Imma B 1st to call it: NATO should invade Ukraine to assist Russia and the US should make them do so.

We don't. Our so called representatives do. Originally Posted by texassapper

Though it sounds eerily family yet stupid all at the same time.

House Democrats Aim to Reduce 40-Year-High Inflation by Spending More Money



House Democrats on Wednesday are aiming to reduce inflation by spending more money via the Bipartisan Innovation Act.

The bill promises to spend $52 billion in government subsidies to improve U.S. semiconductor production, improve STEM education, and establish a Supply Chain Office at the Department of Commerce. The bill also spends money on funding the Manufacturing USA Institutes and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

It is unknown how pumping more money into the economy would reduce President Joe Biden’s 40-year-high inflation. The bill has not yet been scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Nevertheless, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lieutenant, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), told Democrat House members on Monday to expect a vote on the bill this work period, Punchbowl News reported. Hoyer claimed the passage of the bill is the “most important step Congress can take right now” to reduce Biden’s inflation. The bill is still in committee.

Feeling the pressure from the midterm elections right around the corner in November, Democrat House members are searching for a solution to reduce inflation fueled by massive spending packages passed in 2021 by the establishment.

Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), Cindy Axne (D-IA), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Susie Lee (D-NV) penned a letter on Monday to Democrat leadership, pleading with them to address inflation.

“Hardworking families in our districts and across the country are facing rising costs across the board. While the reasons for these rising costs are many and varied, the fact remains that these inflationary pressures are harming our constituents, small businesses and working families,” the leader read as reported by Punchbowl News. “We continue to hear from folks who are wondering what Washington is doing to address these problems.”

Eighty percent of Americans say inflation is an “extremely/very important” factor in how they will vote in the midterm elections, a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll revealed.

According to Bloomberg, inflation will cost American households on average an extra $5,200 in 2022, or $433 per month. Inflation will also delay 25 percent of Americans from retiring, a BMO Real Financial Progress Index survey revealed.

What could possibly go wrong?!?

Though it sounds eerily family yet stupid all at the same time.
What could possibly go wrong?!? Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

these people can't be this stupid can they? this must be a plot to completely destroy the value of the dollar. insidious!

these people can't be this stupid can they? this must be a plot to completely destroy the value of the dollar. insidious! Originally Posted by The_Waco_Kid

Embrace the power of "&".

They are both that stupid and this is their plan to crash the economy and implement their precious socialist agenda...

these people can't be this stupid can they? Originally Posted by The_Waco_Kid

Just when you are starting to lose all hope, you realize hope was a fantasy in the first danged place.

these people can't be this stupid can they? this must be a plot to completely destroy the value of the dollar. insidious! Originally Posted by The_Waco_Kid

Imagine if they were smart yet this is their Best result?!?

To be fair, it's also another case of:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it!" ~ George Santayana

I think the below article may have been written by a time traveler who went back in time to answer the question of: Why is Russia so cranky about Ukraine?. Either that or actions have predictable consequences. This is why they recommend against having the blind lead the blind across an Interstate highway full of electric cars. So should we be shocked, shocked I say, that Russia is in Ukraine ATM?

The US decision to arm their puppets in the Ukraine will be disastrous

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Tue, 26 Dec 201719:41 UTC



The US decision to supply arms to Ukraine is utterly misconceived, but it continues a pattern of confrontational short-term policy decisions which have become the norm in the US ever since the US military effectively took charge of the US government back in the summer.

Any policy whose reasoning is difficult to explain is almost by definition flawed, and this policy is no exception. Here are a number of possible explanations for this move.

1. the US weapons are being supplied to facilitate a planned Ukrainian offensive to conquer the Donbass;
2. the US weapons are being supplied as a gesture of political support for Ukraine in its continued confrontation with the two People's Republics and with Russia;
3. the US weapons are being supplied to enable the US to gain political leverage over Russia in the ongoing negotiations to settle the Ukrainian crisis;
4. the US weapons are being supplied to help Donald Trump politically at home by stifling criticism that he is "giving up" on Ukraine and in order to show that he is "getting tough" with Russia.

Comment:

• Donbass is breaking away from an agonized Ukraine
• Behind the Headlines: The Russia Collusion Ruse: Why the US Deep State Hates Russia, Not Trump

The one explanation which can be ruled out is the explanation the US has given for its decision: that the US weapons being supplied are purely defensive weapons intended to deter a Russian attack on Ukraine.

The US must know by now that no Russian attack on Ukraine is in prospect or planned so this explanation cannot be true.

Not all these explanations are mutually exclusive and it may be that more than one of them applies. However as with so many other foreign policy decisions recently taken by the US this one does not look like it has been properly discussed within the US government or thought through.

Briefly, my guess is that the most commonly cited explanation within the US government to justify this decision is (3), with the weapons intended to provide the US with leverage in the negotiations underway with the Russians so that US can force Russia to a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on US terns.

It has become increasingly clear over the last few weeks that the US misunderstood President Putin's agreement that UN peacekeepers be sent to the protect the OSCE monitors along the contact line in the Donbass, as a sign that the Russians were coming round to the Ukrainian idea of a UN peacekeeping force deployed throughout the Donbass to facilitate the restoration of Ukrainian control there.

Negotiations over the last few weeks have shown that this was an illusion and that the Russians are no nearer to agreeing to such a proposal - which they say (rightly) contradicts the Minsk Agreement - than ever.

The decision to send a limited number of weapons to Ukraine therefore looks like it could be intended to put pressure on the Russians to agree to this Ukrainian proposal for a peacekeeping.

If so then the decision is misconceived since instead of forcing the Russians to agreeing to the sort of the sort of peacekeeping force the Ukrainians are proposing, it is all but guaranteed to make the Russians harden their position still further.

Already the Russians are saying that the US cannot be a mediator in the conflict when it is arming one side against the other, and they are already broadly hinting that their response will be to step up their own arms supplies to the People's Republics.

Comment: Putin at Valdai: "Russia will not allow Donbass to be massacred"

The effect of the US proposal will therefore be to make both sides in the conflict more heavily armed than ever.

That however is only the beginning of the trouble.

Though the US has not publicly said what weapons it intends to supply, it is likely that the weapons will include a batch of Javelin anti tank missiles.

These are known to be sophisticated weapons which are difficult to use and which require a high level of training if they are to be used properly.

If so then that points to a US training mission being sent to Ukraine to train Ukrainian troops in their use. That brings US troops even more directly into the Ukrainian military theatre than they are already, creating a serious risk that they will become directly involved in the actual fighting with all the catastrophic political consequences which may follow from that...

In a 'Hold My Beer' nod to Jimmy Carter, F Joe Biden will likely have to do a fire side chat in early July to encourage Americans to purchase more Russian goods - for America! Of course, he will likely outlaw outdoor fireworks - because Climate Change, then crap in his diaper.

US Quietly Urges Russia Fertilizer Deals to Unlock Grain Trade

(Bloomberg) -- The US government is quietly encouraging agricultural and shipping companies to buy and carry more Russian fertilizer, according to people familiar with the efforts, as sanctions fears have led to a sharp drop in supplies, fueling spiraling global food costs.

The effort is part of complex and difficult negotiations underway involving the United Nations to boost deliveries of fertilizer, grain and other farm products from Russia and Ukraine that have been disrupted by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his southern neighbor.
...
The EU and the US have built exemptions into their restrictions on doing business with Russia to allow trade in fertilizer, of which Moscow is a key global supplier. But many shippers, banks and insurers have been staying away from the trade out of fear they could inadvertently fall afoul of the rules. Russian fertilizer exports are down 24% this year. US officials, surprised by the extent of the caution, are in the seemingly paradoxical position of looking for ways to boost them.
...
Washington sent a representative to UN-led talks in Moscow earlier this month on the supply issues, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public. Inadequate fertilizer deliveries this year could also affect next year’s crops.
...
The Kremlin has called on the US provide assurances to buyers and shippers of its fertilizer and grain that they aren’t subject to sanctions, suggesting it’s a condition of any steps to unblock shipments of Ukrainian farm products now.

“For Russia, it’s really important that U.S. authorities send a clear signal that these deals are permitted and in the interest of global food security and they shouldn’t refuse to carry them out,” said Ivan Timofeev, a sanctions specialist at the Kremlin-founded Russian International Affairs Council....

The smart money is in Hunter Biden's pocket. Well... except for the 10% that goes to the Big Guy.

Biden Stares Blankly at Reporter Asking Why He Hasn’t Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Who Wired Hunter Biden Millions of Dollars

Joe Biden on Thursday signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 in an effort to fix the supply chain issue he caused.

After signing the bill into law, Joe Biden stared blankly as a reporter who asked him why he hasn’t sanctioned Elena Baturina, the Russian oligarch who wired his son Hunter Biden millions of dollars.

In September 2020 the Senate Finance and Homeland Security Committees released a devastating report on the Biden crime family and backed up their claims with documents from the Treasury Department.

According to documents the Senate committees obtained from the Treasury Department:

Hunter Biden received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of Moscow on February 14, 2014 and another $241,797 to a bank account for Rosemont Seneca Thornton from May-December 2015.

The Biden White House has sanctioned several Russian oligarchs in the last year, however, they have completely left Elena Baturina alone.

“Why haven’t you sanctioned Russian oligarch Elena Baturina who did business with your son?” a reporter shouted to Joe Biden.

Biden stared blankly...

It's not just what they said, but who is saying it now. Hard to believe that MSN is putting out a negative article on Biden and the Ukraine debacle. They are also quoting from the NYT and Asia Times in the process.

The Ukraine war response is fast becoming Biden’s second blunder

The precipitous and chaotic American abandonment of Afghanistan, without proper consultation and support for allies, less than a year ago was a great shock to the NATO alliance, raising grave doubts about the judgment, stability and reliability of the U.S. as leader of the free world. The resulting cracks in the alliance were only papered over by the blunt truth that our allies had nowhere to go outside the security umbrella provided by the U.S. under Article 5.

Now, in the rapidly changing landscape of the Ukraine war, we are seeing ominous signs that the U.S. may be leading NATO in the direction of an even worse strategic humiliation — one that can result in a dramatic reconfiguration of the world’s geopolitical structure.

The New York Times reported recently on a June 16 visit to Kyiv by leaders of four NATO countries — France, Germany, Italy and Romania — during which they delivered a dual message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the more public and cosmetic level, the Western leaders demonstrated their support against Russian aggression by offering Ukraine a path to European Union membership but they “did not promise the country additional heavy weapons on the scale it says it needs to repel a bloody Russian advance in the East.”

The European leaders carefully adhered to the Biden administration’s policy by insisting “they were not pressing Mr. Zelensky to accept a peace deal with Moscow,” according to the Times. But, as reflected in the palpable disappointment of the Ukrainians, the EU’s key leaders were clearly signaling the limits of their own support.

This new European stance now places the Biden administration on the horns of a possibly insoluble dilemma, as David Goldman reported in a recent Asia Times article. With the war having reached a critical stage and the world economy reeling from supply shocks in energy and food previously supplied by Russia and Ukraine, Goldman asserts that America’s boasts of “driving Putin from power, destroying Russia’s capacity to make war, and halving the size of Russia’s economy look ridiculous in retrospect.”...

Biden tries to climb down from Ukraine ledge
Twin strategic and economic crises prompt search for a way out of Ukraine trap

President Joe Biden’s administration faces a double disaster after its Ukraine miscalculation, namely a US recession and a second strategic humiliation in the space of a year. The US economy is almost certainly in recession, while oil prices drive inflation that has cut workers’ real pay by about 6% year on year. Washington’s earlier boasts...

Orban urges new strategy on Ukraine, says sanctions have failed

...He said in his speech that the Western strategy on Ukraine has been built on four pillars – that Ukraine can win a war against Russia with NATO weapons, that sanctions would weaken Russia and destabilise its leadership, that sanctions would hurt Russia more than Europe, and that the world would line up in support of Europe.

Orban said this strategy has failed as governments in Europe are collapsing “like dominoes”, energy prices have surged and a new strategy was needed now.

“We are sitting in a car that has a puncture in all four tyres: it is absolutely clear that the war cannot be won in this way,” Orban told his supporters.

He said Ukraine will never win the war this way “quite simply because the Russian army has assymetrical dominance”.

Orban said there was no chance for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine...

Orban urges new strategy on Ukraine, says sanctions have failed

...He said in his speech that the Western strategy on Ukraine has been built on four pillars – that Ukraine can win a war against Russia with NATO weapons, that sanctions would weaken Russia and destabilise its leadership, that sanctions would hurt Russia more than Europe, and that the world would line up in support of Europe.

Orban said this strategy has failed as governments in Europe are collapsing “like dominoes”, energy prices have surged and a new strategy was needed now.

“We are sitting in a car that has a puncture in all four tyres: it is absolutely clear that the war cannot be won in this way,” Orban told his supporters.

He said Ukraine will never win the war this way “quite simply because the Russian army has assymetrical dominance”.

Orban said there was no chance for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine... Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

Why_Yes_I_Do, Respectfully, I wish you'd put live links in your posts. This is the second one recently I'd have liked to read but I'm too lazy to google the wording.

Orban is promoting the idea of U.S./Russia talks to end this crisis. I think he's right. Zelensky appears to want to prolong this as he thinks Ukraine may take back the Crimea and areas in the east that Russia controls. That's probably wishful thinking. In the meantime people are dying in the Ukraine, and starving in Africa. This winter they'll be freezing in Europe.

This war is not worth it. The biggest losers are the Ukrainians. If the country could become neutral like, say, Austria or Switzerland and be put on a fast path to EU membership, everyone would be better off.

- Tiny the Globalist

I would opine that it’s hard to defend posts whose origin are “fake.”

Many of his posts link to sources of disinformation, like Breitbart and “sign of the times,” One can conclude his unlinked cut and pastes are from even darker places which he doesn’t care to defend.

Joke Byeden has to be the most unaccountable and incompetent president EVER. There's a reason he didn't get voted in as president the first 3 times. Originally Posted by InU

FIFY

This war is not worth it. The biggest losers are the Ukrainians. If the country could become neutral like, say, Austria or Switzerland and be put on a fast path to EU membership, everyone would be better off.

- Tiny the Globalist Originally Posted by Tiny

Actually the biggest losers are the US taxpayers who are financing a war they have no interest in. We could’ve built schools, libraries, housing, hospitals, you name it, with the billions that have been thrown into the Ukrainian pit of corruption.

Actually the biggest losers are the US taxpayers who are financing a war they have no interest in. We could’ve built schools, libraries, housing, hospitals, you name it, with the billions that have been thrown into the Ukrainian pit of corruption. Originally Posted by Jacuzzme

When does that EVER happen?