What has Trump done now?

[facthunter]

He Likes "alternative "facts. He's in another world. Oh I wish.  Nev

[red750]

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

Zero illegals crossing the southern border ... now dealing with illegals crossing Canadian/US border.

[rgmwa]

Trump and Macron spoke to the press after their meeting. Trump said that Europe’s contributions to Ukraine were loans that would be paid back while the US had got nothing for their efforts. Macron corrected him on the spot and said they weren’t loans, unless Russian’s frozen assets were possibly used one day to repay the Europeans. Trump was not at all happy about being contradicted in public and it showed on his face. He will have it in for Macron now for being corrected in front of the cameras. That won’t help the peace deal. 

[rgmwa]

8 minutes ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

Zero illegals crossing the southern border ... now dealing with illegals crossing Canadian/US border.

Which ones? Those crossing into Canada? 

[Jerry_Atrick]

29 minutes ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

Zero illegals crossing the southern border ... now dealing with illegals crossing Canadian/US border.

Got a reference to a news article or something? Because I could only find artivles that said they were still coming over. Yes, they have dropped, but none? And if they don't catch any, how do they know there are none - because if they knew they were there, they would catch them, right? Interesting that he is sending his own people to the poorhouse.. I am not sure they are too worred about illegal immigrants at the moment.

 

 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

22 minutes ago, rgmwa said:

Macron corrected him on the spot and said they weren’t loans, unless Russian’s frozen assets were possibly used one day to repay the Europeans

That seems like a dangerous game to play. The frozen assets are only frozen and still belong to Russia. No matter the terms and conditions the Europeans have come up with, Europe would wise to unfreeze the assets and let Russia continue to own them. Otherwise they are being stolen, which would make Putin hopping mad.

[rgmwa]

7 minutes ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

That seems like a dangerous game to play. The frozen assets are only frozen and still belong to Russia. No matter the terms and conditions the Europeans have come up with, Europe would wise to unfreeze the assets and let Russia continue to own them. Otherwise they are being stolen, which would make Putin hopping mad.

If Putin wants his assets unfrozen all he has to do is pull his troops out of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are not too happy about Putin stealing their country either. 

Edited February 25 by rgmwa

[octave]

49 minutes ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

Zero illegals crossing the southern border ... now dealing with illegals crossing Canadian/US border.

Fact-checking the Trump White House’s claims about illegal immigration dropping sharply

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

Trump blocks 16,000 migrants from Canada. 16mins, watch first five.

 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

6 minutes ago, rgmwa said:

If Putin wants his assets unfrozen all he has to do is pull his troops out of Ukraine

Whatever the outcome, it's still dangerous threatening diplomacy, any way you look at it. It won't help in the peaceful resolution of ending the conflict.

[rgmwa]

Agreed, especially with Trump going in to bat for Putin and dumping Ukraine and his former NATO allies. 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

And why just Europe, have we frozen any Russian assets here?. Albo has sent tens of millions to Ukraine, does he have a plan to get that back?

[rgmwa]

I don’t know whether Australia has frozen any Russian assets. Hopefully we have if they had any here. Why would Albo expect anything back for what was donated to Ukraine to defend themselves against Putin’s aggression? We give a lot of assistance to all kinds of countries and aid organisations for humanitarian and goodwill reasons and don’t expect repayment. 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

Well in that case, Europe should then consider their contributions to Ukraine as DONATIONS as well, and not convert frozen Russian assets to pay for Europe's assistance to Ukraine. It's theft if they do.

[rgmwa]

As Macron said, they do regard them as donations. Ukraine doesn’t have to pay them back. If eventually the frozen Russian assets are used to help rebuild Ukraine and possibly recompense the Europeans, no guarantees that either will happen at this point, it will be reparation for Putin’s invasion and destruction of Ukraine. Of course with Trump and Putin now on the same side who knows what will happen to the Russian assets. 

[Jerry_Atrick]

4 hours ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

Well in that case, Europe should then consider their contributions to Ukraine as DONATIONS as well, and not convert frozen Russian assets to pay for Europe's assistance to Ukraine. It's theft if they do.

Er.. You start a war.. it may come cropper for you.. It's no more theft than, hmm.. aroudn 50,000 square miles of territory - sotolen lives of innocent people..

 

Even if it were a few hundred billion, more thanthan justified.

 

Theft, indeed.. You're off your rocker...

[old man emu]

Of course the EU States are giving massive support to Ukraine. Ukraine is their buffer zone against Russian expansionism. The other countries of Eastern Europe and Finland know well what it is like to live under Russian rule. They are starting to build up their defence capabilities.

 

 

There are two main generators of worry about global peace - Trump and Putin. One wonders what sort of regimes would replace them if they dropped dead tomorrow.

[red750]

The only Indian-giver is Trump and the US. 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

3 hours ago, old man emu said:

There are two main generators of worry about global peace - Trump and Putin

Nope, it's nuclear weapons. Putin has threatened to use them, and the Europeans weren't listening to Putin, they kept fueling the war instead. Trump comes in and finds a way to defuse Putin's threat .. what does it matter which way it is, as long as it's successful, and it looks like it will be with Zolensky agreeing to mineral sales to the US. And there'll have to be some give & take to end the conflict.

[rgmwa]

So you’re saying that the Europeans should have caved to Putin’s threat, which is all it was, and let him overrun Ukraine? Trump’s way of defusing Putin’s threat is to reward him for invading Ukraine, trashing Zelenskyy and NATO countries for trying to stop him. and robbing Ukraine of its rare earth minerals because he has now decided Ukraine has to retrospectively pay back what the US gave freely. On top of that, none of that will defuse Putin’s threat in the future because he will simply try it again. He still has his nuclear warheads and he still hasn’t got Ukraine. 

[Grumpy Old Nasho]

Zelensky has agreed to the minerals deal. But we've yet to see the other half of the deal as far as Putin is concerned. What has he agreed to, and what's in it for him? That will determine what he does in the future.

[rgmwa]

Whatever is in the deal, Trump will ensure it favours Putin. Zelenskyy is over a barrel here without Trump’s support. Nor will Putin necessarily stick to his end of any deal. He has renegged on previous agreements like the Minsk accords. He and Trump are a lot alike. I think Trump sees him simply as a junior real estate rival that he can either beat or do deals with. They are in the same business. 

[octave]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

Trump comes in and finds a way to defuse Putin's threat

Defuse or appease? 

 

I am betting that Putin will get to keep what he has stolen.   A couple of years down the track when Putin has rebuilt his forces he will go back and finish the job.   

 

 

[old man emu]

3 hours ago, Grumpy Old Nasho said:

Nope, it's nuclear weapons.

To paraphrase a Gun Lobby slogan, Nukes don't kill people. People who use nukes kill people.

 

You've got to congratulate Trump for upholding the one truth of the American culture: In God we trust .....

 

... all others pay cash.

 

For a country that trumpets its Christianity, its approval of the current Administration's actions towards its own citizens, and citizens of the World brings these holy words to mind:

 

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus declared, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Thiis is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself."

 

And love of neighbour is expressed as charity 

 

 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).