https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fartic...

"More" is doing a lot of work, the front has expanded like 5%, we can look at this. Also Ukraine is like 2-3x on casualties. And we have to take perspective, Russia is/was the 3rd largest military in the world, Ukraine still is massively the underdog. Holding lines like this for so long says something.

I am sure here in America if we were fighting for our literal homeland we wouldn't appreciate a country capable of helping us instead telling us to give them up while we are willing and are literally fighting right at this moment. Yes it robs agency. Everything else you wrote is cope to justify removing that agency because it suits your... something, I never understand the Russia defenders, what are you defending? it's clearly the immoral position. Saving money? That can't be it.

This entire paragraph is empty words, why write it?

Oh bullshit, we are capable of holding those positions just fine. Iraq 2003 was immoral. Russia in 2014 and 2022 is immoral. Easy, i'm a human being with a brain, I can process this.

And this is just more justification for an obvious immoral action, the unjustified invasion of a nation. Something we all apparently understand? The alternative you propose is to just let an immoral actor succeed at an immoral action because... again, money? If we're talking American boots on the ground, yeah we can maybe get a little more in the weeds but this is just horseshoe tankie "America bad" blended with America First "Russia good".

I know this site is built on the back of autism but you could at least try to read like we're all human beings here.

I'm not here to defend Trump in my estimation the tariffs are not in the interest of the US and it's unfortunate.

Considering that maybe the increased military spending is good for Europe now, certainly can't blame them for finding the US and unreliable partner.

That though doesn't change the fact that Russia invasion is unjustified and should be resisted, it's actually irrelevant to that. You can admit it's unjustified and all that and still not want to defend Ukraine, that's arguable at least.

We are and have always been able to afford it, it's a political choice through and through.

Be interested to see the perception in other countries with different payment systems. If the cost was 1/3 the current rate all else equal does this polling move? I imagine it does.

It's much like healthcare in that despite all the evidence out in the world Americans treat these systems as intractable laws of nature, the costs are sky high because that's how they are and always have to be. Meanwhile it's just basic economics that tells you why the costs keep going up and yet we take the route of "we tried nothing and we're all out of ideas".

There are ways to fix these systems and they are obvious once you get over the scary "socialism" talking points and our own hangups that somewhere, someone might get something you personally feel like they "don't deserve"

If provocation in the modern world is so ambiguous then so is this. Ukraine has held it's lines for 3 years and there is something we could do, we could supply them with as much arms and information so long as they are willing to fight and the Ukrainian people are willing to fight. It's their blood the least we can do is supply them our iron. Also this isn't even 18th century justifications, bringing up US conflicts is just "two wrongs make a right Lisa". The US being unjustified in invading Iraq doesn't justify Russian invasion, particularly since they signed an agreement that said "we agree on borders".

Again, this is just taking all agency out of the Ukrainian people and assigning your personal opinions on Europe. Also welcome to war, where interests can be varied? You think Poland has a good reason to want to see that "Putin doesn't win"?

And who's choice should that be? Russia's?

Yeah it's a nice story but it's just that, a story, a justification for 18th century diplomacy. Also if Melos or Athens had nukes it changes the story doesn't it? If we're in fantasy land and a wizard disappears all of Russia's nuclear weapons tomorrow it's a different story, so if they want to pull the "it's just the way of the world" card they should bury those in the sea and let the world decide how it wants to handle it instead of hiding behind MAD.

,"Spheres of power is an old discredited concept thats been discredited in the modern world"

"No it isn't". That's not really an argument or a good idea. What's the opinion of all the "strategically irrelevant" NATO members?

You know I don't disagree but two things are also true; 1. I have been hearing this for *my entire life* and the date or the number or the metric keeps moving forward so for the debt chicken little's, get your facts together it's wearing thin, particularly because...

2. Those same people who cry about the debt my whole life continue to elect the same people who just run it up even more. Or the last two times leave office with a huge mess that the now Democrat president has to spend to clean up (Obama in 2008, Biden with Covid) nevermind the military ventures we also had to pay for, thank you Mr Bush.

And now we have this fine Big Beautiful Bill that spends more money for not much in return and is taking on debt for fucking tax cuts so maybe all Republicans and Conservatives can shut it about the debt for a couple decades. Let the adults raise some revenue (Like Biden was doing)

Firstly, was the Budapest Memorandum not real and signed by Russia? Those nukes they got back seemed pretty real. That lease on Sevastapol was treated as real.

Guess what, that concept also went out the window after the cold war and even under your own view all you are saying here is "Hey Ukraine, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and folks. You don't get to decide which sphere you belong to. You are not actually independent nations which is the position of Mr Putin and friends, conveniently.

You don't get to be countries, you don't get to decide your leaders, you don't choose who you trade with because Russia's feelings will be hurt.

Yeah Arafat kinda sucked shit at being a state leader instead of a commander.

I'm sorry but this is bullshit, Russia has zero reasons to fear unprovoked invasion from NATO, that's cope. Those "formally neutral" countries lobbies and voted to join NATO because just like the USSR Russia still liked fucking with it's neighbors in the 90's and 2000's. The Baltics are feeling pretty good right now, they're not getting invaded despite sharing a border.

They're (Putin and his oligarchs) mad because all these nations have gone towards the EU just like they started invading Ukraine with paramilitary right after Euromaidan, Ukraine wanted to join the EU trade group instead of their bloc.

This is absolutely unjustified Russian aggression against a neighboring country. Russia can go back to respecting Ukraines borders like they agreed to in 1994 and then we can talk about who's antagonizing who here.

Joe Biden when speaking to the Senate in 1995 about American getting involved in Bosnia; This part is at 12:58 but really the whole thing is really compelling, Biden makes a very enthusiastic case for America's role as you describe (and really it also lines up to Ukraine today in my opinion, particularly since Europe is uniting around it and we should be supporting them for the effort.)

https://ancillary-proxy.atarimworker.io?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.c-span.org%2Fclip%2Fse...

What is the message we send to the world if we stand by and we say we will let it continue to happen here in this place but it is not in our interest? We do not fear that it will spread? I am not here to tell you that, if we do not act, it will spread and cause a war in Europe--tomorrow or next year. But I am here to tell you that within the decade, it will cause the spread of war like a cancer, and the collapse of the Western alliance. What is so important about the Western alliance? NATO for NATO's sake so that we can beat our breast?

What I am about to say is going to cause me great difficulty if I am reelected and come back here as the ranking member or chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. But Europe cannot stay united without the United States. There is no moral center in Europe.

When in the last two centuries have the French, or the British, or the Germans, or the Belgians, or the Italians moved in a way to unify that continent to stand up to this kind of genocide? When have they done it? The only reason anything is happening now is because the United States of America finally--finally--is understanding her role.

Oh Israel has a lot of different populations still and the West Bank settler's are fuckin' nuts. If you're American you hear about those out there ethno nationalist militia groups, that is kinda their version of it. Really while everyone focuses on Gaza the worst shit is consistently happening out there.

Yeah my bad, I thought they were commenting why everyone is surprised by the inspection, I figured everyone in the UK knows they have inspections but some folk don't even know of the concept around here. .

I would hope most every folk understand why such a tax is necessary and good but I guess I've never seen the logistical and privacy costs of tracking the miles driven worth the benefits over just flat rating the EV at registration, or making it based on vehicle weight or some other fact of the vehicle and driver. The best taxes tend to be the ones that are the simplest to comply with.

Don't know where you are from but here in America(TM) we let the states decide how and whether at all vehicles get inspected, despite the fact there are zero restrictions for driving between state borders.

I live in a no inspection state and while when I did it was annoying to have to take it in every year or two the number of tires in the parking lot I see with the belt wires poking out tells me they're probably a good thing.