Trump is in talks with Russia to end the war

[putnam6]

So do you think Trump's gonna let Putin take Odessa?

Is Britain, for that matter?

What they gonna do?

No, Odessa is solidly Ukrainian

[chr0naut]

They may want that, but they also want that foreign nation to pay for an unending war and to pay for keeping their economy floating.    They want a pile of free money, while at the same time wanting to trade freely the resources that our hundreds of billions keeps free for them.

Doesn't work that way.

Can't have both.

They'd have NO resources if it weren't for our 100 billion, and hundreds of billions more in the future.

Therefore .... they deal with us with the resources, or we stop handing them our hundreds of billions while getting nothing in exchange.

When did the USA ever hand out money with no expectation of recompense? The USA has always been a bastion of capitalism over every other possible motivation. The idea that the US has been handing out money for nothing is an invention of the current kleptocracy of US billionaires.

Let me explain something: If you looked at your local neighbourhood, there is no way that they could provide, by growing or manufacturing or even internal trade, the variety of stuff that any one of your retail stores supplies. So zoom that out to a state level, and the same is true, just slightly less so. Then zoom that out to a national level, and you will see the same also holds true.

If the US isolates itself, there's a whole world full of stuff that it wont be able to access anymore. It's that simple.

And if something major goes wrong on a national scale (and it always does) and all your eggs are in one basket, with NO backstop of external support or supply, then your nation will just be wiped out! It is a really simple concept. It is surprising that the current rulers are so ignorant of how they got their money.

Someone once put it that the same tide lifts all boats.

We could engineer a world where countries retain their sovereignty and national characters, with free trade regulating the markets equitably. Or we could take our bat and ball and go home, fuming that we cant play anymore.

The USA is lagging behind much of the world technologically. The majority of US consumer tech, going back to WW2, has come from overseas. Go and look in your retail stores and look at where the stuff is actually from, and how little of it is from the USA. As we approach the informational singularity, things will move faster and faster. Take a look at how the AI revolution, even though it has massive investment from US companies, is quickly decentralizing to the rest of the world, who are doing it cheaper and smarter, and rolling out product faster than those 'siloed' big US companies can.

The US economy is now largely services based. The US is no longer a manufacturing giant. The US is no longer a tech giant. Like Russia, it requires a lot of external input to keep its central governance happening and prosperous. So it must necessarily expand, or it will stagnate and shrink very quickly.

If the US isolates itself from the world it has plundered freely from for decades, it will die. There is no backstop. There is no other possibility.

Waving your flag will not feed your family.

[FlyersFan]

Let me explain something: 

Let me explain something:  America is done letting the world rape us financially.  

Ukraine wants us to hand them 100 Billion $$ in aide to keep their country in tact.
Yet they refuse to enter into a deal for rare earth metals.
The fact is that they wouldn't have a country without us and they wouldn't have those metals either.
THEY OWE US.

[putnam6]

When did the USA ever hand out money with no expectation of recompense? The USA has always been a bastion of capitalism over every other possible motivation. The idea that the US has been handing out money for nothing is an invention of the current kleptocracy of US billionaires.

Let me explain something: If you looked at your local neighbourhood, there is no way that they could provide, by growing or manufacturing or even internal trade, the variety of stuff that any one of your retail stores supplies. So zoom that out to a state level, and the same is true, just slightly less so. Then zoom that out to a national level, and you will see the same also holds true.

If the US isolates itself, there's a whole world full of stuff that it wont be able to access anymore. It's that simple.

And if something major goes wrong on a national scale (and it always does) and all your eggs are in one basket, with NO backstop of external support or supply, then your nation will just be wiped out! It is a really simple concept. It is surprising that the current rulers are so ignorant of how they got their money.

Someone once put it that the same tide lifts all boats.

We could engineer a world where countries retain their sovereignty and national characters, with free trade regulating the markets equitably. Or we could take our bat and ball and go home, fuming that we cant play anymore.

The USA is lagging behind much of the world technologically. The majority of US consumer tech, going back to WW2, has come from overseas. Go and look in your retail stores and look at where the stuff is actually from, and how little of it is from the USA. As we approach the informational singularity, things will move faster and faster. Take a look at how the AI revolution, even though it has massive investment from US companies, is quickly decentralizing to the rest of the world, who are doing it cheaper and smarter, and rolling out product faster than those 'siloed' big US companies can.

The US economy is now largely services based. The US is no longer a manufacturing giant. The US is no longer a tech giant. Like Russia, it requires a lot of external input to keep its central governance happening and prosperous. So it must necessarily expand, or it will stagnate and shrink very quickly.

If the US isolates itself from the world it has plundered freely from for decades, it will die. There is no backstop. There is no other possibility.

Waving your flag will not feed your family.

You pretty much nailed why Trump was elected...



https://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin...30118.html

Britain will today make the final payment on a multi-billion-dollar loan it took out in 1945 to refinance the country in the wake of the Second World War.
In a transaction that will draw the curtain on the devastating economic consequences of the bloodiest conflict in modern history, the Treasury will transfer £43m to the US and £12m to Canada.
The original loan of $4.34bn - equivalent to £27bn today - was made to avert Britain from bankruptcy at the end of the war rather than to finance the combat itself.

[chr0naut]

Let me explain something:  America is done letting the world rape us financially.  

Ukraine wants us to hand them 100 Billion $$ in aide to keep their country in tact.
Yet they refuse to enter into a deal for rare earth metals.
The fact is that they wouldn't have a country without us and they wouldn't have those metals either.
THEY OWE US.

Yes, Ukraine owes the US something. The US also owes the Ukraine something. That is how reciprocal agreements work.

The fact remains, the USA does not have the lithium or cobalt deposits necessary for its manufacture of high capacity batteries. End of story. The whole battery-based economy is heading for collapse.

Currently, Tesla Motors, Tesla Powerwall and Megapack products are suffering a downturn in sales relative to what was anticipated.

With the new Toyota hybrid motor to be released next year (note the immanence of the time frame), and the fact that the US cannot possibly manufacture the batteries required, and the projected continuation of the downturn in sales, the Tesla companies will soon become inviable as businesses, and Musk knows that. Even their new attempts at battery tech still requires Lithium.

The thing is, all the existing cars, infrastructure, contracts and so forth are additional liabilities for Musk to divest himself of, and quickly. And why did his latest Starship explode in space (the easiest and least explosion prone part of its trajectory)? Of course, it will all be underwritten by insurance, but clearly something odd is afoot there...

Perhaps this is why Musk is suddenly a Federal employee?

No doubt, since Trump is not very bright, and Musk clearly is, he is manipulating things so that he will not be found liable when the cards come tumbling down, and all the government contracts, and charging station contracts, and class actions against Tesla companies, all start happening. When everything Tesla branded turns to useless junk, too toxic to trash.

[sahgwa]

People are calling Trump an idiot, but what of the fact he was the only one smart enough to try for peace? What of the Democrats basically telling Zelensky to 'throw the match' before the meeting even happened?
What of Z. coming back and saying okay we will sign after all if we get security guarantee (read more money handed out)?
All seems like the MIC wins again with it's modus operandi of eternal war , begged for by unelected bureaucrats.
I don't see how wanting peace is stupid.

[Oldcarpy2]

Z consistently wanted security guarantees as part of a peace deal.

Not pallets of cash.

Because Putin is not known for keeping his word.

Giving Putin what he wants and breaking longstanding ties with allies whilst his VP insults them is not idiocy, it's something more worrying.

[UltraBudgie]

So do you think Trump's gonna let Putin take Odessa?

No, Odessa is solidly Ukrainian

Yes. He will give Putin what he wants. Brits won't even try to stop him.

So which is it? Hmm...

The predominant language spoken in Odessa is Russian.
https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-faq/how...ssa-start/

In Odessa, the most commonly spoken language is Ukrainian.
https://www.ncesc.com/geographic-faq/wha...in-odessa/

Russia seems to really want it:

The liberation of the Odessa region is necessary in order to protect our country from various geopolitical threats. Controlling this region will solve several important tasks at once.

Today, the Kiev regime has turned Odessa into one of the main military logistics hubs, where a significant part of Western weapons are supplied. Meanwhile, it is the territory of the Odessa region that is being used by the enemy to attack the civilian population of Crimea and the part of the Kherson region liberated from the Ukrainian army. Destroying this enemy foothold is a strategic task.

However, the liberation of Odessa is the most difficult task. Without a total turning point in the Ukrainian conflict, it is impossible to expect changes in the fate of Odessa. During the Great Patriotic War, Southern Palmyra was liberated thanks to a land operation by Soviet troops. And now, without major changes in the confrontation, it is hardly worth counting only on amphibious operations.

Nevertheless, it all started with Odessa, and it must end with Odessa.

https://news-pravda.com/world/2025/02/25/1088845.html

There's rumours of a springtime advance. If Ukraine pushed into Kursk for leverage to possibly regain the eastern territories, perhaps Russia will push into Odessa for leverage to keep them?

[Oldcarpy2]

Putin wants a Black Sea port, for what's left of his Black Sea fleet.

[UltraBudgie]

Putin wants a Black Sea port, for what's left of his Black Sea fleet.

Well yes and so does NATO. It's strategic importance there is obvious just from the map. Militarily and economically. But I disagree with you that the City is ready to just give it up without putting any pressure on Trump to make sure it doesn't happen.