Where Do Things End With Vlad? (h/t romad1)

[romad1]

Very interesting Michael Weiss interview with Tim Miller last week on the Bulwark Pod.  He says Marco Rubio is basically fighting the JD Vance/Don Jr. clique in the WH over Ukraine.  Rubio's side are the senators on both sides of the aisle who are normie and who believe in the post WWII security structures (i'm gonna be on that side in some form).  Rubio has to play all the games of the MAGAs to keep his neck in this insane farrago of an administration. 

Whatever is happening with the Venezuelans and or Colombians is intended to distract the MRI-taker from thinking too hard about all this stuff. 

[chasfh]

As much as I despise Mario Rubio, we need all the help we can get in there to keep the Russified cabal from completely destroying America as we have come to know and love it.

[romad1]

Hopefully sound brains in the UK will fix this

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/11/29/admit-truth-brexit-has-been-an-unmitigated-economic-failure/

Vlad got his money's worth with Brexit for sure. 

[romad1]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/09/trump-zelensky-must-accept-peace-deal-ukraine-losing/

I remember when it was a Thanksgiving deadline.  

 

[gehringer_2]

7 hours ago, romad1 said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/09/trump-zelensky-must-accept-peace-deal-ukraine-losing/

I remember when it was a Thanksgiving deadline.  

 

Zelenskyy is learning that if you just hold your ground Trump gets antsy and goes off in some different direction. Of course Putin knows that too, so recipe for continued stalemate.

[1984Echoes]

8 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Zelenskyy is learning that if you just hold your ground Trump gets antsy and goes off in some different direction. Of course Putin knows that too, so recipe for continued stalemate.

Putin will ACTUALLY come to the table...

When America says: "We are establishing a No-Fly Zone west of the river Dnieper."

[romad1]

14 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

Putin will ACTUALLY come to the table...

When America says: "We are establishing a No-Fly Zone west of the river Dnieper."

Would so love that.  Will require a President Newsome or President Shapiro or someone not in the current administration to manifest though. 

Edited December 10, 2025 by romad1

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, romad1 said:

Would so love that.  Will require a President Newsome or President Shapiro or someone not in the current administration to manifest though. 

100% accurate.

[romad1]

Good news

 

[chasfh]

meh. He paid his debt.

[romad1]

On 1/7/2026 at 10:30 AM, chasfh said:

meh. He paid his debt.

He died a bit too old for his crimes.  

[romad1]

Had a really interesting conversation with a colleague who pointed out that the Venezuela op was a significant bloody nose for the Cuban, Russian and in particular PRC intel services.   Cutting Tulsi out of the chain of information (maybe they cleaned up the Signal app leaks too?). 

I think the knock on effect might be a shakeup in those services.   My understanding is that Mao wanted his intel services fragmented so they didn't have more power.  So there is a state-based IC service competing with another state-based IC service to do Latin America for example.  Imagine if the Texas FBI and Minnesota FBI were in competition to provide assessments of the likelihood of Putin invading the Baltics.  

The fragmentation might still serve Xi but i shudder to think they might optimize over this.