Ignoring D Trump for now ...

What V Putin wants is to save face and retain power.
He knows he has lost this war, but cannot quit as he will be humiliated, lose all credibility as a 'strongman', and 'replaced'.
He is constrained to keep going, no matter how much he ruins the country, or the attrition of equipment and personnel.

As for China and Taiwan, I am inclined to agree with @Sensei .
Although D Trump, and Republicans, are driving the US towards isolationism, China knows that any attack on Taiwan will bring some response from the US due to dependence on electronic fabrication. Since they don't know the scale of the American response, their only hope for success is eliminating the American threat in the area. That means pre-emptive strikes on American assets on Japanese and Philippine air bases which have little, if any, hardened aircraft shelters, and bring Japan, US, and the Philippines into the war.
To cover the landing invasion, China will need to blanket Taiwan with missile attacks thereby destroying Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. TSMC is not a world leader in semiconductor design, but can produce them at design scales surpassing any other manufacturer in the world.
It will eventually bog down to a logistical nightmare, even if China manages to establish a beach head on Taiwan, as they will not be able to re-supply them. So they will either bog down into a war of attrition, continue with the missile barrage rendering Taiwan useless to them, or evolve to a nuclear exchange.
I don't think China welcomes any of those possibilities, but they are very good at playing the long game, and will simply wait until D Trump and Republicans finish destroying America, as they are their main opposition.

Edited November 11Nov 11 by MigL

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

What supreme court ruling did trump ignore?

All of them...

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

What did trump do with the constitution? No one can stop him? Didn't the courts rule his claim the 2020 election was stolen was false, not even worth hearing? Didn't the courts put Jan6ers in prison? You are free to complain all you want. I get it. But most everything trump wants to do has been challenged court. If the courts rules against him he doesn't do it. Please remind me what supreme court ruling trump has ignored? Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Biden ignore the supreme court ruling against his power to give students debt relief? But Biden went ahead, and did it? What supreme court ruling did trump ignore? Not claiming to know everything would like to know.

Trump has certainly ignored or delayed complying with court rulings. Not so far the Supreme Court, it is true, but then he has not had to. Yet.

However Trump has got to work wrecking the other moving parts in US democracy: administration of justice, freedom of the media, academic freedom, ease of voting. He has deliberately chosen unqualified people who owe their position solely to his patronage to run major departments of government. He has inserted underqualified justices into the Supreme Court on the same principle. He has also grossly exceeded his powers, relying on a supine Congress not to pull him up for it.

So he’s doing a pretty good job of dismantling US democracy, considering he has only been in office less than a year.

Edited November 11Nov 11 by exchemist

6 hours ago, Science screw up said:

What did trump do with the constitution? No one can stop him?

People can stop him, but many of the ones with that power refuse to exercise it, i.e. congress, SCOTUS

6 hours ago, Science screw up said:

Didn't the courts rule his claim the 2020 election was stolen was false, not even worth hearing?

Did they?

6 hours ago, Science screw up said:

Didn't the courts put Jan6ers in prison?

Yes. And Trump pardoned them or commuted their sentences

https://www.jan-6.com/full-list-of-people-pardoned?

6 hours ago, Science screw up said:

You are free to complain all you want. I get it. But most everything trump wants to do has been challenged court. If the courts rules against him he doesn't do it.

People were deported in violation of a court order. Funding issues defied a court order.

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-white-house-refuses-to-abide-by-1-in-3-court-orders-made-against-them/

“The Trump White House has been accused of “defying or frustrating court oversight” in 57 cases, or around 35 percent of rulings or orders made against them”

6 hours ago, Science screw up said:

Please remind me what supreme court ruling trump has ignored?

Most have only just gotten to SCOTUS, other don’t have to be ignored since they have bent over backwards (and ignoring protections) to accommodate him (e.g. allowing racial profiling for ICE detentions)

6 hours ago, Science screw up said:

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Biden ignore the supreme court ruling against his power to give students debt relief? But Biden went ahead, and did it?

Did he? Or did he find another avenue (i.e. law) to exercise his authority? AFAICT there was no blanket ruling against debt relief, it was using a particular legal vehicle, but multiple ones existed.

7 hours ago, Science screw up said:

Correct me if I am wrong ...

That's right.
On this site we like to comply with requests.

22 hours ago, dimreepr said:

Trump just wants a deal

Actually, he just wants to be able to claim he got a deal. The deal itself is secondary and he doesn't much care whether it's real so long as he gets credit

21 hours ago, Science screw up said:

If the courts rules against him he doesn't do it.

False.

21 hours ago, Science screw up said:

Correct me if I am wrong but didn't Biden ignore the supreme court ruling against his power to give students debt relief?

False.

21 hours ago, Science screw up said:

You are free to complain all you want.

I'm not complaining. I'm highlighting facts, but thanks for trying to dismiss them like a good little boot licker.

In 165 cases where the courts ruled against Trump, he's defied and ignored 57 of them (35%) as of March. And guess who controls the part of the government in place to enforce those court orders? I'll give you a hint: The courts don't have their own police nor justice department.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/21/trump-court-orders-defy-noncompliance-marshals-judges/

21 hours ago, dimreepr said:

All of them...

OK. Could you educate me and name one? Should be pretty easy to name one since you say he ignore all of them.

21 hours ago, exchemist said:

Trump has certainly ignored or delayed complying with court rulings. Not so far the Supreme Court, it is true, but then he has not had to. Yet.

However Trump has got to work wrecking the other moving parts in US democracy: administration of justice, freedom of the media, academic freedom, ease of voting. He has deliberately chosen unqualified people who owe their position solely to his patronage to run major departments of government. He has inserted underqualified justices into the Supreme Court on the same principle. He has also grossly exceeded his powers, relying on a supine Congress not to pull him up for it.

So he’s doing a pretty good job of dismantling US democracy, considering he has only been in office less than a year.

OK you wrote an opinion piece as if it were fact but provided zero facts to back up your opinion. First off, I'm sorry to inform you but the USA is not a democracy. See that's a fact. Who voted for Kamala to replace joe? See not a democracy. Freedom of the media? How so? Academic freedom? How so? Ease of voting? How so? You can make all the claims you want, assert them as actually facts but at the end of the day you are only asserting your opinion. I am well aware all these areas you mention can be debated. Since I listen to both sides, I'm well aware there are arguments made supporting your opinions. I hate to assume but I can only assume you hate Trump. You hate MAGA? MAGA is a cult... But you are talking about Trump on a science website. If you care to be more specific about your opinions I'm all ears.

16 hours ago, MigL said:

That's right.
On this site we like to comply with requests.

I see no one complying only opinions.

16 hours ago, swansont said:

People can stop him, but many of the ones with that power refuse to exercise it, i.e. congress, SCOTUS

Did they?

Yes. And Trump pardoned them or commuted their sentences

https://www.jan-6.com/full-list-of-people-pardoned?

People were deported in violation of a court order. Funding issues defied a court order.

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-white-house-refuses-to-abide-by-1-in-3-court-orders-made-against-them/

“The Trump White House has been accused of “defying or frustrating court oversight” in 57 cases, or around 35 percent of rulings or orders made against them”

Most have only just gotten to SCOTUS, other don’t have to be ignored since they have bent over backwards (and ignoring protections) to accommodate him (e.g. allowing racial profiling for ICE detentions)

Did he? Or did he find another avenue (i.e. law) to exercise his authority? AFAICT there was no blanket ruling against debt relief, it was using a particular legal vehicle, but multiple ones existed.

Yes, Biden actually did ignore the supreme court ruling on student debt relief. And yes then he found other avenues. But what I sated was fact, Biden ignored the supreme court ruling. Because he found other avenues doesn't make what I said false. You seem to think because Biden found other avenues makes my statement false. It doesn't. So, when a lower court rules against Trump he's not allowed to find other avenues as well? If he does, he is destroying Democracy? Trump gave pardons to J6ers but you ignore the pardons Biden gave at the end of his term? Every response you made I actually could shred.

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

I see no one complying only opinions.

Yes, Biden actually did ignore the supreme court ruling on student debt relief.

Without support this is just assertion, or opinion.

Biden did not ignore the ruling, despite Jim Jordan’s claim. (A Republican lied for political gain. Imagine that!)

“To make a long story short, the Supreme Court did not agree, ruling 6-3 in June 2023that the Biden administration’s cancellation went beyond the allowable “waiving and modifying” and instead constituted an “exhaustive rewriting of the statute.”

After the ruling, the Biden administration did not carry forward with the program, but did try to relieve student loan debt in several other ways.”

https://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/p/no-biden-didnt-defy-the-supreme-court

Did not carry forward with the program = complied with SCOTUS

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

And yes then he found other avenues. But what I sated was fact, Biden ignored the supreme court ruling. Because he found other avenues doesn't make what I said false.

No, I think what you said was false was because it was false.

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

Trump gave pardons to J6ers but you ignore the pardons Biden gave at the end of his term?

Did Biden pardon insurrectionists? The claim I was commenting on was specifically about the courts putting Jan6ers in prison. So this is just moving the goalposts.

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

Every response you made I actually could shred.

Shred away, if you can back them up with credible sources. If it’s just hot air, though…not interested.

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

Who voted for Kamala to replace joe?

The Democrats approved it.
It is not a vote for the general public.

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

Freedom of the media?

We had a 'polarized' freedom with both sides represented.
Now we have FOX and right wing media, while every one else is afraid to get sued.

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

Academic freedom?

Sure. Everyone was free to study and say as they wished.
Now, if you don't agree with D Trump's views you get your funding cut.

1 hour ago, Science screw up said:

Ease of voting?

Never very easy because of Republican shenanigans.
Has gotten seriously corrupted wit D Trum's efforts to rig the midterms by re-drawing electoral maps.

Democracy isn't perfect, but it was immensly better before D Trump got involved.
Yes, this is a science forum, and all of us can tell that it isn't getting any better, as you seem to believe.

4 hours ago, Science screw up said:

OK you wrote an opinion piece as if it were fact but provided zero facts to back up your opinion. First off, I'm sorry to inform you but the USA is not a democracy. See that's a fact. Who voted for Kamala to replace joe? See not a democracy. Freedom of the media? How so? Academic freedom? How so? Ease of voting? How so? You can make all the claims you want, assert them as actually facts but at the end of the day you are only asserting your opinion. I am well aware all these areas you mention can be debated. Since I listen to both sides, I'm well aware there are arguments made supporting your opinions. I hate to assume but I can only assume you hate Trump. You hate MAGA? MAGA is a cult... But you are talking about Trump on a science website. If you care to be more specific about your opinions I'm all ears.

It looks as if the Americans on the forum have addressed the points you raise, so there is no need for me to respond.

I smell some Gish Galloping approaching

10 hours ago, iNow said:

I smell some Gish Galloping approaching

Yes, let's vote with our lack of interest, the apathy aproach to democracy...

In the words of the late great Douglas Adams "Apathetic bloody planet, I've no sympathy at all."...

On 11/12/2025 at 11:08 AM, MigL said:

Has gotten seriously corrupted wit D Trum's efforts to rig the midterms by re-drawing electoral maps.

And when California decides to have a referendum on re-drawing their electoral maps, to mitigate the effects of the Trump backed re-drawing in Texas, California gets slapped with a lawsuit by the personal lawyer hacks he has appointed to lead the Justice Department.
You can't even make up this level of hypocrisy.