This is a bit more sane than the conspiracy tankie , retired colonel, McCrazy. 
https://x.com/TalkTV/status/1896537826990121224
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He really does aspire to make the US a banana republic.
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Thread
https://x.com/FoxBrambleFarm/status/1896584712862478427
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https://x.com/awheintz/status/1896612178083664351
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https://x.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1896609795848954179
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https://x.com/AlexBondODUA/status/1896324358060359937
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https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1896647865797083361
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1896652085367542270
TSMC or (ESMC ā a joint venture between TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM), Robert Bosch GmbH) already did something like that in Germany
https://pr.tsmc.com/english/news/3169#:~:text="Together%20with%20our%20partners%2C%20Bosch,Wei.
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But on your previous note. Do you find this video clip (appreciate that the video clip is all I have seen of it) too bombastic ? I think it is just refreshingly honest and he does also end it on a conciliatory note.
https://x.com/AlexandruC4/status/1896643508087480430
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https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1896654241357586862
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1896650222127731092
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1896652332953194782
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1896651728637849801
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1896653061440897244
"President āOāBidenā 
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I think we gain nothing from the āpremeditatedā remarks (everyone thinks that anyway) and it might make things even more difficult in the future. So, personally donāt think thatās smart and he should focus on actually delivering. But apparently we disagree and thatās fine.
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Yeah, fair enough.
I personally think it is needed and that it needs to come from a big European power and not a fringe state. I understand the worry though. Many Norwegians were not overjoyed with the decison of that CEO a couple of days ago which went public all over MAGA, creating actual diplomatic issues.
But unless Germany finds some steel (which it can of course find it different ways), we are fucked anyway. I though it was a very good delivery to Washington, as it showed that the perception that they are trying to create of Zelinsky shitting all over America, is not percieved as thus elsewhere. And that is important. But of course, it can carry a cost. I get that. Fear is normal, often wise too.
But yes, it is open to debate.
https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1896652217345622102
https://x.com/CalltoActivism/status/1896654853671362883
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1896657707047993358
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Itās not about fear vs finding steel. Itās about picking your battles wisely and which parts you say publicly. Or when you just let actions speak.
But this bit is not that important anyway imo.
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I agree. Letās end the exchange on this. I donāt entirely agree with you, but that is very fine indeed
Let us focus on matters of more import.
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The fucking gall of him demanding countries move their manufacturing factories to the usa is a fucking joke.
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Well, I would be very cautious with Merz, but one thing should not be overlooked with regard to Ukraine, and that is his Black Rock connection.
Just saying
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As long as he in favour of actual rearmament, I can as a foreigner forgive much. He is a conservative and a money man, hardly my type of politician. But if he manages to actually rearm Germany, some how, against all the German instinctual paranoida/unwillingness for that exactly, it would be more than anyone else before him did. I would prefer the Greens, but they are not in power. And as a Social Democrat, Scholz was a horrific disappointment for me. A coward and a weasel who could do nothing without the United States.
I want Germany to be able to act, without the United States in security matters. Germany is very powerful industrially, if it re-armed, it would be a Geopolitical power house and I want to see that exactly.
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I had expected the curtailing of aid. I hoped it would be a while longer before they ceased completely intelligence sharing, but it seems Vance and boys are on it:
https://x.com/Mpolymer/status/1896675332025160120
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Bad guys?
It looks like he spelt Putinās lackeys wrong
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Germany refuses to restart Nord Stream 2, even though Trump is negotiating with Putin about it.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/germany-says-not-talks-over-nord-stream-2-gas-pipeline-revival-2025-03-03/
https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/energie-bundesregierung-lehnt-inbetriebnahme-von-nord-stream-2-deutlich-ab/100111064.html
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In any case, I really hope that Merz sticks to it in the long term.
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Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned the Europeans nearly 15 years ago that Europe wasnāt doing enough and that eventually the Americans would eventually pull away if they didnāt start pulling their weight.
The Europeans had no such excuse. They were warned for decades that choosing butter over guns would have long-term consequences. More than a decade ago, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned European countries that their failure to invest in hard military power meant eventual āirrelevanceā for NATO. In 2011 in Brussels he saideverything that Vice President JD Vance would say in 2025 in Munich, to deaf ears.
āThe blunt reality,ā Mr. Gates said, āis that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congressāand in the American body politic writ largeāto expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense.ā
Gatesās warning came before Vladimir Putin seized Crimea in 2014 and before the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022. What has happened since? Last month Reuters reportedthat ā[t]he German armyās battle-readiness is less than when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.ā Even when confronted with a shooting war just one country over, the wealthiest country in Europe has not just been slow to rise to the challenge, theyāve actually gone backward.
I knew that Toro would post the Gates quote and historical grievances on defence spending !
I also guessed that he would twist it and pretend that itās similar to what Vance is saying (which is of course absolute horseshit). Easiest guess ever.
But I see he has had a nice day in his media bubble at least. Thatās good at least.
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Heād be insane to go for that.
I donāt see how the US and Russia can reopen it without Germany.
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