Quote from: Sheilbh on Today at 02:12:16 PMQuoteBig free trade deal signed between the European Union and India.Seems very positive and sensible (though - hate to say it - I do slightly take Trump's point on India and Russian oil).
Total aside but I was wondering recently if India's a bit of a worry? I was just thinking about the impact of AI and my suspicion is it will be most strongly felt in service sectors - and just wondering how that will work out for India which is basing its development far more on services and outsourced/managed services rather than industrialising like China. I wonder if it's particularly vulnerable if enterprise AI takes off (maybe the Philippines too?).
Quote from: Zanza on January 26, 2026, 02:48:47 PMSeems to be irrelevant. EU countries constantly form factions and align on policy based on their current priorities, but those change with the issues at hand. Sometimes Germany and France are aligned, sometimes they are opposed. So what.I think the article and the old common wisdom is kind of right that the engine of further integration is Franco-German alignment, perhaps not because of the countries themselves, though that matters, but that they represent strands and interests within the EU. And at this point Germany still matters a lot more because it's bigger, its economy is bigger and in large part more integrated within wider European networks. I don't think it's accidental that in the last 10-15 years integration has largely stalled and that coincides with far more difficult relations between Paris and Berlin even if they still do the formal/symbolic stuff of first trips etc.
QuoteI tend to align in favour of the Mercosur deal, but am distinctly unimpressed by the Merz and Meloni instinct to suck up to Trump.I'm more torn. I think actually doing deals like with India or (especially) Mercosur is kind of key to Europe being a strategic actor. I'd also add that with Merz there is €1 trillion of spending on defence and infrastructure (which is necessary and good) and I think far more significant in building strategic autonomy than one's pose towards Trump (especially when it's not aligned with private messages).
For the European project, I lean more towards Macron.
QuoteBig free trade deal signed between the European Union and India.Seems very positive and sensible (though - hate to say it - I do slightly take Trump's point on India and Russian oil).
Quote from: viper37 on Today at 09:30:52 AMApparently, the Gestapo leader is out of a job. Sort of. Not even a cozzy retirement, just moved to an administrative position.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/greg-bovino-demoted-minneapolis-border-patrol/685770/
Quote from: Syt on Today at 06:40:35 AMBeen rewatching Ken Burns' Baseball documentary over the weekend. Maybe not as good as his Civil War one, but my favorite by far. Just soothing and relaxing ... and "only" ca. 22 hours long if you include the two 10th Inning addendum that covers 1994 - 2009 (maybe time to add 11th Inning?).
Quote from: Zoupa on Today at 03:01:48 AMI think I sorta get Raz. If my countrymen had elected fascists into power, it might be easier to lash out at other western countries instead of doing anything about the situation at home. It's kinda the russian playbook of whataboutism. "Your (obviously better) country is also shitty! Look at this!".
QuoteThe chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration has failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt.
In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear personally in court. Schiltz took the administration to task over its handling of bond hearings for immigrants it has detained.
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