Nothingburger. Most likely just another “fuck you” tripwire policy from Biden admin to Trump admin. Most likely Just to spite republicans and make people like Trump and Rubio fight each other instead of doing something else. Remember; US foreign policy does not change when the president changes and this does not mean that Cuba is off the hook.

The only significant “China risk” for European companies is future western sanctions on China, not anything China will do. Washington will one day come up with an another “stop China” plan for whatever reason. Brussels will follow it without question or thought about negative effects on Europe, just because it’s given in Brussels that EU will follow US wherever it goes. EU has no ability or even the will to do otherwise or really stand against the US for European economic self interest.

Chinese market and manufacturing is not something European companies they can do without anyway. Especially after the current sanction war, the economic necessity for trade with China has only increased, but so has European reliance on the US. European companies just have to go for it and pray that Washington will not fuck them over (they will).

Every social media that isn’t under anglo american control is a possible threat to the current global order. We have all seen this.

Increasingly not even for their own benefit. They are like a parasite that is killing it’s host and therefore it’s means of subsistence

It’s more like they have tons of more money and larger numbers in their portfolio. it’s however not a significant increase in actual wealth, since the money they have is increasingly wort less and the worth of their assets are increasingly more and more speculative in nature. The pockets of billionaires is where all the printed money eventually ends up and society is no richer for it. The money contributes to inflation, but it really doesn’t get invested or anything.

I think there is no risk to Israel if it’s their own guys doing the destabilizing in Syria.

The project is open source so it would keep going, at worst case people could fork it or whatever. They would just lift up one of the maintainers to take Linus’ job. I don’t know how this would apply to the Linux foundation, but I think he still would be replaceable, it’s all designed that way, because IT sector wouldn’t have all it’s eggs in one basket that might break if one guy leaves or dies.

It’s not some break towards fascism. It’s more like liberal capitalism has always had a fascist tendency and right now the western elite feels pressured everywhere so they let the mask slip and start easing in the policies of the periphery back to the core, just to keep power. This chat control is there to both allow easier crackdowns, but most of all make everybody feel that they are being watched and are less likely to start any shit against the status quo and submit, as if in a panopticon.

The Taliban are nice and moderate compared to this.

i’d say it’s very reasonable for russia to fuck right off and fix the damages, which is to say nothing of the lives ukraine lost because of that choice - anything less is unreasonable

Yes, This is what you want! It’s a wish not bound in any sound perception of reality on the groundt.

people shouldn’t have to keep dying for a lost cause and I will not apologize for that. Ukraine still has a change for a future, but it won’t if it fights this war to “the last Ukrainian” as zelensky and many “pro-Ukraine” trolls seem to want.

bullshit bullying that happens with all major military powers

International politics have always been law of the jungle and ability to do violence of political, economical and military kind to other countries has always been the measuring stick of international power and ability to guard national interests. Why anybody got to believe otherwise was because for a short time in the 90s and early 2000s US was the unquestioned global hegemon and could by itself set a global rules, enforce them and crush dissent. That gave the illusion (in the west mainly) that there were no longer small and big countries in competition in the world. With US as the policeman there got to be some semblance of law between countries like there was law within these countries among individuals. Now Russia is portrayed as a law breaker when it’s using it’s “military veto” in Ukraine and pushing against the post-cold war status quo and “restoring normalcy” in international affairs.

I don’t think this is necessarily good, but I do think it is very much happening and it was bound to do so.

russias’s “peace plan” is “Ukraine no longer exists”

No it isn’t. Eastern Ukraine and neutrality is still very far from the end of Ukraine and is still very reasonable deal to make for peace.

Zelensky’s peace plan is still Russia to retreat from everywhere, including crimea, and then Ukraine can have “peace talks” about Russian reparations to Ukraine. This is not just unreasonable, it’s delusional. This kind of unbending attitude from the side that everybody knows is losing is no fucking bravery. It’s stupidity that prolongs a lost war for only Ukraine’s and Ukrainian people’s loss. All because Kiev and Zelensky are politically and narrative wise boxed themselves in for a war to the bitter end.

There is no US aid, there are US sanctions and seizure of afghan funds. Who do you think is going to suffer from those? It’s not the men in power with the guns, they will be fine either way. It just means that all the civilians will have even less opportunities.

If you include the Afghan security forces that were basically an US proxy force during the occupation, then yes. If you look at the killed taliban to dead civilian ratio, then there were more dead civilians. Meaning that the war and occupation costed more civilian lives than it killed taliban. Not that it even stopped the Talibans eventual return, but that is beside the point.

I still remember when Taliban was marching into Kabul and while US was fleeing out of the country, that there were many people who were desperate to argue for the war and occupation going to keep going, because Taliban would be bad for women’s rights. There is no question about Taliban being bad towards women. However the logic of keeping the war going that killed mostly civilians, including women, to guard women’s rights is just twisted. This “They don’t let girls to go to school. let’s keep bombing them” is just slightly worse of the “You won’t let girls to go to school even after we bombed you. I hope you stay poor, suffer and starve”.

What does motivate this? Neocon butthurth? Racism? A sense of vengeance of those who still believe in liberal universalism and nation building? A just general confusion and mixup in moral priorities?

Zelensky is dead either way, but peace lets him flee somewhere, and claim to have done the right thing.

Zelensky’s dilemma is that his real powerbase are the militant ultranationalists who surround him, who make up a double edged sword for him. Even if the Ukrainian people would have wanted peace yesterday they are not armed or organized. Zelensky still needs the nationalists around him to stand between him and possible popular uprising and the more moderate wing of the army doing a coup. If Zelensky goes for peace he fears that the nationalists around him will see that as an betrayal of Ukraine, them and those who have sacrificed their lives for their project and will turn on him and arrange an “Russian missile strike” in his office that will kill him and end any negotiations. You must understand that despite being called nationalists, the banderites love their imaginary version of Ukraine more than the actual nation. Ukraine bending the knee to Russia would save the real Ukraine, but it would destroy their ideal version of it and doom and taint their idea of Ukrainian nationalism forever.

What he likely means “ending the war by diplomatic means” is not talking or negotiating with Russia. No, that would be worst heresy imaginable. When he has previously talked about the use of diplomacy to find peace, what he really means is for Ukraine redouble it’s efforts to beg for more money and weapons, but also get US and Europe to put more pressure on countries like China and India to ditch Putin and support Ukraine instead. Zelensky has talked along these lines before. Make his position seem reasonable to those who who want Ukraine to seek settlement, when it really isn’t any different from “Zelensky’s peace plan” that can be summed up in demand Russia’s unconditional surrender as a precondition to any kind of dialogue.

I fear it’s this kinda crazy talk that we are looking at. Zelensky or his inner circle just bring themselves to talk to the Russians, nor can they talk about things like giving up even places like Crimea. They just can’t give an inch and we all know what happens to the reeds that don’t bend with wind.

EU elites are in general just preparing to hunker down, again. it won’t be just climate change that will suffer(not like they were doing much anyway). They will have wait for democrats or some transatlantists republican to take power. Not like Europe has politically, economically or militarily anywhere else to run even if Trumps-US told the whole continent to bend over and take it if they just decide to have their way with us.

Yay for the American oligarchs

Yay, for Europeans banking everything from security, economy, foreign policy to continuation of transatlantism and therefore making every US problem and shakeup our problem. Not to even speak of the many occasions when US tries to use it’s power over Europe to shank Europe for US’s own gain.

Saying that there were even a debate going on tells a lot about the state of Wikipedia and it’s editorial makeup.

“Never again” was just never again directed towards jews. With others it’s just kindah, meh. If people calling themselves Jews are doing it, then it’s it’s to be supported.