I’m not a master diplomat but this is negotiation 101: don’t look too keen to negotiate, start from a position of strength.

Trump’s opening offer was to allow Putin to keep whatever he’s managed to invade and, by most accounts, Russia is now gaining territory again. Plus, Trump is clearly not so keen to continue supporting Ukraine militarily and economically (not to speak of his stance on NATO) and in Europe we are weak, divided and also increasingly voting for our own small versions of Trump (Trumpets?). Put these things together and why would Putin get all chummy and sit down to negotiate now? He’s signaling strength and taking a position of “YOU want to end this war, not me, so if you want me to stop, you better come begging and bringing gifts”.

I keep seeing news that the Russian economy is perfectly fine… no, wait it’s in shambles… no it’s actually even better than before… no, people can’t even find bread… no, sanctions are killing it… and so on. And this is not even from different sources; different articles on the same (I hope reputable) sources.

I know that it’s hard to get a read of these things even when not in the middle of a war with lots of disinformation happening on both sides. And I also know that indicators of the economy are tricky to read and often in contradiction. But these swings are so extreme that I don’t know what to make of these articles any longer.

Wait, is that a valid argument? “You, sir are infringing on my claim that this in your pocket is MY wallet and this picture on your driver’s license is in fact MY picture.”

Russia and Ukraine are two countries that have thrown everything they had at each other: from good soldiers, to inmates, to good people who’d probably never held a weapon before.

At this point I imagine that having troops who are alive and actual trained soldiers, not emotionally and physically drained (if not outright mutilated) by years of fighting is a big advantage

If I was taken from my home and suddenly sent to fight for my country, no matter how full of patriotic love I might be, one North Korean child with a knife would be enough to take me out.

I assume that guy on the poster is dead, then?

yes, that was all completely wrong. If Trump had been the one on top of the building and had fallen down (maybe accidentally hitting a stray bullet on his way down)… now THAT would have been closer

see? It says it right here: “that thing you just did”

Good luck with that, Indian Priests. God personally stepped in to save Trump from being shot (not the hero firefighter, who didn’t meet the minimum income requirement of the Truly Blessed). He just took the tip of his ear, which is practically circumcision.

haha, could be! Basically the Chinese version of “why u hitting yourself?”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said publishing the map was “a routine practice in China’s exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law.” Wang added: “We hope relevant sides can stay objective and calm, and refrain from overinterpreting the issue.”

I don’t know if a lot of context is lost in translation from Chinese or if China’s diplomatic language is just that weird… An “exercise in sovereignty” that is not to be overinterpreted? Is this saying that they are just putting this out for their internal public but shouldn’t be taken seriously outside of China?

“Putin tells ____ any _____ is attack on Russia” is basically a meme now

is it just me or is this a diplomatic way to tell Putin to just stay in Russia without telling him “you’re not invited any longer”? To me it sounds like “uuh… man… if you REALLY want to come you definitely won’t be arrested here. Not by me, I mean. Oh, I got pressures, POWERFUL pressures and you ending up arrested or worse isn’t off the table but hey… do come and visit anyway if you want. We’re cool right?”