DanCar
Active Member
$8 billion in frozen russian assets heading to Ukraine if Senate and Prez approve. Ouch! That is got to hurt vlad. 
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Russia/Ukraine conflict
- Thread starter amolina
- Start date
navguy12
Active Member
Tiger
Active Member
Cool. Take Russia to the stone age with respect to Oil refineries and war technology. Leave the peaceful citizens be.
Russia has already said they would retaliate on one of their propaganda Kremlin mouthpiece media sites, RT:$8 billion in frozen russian assets heading to Ukraine if Senate and Prez approve. Ouch! That is got to hurt vlad.
Moscow will not leave the potential US decision to hand over its frozen assets to Ukraine unanswered, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Saturday. His words came after the US Congress greenlighted a potential transfer.
“America will have to pay for this, if it is indeed so,” the Russian official said, referring to the potential confiscation. Moscow set no time limits for responding to Washington’s actions, he stated, adding that Russia will tailor its response to “serve our interests in the best possible way.”
US to pay for confiscating Russia’s assets – Kremlin
Any retaliation will likely further backfire on Putin as it will probably incline the Republicans towards further bipartisan pro-Ukrainian legislation.
navguy12
Active Member
Story is paywalled:
www.economist.com
How Russia targeted France and radicalised Emmanuel Macron
He is now one of Europe’s leading Russia hawks
Claims s-200 used to shoot down bomber for first time.
Ukrainian soldiers destroy Russian Tu-22M3 bomber: Weaponry used revealed
Read morenewsukraine.rbc.ua
Ukraine had a lot of S-200s left over from the Soviet era that were pretty much out of service at the beginning of the war. I wonder if they have updated them in some way (possibly with western help). I've seen stories of them being used a fair bit lately.
Over the biggest hump! Hopefully no more hurdles and things will move forward from here.
The Freedom Caucus put together a team to block the bill from coming to the floor called The Floor Action Response Team. No kidding (check the acronym). They were stopped and the bill got through. Finally.
Of course the majority was always there to do the right thing. It was a handful of people who either wanted to break things and/or were siding with Russia who were trying to stop things.
BitJam
Active Member
Beau of the Fifth Column suggested this is part of a well thought out master plan by Mike Johnson to take over the Republican party. I cannot come up with a better explanation. The timing makes sense since passing the FISA bill against Trump's orders indicates his power over the party may be waning.
If Trump gets elected then this outright defiance may have been political suicide so the odds that happening probably informed Johnson's decision.
DanCar
Active Member
Yes, maybe Johnson realized Trump wouldn’t matter; or did they both realize Putin won’t matter?
BitJam
Active Member
If Trump is no longer pro-Putin then his
Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked by fellow lawmaker's extreme Ukraine aid bill amendments
Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked by fellow lawmaker's extreme Ukraine aid bill amendments
A U.S. lawmaker has mocked Marjorie Taylor Greene by adding an amendment to the Ukraine aid bill requiring that she be appointed "Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy to the United States Congress."
kyivindependent.com
Marjorie Taylor Greene: Members Who Vote for Ukraine Aid Have to Join Army
Marjorie Taylor Greene: Members who vote for Ukraine aid have to join army
Greene has proposed an amendment to the Ukraine aid bill seeking to require anyone who votes in favor to be required to "conscript in the Ukrainian military."
www.newsweek.com
Greene rips Johnson, House colleagues for advancing Ukraine aid bill: ‘Traitor’
Greene rips Johnson, House colleagues for advancing Ukraine aid bill: ‘Traitor’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) ripped Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and her House colleagues for advancing a massive foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Greene, who has o…
thehill.com
So I think this move by Johnson is a clear break from Trump. IIUC, like with most authoritarians, disloyalty is the ultimate sin in the Trump-o-verse. The erstwhile MAGA-Mike is in big trouble if Trump wins the election.
I wonder why the border security package added by the Senate didn't make it into the Ukraine bill? Perhaps that would have been seen as too big of a betrayal, too soon. If it passed over Trump's objections then it would have worsened Trump's prospects of getting elected. Does Johnson have some inside information that makes him certain Trump will lose the election without further help by the Speaker of the House?
Maybe the Ukraine aid package will be enough to ensure Biden wins. After the border security package, one of the best things for Biden this summer would be headlines full of Ukrainian victories. Although aid to Gaza and Israel should also help.
PS: As Prigozhin reminded us:
When you strike at a king, you must kill him.
BitJam
Active Member
One heck of a rumor on Capitol Hill:
Let's talk about Ukraine, Johnson, and deterrence....
Paraphrased:
Let's talk about Ukraine, Johnson, and deterrence....
Paraphrased:
I heard a rumor, if there is a motion to vacate to oust Speaker Johnson then some Republicans will immediate resign, thus handing control of the House to the Democrats.
This may have been discussed during Johnson's recent meeting with Trump. 4D Chess. Johnson is much smarter than people are giving him credit for. Handing control of the House to the Democrats before the election like this would be really really bad for the Republican Party.
I must have been looking in all the wrong places. Perhaps someone here knows the answer and can tell me if I'm wrong or correct. I do have the advantage here: not just decades of experience first somewhat as an insider, then as a very fascinated outsider, of American foreign policy...AND with a father and uncle who were about as involved in not just participating but actually shaping US foreign policy as one can be.
SO: Of those $60.x billion in "funding" Ukraine that the House has approved and the Senate is about to, HOW MUCH will be earmarked for purchasing US weaponry made in the US by US citizens....and taxpayers...for US companies...also taxpayers? Is the answer 95% or 100%? Because, experience tells us, that is the way it is almost every single time.
Unfortunately, one cannot prejudice those in the states or districts that are home to those who voted against this bill. Meaning, of course, that those clamoring against it are that much more hypocritical.
Is this too political for this thread and forum? Let me ask. Ah: the answer is No. Yay.
SO: Of those $60.x billion in "funding" Ukraine that the House has approved and the Senate is about to, HOW MUCH will be earmarked for purchasing US weaponry made in the US by US citizens....and taxpayers...for US companies...also taxpayers? Is the answer 95% or 100%? Because, experience tells us, that is the way it is almost every single time.
Unfortunately, one cannot prejudice those in the states or districts that are home to those who voted against this bill. Meaning, of course, that those clamoring against it are that much more hypocritical.
Is this too political for this thread and forum? Let me ask. Ah: the answer is No. Yay.
Per The Guardian:
US House approves $61bn in military aid for Ukraine after months of stalling
Ukrainian president thanks America after Speaker Mike Johnson secures bipartisan support for funding Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
www.theguardian.com
Per factcheck.org, about 10% of 2022 US spending on Ukraine was for social programs so the new spending plan might spend even less on military needs.
USAID paid $13B of the 2022 $113.1B for direct budget support to the Ukrainian government which included salaries of 618k educators, 517k health workers, 56.5k first responders, pension assistance for 9.8M people, assistance for 1.3M internally displaced people, housing assistance to 4.1M people, social assistance to 240k low income families, and 480k people with disabilities.
The above report didn't specify how much was spent on Ukrainian pensions but a later USAID Congressional report said $4B was spent on Ukrainian pensions as of Nov 2022. $4B sounds like a lot but for 9.8M people it's only ~$400/person. The average Ukrainian 2023 salary was $625/mo.
Let us share a moment of silence for Vladmir Putin, Steven Seagal, MTG and Elon Musk.
As great of a day it is for the rest of us it is a very dark day for them.
As great of a day it is for the rest of us it is a very dark day for them.
According to Heather Cox Richardson,
... but that's out of all the aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
DanCar
Active Member
Cartoon suggests that those that bother to study the history of Ukraine will understand Ukraine's cause.
Credit:
Credit:
navguy12
Active Member
In my Guardian newsfeed this morning, as expected the lead story:
www.theguardian.com
Unexpectedly, this was also included:
www.theguardian.com
US House approves $61bn in military aid for Ukraine after months of stalling
Ukrainian president thanks America after Speaker Mike Johnson secures bipartisan support for funding Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
www.theguardian.com
Unexpectedly, this was also included:
Republicans erupt into open warfare over Ukraine aid package vote
As the speaker of the House finally allows a vote to go forward on aid, GOP infighting is tearing apart the party
www.theguardian.com
Does this correspond to Mike Johnson’s alleged plan to take over the Republican Party (according to Beau), or does it contradict that theory??In my Guardian newsfeed this morning, Unexpectedly, this was also included:
Republicans erupt into open warfare over Ukraine aid package vote
As the speaker of the House finally allows a vote to go forward on aid, GOP infighting is tearing apart the party
I’m not quite following… I’m a simple checkers guy, certainly not 4-D anything.
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It's saying there are (at least) two wings of the party that have some major points of disagreement. Johnson, apparently, came to the realization that he falls in with the more traditional (Reagan) wing, and has calculated he has the support from enough democrats (for now) to survive this backlash.
Unlike Kevin McCarthy, he hasn't built the bad faith with democrats that lost McCarthy their support when under threat by the other wing. So I think Johnson is right, for now. But even if they lose, I think MTG will try again later.
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