Summary

A Russian presidential plane from the Kremlin’s Rossiya Special Flight Squadron visited New York and Washington, D.C., in late December, sparking speculation amid tense U.S.-Russia relations.

Moscow claimed the flight carried rotating diplomats, but its timing raises questions about Trump’s potential dealings with Vladimir Putin.

Trump has promised to end the Ukraine war in a day, alarming NATO officials who fear a deal that could harm Kyiv and alter NATO’s eastern border dynamics.

The flight highlights ongoing diplomatic maneuvering ahead of Trump’s January 20 inauguration.

  • @lennybird
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    6 days ago

    Okay, come on man… You can either begin to sealion me or you can engage in good faith we can have a healthy discussion as adults. Since I’m putting quite a bit of effort in this conversation and not getting anything in return but denial — there really isn’t anything in this conversation for me unless something changes and quickly.

    That is,

    • You aren’t substantively responding to my points.
    • You aren’t even entertaining a rational counter-argument, but engaging again in Sea-lioning.
    • If unfamiliar with the term, you ask many questions, I provide direct responses; the substance of those responses remain uncontested and you move the goalpost with further questions (the key point, without acknowledgement or discussion of the preceding questions and responses).

    But hey, if you want to play that game I can play it, too:

    • Can you show me the well-respected military strategists who support you in this? Who think illogically and not in terms of risk and probability?

    • What in my scenario is actually unreasonable. Do you believe that is unreasonable, and if so, why?

    • Why do you believe M.A.D. theory would not hold up in this case and that the relative risk of Scenario 2 is greater than Scenario 1?

    But sure, finally, I can give you an example: General LeMay and Robert McNamara responsible for the successful bombing of Japan, both by conventional and nuclear means. They employed risk calculus both in terms of their own bombers versus the relative risk to the opposition. This is pretty standard MO.

    • Flying Squid
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      6 days ago

      I am not going to play gish gallop with you and respond to dozens of points when you can’t respond to my single points without adding 15 more, but your “YOU show ME the expert YOU have” when I didn’t claim I was going with any military strategists at all shows you’re the one not discussing things in good faith here.

      If you can’t back up a claim like that with evidence, don’t make the claim.

      • @lennybird
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        6 days ago

        I’ll give you two responses then; one brief, one not so brief that explains my thought process for the closure of this discussion.

        1. Okay. Have a nice rest of your day.

        1. Who knew geopolitics is complicated and cannot be distilled to bite-sized brevity? Wouldn’t it be convenient if this all fit on a 3x5 index card? I put effort into my comments and especially when I generally have respect for the person with whom I’m discussing.

        Let’s cut to the chase. In such discussions, we basically have 3 options:

        • Cooperatively and mutually pursue the truth and enlightenment. (e.g., “Yeah that’s possible and I agree with A and B, but I think…”)
        • I convince you of my position.
        • You convince me of your position.

        You’re not venturing down a path that is convincing to me, and I’m apparently not convincing you with my strategy — either because (a) my transmission is poor, (b) reception is poor, or © I’m wrong and cannot see it. But unfortunately the arguments presented to me have not been compelling for me to see better logic.

        Ultimately that you perceive me to be gish gallloping and I perceive you to be sealioning me means this discussion has been exhausted. I have no problem with healthy skepticism; but when you’re trying to deflect sound reasoning (at least uncontested) by requests of evidence that aren’t even necessary but rather proven by logic itself (what “reputable” military strategist DOESN’T use probability and proportionality in risk assessment!???), then that to me signals lazy posturing than it does healthy skepticism . You see the problem is you aren’t just remaining a neutral skeptic; you’re taking the opposite stance but not backing up your position in any remote way — neither with evidence, nor logic & reason I have at least done — that your position is the less risky of the two proposals.

        So I suppose with that we leave it here and I’ll oblige you with the last word. Have a nice day.

        • Flying Squid
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          26 days ago

          I didn’t think you’d find anyone to back you up.