The US has been permitted to export inflation which has enabled high spending levels upon military and other projects (space etc.). Absent that and US taxpayers alone could not have funded such spending.Kbg wrote: ↑Fri Mar 28, 2025 2:43 am I actually don't mind a good attempt at shaking some things up. I wouldn't argue that quite a bit of the world has enjoyed a relatively benign environment thanks to the US taxpayer and military. As a result, many countries haven't taken their own security very seriously and have been able to freeload off the security we've provided. The benefit to being willing to do that, is that we've essentially called the "shots" since the end of WW2. We should expect that about 5 years from now that is not going to be the case and we better get used to it. I could be wrong, but if other countries leaders are doing what they should be doing...it's going to happen. IDK how it will work out...maybe it will be a good thing. It could go really bad though.
The risk of the US reneging on an agreement at any moment is so high at this point, it makes you wonder how or why any country would enter into a deal that relies on future US performance. This goes for hostiles and allies alike.
I wonder if the NATO "attack against one is an attack against all" provisions contemplated the possibility that a NATO member could be the attacker?seajay wrote: ↑Fri Mar 28, 2025 2:13 pm
A military takeover of Greenland by the US could pull the entire EU into confrontation (EU common defense/forward time independent EU army) with the US and given prior low EU defense spending would highly likely entail deployment of the likes of biological weapons into the US under such circumstances (relatively inexpensive, easily deployed, impossible to defend against).
I'll take 10% of the credit, giving you 90% of it for suggesting it!
ochotona wrote: ↑Fri Mar 28, 2025 3:56 pm Whatever happens, the US will end up with no allies. A human being without allies is a dead man walking. Probably similar things are true for countries.
WHAT IF...
The entire (Russian) strategy is to get Greenland so pissed off at the US that our military base gets closed down there, and then Putin attacks Greenland!?
That would be a subtle thing, fascinating and terrifying to watch happen in real time.
NATO is pretty much now a remnant, the EU+others will spend/develop their own independent umbrella. SWIFT will decline as the EU also aligns with the BRICS and reestablishes trade with Russia. Good for the rest of world as that will establish closer trade agreements that benefit both sides compared to the US's isolationist binary preference. Exporting to/from the US will be inclined to decline, along with support of the USD with it, which likely will also induce major global stocks opting to re-domiciling outside of the US. Trust is difficult to build, easily lost and once lost can be incredibly difficult to reestablish. Currently its pointless even negotiating with the US as Trump can flip policies within hours (inconsistent/unstable). The US has enjoyed a good-decade, China has seen a lost-decade, that may very well flip for the next decade+, the ending of the Ukraine war and rekindling of Europe/Russia relations being the start gun for that.
I agree with everything kbg wrote about Canada and Greenland and it's just embarrassing. I also agree with you, seajay about trust being lost due to capricious behavior. Most of my issues with Trump are domestic, and there are many.seajay wrote: ↑Sat Mar 29, 2025 8:30 am NATO is pretty much now a remnant, the EU+others will spend/develop their own independent umbrella. SWIFT will decline as the EU also aligns with the BRICS and reestablishes trade with Russia. Good for the rest of world as that will establish closer trade agreements that benefit both sides compared to the US's isolationist binary preference. Exporting to/from the US will be inclined to decline, along with support of the USD with it, which likely will also induce major global stocks opting to re-domiciling outside of the US. Trust is difficult to build, easily lost and once lost can be incredibly difficult to reestablish. Currently its pointless even negotiating with the US as Trump can flip policies within hours (inconsistent/unstable). The US has enjoyed a good-decade, China has seen a lost-decade, that may very well flip for the next decade+, the ending of the Ukraine war and rekindling of Europe/Russia relations being the start gun for that.
Russia and China are 'friends' - better a healthy respect and politeness between 'friends' than trusting a friend who is untrustworthy. A Asia/Russia/Europe 'friendship' can yield good trade benefits to all concerned, even if public expression of friendships are largely just a polite front. De-Americanization seems to be the preferred present trajectory, a reversal of former decades when Americanization was in vogue.dualstow wrote: ↑Sat Mar 29, 2025 9:38 amBut be careful what you wish for. Good luck with Russia and China as your "friends." Too me it seems unwise to choose them because the U.S. president is rude. Trump talks about how he wants, even needs Greenland. Putin actually seizes territory. China is colonizing parts of Africa and the South China sea. Good luck with your new friends.
I'm not enthusiastic to defend Waltz because his handling of this situation was an egregious example of negligence. But I get what he is saying. I have had numbers and contacts end up in my phone because they were attached to some group text that got sent to me as a recipient and then end up in my phone. This might answer why Goldberg's number was in his phone at all, which was the question the interviewer was asking.yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 30, 2025 6:10 pm https://nypost.com/2025/03/30/us-news/j ... s%20Alerts
Politics
Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg says Mike Waltz lied about talking to him before Signal scandal: ‘Numbers don’t just get sucked into other phones’
By Steven Nelson
Published March 30, 2025, 6:12 p.m. ET
I can guarantee you that if I'd been just a member of that group I would have looked at who was in it and asked, "Who is JG?"glennds wrote: ↑Mon Mar 31, 2025 4:43 pmI'm not enthusiastic to defend Waltz because his handling of this situation was an egregious example of negligence. But I get what he is saying. I have had numbers and contacts end up in my phone because they were attached to some group text that got sent to me as a recipient and then end up in my phone. This might answer why Goldberg's number was in his phone at all, which was the question the interviewer was asking.yankees60 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 30, 2025 6:10 pm https://nypost.com/2025/03/30/us-news/j ... s%20Alerts
Politics
Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg says Mike Waltz lied about talking to him before Signal scandal: ‘Numbers don’t just get sucked into other phones’
By Steven Nelson
Published March 30, 2025, 6:12 p.m. ET
However..... there is no excuse for the attachment of Goldberg to the Signal group given the sensitive nature of the subject matter. Waltz was the creator of the group and had to select the participants.
I think it's important to separate the issues from the non-issues.
Exactly. It was terribly sloppy. He’s lucky the person he inadvertently added was such a responsible person.
Trumps tariffs are driving a shift away from SWIFT. For too long America has had the ability to export inflation, pays its workers higher wages than elsewhere, has energy at lower prices, equalization will be good. As part of that more will opt to swap Dollars for gold and use alternative international settlement methods to SWIFT - given that the US has weaponized SWIFT.dualstow wrote: ↑Wed Apr 02, 2025 1:13 pm I was starting to get the feeling that Seajay is secretly Mohamed El-Erian (ME-E) but today I was reading some FT clippings and there was one on gold in which ME-E was talking about the erosion of the dollar, but added that there is nothing and no one else who can nor who dares to replace the dollar. He stated that Russia’s clunky workaround after being kicked off SWIFT in 2022 is not something that is going to replace SWIFT or attract other nations.
However, some island with no humans, only seals and other animals ....is getting tariffs!
