#Invasion USA Gifs

[astralbondpro]

Invasion U.S.A. (1985) // Dir. Joseph Zito

[theactioneer]

Invasion USA (Joseph Zito, 1985)

[americanmarketplace]

[justacynicalromantic]

[casualwombatcreation]

(via GIPHY)

[omercifulheaves]

As a friend of mine said at a b-fest showing of this: "Siiiiiilent niiiight...hooooooleeeeeeeSHIIIIIIII-"

Invasion USA (Joseph Zito, 1985)

[aviscarrentals]

i want to play a (racing) game

a series of f1 fics based off of some of my favorite horror movies

charles leclerc- the shining

you, your boyfriend, and a bunch of friends decide to spend your winter break together in a giant hotel. what could go wrong?

max verstappen- it

after years away from your hometown, derry, you suddenly receive an urgent call from your long-forgotten childhood friend, alex, that leads to you returning to the very place you swore you would never face again

carlos sainz- a quiet place

after losing everything you know when the world fell into apocalypse due to the invasion of alien-like monsters with some very sharp ears, you find a new family in the other survivors

lando norris- scary movie (saw parody)

you wake up next to a stranger in a dimly lit room chained to a chair, which is bolted to the floor. luckily, the situation turns out to be more humorous than terrifying (may or may not be 100% based off of the jerma episode of generation loss LOL)

fernando alonso- freaky

you wake up in the body of a middle aged man. but not just any man. a man who also happens to be a wanted serial killer.

george russell- the purge

you and your best friend alex's annoying best friend, george, have to work together to survive the purge night (lily's also there)

pierre gasly- unfriended

you and your friends video call every friday night to hang out together. unfortunately, an angry spirit has decided it wants to spend some time with you guys as well...

mick schumacher- fnaf

after countless failed attempts, you've finally found yourself a new job! the bad news is, it's a night shift and you're scared of the dark. so, naturally, you drag your boyfriend along with you.

alex albon- child's play

when you and your boyfriend unexpectedly have to take in your young niece, you two struggle to make a connection with the little girl. maybe splurging on the cool new doll she's been wanting will fix that.

yuki tsunoda- final destination

what do you do when some random guy that you've never spoken to before tells you he's seen visions of you dying? what do you do when it turns out he was right and death is pretty pissed off?

oscar piastri- the menu

you and your husband have worked non-stop to build a successful, stable life for yourselves. you two really deserve a break. how about a fancy dinner on a remote island prepared by one of the most revered chefs in the entire culinary world?

ollie bearman- scary stories to tell in the dark

it's the final halloween before you have to move away from your hometown and your best friends since birth. hopefully you can make it a night to remember.

lance stroll- the cabin in the woods

you and your boyfriend decide to invite some friends to spend the weekend in a little log cabin in the forest as a way to momentarily retreat from your stressful lives. well you definitely won't be getting any rest this weekend, that's for sure.

logan sargeant- scream (aka yelp)

an eerie masked killer has made its way into your town and is slowly picking kids off one by one. who could it be? is there anyone you can trust? prologue chapter 1

liam lawson- happy death day

happy birthday! i hope you're excited because this will be the longest day(s?) of your life

sebastian vettel- the texas chainsaw massacre

it's summer, which of course means it's time for a roadtrip! unfortunately, you and your friends decided to visit texas, usa, where everything's bound to go wrong (because it's texas, usa)

kimi raikkonen- would you rather

desperate times call for desperate measures, although at this point desperate would be an understatement. so when the perfect opportunity falls right into your lap, who are you to turn it down?

jenson button- halloween

it's halloween! the spookiest day of the year. even though you don't bother participating in silly little holiday celebrations, there are some traditions you can't ignore…

mark webber- 28 days later

the world has gone to shit. even so, you're doing everything you can to survive, despite how hard it is on your own. maybe it would be better if you formed a team?

[wilcze-kudly]

consider: au where opal goes rogue, leaves the airbenders, basically becomes antifa against kuvira

I LOVE THAT

I alwys thought Opal may be an airbender who would splinter off from the Air Nomads more traditional pacifistic lifestyle. What's interesting is that by going up against Kuvira, she is protecting an Air Nomad value- that of freedom.

So it would be interesting to see that storyline and how it would impact her relationship with the other airbenders like Jinora and Tenzin.

I also think the Beifong family would support her wholeheartedly, perhaps getting involved in it too. I kinda have been toying with the idea of the Beifongs starting a resistance against Kuvira. They seemed to be the only people genuinely caring about Kuvira's actions and willing to try to put a stop to her.

I think B4's storyline would benefit a lot from a having the Beifong family as Pov characters, since they could actually offer insight into what's going on in the Earth Kingdom. They also have a very personal connection to the villains, Kuvira and Baatar Jr, which wasn't explored as much as I wish it had been.

If the queercoded miniboss from B1 gets almost a whole episode with flashbacks to traumadump aboud his bender communist big bro in B1, why did Su have to tell Korra that she adopted Kuvira OFFSCREEN. Lile doesn't that feel like something we should've seen. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THAT FUCKING COMIC.

When thinking about this idea, Iwas also inspired by Polish freedom fighters and their partisan activities, since Kuvira's rule over the Earth Empire has hallmarks of both Nazi and Soviet regimes, for example the Spirit Canon (before it got attached to the ridiculous robot) being inspired by an actual german canon (Dora), the literal Iron Curtain, the "re-education" camps, the militarisation, the forceful redistribution of resources, the rampant propaganda, etc, etc.

However, this storyline has strong USA influences, for example the almost complete dismissal of the actual people who live under the occupation, for the benefit of heroes from the thinly veiled New York insert.

The Beifong family stand out from this group as actual citizens of the Earth Kingdom, who were opposed to Kuvira's rule the whole time because they knew what the fuck was going on at least to some extent. They are members of an established Earth Kingdom family, daughter and grandchildren of an Earth Kingdom war hero, and they live in a city that is seemingly the seedbed of progress and innovation.

Their storylines could be fascinating as they come to realise that no one, not even the literal fucking Avatar seems to be too jazzed to help them, that they are quite literally on their own. This is not too dissimilar from Poland as it was at the beginning of the invasion. Despite having agreements with England and France of these two countries supporting Poland's independence, England and Frabce did not take up military action against Germany after its attack on Poland. Similarly, Republic City, the Fire Nation and the Air Nomads were not willing to put up a fight until Kuvira attacked them! Idk what the fuck the Water Tribe was doing but probably not much I assume.

Stories of resistance fighters in German occupied countries (not only Poland) are often forgotten in the larger picture, despite them playing vital roles in the war. This is especially poignant when it comes to countries that were absorbed into the Eastern bloc when said freedom fighters were hunted and murdered relentlessly to keep the people silent and obedient.

Seeing an echo of these often forgotten stories in the Beifong family, a family that tried to stand up against the dictator oppressing their country and then getting reduced to McGuffins in Korra's mental health journey and Bolin's ridiculous "getting back with my gf after I sympathised with Nazis" arc is disheartening.

The storyline was right there! The Beifongs have a personal connection to Kuvira and Baatar Jr, they have skin in the game, they have ideals opposing the main antagonist, they had the potential for an extremely emotuionally touching storyline, they have strong characters just begging to be explored. Opal and Kuvira are foils and it would be so easy to elevate Wei and Wing to the role of Baatar Jr's foils too, like a darker more antagonistic version of Tenzin and Bumi!

The storyline was right there!

But instead they get sidelined for Korra's, admittedly well done, but misplaced trauma arc and a weird fantasy oriental USA saviour fantasy. And then they get a shitty half assed comic where Opal and the twins to lesser extent are posited as unreasonable for being wary and angry at a person who tried to kill them! And Kuvira is woobified to an insulting extent.

Also Kuvira's attack on Zaofu, a wealthy and advanced city full of artists, scholars and visionaries gives big "Soviets and Germans commiting mass murder of Polish Intelligentsia in for example Katyń, in order to make the nation easier to control and take apart, due to lack of potential resistance leaders." I do not wanna hear you bitches talking about how she was right for wanting to "redistribute their wealth and shit". Her ass was after power and those damn platnium domes to make her military stronger. Like if this weren't a fucking kids show and they weren't planning a 'redemption' for Kuvira, people would be standing above mass graves and being shot in the back of the head.

Quick note: I'm going off mainly my knowledge of Polish history due to my own nationality and education, but there are similar stories in may surrounding countries, for example Ukraine which is currently still being attacked by Russia. The stories and ideologies Kuvira and B4 represented are still well and alive today, as was the rest of the world's indifference to the suffering caused by them.

This is why I feel so strongly on this subject and I wish it was handled better and with more care for the actual victims instead of the sorta "America adjacent" heroes.

I also want to note that I don't wish to erase the influences of other cultures and histories on Kuvira, B4 and the whole of Tlok. I am merely noticing themes and references that I was primed to see since I was a child, but that doesn't mean that this is the exclusive reading of the storyline.

I know this rant kinda fell away from the og topic and got heated but I have ✨️feelings✨️ about book 4, the Beifongs and Kuvira.

[isagrimorie]

Oh, God. The Behind the Scenes of Marvel Streaming Productions is a nightmare. Marvel Studios (not the same division that ran Marvel TV) tried to re-invent the wheel:

They did away with 'showrunners' and only hired Head writers

And then apparently did away with it, too because then Marvel fired the writers and let the Directors have a say.

And then didn't stick with that too, and apparently just went on with the philosophy that they can fix it 'in post'

Some Quotes from this:

Those who work with Marvel on the TV side have complained of a lack of central vision that has, according to sources, begun to afflict the studio’s shows with creative differences and tension. “TV is a writer-driven medium,” says one insider familiar with the Marvel process. “Marvel is a Marvel-driven medium.”  On the Oscar Isaac starrer Moon Knight, show creator and writer Jeremy Slater quit and director Mohamed Diab took the reins. Jessica Gao developed and wrote She-Hulk: Attorney at Law but was sidelined once director Kat Coiro came on board. Production was challenging, with COVID hitting cast and crew, and Gao was brought back to oversee postproduction, a typical showrunner duty, but it’s the rare Marvel head writer who has such oversight.

(emphasis mine)

And then it went overboard in Secret Invasion -- Just in case we're all wondering why it was so bad? It's because of all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans.

--during the pandemic, Marvel stepped outside its usual staffing approach and brought in outside execs after years of internally promoting creatives who had been sufficiently trained in the Marvel method.  This change was felt most severely on Secret Invasion, the Samuel L. Jackson-led thriller that stands as Marvel’s worst-reviewed series. Kyle Bradstreet, a writer and executive producer on USA Network Emmy winner Mr. Robot, had been working on the scripts for Secret Invasion for about a year when he was fired after Marvel decided on a different direction. Enter new writer Brian Tucker, who penned the crime thriller Broken City. Thomas Bezucha, who helmed the thriller Let Him Go, and Ali Selim, who worked on Hulu’s 9/11 drama The Looming Tower, were on board as directors and to help crack the story. So far, so normal, at least by Marvel’s creative development standards. Details are murky, but what happened next, in the summer of 2022, debilitated the production as factions became entrenched and leaders vied for supremacy during Secret Invasion’s preproduction in London. “It was weeks of people not getting along, and it erupted,” says an insider. Marvel declined to directly comment on the matter.

(snip)

By early September, a good portion of the Invasion team had been replaced, with new line producers, unit production managers and assistant directors. And Bezucha, who was supposed to direct three episodes, left the show because of new scheduling conflicts. The Marvel executive overseeing the show, Chris Gary, was reassigned and, according to sources, is expected to depart Marvel when his contract is up at the end of the year.

NO WONDER SECRET INVASION WAS A MESS.

As it moves forward, Marvel is making concrete changes in how it makes TV. It now has plans to hire showrunners. Gao’s postproduction work on She-Hulk helped Marvel see that it would be helpful for its shows to have a creative throughline from start to finish. “It’s a term we’ve not only grown comfortable with but also learned to embrace,” says Winderbaum of showrunners and Marvel TV’s intention to hire them. The studio also plans on having full-time TV execs, rather than having executives straddle both television and film.

OH YOU THINK???

JFC. THERE'S A REASON WHY SHOWRUNNERS ARE A THING.

There's also a reason why Wandavision was so good-- because it had one singular vision from start to finish -- Jac Schaffer and Elizabeth Olsen's vision.

It also is revamping its development process. Showrunners will write pilots and show bibles.

Marvel trying to reinvent the wheel AND THEN FAILING SPECTACULARLY.

And then realizing there's a reason why Showrunners exist, and writer's rooms, show bibles, and even pilots.

I can't even.

Also, let's be clear -- Disney - Marvel used 'Headwriter' and not 'Showrunner' for corporate greed reasons, and I'm glad WGA got a fair deal because fuck that 'Headwriter' nonsense.

[boggblog]

Sometimes they can be in hard to reach places or may jump away if you try to step on them, they have a few fatal flaws though.

if you spray them with a mix of dawn/dish soap and water that knocks them down for you to step on them and sometimes kills them on its own. You may have to stomp a few times bc these guys are tough

also, if you hold an open, empty plastic water bottle in front of their eyes (which are red and easy to see) they will jump right on in there.

do not kill every kind of bug you see because of this, make sure that you know the id of an animal and management protocols if you’re participating in invasive species management. Don’t kill native bugs or cicadas!! But yeah if ur in the USA it is open season on spotted lantern flies. Most states have places u can report them online even if the infestation is known to help keep track of their movement

i haven't seen any posts about it this summer so im making my own. if you live on the east coast of the US (particularly pennsylvania, new jersey, new york, or maryland) and you see a bug that looks like this:

(and report it to your state's department of agriculture if you're in an area without a known infestation, check here)

spotted lanternflies are pretty, but they're invasive and super destructive, for more info check out your state's department of agriculture !!

[sepulchrals]

taylor  russell,  twenty  eight,  they/she  ⟡   —  is  that  MANON  ALLARD  i  just  saw  walking  around  kilmer’s  cove?  i  heard  they’re  a  RESIDENT  who’s  been  here  for  THREE  YEARS.  it  slipped  my  mind,  since  they  just  tend  to  hang  out  at  THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  MUSEUM.  at  face  value,  they’re  said  to  be  HUMANE  and  DILIGENT,  but  i  don’t  know…  some  people  have  said  they  can  be  quite  PRYING  and  RECLUSIVE.  just  don’t  get  on  their  bad  side,  i  guess!  don’t  tell  them  i  told  you  this,  but  i’ve  heard  they  DO  believe  in  all  the  ghost  stories  around  town.  who  knows  what  the  future  holds  for  them!

notable statistics :

full name — manon delphina allard kiiza.

nickname(s) — manny, man, any 'm' variation their friends could think of.

age — twenty8 yrs old.

gender & pronouns — non-binary, they/them.

sexuality — unspecified.

appearance & personality : an individual of a completely a mild temperament, manon could be described as nothing more than a looming figure, akin to the very neutral — neither mal or benevolent — sleep paralysis demon that hangs out in the corner of your room. the most prominent of their features, surpassing that of the physical, is their pension to stare. deep eyes and ever-dilated pupils, akin to dark pools of squid ink, pose a stare far more intense than manon's voice could ever get. they speak with a mild stutter, unsure as to why - never had the intention to get diagnosed or, rather, apathologized. in terms of the physical, they stand at 5ft 8in, though seem shorter from a distance as they are swallowed by the untailored hand-me-downs and thrifted mens workwear. she sports a long bob with DIY kitchen scissors bangs, ones that always come out too short and too choppy but their friends (especially ziggy) have told her that they look cool with it, so they've grown to love it. almost nocturnal, their schedule follows the lighthouse and the aspects that are still not on a timer. mild upkeep happens during the late noon, watching for merchant ships during the night until the early morning, then taking a stroll right before sunrise. overall, they are highly reclusive, mostly speaking in motions or gestures, but punctuated with invasive and/or pseudo-philosophical questions. just a thing, floating aimlessly through the wind.

cont'd :

birthdate — february 14th.

hometown — seattle, washington, usa.

sun sign — aquarius.

occupation — current kilmer's cove lighthouse keeper.

background information :

waiting for my specific bio writing brain to come back womp womp but tl;dr — ever since a tragic boating accident during a particularly stormy end of summer night, a vacation they and their family had gone to as a before the school year tradition, manon has been with the kiiza's ever since. originally family friends now turned parents, much of their childhood was a blur if you ask them, only coming back in flickers with each subsequent year they age. they are highly private about it, even to the point of not feeling comfortable talking with their own siblings about the topic. they hate to admit that it has completely shaped who they are — their hankering for escapism and reclusion all into one dichotomous brain, the reason why they have taken up the mantle as kilmer's main lighthouse keeper, and their lack of speech around strangers.

their favorite things — the natural world, animals, early morning strolls, when people ask them / asking others outworldly hypotheticals and silly invasive questions, patching up clothes, gifting and acts of service as a love language

MANON AS THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER :

trigger warning for injuries, boat crashes, parental death — it was one of the last nights of their vacation where their bio parents were going out for a small dinner cruise along the coast when kilmer was overtaken by a storm that completely affected the entire power grid, even the independent generator system of the lighthouse. their boat tragically collided with the cliffs. it being small enough, many folks were affected with either severe injuries, but the collison proved to be fatal for them.since that day, they never left the care of the kiiza's. because of that, manon has come back as the lighthouse keeper the moment it was open just under a year ago, abandoning their zoology degree and former job as a park ranger in kilmer's cove to ensure that they can directly maintain and control something so important to the coast's safety in hopes no one would ever have to go through that again.

[rexandsparky]

Butters' Closest and Dearests

Well happy howdies and hellos to all you folks out in email list land! If you’re getting this that means you’re special to me and I’m wishin you and all yours a big patriotic picnic or flagburnin or whatever you’re gettin up to this 4th. But it also means I need to apologize for the scene you may have seen at Stan’s baby shower last week when our mutual lover Wendy publicly cut off her kismessisitude with Eric. Kyle Im sorry about what they did to your diaper sculpture I know you worked real hard on it and the d*ck shape made for a big ol cheeky hoot of a centerpiece before Eric peed all over it while repeatedly screaming “this is what diapers are for you [butt]holes!” We’re all goin thru some hard times, please everyone let me know if you know any webcomics I can try to gently shift Wendy’s focus to because I don’t think this is good for any of us. And Kyle please check to make sure you didnt bump any lighting fixtures cuz Eric’s complaining about the spycam wiring, again I’m sorry for bein invasive but his little "playing security guard" hobby’s about all that’s keepin him goin anymore, that and of course the petplay CBT me an him get up to. God bless the good ol USA and don’t skimp on the burgers and send me pics of your belly if you end up eating too many!! Again we need anything we can get in these difficult times 

Butters Stotch

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5 s02e10 Gropos S02 Table of Contents • previous episode

"No traffic, no complaints, no noise. Traitors, troublemakers, and ambassadors all tucked snugly in their little beds. I love this time of night."

Well, now something's definitely going to happen, Ivanova. You've jinxed it!

*jumpgate opens. 6 ships inbound.*

Is General Richard Franklin related to Doctor Stephen Franklin? Aaaand that was answered very quickly. Dr Franklin's dad has arrived with 25,000 soldiers that Sheridan needs to find berths for. I don't even want to imagine. And the influx! It'll be standing room only in every single crack and crevice of the place.

From a Trekkie point of view, rotating shifts of soldiers getting downtime on the station while the rest do whatever on the newly spacious ships seems like a better idea than "find 25,000 beds right now."

General Franklin: "I had an Alfredo Garibaldi under my command during the Dilgar invasion. Excellent soldier." Garibaldi: "That was my dad." General Franklin: *raises an eyebrow* "So much for genetics."

sick burn, dude. One of those lines that startles a laugh out of me. B5 has a lot of those. Way, way more surprise-laugh lines than any other show I can think of.

Yikes. This classified mission sounds like extremely bad news, and very classic USA imperialism interfering. Yeah, go on to a sovereign planet and wipe out one of the factions waging civil war at the request of one of the factions. That way always lies long term stability, duh.

But Sheridan was on the planet Akdor before? Earth has been around in the armed conflicts already, apparently.

Babylon 5 didn't already have enough armaments to defend against a warship? Sheridan not wanting the weapons is sorta understandable. But I'd rather have enough weaponry to deter anyone from poking holes in the walls between me and explosive decompression. (space fascinates and terrifies me)

The Franklin sisters sound impressive!

Bummer. General Franklin is xenophobic, humanocentric, and really invested in Stephen Franklin using his xenobiology experience to make xenobiological weapons.

Yeah I could never be in the military. The first time someone called me a mutant maggot I'd be court martialed for my response.

Seriously, rotate the soldiers in and out for leave. Cramming them all on board at once is too much.

The emotionalism of these parent-child relationship plots is kinda lost on me. My thoughts are "talking hasn't worked so far! Why bother beating your head against a brick wall. Not worth it."

Susan's advice to Stephen is far superior for relationships continuing to exist, that's for sure.

Lay hands on the Minbari Ambassador? Smart.

Shit, I want this soldier lady on my side no matter what. Also, excellent fight choreography.

What is up with all the mutant insults? Rubs me the wrong way. But dehumanization usually does.

Stephen Franklin: *tries to apologize* Dad Franklin: "I didn't raise you to say things you didn't mean!"

See? So much less of a headache to just stop trying to talk to unreasonable people.

Sheridan is an amazing peacekeeper. It often does take a third party to talk the emotionally riled up people around. And he's very good at it.

Garibaldi: "So, uh... what would you like to see first?" Durman: "Good restaurant." Garibaldi: "Okay." Durman: "Then your quarters."

get it, girl.

Welch is a good wingman, hah.

You're way, way overthinking it Garibaldi. Making this casual hookup real weird. Dodger/Durman's actor is spectacular. The way she pitches her voice low and loud when talking in public, but goes high when angry in private is some a+ acting.

Awww, father-son bonding.

I am enjoying the B5 staff guy Keffer hanging out with the two gropos. But how do you end up a 30 yr infantry person?? this guy does not look 50, and I can't imagine being a 50 year old grunt in the military, holy shit, rough life.

Kliest just wants to be a dick. Gonna be a racist idiot and try to assault the Minbari ambassador, then gonna start shit with the one B5 staff with a huge, fearless vet at his back?

Rando gropo: "Battle call!"

🎵 I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier 🎵

hilarious. Bar fight!

"And when I get back, I promise, we'll talk."

soooo Dad Franklin is definitely dying on Akdor, yeah?

There are some things on B5 that are just wonderful, aspirational, and a little depressing in their current relevance. Today's example: the black reporter, Tanya Wallace, with dreadlocks, respected as a journalist.

Dad Franklin made it, but Dodger died? :( And also Keffer's two bunkmate buddies. Very sad days.

Fitting for the episode to end right after panning across the lives lost so Earth can have a base closer to Narn and Centauri.

Pretty entertaining and enjoyable as far as Garibaldi episodes! And I appreciated the Family Franklin highlight, too!

next episode

[unorco]

5.... 4.... 3.... 2....

[americanmarketplace]

AMERICAN PATRIOTS

MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALL STOCKED UP ON AMMO!!!!

[houseofbrat]

In response to fed in Washington. IMO, the U.K. has no choice but to sidle up to the U.S. in light of Russian and Chinese aggression. NO ONE has the military might of the U.S. One sixth of our total federal budget is devoted to the military. We are the only power currently (for good or bad) that can even contemplate a war with either Russia or China. Of the major powers, only Russia outspends us.

[related post]

The UK is part of NATO, so I would describe the scenario a little differently. A little more like this...

Ukraine has no real strategic interest to the USA, and the USA would have preferred it if Russia never invaded Ukraine in 2022. The pre-2022 status quo was just fine for everyone in the USA.

However, Russia believes--based on a few hundred years of existence--that they need to lock down and control territory that they used to control in order to feel safe. Obviously it involves Ukraine. But also Poland and Romania. And probably the Baltic states too.

The small problem is that all of those countries except for Ukraine are a part of NATO. Once Russia attacks a NATO country, it then becomes Russia versus NATO. If anything about the Ukraine war has been made abundantly clear, it's that the Russian army of today does not know logistics and cannot pull off an invasion. If they could, then they would have steam rolled Ukraine in less than a year. Except they couldn't because their military is weaker than we all assumed.

NATO doesn't really fear a NATO-versus-Russia military fight because NATO would obviously win that fight with something like 1,000 Russian casualties to 1 NATO casualty. Or worse. It would be that overwhelming. Russia is making the Iraqi army of 2003 look supremely competent with their moves in Ukraine.

However, American military leaders are freaked out seeing how badly number two Russia is doing on the battlefields of Ukraine. They know that if a Russia-versus-NATO war happens, Russia will nuke everyone. Because in the minds of Russian leaders, this fight is for their survival. Even though, in the minds of everyone else, we would all just prefer if none of this ever happened, and we could all go back to 2019 when we could buy finely made crafts from Ukraine on Etsy.

But everyone else has gotten the memo that the peeps in Moscow have gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, which is why formerly neutral countries like Finland and Sweden are joining NATO three decades after the Cold War ended. Because they don't want to get invaded by the crazies in Moscow. And no one wants a nuclear war.

For that, it's just better for everyone right now if the Russian military temporarily dies in Ukraine. Because no one wants to get nuked when the Russians act like sore losers. Also, a revolution in Moscow over the failures in Ukraine within the next two years is basically even money at this point.

I wouldn't even conflate Russia's aggression with China right now. Russia may be using China these days. Russia has the natural resources while China has the people and the money. However, China & Russia are natural enemies. I'm still wondering if China will invade eastern Russia some day just to take over Lake Baikal for its water.

So, yes, the USA has the best military in the world. We've used it a lot. Even when we shouldn't have. But we really don't want to go to war with Russia. Neither does the UK. Or anyone else in Europe.

Because we don't want to get nuked BY LOSERS lashing out at the rest of us.

Do you want to get nuked? I don't want to get nuked. I bet Rishi Sunak and the entire Foreign Office of the UK government doesn't want to get nuked. It doesn't really have anything to do with the UK-US special "relationship" because neither wants to get nuked. Neither does France, and I am old enough to remember Jacques Chirac calling bullshit on George W. Bush and the Iraq War when Tony Blair wouldn't.

Not getting nuked? Win-win!