But negotiations mean that both sides need to give something. So NATO and the U.S. should agree to pull back heavy weapons and missiles away from the Russian border and recognize in public what NATO has long acknowledged privately: that Ukraine will not be joining the military alliance in any foreseeable future.

This is absolutely playing into Russia’s hands, and is essentially imperialist. What right do Russia’s government (and American veterans) have to decide what Ukrainians get to do with their own country?

No, because Belgium isn’t a real country — it’s parts of two other countries pretending to be their own thing. We all just let them enjoy their little game.

Read the link posted by OP as a reply to me.

I suggest you re-read the first link you posted. It may as well be posted on RT. What exactly is the diplomatic solution here? Russia needs to GTFO of Ukraine. Any equivocation plays into the Russian agenda.

Diplomacy Not War - Peace in Ukraine!

“We demand urgent, good faith diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine, not more U.S. weapons, advisors, and endless war. And certainly not a nuclear war. We want those billions of dollars going for climate correction, jobs, healthcare and housing, not for the profiteers who manufacture weapons for death and destruction. “As veterans who have experienced the carnage of war, we feel great empathy for the young soldiers on both sides of this bloody war, who are being killed and injured in the tens of thousands. We know all too well that the survivors of armed conflict will be traumatized and scarred for life.”

VFP also advocates for countries to stop arming Ukraine, and for Ukraine to essentially bend over and accede to Russian demands.

For other parrot enthusiasts who were wondering as I was, these seem to be Patagonian Conures (not endangered, and somewhat common as a pet). I hope this spurs people into conserving their habitat.

Ah so this is funny because it disproves the rule. How do you like them apples, Duverger?

I’m not up to date on Sri Lankan politics. What’s happening?

Americans stop making everything about the US challenge (impossible)

You know most other western countries support Israel too, right?

What levers of decisionmaking are manipulated by whom

I hope you aren’t saying what I think you’re saying here.

In any case, the main reason for western support of Israel is the same as the reason for western support of Turkey. Both have obnoxious leadership but both are in key geographic locations, and the value of having them on-side against their neighbours is greater than the value in cutting them loose.

Austria is very much right-wing too, so they’d be down for some anschluss action.

Of course it’s Hungary. What a sad state of affairs for the country whose brave resistance led to the term “tankie” being coined for the pro-Russian side.

Only ten percent? I’d have guessed it’s higher, but perhaps the states I haven’t visited have slimmer people.

Dammit, how’d I miss that one? As a token of thanks, please use coupon code 1000YRCH for an extra discount!

A wide selektion of pillows featuring proprietary anti-parasite coating! Available in black, white, and red.

V3 isn’t necessarily more effective than V2, it’s just less obtrusive.

I don’t even care at this point. Anybody still actively using that shithole website is complicit.

This is probably the only watch douchier than a Hublot. Even Richard Mille can’t hope to match this.

Aristotle wrote a lot

He did, but none of those writings survived to make it to us. All of his extant “works” are in fact lecture notes taken by his students. The Penguin translation of Nicomachean Ethics for example is beautifully done in a way that makes that very evident.

On some level, he isn’t wrong. It’s all transcribed speeches, sort of like how we have no surviving writings of Aristotle, only notes taken by students during his lectures, or of course like the new testament which is a compendium of books written by people ranging from a few years after Jesus’ death all the way out to a century thereafter.