[talaniman]

Your sanctions are good for your business not ours, being allies doesn't mean we slavishly follow your lead and in any case saddam was a master at getting around your sanctions, Food should not be subject to sanctions

Food and medicines weren't sanctioned but the sale of oil was...except for food and medicine. Cash under the table was the deal breaker, but still insufficient as an excuse to invade Iraq.

[paraclete]

This is the day we will really see if quid is a Putin stooge, he has already backed off on his rhetoric

[tomder55]

He is . That long pause in his presser was very unnerving . The fact that he will not have a joint presser with Putin shows how concerned the US is of his feebleness . Plus he has already demonstrated in G 7 ,EU ,and NATO meetings ;and his caving in about Nord Stream 2 , that he will defer to European interests .


Also NATO made a terriblly childish ,ill considered blunder declaring both Russia and China enemies. There is no reason the 2 nations should be allied but NATO looking for relevance is almost forcing them to be allies. Russia may be a concern of NATO because it expanded up to the Russian border ;territory it cannot defend . But there is zero reason for NATO to expand into the Pacific . It doesn't have the resources (the Taliban is defeating it ) ;nor the desire to put in the money to become a global force. Growing the NATO mission into a new cold war is in no one's interest .

The strategic imperative should be for Quid to do like Nixon ,a dividing of Russia from China . They have rivalries of their own that are ripe for exploiting .Yet NATO is going to force them together .

And what should the Aussie position be about this ? They have sharp differences with China . But as far as I can tell do not have issues with Russia . The Aussies will of course choose the NATO block . But why should they have to ?

And what happens with the central Asian states(the 'Stans' ,Azerbaijan ) that would like to create their own block of influence because they sit in the middle of the trade east west trade route ? Will they have to choose ;and which side would they choose ?
And how will the Pacific 'Quad' deal with NATO forcing Russia into the Chinese arms ?

[tomder55]

Biden's pause when asked if he would call Putin a killer ..

Joe Biden answers awkwardly when asked about calling Vladimir Putin a ‘killer’ (news.com.au)

[paraclete]

And what should the Aussie position be about this ? They have sharp differences with China . But as far as I can tell do not have issues with Russia . The Aussies will of course choose the NATO block . But why should they have to ?

I can't speak for scomo but my take is use Russia to keep China occupied. China has already signaled that Siberia is traditionally Chinese and they want the resources. All that stops them is Russia's nuclear arsenal. China and Russia share a long border and Russia will not benefit from China's belt and road, it just becomes a vast chinese rail yard. As to NATO its purpose is to contain Russia, it is just an american proxy

As I said before Biden has backed off on his rhetoric, what you can say when a candidate for domestic consumption doesn't fly in diplomacy

[jlisenbe]

My gosh that video was a complete embarrassment. It's really rather sad to see Biden close his eyes in an attempt to concentrate and try to say something intelligent. And he's even learned to laugh awkwardly like his VP. What a sad day for America. If he tries a joint PC with Putin, it will be the political equivalent of losing a football game 56-0.

[tomder55]

. As to NATO its purpose is to contain Russia, it is just an american proxy

As I said before Biden has backed off on his rhetoric, what you can say when a candidate for domestic consumption doesn't fly in diplomacy

Russia is a gas station with an Army. A combined united Europe could easily contain Russia if it had any testicular fortitude and the will to fund their common defense . NATO was formed by the ravaged remains of western Europe to contain a Soviet Empire that doesn't exist anymore . Quid is a cold war relic .

And he's even learned to laugh awkwardly like his VP.

Kam the Sham was in my part of South Carolina this weekend. They kept her appearances a big secret .But somehow word got out and people lined the motorcade route carrying the American flag ; MAGA signs and other clever signs like 'the border is that way ' . We did not have a good discussion of her disastrous road trip to the triangle nations .
Love how when asked about going to the border her reply was that she had never been to Europe either .
Elvis Presley Never Been To Spain 1972 HD Live - YouTube

The White House was deeply concerned about some of her responses . CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond said. “It’s left some of the administration officials perplexed, and the vice president’s team frustrated.” This is not good . An incompetent who was selected to check off the pc boxes is backing up a feeble President

[jlisenbe]

other clever signs like 'the border is that way '

That made me laugh. Over eighty days now and she's still in charge of a border she has not bothered to inspect.

[paraclete]

That made me laugh. Over eighty days now and she's still in charge of a border she has not bothered to inspect.

What's to see? refugees climbing fences? swimming rivers?

[tomder55]

Democrat Rep Henry Cuellar thinks it is important that Kam the Sham visit the border . His district has 300 miles of border at risk . He sent her a letter today urging her to visit to find out the facts .

I encourage you to join me and other Members of Congress, while we visit with the people on the ground who deal with these issues every day," "I believe it is critical that you meet with local stakeholders and residents, consider their concerns, and use their lived experiences to implement more effective policies."
Cuellar requests VP Harris to visit southern border (kgns.tv)

[paraclete]

What a world you live in, the internet is not to be believed, the public servants are not to be believed, you must visit to see for yourself and what would she see? a river? a fence? camps? desperate people, surely she is surrounded by those in Washington?

[jlisenbe]

The internet is not to be believed? Really? So you believe everything you see on the web?

[Wondergirl]

The internet is not to be believed? Really? So you believe everything you see on the web?

Twist and shout. Is this your new behavior?

[paraclete]

No, I'm just wondering what is going on, politicians are condemned if they do and condemned if they don't, maybe Joe is right, the media have nothing positive to say, pity politicians have adopted the same attitude

[jlisenbe]

I would agree that being a pol is tough. The press over here, however, is largely supportive of Biden.

[paraclete]

Joe's comments before departure don't reflect that, clearly he thinks the media is negative

[jlisenbe]

You need look no further than Hunter Biden to see that the press has his back.

[paraclete]

side issue, you are fixated on side issues

[jlisenbe]

The neglect of the HB hard drive story and the wild speculation about tear gas in Lafayette Square both affected public opinion which affected votes. Hardly a side issue.

[paraclete]

It is now, time to move on