American Politics

[shionoro]

I just think that BIden could really use a win ahead of the midterms and I hope they can install her.

 

[kkck]

I think any concession Russia makes would be tactical. THey might look for a ceasefire if Ukraine concedes something, but it would only be a matter of time until they try for more, possibly by hybrid warfare rather than warfare.
Ukraine, under Zelenskyy, conceded a lot to the Russians in the beginning (when it came to demilitarizing the easter warzone or other such matters), but the response from Russia was never 'alright now we do s th too' but 'okay, now do more'.
That was when ZElenskyy changed stance and went for confrontation.

Zelenskyy ran on seeking peace with moscow, him changing stance came only after there was no positive response for deescalation.

The First Six Months: An Assessment of Zelenskyy's Achievements | Wilson Center


Zelenskyy made an active push for peace initially and Russia wanted more and more . Any push for peace Ukraine or the West will commit now will be similarly treated, as a way to get more than Russia has now. Russia has to be completely defeated here, that is my stance on it and I am not someone who wants war. But the longer Putin thinks he can get more, the more he will try.

That feels like a bit of a tangent from my point. My point was more along the lines of how a concession ukraine can make falls within the very unclear goals of the war russia has set. So far Putin has set out russia to be some sort of savior of ukraine that is fighting nazis... A glorious special operation that will somehow protect the russian border from imaginary western aggression for as long as the russian empire exists.

lets say ukraine gives up donbas, crimea and lungast... Then what? Did that defeat the nazis? is the russian border secured? Are russia's security concerns addressed in any way? Does ukraine have anything at all to offer that addresses any of the things putin has been complaining about that doesn't involve the ukranian population as a whole submitting for an indefinite amount of time to the whims of putin's imperialistic delusions? Which is not even a feasible thing to offer anyways.

So... what's the way out of this mess?

 

[DeadCosmos]

Hmm, you are asking if something is worse under liberals or conservatives... If I had to guess, I would say Liberals! I know there's a high chance I'm right because almost everything is worse under liberal leadership!

 

[xi0]

THat is actually not true. Even if you accept crimean autonomy, the way the sovjet union handled these autonomous blocks after its disspiation was that they were then part of the state they were located in.
That is why Chechnya is a part of Russia even tho it had autonomy in the udssr.

How is it not true? That's pretty much what I said...

Kyiv suppressed referendums in Crimea starting in 1991, and continued to do for years afterwards. That is a fact. Without this, Crimea would have likely either been an independent nation already or under Russian control years ago.

Chechnya actually wasn't independent within the Soviet Union, it was a part of the Georgian SSR and the Russian SFSR so I don't know how well that comparison works.

Russia illegally annexed land by force. That is against international law and that is why he should certainly not be rewarded for it. I find it really strange to say Ukraine "does not want this conflict to end if they do not cease crimea". Why should they allow Russia to break the law and steal its land and be the one to blame if they dont accept that?

This isn't about the legality though, the entire situation is "illegal". If you're suggesting Ukraine go to the negotiating table and demand that Russia leave Crimea then you are not someone that is taking the negotiations seriously. The war will not end without concessions.

You can dismiss the practical implications of demographics or history all you want, there is a reason Crimea was annexed without a single bullet being fired. It's quite different from the war we are seeing now. That is obvious.

It is a law, whether it is enforced does not change it.

Laws are only laws if they can be enforced, especially laws that can not be enforced by one body. If they can't be enforced, what good are they? What is the point in invoking them?

--- Double Post Merged, Mar 23, 2022, Original Post Date: Mar 23, 2022 ---

Hmm, you are asking if something is worse under liberals or conservatives... If I had to guess, I would say Liberals! I know there's a high chance I'm right because almost everything is worse under liberal leadership!

Conservatives stop treating demographics you don't care about as a political football to own the libs challenge, GO!

 

[kkck]

Oh, a plot twist in the ukraine war. Well, kinda, it's more on the russia-EU front. Putin demanding that countries must pay for oil in rubles... Quite the flex. I suppose it's time to get the popcorn out....

 

[xi0]

Anybody else watching the Ketanji Brown Supreme Court confirmation hearing?

Thoughts?

A complete joke

To watch in real time Lindsey Graham piss his diaper and ask her about the totally relevant topic of how Kavanaugh's hearing was held. Or watch some other Senator read one of her judgments and not even understand what he read. It's just so very important for these people to grandstand and make a complete spectacle of themselves while a black woman just has to sit there and have a ridiculous amount of patience with these morons.

 

[DeadCosmos]

I have to be honest, I would NOT help a homeless person if they were a democrat. Sorry! Those people are just crazy and if they want complete communism, then they can live in their tent or whatever.

 

[xi0]

I have to be honest, I would NOT help a homeless person if they were a democrat. Sorry! Those people are just crazy and if they want complete communism, then they can live in their tent or whatever.

So... people are only worth helping if they share your political views?

You know that sounds sociopathic right?

 

[DeadCosmos]

So... people are only worth helping if they share your political views?

You know that sounds sociopathic right?

Yes, pretty much and I think it does sound sociopathic, but democrats end up leading to more homelessness. If I help democrats, I will be increasing homelessness in the long term. I might screw up those homeless people that I didn't help, but I help more people in the future.. assuming democrats don't take over and make homelessness worse. When you consider California and New York are both big democrat states and have the highest populations of homelessness, it's obvious that the democrats aren't doing anything good.

 

[shionoro]

How is it not true? That's pretty much what I said...

Kyiv suppressed referendums in Crimea starting in 1991, and continued to do for years afterwards. That is a fact. Without this, Crimea would have likely either been an independent nation already or under Russian control years ago.

Chechnya actually wasn't independent within the Soviet Union, it was a part of the Georgian SSR and the Russian SFSR so I don't know how well that comparison works.

Can you source that? To my knowledge, Crimea was part of the Ukrainian SSR since 1954 and the Referendum was about becoming an autonomous region, not becoming an independent country. And it was one in the Ukrainian state.

1991 Crimean sovereignty referendum - Wikipedia

Following the referendum, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR passed the law "On Restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialistic Republic as part of USSR" on 12 February 1991, restoring Crimea's autonomous status as independent from the Ukrainian SSR. In September 1991, the Crimean parliament declared the territory to be a sovereign constituent part of Ukraine.[6] However, the parliament did not have the authority to make this decision, because according to USSR law, "On the procedure for resolving issues related to the withdrawal of a union republic from the USSR" from (3 April 1990) this issue could only be resolved via a referendum.[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Crimean_sovereignty_referendum#cite_note-7

Crimea is legally part of Ukraine, even tho it was autonomous. That is a fact. It is not legally part of Russia, it is not legally independent.

It could have become independent if things were different, but certianly Russia is not allowed to just steal it.

And Chechnya had the same autonomous status crimea had. It was an autonomous soviet republic:
Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - Wikipedia

But autonomy does not mean you are not part of the country you are in. Crimea was always part of Ukraine, no matter whether it was autonomous or not.

Laws are only laws if they can be enforced, especially laws that can not be enforced by one body. If they can't be enforced, what good are they? What is the point in invoking them?

As I said, legitimacy is the issue here. Laws give legitimacy, even if they cannot be enforced.
If all nations agree, for example, to not change their borders by force but one nation does, even if it cannot immediately be stopped, that means it becomes a pariah because its actions are not legitimate.
That is what is happening to russia right now. International laws exist, for example, to establish the concept of war crimes and, if they cannot be enforced, at least hold states morally accountable for their actions.
And there is some success to it, wars tend to be less deadly than they used to be.
In any case, if you just basically want to ignore international law, then you pretty much invite a lawless world in which anyone can do everything by force without even being held morally accountable.
But there are big differences between a state like kosovo fighting for its independence and there being an UN mission that tries to mediate between serbia and kosovo until it becomes clear that indepe

Oh, a plot twist in the ukraine war. Well, kinda, it's more on the russia-EU front. Putin demanding that countries must pay for oil in rubles... Quite the flex. I suppose it's time to get the popcorn out....

I very much hope this will lead to a complete embargo. The biggest problems are Germany and Italy, but at least in Germany, public opinion is for it.
It will be disastrous for some EU states, but I really think it just has to be done.
ndence is the best option, or russia just stealing crimea with some fraudulent sudden election held at gunpoint without any chance for mediation.[/a][/QUOTE]

 

[xi0]

Yes, pretty much and I think it does sound sociopathic, but democrats end up leading to more homelessness. If I help democrats, I will be increasing homelessness in the long term. I might screw up those homeless people that I didn't help, but I help more people in the future.. assuming democrats don't take over and make homelessness worse. When you consider California and New York are both big democrat states and have the highest populations of homelessness, it's obvious that the democrats aren't doing anything good.

You know Democrats aren't inherently evil... that they're humans like you, right?

 

[DeadCosmos]

You know Democrats aren't inherently evil... that they're humans like you, right?

Yes, I used to be one before my highschool days. The difference is whether they are willing to change or not. Not all people can be saved unfortunately.

 

[xi0]

Yes, I used to be one before my highschool days. The difference is whether they are willing to change or not. Not all people can be saved unfortunately.

Change to what though?.... something even MORE reactionary?

 

[shionoro]

@DeadCosmos
It is not that easy tho. One reason why these regions have high homelessness rates is because homeless people move there or the industries that are there have a high rate of homeless people.

If one state like California has good conditions for homeless people while another does not even offer save places for sleeping, it is clear that homeless people migrate.
The goal should be to diminish homelessness across the US.

Red states do not diminish homelessness, they drive homeless people out of their state.

 

[DeadCosmos]

Change to what though?.... something even MORE reactionary?

A republican or an independent.

It is not that easy tho. One reason why these regions have high homelessness rates is because homeless people move there or the industries that are there have a high rate of homeless people.

California has high housing prices and high tax rates. The higher wages in California mean nothing when you lose it all through taxation. The money that you do have isn't good enough to buy a house because of high housing prices. In the end, you are still homeless, the homeless are making it harder for themselves to get a home by moving to California.

 

[xi0]

The dehumanization of homeless people isn't enough, we need to also ridicule them for extraneous reasons like imaginary political leanings! /s

 

[M3J]

A republican or an independent.

looooooool republicans are even worse, waaay worse. Guess it's okay when the economy tanks whenever it's a republican president like Hoover and Bush, but how dare Dems like FDR helped the economy bounce back! Especially with their socialistic ways that worked!!

Some of the most populous cities are in states ran by Dems, like NYC in NY or LA and SF in CA, so of course states under Dem control will see the most homelessness. If Reps ran these states instead, then it'd either still be the same or even worse. Homelessness has very little to do with political affiliation and more to do with politicians on either side not doing enough to help people.

If politicians capped rent and stopped the landlords from increasing it, especially in major cities like NYC, then there's a good chance homelessness wouldn't be as high. Same if the impoverished people were getting enough money to afford rent and food easily.

 

[shionoro]

California has high housing prices and high tax rates. The higher wages in California mean nothing when you lose it all through taxation. The money that you do have isn't good enough to buy a house because of high housing prices. In the end, you are still homeless, the homeless are making it harder for themselves to get a home by moving to California.

California has a lot of relief and aid for homeless people. That is why a homeless person would have reason to go there instead of staying, for example, in Utah.

At the end of the day, the only real way to solve homelessness is ambitious welfare programs like housing first, an armada of social workers, help to reintegrate people into society and ideally the job market and of course better programs for mental health.

Republicans are unlikely to do that.

 

[DeadCosmos]

The republicans are crying about gas prices compared to democrats. The democrats don't care about gas prices though, these same people are fine with paying more money and having less to pay rent. No wonder they're homeless!! We have all these efficient and cheap energy sources but California wants to try to rely on renewable energy costing us more money. The democrats make themselves homeless, and after doing that, they request communism and more socialism because they used up all their own money. Haha! Once homeless people move to California, many of them get infected by the radical democrat ideas, no wonder they need mental health assistance! You would think the state stealing the most money from their citizens through taxation would have more to give to the homeless, but nope! All these democrats who claim to care about coronavirus but then vote Newsom who just ends up NOT wearing his mask or social distancing, if that's your best guy, then I feel bad for you democrats! It's already proven that democrat's TOP CHOICE is an incompetent failure who can't follow his own rules, that is called CHAOS. hahahahaha. LIES AND HYPOCRISY RIGHT INFRONT OF YOUR EYES from the democrats!!

 

[shionoro]

The republicans are crying about gas prices compared to democrats. The democrats don't care about gas prices though, these same people are fine with paying more money and having less to pay rent. No wonder they're homeless!! We have all these efficient and cheap energy sources but California wants to try to rely on renewable energy costing us more money. The democrats make themselves homeless, and after doing that, they request communism and more socialism because they used up all their own money. Haha! Once homeless people move to California, many of them get infected by the radical democrat ideas, no wonder they need mental health assistance! You would think the state stealing the most money from their citizens through taxation would have more to give to the homeless, but nope! All these democrats who claim to care about coronavirus but then vote Newsom who just ends up NOT wearing his mask or social distancing, if that's your best guy, then I feel bad for you democrats! It's already proven that democrat's TOP CHOICE is an incompetent failure who can't follow his own rules, that is called CHAOS. hahahahaha. LIES AND HYPOCRISY RIGHT INFRONT OF YOUR EYES from the democrats!!

Renewable is the cheapeast possible option if you tke into account that gas prizes and oil prizes are rising.
If America had already committed to its green turn 10 years ago, the prizes would not have exploded at all.