Venezuela
Is Venezuela lost for decades? Is it going to become a full blown pariah state? The opposition leader Guido seems like a
WTF ARE YOU DOING IN DENMARK??
Denmark is so right wing on immigration these days that even the UK Labour party is sniffing around for ideas
Denmark has sent an advance unit to Greenland, basically a unit that will prepare for troop deployment. This per Danish newspapers.
Of course, most of the Danish fighting force is stationed in the Baltics, as training for Baltic forces and deterrent for Russian aggression and invasion plans, so exactly what will be deployed in Greenland is an open question.
My guess is that this is for the time being more a diplomatic maneuver than a tactical one. Denmark is a tiny country dependent on alliances that probably aren't to keen on engagement in the arctic, while the US is an enormous military power. The hope is likely twofold: Firstly to encourage the American congress to act, with the spectre of invading an ally looming in the horizon, and that they will tie Trump's hands legislatively. Whether that will work or even whether the Trump administration would respect such legislation is an open question. Secondly to demonstrate that Denmark does have military presence on Greenland and contingencies for strategic threats.
Politically and ethically it is the right move. Greenland has rejected American overtures, Denmark is responsible for the territorial integrity of Greenland. That there is no hope to stop an actual invasion from the US or even that actual battles are unlikely is irrelevant. People who think that matters do not understand the political reality of being a small country (well, small most of the time) for a thousand years on the world's most aggressive continent.
I mean, any country can be described by its problems and worst news stories, and thus made to look bad. Put in a few social media hot takes, a foreign bot network, AI-adjusted images and a couple of half-truths, and you can make any country look like a nightmare. Somewhat ironically in the context of this thread, if people visit Denmark instead of doomscrolling Twitter, they w
My understanding is the left in Denmark outflanked the right by basically adopting their nativism and xenophobia. And it has largely worked.
Will it be enough to stop the third worldification of their society, I really don’t know. And like you say, they are so small if they retain their identity while all their larger neighbors dissolve into third world sectarianism, Will it even matter?
Seems unlikely.
Denmark has sent an advance unit to Greenland, basically a unit that will prepare for troop deployment. This per Danish newspapers. Of course, most of the Danish fighting force is stationed in the Baltics, as training for Baltic forces and deterrent for Russian aggression and invasion plans, so exactly what will be deployed in Greenland is an open question. My guess is that thi
Any chance the JEF will make an appearance?
The U.K. helped found the 10-nation JEF in the wake of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea as a forum for resisting Russian influence and threats in the Arctic region.
“The PM should convene the leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force to discuss Greenland and what further steps might be required to protect the High North and Arctic," Ben Wallace, the former Conservative defense secretary, told POLITICO.
Calvin Bailey, a Labour MP and military veteran who sits on the House of Commons Defense Select Committee, said: "We must shift power by building genuine European solutions to the security problems the U.S. has highlighted.
"As a leader in the Joint Expeditionary Force and with the High North in our backyard, the U.K. has an opportunity to lead this shift — but only if resources and decisions start flowing within weeks, not years."
A second Labour MP, Graeme Downie, said: "JEF is a model for how NATO countries can prepare and respond to specific threats and is a perfect example of how we can do more in the High North in particular."
Starmer is expected to attend a meeting of JEF leaders in Finland during the first quarter of this year, according to a government official, who was not authorized to speak on the record.
I follow a few Euro right wing accounts, and they are mostly furious with Trump about the whole Greenland thing. Not because they care about Greenland, but because they are concerned European leftists are going to do what Canadian leftists did; that is make future elections a referendum on opposing Trump and American "imperialism," and garner support and electoral victory, based on this.
This is probably giving Trump way too much credit, but maybe Trump is playing 4D chess, and is intentionally doing this to prop up the left; realizing because of their commitments to deindustrialization (going green) and social welfare expansion, they will be less willing and able to establish Europe as a hegemon to threaten US leverage on stuff that actually matters.
I follow a few Euro right wing accounts, and they are mostly furious with Trump about the whole Greenland thing. Not because they care about Greenland, but because they are concerned European leftists are going to do what Canadian leftists did; that is make future elections a referendum on opposing Trump and American "imperialism," and garner support and electoral victory, bas
It is.
It seems to be beyond that. Norway and Sweden will deploy troops, which are both in JEF. Germany will also deploy troops, and is not part of JEF.
The Norwegian and Swedish contributions are to be expected, these are countries which align nearly perfectly on foreign national interest with Denmark. Norway and Denmark have similar challenges in the arctic, with Svalbard and Greenland respectively. Germany's contribution is an indicator of the seismic shift to Germany's foreign policy in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This is a country which was near demilitarized for 60 years if we count today's Germany as a continuation of West Germany's foreign policy.
To be clear, these will be token troops and an intelligence mission. It is as of yet a signal about strategy, not a tactical measure against invasion. However, Germany has called for a brigade to be stationed at Greenland in the future. Add to this a contingency on European loans to Ukraine that the big majority of armaments purchases will be made in Europe, and we're seeing some large shifts in European defensive strategy.
Of course, this does not mean that European alliances or the EU is somehow going to become the decisive voice on international matters that some people demand it to be any time soon; these organizations are still at their heart made to be "a great debate" with little in the way of direct power over states and large concessions to individual state interests in the form of veto rights and measures to halt legislation. That is by design, or it would not exist at all. Expect meandering and compromise for the foreseeable future.
This is probably giving Trump way too much credit, but maybe Trump is playing 4D chess, and is intentionally doing this to prop up the left; realizing because of their commitments to deindustrialization (going green) and social welfare expansion, they will be less willing and able to establish Europe as a hegemon to threaten US leverage on stuff that actually matters.
The chances that Trump is playing 4D chess in the way you describe are vanishingly remote.
I follow a few Euro right wing accounts, and they are mostly furious with Trump about the whole Greenland thing. Not because they care about Greenland, but because they are concerned European leftists are going to do what Canadian leftists did; that is make future elections a referendum on opposing Trump and American "imperialism," and garner support and electoral victory, bas
This does explain why you're spreading so much disinformation about Europe. At first I thought you were just misinformed but you're just an X expert. Lame.
[...]The hope is likely twofold: Firstly to encourage the American congress to act, with the spectre of invading an ally looming in the horizon, and that they will tie Trump's hands legislatively. Whether that will work or even whether the Trump administration would respect such legislation is an open question. [...].
Two Republican senators and three Democratic senators are now reportedly going to visit Copenhagen to deliver assurances that Trump's "ideas" for Greenland would be opposed by congress. I suspect Danish deployment of troops, in cooperation with Sweden, Norway, Germany and now France, was in part to encourage such talks.
We're also seeing the first polls on this issue, and a takeover of Greenland is as of yet wildly unpopular in the US populace, and that is even with the pro-Trump social media eco-system and his inner circle going in hard on the issue for quite a while. Still, social media makes public opinion a fickle beast, and the GOP base tends to absolve Trump of the things he actually does, even if they did not like him saying he would do it.
If the US wants to play this "clever", they can use Trump's senile antics to get actual deals and guarantees of mutual investment in security for arctic region, instead of pamphlets. The US' greatest compared to Russia and China in the region is that everyone else in the game has up until this point been an ally. That means surveillance, listening posts, friendly bases and territory to operate in. The best case in point being the bloody island that Trump is for some weird reason creaming his pants over, where the US has been pretty much free to have as much of a military presence as they desire.
Mais quelle surprise.
This is probably giving Trump way too much credit, but maybe Trump is playing 4D chess...
Hardly. Trump is a poo-flinging monkey who randomly chucks stuff at the wall to see what sticks. (This has not been an entirely unsuccessful tactic, but that's all it is.)
I wouldn't underestimate 'court'. Those who have his current favour have a lot of influence.
How a billionaire with interests in Greenland encouraged Trump to acquire the territory
US president’s friend Ronald Lauder – who first proposed Arctic expansion – is now making deals in the island
....
Lauder’s apparent involvement in shaping US policy adds to mounting questions about conflicts of interest during Trump’s second term and the apparent self-enrichment of those close to the president. Trump’s two elder sons, Don Jr and Eric, have been on a global moneymaking campaign from Vietnam to Gibraltar.
They insist there is a “huge wall” between their business activities and their father’s position as the most powerful man alive. Trump’s spokesperson has said: “Neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.” But foreign rulers have facilitated the enrichment of the first family, while sometimes seemingly securing the president’s favour.
Lauder, though, appeared for a time to have broken with his old friend.
In 2022, while he was out of office, Trump hosted the far-right agitator Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago club. Lauder, who heads the World Jewish Congress, joined the condemnation. “Nick Fuentes is a virulent antisemite and Holocaust denier plain and simple,” he said. “It is inconceivable that anyone would associate with him.”
But once Trump regained the White House, Lauder resumed financial support. In March 2025 he gave $5m to Maga Inc, a fundraising operation for Trump’s movement. The following month, Lauder was reportedly among the guests at an exclusive candlelit dinner with the president. Tickets were $1m each, payable to Maga Inc.
By then, Lauder’s business interests once again appeared to be overlapping with Trump administration policy.
It seems to be beyond that. Norway and Sweden will deploy troops, which are both in JEF. Germany will also deploy troops, and is not part of JEF. The Norwegian and Swedish contributions are to be expected, these are countries which align nearly perfectly on foreign national interest with Denmark. Norway and Denmark have similar challenges in the arctic, with Svalbard and Greenl
France as well
Emmanuel Macron also pledged higher defense spending and criticized French defense contractors in a wide-ranging speech.
Sorry missed the relevant bit from the quote
France to send ‘land, air and sea assets’ to Greenland
New Venezuelan president is releasing some political prisoners so that's good news. Probably the first legitimately good news that's come out of this.
all my devs are venezuelan - none of them have mentioned any of this stuff to me once - it's business as usual
i am obviously not going to mention it unless they bring it up
New Venezuelan president is releasing some political prisoners so that's good news. Probably the first legitimately good news that's come out of this.
So far she appears just as authoritarian and corrupt as Maduro, but she does seem willing to play ball with Trump.
This should probably manifest as better conditions for the people, for a couple reasons. For one, everything is just going to work better operating above the board with the US as opposed to black market dealings with Cuba/Iran/Russia. Even if the people running the show are just as corrupt and dysfunctional.
Second, for all the bad faith rhetoric about the US being "evil," even when dealing with authoritarian dictators, the US demands a level of behavior that other patrons like China and Russia dont (a big reason why authoritarian dictators prefer dealing with Russia and China, all things equal).
Trump is probably the bottom end of this, but if/when a normal US President comes back into power if they choose to keep Venezuela in the US sphere and not hand them back to Russia/China/Iran; then we would expect even more pressure and resources directed toward ameliorating the conditions of the people.
As an aside, it is going to be very interesting seeing how things shake out WRT Cuba in the next couple years. Hegseth seems to have been sidelines and Rubio appears to be running the war department right now, and he is very hawkish on Cuba. Also Cuba was barely hanging on economically with Maduro supporting them. With that gone they are going to end up in very dire economic straits without negotiating relief from US sanctions.
I follow a few Euro right wing accounts, and they are mostly furious with Trump about the whole Greenland thing. Not because they care about Greenland, but because they are concerned European leftists are going to do what Canadian leftists did; that is make future elections a referendum on opposing Trump and American "imperialism," and garner support and electoral victory, bas
I wouldn't worry much about European leftists. The socialists will pretty much always oppose the US, for historical political reasons. The old guard who calls the shots is still were much cold-war remnants embroiled in Soviet-era rhetoric, and the new guard has adopted the same. However, they are politically speaking rather powerless, rarely going above the size of a party or wing that scores some minor concessions.
The social democrats in Europe have historically been staunchly anti-socialist, largely due to being the target of Communist ire for the better part of 8 decades, as the main declared enemy of Marxism-Leninism was always liberals and social democrats. However, these days the labor movement is dead, and the social democrats often land on political concessions to the populist left-wing, and tend to land on anti-war stance and strictly prioritizing stability. Shitty peace is seen as preferable to war. Of course, Europe is nowhere near the level of military budgets or infrastructure needed to back up a tough stance. When it came to speaking softly and carrying a big stick, Europe for the most part figured the stick wasn't needed. Poland is an exception.
However, from the professionals in military matters and national security matters, there is fairly strong shift towards a tough stance. That has been uncommon in European military politics, which has slowly dipped towards demilitarization at a steady pace. Now, for a few years the calls have been for militarization, largely due to the Ukraine conflict. There are few who doubt that Russia has its eyes on the Baltics next.
These days, this also includes calls for armed resistance to an American takeover of Greenland. Not in the hopes of winning a potential engagement against the world's most formidable military power, which would be impossible. Rather it would be to force any such attempt to be an invasion optically, as opposed to be able to call it a military operation. I am uncertain if that thought will make political reality, but it is present and also popular with people in general.
Like I said earlier, there is often an American misunderstanding of how small European nations think in matters of territorial integrity. These are countries which have historically been surrounded by larger more powerful nations, often aggressive ones that. Playing the game for these small nations is rarely about winning engagements, but rather about diplomacy, raising the stakes / costs of engagement. There is joke I sometimes make: You should always respect countries which make patriotic songs about the wars they lost, because they lived to sing the song.
I'd be wary about fighting the uk. You might win and have to live here.
I wouldn't worry much about European leftists. The socialists will pretty much always oppose the US, for historical political reasons. The old guard who calls the shots is still were much cold-war remnants embroiled in Soviet-era rhetoric, and the new guard has adopted the same. However, they are politically speaking rather powerless, rarely going above the size of a party or w
Well, when I say "the left" I am doing it in an American sense, so I am certainly including Social Democrats. I understand the Overton Window is so shifted in Europe to the left (or US tot the right depending on your perspective) that you dont consider Social Democrats left per se.
The whole "Europe remilitarizing" thing seems like a complete non starter. For all their rhetoric, Euro's are still in a race to hand over all their energy security and manufacturing and industrial capacity to China and India in exchange for open markets for their non manufactured goods and service workers (see recent India deal all the Euro leftists are salivating over)
And after seeing the Euro globalists plans for Ukraine-- encourage all the Ukrainian young men to die fighting Russia, while Europe economically props up Russia by buying Russian fossil fuels and making trade deals with Russia's allies, and then replace Ukrainians with migrants-- there will be zero appetite for European men to do the same. Good luck recruiting young men in France and Germany to go die in Greenland and Ukraine when everyone knows the globalist plan is just to replace them with migrants.
And that isn't even getting into the fact that in many European countries up to half military aged men are recently migrants, many whom are Islamic religious extremists, who are more loyal to their ethnic country of origin. So giving them access to military intelligence, equipment and training would be a giant national security issue.
In other words, most of Europe is proper ****ed and has no path towards productive militarization. And they know it. It is all bark, no bite.
I dont know if the juice would be worth the squeeze, but there is an argument the US should just rip the bandaid off and empty out Germany of US troops. Especially if Europe continues down its path of selling US securities and aligning more and more with China and India (and indirectly Russia and Iran).
This would set off a chain reaction forcing Euros to deal with the absurdity of their position. Germany would be forced to reindustrialize and remilitarize, probably doing something like Israel with selective conscription to make sure the military is comprised of people actually loyal to Germany, and the rest of Europe would see Germany remilitarizing and get nervous and start to do the same.
Of course demographically it could already be too late, and this would just lead towards Lebanon style sectarian civil war.
Holy crap civil war??
...Maybe you should stop following those Euro right wing accounts.
Holy crap civil war??
...Maybe you should stop following those Euro right wing accounts.
You live in the only primarily language English speaking country in the EU. With a fairly advanced white collar skilled worker industry. Where do you think all the skilled Indian workers coming due to the new EU trade deal are going to want to go? And how do you think the nativist right is going to respond?
Your country is going to be ground zero. The only advantage Ireland has is because of its geographical location it never has to militarize.
Anyways, the main point is the actions of euro leaders is mostly in direct conflict with their nationalist rhetoric.
And I guess the plan for now is to emotionally manipulate the anti American sentiment of the people so they don’t notice nothing is changing and the leadership’s is completely unresponsive to the people’s wishes and needs.
Basically run the Muslim world playbook, where their leaders emotionally manipulate the people to get so worked up over Jews they are too distracted to notice how poorly their countries are being run.
