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That, and Orban negotiated that he would not pay for the EU loaning Ukraine money (based on the frozen Russian assets in the EU), in return for not obstructing said loan. Yet now he is threatening to (or perhaps actually has done so) veto it. Which is a scum move, and the EU should do something about being held hostage by a single bad faith actor. The sanctity of full agreement is wonderful, until you run out of time.

Macros, on 05 April 2026 - 11:20 AM, said:

Failing that, Hungary and Slovakia out of the EU. If they like Russian oil and Putin so much, let them put their money where their mouths are.

the broken, on 28 March 2026 - 05:12 PM, said:

I read today an assessment by an (anonymous) US government intelligence official on Politico that estimated 30-35% of Iran’s missile stockpile was depleted/destroyed. Likely, more of their launchers, and getting the missiles to the launchers is of course also an issue with US/Israeli air superiority.
Furthermore, Iran doesn’t need to hit with every missile, as long as some land.

Regarding the whole discussion on who is winning: entirely irrelevant as both sides and the rest of the world have their own metrics to judge success by and are very much trying to suffocate the other’s message. The US points to the destruction caused and the low losses they suffer through the air campaign. Analysts mention the economical damage Iran’s control of the Strait causes the rest of the world, which Trump tries to manage/downplay. In the end, Iran will need to rebuild and the US will have depleted significant parts of its arsenal on a largely irrelevant war that made neither side any gains in the region or in the world, by and large.

With regard to anything after 2028: how much change can this Democratic Party really bring? All I see and read is Schumer and Jeffries sticking to politics as usual, with only token resistance. If all they try to do is dial the clock back to 2020, they’ll lose anything they might gain in the 2026 mid terms and 2028 elections.

Edit: I know there is a blue wave in lower political circles (school boards etc) as well. I think those are driven by idealistic people who see the need for change. That is something that I cannot truly see on a national level, from my news sources, at the least. What’s the Democrat plan? What is the hope, what is the expectation?

Azath Vitr (D, on 21 January 2026 - 04:53 PM, said:

I honestly don’t know how you see a Russia/China/US alliance appearing. If anything, the US pivot away from NATO is to put the emphasis on China over Russia as the US’ main enemy. I also don’t see the bromance of Putin and Trump survive past either of them. Trump is nearing 80 and Putin will hold on for as long as he can, but who knows until when, and who comes after him and how long that power consolidation takes?

As for MAGA, let’s see how long it lasts. I highly doubt more than 3 years, even though the damage will take decades to undo. MAGA will (eventually) eat itself.

I also don’t see how the split in influence spheres you see would work. My wife is Polish. Every single Polish person I talk to hates the Russians with a passion. Every Fin says the same. Even the Russia sympathisers in Hungary and elsewhere don’t want direct Russian rule, and there is nothing Russia has to offer that would keep a country in Russia’s orbit for long. Victor Orban can do what he does in Hungary because the EU was, despite everything, up until 2025 a net investor in Hungary and is loathe to truly slap his hand because it wants its members to cooperate. He won’t have such leeway or such funding with Russia. Russia meanwhile, whatever they conquer, their oligarchy sucks dry; it’s not used to accelerate their economy. So,

Finally, most anti-EU sentiment in the EU is because people feel the EU is expensive and makes life complicated and bureaucratic. That does not mean they want more Russian/US influence, or are open to it.