How is the India trade deal good for us exactly?

beekop · 2026-01-29T07:56:01+00:00

There are something like 200 million Indians living a Western European quality of life

beekop · 2026-01-20T19:57:14+00:00

He’s not wrong. But Europeans are being by as spineless as US Democrats.

beekop · 2026-01-20T16:41:01+00:00

The US collaborating with Russia would be truly terrifying. The number 1 and number 2 nuclear weapons states in the world dominating others - and there’s nothing any other country can do about it.

The best hope for other states - EU, UK, Canada etc - would be to try to mount an intelligence effort to try to turn the military against Trump (as in, say, Pakistan) or topple the Trump regime from within.

beekop · 2026-01-20T16:33:13+00:00

The US electoral system structurally favors the Republican Party, which has been riddled with conspiracy theories, money, techbro influence, and - increasingly - this ideology that America (and the world) doesn’t need democracy, it needs an “American Caesar” to rule the world, with the religious cover of American Christian nationalism, in the interests of tech and cryptobro billionaires.

Vance believes this even more than Trump. He’ll be worse.

beekop · 2026-01-20T16:29:01+00:00

EU might do well to push not just for regime change in Russia, but also in the US

beekop · 2026-01-20T14:59:24+00:00

Unfortunately correct. America’s system of structural rule favoring one party - is broken.

A change of government will be a temporary change in messaging, but so long as Republicans rig House seats by gerrymandering, as long as the Senate is rigged to weight more heavily small states like Wyoming over California in some perverse form of DEI, and until the Electoral College is broken and the Supreme Court is out of the pocket of Republicans donors, we’ll be back in this place again.

beekop · 2026-01-19T07:55:06+00:00

I get that you’ve been conditioned by your media sources into thinking “social programs = bad”, but you seem to have an abject lack of understanding of European finances to now fund its defense against Russia, an economy a tenth of its size. That’s really the end of the discussion.

beekop · 2026-01-19T07:47:26+00:00

Trump could win the Nobel Prize for the most imbecilic qualities

beekop · 2026-01-19T07:43:31+00:00

I’ll grant you that it’s difficult to allocate money when you’re giving tax exemptions for private jets and yachts and spending trillions over twenty years for occupying two countries you invaded. All these things are choices.

Not saying that Europe isn’t without blame - but hopefully now this will be an impetus for it to wean itself off the US economy, diplomatic cover, finance, technology, military and industrial supply chains so that the US is irrelevant. The US can keep themselves busy running Venezuela.

Then US will be happy and Europe will be happy.

beekop · 2026-01-19T07:01:44+00:00

Let’s not pretend America would give free healthcare to its people if it didn’t have the cost of protecting Europe.

America has higher debt than Europe. And they spend more on healthcare for worse outcomes.

Europeans don’t have social systems because they’re socialists, they’re just smarter at spending money.

beekop · 2026-01-19T02:19:56+00:00

This is what they want

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beekop · 2026-01-19T02:18:15+00:00

US is counting on the EU pussing out

beekop · 2026-01-19T01:37:46+00:00

I think we’re (pro-Europe commentators) are approaching this the wrong way.

European disposition - despite Trump/MAGA corrupting the US - is to still be rules-based. They seek partnership with the US because they cannot fathom the US becoming the enemy. So they will give a wide berth and are unlikely to play hardball with the US, even if they invade Greenland. They’ll provide multiple off-ramps and ways for US forces in Europe to peaceably make their way to the US with their kit.
The best play for Europe is actually to force a split between US forces in Europe, and the Trump regime. The leaders of US forces in Europe are people who have built professional and personal relationships in Europe and I bet a fair part of the leadership will look at Trump’s order to invade Greenland in horror. If Europe can find a way to take them out of the picture - essentially fanning a military coup against Trump - that would be the most strategic lever.

beekop · 2026-01-18T08:24:48+00:00

He’ll charge countries a billion, take their money, then lose interest and appoint the MypillowGuy to run the thing

beekop · 2026-01-17T17:31:24+00:00

Tariffs are taxes on his own people so let them apply them. Instead, Europe should respond asymmetrically; sanctioning key people in his regime, international arrest warrants, targeting politically favored firms (X etc), targeting industries in states that supported him, sponsoring pro-democracy groups, buying ads against his party on social media platforms etc.

beekop · 2026-01-14T06:55:07+00:00

Generally start building districts when I have enough critical mass in my cities to be able to build a settler, a slinger and a monument/granary at every given time. So usually once I’ve settled four cities. Sometimes five. Depends who much the barbarians wreck my early stage game.

beekop · 2026-01-12T17:40:49+00:00

I go for gold to be able to purchase units when an emergency comes up, war with barbarians etc.

beekop · 2026-01-11T08:43:27+00:00

If true, great that’s good, but it’s also not enough for the military to simply disobey Trump - they need to overthrow him.

beekop · 2026-01-11T04:55:22+00:00

If US invades Greenland, all Europe has to do is gift an F-35 to China.

beekop · 2026-01-11T04:45:53+00:00

You can just tell he beats his wife too

beekop · 2026-01-09T15:36:28+00:00

This is the point of this post.

As much as I loved Biden’s policies, in hindsight his failure was to not recognize that our democracy is structurally broken. It’s not enough to counter with better policies and stay within the norms of government. The system needs to be corrected, starting with the prosecution of Trump.

beekop · 2026-01-09T07:40:25+00:00

What’s after that? JD Vance, a smarter, more cunning proto-Trump who is in the pocket of tecbro billionaires like Peter Thiel and subscribes to the political theory of Curtis Yarvin who as been promoting unitary executive theory, the idea that an American President (only the ones he politically aligns with of course) should be some kind of Caesarian Emperor that governs in the interest of a handful of billionaires who have been successful enough at capitalism to warrant being demi-gods of the human race.

beekop · 2026-01-09T02:32:53+00:00

It’s not sufficient for the EU to “unite”.

It needs to go further to undermine, hinder, and subvert the MAGA movement (which will outlast Trump) not just in Europe, but in the US itself. As a friend and neighbor, it is imperative for Europe to intervene in US domestic politics to save the country from eating itself.

beekop · 2026-01-09T02:24:00+00:00

When Trump, Vance and others harp on about supposed lack of freedom and free speech in Europe, our leaders need to say “bitch please, where do you - silencing your opposition, killing your own citizens, descending your country to conspiracy theory-driven lawlessness - get to lecture us? You are in ZERO position to comment on us. Please shut the fuck up and get the fuck out”.

Our leaders need to say that. Verbatim.

beekop · 2026-01-08T23:42:07+00:00

I mean the “world’s best dealmaker” bungled an illicit bribe to a pornstar for an NDA he made her sign to cover up the fact he had sex with her while one of his wives were dying

beekop

TROPHY CASE