Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine in three days, and the result is two years and plus of war, tens of thousands of casualties that he will admit to, and US-made weapons now being fired into Russia. I don't see him being the kind of 4D Chessmaster you seem to think he is.
At this point Putin's goal is pure personal survival. He needs to not lose the war because that would make him look weak, which is very dangerous for a dictator. To keep himself alive and in power he is willing to throw any amount of Russian soldiers into the meat grinder.
Israel DOESN'T dictate American domestic policy, evangelical Christians do. They believe that the existence of the state of Israel is a necessary step to bring about the Second Coming of Jesus, so they're all in and absolutely nothing can sway them.
Note the framing: it's the PROTESTS that are creating the rifts, not the support for genocide. Everything would be fine if the plebians sat down and shut up.
For their sake, I hope they've read one of those posts of advice for this situation or otherwise have a good plan. Their life getting fucked seems the more likely outcome, though.
This is an important part of it. The other part is the fact that success in politics is very hard without money, and most rich people aren't progressives.
Actually, it is. The owner decided to match the wage increase to dodge the controversy, though it seems the question of whether the law actually covers Panera will need to be settled in court for a definitive answer.
No it isn't. The Democrats haven't had their convention yet.