On 19 August 1939 Stalin's Soviet Union began a new era in economic cooperation with Nazi Germany, in which Moscow would supply Berlin with oil. 1/
Four days later Berlin and Moscow signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, the secret protocol of which provided for the division of eastern Europe into spheres of influence. 2/
On 1 September 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland, followed by its Soviet ally on 17 September 1939. 3/
Both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union declared that the Polish state was artificial and carried out policies to decapitate the Polish nation. 4/
On 28 September 1939 Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a Treaty on Borders and Friendship. 5/
Trade cooperation between Nazi Germany and the USSR was confirmed and extended by a new agreement on 11 February 1940. Moscow would deliver oil on a very large scale. 6/
Nazi Germany then invaded Denmark and Norway in April 1940 and the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France in May 1940. 7/
The USSR, also reinforced by economic cooperation with Nazi Germany, invaded and occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in June 1940. 8/
Soviet oil also enabled Nazi Germany to undertake the air campaign known as the Battle of Britain in July 1940. 9/
I am not sure Germans have sufficiently worked through this history. 10/10
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1/7. Right-wing justices postulate Trump's "immunity." The objection is that this makes him a king. Not so. It's much worse.
2/7. A king can be subject to law. Even George III was subject to law. The American Revolution was justified by the notion that he had overstepped the law.
3/7. This discussion of immunity is something else. The justices are not discussing any constitutional system at all, including a constitutional monarchy.
Biden and NYT. The problem with this very helpful report is that it implicitly reinforces the two-sides-to-each-story framing that is the underlying problem. 1/4
The real story is democracy, and the real question for NYT and everyone else is whether that framing is dominant. Some great reporting there, but general failure on the framing. 2/4
As a citizen, I couldn't care less who in the White House and who in the NYT has hurt feelings. I do care about who is doing their job well. The Biden administration, with mistakes of course, has done that. 3/4
1/3. Respect for the 101 Republicans who voted their conscience on Ukraine aid despite all the propaganda and pressure.
2/3. Pride in the 210 Democrats who voted yes (without a single no vote) on aid to Ukraine.
3/3. Appreciation for all the Members (@jamie_raskin, @jasmineforus, my own Rep. @rosadelauro, so many others) who could see and articulate Ukraine as an issue of justice.
3/6. Russian propagandists say they expect Johnson's visit to Trump this weekend to kill Ukraine aid once again. We shall see. There's a new nervous vibe here.