Recent posts

#51

Off the Record / Re: The EU thread

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 03:12:42 AM

That's definitely Putin and Thiel's read on Europe.

And not necessarily wrong. Eu regulation and ideological stubbornness is gutting our industry because of far to harsh and unrealistic goals resulting, among other, in energy prices that are far too high.
If you then know that, for example, Antwerpen has the second biggest petro-chemical cluster in the world and that they're sounding the alarm...
All because we sent fools to the eu parliament and commission.

Industry first is the name of the game. On that foundation you can build your services to sell the things you make.  Otherwise you're just a glorified pass-along.
And for that you need to mine, refine, research and have cheap and abundant energy. Even if it pollutes, which is something you can fix if you have an industrial base that name worthy.

And currently the eu is squandering that in an effort to lower global emissions in an attempt to stop warming with an insignificant amount.

#52

Off the Record / Re: The EU thread

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 02:59:50 AM

It worked, reading it now. Thanks

Nice. I can probably link more from there. Just shout if a link is needed.

#53

Off the Record / Re: Elon Musk: Always A Douche

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 02:57:10 AM

Curious thing I heard which highlights musks known sympathies....
He was ranting about the EU fining vichy 150 million for breaking the law. Despite the fact they did. And this is pocket change for him.
Someone added a note on this that Russia, Belarus, and many other countries had blocked Twitter....
He personally removed it.

Hopefully someone put it back, and keeps doing so each time Elon nuts removes it

#54

Off the Record / Re: Brexit and the waning days...

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 02:55:50 AM

In terms of what they're doing and constraining fundamental rights of non citizens.... No. That's something that is meant to be universal.

That is western thinking though and much, probably most, of the world doesn't follow that philosophy. It is, in other words, wishful thinking.
And something that can be weaponised against against the west.

#55

Off the Record / Re: The EU thread

Last post by The Minsky Moment - Today at 02:47:48 AM

It's not a positve actor in my view, but whether it's Ukraine, the Middle East or Africa, Russia is a state with agency in the world in a way that Europe simply isn't (possible exception for the French).

I think that's a mirage.

Russia has agency in the Ukraine in the sense that they can and have chosen to burn the lives of hundreds of thousands of men to occupy some extra square miles of dirt and wrecked urban infrastructure, and manifest their frustrations in mass civilian atrocities.  But they utterly failed to impose their will on a smaller, weaker, and political fragile nation.  Being willing and able to do utterly stupid and counterproductive things isn't a sign of agency.

The Middle Eastern policy is shambles; they put their chips on Assad and went bust.  They are dicking around pointlessly in Libya.  They are basically meaningless in Africa; a handful of the more unsavory dictators have used some of their pseudo-mercs to bully the locals.  No one takes them seriously compared to China.

In a hard-edged, hard power multipolar world, Russia is a Chinese vassal, transferring oil at below market prices in return for some diplo cover and desperately needed imports. Russia is leaning hard on China to make its play for some continuing relevance in the West as Chinese commercial interests tighten their grasp on the resources of Russia's far eastern provinces.

"Europe" may be politically dysfunctional at the level of unified diplomatic presence but whether looked at collectively or at the larger individual states, they embody centers of manufacturing prowess, technical competence, significant players in global commerce and finance, and an affluent consumer market. Russia has none of these things.  It can play the nuclear blackmail card, which has already been overplayed.

[At sixes and sevens with you]

#56

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Crazy_Ivan80 - Today at 02:45:06 AM

From "Don't Cry for me, Argentina":

It won't be easy, you'll think it strange
When I try to explain how I feel
That I still need your love after all that I've done
You won't believe me, all you will see is a girl you once knew
Although she's dressed up to the nines
At sixes and sevens with you
I had to let it happen, I had to change
Couldn't stay all my life down at heel

Heh, sixes and sevens (as Evita uses it) dates back at least to Chaucer's time:

"Lat nat this wrechched wo thyn herte gnawe,
But manly set the world on sexe and seuene."
-Troilus and Criseyde

Good to know. Means I can joke to my oldest that he's using ultra-boomer language

#57

Gaming HQ / Re: Europa Universalis V confi...

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 02:24:53 AM

I was having great fun as Naples, but then Sweden conquered my vassal of Marche (an Italian province) c.1400. A few years later I noticed that Great Britain was in the process of conquering my vassal Achaea! Too silly, I have to let it rest for a couple of months or so.

#58

Off the Record / Re: Elon Musk: Always A Douche

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 02:19:53 AM

Russia and Belarus don't need twitter, they are already totally fucked.

#59

Gaming HQ / Re: Victoria 3

Last post by Syt - Today at 02:19:31 AM

The 1.12 free patch video on YouTube had an interesting tidbit I missed - the Carlist Wars are going to be special: a limited kind of "guerilla" war, with no fronts (?, IIRC) and battles generating slower. They say it's only the Carlist War, but they consider it a test case for the future.

And for an "immersion pack" they're shoving in a lot of stuff - reworked coups, colonial administrations rework, law amendments, election meddling and voter confidence, ....

#60

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Richard Hakluyt - Today at 02:11:47 AM

In more cheery news https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly592lzp0no

It's going to be very hard to fix the mid-terms with this level of swing against the Republicans.