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The US have not become hostile. So far it has made two demands of Europe, and both of them are reasonable: 1. Europe should not rely entirely on the US for its

The US have not become hostile. So far it has made two demands of Europe, and both of them are reasonable: 1. Europe should not rely entirely on the US for its defense (stated by Trump numerous times). 2. Europe should stop its mad self-destruction and descent into totalitarianism (stated by Vance on several occasions). Were they incorrect? Were they unreasonable? Sometimes you need a friend to tell you a harsh truth. Hearing that truth does not make that friend into an enemy; quite the contrary.

hkt 2y ago
And tariffs are the the act of a friend too? Let's not be silly. Trump's is America first: the upshot of which is everyone else can be a subordinate or a rival. Europe is wisely choosing not to subordinate itself to the US quite so much. It'll be interesting to see if it becomes a real rival.
TFYS 2y ago
1. And made it clear by threatening to take land from a European country by force. 2. That's funny coming from a person who is building a totalitarian system. He was supporting parties that would make a similar development in Europe possible.
sunshine-o 2y ago
It is anecdotal but during Covid and the crypto boom I was chatting with someone living in France. He told me he was happy to have a few crypto since he has been using one of those exchange to buy illegal drugs. Basically he told me that over there people just go on websites to order drugs, pay with crypto from a centralized crypto exchange and then have it delivered in they physical mailbox. And this is not the Silk road thing this is local business, shipped by the national postal service from an address in France from France. I also read an article once saying drug stores on the internet and social media are very common over there. My conclusion was that, selling most drugs had become de facto decriminalized in France. Strangely France is also by far the country where I have been systematically harassed by the police and customs (at the frontier and within the country). They are very aggressive and it is to the point that I now avoid that country as much as possible.
noitpmeder 2y ago
Your comment only makes sense if you agree with either premise behind (1) or (2). I bet the vast majority of Europeans across all swaths of the political and socioeconomic strata would tell you that (1) Europe DOES NOT rely entirely on the US for its defense and (2) that Europe is NOT on a mad self destructive descent into totalitarianism. In fact, as an American, id say (2) sounds vastly more applicable to the the USA under the current Republican administration. Further, they'd also tell you to stop taking your talking points from those two bozos. It destroys your credibility by using them as any kind of reliable source of factual information.
- account42 2y ago
  > I bet the vast majority of Europeans across all swaths of the political and socioeconomic strata would tell you that (1) Europe DOES NOT rely entirely on the US for its defense and (2) that Europe is NOT on a mad self destructive descent into totalitarianism. And you'd loose that bet. Your opinions might be shared in your leftist bubble but definitely not across the whole population.
palata 2y ago
> Europe should stop its mad self-destruction and descent into totalitarianism (stated by Vance on several occasions). If your source is Vance, I would suggest you question it. Most of the world is currently looking and worrying at the US becoming an oligarchy. Who is talking about "Europe descending into totalitarianism"? The sentence does not even make much sense, as Europe is not a country. I'm not even sure if Vance is aware of it. When you genuinely think that everybody else is wrong and you are right, maybe it's time to take a step back.

hkt 2y ago

And tariffs are the the act of a friend too? Let's not be silly. Trump's is America first: the upshot of which is everyone else can be a subordinate or a rival. Europe is wisely choosing not to subordinate itself to the US quite so much. It'll be interesting to see if it becomes a real rival.

TFYS 2y ago

1. And made it clear by threatening to take land from a European country by force. 2. That's funny coming from a person who is building a totalitarian system. He was supporting parties that would make a similar development in Europe possible.

sunshine-o 2y ago

It is anecdotal but during Covid and the crypto boom I was chatting with someone living in France. He told me he was happy to have a few crypto since he has been using one of those exchange to buy illegal drugs. Basically he told me that over there people just go on websites to order drugs, pay with crypto from a centralized crypto exchange and then have it delivered in they physical mailbox. And this is not the Silk road thing this is local business, shipped by the national postal service from an address in France from France. I also read an article once saying drug stores on the internet and social media are very common over there. My conclusion was that, selling most drugs had become de facto decriminalized in France. Strangely France is also by far the country where I have been systematically harassed by the police and customs (at the frontier and within the country). They are very aggressive and it is to the point that I now avoid that country as much as possible.

noitpmeder 2y ago

Your comment only makes sense if you agree with either premise behind (1) or (2). I bet the vast majority of Europeans across all swaths of the political and socioeconomic strata would tell you that (1) Europe DOES NOT rely entirely on the US for its defense and (2) that Europe is NOT on a mad self destructive descent into totalitarianism. In fact, as an American, id say (2) sounds vastly more applicable to the the USA under the current Republican administration. Further, they'd also tell you to stop taking your talking points from those two bozos. It destroys your credibility by using them as any kind of reliable source of factual information.

account42 2y ago
> I bet the vast majority of Europeans across all swaths of the political and socioeconomic strata would tell you that (1) Europe DOES NOT rely entirely on the US for its defense and (2) that Europe is NOT on a mad self destructive descent into totalitarianism. And you'd loose that bet. Your opinions might be shared in your leftist bubble but definitely not across the whole population.

palata 2y ago

> Europe should stop its mad self-destruction and descent into totalitarianism (stated by Vance on several occasions). If your source is Vance, I would suggest you question it. Most of the world is currently looking and worrying at the US becoming an oligarchy. Who is talking about "Europe descending into totalitarianism"? The sentence does not even make much sense, as Europe is not a country. I'm not even sure if Vance is aware of it. When you genuinely think that everybody else is wrong and you are right, maybe it's time to take a step back.