Sampson

Trump already does this. You really think they should just sit there while Russia drone attacks and not retaliate, because it might make Trump do what he’s already doing anyway? No offense, as I think you often make good points, but this one just doesn't really make sense to me. Ukraine shouldn't just sit there and take it.

Just read that. It’s quite heartbreaking

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2025/mar/07/please-let-mr-hitler-speak-the-trouble-with-hearing-from-both-sides-the-stephen-collins-cartoon

I know you should focus on things you can change and shouldn’t let the outside world affect you, but anyone else really struggling with the news atm? Just feels like the world is spinning out of control faster than anyone can wrap their heads round it. It’s the same kind of anxiety I had during most of 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

I wonder if Farage will get the hint.

Likely because he promises people things like power, money or erasing people’s mistakes in life.

We did Cape Verde a couple of years ago - was really good - it’s a great alternative to The Canaries or Egypt if you just want a packaged beach holiday - although one thing is the sea was too rough to go in being out much more in the middle of the ocean

Yeah remember Boris being well ahead of the polls in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020? But the world had changed so much by the next election. The world seems to moves way faster now than it did 10 years ago. We have no idea how the world will look in 2028 so i don’t know how we can rely on it anymore.

Be interesting how Farage the Patriot reacts to Vance calling Britain and France “nothing countries” - if he still continues to prioritise making excuses for his American and Russian idols over Britain and its European allies and neighbours.

Ok thank you. Yes this was the one

For some reason, a long dormant memory crossed my mind this morning of reading an old away match programme on the way home from an away game about 15-20 years ago (no idea which game) which gave facts about the away team (I.e. Leicester). One of the facts was about a fiction book (maybe science fiction set in the future) where Leicester had won the league and FA Cup multiple and even the World Cup to boot. They might not have necessarily been a Leicester fan, just that it was a weird aside to have in their book I guess. A quick google and I can’t find anything, so maybe this is a false memory. Does anyone know of this book? Has been made aware of this fact?

It already feels like 5 years. The world feels like it’s changed so drastically already. Feels like Feb-March 2020 with the same amount of society shifting shit firing off everywhere.

Even Pritti Patel seems to be calling him out tbf to someone whose politics I otherwise strongly dislike. It shouldn’t matter if your left right or centre on this, it’s clear Starmer is doing the right thing. The defence of the UK and its neighbours should always be the most important thing for the government.

They’re nuts. Even the Tories are backing Starmer over the weekend. It actually felt a bit like a wartime coalition with Labour and Conservatives realising the country’s defence is more important than squabbling. But Farage is still going on national radio, refusing to call out Putin, backing Trump and saying he doesn’t like Ukraine as a country. Don’t know how people see him as a “man of the people”. All Farage ever does is talk Britain and Europe down to try and sew division.

Yes but I do barely know her In fact she’s from northern Italy - Genoa?

I do think a lot of this is about optics and bringing Europe together for the future to try and created a united block. Russia and Trump want a divided Europe and I think a lot of this is as much a message to European nations that times have changed and we need closer ties. I’ve never known a time when so many Brits refer to “Europe” as a whole entity including the UK as I have in the past week or two. Part of it feels like a complete shift in the way we see ourselves in the world.

If that’s true fair enough . All I saw was on bbc saying he hadn’t made a statement yet

Starmer still deathly quiet. Seems a bit like he’s on the same team as Orban while the rest of the European leaders rally round Zelensky. There’s going to come a point where he has to try and stop “both sidesing” this and actually talk out against Trump and America. I’m sure deep down Starmer knows this, but I wonder what the point actually is.

Putin has said several times he doesn’t believe Ukraine is a real nation, it’s not about territory or a “neutral” Ukraine out of NATO.. He doesn’t want a “neutral” Ukraine. He wants Ukraine to be like Belarus and essentially an obedient puppet state - this is true with the Baltics, Moldova, Georgia and other former Soviet states in the Caucasus and Balkana too. He essentially wants to rebuilt the former Soviet bloc. Yes, of course I think Putin isn’t suddenly going to stop at an “neutral Ukraine”, do you? Have you not seen the suspicious pro-Russian election results in Georgia and Romania recently? Trying to spin it as Biden “gaslighting” is an extremely Trumpian viewpoint to blame anything on anyone else in an excuse to smash things. This is deliberate policy from Trump to pull funding in foreign aid around the world literally overnight- not just from Ukraine - Jordan for example had almost 1/3rd of its national budget provided by the US in a mission of state building and was pulled almost overnight and watch it descend into a kleptocracy now. Rory Stewart as former foreign minister who worked in Afghanistan laid it out very knowledgeably in his latest podcast about just what the US sudden pulling of foreign aid means to the world. Again, you’re talking like Trump is playing some kind of great diplomacy or bluffing about something between the lines when he’s being very open about what he stands for in “America first” and he continues to be open with that. It’s nothing to do with Trump trying to allow some “neutral Ukraine” - it’s that he doesn’t care one jot about Europe nor about defending liberal democratic values and will happily let Putin dominate Europe or descend into starvation so long as America doesn’t have to pay a penny into it.

No one is misunderstanding the US economic involvement, what we are talking about is what the “peace deal” actually means. There is no “peace deal” if the US does not provide security guarantees which Trump continuously says ir won’t. The “peace treaty” means the US is pulling its resources anyway in exchange for Ukraine giving it stuff and then provides absolutely nothing to enforce the peace - in fact promises the opposite - it openly signals to Putin they won’t enforce it and won’t defend any further invasion. So that Putin can have a temporary cease fire for a bit to build back up his army. The “peace deal” means “oh I’m sure that Putin guy will stick to his word, let’s take some of your resources while we’re at it”. It’s not a peace deal, it’s appeasement, it’s Neville Chamberlain to Czechoslovakia.

You’re being very naive and living on previous ideals that have been smashed to pieces. Trump has repeated over and over he’s not going to give security guarantees as part of any deal so there is no “peace deal” to talk about. What is the point of Zelensky discussing peace with the US if they aren’t going to defend them and leave them as a sitting duck for Putin a year or two in the future? You’re talking about a previous world order that no longer exists where America defends western and Central Europe for ideological reasons because it believes in defending liberal democracies. Trump is very open that he doesn’t care about these things if they cost the US a single penny.

Btw don’t forget this is absolutely our future if Farage ever gets power too. It’s the same nationalist, isolationist *let’s smash the institutions tying the world together.* bullshit. If you haven’t woken up to what “America/Britain first” actually means in practice then I hope that will do it for you.

No it doesn’t! The deal just gives the US an opportunity to exploit them *as well* as Russia, not *instead of* - Russia will still get what it wants without security guarantees. Zelensky continuesly repeats he wants a ceasefire and respects the USA but wants security guarantees which USA won’t offer. The war is not about territory and never has been, it’s about sovereignty - Putin does not believe Ukraine is a separate country and wants to install a puppet government in Ukraine as exists in Belarus. No one can be that naive to think Putin won’t just try again in a few years without any security guarantees. There’s no “genuinely think” about it. Trump is extremely open and was extremely open throughout the elec campaign that he’s happy for Putin to roll over all of Europe if he likes, as long as the USA doesn’t have to spend a penny defending any European country. There is no “deal“ here that Zelensky needs to “bow down” to to get. People really need to stop thinking Trump is just negotiating when he’s telling everyone very openly exactly what he wants Zelensky is doing nothing wrong here. It’s a complete trap and catch 22 from Trump and Vance.

Bend the knee to what? Having your country sold down the road? The irony of Trump accusing Zelensky of “gambling on WW3” I’m sorry but you’re basically telling Ukraine to accept being taken over by Putin. The whole thing USA wants is to withdraw troops and not have to participate in this war, that’s what Ukraine “gets” out of this deal. Oh plus giving USA a load of its natural resources too. USA isnt offering to defend Ukraine from future Russian attacks if Zelensky “bends at the knee” here, Trump has been extremely clear he wants nothing to do with that and only wants compensation himself

Yes, in Marc Albrighton’s trophy cabinet.