nonsensical accusationsShould I start with Lenin? Just look at maps as Russia became the USSR. Those weren't wide open prairies they gobbled up, those were existing modern countries. Their power was only reduced after Reagan made a ridiculous number of nuclear weapons and we waged one of the most technical covert wars in history against them in Afghanistan. What kind of evidence would you need?
Yes, Russia was an imperial nation long before the Soviet era. Most of the “countries” they took were part of earlier empires like the Persian and Ottoman, not states like we think of them. The only exception was the far north and east of Siberia which were too harsh and remote for anyone to bother with. It’s not much different from what any other empires did.
I was talking about the Soviet era, the USSR. You are deliberately avoiding the evidence you requested
Read it for yourself. There is no reference, no inference and no implication of a relationship or any connection to the $400 million. There is a complaint by Zelenskyy against the US ambassador Yovanovitch (apparently misspelled in the transript and mis-referred to by Zelenskyy as an ambassador from Ukraine to the US.). No wonder Trump dumped her.
Do we really know anything about what Bolton says in his book?
If it comes down to him saying he knew Trump’s intent he better have more than his own notes. If he doesn’t he will have to claim to have been able to read Trump’s mind. If Bolton says Trump’s only intent was to harm Biden and Trump says that was not his intention it reduces to a he-said-she-said sort of did-did not thing.
Bolton was National Security Advisor for 18 months. He was much more hawkish than Trump and they had major policy disagreements. He essentially took over the National Security Council. An apparent big break between the two happened when Bolton opposed Trumps’ meeting with Kim Jong-un in June2019. Bolton left under less than amicable terms.
Bolton refused to attend his scheduled deposition in the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump on November 7, 2019, and threatened to take legal action if he was subpoenaed. Later he did say he would testify in the Senate trial if he were subpoenaed. The rift between Bolton and Trump is deep; it calls into question the rhetoric that may be used by both. I expect both men will defend themselves fiercely.
Bob said; There is no reference, no inference and no implication of a relationship or any connection to the $400 million.Except of course, that the money which was approved to be delivered at a specific date was mysteriouly placed on hold, during a war-time siuation... There is a clear reference to that as part of a "personal favor" asked by Trump, through his cronies, to place an add in the paper indicating that the Bidens were under investigation.
The rest of the story has lots of references, inferences, and implications of a relationship between Trump and the delivery of that money.
There was no other reference, inference, or implication why prompt delivery of that money should be postponed.
It doesn’t matter what Bolton’s book says, he still needs to testify because he knows what happened.
In that 7/25/19 phone call text, Zelensky was obviously hyperbolically kissing A. He is a new President in a country that was literally dependent on its existence, (independent of Russia) if he could not be in T rump’s good graces. He said in the text that T rump FIRST told him, previously, about Yovonavitch being bad. THEN, in the phone call, Zelensky had his own complaint about her (that she liked the previous Ukraine President more than him). (Had Giuliani, et.al. been trashing Yovonavitch in Ukraine, to try to get her in bad graces with Yovonavitch? T rump, definitely, had tried to get her in Zelensky’s bad graces by telling him she was bad.)
Bolton is a neo con. Hence he deserves to be in the worst conceived of Christian hell. However, he does not have a reputation, (afaik) of being a prolific liar like T rump. In any “(someone) said v. T rump said” situation the credibility goes to the someone who is not T rump. Kelly, the former T rump Chief of Staff, said that he believes Bolton over T rump.
Russia intervened in our last Pres election, and their guy won. Russia tries to influence the functioning of other nations (often our traditional allies) to Russia’s advantage (sometimes successfully). Russia invaded and took over part of the Ukraine. Russia bolstered and saved Assad’s despotic rule. Russia has been gaining a great deal of influence in Syria and the Mideast. Russia even has troops and military equipment in the Western Hemisphere hot spot of Venezuela. Russia is most likely, right now, trying to influence our 2020 election. I imagine that Russia is capable of using propaganda better than any other nation, to press forth its own agenda. I think they have more nukes than we do. We don’t have to go back to the days of the Soviet Union with Stalin’s mass murder of segments of the population, to suggest that Russia is dangerous to US interests TODAY.
Do we really want to go back to the days of empire building, as Russia is continuing to try to do, in the present?
Lausten: I’m convinced Sree knows that CC. He just thinks this is a big joke. He is part of the class of people that can freely go anywhere on the world. He believes everyone could be like him if they wanted to.I don't know a thing mainly because I don't have direct access either in an official capacity or as an actual fly on the wall where things happened. I don't listen to rumor because it is not scientific. As a critical thinker, I listen to legal arguments, by qualified experts, presented in the impeachment trial. Can you point to a single flaw in Dershowitz's case in Trump's defense? Let's hear it, Lausten. I am sitting by the fire with a double Kentucky bourbon on the rocks, and waiting.
Here’s a flaw in Dershowitz’s T rump defense. It is completely out of line with the prevailing view of non-partisan experts. Now if Dershowitz is simply doing a subjective expert analysis and came up with an outlier opinion, then that would be worth considering. But Dershowitz is a scumbag attorney who is so biased for T rump that he could do real time colonoscopy reports on T rump (i.e. he is all up inside T rump’s butt.)
Here is the BS position of the day by Dershowitz: Basically he stated that if a President thinks it is in the best interest of the country for him to do a quid pro quo with a foreign govt for that govt to help him in his own election, then this is not Impeachable. Only if the President thought he was doing something that would hurt the country would it be impeachable. As it is difficult to know what is inside ones’ mind, it would be difficult to say that the particular President had harm in mind for the country. So how convenient that Dershowitz comes up with an interpretation that would make T rump unimpeachable.
Never mind that this use of Presidential powers undermines our elections process by encouraging other countries to get involved in our elections in favor of the incumbent Presidential candidate over others. This would virtually insure two term Presidencies to any POTUS willing to use the quids that he has available in foreign relations to get any or many other nations to give him the quo that he wants (e.g., their assistance in promoting fake negative stories about his opponents).
That is quite an extension of Presidential powers. And that is what Dershowitz is about, > making sure that T rump gets away with anything he has done, thus continuing to extend T rump’s power.
Anyway, that pitiful argument just covers the 1st article of impeachment.
I won’t be responding to the Troll’s questions
Sree said ; Can you point to a single flaw in Dershowitz’s case in Trump’s defense?https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2020/jan/28/fact-checking-trump-impeachment-defense/
If you cannot see through the smoke screen Dershowitz laid down, it is no use trying to explain it to you. Are you sure you are not also wear a sleeping mask while you’re sipping your Bourbon by the fireplace?
You have no access to news from more than a single source? It is the only excuse I accept as a valid argument of ignorance of the public history of the person named Trump.
If you have access to the internet, you may want to peruse this record of President Trump’s character and veracity.
Using the Dershowitz defense, if I were POTUS, I could, as a not very wealthy POTUS, get caught trying to rob a bank, but get off Scott free because my intention in robbing the bank was for the good of society, in that, even though I would have benefitted myself, I would have also been decreasing wealth disparity in the US.
Furthermore, anything that I used the power of my office to do for my own benefit, would be for the good of the country, because, I could do my job as POTUS better whenever things happen that are good for me individually.
There is no reference, no inference and no implication of a relationship or any connection to the $400 million.It's right at the end of pg 2, beginning of pg 3. I cut and pasted and got a lot of format characters with it. Of course he doesn't say, "I'm hanging on to some aid that I'm not supposed to", but what "great support" is Zelensky thanking him for? He knows the aid was approved and knew there were dates attached to it. And what does "do us a favor though" mean? "Though" what? These are the questions Trump needs to answer under oath. Why does he mention a California computer company? And what server?
President Zelenskyy: …….
would also·li�e to thank you·for. your great support iri the area. se. We. are ready to continue to cooperate for the next of defen steps. specifically we a·re almost. ready to buy more Javelins from·_ the United· States for defense purposes…
The· President: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole si�uation with Ukraine, they s_ay Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has.it� There - are a lot. of things that went on, the·:whole situation …I think you 1 re _surrounding yourse·lf with some………
tog January 28, 2020 at 11:35 pm,
that was an interesting two step.
Yeah, but yeah, so’s your mother and her mother.
I was going to cut and paste the exact same passage, Lausten. But I was not able to do it on the 1st try, so I moved on. So thanks for doing what I had a whim to do.
Write4U: " the money which was approved to be delivered at a specific date was mysteriously placed on hold".
What specific date? Do you mean the same fiscal year in which it was delivered?
If you read the transcript you will find that the money was not mentioned or referred to at all. What Zelensky said was that he wanted to purchase more Javelin missiles.