Ukraine military destroys Russian surveillance plane

Al Arabiya ^ | 2/23/2024 | Reuters

[marcusmaximus]

Ukraine’s military has destroyed a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Friday.

“The A-50 with the call sign ‘Bayan’ has flown its last!” Oleshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Developing

[JonPreston]

If you think this handful of words is good enough, you're wrong

do better!

[BroJoeK]

JonPreston: "Theu ALL share the same NEOCONSERVATIVE foreign policy vision, a vision you share.
Aren't you embarassed to be associated with them?"

There is not now, and never was, a single conservative or neo-conservative bone in any of their bodies.
They are all radical Democrats and their foreign policy is intended to defeat and humiliate the USA as often and as much as humanly possible.

Their support for Ukraine today is simply a jujitsu move to make certain that when Ukraine is defeated, Republican get blamed.
In their sick minds, blaming Republicans for Ukraine's loss will "even the score" for Democrats' skedaddle from Afghanistan.

Yes, if you wish to argue that the one alleged Republican on your list is somehow different, then we could conceivably entertain your ideas, but why bother, is he really worth the words?

[JonPreston]

their foreign policy is intended to defeat and humiliate the USA

They all support Ukraine while ignoring our border, and want an additional $61bn in borrowed US tax dollars to go there. As you do. Ergo, you and they are Neocons.

Comprendo?

[delta7]

I’ve seen no evidence that “the West” “pushes” gay or Trans marriage.
——-
Wow, you really don’t get out much…..the most striking immortality I have seen is the Gay Rainbow flying over US Embassies, overseas. Our DOS exports that filth worldwide…..take a trip to Tampa, Atlanta, San Francisco and it appears the Rainbow flag has become our national flag…..it is all there, you just have to open your eyes and “ see”.

[Darksheare]

I’m not the one in denial.
I’m not the one stridently supporting democrat led BS and telling others it’s a conservative position.

[Magnum44]

Looks like it was dropping flares and then became a flare.

Zactly

[JonPreston]

Discuss with many words

Putin is moving nuclear weapons.

pic.twitter.com/iTl77XV3T0— Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) February 28, 2024

[BroJoeK]

JonPreston: "They all support Ukraine while ignoring our border, and want an additional $61bn in borrowed US tax dollars to go there.
As you do.
Ergo, you and they are Neocons.
Comprendo?"

I think I understand your problem -- you're not American, you're more like a Russian and so have no real understanding of American politics and political ideas.
That's how you can throw around words like "neo-con" without any real understanding of what they mean.
To you such words are simply weapons you can wield to shut-up anyone opposed to Vlad the Invader's "special military operations" in Ukraine, or anywhere else.

So, is it even worth the effort to attempt schooling you in American political history and ideas?
Probably not, I doubt if any amount of education would deter you from grabbing onto every available word-weapons you can find in defense of "mother Russia" against those evil Ukrainians, right?

So I'll just make some simple points:

1. In early 1941, Joseph Stalin was 62 years old and Adolf Hitler was 51 -- Stalin was the senior.
   They were allies and partners in war-crimes having together launched WWII by destroying Poland and murdering Poland's leaders.
   Between Stalin & Hitler it is highly debatable as to which was, in early 1941, the bigger monster, the greater mass-murderer, the more aggressive empire builder.
   For the vast majority of Americans (or Ukrainians) in 1941 there was no reason to favor one over the other, since both were manifestly evil.

   And yet, by the end of 1941, the USA was firmly allied with Stalin against Hitler -- what changed?
   Answer: war, like politics, makes for some strange alliances.

2. I "get" that you wish to call every American who is not a pro-Russian isolationist a "neo-con" or "globalist", because those are weapon-words which work for you.
   But those words make no sense unless you intend to call Donald Trump or Ronald Reagan "neo-cons" and "globalists".
   And at that point your whole argument collapses into absurdity, since Reagan helped define the word "conservative" while Trump defines "MAGA" and "Put America First", both defying classifications like "neo-con" or "globalist".

3. By any serious definition, our radical Democrats cannot be "neo-cons" since the word itself identifies former Democrats who became "conservative" Republicans back in Ronald Reagan's time, due to the Democrat party's pro-Russian isolationism.

4. Today's radical Democrats have nothing to do with "neo-cons" but are the very same pro-Russian anti-warriors who fought to defeat the USA in Vietnam and later.
   That's why I believe their support for Ukraine is yet another pose, simply to make certain that -- when Ukraine falls (if Ukraine falls) -- Republicans will take the blame.
   For radical Democrats, there's nothing more serious than that involved.

Bottom line -- our radical Democrats don't care in the least about Ukraine, except as a weapon against Republicans.
What Democrats do care about existentially is keeping our borders open and if that means they have to sacrifice Ukraine, they will.
None of this has anything to do with "neo-cons" or "globalists" and everything to do with our radical Democrats' war against the USA.

These people don't care about Ukraine.
They do care about electing Democrats, by whatever means necessary:

[BroJoeK]

delta7: "Wow, you really don’t get out much….."

I have traveled a lot, over many years.
Do you notice the red parts of this map?
That's where 99% of my US travels have been.
I never had much interest in the blue parts:

delta7: "the most striking immortality I have seen is the Gay Rainbow flying over US Embassies, overseas."

I agree it's ridiculous, but I wouldn't side with our Muslim enemies because of it.

delta7: "take a trip to Tampa, Atlanta, San Francisco and it appears the Rainbow flag has become our national flag…..it is all there, you just have to open your eyes and “ see”."

When I was a boy, we lived in San Francisco and as a young man I worked in Atlanta.
Tampa I only rarely visited and have not been back to any of them since then.
I do understand those cities are a far cry today from what I remember, and I've heard Donald Trump promise to restore them to their past glories, and better.
For certain, I'll vote for that.

San Francisco as I remember it:

[BroJoeK]

Darksheare: "I’m not the one in denial."

I think you're denying a long list of fundamental truths and asserting a long list of ridiculous falsehoods.

Darksheare: "I’m not the one stridently supporting democrat led BS and telling others it’s a conservative position."

I think we can well agree that whatever comes out of the mouths of Democrats and Russians are lies, but no argument in support of Ukraine depends on lies from our Democrats, while every argument against Ukraine is built on Russian agitprop lies.

The conservative Republican position (not "neo-cons") today is the same as it's been since... well... forever, which is with our allies in strong opposition to aggressive empire-building dictatorships that are manifest threats to both American national interests and world peace.
That's not "globalism" or "neo-cons", it's simple national defense.

Why you chose to deny and ignore what's obvious is beyond any rational understanding.

This is what happens to us when we ignore manifest threats from brutal empire-building dictatorships:

[BroJoeK]

JonPreston: "Discuss with many words
Putin is moving nuclear weapons.
Douglas Macgregor"

"Douglas Macgregor" -- enough said.

[MayflowerMadam]

That map ... I think I’m in love with Oklahoma.

[Darksheare]

So being that what comes out of democrats mouths are lies, why is it so important to fleece the American taxpayer while ignoring literally everything here?

[JonPreston]

"Douglas Macgregor" -- enough said.

MacGregor is a combat veteran, and that helps form his foreign policy discussion. You, OTOH, post Walls of Text on an obscure chat room.

[JonPreston]

These would be Neocons, of which you are one

[delta7]

Thank you for your travel history, good to see one posting who has been around America. 🇺🇸

That said, my travel history is more International to many troubled areas. I think we can agree America, under this dead, corrupted administration, things have gone down the toilet. Beginning with Nobama, I was troubled by what the US was exporting around the globe, sickened by what senile Joe was exporting around the globe.

[gleeaikin]

Many small cities downtowns have been destroyed by Walmart and Walmart Realty. I wonder how Trump proposes to fix that?

Few realize that Walmart Reality is an important part of Walmart’s business model. Move into a promising area with a lot of independent stores. Force them out with lower price goods and wages, then buy their property at cut prices. With enough amassed property construct higher priced housing. The effect of this business model is to create more low paying and part time jobs while reducing the amount of lower cost housing for workers in their area.

[BroJoeK]

"That map ... I think I’m in love with Oklahoma."

Me too, some wonderful people come from Oklahoma. 😉
Some of my ancestors lived just a bit north of the border in Kansas.

[BroJoeK]

Darksheare: "So being that what comes out of democrats mouths are lies, why is it so important to fleece the American taxpayer while ignoring literally everything here?"

In 2024 the US Federal government will spend circa $6.5 trillion, of which roughly $1 trillion is for constitutionally valid national defense and another nearly $1 trillion for constitutionally required national debt interest payments.
All the rest has nothing to do with the US Constitution and can well be called "fleecing" the American taxpayer.

National defense is a basic constitutional function of Federal government, so if as a true-blue fiscal conservative, you were overly concerned about "fleecing", you'd not begin to look for it in national defense.

Rather, you'd being looking for "fleecing" in all the other non-constitutional government spending accounts, including, in rough round numbers:

1. $1,400 billion -- Social Security
2. $1,700 billion -- Medicare and Medicaid
3. $ 800 billion -- Other welfare benefits
4. $ 200 billion -- Federal education spending
5. $ 200 billion -- Infrastructure spending
6. $ 200 billion -- All others

Of course, if you wish to argue that Ukraine has nothing to do with US national defense, that's a different matter, and we can discuss, yet again, why Ukraine really truly does matter.

But if you're looking for unconstitutional Federal "waste, fraud & abuse" to eliminate, I don't think our constitutional defense spending is the right place to start looking.

[BroJoeK]

JonPreston: "MacGregor is a combat veteran, and that helps form his foreign policy discussion."

I hope Russians are paying MacGregor well for his propaganda contributions to their "special military operations" in Ukraine.

JonPreston: "You, OTOH, post Walls of Text on an obscure chat room."

Nobody pays me anything, I contribute monthly to Free Republic, and yet somehow, I've managed to attract the attention of more than one pro-Russian operator here.

How does that happen?