Lu Zwei wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 3:56 pm

OrthodoxEaster wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 3:27 pm

Lu Zwei wrote: Too long, didn't read.

That does seems to be your relationship w/fact-checked, complex, two-things-can-be-true-at-once reportage, as opposed to politically-driven assumptions or outrage from the Twitterverse. Suit yourself, I guess.

I don't know how I could be more clear... The rest of the map west to Russia is not really phased by what Russia wants or needs. It's not like our leaders are trembling for the fact that Russia will "cut us off" and we for sure don't give a shit what Kuznetskoff TM will say about it.

You seem to push this Russian agenda that is not really based in reality over here as we don't really feel it in real life.

Who is "we"? At best, maybe you can speak for Croatia. Even that seems kinda dubious. By no means would I ever speak as a "we" in terms of the variety of foreign-policy opinions (and lack thereof) or varying levels of anxiety floating around the entire USA. And nobody was talking about fear of Russia cutting anyone off or whatever. More like generalized anxiety over Russia's recent territorial expansions, imperial delusions, saber rattling, cross-border pollution, and aggro foreign policy.

Your logic is most peculiar. It would be like me claiming that the American incursion into Venezuela is no big deal and totally cool b/c (I dunno, I'm just supposing to prove a point) Uruguay, Argentina, and Suriname don't seem so worried about it. Ok, fine, but... what in the hell would that claim even prove?

Furthermore, I did give concrete examples of Western Euro EU (and non-EU) countries displaying anxiety over said foreign policy. And noted that you had the percentage of Russia's territorial gains incorrect, and seem to be unaware of the widely accepted start date of the Russo-Ukrainian war (2014). But again, even if everything you said were true, how does that remotely mitigate Russia's recent actions and foreign policy? It does not.

So uh, yeah, there's all that.

Krev wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 5:24 pm

hbiden@onlyfans.com wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 5:06 pm

Lu Zwei wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 3:59 pm

OK! Sure! Who's paying for the free healthcare and uni privileges and all the benefits that pertain to vacation days and maternity leave!?

denmark. nothing would change domestically.

So we get to turn Greenland into Trump's Golden Sex Pest War Dome, and stick Denmark with the bill for its population? I can see how you went Libertarian.

sure. apparently that's what they want. we'll pay them of course. we're still sending checks to cuba.

Guys guys guys, chill. We're onto Iceland now.

cakes wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 7:37 pm Guys guys guys, chill. We're onto Iceland now.

The news this morning seems that like Venezuela and Iran interest has been lost and a weird deescalation is happening.

Earlier I asked about the legality of ordering the US military to do certain acts. It seems that they cannot act on illegal orders. But that then becomes a matter for the courts getting super messy to the point of potentially be an act of civil war.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... sota-trump

Welp, as predicted, it looks like Mamdani won't be able to increase taxes on the rich in NYC. Despite his endlessly banging that drum on the campaign trail, imposing those taxes is—as I've said for months now—not and has never been the mayor's call to actually make. That's not how the city and state laws actually work.

No tax hikes for millionaires in the current NY budget proposal, unless he pulls some miracle out of his ass and can get the governor to change her mind after she's put in the numbers and already given him a very firm "no" earlier this week. Or influence the less-liberal-than-Hochul state councils up in Albany. I hope he can, but it seems increasingly unrealistic. He's got till April 1.

But this same "sorry, dude, game over" tax thing already happened 12 years ago w/the very naive Mayor De Blasio. Was an almost empty promise to make.

Mamdani's (somewhat silly) free-bus idea also seems to be on ice for at least a year, at least per the MTA and the budget mentioned above.

Silver lining: I do dig that he'll remove or make "junk fees" charged by hotels in the city more transparent. Bravo there. And we'll see how things go w/his free-childcare proposal (more spending in the budget for kids, so good news there).

Progress is sometimes made in just getting people socialized (see what I did there) to new ideas and building enthusiasm for positive change.

twelvepoint wrote: Thu Jan 22, 2026 8:03 am Progress is sometimes made in just getting people socialized (see what I did there) to new ideas and building enthusiasm for positive change.

That's absolutely true. Hard agree. And I don't think he's a bad mayor or anything. (Way too soon to make that call.)

It's just that NYC has already been down this mayoral road several times in the past. Even somewhat recently. This looks like more of the same. (Interestingly, De Blasio also had a budget w/more money in it for childcare. But he squandered the funds after two years and nothing much really got off the ground.)

Basically, it amounts to politicians making unrealistic promises they know they'll never keep, just to get elected. Even the leftists. I don't know if it's a case of being dishonest or out of one's depth. Why not just be realistic instead of promising pie-in-the-sky, like some evangelist? Some people on this forum (not you, granted) seemed to get beyond ruffled when I pointed this out to them, months and months ago. Then again, I'm a skeptic and a decades-long New Yorker, not an optimist or an idealist.

OrthodoxEaster wrote: Thu Jan 22, 2026 8:25 am

twelvepoint wrote: Thu Jan 22, 2026 8:03 am Progress is sometimes made in just getting people socialized (see what I did there) to new ideas and building enthusiasm for positive change.

That's absolutely true. Hard agree. And I don't think he's a bad mayor or anything. (Way too soon to make that call.)

Not that what Mamdani is doing is evil or anything, but it's the same principle that the Trump administration is doing with flooding the zone. It's good to see it put to good use, though.

It's just a shame, albeit quite predictable, that his proposed method to pay for almost all of his agenda—increasing taxes on the wealthy—seems dead in the water a mere three weeks (!) into his term. Not that he actually had the power to tax anyone in the first place.

twelvepoint wrote: Thu Jan 22, 2026 8:03 am Progress is sometimes made in just getting people socialized (see what I did there) to new ideas and building enthusiasm for positive change.

I'll tell you - this is super fucking true, and picking your moments can be very helpful. All of the centrist/moderates in my family and peripherial circles are saying things like "what should we be doing?" and I have the same answer for them

1. Get comfortable with people and ideas from the far left that you haven't been comfortable with. Become friends with them and understand their ideas. You're going to have to be more comfortable around people you might not agree with in order to relieve us of the current enemy. Militant leftists, armed panthers, etc. The groups you pretended would go away if you didn't look at them.....you might have to join hands with them for survival. This lands if you phrase it right, and it's absolutely true and necessary. Even some of my family who is much older and is definitely a turn the other cheek kinda xian - this message is getting through.

2. Filter the MSM with real reporting from local authorities, investigative journalists, etc.

3. Get a separate camera from your phone to document events with real SD cards you can remove, xfer, hide, etc. Both at protests and in real life.

4. If you go to a protest, be indistinguishable. Cover your tatts, cover your identifiable markings. My arms and legs are covered with easily ID'd stuff - tho I wonder if they'll know how to ID a Rothko tattoo - but the point remains. They're ID'ing oppo and building databases.

5. Don't fire unless fired upon. Use violence only when it's brought to you, and be judicious.