No Nobel Peace Prize for you (unless you get Vlad to retreat his military to Russia's borders).

I would just as soon cease to recognize the Nobel committee or acknowledge the value of its Peace prize than see a raging soon to be octagenarian racist bully his way to pseudo recognition because he can't stand knowing a black man received the award more than a decade ago.

There is literally NOTHING he can do after the bombing (ineffectual bombing at that) of Iran this year that could warrant recognition of him as anything other than a racist buffoon.

... and got skunked so bad, he sued Griffin. And got nothing but his own tears of regret.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/11/15/Griffin-buys-Resorts-Trump-to-get-Taj-Mahal/3242595573200/

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Entertainer Merv Griffin took control of Resorts International Inc. Tuesday, ending eight months of battles and negotiations with real estate developer Donald Trump that left the casino company witha massive $339.8 million third-quarter loss.

Thomas Gallagher, an attorney for the former talk show host and game show syndicator, said The Griffin Co. purchased Trump's Class B stock in Resorts for approximately $96.2 million. Griffin also acquired the Class A stock and the remaining Class B stock of the public stockholders of Resorts for $36 a share.

The day-long transaction was the first step in consummating the complex Griffin-Trump deal, Gallagher said.

When the second phase of the deal closes Wednesday, Trump Taj Mahal Associates Limited Partnership will acquire the Taj Mahal Casino Hotel from Resorts for about $273 million. A Trump affiliate will receive about $63 million for terminating its management agreement with Resorts.

'I am thrilled that we have finally completed this enormously complex deal,' Griffin said in a prepared statement Tuesday. 'We can now get to work revitalizing Resort's hotels and casinos in Atlantic City and Paradise Island (in the Bahamas).'

. . . that Trump drove into bankruptcy in 2014?

out foxed Griffin right after the “deal” was signed.
I thought Trump’s comments showed his lack of class.

And that was waaaaay back then.

... loans to get TACO some investment cash.


https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/watch-inside-the-bailout-that-saved-a-collapsing-trump-organization/

Trump is the “P.T.Barnum of 21st Century “.

How appropriate.

Now the most spectacular loser of all time thinks he’s going to maneuver a properly swap at someone else’s expense.

What territory is being swapped? Putin will not give up one square mile of land they have so far grabbed. "Swap" is Putin talking points.

Here Zelenskyy says it best. "Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we all need real and genuine peace. Peace that people will respect."

Has more than one second gone into that thought? Was it actually a thought? Or was it just another stream of what passes for consciousness channeled from his MIT professor uncle?

Maybe the Art of the Deal guy can get Putin to swap Moscow for Chernobyl, but more likely he would show up with brochures for "sunny Siberia" and try to make a deal to swap Odesa for Oymyakon with its balmy average January temperature of -58°F.

The things that leak out of whatever RFK, Jr. brain worm that occupies his skull are almost as astoundingly stupid as his masses of fawning cultists.

And shame on news outlets for parroting the propagandistic "swap" framing.

All that will come of the meeting will be a meaningless announcement of "breakthrough progress" toward Russian's wet dream of being handed Ukrainian territory on a plater.

To call it a "negotiation" is laughable. There is no "negotiating" a "deal" between Russian and Ukraine when Ukraine is excluded from the process.

Another transparent 47 regime attempt at sleight of hand.

Millions of Americans are with you, despite Trump being Putin's bitch.

Russia claims that parts of Ukraine historically were Russia.

China claims that Taiwan historically is part of China.

So -- when does Trump meet with Xi to turn over Taiwan?

And let's not talk about Korea being unified under Kim The Young-Un.

…so he can finally get that Trump Tower in Moscow?

Putin wants to check out his new digs.

Should France, Spain, and Great Britain be able to reclaim lands that were formerly part of their empires -- including their American colonies ? Is the US entitled to Cuba and the Philippines, or does Spain get those ?

And how should we restore the Poland-Lithuanian Commonwealth, whose borders extended almost all the way to Moscow ? Or the Ottoman Empire, which once ruled Crimea and other territories that are now Russian ? Or Austria-Hungary ?

Remember Serbia's dream of restoring a "Greater Serbia" ? It would include several chunks of territory that had EACH been part of several different empires/countries at different times. Like "Six Flags", but with more bloodshed and tragedy.

Dreams of restoring old empires are deeply toxic. Remember why Hitler talked about a "Third Reich"? And Mussolini, being Italian thought he had the claim to be the new Emperor. Both wanted to "recapture" all the lands of the Roman Empire. Only crazed would-be "world conquerors" are drawn to this dream. That's what we see in Putin, and it's fairly obvious.

Or they could get really creative and maybe offer the Ukrainians some land in Gaza.

Peace in our time. Make America great. Keep on truckin'

Neither France nor the UK were prepared for war either in terms of militarily or democratically. He was trying to buy time and in terms of the advent of radar which helped the UK survive the battle of Britain, he was very successful.

Thanks for sharing!

Chamberlain is unfairly maligned. He did buy time, and that ended up being critical.

Why is this not obvious to Trump?

I have been posting since January that conditions are not ripe on the ground for peace and the current stillborn decisons will only drag out the process and prolong the war. Trump's stillborn decisions are just that: stillborn. It is past time to keep recycling such dribble. Things must go in a different direction or we will still be talking about the Ukraine war 3 years from now.

Zelenskyy's words summarize it well. "Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we all need real and genuine peace. Peace that people will respect."

Putin gets to keep European Russia and Siberia, and the Ukrainians get back all Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.

But I don't guess VVP will go for that..........

Worthless land, for your very valuable resource rich, trade route land?

Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, no NATO, demilitarization for Ukraine, turn Ukraine into a vassal state for Russia, immunity for war crimes prosecution, getting Putin's arrest warrant removed, lifting of sanctions, etc.

Hand your land over to Russia and the war might end.

it was presented in the media that I saw yesterday, and the way Trump was burbling, as if Zelensky was entertaining the idea.

Trump used "we" repeatedly when spouting about the prospect of giving up land. As numerous among us have pointed out, but the media generally seem slow to grasp, let alone broadcast: there's no "we" in this as far as Trump's concerned, and it's not his land to barter with.

I woudlove to know What that asshole Pooty. Has on that orange freak .. he should go and join Putin as one of the Duma ninisters.

Clearly, all he has to say is he didn't commit crimes A-Z and his rubes believe him no matter how much evidence proves the crimes.

Engobbbed in faux gold goo, naturally.

Only Trump would be stupid enough to think that such an idea would ever fly!

He's never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, and his encroaching dementia is rapidly eroding whatever edge he ever had. Add to that the malignant narcissism that has always warped his judgment, and he is ripe to be played like a fiddle.

I'd bet money that Pootie put him up to it. He knows how desperately Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize, and I think he got Trump to suggest that boneheaded idea to Zelensky, knowing what the outcome would be. He knew Z would never fall for such a silly idea, and now he can have his state-controlled media spin this as "proof" that Z is not interested in making peace.

The fact of the matter is that while Pootie might pretend to agree to such a "swap," he would never honor it for more than 5 consecutive seconds. Zelensky is well aware of that, and he knows that making ANY concessions to Pootie would be disastrous.

This episode is a clear demonstration of Trump's cognitive deterioration, but his lickspittle excuse for a veep and his cabinet full of toadies and sycophants will never do anything about it, and neither will the GOP controlled Congress. This situation is like a very bad joke. He's going to reach a point where he'll barely know what his name is, and the only people with the power to remove him from office are sitting there with their fingers in their ears going "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

The situation is so bizarre it's downright surreal.

Ukraine has spent a lot of time and resources constructing very effective land barriers in some of the eastern oblasts, not just the token anti-tank obstacles and poorly reinforced dugouts and trenches the Russians have built.

Trump's scheme would mean Russia would inherit a number of those reinforced fronts.

Trump's a shark. He has to keep moving or he'll drown. This supposed initiative, as well as no doubt attempting to serve whatever agenda he has with regard to Russia, makes him look busy and sucks up media time, so they and the public don't talk as much about the things he'd rather they forget about.

The shark agenda makes sense. I agree that Schlump is the type of person who always HAS to be "doing something" or at least look like he is. But I also think Putin is playing him for a fool, telling him "Russia wants to make peace, it's Ulkraine that won't agree." He's just dumb enough to fall for it, and Vlad knows exactly how to butter hin up and make sure that he does.

Trump is turning this country into a global laughing stock. The whole world can see we elected a blithering idiot to be our president and wondering how we could be that stupid.

Dayam! Hit it on the nail, my DU friend.

DJT defiles everything he touches. And was elected President twice. Yeah, sure, caveats apply, but the bottom line is the US system elected him, and he represents us whether we like it or not.

-- Mal

...give in to fascists...they all seek domination...

...you can't appease, satisfy or expect good faith agreements from them...

...fascists don't quit...you either defeat them or become defeated...

...history has shown there's no middle ground when dealing with fascism...

....all democrats must rediscover this...

Putins bitch. His cock holster. His boy in waiting. And he will continue to be useless
to Ukraine as he and Putin are of the same mind. The same ilk.
They are subhuman garbage whose greed has no beginning nor end and will continue to grasp for more despite the damage they do to humanity.
The cruelty IS the point and there is no other.

Putin--If you get Ukraine to let us keep all the land we've stolen, I'll help you steal Greenland.

his back!

"Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier. ".

Note that Zelenskyy did not use the improper word, 'swap". He used the proper word, "gift". Trump is just repeating what Putin told him to say in the phone call. Trump is a Putin subordinate. We cannot lose sight of this. It is also likely that Putin has something over Trump that Trump can't have get out.

Remember, too, how Trump was going to slap a 100% tariff on countries buying oil from Russia. That deadline come and went and Trump announced a 25% tariff on India. But what mechanism does Trump have for collecting even the 25% tariff when he doesn't even know how much oil India is buying? Trump just doesn't have the depth to navigate complex issues. Some call it gravitas.

Ukraine is not going to submit that easily.

Zelensky, KNOWS this game. plan. FUCK YOU tRUMP!!

because the International Court has an arrest warrant out for Putin and many countries will grab him. He doesn't travel much. Of course, it's OK with Trump. One criminal to another.

What Z is actually saying is... the same as he's said since 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently maintained that any potential peace agreement with Russia involving territorial changes or significant compromises would require a national referendum and the support of the Ukrainian people. He has emphasized that Ukraine's Constitution declares the territory indivisible and inviolable, making such decisions subject to a national vote.
Zelenskyy’s position has been reiterated on various occasions:
In March 2022, he informed a Ukrainian public media outlet that any deal reached in peace negotiations with Russia, particularly if they are "historic" changes, would be subject to a referendum in Ukraine. According to The Times of Israel, he said the people would need to weigh in on certain types of compromises.
He has also stated that issues such as security guarantees and the occupied territories, including Donbas, would be presented to the Ukrainian people in a referendum, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Following proposals regarding potential territorial swaps to end the war, Zelenskyy firmly stated that Ukraine would not give up land and emphasized that Ukraine's borders are fixed in the country's constitution, according to Reuters.
This stance underscores the importance of public opinion and the constitutional framework for any peace settlement involving changes to Ukraine's territorial integrity. Zelenskyy has made it clear that while Ukraine seeks a lasting peace, such a peace must be built on justice, respect for international law, and the will of the Ukrainian people.

Despite misleading representations of polling in Ukraine in the past - even on DU, and my memory may fail me on this, but I seem to recall at least one up-and-downer about it involving yourself and myself - the clear majority of Ukrainians have never shown an appetite for appeasement and ceding territory to the Russians, much as they would understandably like to see an end to Putin's hostilities.

They want security, not peace at any price. That's what Zelensky's reflecting. The recent vocal and demonstrative opposition to even the suggestion of backsliding in combating corruption in Ukraine shows that the Ukrainian populace are not to be trifled with, and wouldn't accede to being sold down the river by any leader.

Anyway, you can read the transcript of Zelensky's most recent public address in the OP. It's not at all misleading unless you for some reason want to twist it.

If you want to try to put a Trumpite/Putinite spin on it, well ...

Doesn’t ’swapping ‘ , mean that Zelenskyy would get something in return?

Perhaps when Putin is defeated , Ukraine will swap staying alive for billions of dollars of war reparations!

The swap is that the savage, ruthless, Russian war criminals will not be hung up by their shoes, if they swap their wallets and resources ( cash, assets, businesses, yachts, tanks, jets, etc. )


I think that’s a better deal!

Good for him..

See my latest LBN post:

Misinterpretation Row Clouds US-Russia Peace Efforts Ahead of Alaska Summit - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143510282