ta20240528

Yes, all of this is true. But they need the American president to find an off ramp that somehow satisfies his faction's desire for ownership without blowing up Nato - at least not before the mid-terms.

As for no stomach for a fight, Nato Europe can't even shoot down shahad drones that fly over their own territory.

This is not how it should be, but it is.

What am I supposed to take from that? It's not even a valid English sentence.

Europe is desperately trying to find some way to let US have "control" without destroying the Danish kingdom; A Minsk Agreement for Greenland if you will.

They don't have the stomach for a fight.

Fine, I’ll bite. What exactly did China steal in 2025, who did they steal it from, which authorities did the victims approach in China for redress, where did they report failing to get redress?

You would have to know all the above for it to be real.

Hardly. China is also betting on nuclear fission and nuclear fusion:

1. Fission: TMSR-LF1 (a thorium breeder, molten salt research reactor)

Based on US work in 1960s and independent Chinese Sinap work in 1970s. They recently published that they had detected Protactiunium in the salt - a new milestone.

2. Fusion: EAST tokomak

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/nuclear-energy/chin...

We would all be better off if the US and China just collaborated.

"Recycling now recovers >95% of raw minerals"

Not of plastic - recycling rates are decreasing. This is largely due to the excess ethane begin produced as a by-product of US fracking.

The ethane is converted to ethylene, then to polyethylene as a cost below that of collecting, cleaning, and processing used plastic.

As a spectator from neither continent, I feel Trump is being a bit of a wuss.

He should give into his vices, embrace his inner-Putin and demand a “land-bridge” from Washington State to Alaska.

For national security reasons, of course.

“And nobody in the US is going to be upset if an EU company creates a new fun or convenient web service.”

You were pretty pissed when the Chinese made a better social media app.

Maybe is because of your deep love of democracy and freedom, but it more likely that you can’t countenance not being in charge.

All true, but incomplete: you are not discounting these advantages with plain old 'industrial inertia'.

Some stuff just went goes to the USA, because it always went to the USA - even though the original advantages are long gone.

Screw with it enough and the users (the world) just route around the damage.

As the UK can attest after Brexit.

For me, Copenhagen Atomics would be ideal.

And if Denmark says “nope, no survey”.

Then what?

"Immense political pressure can be exerted to force a survey"

Ok, what pressure - other than violence - will be brought to bear on the poor Greenlanders.

Sounds more and more like voting in the Donbas.

"The native people of Greenland need to however be surveyed "

And if they say "no - no survey"?

Then what?

No need for that here.

Yeah on second reading that was inappropriate. Mea culpa

But they do - in the most literal sense - just add integers to both sides of the ledger. And then go out and buy stuff with it.

I thought I would garner these comments above and the down-votes :) So as requested.

Actually I see its 14 central banks that have this USD FX swap facility (but the BoE, ECB, and BoJ are essentially uncapped).

My sources:

1. I did some early work in a very early precursor of this with Reuters

2. The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) https://www.bis.org/speeches/sp230324a.pdf

3. The Federal Reserve Banks (Richmond) https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/econ_focus...

How it works is:

The BoE needs USD, say $10 billion, so it SIMULTANEOUS conjures out of absolute thin air a single ledger entry:

- GBP ₤ 7,437,400,000 - liability to US FED

- USD $10,000,000,000 - asset to UK BoE

It then:

- lends the $10 billion to whoever needs it in the UK

- later (so not immediately*) lets the Fed know it has a new GBP asset.

It later promises to pay it all back. If it can.

But, be very clear, 14 central banks, can and do conjure up USD out of thin air. They call it something boring ("FX swaps").

The modern fiat monetary system is weird. (And I want to be a bank).

But to my earlier point - this print on demand, let us know later facility is only needed because of the demand for USD.

So why then does the bank of England have and need the right* to print as many USD as they need, whenever they want.

If they only use sterling?

* - along five other central banks

Trying so hard to fend off Russia, but they can't put Taurus missiles on a truck and drive them to Kiev?

Converting the Ford factory in Detroit into a tank factory is "trying hard".

The squirming from the vassals would be worth it alone.

Loops ?

I think Venezuela should take this to the ICC. (The ICJ is irrelevant).

Is it?

Are we ­— as a species — really going to spend until eternity grovelling around on the ground?

If not, then we need personal aircraft.

‘There is no reason any western country would put sanctions on a democratic entity.’

Bollocks, there is a very good chance that the USA is going to do exactly that to the Republic of South Africa.

Nonsense, the currently alive young Britons are not the Britons that ran HK as a colony; they think the idea was terrible and have no desire to reintroduce it.

Its a common fallacy to accuse alive people of hypocrisy done by other people who came before them.

‘ WW2, you can talk as much smack about America or praise opposing regime’

Perhaps, but what you cannot do in over thirty states is criticise Israel and then do business with a government organisation.

A healthy reminder that Hawaii became a US state AFTER Tibet became a Chinese province.

An lest one suggest that it was the result of a peaceful referendum, know that the US congres apologised for the entire project, including the migration of mainland Americans who helped swing the referendum.

Sure, let's let them put lead back in paint.

I stand corrected, its not what my country's universities do.

But the thought of a theology student being forced to pass a course in evolutionary biology has made my day.

I don't understand the Mossad comment - unless its just "ooh they're so scary" fanboy stuff.

Let's suppose Netanyahu is somehow arrested and held in a highly secure government prison in The Netherlands awaiting his chance to clear his name at the ICC.

What exactly do you suppose Mossad is going to do?

- break him out? how?

- openly assassinate politicians/judges until someone gives in?

- blow up civilians?

What?

"In fairness, the US has a pretty good record when it comes to invading continental Europe."

Only by using the UK as a staging post - and then invading a country that wanted to be liberated with an active partisan network.

So, if China can't take Taiwan over a 150km stretch of littoral waters, a naval in invasion from over the Atlantic is impossible.

There is also no way such a fleet would get past Gibraltar or the Suez canal, so the US would they'd have to stage in Morocco or possibly take Scandinavia then cross into Denmark.

Back to licking batteries.