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Assassination of foreign leaders has long been a policy of the US, among other countries. The US tried its damnedest to kill Castro and probably succeeded in killing Yasser Arafat.

The best answer may be in Venezuela, which has been suffering from US embargoes for years. The oil production has been cut back drastically but is capable of being upscaled quickly and is light crude. The US may see this as the lesser of evils, even though they would love to continue punishing Venezuela.

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The military materiel and humanitarian supplied to Ukraine has been of great help to them. Had it not been for this help, the invasion would have rolled over Ukraine already. The resistance has been much greater than Putin anticipated- over 4,000 Russian casualties, and two Russian generals dead. Even though Putin claims things are going according to plan, as of today contradicting government reports or criticizing Putin's war is is punishable by 20 years imprisonment, all independent media has been shut down and there are reports that Russian conscription of troops is imminent. None of this ensures Ukrainian victory but analysts have estimated that if Ukrainian resistance is not crushed in the next 7-10 days, Putin will be in trouble. Third Assassination Attempt on Zelensky Fails as Putin Sparks ‘Nuclear Terror’ An aide to the Ukrainian president credits “Russian spies” for tipping them off to at least three assassination attempts. Comic-turned-hero Volodymyr Zelensky has survived at least three precision assassination attempts by elite hit squads since Russia’s week old war began, according to Ukrainian officials who say his survival was all thanks to tip-offs from Russian spies. Both the the Kremlin-funded Wagner group mercenaries and Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov’s kill teams have allegedly tried to kill the Ukrainian president, who is hiding out in various bunkers deep below the capital Kyiv, according to the Washington Post. The Wagner mercenaries—run by Yevgeny Prigozhin A.K.A. “Putin’s chef” —reportedly have a kill list of 24 names, including Zelensky, but were waylaid by the stalled military convoy outside of Kyiv that made it difficult for Russian special forces to secure an escape route, according to the Times of London.

Yet he would be the one most likely to win a majority. Not loony enough to win the hearts and minds of the cretins.

I would imagine that the behind-the-scenes stuff will closely resemble the "Succession" TV series.

Kentucky Pol Apologizes for Sick Rant About Jewish Women’s Sex Lives A Kentucky state representative has apologized for bizarrely and offensively discussing the sex lives of Jewish women and the Holocaust while debating an anti-abortion bill. Republican Danny Bentley began his fallacious argument by claiming that a pill taken to induce abortions, RU-486, was developed by a Jew during WWII. He then bizarrely implied that the substance was used as a gas in death chambers. And while discussing whether or not Jewish women could be exempt from the proposed anti-abortion legislation, Bentley said, “Did you know that a Jewish woman has less cancer of the cervix than any other race in this country or this world?... And why is that? Because the Jewish women only have one sex partner… They don’t have multiple sex partners.” After Jewish leaders, including the only Jewish member of the state’s legislature, denounced the comments, Bentley—who happens to be a pharmacist—said, “I meant absolutely no harm in my comments today and sincerely apologize for any they caused...I clearly should have been more sensitive with my comments.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/kentucky-lawmaker-danny-bentley-apologizes-for-rant-on-jewish-womens-sex-lives-during-abortion-debate

The talks will go nowhere. Nothing short of complete capitulation will be acceptable to Putin. Meanwhile, a second Russian general has been killed on the battlefield: Top Russian General Killed in Combat -Getty An officers’ organization in southern Russia has confirmed that a Russian general was killed in combat this week in Ukraine. General Andrei Sukhovetsky led the Russian 7th Airborne Division and was a deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army. The organization did not confirm how Sukhovetsky died. Christo Grozev, executive director of investigative journalism website Bellingcat, wrote on Twitter that the death would be a “major demotivator” for the Russian army.

Faux News racist? Say it isn't so.

It would be very appropriate to have the protesters pay for the cleanup.

I believe this is the 600 million dollar yacht that was impounded in a French port yesterday. The intent is to sell the boat and donate the money for Ukrainian war effort and/or rebuilding.

A myth is an unmarried female moth.

He has also refused to divest the $300,000,000.00 Florida has invested in Russian companies.

About 120 of the dead in Ukraine so far are children. Being a Trump toadie means you never have to say sorry.

These anti-vax truckers resent Ukrainian victims of Russian invasion for receiving more media coverage Some of the silliest messaging from right-wing media in recent weeks is the assertion that the convoy of anti-vax truckers, who have been protesting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s vaccine/testing order, represent a profile in courage. A real profile in courage can be found in Ukraine, where everyone from President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Ukrainian military to civilians have vowed to keep fighting the Russian troops that are invading their country. And according to Vice News reporters Mack Lamoureux and Tess Owen, some of the anti-vax truckers resent the fact that Ukrainians have overtaken them in media coverage. Lamoureux and Owen explain, “Even the ‘Truckers for Freedom’ Telegram channel, with its 96,000 subscribers, can’t decide if it’s more interested in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or their very own convoy puttering across the U.S. of A. As many involved in the so-called Trucker Convoys — the vast majority of vehicles taking part aren’t big rigs — enter the final stretch of their long haul, the group, aiming to end COVID-19 health measures, are disappointed by the lack of eyes on them, particularly after the Canadian version captured the attention of right-wing Americans for weeks.”

There was an agreement between Ukrainians resistance and the Nazis. During the first world war, the Germans offered Ukrainians separation from the Russian empire in exchange for intel and logistic support against the Tsarist Russian government, and for a few years, Ukraine was an independent country. Then Stalin came along and overran Ukraine again. The Ukrainians thought they had the same deal with the Nazis but as soon as the Russians were driven out of Ukraine, the Nazis turned on their Ukrainian allies and killed as many of them as they could find. When Russia re-took Ukraine, they took reprisals against anyone they thought might have aided the Germans. And yes, the Nazis saw Ukraine as a potential breadbasket for their empire. The plan was to use the "subhuman" Slavs as slave labour, working them to death and then occupying the then-vacant lands.

A note of caution here. As much as many would like to spit vitriol at the Russians, and even though they were responsible for the starvation deaths of 6-8 million Ukrainians, and the killing of many more, Ukrainians have their skeletons in their closets as well. During WW2, a right-wing faction of partisans took advantage of the chaos to undertake ethic cleansing of ethnic Poles living in the area close to the Polish border and forced out or killed some 50-60,000 of them. This was an area claimed by both Ukraine and Poland, but that does not minimize the horror of the killings.

One thing history teaches us is that international events are often completely unpredictable. Who would have thought that a German private pilot could have both flown right into the heart of Russia, evading all radar and then brining down the whole government? There are so many moving parts to this crisis that it is near impossible to predict the path and outcome of it.

For anyone wishing to support Ukraine, the federal government is matching all donations to Ukraine dollar for dollar: Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal

There is so much here that I do not agree with that I do not know where to begin.

Kinda hard (and dangerous) to say no to a dictator who has already killed a lot of people without remorse.

When the French prime minister was told of the veiled Russian threat, he replied that Russia should remember that France has nuclear missiles, too.

The American rollover of Iraqi forces was only the first battle. They moved on to Afghanistan and became mired in two wars without an exit plan, and slunk out of Afghanistan defeated. They are still taking casualties in Iraq and remain bunkered in their fortresses, paying out billions to mercenaries to fight their battles. Ukraine is far from defeated, at least at this point.