@benroyce I feel so desperately sorry for this man.
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Again, in the words of Gogol's brave Ukrainian Cossack leader Taras Bulba, there is still gunpowder in the powder horns!
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@benroyce I wonder if him having been a comic helped him keep his sanity through this.
@Remittancegirl @benroyce I suspect one of the things that has kept him sane is a self awareness that he is expendible.
One reason he stayed in Kyiv was the conviction that even if he were killed, his successor(s) would only be steeled to continue doing what needed to be done.
Although Iran is his enemy, he can see the same principle there. Killing a bunch of Iranian leaders is meaningless when it just steels the resolve of the remaining ones even more.
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@benroyce @Remittancegirl One thing that people don't remember much is what Zelenskii did when he first took office. At that time, no one took him seriously and no one had his country's back.
At that time, Giuliani told him to make up evidence against Hunter Biden. In return, he'd get weapons and other desperately needed support.
No one would have blamed him for faltering in these desperate circumstances. But no. He was elected on an anti-corruption platform. He believed in anti-corruption.
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@scheichsbeutel @benroyce I actually don’t feel like this is theoretical. I’m in London, hoping we rejoin the EU, watching my (still) home country do stupid, stupid shit daily at the hnds of a kid rapist, a Ruschian oligarch, and a White South African
@wendinoakland @benroyce It's the same everywhere: You have Farage; here in Austria, we have Kickl; and in Germany, Höcke is waiting in the wings. Trump may well be the most unscrupulous of them all, a fact that even Jeffrey Epstein noticed. When someone like Epstein describes you as a person with “not a single decent cell in his body” that speaks for itself. Everything just looks like crap.
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@benroyce @Remittancegirl One thing that people don't remember much is what Zelenskii did when he first took office. At that time, no one took him seriously and no one had his country's back.
At that time, Giuliani told him to make up evidence against Hunter Biden. In return, he'd get weapons and other desperately needed support.
No one would have blamed him for faltering in these desperate circumstances. But no. He was elected on an anti-corruption platform. He believed in anti-corruption.
@benroyce @Remittancegirl He refused the Trump administration. He made the tougher, but morally correct, decision. When no one was watching except his own conscience.
That's what makes a good leader great. What they do when no one is watching.
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@benroyce I never thought much of Meloni's intentions, but she's probably 10,000 times as smart as Trump. At least she's pro-Europe, as far as she shows.
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@CStamp @FandaSin @Remittancegirl @benroyce I think he stepped up in 2018.
The Ukraine of 2014 struggled to defend itself from the small scale invasion. It wasn't just a batter of vastly lower military resources. It was all the pervasive corruption at all levels.
Putin lost the war in 2018, only he didn't know it yet. Zelensky was elected on an anti-corruption platform, and he put in the hard work of reducing corruption for years before the 2022 full scale invasion.
This strengthened Ukraine
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@CStamp @FandaSin @Remittancegirl @benroyce I think he stepped up in 2018.
The Ukraine of 2014 struggled to defend itself from the small scale invasion. It wasn't just a batter of vastly lower military resources. It was all the pervasive corruption at all levels.
Putin lost the war in 2018, only he didn't know it yet. Zelensky was elected on an anti-corruption platform, and he put in the hard work of reducing corruption for years before the 2022 full scale invasion.
This strengthened Ukraine
@CStamp @FandaSin @Remittancegirl @benroyce so much. It showed the Ukrainian people that there really was a better way. Ukraine could be fixed. Ukraine could be like western Europe.
That didn't directly supply any bullets or guns or bombs.
But it did something that Putin couldn't stamp out - it made Ukraine more *worth* defending.
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Den öffentlichen Bruch hat #Trump vollzogen, nicht #Zelenskiy.
Den Krieg hat #Putin begonnen, nicht #Zelenskiy.Und wenn #Europa jetzt #Zelenskiy im Stich lässt, haben #Putin und #Trump gewonnen und #Europa wird aufgeteilt - wetten??!!!!!!!!
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@benroyce @Remittancegirl One thing that people don't remember much is what Zelenskii did when he first took office. At that time, no one took him seriously and no one had his country's back.
At that time, Giuliani told him to make up evidence against Hunter Biden. In return, he'd get weapons and other desperately needed support.
No one would have blamed him for faltering in these desperate circumstances. But no. He was elected on an anti-corruption platform. He believed in anti-corruption.
@isaackuo @benroyce @Remittancegirl
If anything, Mr Zelenskii is becoming (if not there already) a role-model for ethical and 'clean' government.
Certainly, I'd welcome a person with his ability and honesty running the UK. Sadly, we don't seem to have one of those individuals available for the job at present.
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@benroyce @Remittancegirl He refused the Trump administration. He made the tougher, but morally correct, decision. When no one was watching except his own conscience.
That's what makes a good leader great. What they do when no one is watching.
@isaackuo agreed. Glad you pointed out this history for him. And now this week, Trump is clearly taking revenge.
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This war made Leader from a clown. (I really don't think Zelensky ever was a clown, but he was actor and he played in some funny stuff)
I really apreciate him...and I don't believe/apreciate/support any leader most of the time. (little bit of "punk" is still in my veins)And Clown from a leader. (= putin)
But I've never took putin for a leader of anything, more like mafia boss, even before war. (loong time before that)@FandaSin @Remittancegirl @benroyce Putin seized more power than any one person should have. Zelensky was buried under more responsibility than any one person should bear. And from this we see that the best leadership comes from those who do what is necessary, and not what is personally profitable. The actor background probably means warleader Zelensky is an intentional character, because were I Zelensky the man, I would be weeping rivers of tears, all the time.
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@benroyce @clintruin @quizzicus Thanks, Ben.
I think about the GOP primary in Minnesota leading up to the 2016 Presidential election. The voters voted:
1. Rubio
2. Cruz
3. TrumpIf voters in other states had chosen similarly, we wouldn't be dealing with this particular noxiousness.
Civics matter. Voting matters.
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@JackMexa4 @benroyce never thought an actor-turned-president could earn my respect but here we are
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@clintruin @benroyce @quizzicus Not sure if you saw the news but they divorced 20 years ago.
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@benroyce Take the gloves off. Russia’s were off from the beginning. Take them out. Don’t be nice. Hit hard while the can.
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@clintruin @benroyce @quizzicus Not sure if you saw the news but they divorced 20 years ago.
@pmonks @benroyce @quizzicus
My mistake. -
@clintruin @benroyce @quizzicus If the options are Newsom and the next MAGA cult leader then that course of action would mean that you’re fine with the MAGA cult leader. Is that really your intent?
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@benroyce @quizzicus
"fuck Newsom. but fuck the GOP more. and we better fucking show up in the primaries so it's not Newsom. if we don't, we don't really care about trans people"
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@clintruin @benroyce @quizzicus Which means you’re comfortable for someone far worse in power. You seem to lack understanding of how the US electoral system functions.
