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.” Mr. Zelensky soon departed the White House in a black S.U.V. The exchange in front of television cameras was one of the most dramatic moments ever to play out in public in the Oval Office and underscored the radical break between the United States and Ukraine since Mr. Trump took office. ** Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/28/us/trump-news?unlocked_article_code=1.0U4.tZLV.BzjMU-tFdq_C&smid=url-share The New York Times, being the New York Times, then goes on with typical BS, in this case saying that Trump has "sided with Russia" and other falsehoods, but the confrontation between Trump/Vance and Zelensky seems to be quite real. It seems that only now does Zelensky realize that there's no good way out of this conflict, only varying degrees of terrible. He may even be thinking about how he should have taken the peace deal Russia offered near the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. It's one I believe that Trump has alluded to and is talked about in the following article: The Lost Peace? | The Nation

I suspect it may have had to do with him gravely misquoting someone, but perhaps he then compounded it with something else. I personally reported the post in question, not sure if anyone else did. The misquote itself was deleted, but I took a screenshot before that happened. I'll send you a PM with it.

Yeah, the fact that Russia tried to conquer them and is still doing so now. i'd say you're confusing the U.S. with Russia. It was the U.S. that played an integral role in the Euromaidan coup back in 2014, not Russia. Russia certainly didn't take it lying down, by accepting Crimea's wish to rejoin Russia, but it's important to note what country started Ukraine's destabilization. After annexing Crimea, Russia took no more Ukrainian territory for 8 years. During those 8 years, Ukraine engaged in a civil war with eastern Ukrainians. Do you know how that started? Perhaps more importantly, do you know what the Ukrainian military had begun to attack 8 days before Russia's military operation in Ukraine started 3 years ago today?

I've looked through the transcript of athos' video- Sachs never says what you claim he says above. Here's what he -does- say, starting at at around the 11:30 point: ** Europe has to open negotiations directly with Russia as well because the United States will quickly lose interest and you're going to be living with Russia for the next thousands of years okay so what do you want you want to make sure that the Baltic state states are secure the best thing for the Baltic states is to stop their russophobia this is the most important thing [snip] ** For those who haven't seen the video athos' put up, it's here: Do you have any evidence suggesting that Russia has imperialist goals in Ukraine?

TBH, after $10M, everything else is gravy. And I doubt that Zelensky's money is worth anything in a bar or restaurant. He's getting free meals and booze for life, as long as he keeps singing the proper tune. You may well be right. I've come to think that the really serious corruption is closer to home. As I brought up in my last post, I found that much of the money allegedly sent to Ukraine went never got there. Zelensky did bring this up. An article on that: Where did the money go? Zelensky exposes $102 billion black Hole in U.S. Aid to Ukraine | NewsTarget The article definitely suggests that most of the gravy train is generally much closer to home. Quoting from the summary of the article: ** Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that only $75 billion of the $177 billion in U.S. military aid intended for Ukraine under the Biden administration has been received. The remaining 102 billion is unaccounted for, sparking outrage and raising questions about accountability and transparency in U.S. foreign aid programs. Zelensky's comments have reignited debates about corruption within Ukraine's government and the broader international aid system, with some suggesting the issue may be due to mismanagement or deliberate diversion of funds. The timing of the disclosure is significant, coming after former President Donald Trump's criticism of U.S. spending on Ukraine and his decision to freeze virtually all foreign aid. Zelensky's revelations are a wake-up call for American taxpayers and policymakers, highlighting the need for transparency, oversight and accountability in U.S. foreign aid programs. ** This all reminds me of a comedy sketch Zelensky did when he was still just a comedian. It can be seen here: Quoting a particularly poignant part of his sketch: ** Today, our President, the most important one, Barrack Obama, has promised that we will join NATO soon, as an American henchman, of course ** The thing about being an American henchman is echoed in something that American economist and public policy expert Jeffrey Sachs said recently to the EU Parliament: ** ...I begged the Ukrainians and I had a track record with the ukrainians I advise the ukrainians I'm not anti-ukrainian I'm Pro Ukrainian completely I said save your lives save your sovereignty save your territory be neutral don't listen to the Americans I repeated to them the famous adage of Henry Kissinger that to be an enemy of the United States is dangerous but to be a friend is fatal [snip] ** He says the above in the following video, at around the 41:30 mark: Sachs backs up the previous quoted statement prior to making it with the following, which he starts at a bit before the 39 minute mark: ** Michael and I met at the Vatican with a group in the spring of 2022 where we wrote a document explaining nothing good can come out of this war for Ukraine negotiate now because anything that takes time will mean massive amounts of deaths, risk of nuclear escalation and likely loss of the war. I wouldn't change one word from what we wrote then. Nothing was wrong in that document. And since that document, since the US talked the negotiators away from the table, about a million ukrainians have died or been severely wounded and the American Senators who are as nasty and cynical and corrupt as imaginable, say this is wonderful expenditure of our money because no Americans are dying. It's the pure proxy war. One of our Senators nearby me uh Blumenthal says this out loud. Mitt Romney says this out loud. It's best money America can spend, no Americans are dying. it's unreal. [snip] **

His last lines were particularly piercing in my view, start at 7:00: ** I will conclude by saying the reason I'm so mad at the Democrats, is because as a voter, the issues that were important to me were democracy and the environment. And now, there's no one to champion or defend either of them, because you, with your aggressively anti-common sense agenda and shitty exclusionary attitude, blew it. You lost everything. House, Senate, White House, Supreme Court, and left us completely unprotected and ready to be violated. **

I was initially dismissive of your claim. However, today Chris Hedges published the following article: Chris Hedges: The Purge of the Deep State and the Road to Dictatorship | Scheerpost I'm hoping he's wrong or at least greatly exagerating the danger, but he's a very good writer. Quoting from his introduction: ** The Trump administration’s war with the deep state is not a purgative. It is not about freeing us from the tyranny of intelligence agencies, militarized police, the largest prison system in the world, predatory corporations or the end of mass surveillance. It will not restore the rule of law to hold the powerful and the wealthy accountable. It will not slash the bloated and unaccountable spending — some $1 trillion dollars — by the Pentagon. All revolutionary movements, on the left or the right, dismantle the old bureaucratic structures. The fascists in Germany and the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union, once they seized power, aggressively purged the civil service. They see in these structures, correctly, an enemy that would stymie their absolute grip on power. It is a coup d’état by inches. Now we get our own. Rearguard battles — as in the early years of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany — are taking place in the courts and media outlets openly hostile to Trump. There will be, at first, pyrrhic victories — the Bolsheviks and the Nazis were stalled by their own judiciaries and hostile press — but gradually the purges, aided by a bankrupt liberalism that no longer stands or fights for anything, ensures the triumph of the new masters. The Trump administration has expelled or fired officials who investigate wrongdoing within the federal government, including 17 inspectors general. Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, such as the FBI and Homeland Security, are being purged of those deemed hostile to Trump. Courts, as they are stacked with compliant judges, will be mechanisms for the persecution of state “enemies” and protection rackets for the powerful and the rich. The Supreme Court, which has granted Trump legal immunity, has already reached this stage. “The original purge after the Shah’s fall sought to rid the ministries of senior-level holdovers from the former regime and to provide the revolutionary faithful with jobs,” reads a declassified CIA memo, dated Aug. 28, 1980, on the then newly formed Islamic Republic of Iran. “The second wave of purges began last month after a series of Khomeini speeches. Lower-level individuals who had been part of the Shah’s bureaucracy, those with Western training, or those who were deemed to lack full Revolutionary fervor have been retired or fired on an increasingly large scale.” We are repeating the steps that led to the consolidation of power by past dictatorships, albeit with our own idiom and idiosyncrasies. Those naively lauding Trump’s hostility towards the deep state — which I concede did tremendous damage to democratic institutions, eviscerated our most cherished liberties, is an unaccountable state within a state and orchestrated a series of disastrous global interventions, including the recent military fiascos in the Middle East and Ukraine — should look closely at what is being proposed to take its place.' The ultimate target for the Trump administration is not the deep state. The target is the laws, regulations, protocols and rules, and the government civil servants who enforce them, which hinder dictatorial control. Compromise, limited power, checks and balances and accountability are slated to be abolished. Those who believe that the government is designed to serve the common good, rather than the dictates of the ruler, will be forced out. The deep state will be reconstituted to serve the leadership cult. Laws and the rights enshrined in the Constitution will be irrelevant. **

^This is about US weapons sales to NATO members, not to Ukraine. Alright, let's say you're right. It appears, then, that your real beef isn't with Simplicius' article, but rather with Ukrainian Rada head of the Defense Committee Roman Kostenko. I saw you quoted where I essentially pointed this out (I said the Ukrainian media, but if you look at the article itself, you'll see who made the claim), but you never responded to this point, so once more, in case you missed it: ** As to Simplicius' quote that the U.S. was selling weapons to Ukraine, if it's mistaken, I think it'd make more sense to blame the Ukrainian media where he says he got the quote from to begin with. Here's an article from the Kyiv Post published yesterday on the subject that says the same thing: US Reportedly Halts Weapon Sales to Ukraine, Lawmaker Disputes Claim | Kyiv Post **

I'm not saying this stuff is certain to be false, but there were FB posts before about Zelensky's newfound wealth which were allegedly false. I like how you put *allegedly* false :-p. It can certainly be hard to pin down how much wealth powerful people have- I think we can agree that this is by design. I think the following article from June 2024 runs the gamut as to the range of what Zelensky's net assets are worth: https://kenyainsights.com/volodymyr-zelensky-net-worth-and-rise-from-actor-to-president/ It pins Zelensky's worth at $596 million, but it doesn't say what it's sources of information are. It also says that estimates of Zelensky's wealth range from 20 million to 1.5 billion. Quite a wide range. Forbes would be the one to claim the lower number of 20 million ("at most", they say): https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/leadership/leaders/president-zelensky-is-not-a-billionaire-so-how-much-is-he-worth Perhaps more interesting, though, is where much of the money allegedly sent to Ukraine went. Zelensky did bring this up. An article on that: https://www.newstarget.com/2025-02-05-zelensky-exposes-102b-black-hole-us-aid-ukraine.html The article definitely suggests that most of the gravy train is generally much closer to home.