Pulling no punches
As Ukraine lies in ruin and Russia spending about 40% of its budget on the war. Food prices and inflation have soared. Interest rates have reached 21 percent. Both sides should welcome a settlement.
Unfortunately, a contentious back-and-forth has quickly escalated after the leader of Ukraine believed that he was left out of talks between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. Zelensky had been all over the news stating that he would never accept a deal between the US and Russia which he was not a part of. What Zelensky failed to understand was that the meeting between the US and Russia was to restart relations between the two countries after not speaking for 3 years.
The other problem further complicating the matter is that both Zelensky and Trump are resolute leaders who don't take kindly to criticism. Back in June, a less known controversy arose between then president Biden and Zelensky during a phone call in which the normally placid Biden lost his temper with the overbearing Zelensky:
Biden had barely finished telling Zelenskyy he’d just greenlighted another $1 billion in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine when Zelenskyy started listing all the additional help he needed and wasn’t getting. Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call said. The American people were being quite generous, and his administration and the U.S. military were working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude.
Biden lost temper with Zelenskyy during phone call over Ukraine aid
Obviously, that unappreciative attitude is a bigger problem when dealing with Donald Trump. When Trump finally responded to Zelensky's whining Tuesday, by implying that Ukraine started the war, Zelensky hit back yesterday by saying the U.S. president was living in a “web of disinformation.” Many people are worried about the direction the two leaders are moving in and that includes Senate Republicans.
When the Russian leader heard of Zelensky's lament about be left out of the negotiations he said:
“No one is excluding Ukraine,” Putin said in a televised meeting with journalists in Saint Petersburg, adding that there was no need for a “hysterical” reaction to the US-Russia talks.
“It is impossible to solve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States,” he said.
Putin rates US talks ‘highly’, says Russia ready to negotiate over Ukraine | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera
After hearing about the rift between Zelensky and Trump, Putin seemed very eager for negotiations to begin.
In other news:
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Arab leaders are working on a plan in which they would help fund and oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. We know who came up with that idea.
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The Trump administration told New York to end its pricing congesting program, which charges drivers who enter parts of Manhattan. As usual, New York's radical governor said she would challenge Trump’s order.
The I.R.S. will start laying off more than 6,000 employees today.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered officials to cut 8% from the Defense budget over each of the next 5 years.
The final confirmation vote on Kash Patel is expected today.
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Good morning.
Here is the President's complete statement:
How much money has the United States provided Ukraine?
Since the war began, the U.S. Congress has voted through five bills that have provided Ukraine with ongoing aid, doing so most recently in April 2024. The total budget authority under these bills—the “headline” figure often cited by news media—is $175 billion. The historic sums are helping a broad set of Ukrainian people and institutions, including refugees, law enforcement, and independent radio broadcasters, though most of the aid has been military-related. Dozens of other countries, including most members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU), are also providing large aid packages to Ukraine.
It’s important to note that of the $175 billion total, only $106 billion directly aids the government of Ukraine. Most of the remainder is funding various U.S. activities associated with the war in Ukraine, and a small portion supports other affected countries in the region.
Trump has a habit of doubling figures if doing so helps him. Yesterday in a speech he repeated the lie that 100 billion in condoms went to Hamas even though his sidekick Musk had already described the claim as a "mistake".
How anyone can stomach Trumps constant lying is beyond me.
I'll go along with that figure John.
It isn't just Trump. There have been many figures tossed out there, but I accept your figure as the correct one.
You've provided a citation listing direct aid to Ukraine. How much indirect aid has the United States provided? The United States was providing sweetheart deals to those other NATO countries to provide Soviet era weapons and munitions in their arsenals. How many Soviet era MiGs, tanks, guns, and munitions, paid for by American taxpayers, have been listed as aid by other NATO countries?
Let's see a full accounting. For the US the cost includes Ukraine and NATO. So, what's the total tab for this eastern European quagmire?
I agree. We shouldn't have any question about how much Ukraine got from the US.
Trump says we gave 350 billion to Ukraine, not Ukraine and Europe. Why you people think its ok for him to do this constant daily , hourly, lying is just inexplicable.
Why should we trust a bunch of global elitists more than Trump? The Council for Foreign Relations has a vested interest in protecting the global elite and liberal oligarchs. Their non-political bipartisanship definitely favors neoliberal ideology, monetary elite status, and academic theorizing.
If Trump makes these globalists quake in the their boots, then Trump has done better than good. These globalists ain't running scared yet so there's a lot more to do. Do we really have to sharpen the blade on the guillotine?
Don't you mean a "give that man a khrustyky"?
No, I have no idea what you eat...
A is a Ukrainian fried cookie.
Trump called Zelensky a modestly successful comedian ... ignoring the fact that this man has served as president of Ukraine since 2019 and has, for the most part, endured the stress of a wartime president defending his nation against an invasion.
So let's refer to Trump as a modestly successful reality show celebrity.
And of course, in Trump's usual style, he just throws Zelensky under the bus.
What a prick.
Anyone have any doubt on what these negotiations with Russia will mean for Ukraine given Trump's public ridicule and lying about their president?
So, you think Donald Trump should take everyone's shit?
Nobody voted for Mother Theresa
I think so, he has definitely earned it.
You are trying to spin this as Trump counter-punching? This is Trump, as usual, throwing the opening punches. This is Trump stupidly poisoning negotiations and publicly announcing that he buys the Putin position.
The shit started with Trump! As usual. Unnecessary and counter-productive.
Not true. It was Zelensky who shot his mouth off first.
He got bent out of shape when the US was trying to restart a relationship with Russia.
Didn't he say he "would never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine.” That was Sunday on "Meet the Press." That was the rolling stone that began the avalanche. It was based on what? The US doing something it said it would do: reestablish relations with Russia. That wasn't a negotiation on the Ukraine. Zelensky got a little ahead of himself and hopefully, he is a bit wiser now.
President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan says he is closing in on the individual believed to be responsible for leaking details of a major ICE operation in and around Aurora, Colorado, that tipped off violent gang members and derailed planned arrests.
"We think it’s coming from inside. And we know the first leak in Aurora is under current investigation. We think we’ve identified that person," Homan said Monday on " Hannity ."
Tom Homan believes ICE raid leaks are 'coming from inside' as Aurora leaker closer to being identified
My gut tells me that this time people will be held accountable.
That hasn't happened in a long time. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be crying.
I think I'm ready to deal
That's the look on his face after he finished on Trump ass. Putin could not have been happier with all the authoritarian loving white nationalists Americans who voted for Trump. When Trump won there's no doubt he had a party, not because he thought to himself "Oh no, big strong tough man Donald will be taking over, I'd better watch myself! He's not somebody I can cross so I better behave myself or face his wrath...". No, Putin was likely doing the happy dance all the way home after the election because he knows he already has Trump in his pocket. And no sooner than Trump taking office and our governments capitulation and kneeling to Putin began again as it was during Trumps first term.[✘]
Trump and his lackeys in DC are still stabbing Ukraine in the back up to this hour. There was more crap today. Where is Lindsey Graham the Russia hawk?
I have good news John. Zelensky just got to meet with Trump's special envoy:
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emerged from a Thursday meeting with one of President Trump’s envoys to announce that his nation was ready to move toward an agreement with the US to provide “effective security guarantees.”
Zelensky, 47, posted a statement on the messaging app Telegram after exiting the sit-down with special envoy Keith Kellogg, saying the “detailed” discussion included talks about the current state of the nearly three-year conflict with Russia and a plan to return prisoners of war.
“We can and must make peace reliable and lasting, so that Russia can never return to war,” Ukraine’s leader said.
“We offered the fastest and most constructive way to achieve the result. Our team is ready to work 24/7.”
Zelensky hails ‘good talk’ with Trump envoy, says Ukraine is ready for deal with security guarantees
Now that we have Zelensky finally settled down, maybe we can have some negotiations.
Congratulations to Ka$h Patel for conformation as FBI director.
Bring out the big guns, Ka$h.
The democrats played every game in the book to postpone the inevitable.
I wonder if files are being destroyed on the 7th floor of the bureau?
Almost assuredly.
Hopefully, like the J6 mass shredding event, someone will be able to retrieve the info destroyed.
We should know soon.
It's going to be interesting to watch what happens now.