The map of Europe with the US/China preference is insane, especially when you consider how much we view China's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine far too weak, and our long standing...
The map of Europe with the US/China preference is insane, especially when you consider how much we view China's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine far too weak, and our long standing friendship with the US.
It does however reflect the attitude I've seen in the Netherlands well. "Well, we don't like China, but I guess we gotta cooperate with them to some extend for this." Which I do think is the sensible move, but absolutely wild given how it's not even been half a year since the Mango Maffia arrivex in the Oval Office again.
The dollar's dominance is weakening, America's soft power is burning, and their power projection is more and more questionable as they cast doubt on how reliable US military support and security really is. And that's not going into length of some other things I couldn't even dare to try to summarize in an Internet comment on an online forum. Hell, it'll probably take years to properly analyze what has been broken.
There’s a real problem with a democracy full of uninformed and disinformed voters. It’s been very distressing in the last 10 years having discussions with people who don’t understand the most...
There’s a real problem with a democracy full of uninformed and disinformed voters. It’s been very distressing in the last 10 years having discussions with people who don’t understand the most basic things about how the government works, how taxes work, how anything works. And almost all of those people can vote. Or, they choose not to vote because they’ve been convinced that all politicians are the same.
There are so few people who even know what checks and balances are supposed to do. How are they supposed to understand what soft power is and why it matters? They will probably never understand what’s been stolen from them by Trump. He vaporized probably 20% of the country’s wealth and 80 years of reputation in a few months. There’s no way to properly measure it. And his party is continuing to steal the people’s (already limited) healthcare and retirement and giving it to people who are already insanely rich. While his voters cheer it on. It’s beyond infuriating.
On top of all that, the complete lack of judgement shown by half the voters to accept an obviously immoral liar as their representative is mind blowing.
Because (at least in the USA) civics and history classes don't talk about power dynamics. Racism is not about skin color. It is about power. Class is not about money. It is about power. Rape is...
How are they supposed to understand what soft power is and why it matters
Because (at least in the USA) civics and history classes don't talk about power dynamics.
Racism is not about skin color. It is about power.
Class is not about money. It is about power.
Rape is not about sex. It is about power.
I suspect the reason they don't is because it risks creating support for dangerous things like unions.
Yep. That and there have been systematic attacks on the educational infrastructure in the US for literally decades. This is the payoff of that organized corrosion of education: a voting base that...
Because (at least in the USA) civics and history classes don't talk about power dynamics.
Yep. That and there have been systematic attacks on the educational infrastructure in the US for literally decades. This is the payoff of that organized corrosion of education: a voting base that can be far more easily manipulated than a well-educated one.
Spot-on. Especially since we really seem to be cribbing from the 1930's Nazi playbook here in the US. Just with different 'those people are bad' labels swapped around.
Spot-on. Especially since we really seem to be cribbing from the 1930's Nazi playbook here in the US. Just with different 'those people are bad' labels swapped around.
Well, on paper. But it's not sure if Trump will survive that long one way or another, or how stable the US as a whole will be. Man what a mess. Wake me up when the next decade is here.
Well, on paper. But it's not sure if Trump will survive that long one way or another, or how stable the US as a whole will be.
Man what a mess. Wake me up when the next decade is here.
The US isn't stable now, but Trump is who the powers-that-be want in the Presidency. I don't see any situation in which the US recovers what it's lost in our lifetimes. When something like Trump...
The US isn't stable now, but Trump is who the powers-that-be want in the Presidency.
I don't see any situation in which the US recovers what it's lost in our lifetimes. When something like Trump can happen and do so much damage so quickly, throwing out alliances and destroying relationships ... what does that say about how good our word is?
If stability only lasts in 4-8 year spurts at best, then we're not stable at all - and not reliable.
I sincerely hope things improve sooner than later, and I'm doing what I can do help that along locally ... but I don't have high hopes.
Trump is only the tip of a very large pile of shit. JD Vance and basically the rest of everybody within the periphery that is currently appointed would need replaced. Project 2025 is not new...
Trump is only the tip of a very large pile of shit.
JD Vance and basically the rest of everybody within the periphery that is currently appointed would need replaced.
Project 2025 is not new policy. It is the bold power grab to enact policy that's been desired for years.
Yeah, I think I said it even before his first election: he's a symptom, and not the disease. And it's been spreading far and wide. :/ This decade will show why rule of law is so important in so...
Yeah, I think I said it even before his first election: he's a symptom, and not the disease. And it's been spreading far and wide. :/ This decade will show why rule of law is so important in so many ways...
I've always said that an intelligent, well-spoken, and charismatic Republican president is even more dangerous. Trump is a chaos monkey that says the quiet part aloud. The other will keep up...
I've always said that an intelligent, well-spoken, and charismatic Republican president is even more dangerous.
Trump is a chaos monkey that says the quiet part aloud. The other will keep up appearances while steering the narrative to the same place.
If anything, Trump destroying the goodwill of the world is probably a healthy thing long-term given that....lest the rest of the world continuing to rely on and support the USA while it regresses to dictatorship for its populace.
It would, of course, be much more preferable to purge all the fascists from the government. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
I hear that a lot but I’m not sure that it’s true. Trump has gained unique power by just being a stupid fucking asshole, and this appeals to a lot of people. Apparently at least one third or our...
I hear that a lot but I’m not sure that it’s true.
Trump has gained unique power by just being a stupid fucking asshole, and this appeals to a lot of people. Apparently at least one third or our countrymen are some combination of idiots or assholes. Probably his power comes also from people being fed up with a system that’s always been unfair and for the elites, but the supporters are not able to detect that he’s even worse.
Let’s say JD Vance takes over. He’s not really what you meant, but he’s smart and well spoken compared to Trump. He won’t have nearly the same power because nobody would be scared of a cultlike base of support and he can’t properly sell himself in the same way as Trump.
Counterpoint: Republicans still operate in lockstep and until the Democrats can manage to form a cohesive narrative and vote accordingly, they will still win elections. "The Democrats hate God and...
Counterpoint: Republicans still operate in lockstep and until the Democrats can manage to form a cohesive narrative and vote accordingly, they will still win elections. "The Democrats hate God and will take your guns" has been a winning strategy my entire life.
The Heritage Foundation has set the Republican agenda since the 1980s. They've never trended towards more progressive. Project 2029 is gonna be even scarier, with or without Trump.
Trump bumbles his way to a trade war and reduces the standing of the USA with the world.
W Bush lies his way to an Iraqi war while boosting and strengthening our military and soft power.
Both are happy to strip rights from gay people and immigrants.
In addition to being a stupid asshole, Trump has studied publicity and how to use it for his entire life. He strategically made friends at the top of WWE wrestling and the National Enquirer. He...
In addition to being a stupid asshole, Trump has studied publicity and how to use it for his entire life. He strategically made friends at the top of WWE wrestling and the National Enquirer. He also chose political operative and mafia lawyer Roy Cohn as his mentor.
Trump cares a lot about the image he projects, he just doesn't share any priorities with decent thoughtful people.
His ability to manipulate crowds was the catalyst that allowed most of them to reach power within government. They put up with him because they needed him.
His ability to manipulate crowds was the catalyst that allowed most of them to reach power within government. They put up with him because they needed him.
The United States is becoming less popular globally in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to new data.
The 2025 Democracy Perception Index summarizes attitudes toward democracy, geopolitics and global power players, and canvassed more than 110,000 respondents across 100 countries.
Meanwhile, China kept improving its global standing, overtaking the U.S. for the first time and recording mostly positive perceptions in all regions except Europe. Russia, the reputation of which tanked in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is still (slightly) more unpopular than the U.S. — though its image is also improving.
Trump’s reputation is in line with that of his country. The survey showed he’s less popular worldwide than his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Putin and Xi Jinping.
Jokes on them, we don't like ourselves as much either! But really it's about what I expected. If we're going to act like children you can buy off with a shiny plane or manipulate with a phone call...
Jokes on them, we don't like ourselves as much either!
But really it's about what I expected. If we're going to act like children you can buy off with a shiny toy plane or manipulate with a phone call or invitation from the King, we're going to get all the respect that deserves.
The map of Europe with the US/China preference is insane, especially when you consider how much we view China's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine far too weak, and our long standing friendship with the US.
It does however reflect the attitude I've seen in the Netherlands well. "Well, we don't like China, but I guess we gotta cooperate with them to some extend for this." Which I do think is the sensible move, but absolutely wild given how it's not even been half a year since the Mango Maffia arrivex in the Oval Office again.
The dollar's dominance is weakening, America's soft power is burning, and their power projection is more and more questionable as they cast doubt on how reliable US military support and security really is. And that's not going into length of some other things I couldn't even dare to try to summarize in an Internet comment on an online forum. Hell, it'll probably take years to properly analyze what has been broken.
All that in not even half a year.
There’s a real problem with a democracy full of uninformed and disinformed voters. It’s been very distressing in the last 10 years having discussions with people who don’t understand the most basic things about how the government works, how taxes work, how anything works. And almost all of those people can vote. Or, they choose not to vote because they’ve been convinced that all politicians are the same.
There are so few people who even know what checks and balances are supposed to do. How are they supposed to understand what soft power is and why it matters? They will probably never understand what’s been stolen from them by Trump. He vaporized probably 20% of the country’s wealth and 80 years of reputation in a few months. There’s no way to properly measure it. And his party is continuing to steal the people’s (already limited) healthcare and retirement and giving it to people who are already insanely rich. While his voters cheer it on. It’s beyond infuriating.
On top of all that, the complete lack of judgement shown by half the voters to accept an obviously immoral liar as their representative is mind blowing.
Because (at least in the USA) civics and history classes don't talk about power dynamics.
Racism is not about skin color. It is about power.
Class is not about money. It is about power.
Rape is not about sex. It is about power.
I suspect the reason they don't is because it risks creating support for dangerous things like unions.
Yep. That and there have been systematic attacks on the educational infrastructure in the US for literally decades. This is the payoff of that organized corrosion of education: a voting base that can be far more easily manipulated than a well-educated one.
Spot-on. Especially since we really seem to be cribbing from the 1930's Nazi playbook here in the US. Just with different 'those people are bad' labels swapped around.
And the "best" part is, we've got another three and a half years of this.
Well, on paper. But it's not sure if Trump will survive that long one way or another, or how stable the US as a whole will be.
Man what a mess. Wake me up when the next decade is here.
The US isn't stable now, but Trump is who the powers-that-be want in the Presidency.
I don't see any situation in which the US recovers what it's lost in our lifetimes. When something like Trump can happen and do so much damage so quickly, throwing out alliances and destroying relationships ... what does that say about how good our word is?
If stability only lasts in 4-8 year spurts at best, then we're not stable at all - and not reliable.
I sincerely hope things improve sooner than later, and I'm doing what I can do help that along locally ... but I don't have high hopes.
My poor kids.
Trump is only the tip of a very large pile of shit.
JD Vance and basically the rest of everybody within the periphery that is currently appointed would need replaced.
Project 2025 is not new policy. It is the bold power grab to enact policy that's been desired for years.
Yeah, I think I said it even before his first election: he's a symptom, and not the disease. And it's been spreading far and wide. :/ This decade will show why rule of law is so important in so many ways...
Trump is an extra level of chaos on top of all of them. They’re already pulling the levers behind the scenes. Removing Trump is a net improvement.
I've always said that an intelligent, well-spoken, and charismatic Republican president is even more dangerous.
Trump is a chaos monkey that says the quiet part aloud. The other will keep up appearances while steering the narrative to the same place.
If anything, Trump destroying the goodwill of the world is probably a healthy thing long-term given that....lest the rest of the world continuing to rely on and support the USA while it regresses to dictatorship for its populace.
It would, of course, be much more preferable to purge all the fascists from the government. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
I hear that a lot but I’m not sure that it’s true.
Trump has gained unique power by just being a stupid fucking asshole, and this appeals to a lot of people. Apparently at least one third or our countrymen are some combination of idiots or assholes. Probably his power comes also from people being fed up with a system that’s always been unfair and for the elites, but the supporters are not able to detect that he’s even worse.
Let’s say JD Vance takes over. He’s not really what you meant, but he’s smart and well spoken compared to Trump. He won’t have nearly the same power because nobody would be scared of a cultlike base of support and he can’t properly sell himself in the same way as Trump.
Counterpoint: Republicans still operate in lockstep and until the Democrats can manage to form a cohesive narrative and vote accordingly, they will still win elections. "The Democrats hate God and will take your guns" has been a winning strategy my entire life.
The Heritage Foundation has set the Republican agenda since the 1980s. They've never trended towards more progressive. Project 2029 is gonna be even scarier, with or without Trump.
Trump bumbles his way to a trade war and reduces the standing of the USA with the world.
W Bush lies his way to an Iraqi war while boosting and strengthening our military and soft power.
Both are happy to strip rights from gay people and immigrants.
In addition to being a stupid asshole, Trump has studied publicity and how to use it for his entire life. He strategically made friends at the top of WWE wrestling and the National Enquirer. He also chose political operative and mafia lawyer Roy Cohn as his mentor.
Trump cares a lot about the image he projects, he just doesn't share any priorities with decent thoughtful people.
His ability to manipulate crowds was the catalyst that allowed most of them to reach power within government. They put up with him because they needed him.
Jokes on them, we don't like ourselves as much either!
But really it's about what I expected. If we're going to act like children you can buy off with a shiny
toyplane or manipulate with a phone call or invitation from the King, we're going to get all the respect that deserves.I've been begging Canadians for some reciprocal "Freedom" that we've been exporting for decades.