I’m probably in meetings until early afternoon tomorrow but will wholeheartedly dive into Friday intoxication as soon as I can with a full battery of hysterical dog videos 🤣
I’m pretty sure the USA has already made a decision about Iran according to our previous discussions – what’s interesting in this context is the following;
Russia has threatened DEVASTATING consequences if the USA attacks Iran, and Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz directly.
First of all, an attack on Iran, which is absolutely not just a whim from Trump but a decision made by the USA some time ago, would expose the epic hypocrisy Sullivan and Biden displayed regarding “we are terrified of nuclear weapons or war with Russia” in the case of the Ukraine war.
Which we have also suspected, right – so now we might soon have this confirmed as well, probably quite soon judging by the traffic congestion on Diego Garcia and the fact that the USA is shuttling Patriot systems to all its allies in the MENA region.
We don’t need to be so puzzled about Trump since we already know that he rigged the “peace negotiation” 100% in favor of Russia and wants to colonize Ukraine.
Iran is allied with Russia, which definitely does not want to lose them in massive bombing campaigns – and everyone, including us in the comment section, understands that Iran is on the verge of collapsing domestically, so major fires in Tehran could probably work wonders for the will to overthrow the Islamists.
And if that regime falls, Russia loses Iran, period – which somewhat contradicts the idea that Trump is playing on Russia’s field, but I don’t have the energy to dwell on that because there are too many twists now, so I’m ignoring it.
But it’s also a step up in global escalation AND a severe blow to the oil price, which the USA is well aware of.
By the way, Egypt has deployed troops in the demilitarized Sinai, which has prompted Israel to protest.
My thought on how the MENA region will play out in a global conflict is that Israel will be overrun, by the way, if you remember our previous discussions. We are quite far from that, but if neighboring countries join forces while everyone is preoccupied with other matters in times of robots and drones, things could get lively.
The world doesn’t need an arms race like we had during the Cold War, which was probably very close to collective suicide at its worst – the USA had 30,000 nuclear weapons, many thermonuclear, and Russia decided in the ’60s to catch up and eventually had even more – and the “firing button” had been delegated to various commanders in case they lost contact with higher-ups in the doctrine of mutual destruction. At least once, a Russian colonel refused to obey orders when the computers indicated that the USA had launched everything they had at Russia, and he was punished to the maximum even though the world was saved. It also happened in the USA, by the way, and researchers say it happened dozens of times, even though we only know of a few instances.
So, it was the human factor that stood between a full-scale nuclear rain or peace; the USA themselves never understood that in 1983, they had so thoroughly alarmed the Russians that when the USSR conducted its RYAN, they genuinely believed that the USA would attack them – because the USA had changed the nuclear launch codes as a routine right when tensions were at their highest, and the USSR interpreted it as a final step before the war began. The quick-witted quickly realize that this coincided with our most spectacular submarine intrusions and culminated in a prime minister’s assassination.
But one of the lessons the USA learned from the downed South Korean passenger plane was that when tensions were high, everyone had their finger on the trigger, and maybe some de-escalation would be good – which followed until Gorbachev accidentally crashed the Soviet Union.
Just like in Ukraine with General Donahue (as we just learned from the NYT article), major events were driven by individuals, or Putin for that matter. The whole world sees escalation or de-escalation because of one or a few individuals, and the world was saved more than once by someone’s unwavering integrity that then completely ruined their lives.
My thought is instead that if we can shoot down incoming Russian robots and have enough to target a couple of major cities in Russia with nuclear weapons, that should be deterrent enough since they have 90% of their population there, so maybe the arsenal that France and the UK possess is sufficient?
In the long run, Europe wouldn’t need to start acquiring more nuclear weapons, and the whole discussion would become irrelevant.
However, landmines have proven to be excellent when combined with cluster ammunition, and who leads the way there – well, Finland. We need to soon establish impenetrable minefields along the entire Russian border and permanently close it because nothing good will ever come from there. Until today, they have only infiltrated criminals, GRU, and played a significant role in drug and addiction trafficking to strengthen our criminal clans and gangs.
If we can seal it off with our modern-day Great Wall of China and start reducing all diplomatic representation to a minimum, perhaps calm will settle in Europe in the future.
Lately, I’ve come to understand that we are well on our way into at least a new Cold War and I am immersing myself in post-WW2 history to better understand this, so today we’ll take a little look back at the USA since they have veered in a direction that we in Europe don’t appreciate since Trump took office, or it’s more evident after he took office because he’s not exactly known for keeping quiet.
Germany has found its inner Prussian again, and I have a pretty good understanding of how they have acted, given that they were under guardianship until 1989 and have had an absolutely enormous collective guilt to deal with. It’s not easy to explain to grandchildren that grandpa used to burn people alive in ovens as a full-time job in his youth, but he’s also a lovable uncle.
The USA fought extremely many wars in the 19th century to expand their territory, and the 19th century as a whole was chock-full of wars. Everyone knows about the 20th century, but since the turn of the millennium, there has actually been a sharp drop in wars worldwide, until a few years ago…
After WW2, the USA supported all right-wing dictatorships in South America because the Soviet Union supported communist guerrillas, and older South Americans, like my former Peruvian colleague, had nothing good to say about the USA at all – it was almost in his genes.
Burgeoning democracies that were starting to function were completely crushed by the CIA.
Not only that – the USA used the CIA to overthrow legitimate governments so that American companies could access raw materials – Iran and Guatemala in the ’50s are good examples because, in Iran’s case, it laid the foundation for the Ayatollahs’ power grab that they still suffer from today. And fortunately, it was the beginning of the rise of (extreme) Islamists in the world as well?
It was enough for the proposed company in question to go to the CIA and announce that the government of a certain country was communist for a diabolical plan to overthrow them to be developed and carried out in less than half a year.
The 1990s and onwards have been all about the USA’s wars in the Middle East that we all know, “weapons of mass destruction,” and all those lies.
In the 1970s, Pakistan carried out a significant genocide in Bangladesh (before they became independent) which India stopped – guess which side the USA supported, and it wasn’t the good side.
The 1990s were all about Japan and the tiger economies, and 2008 was indeed exciting and recent.
Yet so many refuse to accept that the USA does not stand for all that is good in the world. Trump is just clumsier than Biden and Obama/Clinton who started many wars – the USA is just like the bank, not your friend, as someone usually says, right?
No one wants to understand what predators Obama and Biden were, but Trump doesn’t seem to have the ability to act like a chameleon, and therefore the world has turned against the USA in record time. The Caribbean is upset with Rubio, Greenland, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Ukraine – the list of former allies who have had enough can be quite long right now.
And after this tariff debacle, there will probably be even more 🤣🤣
Influence operations and subversive activities are very old – modern Russia, or the Soviet Union, began actively in the 1920s, and the USA only got started after WW2. However, Russia seriously started its operations to influence opinions in the West in the 1950s.
In Guatemala, the USA ran radio chatter as if it were a civil war and bombed randomly with their own aircraft until the administration collapsed (it was actually a civil war between the CIA and no one). In Iran, they managed to get all newspapers to write negatively about the president until he was overthrown because the citizens believed that was the case since that’s what they read in all newspapers – newspaper 1 writes X and newspapers 2&3 confirm it.
The CIA bought many journalists to carry out their influence operations, but they had to operate in democracies, so everything had to be somewhat discreet.
In the Soviet Union and later Russia, it was much easier for their counterparts to operate as they owned the citizens and could do whatever they wanted because they had the Gulag.
And Europe was the epicenter of influence operations – the Cold War was quite dramatic, and all of the CIA’s “stay behind” programs make for exciting reading. But what they did was to place weapons and unrestricted power in the hands of a group in a country and hope that they would never realize they could use their new position as the strongest in the country to enrich themselves.
By the way, Nikita Khrushchev was interested in a bit more openness in the Soviet Union, and it was a time when the youth felt hope. The Soviet Union had about 4 nuclear weapons in whatever form they were, but they fooled the USA into thinking they were strong, so the USA felt they needed 4000. For the USA, the Cold War became a blank check for the Military-Industrial Complex, and the question is whether the USA knew or not, but the official version is that it wasn’t until the U2 incident that they realized they had been deceived and that the USSR was weak.
Then Brezhnev came, and the Soviet Union eventually caught up in the number of nuclear weapons for the Cuban Missile Crisis shook them up… that the USA could force them to back down – even though they removed the nuclear weapons from Turkey and Italy as a concession, which can be considered acceptable.
I am pretty much done with the USA, with just one lingering question about how they intend to come out on top in all of this – I don’t want to believe that they are as clumsy as everyone laughs about, but that they do things with a purpose. Personally, I believe they want to collapse Europe and maybe China, but we’ll see.
I am starting to sense a recession for us in the EU as well because of this, or do you economically savvy people believe in something other than that?
Right now, the trade balance is plummeting, and the economy in the USA is quite shaky, and it probably won’t get any better after this broadside 😶
My suspicion is simply that the USA is ahead of the curve and needs to take a hit themselves to get the ball rolling.
They have evidently had Russia’s back for over three years, so they definitely do not want Russia to collapse – in my opinion, the USA is still stuck in the old ways, just like Putin – but it could also become the new way if we’re unlucky.
Notable that among the few countries that did not receive trade tariffs were Russia and Belarus 🧐
Europe IS under pressure – we have had a period of great upheaval.
With soaring electricity prices (everything is always relative, so comparing WITHIN Europe is therefore foolish of the highest order), Europe’s remaining industry is under quite a bit of pressure, for example in Germany and in our electricity area SE4. Europe was supposed to solve the pension age with migration in 2015, so someone has to explain to me why we should work until 75 now if we are to believe that economist from the other week – after all, it’s been 10 years, and we have done everything that was supposed to save us.
Furthermore, both the USA and China have a lower retirement age than us in Sweden, but higher than Southern Europe, which retires very early because they receive all sorts of benefits from us so they can afford it.
We made a huge effort to be the first with the green transition, but the fact is that China leads in all categories, even though they balance it out with a significant non-green industry. If the USA just decides that it’s the future, they will also take the lead – they do it because they don’t regulate and slow down like we do in Europe but try to invest in things that are good business, but also environmentally friendly.
Europe’s car manufacturers have largely reverted to combustion engines and abandoned their visions of going fossil-free. China produces millions of electric cars annually, and the USA is not far behind, and China was so good with solar panels that we had to introduce trade tariffs to protect ourselves – why does China succeed and not us when we have a thousand times more environmental requirements and should be excellent?
Could it be that all the environmental requirements have made China surpass us in environmentally friendly technology?
It’s always nice to support environmentally friendly initiatives and believe that what has been done can never be wrong, but when faced with reality, one must still choose what one wants – food on the table or salamanders in the ponds.
I think the electricity price for BUSINESSES in the USA was 1/3 of Europe’s and China’s 1/8 – or around there.
The gasoline price in Europe is a little over double that of the USA and China.
Now, our trade surplus in 2024 was quite high, but it’s mainly the UK and the USA that account for it – so Trump starting to put up trade barriers may have some contagion risk on how well the EU progresses in the future.
And it’s not really appropriate for us to count trade surpluses with the UK – after all, we are in the same boat.
So it’s actually good that the EU is starting to consider easing the worst obstacles so that our companies become competitive again – after all, we also need food on the table.
https://omni.se/kallor-kommissionen-overvager-svagare-klimatlagar/a/jQJoBn
(link taken from someone in the comments section at johanno1.se – always the latest news first).
To me, all of this is connected – what weapons did we have to send, and why didn’t we have any weapons to send – who made sure we didn’t. How are our economies doing so we can produce more weapons and then the direct decisions to defend our friends in the Baltics and in Svalbard, as well as Ukraine of course.
Because this is the reality we have to deal with right now, and if we navigate it incorrectly, our little preschool children will be desecrated, tortured, and murdered.
The Ukraine war is no longer the only thing we need to care about because the war is on the verge of escalating, and not just militarily.
You know as well as I do that a very effective way to get Russia to leave Ukraine would be to collapse them economically. Just like Germany collapsed economically in WW1 and WW2.
So do you then think that when the EU finally stands up and decides to wholeheartedly fight Russia – that Russia, with the help of the USA, might try to collapse Europe economically?
And in order to do that, does the USA need to take the first hit so the chain kicks off?
This is not as far-fetched as one might think, and what I have seen of CCCC now suggests that China will beat the USA in fair manufacturing quality in the future, which they surely do not want.
So it is quite likely that the USA’s long game here is to try to bring down China or engage in a cold war with China, and that Russia stands on the USA’s side in that conflict. And to push back against a budding Europe – especially as we seem to want to improve relations with China.
This will absolutely NOT benefit the EU in the slightest and is something we should strongly oppose – first we clip Russia and then we may have to parry China if needed in the future.
But what has China done TODAY other than starting to manufacture good products cheaper than what we can handle?
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On Substack – now, for heaven’s sake, don’t forget to become paying subscribers even those of you who already follow. It’s great to see that some find it worth reading, appreciate all the effort put into this, and took the step to subscribe, but more are needed 👍
https://bsky.app/profile/johanno1.bsky.social
Swedish rescuers, the ones I have been in contact with, work quietly and deliver supplies to Ukraine. You don’t see them constantly on social media because they are instead working to support Ukraine.
Don't forget to donate, Ukraine's cause is ours! Support Ukraine!
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Hover over your name at the top right, select edit profile, and you will then find the setting under the language settings heading.
Good morning!
Russian losses in Ukraine 2025-04-04
1380 KWIA
7 Tanks
30 APVs
38 Artillery systems
1 MLRS
72 UAVs
66 Vehicles & Fuel tanks
Good bounce despite mud.
Good morning MXT, the image needs to be updated.
Thank you, seems like I managed to download a cached version. Fixed now.
Pansar:
https://x.com/nexta_tv/status/1907815353750794246?s=46
Update from 08:00 04.04.2025 on the Russian invasion
A total of 156↘️combat actions were recorded in the past 24 hours.
#Kharkiv 4
#Kupyansk 5
#Lyman 19💥
#Siverskyi 4
#Kramatorsk 1
#Toretsk 29💥💥
#Pokrovsk 57↘️💥💥💥
#Novopavlivka 9💥
#Orikhivsk 8
#Prydniprovsky 2
#Kursk 13↘️💥
In the Toretsk sector, the AFRF🇷🇺 carried out 29 attacks in the areas of Krymske, Dachne, Druzhba, Diliyivka, Toretsk, and Leonidivka.
In the Pokrovsk sector, the AFU🇺🇦 repelled 57 attacks from the AFRF🇷🇺 in the areas of Novokalynove, Tarasivka, Yelizavetivka, Zvirove, Udachne, Preobrazhenka, Sribne, Novosergiivka, Nadiivka, Uspenivka, Andriivka, and towards Romanivka, Oleksiivka, Vodiane Druha, Kotlyarivka, and Oleksandropol.
There were 13 artillery duels in the Kursk sector yesterday. AFRF🇷🇺 carried out 359 artillery attacks, including four with multiple rocket systems; conducted 16 air strikes and dropped 28 guided aerial bombs.
Yesterday, the AFRF🇷🇺 launched a missile and 104 air strikes, with one missile and 193 guided aerial bombs. Additionally, the AFRF🇷🇺 carried out more than 5,600 artillery attacks, including 146 from multiple rocket launchers, and used 2,203 kamikaze drones.
Yesterday, the AFU🇺🇦 aircraft, missile troops, and artillery hit nine areas with a concentration of personnel, weapons, and military equipment, two UAV control points, two cannons, and a command and observation post belonging to the AFRF🇷🇺.
👍
👍🏻
Teheran is on the verge of collapsing as a city as it grows too large. The city faces gigantic challenges regarding water, sewage, and traffic. It is not a place where one would want their children to grow up if they belong to the ruling class. Others do not matter as they are only meant to grow up to be jihad warriors. There is also concern that the infarction that Tehran will suffer from could lead to popular uprisings.
The mullahs have advanced plans to move the capital further south to Makran, where much of the trade passes through but is also easy to defend against uprisings in the country. It is also further away from Israel but closer to Garcia and American aircraft carriers.
Links to Caspian Report which has interesting geopolitical videos.
https://youtu.be/f4g6KKGMmEI?si=xa_0tojLuvidWIdW
“Donald Trump’s administration is firing General Timothy Haugh from his role as the head of the USA’s intelligence agency NSA.
– Haugh is an honest and straightforward leader who follows the law and prioritizes national security. I’m afraid it’s precisely those qualities that are leading to his dismissal, he tells CBS.”
https://omni.se/trump-sparkar-nationella-sakerhetschefen-haugh/a/rP1vme
Donald Trump has fired several people in the USA’s National Security Council due to lack of loyalty.
“It is reported to happen after far-right activist Laura Loomer held a meeting with, among others, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in the Oval Office. There, she argued for firing several people in the security council whom she does not perceive as sufficiently loyal to Trump and his Maga agenda.”
https://omni.se/kallor-trump-sparkar-flera-i-sakerhetsradet/a/4BJ5kG
It’s probably bad when loyalty is valued the most, no opinions other than the leader’s are accepted. It will probably cause a shitstorm eventually.
“Ukraine will never recognize occupied territories as Russian, but is ready to negotiate a compromise where they are eventually returned through diplomatic rather than military means. This is stated by President Zelensky according to Interfax Ukraine.”
“Vance: We want Greenland ‘come hell or high water’.
The USA wants to annex Greenland, no matter the cost. That is Vice President JD Vance’s message in an interview with the conservative media house Newsmax.”
“Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said at the NATO summit in Brussels that the Czech initiative on ammunition for 🇺🇦Ukraine has enough resources to ensure monthly deliveries until September this year.”
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3llxs2p5snc2q
They have also started an extensive production within the country.
👍
“Drones attacked 🇷🇺Lipetsk last night. Locals reported around 20 explosions in the sky above the regional capital. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that 107 UAVs were downed during the night.”
Perpetua, ~1:2.
https://bsky.app/profile/andrewperpetua.bsky.social/post/3llxqvulwvc24
Thank you Johanno1 for today’s!
Trump and the tariffs…according to many, Trump has always believed that the USA is being exploited by the rest of the world and that the solution is tariffs. This opinion he has had since the 80s and is probably a genuine conviction.
Wise individuals have examined the calculations behind the punitive tariffs (Hassler, for example, has an open FB page) and the underlying assumption is that there should not be a trade deficit because it indicates that the USA is losing money.
In other words, the starting point is that all trade is bilateral and should be balanced so that the USA is not exploited. This is called mercantilism.
Wiser individuals than myself usually point out that the trade balance is essentially just an accounting entry and does not say anything about the value of the trade. The most common example to illustrate this is that I have a huge trade deficit with my local grocery store (which strangely never buys from me) while I have an almost one hundred percent trade surplus with my employer – I just get paid all the time but never buy from him. Strangely enough, both my grocery store, I, and (hopefully) my bosses feel that we have a functional and rewarding trade relationship.
Free trade works in a similar way, a bit simplified, and Hassler’s example is steel from Sweden to the USA used to make a tractor that is sold to Mexico, which produces food that is bought by Sweden. In the example, Sweden exports to the USA but the resulting import comes from Mexico. Dangerous if you are a mercantilist.
Therefore, I believe that Trump is doing this convinced that tariffs really work and will balance out the trade and thereby make the USA richer. However, the trade balance in this sense is uninteresting, and the result of reduced imports and reduced participation in global value chains will make the USA poorer.
Tariffs have also been tried before (see yesterday’s thread) and were quickly abandoned due to the destructive effects on the US economy. It seems to happen about every 100 years in the USA, and now apparently it’s time again.
The difference, of course, is that global trade has increased in scale since the last attempt and that financial markets are much more fluid than they were. So, I stick my neck out and believe that the USA’s tariff frenzy this time will pass more quickly.
In the meantime, we must be extremely nimble, of course, and shift our trade nodes and adapt by taking market share from American companies that will be hindered by higher costs.
I do not believe, as you understand, that this is part of a master plan from the USA to destabilize Europe. If we keep a cool head and continue to import what we need with virtually no trade barriers, it is only the USA that loses in the end.
It is simply an idiotic hobbyhorse of Trump’s that is now gaining traction and ultimately weakening the USA.
…Yes, Egypt has deployed troops in Sinai. They started in 2024, and I perceive it as a response to the threats from Huhti and similar groups against the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
Egypt is another country that probably would not lose sleep if Iran received a heavy blow from the USA.
MES!!
Good examples that can be used for those who do not quite understand how trade is connected.
All economists seem to agree that tariffs are bad. Sometimes I miss someone trying to convince that trade tariffs are really good, have not found anyone without it usually being at an extremely low level that is not worth addressing.
There are certain situations where tariffs may be necessary, if otherwise there would be unfair competition in an industry considered strategically important. An example is if China heavily subsidizes a particular industry so that its goods can be sold unreasonably cheap. In that case, an import duty may be appropriate if one wants to protect other producers.
Yes, I agree. It can be a tool that works in specific situations.
China can be said to have been extremely successful in terms of knowledge transfer in industrial technology with requirements for joint ventures with Chinese majority ownership in, among other things, car manufacturing with local product development.
Well written!
I also don’t believe that it’s about crushing Europe, Trump simply thinks that tariffs are an excellent way to generate revenue for the USA, but as you write, it’s doomed to fail.
Certainly, it will lead some companies to move their production back home, convince some foreign companies to relocate parts of their production to the USA, and even get Americans to buy a bit more domestically, but hardly to the extent Trump believes.
The reason the trade balance is negative is because the USA is a country that consumes incredible amounts and is dependent on imports to meet that need.
It is fortunate that all wise companies created redundant supply chains due to Covid. Hopefully, it will be easier to switch from the USA to another country to avoid tariff walls.
👍🏻
Reagan’s radio speech from 1987 about, among other things, tariffs.
https://youtu.be/5t5QK03KXPc?si=hWjiUGTB1P1RmA9g
Quite a difference between past and present presidents.
As day and night
“Swedish 40mm Bofors L70 automatic cannon in service with one of the Territorial Defense brigades of Ukraine. The Bofors L70s were donated by Lithuania”
https://x.com/front_ukrainian/status/1908045669513789952
And from the beginning they were given to Lithuania from Sweden. We can still be really happy that the Ministry of Defense thought there instead of just scrapping everything.
It’s true!
More F-16 jets being prepared for Ukraine, US general says. More F-16 fighter jets are being prepared for transfer to Ukraine, U.S. General Christopher Cavoli said on April 3.
https://bsky.app/profile/kyivindependent.com/post/3llxmxq5dtk2w
👍🏻
👍
“Finnish Missile Boat “Hanko” Deployed to Protect Underwater Communications in the Baltic Sea”
That the USA is prepared to strike against Iran but still likes Russia is well compatible with the idea that they do not like Russia, but need Russia in order to be able to pressure China. They do not need a strong and thriving Russia, but a Russia that has no allies at all and is completely dependent on the USA.
What I don’t quite understand is why the USA is so keen on Europe spending 5% of GDP on defense. It can hardly make us more subdued, can it? Of the Swedish state’s expenses, the largest items are various forms of economic security, and it is presumably from these that the 5% will reasonably be taken. It will not really affect the economy that much, will it? It’s the sick and weak who will bear the brunt, right? Perhaps it will be easier to recruit for the defense forces.
I believe, in any case, that Europe will manage even if 20-year-olds can no longer travel to New York to shop to the same extent as before. One reason is that Europe is diversified with different competencies, salary levels, etc. It is simply suitable for building complex products in a network where each country contributes with what they are good at. In comparison, Russia is a disaster.
The way forward is for all countries except the USA to cooperate a bit, then the USA’s strategy will likely be overturned – they are of course aware of this, so they will probably create “prisoner’s dilemma” situations. It seems to be going well between the EU and India, the EU is India’s largest trading partner and a trade agreement is supposed to be in place this year: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/03/eu-india-free-trade-agreement/
We are on our way there very quickly now.
There will surely be a huge reaction from the USA about it.
Quote
“It’s the sick and weak who end up taking the hits.”
The state does not provide healthcare, that is the responsibility of the county councils and is paid for through taxes to the county councils.
The largest item in the state budget is grants to municipalities. Grants that are targeted, if you do X then you get Y in grants. Municipalities should have self-determination, but this is somewhat undermined as municipalities have become dependent on grants that all too often do not go towards the core activities of the municipalities but towards something that a member of parliament has pushed through.
The grant to municipalities is twice as large as to defense, halve the grant to municipalities and their investments in CO2 capture and salamander ponds, etc., and we can finance defense. There are probably also some SIDA projects in countries that hate Sweden and our values, there we can find some more money.
This does not need to affect our sick or weak,
The total budget of the state is 1,224 billion for the year 2023. The following items I want to mention are related to “economic security”:
International aid: 47
Healthcare, medical care, and social care: 109 (national, not just the regions that have expenses for this)
Economic security in case of illness and disability: 111
Economic security in old age: 56
Economic security for families and children: 102
Labor market and working life: 80
Student aid: 25
This adds up to 530 billion, i.e. 43% of the budget, while “General grants to municipalities” are 158 billion, i.e. 13%. That in the end it is the sick and weak that are cut is not because I want it that way, but because they are not powerful voting groups.
Source: https://www.regeringen.se/sveriges-regering/finansdepartementet/statens-budget/statens-budget-i-siffror/
530 billion is enough to support approximately 3 million residents full-time. If that were the case, it would certainly be a powerful voting group.
Saving on expenses does not mean that one must necessarily target those who barely have food for the day.
I hope you are right!
Trump wants us to add 5% to the defense industry in the USA. He doesn’t understand that going forward, we will avoid buying from the USA and instead focus our purchases on other countries, mostly Europe.
He is a bit slow.
Yes, he seems to believe that we pay those percentages to the USA.
The USA has significantly overplayed its hand.
Yes, they are probably trying to get Europe to start buying weapons from the USA now before we have ramped up production here. Then it will be too late.
Now there is a first version of a page with Links (unfortunately no voting function at the moment). If something is missing, feel free to leave a comment, and I will check them now and then and add them if they are relevant.
“Ukrainian tank destroys a Russian BTR-82 armored personnel carrier from point blank range around Toretsk, Ukraine.”
“Ryskt trämonster på band upptäckt vid fronten. Ser ut som någon form av försök att återskapa en trojansk häst.”
https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1908078936220709321
In panic, they read Greek war loot.
“ISW: Ukrainian forces likely liberated Nadiivka village near Pokrovsk Ukrainian forces have made territorial gains southwest of Pokrovsk while Russian troops continue attacks across multiple settlements in the Donetsk Oblast”
Drone takeover 👊
Yes, they annihilate one RU force at a time and can keep going all summer.
Ukraine’s navy has refused to confirm that there was “anger,” “surprise,” and “panic” among the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden after Ukraine sunk the Mosvka, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in April 2022.
Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said he “cannot confirm this information in any way,” insisting there were multiple factors other than U.S. intelligence that played a role in one of Kyiv’s most significant early victories in the full-scale war.
So fun, according to NYT they saw it on the US radar and UA officers – “I’m off for lunch now, just need to take a selfie first”
😂
NATO’s Supreme Commander in Europe, Christopher Cavoli, states it’s hard to imagine a major Ukrainian counteroffensive reclaiming every inch of land, but equally hard to imagine Ukraine losing the conflict. Ukraine’s defeat is not inevitable.
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lly3hem2yk2t
If the USA collapsed, Russia would immediately get its country back, but he is probably right with the knowledge he has – that the USA is holding back
💔🤬
“I don’t know what happened to my son… He was on the first floor… I don’t know where he is…” Mrs. Valentyna says their apartment completely burned down, and the woman does not know where her son Andrii is – he was at home during the attack and he is not among the people brought to the hospital”
https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3lly3fjxm4k2k
Ryssdjävlar
Ural oil usually trades lower than Brent, add the discount that India and China receive, and there won’t be many rubles left for the Russian war machine.
Let’s hope that the oil price drops even further.
This is not only bad for Russia, but also for the USA, which has incentive prices closer to $70/barrel. That is, at price levels below that, they do not develop new discoveries. And with shale, existing discoveries deplete quite quickly.
That stings
Sounds influential and good for the muscovite 👍🏻.
Can be one of the reasons why the US is now gearing up against Iran. Higher prices are keeping oil production in the US going, and Russia is being kept alive.
Is there anyone here with real knowledge (not just quick Googling or AI answers) about what happened between Japan and the USA in the late 1980s? I’m thinking about the Plaza Accord, etc. Overall, did that strategy work well? The influence of Japanese products in the USA decreased and Japan’s economy leveled off (hit its knees). Isn’t that a pretty good model for what’s going on now? Overall, it feels like Japan is flying a bit under the radar in the news flow, doesn’t it? Don’t you think they are a bit eager for revenge against the USA?
Japan and China have been mortal enemies, so their approaching each other together with South Korea is interesting to say the least.
Trump the great peacemaker, but not as he intended 🤣🤣
Nothing is black and white, and one should be careful even when considering removing environmental requirements just because they are in the way. One wants to put food on the table, but then the earth must also be able to produce the food. You cannot eat money and weapons. But living in this world is about compromising and balancing.
Certainly, that’s true, but the EU has introduced 13,000 regulations for our companies to follow in just five years, which is why China is light years ahead of us in green technology – and they have fewer environmental requirements.
Fossil-free steel is also only sold if there is a mandatory purchase requirement – not the world’s best business idea.
No one is saying that everything should disappear, right? Just that China is much more successful than us with green technology because we have regulated ourselves into oblivion.
Now the balance is also about war or not, so much is at stake here.
Then Germany also gave away the solar cell industry to China due to short-term greed and naivety. It’s not all the politicians’ fault. Quite a lot is also due to the incompetence of industry leaders.
After 2039, no emission allowances will be released in the EU. All fossil-based steel production within the EU must cease by then at the latest.
China’s successes probably do not depend to any great extent on our environmental regulations.
Huge population, cheap labor, good access to raw materials, and a state that invests huge sums of money in the development projects and companies they believe can give them advantages in the long run.
Add the school system and children’s and parents’ ambitions. Their school is a big plus for them.
Ny kinesisk metod, baserad på amerikansk grundforskning, för framställning av järn från lågvärdig järnmalm. Som går 3600 gånger fortare än nuvarande metod och som inte kräver väte för att reducera järnet. H2Green steel… Hybrit… eller för den delen LKABs högvärdiga järnmalm. 🥵
Additionally, by eliminating the need for coal entirely, it would help the steel industry achieve the goal of near-zero carbon dioxide emissions.
We have indeed come a long way in environmental work already, so it would probably be good to pause regulations and subsidies for a while at least. Regarding electricity prices, we now have, at least here in Finland, so much wind power that we have electricity prices that vary wildly from hour to hour. When it’s windy, there are negative prices, which is unprofitable for all types of power generation, and when it’s calm, it can cost 50 cents per kWh. Wind farms that have not sold their electricity for the next 10 years at a certain price have a very narrow profitability window. I guess that in about 10 years, approximately 1/3 of the wind turbines will be gone. Additionally, the large share of wind power reduces the inertia in the grid, so sometimes the grid operator has to limit wind power production in certain parts of the country.
Tänk att han också var Republican? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t5QK03KXPc
And so the trade war has begun, many big elephants are responding proportionally.
The USA also used internet domains for the tariffs, not countries – that’s why lots of small uninhabited islands are included 😳
It will be messy for a while longer, I don’t think anything beautiful awaits the Trumpet once the gun smoke has settled.
No, I agree:
Other countries get a common enemy and it will accelerate good trade agreements between them. India-EU is a good example.
Countries we would like to keep in check, like Turkey and China, get a little respite (which is bad, but also bad for the USA).
Supply chains are reconfigured and exclude the USA – this is not something that necessarily will be restored even if the tariffs are lifted.
Consumers worldwide start to dislike the USA, and there is nothing politicians can do about it even if they want to. Well-organized consumer power can, for example, strike against one company at a time where, of course, Tesla stands at the forefront.
European countries will have an independent military force and slip out of the grip of the USA.
The only thing that can go wrong is if European leaders buy into the narrative that we are so worthless and the USA is so fantastic that we must kneel down and make sacrifices to Trump to get some tariff relief.
Yes, the USA probably won’t be able to do a rebranding anytime soon, it’s like they’ve entered a cult and left the free world’s relationships to isolate and distance themselves… waco feeling.
I thought I saw that Trump’s tough stance against the Houthis in Yemen has had an effect and made Iran leave Yemen. They do not want to end up in conflict with the Americans. Source: Telegraph UK.
If you want to read for free, Times of Israel has picked it up: https://www.timesofisrael.com/report-iran-pulling-forces-out-of-yemen-amid-intensive-us-airstrikes-on-houthis/
According to the official, Iran’s pullback from Yemen was designed to avoid the possibility of escalation if an Iranian soldier is killed in US airstrikes there.
Tehran is focusing its efforts instead on how to respond to Trump and his litany of threats, and “none of the regional groups we previously supported are being discussed,” the official said.
It is also said that now that Hezbollah has been thinned out and Assad is gone, it is harder for Iran to operate in Yemen.
The Russian trolls on Twitter have been mocked a lot, claiming they are dependent on “Copium” when they try to highlight how well they are doing. I think it’s the USA’s turn now.
https://bsky.app/profile/maxberger.bsky.social/post/3llyj6ebodc23
China would probably respond with equivalent tariffs of 34%. It will be interesting to see what the EU decides.
Even the small countries are upset.
😄
😄
I’m sorry, but I can’t access external links. Please provide the text you would like me to translate directly.
😄
At least Trump has given us some laughs.
Yes, there is an archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean called Kerguelen, which belongs to Australia. Only penguins and walruses live there. They are not affected by any tariffs. However, the islands may still need to be mentioned when it comes to countries and trade.
I’m kicking off the Friday party early now, but I feel like the atmosphere here calls for this version of the US national anthem: https://youtu.be/Fw6OzhkFngo?feature=shared
VERY good initiative 1337 – that’s exactly how you earn gold stars in this thread 👍
Otherwise, we have this classic. But it’s obviously too good. But as a little warm-up for Friday’s binge maybe.
https://youtu.be/iObEwUtVJj8
In times like these, this classic is of course relevant.
https://youtu.be/V7TxGJyfeXk?si=NLooKsa7aI8dWDU-
“Machine gun”
Ah, Hendrix!
This one can symbolize the relationship with the USA right now. 😄
https://youtu.be/0MCCvY2oD2w?si=bFoCcwV1grBLyh2n
One can hope.
Honestly, I doubt that this will be good for the USA (either absolutely or relatively).
A Friday joke.
😄
😆
😂
An interesting explanation of Trump’s trade war and what he aims to achieve.
https://youtu.be/1ts5wJ6OfzA?si=Qevm9H-YTy4c8Aka
I think this is a multi-stage rocket.
We have seen stage 1.
Iran is part of this.
Then comes a big tax cut for workers and the middle class.
And of course, RU’s attack on Europe.
Starting to lean towards that it won’t work because when countries like China and Japan become buddies, EVERYTHING is changed – that unforeseen thing that always happens
Hmmm. Yes, traditions and virtues should not be underestimated. It can unite Japan, Korea, and China. A bit old school. I like Asia, I must say. The drive that is now present in Asia is what we had in Europe and the USA for a while too. But now we have concerns.
We had the drive when we saw that what we were doing gave us a better life, and welfare. When we have reached a standard we are satisfied with, that drive diminishes, we become content. Regaining that drive is not so easy, we must be motivated, not regulated. Now that our economic security is threatened from the west, and personal security is threatened from the east, there is probably enough motivation.
Iran is part of the plan for Israel and Saudi, there can never be peace as long as Iran exists with the current regime.
Iran retreats from Yemen as the USA strikes hard against the Houthis. Leaving the Houthis alone in the country. Iran is weak now. We will see how tough the Houthis are in the coming one or two weeks.
Trump is super pleased that 228,000 new jobs were created in March, far above the estimate of 134,000.
It’s already working, he says.
(The fact that unemployment increased from 4.1 to 4.2%, which would mean that almost 400,000 people lost their jobs, is not that important.)
I suspect that Trump’s trade policy has already cost the world more money than all environmental measures combined, and the latter have still been beneficial and probably saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Sorry, upcoming possible post tonight will be more inspired by Friday night drinking. 😄
When things are not going so well!
https://youtube.com/shorts/cX5Ctm_XbUk?si=2q-l6joS6vvKKk7H
Bohlin responds, or however you usually say it.
https://x.com/CarlOskar/status/1907521344671248720?t=lDbDjQlIO_Vygp3eTo3Ahw&s=19
“Tariff memes are the hottest thing right now, so post your favorites👇🏻”
https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1907759698171846783?t=A60_92RPu8xvSZkyaFvnyw&s=19
Where are the dog videos?
Today there will be penguins!
Have searched a bit. Not as fun as dogs.
Of course!
Penguins at your service!
https://youtube.com/shorts/L2Bb5dBb9Fg?si=BJdp91h88d6_6Ac_
https://youtube.com/shorts/AnAvzWDRH_A?si=jyzP95NoC86kflQR
https://youtu.be/Tcx6YyXvvRI?si=kKWsekfqepyWB187
They are resilient, you have to admit! Trump better watch out.
Pingouins!
Friday drinks and I still keep humming The Gambler that got stuck in my head after the “you don’t have the cards” encounter. And it actually has a pretty good message after all…
https://youtu.be/7hx4gdlfamo?si=Tr80HuCd0GROmnIs
👍 Sounds a bit like what Trump is up to right now, with the whole world as a poker table and stakes higher than any poker player has ever dreamed of!
F*ck, I downed a glass of wine and completely forgot about Trump. But he’s still around, and Congress has started working on a law that will significantly limit the president’s ability to impose tariffs. This is going to be the year of popcorn!
Cheers 😆 🍷!
Cheers!
I have shared some videos of penguins where they appear as clumsy, clumsy figures that one can laugh at. I compensate for that with this video of a penguin who has probably achieved higher ranks in the military than all of you! 🫡
Sir Nils Olav promoted to Brigadier by Norwegian King’s Guard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq-6wUWffkA
“For those wondering what’s going on: The penguin colony in Edinburgh Zoo was originally established with eggs given by Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen, most known for being the first person to reach the South Pole. In honor of his memory, the Norwegian Royal Guard decided to adopt one of the penguins as the company’s mascot, and later, in the 1960s, they began the tradition of promoting him up a rank every time the Royal Guards attended the military festival in Edinburgh. Since penguins don’t live that long, his name and rank are inherited by his oldest child, and after many years and many visits, Nils Olav finally became a knight and general.”
Traditions and humor are not lacking among our friends in the United Kingdom. Absolutely wonderful!
Slår ju geten Gustav who probably only became a lieutenant. But he had style!
Perkele!!! Into the FridayFylla (TM)… what the hell am I going to do??!! Aaaaahrrrrghhhh!! ….
Drinks? Nah, did that last week… Dogs? Sure…. how about cats?? hmmm….
Maybe I should tell about my bloody adventure last week…. I slipped with the knife and drove it into my thumb…. Well, that wasn’t too bad…?
Blood splattered here and there… wrapped my hand and stuck the cut in a piece of bark and walked home. Washed and took care of it and put on a little bandage. But at least I got half a grocery bag of bark.
;D
Never say never to näver!
Spectacular lightning strikes
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_w3DI1BCmds
This is so cute that you fall over!!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RstB0v5yOu4
Lucky you sat down! 👍
😍
❤️
Russians call it Baba Yaga—the nightmare that hunts them from above. Watch the Vampire drone team near Pokrovsk in action ⬇️
https://bsky.app/profile/united24media.com/post/3llz2ru7vtj2h
👹👊
Maybe not exactly cozy Friday night… but considering what may lie ahead, it’s probably good to know what you’re doing… (ok, it may be a bit exaggerated, but that’s okay. They’re quite alright anyway.)
Medical Every Civilian Should Know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMwQdnKfOCI
Stop Bleeding – Save Lives | PrepMedic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhOyXTm9XwY
After seeing that, one probably needs to digest the impressions and contemplate it all while listening to:
https://youtu.be/W0uinr8IyhY?si=h3kqU0HmwGat6zVj
Mr Johan seems to have watched the Netflix documentary about the Cold War, just like someone else. Has fallen asleep to it a couple of times but I’m planning to get through it. It was the Potemkin tradition that Cornu described when the Americans were convinced of thousands of Soviet nuclear weapons when in fact there were only 4. The same with the facade “inexhaustible war machine, ready to suffer more than anyone else” that the Russians are trying to build up today.
I have seen and read a lot about the Cold War recently 😀
That documentary was actually really good.
Yes, a bit tipsy into FRIDAY DRINKING but we had the final bid meeting – not like all the others and the bidder threatened with a lawyer a bit too early in the project in my opinion but it was a good lunch, Italian. Italians really like marinated artichokes.
It seems lively in here with a few hundred thousand coming in before IT closed the gate – welcome to those with the most luck today.
If I was lower class yesterday, it’s even worse today because the dollar is dying right now 😭
But a few dog videos always cheer up the mood 🤣🤣
And this one, oh my god what a fun movie 😂😂
And I also think this is a very good question, clever
Ending with a knife dog – they exist 😶
See it as a kind of knowledge test.
If you can’t manage to check the links anyway, maybe you weren’t worthy of seeing the knife dogs twice?
It was a test – you passed the test 😶
Nice! For a moment, I wondered if it was the other way around, a test to see who could create coherent links.👍
Vafan avhuggna länkar igen 😶
Fucking broken links again 😶
Here it was full speed ahead ✊✊
Those who miss this epic party will cry for weeks.
Yes, I’m already crying! 🫠
Eeeyh… is FredagsFylla(TM) already over?? ;(
No, no, it has only reached the introverted stage when you start questioning yourself and everyone else at the same time as insights about how everything is, emerge, and you don’t know who has eaten as much of the same kind of mushroom as yourself, for them to understand what you mean because suddenly everything turns black.
Yes, so when you have reached the same nirvana as Trump.