Deepak Srinivasan | தீபக் ஸ்ரீனிவாசன்

@Noahpinion @sreemoytalukdar @Akshay_VAK

Remember when a Bush administration official said this?

@MsAnjaliB Ugh, I need to do my laundry tonight. Thanks for the reminder. 😭

Adulthood is just an endless loop of doing laundry and more laundry.

@MattBoxer94 It's not austerity if it's paired with $4 trillion in tax cuts though.

Trump 2.0 is far more pro austerity than 1.0

@MsAnjaliB Fall in love, make mistakes, embarrass yourself, dance in the rain, and work hard, but never so hard that you forget to live. And remember, no matter what, always be kind. That’s what makes you truly successful. Aur haan… apni maa ka kehna suno. She’s always right!

@MsAnjaliB At 21, you think you know everything. At 30, you realize you knew nothing. At 40, you start figuring things out. And at 50, you laugh at your 21-year-old self. So, don’t take life too seriously.

Folks who are 30 and above—what'd be your advice to those turning 21 this year?

@ConflictDISP @SteveKerins, is this a color revolution?

🇺🇦🇷🇺 Russia is reportedly preparing mass protests in Ukraine to destabilize the country, Gulagu Net claims. Russian intelligence agencies allegedly plan to exploit dissatisfaction with Zelensky, using manipulated ratings, refusal of negotiations, and corruption accusations.

@Zprtr1 Kyiv Post is reporting this now too, @SteveKerins. This is going to be earth-shattering if it happens.

This is a game changer on an unprecedented scale The EU is drumming up an enormous military aid package for Ukraine according to the German FM (€700 billion) ‼️‼️ For reference the total amount authorized for Ukraine by the EU & the U.S. combined since 2022 is €366 billion

@EdKrassen @SteveKerins

BREAKING: Russia might be devastated! It looks like Europe is stepping up in a major way, potentially committing $732 billion in additional aid to Ukraine—nearly 2.5 times the total global support Ukraine has received since the war began. If this happens, it would deal a crippling blow to Russia’s war efforts, significantly strengthening Ukraine’s defenses. Unlike Trump, who appears eager to accommodate Putin, European leaders recognize the stakes and are standing firmly for democracy and sovereignty.

@DeItaone @SteveKerins

PUTIN ALLEGEDLY NOT SEEKING 'REAL PEACE DEAL' Intelligence from the United States and its allies suggests that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in a peace deal and instead seeks to gain full control of Ukraine, NBC News reported on Tuesday, citing Western intelligence officials and US congressional sources. "We have zero intelligence that Putin is interested in a real peace deal right now," one of the sources said. "He thinks he's winning," one of the Western officials revealed, adding that Russian losses on the front lines are not forcing the Russian president to end the war.

@SteveKerins It's going to be a long 3 years and 11 months.

@DeepakInsights The EU, fundamentally, is consensus-driven, and that's a critical liability with all the European institutions re: defense.

Elections? Russia. is. a. dictatorship. The dictator has been in power since 1999. What are we even talking about.

@SteveKerins Kissinger said something like this once, no? Something about not knowing who to call when he wants to talk to Europe?

@DeepakInsights Europe has a lack of leadership that is in part weak politicians, but in part just structural: there is no actor in Europe that can play the role the US has played. The US has been the European collective security mechanism.

@SteveKerins Yeah, I think the question of whether they step up will ultimately determine the future of Europe. If they don't do so within weeks, Trump's deal with Putin is going to become a fait accompli. That's why Trump is pushing to get this done fast.

@DeepakInsights It's not just a gap, it's that we're now actively working against them, and they have to do an awkward dance of rhetorically pretending the alliance still exists. As to your questions, we'll see. Conventionally I'd say no and no, but now the situation is more urgent.

@SteveKerins Is Europe capable of stepping up to fill the gaps left by the US? Do they have the willingness?

@DeepakInsights Ukraine and Europe will refuse, because this is a deal they can't accept.

@MattBoxer94 Trump is one. Who else dodged the draft?

The treatment of those who served in our military and continue their patriotic duty is appalling and driven by 2 men who dodged the draft.

@SteveKerins Of course, it remains to be seen if they can agree to a deal. But this is as good an offer as Russia could reasonably hope for, so I'm not sure why they'd say no. Ukraine might still refuse, which would then leave it to Trump to force them into compliance.

@SteveKerins If they agree to a deal, I think it's likely that Putin rides out Trump's term to consolidate his gains before he thinks about any further excursion. If he humiliates Trump, a lot of his gains could be reversed.

@SteveKerins This has been a stunning turn of events. I was still skeptical as late as December that Trump would actually be able to bring this war to an end at all, let alone that he would seek to end the war on these terms.

@DeepakInsights Hence the disaster of these talks in Saudi Arabia.

@SteveKerins If Putin can land this deal while getting sanctions removed, he'd have accomplished all of his war aims.

@SteveKerins Trump is likely to remove all US troops from the Baltics as well, but given that they're already in the EU, I still think their independence is likely to hold for the foreseeable future.