kentuck
kentuck's JournalTrump fired Barr on the spot !
Told him to not go back to his office, but to go home!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10574785/Bill-Barr-says-Trump-fired-spot-said-election-fraud-claims-bulls.html
Barr describes more than one loud confrontation with Trump in his forthcoming memoir about working in the White House, One Damn Thing After Another
In an interview he described the moment he offered to resign, after noting Trump was 'angry' over his refusal to accept election fraud claims
'Boom!' Trump slammed his hand on his desk and said 'Accepted' when Barr offered to leave.
It was a stunning end for Barr, whose efforts to summarize the Mueller report were seen as aiding Trump's cause in avoiding consequences.
How a Country Joins NATO (and Why Putin Cares)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-02/russia-says-forces-captured-port-city-kherson-ukraine-update1. Has Ukraine formally requested admission to NATO?
Yes. Ukraine applied to join in 2008. That was just before a summit in Bucharest, when NATO said that Ukraine and Georgia would join the alliance -- but without setting a specific date. Georgia has also applied for admission. So has Bosnia-Herzegovina, though there is too much domestic division there to make this a realistic prospect in the near future.
2. How many countries are in NATO?
Its membership has grown from 12 to 30 nations, with North Macedonia the most recent to join, in 2020. That increase reflects the fact that, since the end of the Cold War, NATO has come to represent an underlying partnership between North America and Europe based on shared political and economic values.
3. What does it take to join?
NATO countries have to be unanimous in welcoming a new member. Approval is pretty much a political decision, though NATO does spell out criteria that prospective new members should meet. These include a functioning democracy based on a market economy, fair treatment of minority populations and a commitment to resolve conflicts peacefully. The applicant needs to have an ability and willingness to make a military contribution to NATO operations. NATO has also made clear that having “unresolved external territorial disputes” weighs against being admitted, a consideration that gives Putin an edge, since Russian forces occupy internationally recognized parts of Georgia (Abkhazia and South Ossetia) and Ukraine (Crimea).
4. What’s the status of Ukraine’s request?
Officially, NATO stands by its 2008 pledge to admit Georgia and Ukraine once they meet the criteria, with no consensus on when that might be. Some NATO members, including Poland and Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, would sign up Ukraine tomorrow if they could. But Germany and France in particular insist that as long as Russian troops are in Ukraine, membership is not going to happen. For now, Ukraine is one of NATO’s “enhanced opportunity partners,” a status afforded non-member nations that have “made significant contributions to NATO-led operations and missions.” NATO says it aims to maintain and deepen cooperation with such partners. Other nations with this status are Australia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan and Sweden.
Will the DOJ announce soon that they have begun an investigation on former president?
Yesterday, the Jan 6 Committee filed a 61-page report saying it believed there was obstruction of Congress and defrauding the United States.
The Committee has been attempting to get emails and records from Trump's former lawyer, John Eastman, but he has refused to turn over anything, claiming attorney-client privilege.
What does the DOJ do now?
It seems likely that they may indict Mr Eastman before a grand jury and he will be forced to turn over the documents.
They may appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate the former president since the Committee has stated they have basis for concluding that Trump violated the law?
However, it would seem that Mr Eastman might be the first target on the agenda?
Of course, AG Garland has much more information than any of us. We know nothing.
"I don't know it for a fact, but I know it's true..." (To paraphrase Bill Maher)
Russia is not a country. It is a international criminal enterprise masquerading as a gas station.
The people of Russia accept that their country is run by criminals. They have convinced themselves that is the way of the world. Putin is their Godfather.
Putin and Trump stole the election of 2016 from the American people.
Trump is one of Putin's oligarchs.
Trump worked with Putin to try and overthrow NATO and to put Ukraine back under the control of Putin.
They thought they had successfully stolen the election in 2020.
The American government and Intelligence know all of this to be factual but refuse to tell the American people.
The attempted overthrow of Zelinskyy in Ukraine is directly connected to the attempted overthrow of American democracy.
An ultimatum to Putin?
Agree to negotiate a settlement with Ukraine or else.
He cannot hold on to power for very long under the present circumstances. There needs to be an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of forces if he wants to remain leader of Russia? Dictators cannot maintain any legitimacy under the circumstances Putin now faces.
If he wants his wealth unfrozen and if he wants business to return to Russia, then he must act very soon.
His situation will continue to deteriorate if he does not come to some sort of agreement soon? Tanks rolling thru the country of Ukraine will guarantee him nothing but death and misfortune. The ball is in his court.
NATO-Russia relations: the facts
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_111767.htmNATO as a "threat"
Claim: NATO's presence in the Baltic region is dangerous
Claim: NATO missile defence threatens Russian security
Claim: NATO is aggressive and a threat to Russia
Claim: NATO enlargement threatens Russia
Promises and pledges
Claim: NATO nuclear sharing and nuclear exercises violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty
Claim: NATO's enhanced forward presence violates the NATO-Russia Founding Act?
Claim: NATO promised Russia it would not expand after the Cold War
NATO's Cooperation with Russia
Claim: By suspending practical cooperation with Russia, NATO undermines security
NATO enlargement
Claim: Russia has the right to demand a guarantee that Ukraine and Georgia will not join NATO
Claim: NATO has bases all around the world
....more at link
Putin who??
"Who dat?"
"Never heard of him."
That seems to be the present situation within the Republican Party. Even their leader is now attempting to take credit for saving NATO and preventing an invasion of Ukraine when he was in charge. The truth of the matter is that the former disgraced president did everything in his power to break up NATO, at the behest of Putin. His Party received foreign campaign donations thru the NRA to distribute to Republicans all across the nation. It was ran by Mitch McConnell. They did nothing to challenge Vladimir Putin in the last 5 years.
But now?
They see a political minefield and they don't even know the guy.
What is the difference between UN "peacekeeping" forces and NATO ?
Why cannot UN peacekeeping forces act as a buffer in Ukraine?
As a permanent member, would Russia have the right to veto it?
Could the UN make an exemption to the rule when a member nation goes off the rail? Could that nation be expelled from the UN if they failed to go along with the rest of the world?
It is becoming a desperate situation in Ukraine. If they cannot use air support to diminish the threat and they cannot go into the country because they are not a member of NATO, then what other options do they have?
FOX News decided that it could praise Zelenskyy and Trump and criticize Biden at the same time...
They hope people will forget that they have been cheerleaders for Putin for the last 5 years. No matter what he did, it was OK with them. But, no more.
It doesn't matter to them that Trump was a puppet of Putin's for his entire Administration and that they were a puppet of Trump's for the same time period. Putin's smell did not rub off on Trump, according to the FOX News talking heads. They are capable of putting the first impeachment out of mind and out of history. They are ready to believe that Trump was not trying to get rid of NATO. They believe he was only trying to get them to pay their dues. It never occurred to them that was his strategy to give him an excuse to leave it. It was all for the benefit of Vladimir Putin. Just like his call to Zelenskyy when he needed the weapons to defend his country in the Donbass region.
But, nothing can stop them from criticizing Joe Biden at every turn. They are always capable of telling half the story when it fits their narrative.
They have no shame.
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