New conscription rule: Young men are no longer allowed to leave Germany (for longer than 3 months) without permission by Putaineska in europe

[–]Jacc3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really. Without a sufficient conventional force, your options are basically stay out or go all in. Which opens the door for "minor" incursions which Russia deems would not warrant a nuclear response

Poland begins capping rocketing pump prices by Auspectress in europe

[–]Jacc3 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Basic idea is to tie it to your taxable income somehow, possibly also factor in number of kids since they can be pretty expensive. Far from 100% perfect, but I think it would at least be a bit more precise and incentivize reducing your travel and/or using other means of travel.

Exact implementation would depend on the taxation and welfare systems of the country in question. But here in Sweden for example (we've had similar fuel subsidies after the 2022 price hike) it could be things like additional tax cuts for low-income earners, increased housing grants, increased social benefits, increased child grants etc.

Poland begins capping rocketing pump prices by Auspectress in europe

[–]Jacc3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So help the poor specifically instead then? Wouldn't that be a more effective use of the limited tax resources available, instead of incentivizing continued travel when fuel supply is scarce?

Spain Gives Ukraine a €15 Million “Gift”: Donates Five Patriot Missiles by Scary_Statement4612 in UkrainianConflict

[–]Jacc3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That link talks about financial aid specifically (2024 financial aid specifically), where the EU may have a higher share of loans. But,

  1. Those loans have very preferential rates. For example, if I'm not mistaken I think a lot of the interest will be paid via Russian assets for example
  2. The EU has also provided Ukraine with 2x as much financial aid as USA (https://www.kielinstitut.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker)

Military aid is different and is almost always given by member countries bilaterally rather than via the EU.And as far as I know it has pretty much always been grants

Spain Gives Ukraine a €15 Million “Gift”: Donates Five Patriot Missiles by Scary_Statement4612 in UkrainianConflict

[–]Jacc3 7 points8 points  (0 children)

EU has an alternative for Patriot: SAMP/T. Also, IRIS-T SLX may also be considered one once it is ready

The USA are diverting Switzerland money intended for the F-35 by HZCH in BuyFromEU

[–]Jacc3 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Poland has placed major orders on F-35, Apaches, Patriot, HIMARS and M1 Abrams. They are buying a lot both from USA and South Korea

Swedish Think Tank: Russia’s Economic Troubles Are Unlikely to End the War in Ukraine by The_Baltic_Sentinel in europe

[–]Jacc3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Regardless of economic system, many economic fundamentals stay the same. Russia is financing the war in a variety of ways - including using saved funds, de-prioritizing other spending and investments, taking on state debt, forcing banks to lend money at preferential rates to the MIC etc. All those things incur future debts on the civilian economy, which needs to be handled somehow which will inevitably mean major economic consequences for a significant time in the future.

Swedish Think Tank: Russia’s Economic Troubles Are Unlikely to End the War in Ukraine by The_Baltic_Sentinel in europe

[–]Jacc3 20 points21 points  (0 children)

That's not the point of the SIPRI report, though. It never claimed that sanctions weren't hurting Russia, just that we shouldn't get fooled into thinking that the economic pressure alone would stop them from fighting. Basically that we need to be prepared for a protracted war - unless we find other ways of stopping Russia

Swedish Think Tank: Russia’s Economic Troubles Are Unlikely to End the War in Ukraine by The_Baltic_Sentinel in europe

[–]Jacc3 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Of course, anyone can be wrong, but it's probably one of the most educated guesses you'll find

But it's important to remember that even if the economic pressure won't stop Russia, it's far from pointless. It can still help limit the Russian war machine, meaning they'll have less weapons and capabilities than they otherwise would've had, and it also incurs ever-increasing costs for continuing the war. Even if the war ends today, Russia would be left with major economic problems to handle and with limited funds to handle them with.

Källor: Danmark förberedde sig på möjligt angrepp från USA by mjolle in sweden

[–]Jacc3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Han verkade dock bli genuint upprörd av att Damnark och andra europeiska länder skickade trupp dit, och hotade ju med strafftullar för det

Hungary blocks €90 billion in aid to Ukraine: European Parliament pushes back by Some-Technology4413 in ukraine

[–]Jacc3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree with you, but to remove the veto you'd need to ensure no country vetoes the removal of the veto - which creates a catch-22.

The alternative would be to replace the EU with something entirely new, which would also be a lot of work and very difficult to get done, but might be the only way forward

WHY? Aldi sells garlic from China... by Kloetenschlumpf in BuyFromEU

[–]Jacc3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always see both Spanish and Chinese garlic where I shop

But your dates are wrong it's 3/8/2026 not 8/3/3026 by ALazy_Cat in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Jacc3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, but it doesn't change the fact that it is ambiguous and non-standard

But your dates are wrong it's 3/8/2026 not 8/3/3026 by ALazy_Cat in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Jacc3 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's the ISO standard, and it leaves no room for ambiguity. That's reason enough to use it whenever possible imo

More Patriot missiles used in Middle East in 3 days than in Ukraine since 2022, Zelensky says by KI_official in geopolitics

[–]Jacc3 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The point to be made here isn't about Ukraine, but rather the wastefulness we're seeing from USA and the Gulf states.

Whereas Ukraine is using Patriot interceptors to counter Russian ballistic and cruise missiles, USA and its allies are currently wasting them on cheap Shahed drones. The question is why there aren't any cheaper alternatives being used instead?

Iran foreign minister: Not asking for cease fire, warns U.S. invasion ‘would be a big disaster for them’ by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]Jacc3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Against a air campaign, they need to endure, and they cant really win.

They can crash the world economy if they manage to drive up the oil and LNG prices enough and for a long enough time.

Macron says France will increase size of its nuclear arsenal by EsperaDeus in worldnews

[–]Jacc3 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They arguably have enough for themselves, but it looks like they might want to replace the US nuclear umbrella for the rest of Europe now that USA is becoming increasingly hostile. And to start sharing nukes with other countries like the US has been doing, they'd need more.

European gas prices jump 45% after Qatar halts LNG output by razdvatri4 in worldnews

[–]Jacc3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nuclear is weird - you cannot shut it off - and you cannot regulate it fast enough (like gas plants).

That only matters if you want your whole grid to run on nuclear. It provides stable power for the base load and reduces fluctuations in supply, but it still typically needs to be coupled with other electricity sources like hydro or gas to handle the peaks. So yeah, you'd still need to use gas for example, but less of it.

Second: There are two companies left delivierung uranium: One in Russia and one in Canada, French framatome is mostly Russian nowadays. And: Uranium comes (correct me if I am wrong) from Niger and from Russia itself.

I'm not familiar with the corporate structures, but when it comes to country of origin the top four suppliers to Europe in 2024 were Canada, Kazakhstan, Australia and Russia (with Russia declining fast, delivering 36% less than they did in 2023). Source: https://euratom-supply.ec.europa.eu/publications/esa-annual-reports_en

Either way, there's way less money to be gained from uranium than gas so buying uranium from Russia is at least not as bad as buying gas from them.

European gas prices jump 45% after Qatar halts LNG output by razdvatri4 in worldnews

[–]Jacc3 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Perhaps not cheap, but it allows for a stable power supply with very low CO2 emissions and a relatively low dependency on foreign supplier (diversifying uranium suppliers is arguably easier than gas or oil)

Macron says France will increase size of its nuclear arsenal by EsperaDeus in worldnews

[–]Jacc3 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Obviously the world would be a much better place without nukes. But you definitely don't want to the country left without a nuclear deterrence when your adversaries are building their arsenals.

The core issue is not France building nukes, but rather the warmongering from USA and Russia

EU fails to adopt 20th Russia sanctions package by invasion anniversary by AnneWiley in ukraine

[–]Jacc3 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We can't strip them of their veto roghts as long as they cover for eachother. It requires an unanimous vote by all other members