Peace or Piece Talks

Attribution: Putin and peace in Ukraine by Vladimir Kazanevsky, Ukraine, PoliticalCartoons.com

[Vladimir Kazanevsky was born in 1950 in Ukraine. He works as a free-lance cartoonist and writer. Vlad`s art work has been exhibited worlwide, published in many magazines and newspapers and has won about 500 prizes from International cartoon contests in 52 countries.]

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Author: patd

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

41 thoughts on “Peace or Piece Talks”

  1. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-diplomacy-ceasefire-negotiations-adc1034f0eed21efcdbb35c9a68bde6c

    It was a weekend of diplomatic announcements on the war in Ukraine.

    First, European leaders assembled in Kyiv on Saturday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire. Then, after midnight, the Kremlin leader surfaced in Moscow to unveil a proposal for talks in Istanbul, Turkey.

    If both Putin and Zelenskyy sit down with each other, it would be a first in the 3-year-old war.

    Key events that have shaped efforts to end the war since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022:

    Feb. 28, 2022: Ukrainian and Russian delegations meet in neighboring Belarus for the first time after the invasion. Talks continue over the next two weeks, but no apparent agreements emerge other than a decision to set up humanitarian corridors for civilians.

    March 21, 2022: Zelenskyy calls for direct talks with Putin but is rebuffed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. A day later, Zelenskyy says he is prepared to discuss a commitment for Ukraine to not to seek NATO membership in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security.

    March 29, 2022: Talks begin in Istanbul, Turkey, with Moscow saying it’s willing to “fundamentally cut back” military activity near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv, while Ukraine said it was open to discussing neutral status for Ukraine if its security is backed by other nations.

  2. or piecemeal ?

    Seth Meyers does his monologue for Tuesday, May 13, before stepping away from the bleak and depressing news to share a news story about a man from Wisconsin who has been bitten by snakes 200 times on purpose.


  3. “There are people in Trump’s inner circle who realise that Russia isn’t very serious about this.”
    Trump hints he may come down harder on Russia as the US president reveals he is open to sell weapons to Ukraine, says Angela Stent, former US national intelligence officer for Russia.

  4. Pogo, sorry new thread was so late. Microsoft decided to take their sweet time upgrading my connection this morning. here’s your early a.m. comment reposted:

    Looks like there may have been a small spinal bone graft in Congress.

    In rare move, Congress pushes back on Trump over Library of Congress

    Lawmakers are raising separation-of-powers concerns as the White House seeks to install a Justice Department official at the legislative-branch institution.

    In a rare bipartisan effort to defend its institutional authority, Congress is quietly resisting President Donald Trump’s attempt to assert control over the Library of Congress — a move that experts say threatens the separation of powers and the integrity of the legislative branch’s premier research body.
    Pushing back on Trump’s designation of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting librarian, lawmakers said Tuesday that control of the institution remains with its top career official, Robert R. Newlen. Newlen told staff at the library that he is the acting head, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.
    The president installed Blanche — a close Trump ally and his former defense attorney — as the acting head of the library just days after he abruptly fired Carla Hayden, the first woman and African American to serve as librarian of Congress, on Friday, nine years into her 10-year term.

    [Continues]

    WaPo

  5. So congress fights back………for the Library……….

    How utterly fearless of them.

    Stur

  8. I can only hope that the orange pope of turdville (OPT) excommunicates some of them for not being good and complicit little choir boys.

    sturbridge

  9. Too late for Republicans in this Congress. Dodo doesn’t give a whit of a schit what they think, he’ll continue doing whatever he wants.

  10. While they still blow their noses using the word “republican” and still bandy it about in conversations,
    they are in no way republucabs any more; they’re now just The Insurrectionist Party.
    They are doomed to dwindle.

    They’ll be alright as long as they have their golden calf to worship, but the goldem calf is beginning to look a bit tattered, torn, and genereally fragile these days

    Sturtnagel

  14. https://www.alternet.org/news-politics/gop-babies-7-kids/

    GOP plan redefines dependent child as ‘under 7’ — but adds loophole for married couples

    Under the new proposed House definition for SNAP, once that child turns seven—usually someone in second grade—they could no longer be considered a dependent, with one exception.

    However, it removes the work requirement if the adult with the dependent child is married and lives with someone who already complies with the new regulations. Unmarried couples with a child would not qualify for the exemption.

    *Get married & stay married, even if it’s an abusive situation. One-parent household? No soup for you, seven-year old! SNAP-n@zis!

    The new House proposal also adds ten years to the time when the adult needs to continue working in order to receive SNAP benefits, from 54 to 64 years of age.

    *No soup for you, either, meemaw!

  15. While Adolf and his n@zis are frittering away tax dollars on a military parade for a draft dodger, Dems should just…take over the government…lock the WH…contact the International Criminal Court…anything!

    I’d fully expect an attack on the US, cyber or physical, while Adolf and the Asshats are cosplaying patriotism.

  16. Their next move will be to put the kids out to work, not just the parents and grandparents. From the people who brought us serfdom and chattel slavery. They still walk amongst us.

  17. I asked for a bandaid at the doctor’s office yesterday. She told me DOGE had eliminated them.

  18. Jamie,
    I’m riding American Promise for the Preakness even tho’ he disappointedly came in 16th at the Derby due to being cut off early on.

  19. Goober Toober. Why do we have such a horrible throwback of a Senator? Oh wait, he’s not my Senator anymore. Thank God.

  20. I find myself “explaining Alabama” to people I meet out here. I say it like this: it’s a place where you get to make a choice. You can be part of the problem or you can be part of the solution.

  22. Only a “possible” answer?

    BUT WHO CARES? Because all anyone is interested in now is the damn jet plane, which will be top of mind while Trump rubs shoulders with the very same Qatari royals planning to gift it to him. Even Trump himself can’t shut up about it. “You see Saudi Arabia, you see UAE and you see Qatar, they have these brand-new 747s mostly,” the billionaire U.S. president complained on Fox News, in one of his less-relatable moments. “You see ours next to it. This [Air Force One] is like a totally different plane. It’s much smaller and less impressive … My attitude is — why wouldn’t I accept a gift?” (One possible answer: The Constitution.)”
    – Politico

  24. So tragic it was in fact a plane crash that took his life.

    The plaque marking the location of Denver’s plane crash in Pacific Grove, California
    Upon the announcement of Denver’s death, Colorado Governor Roy Romer ordered all state flags to be lowered to half-staff in his honor. Funeral services were held at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Colorado, on October 17, 1997, officiated by Pastor Les Felker, a retired Air Force chaplain, after which Denver’s remains were cremated and his ashes scattered in the Rocky Mountains.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Denver

  25. https://apnews.com/article/trump-impeachment-thanedar-7f5d4b2d7cfa07be98a5267915357d6e

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic lawmaker is launching a renegade effort to impeach President Donald Trump, pushing past party leaders on Wednesday with an attempt to force a procedural vote in the U.S. House that is expected to fail.
    Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan announced his intention to charge ahead, saying that as an immigrant he wants to do all he can to protect America’s Constitution and its institutions. His resolution contains seven articles of impeachment against the Republican president.
    “Donald J. Trump has been committing crimes since day one — bribery, corruption, taking power from Congress, creating an unlawful office in DOGE, violating First Amendment rights, ignoring due process,” the congressman said earlier from the House floor.
    It would be the historic third time Trump has faced impeachment efforts after being twice impeached during his first term as president — first in 2019 on charges related to withholding military aid to Ukraine as it confronted Russia and later on a charge of inciting insurrection over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters. Trump was acquitted both times by the Senate.
    Thanedar is not the only Democrat who has signaled impeachment efforts against Trump. But his decision to go it almost alone, without backing from party leadership, comes as he faces his own political challenges at home, with several primary opponents looking to unseat him in his Detroit-area congressional district.
    Democrats who streamed out of their weekly caucus meeting were critical of the impeachment effort. They said the focus should not be on impeachment but on Republican efforts to cut spending on important programs that Americans rely on, such as Medicaid and nutrition assistance.
    “There’s no support for an impeachment resolution. There have been no hearings on compiling a record for which impeachment can be based. And this is just a procedure that’s meaningless at this point,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga. ”The sponsor is out of sync with the mood and the trajectory of House Democrats.”
    [continues]

  27. The “big, beautiful bill” is the SCREW AMERICANS bill.

    The Qatari plane is HAMAS FORCE ONE.

    The Republican Party is the Repugnant-N@zi Party.

  28. But he doesn’t even read them!

    Gabbard Seeks to Consolidate Her Control of President’s Daily Brief
    President Trump has wondered over time about whether the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which was created after the 9/11 attacks, should continue to exist.

    -NYT

  30. https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/china-linked-public-firm-eyes-purchasing-trump-meme-coin

    GD Culture Group (Nasdaq: GDC), a tech firm with operations in China, has announced a $300 million funding deal to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) and the Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 14.

    GDC is an artificial intelligence (AI) company that has a market value of approximately $26 million. The firm says it generates digital avatars using AI to sell products such as home appliances and snacks on TikTok.

    *Not sure if it’s a coincidence, but the REPUBLICANS’ SCREW AMERICANS BILL has an amendment prohibiting any regulation, including state regulation, of AI for the next decade.

  32. The entire country will have been sold down the river and we’ll all be in chains by the end of these four years.

  34. https://thepostmillennial.com/capitol-police-remove-protester-who-shout-rfk-kills-people-with-aids-during-senate-hearing

    Capitol Police removed several protesters from a Senate hearing on Wednesday after they disrupted testimony by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Among those protesters was Ben and Jerry cofounder Ben Cohen.

    Multiple audience members stood up and were heard shouting, “RFK kills people with AIDS.” According to USA Today, Capitol Police immediately intervened, escorting the protesters from the room and tackling some to the floor.

    *RFKJ’s reflexes are pretty good for someone with a brain that’s been partially eaten by a brainworm, and a history of heroin use.

  35. https://apnews.com/article/el-chapo-sinaloa-cartel-trump-border-harfuch-86572a31c88a216da7cd5f33006a0011

    Mexico’s security chief confirmed Tuesday that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration.

    …family members of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who was extradited to the United States in 2023, had entered the U.S.

    Guzmán Lopez is one of the brothers left running a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel after notorious capo Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was imprisoned in the U.S. Video showed the family members walking across the border from Tijuana with their suitcases to waiting U.S. agents.

    Rumors had circulated last week that the younger Guzmán would plead guilty to avoid trial for several drug trafficking charges in the U.S. after being extradited in 2023.

    He said that none of the family members were being pursued by Mexican authorities and that the government of U.S. President Donald Trump “has to share information” with Mexican prosecutors, something it has not yet done.

    The confirmation by García Harfuch comes the same day that the U.S. Attorney General’s Office announced it was charging a number of top cartel leaders with “narcoterrorism” for the first time since the Trump administration declared a number of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

  38. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/05/14/donald-trump-syrian-leader-ahmed-al-sharaa-meeting/83620862007/

    Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa has transformed himself from al Qaeda militant to Syrian president in a dramatic political rise capped on May 13 by a meeting with President Donald Trump.

    The encounter in Saudi Arabia is a milestone for a man who joined al Qaeda in Iraq around the time of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and spent years in U.S. prison there before returning to Syria to join the insurgency against Bashar al-Assad.

    “He’s got the potential – he’s a real leader,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One after meeting Sharaa, whom he described as a young, attractive guy with a very strong past.

    *A young, attractive guy with a very strong past?

  39. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/drummer-lord-buffalo-band-removed-customs-border-patrol-immigration-rcna206878

    The drummer of Texas rock band Lord Buffalo was removed from a flight headed to Europe and detained by immigration authorities on Monday, the band said in social media posts on Wednesday.

    Yamal Said was “forcibly removed from our flight to Europe” by Customs and Border Protection at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Monday, the Austin, Texas, band said in the posts.

    Said is a Mexican citizen and, as a green card holder, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, according to the band.

    “He has not been released, and we have been unable to contact him,” the band wrote. “We are currently working with an immigration lawyer to find out more information and to attempt to secure his release.”

    *European tour is cancelled.

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