There is a lot of economics now and crashing countries economically is also warfare, but let’s start with Ukraine.
We have two ongoing events, the first is that Europe is negotiating to send a “peacekeeping force” to Ukraine, which presumably is not as it sounds. They will probably take up defensive positions along the border with Belarus, maybe also on the northern front if they feel daring?
Then there will probably be an air defense which ultimately provides missile defense over western Ukraine.
Support functions – perhaps armored vehicles, headquarters, supply units, workshops?
The purpose is peacekeeping, but first in the long run, now they want to release as many UA units as possible for the upcoming offensive – it is the only realistic way for UA to regain its country.
Ukraine knows this, and by now, we in Europe should also know it?
We know that Ukraine wants to continue fighting because Trump leaked it.
The technological advantage is not in 2026 this year (even though I think China should have already provided Russia with newer drone technology, so it’s interesting that they haven’t…).
If you watch this movie, you will understand that everything is not going well with RU now – very expensive cutting-edge aircraft dropping dumb bombs right on target.
IF it is in the near future 🧐
Does this mean that Ukraine is right when they say they are disrupting FAB now?
(the account is serious, and he has not backed down on it yet).
https://twitter.com/osintwarfare/status/1908535892299374816?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
The second is that RU is advancing in some areas. Kursk was obviously given up because Trump would never give it any value in negotiations, and then the losses served no purpose. It was originally a declared political offensive to provide bargaining chips. The fact that they left days before Trump’s important negotiation in Russia says it all in my opinion.
Oskil has been crossed north of Kupiansk in several places, Toretsk is RU again, and on the Southern front, the Russian bastards have started moving.
Now it seems that the negotiations have collapsed anyway, and Ukraine is attacking across the border in other places instead.
IF there had been no influence from Trump, Ukraine SHOULD have held Kursk to tie up all the units there and then open several new attack vectors across the border on the northern front. The North Koreans have not arrived yet, and almost all Russian troops were tied up around Kursk.
THEN the pressure would have eased on Kursk when RU, in panic, had to send brigades surrounding Kursk to all the other attack vectors instead, which began to spread like sun rays across the border.
With a lot of pressure from the USA and in a situation where UA did not feel that THEY wanted to be seen as the ones who crashed everything (Zelensky has repeatedly said, by the way) – which was what Trump projected. They are also just guessing like us, and today we can probably assume with a fair amount of certainty that Trump rigged everything in favor of Russia so that what Ukraine did did not give them any advantages with Trump/USA – which they hoped for at the time.
Very low, even for Trump, but we also have a reality to deal with.
There are low-hanging fruits and then there are less low-hanging ones – if one does not believe in the above after the USA completely prohibited Ukraine from carrying out offensives into Russia earlier, it does not follow a consistent line because the probability is extremely high that Trump did it – maintaining the formal line of Biden and the USA they had throughout the entire war.
The latest UA offensive INSIDE the Kursk bulge was not smart; they would have had a greater impact if they had opened several other attack vectors into Russia. I guess it was not relevant just before the peace negotiations, and Trump has straightened it out for Ukraine?
Ukraine absolutely has the equipment and ammunition to carry out an offensive, and they could have kept RU increasingly busy up on the northern front with more and more bulges.
The door to the northern front closes when the NK 11th Army corps arrives in full force, which it has not done yet. The calmer it gets, the greater the risk that it will, which is a reasonable assumption.
According to previous reports, UA has now neutralized FAB, they have drone superiority, and effectively disrupt RU with EW. And they have a 40km wide wet blanket over RU.
Russian artillery on the way to the front 😶
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1908575828335608137?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
Today is the season of mud, and there are several videos about RU units receiving maintenance with small FPV drones because nothing gets through.
https://twitter.com/pstyle0ne1/status/1908639960523301055?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
UA can effectively isolate RU units in an area and then eliminate them, where the mechanical failure mostly becomes a cleanup operation.
The most important thing is to constantly move this forward, and the result will be the same – reaching a point where RU cannot defend itself better.
In 2024, as we learned in the NYT article, Zelensky ordered Zalizhny to retake all of Ukraine, so you can guess what they are planning, right? 😁
According to their own statement, they do not have the slightest shortage of drones produced in millions annually, and RU now takes closer to 80-85% of the losses from drone weapons.
UA has also carried out offensive operations from a numerical disadvantage as a rule – something to think about when many believe that we, who are much better than Ukraine according to many, needed a 3:1 numerical advantage for our armored infantry attacks.
Instead of capturing terrain ahead, they fight the troops in the area, and the daily losses hopefully remain high for RU – at some point, it will break.
It is also the elite forces that are disproportionately depleted, which means that you cannot compare with a total figure of RU numerical strength in Ukraine.
And those mobilized since November 2024 have not believed that they need to fight – they hoped for peace and signed up for the bonus.
I am pretty sure that Trump’s seemingly random violent actions are a multi-step rocket where Iran is one step, and a Russian offensive in the Baltics and Svalbard another.
Iran will lead to high oil prices that will hit Europe the hardest, as they have cut ties to Russia – and now we will probably have sky-high tariffs on oil bought from the USA?
Then a Russian attack on the Baltics (the southeastern corner of Estonia) will increase the risk, which could lead to crisis interest rates with a bit of luck (or bad luck)?
Then Trump probably intends to lower taxes for low and middle-income earners in the USA because that is the easiest way to buy peace when the masses start getting upset – bread. After all, he plans to stay in power for 4 years.
I already see several strong countries beginning to align against the USA, and the EU is a VERY attractive option for everyone to try to negotiate trade deals with – it would almost be a disservice for the EU to miss this open goal of taking over from the USA, I think.
Trump is playing high risk and the USA might fail with this – which should then mean that he is TRYING to rig this as well with serious market manipulation in the form of Iranian and Russian influence. One would reasonably not take such a risk without trying to secure some extra guarantees for its success, right?
The question is mostly WHEN Trump threatens with war if Europe doesn’t buy American products, or withdraws all American troops.
I personally feel anxious as my salary in dollars is decreasing and nothing the USA does is good for Ukraine or Europe, but dismissing everything by saying Trump is insane is taking the easy way out, I believe – then one hasn’t read the history of the USA and their relationship with Europe.
China has recently conducted a rather violent exercise against Taiwan and has built its mulberry ports, but they are also in a full trade war with the USA and cooperate with archenemies Japan and South Korea on that.
If they can improve their relationship with the EU through soft means and give the USA a pinch, maybe that will be enough for them?
Overregulation doesn’t have a huge impact on the current conflict, but I just want to point out that the EU has introduced 13,000 new laws and regulations just in the last five years – it’s not very difficult to understand that our companies have lost competitiveness against the USA and China, right?
Then the next major Swedish societal gain, fossil-free steel, is only competitive provided that legislation is enacted around it. Below is the only advantage I could find on Google –
“11. Why should I buy fossil-free steel? An investment in fossil-free steel adds value to your company by eliminating the carbon footprint in the steel part of your value chain.”
Here is SSAB’s own pitch – only the fossil-free aspect is the selling point.
https://www.ssab.com/sv-se/fossilfri/faq-svar-pa-de-stora-fragorna
This means that our fossil-free and 20% more expensive steel will only be able to be sold in the EU, where we can legislate on its value, right?
Then one must be very careful because apparently steel production requires more electricity than regular steel, so one must locate factories where we have renewable energy, or else the whole idea goes up in smoke.
We have most of the steelworks in Bergslagen – those located in SE3, we cannot be sure if they are renewable, especially if the steel is produced during winter on a windless day 🧐
If they are relocated further north, longer transports are added,
I think this is a great example of why things are going better for China and the USA than for us, because we come up with business ideas that need legislation to function.
Then Stegra is not far from bankruptcy either, and no one will ever talk about fossil-free steel again after that – I bet a month’s salary on it. And another one on Stegra going bankrupt.
When I worked at a certain technical office in a certain larger city, the pressure was always on to find environmentally friendly materials. The slightly more experienced ones in construction avoid new things like the plague because they know which materials work as they have seen their performance over time.
I was calling suppliers of wooden bridge constructions that promised 80 years, and at the same time, the municipality had wooden bridges that had rotted in less than 10 years. Norway has fared better as they have treated the wood with something we are not allowed to use, but cost and safety were secondary to environmentally friendly materials, and old civil engineers who refused were considered backward and not deserving respect by young 20-somethings who knew what was important.
That larger wooden bridge constructions have collapsed in Norway with many fatalities, they were not aware of, of course – wood has a tendency to collapse suddenly, and since bridges are often built over water, they are in the worst possible place for their durability.
Hot tip for buyers – never trust manufacturers’ promises unless they also provide a guarantee for the promised time, but they never do.
I still believe that what will determine if we enter a global conflict is how China chooses to act – I have said it before and I stand by it.
Can Sweden be affected by this trade war? – we have had Northvolt, Stegra is coming, we have an export-dependent economy, almost 10% unemployment, high inflation leading to higher costs in everything, and then the housing market.
A majority of wind power companies also seem to have profitability issues, up to companies operating at a loss, and loans of over +150 billion SEK, right?
The municipalities that have heavily invested in various collaborations with wind power companies, Northvolt, Stegra, and what else, will then face a blow and surely have loans as well?
The indebtedness of mortgage borrowers has always been high in Sweden compared internationally, and housing prices are as usual sky-high in the area I have as a reference.
Do we actually have stagflation in Sweden now – where inflation (not the adjusted one) is far above growth and wage increases?
I don’t know which way interest rates are heading, but it wasn’t many years ago when people had loans with a few years’ terms at 1% interest, and now the three-month rate is at 3%.
Could financial risk increase in terms of bank interest rates here, or will they decrease in a crisis?
I remember 2008 when the PIIGS countries faced crisis interest rates of 25% while everything crashed, and the world lowered interest rates. The banks’ borrowing is a factor, and if it moves in terms of risk as it did for the PIIGS, the central bank can’t do anything else but watch.
And a Russian attack into the Baltics could be seen as such a risk – because just as we are trying to economically weaken Russia so they get tired of fighting in Ukraine, they are trying to economically weaken us so we get tired of supporting Ukraine.
The only way to prevent Russian escalation is if UA gets to RU this spring and summer, otherwise they will move into the Baltics, and maybe Svalbard – this is seen as likely by all serious assessors, and you will see troop movements and increased readiness around Europe.
By the way, Sweden has already raised its preparedness, right?
Ukraine has been in close contact with our leaders in Europe, and if we have an ounce of self-preservation, we will do everything to give UA the chance to strike at Russia in this round of offensive attempts.
Because if Russia’s part in the escalation fails, the USA will also fail – all steps are necessary.
If the EU does not face higher financial risk, we will appear as a very attractive alternative for most countries in the world now that the USA is cutting ties with everyone in a full trade war.
Their game only works if the EU appears as a higher risk than the USA – maybe it’s a bit of Trump’s thing with the highest possible stake, but then the probability of a positive outcome for us is also higher, I think.
Now Trump may have gone out far in his rants and told everyone that the trade war was coming, but no one dares to position themselves considering how he is all over the place. But… those who have acted on his direct insider information and shorted the market have a free pass because it was widely announced well in advance – it would be fun to see who took large short positions in time for this.
It would also be quite pleasant if the USA joins Russia and crashes so the EU can be on top of the pyramid for centuries to come – just like we’ve been saying for a long time now that the USA is not your friend, just like the bank, and at least my colleague from Peru would drink himself silly for two weeks if the USA faceplanted.
It has not escaped me that those responsible for this round of escalation in the world that everyone will suffer from are the USA and Trump, not Russia, China, or any other country.
If you liked the post, feel free to share it on your channels,
If you want a fun comment section – johanno1.se. The comments are of high quality, I can promise you – you learn something new every day.
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 work 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!
NOTE: Those of you who do NOT want to allow automatic translation of your comments, please go to your profile page and set it.
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!
1290 KWIA
5 Tanks
14 APVs
43 Artillery systems
3 MLRS
2 Anti-aircraft systems
43 UAVs
107 Vehicles & Fuel tanks
2 Special equipment
Glory to Ukraine!
The artillery continues high, and above all 3 MLRS 🧐
Update as of 08.00 08.04.2025 on the Russian invasion
In total, 159 ↘️ combat engagements were recorded over the past day.
#Kharkiv 4
#Kupyansk 4
#Lyman 21💥
#Siverskyi 3
#Kramatorsk 3
#Toretsk 23💥
#Pokrovsk 52💥💥💥
#Novopavlivka 12↗️💥
#Huliaipol 2
#Orikhivsk 8↗️
#Kursk 21↘️💥
In the Lyman sector, the AFRF🇷🇺 attacked 21 times. They tried to advance near Nadiya, Yampolivka, Torske and towards Novoplatonivka, Novomykhailivka, Hrekivka, Ridkodub, Olhivka, Zelena Dolyna and Novyi.
In the Toretsk sector, the AFRF🇷🇺 made 23 attacks near Dachne, Shcherbynivka, Ozaryanivka and Toretsk.
In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces stopped 52 Russian offensives in the areas of Kalynove, Lysivka, Oleksandropil, Tarasivka, Yelyzavetivka, Udachne, Uspenivka, Preobrazhenka, Andriivka, Kotlyne, as well as in the directions of Kotlyarivka, Malynivka and Serhiivka.
In the Novopavlivka sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 12 attacks on Ukrainian positions in the direction of Bahatyry and near Kostiantynopil, Rozlyv and Skudne.
In the Orikhivsk sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully repelled eight Russian attacks in the vicinity of Mali Shcherbaki, Stepove and Shcherbaki.
In the operational zone in Kursk region, Ukrainian Defense Forces units repelled 21 attacks by Russian invaders over the past day. In addition, the enemy launched five air strikes using nine guided bombs, and carried out 278 artillery attacks on the positions of our troops and settlements, including one using multiple rocket launchers.
Over the past day, Ukrainian aviation, missile troops and artillery struck 17 areas of concentration of personnel and equipment, one control center and a radar station of the Russian invaders’ Buk anti-aircraft missile system.
👍
Nice post 205 – almost post-length with nice pictures 😀
The Ukrainian Defense Forces pushed back the AFRF🇷🇺 in Shevchenko, #Pokrovsk.
https://deepstatemap.live/en#14/48.2233327/37.1481607
10:02 PM April 7, 2025 DeepStateMap
👍
Thank you MatsExtrude and 205 for the daily update 👍🏻.
Thank you, and thank you for your comments! 👍
Thank you Johanno1, it’s a bit too exciting right now. I’m pretty sure that Trump wants to put an end to free trade and replace it with mercantilism on a bilateral basis. That has been his hobbyhorse for like 40 years.
It doesn’t show that Trump is crazy, just that he doesn’t understand how value creation works in global trade.
The USA has always balanced between on the one hand participating in trade and politics at a global level and on the other hand isolationism.
Sweeping tariffs against the whole world were introduced in the 30s with basically the same justifications that Trump is using now, so what’s happening is that the GOP has given a free pass to someone who simply wants to dismantle world trade and doesn’t understand the damage he is causing to the USA. Sad for everyone but saddest for the USA, is my guess.
There is actually an immediate upside here, and that is the Russian economy. Their budget (including deficits they can’t influence) was based on Brent at a minimum of 69 USD (from memory but the exact number is actually irrelevant) but already now it has reached such low levels that the Moscow empire is losing money on every barrel they produce. And yesterday, the state simply confiscated the oil port in St. Petersburg to reduce costs as much as possible.
A race they can’t win with their plantation economy.
Interesting about Russia, Bernt, and St. Petersburg!
Plantation economy is a good term. Thank you for that!
Plant economics! 😂
The concept is losing money. In this case, on oil. It’s not crystal clear.
If we look at it from a cash flow perspective, it’s a long way to negative if they get USD 50 per barrel for their own oil. I believe I have understood that’s where it lies.
Of course, it’s also good that the income is dropping significantly.
Agree. There have been some who have tried to count during the war. Someone argues that they break even at 50, someone else that it must go down to 25-30. I myself probably believe more in the latter for them to really start making a loss, but of course it depends on how you count.
In the long run, it may perhaps be needed around 50 when facilities and logistics need to be maintained, new wells need to be drilled, etc.
One thing is clear though, and that is that Brent now seems to be below their lowest estimate to meet their budget (which was not balanced from the beginning). Then I agree, losing on that must be put into perspective with something 👍🏻.
RU has been hit by falling oil prices and now a falling Yuan, both of which are bad for them – a good side effect.
Interesting in this context that you here give Trump credit for having a plan, according to the self-proclaimed oracle MXT who roams around here and all sorts of others claim that Trump doesn’t have a plan at all.
The USA had its very best years during the Cold War, right.
Either it ends here and then the USA has carried out a completely separate BREXIT that only affected them.
Or these are the first steps where they are trying to provoke China, and Russia will gradually contribute against Europe.
The FED says they are waiting and watching right now, probably they are also waiting for Trump’s next outburst, whatever it may be.
mercantilism on a bilateral basis – Trump has just told Vietnam to go to hell with a proposal for zero tariffs and he has done the same with the EU + trying to portray the EU as the best of schoolyard bullies 🤣
Right now, he’s not even doing what you think he intends to do at all – so what is he trying to do?
What we went completely crazy about with Ukraine, he is now doing to the whole world and China has just picked up the gauntlet and is hitting back hard here.
It’s no secret at all that the USA is considering taking down China and with this escalation, most things can probably happen in the future.
Who will blink first, China or the USA?
“the self-proclaimed oracle MXT who is wreaking havoc around here” 😂
Good post today!
BUT of course, I can’t resist commenting on something that is actually off-topic. 😄
Statistics showed that painters were much more affected by decreased lung capacity, lung cancer, irritated eyes, and various forms of allergies and eczema compared to others. Some research was needed even though it was probably suspected from the beginning that solvents were the culprit. Pressure was therefore put on manufacturers to phase out the dangerous solvents. The first water-based paints were expensive (development costs money) and they also didn’t measure up as they easily cracked and didn’t have the same durability.
Everyone (except the painters) was furious and wanted to get rid of the crap, the old paints were so much better! Today, we have largely eliminated all dangerous solvents, and painters no longer have to die prematurely or suffer from reduced quality of life. It cost a lot, but today water-based paints are not more expensive than the other paints were before.
Leaded gasoline was an excellent technical solution as fuel for our cars. The problem is that lead is significantly more harmful than most people understood. (You, me, and everyone else have more or less reduced brain capacity due to lead in gasoline, and huge numbers of people have died prematurely).
Naturally, the fuel companies fought against it, and there are still countries that have not yet banned leaded gasoline despite the damages being known since the 1920s. This is partly because the company that produced lead additives made a lot of money, but of course also because it was a cheap solution for everyone. Getting rid of the lead in gasoline would lead to significant costs for refineries and engine manufacturers who would have to find new technical solutions. Despite their power and lobbying, countries around the world started banning lead in gasoline far too late from 1986 onwards. Initially, it was difficult to achieve sustainable technical solutions with maintained engine performance without wear and tear, but it was solved when they were finally forced to do so. (Regarding lead in gasoline, please see: “The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV3dnLzthDA&t=2s)
While we’re on the subject of cars. It’s not just lead that is harmful in exhaust fumes, and when the catalytic converter proved to work well, it became mandatory for new cars. Outcry among everyone, what nonsense, now the cars would be 5-6,000 SEK more expensive!
Next time you’re stuck in traffic in Stockholm, feel free to fantasize and long for the time without unleaded gasoline and catalytic converters. I almost start coughing just thinking about it myself.
What I want to say? Development costs, takes time, and sometimes goes wrong, but the legal requirements are designed to make life better for the population. Certainly, some measures can go awry at times and be inconsistent, etc., but rules are not introduced just to annoy people.
Pure capitalism without any form of government regulation and where companies’ profits are the most important does not lead to a better world. We would still have had leaded gasoline, freon, and other problems if we had that kind of society. Companies are not innovative until they are forced to be for various reasons.
Purely conservative thinking where everything should ideally remain as it has always been is just as bad and does not lead us forward either. Moreover, that ideal is fluid, those who think everything was better in the past are influenced by the time they live in, so which time is actually the best?
It costs to evolve, but in the end, it (mostly) leads to something better. If we refrain from moving forward due to occasional failures, we are doing exactly what environmentalists did after Three Mile Island. They wanted to stop everything related to nuclear power.
Fossil-free steel is fundamentally a good idea; if one doesn’t think so, they don’t realize that we have a problem with our climate. Besides, the fact that it consumes a lot of electricity is probably an advantage; it puts pressure on us to solve the electricity supply (where nuclear power is part of that fossil-free electricity). 😄
It might not succeed today, but sooner or later, we will move towards more and more fossil-free solutions.
It’s certainly sad that a wooden bridge collapsed, but there are plenty of examples of bridges not made of wood that have also collapsed, and they haven’t stopped building bridges with those materials because of it. Norway has not abandoned wood, and the collapse was more likely due to design flaws and poor maintenance rather than it being built in wood.
There are examples of really old wooden bridges, like the Chapel Bridge in Switzerland from 1333, Blair Bridge in the USA from 1829, and Holzbrücke Bad Säckingen, Germany-Switzerland from the 18th century.
Wooden and stone bridges are among the oldest types of bridges, and many were horrified by steel and concrete bridges when they started becoming fashionable, and now that wooden bridges are being built again, people are horrified by that.
What can be said about conservatives is that they do actually renew themselves, it’s just that they are always a generation behind! 😉
OT? Not when a yellow wall meets a blue wall 🇺🇦..
Otherwise, I think DenGamle will continue to ground with Blymöenja. He will not be deterred by any health risks.
👍😂 Lead ore keeps you young and beautiful for millennia!
Basic, you mean like getting drunk? Damn, he’s young and handsome! 😀
Otherwise, he can always try flirting with the neighbor’s wife and see what happens……
(No, you shouldn’t write like that, but now I did it!)
Good thing you’re not a civilian employer, one might say 😀
I’m just a former crappy construction engineer so I have no clue at all! 😂
😶
Thank you for excellent examples that show the importance of regulations and how human ingenuity always leads to new alternatives, as long as the product in question is needed. When it comes to carbon-free steel, the cost of producing it in Europe will be neutral compared to importing coal-produced steel. This is due to the EU’s carbon dioxide tariffs Cbam (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) which add a price for the carbon emissions of the coal-produced steel. A smart and elegant way to price the damage production causes to our common environment.
However, a certain orange-colored person is unlikely to follow the reasoning all the way…
“Despite the ongoing war, energy, construction and industrial manufacturing are among the most attractive sectors for foreign investors in Ukraine.”
“Svenska försvarsföretaget SAAB för diskussioner med 🇨🇦Kanada och 🇵🇹Portugal om potentiella köp av Gripen-stridsflygplan”
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3lmbxumyyhk2n
https://www.di.se/nyheter/jatteorder-hagrar-for-saab/
Nice 👌🏻🌟!
The Gripen will probably make it onto the export lists if they can just get around US obstacles – it is an excellent aircraft.
😂
“Elon Musk försökte bevisa live att han kunde spela PoE 2, men förlorade mot första bossen och stängde av strömmen… 👀 I chatten blev han rekommenderad att ta hand om sina barn och inte göra bort sig.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lmbxbzuklk2c
There is something more behind this – on a personal level, he is suffering from going from acclaimed to hated. He doesn’t understand what has happened.
Now he is also getting kicked out of the White House.
I think we will see a huge mental breakdown from our friend Elon pretty soon, he will not be able to handle this.
It’s called instant karma.
“Ukrainian fighter, using what are likely 🇺🇸American GBU-39 guided bombs, destroys houses with 🇷🇺Russian infantry inside in the Kursk direction.”
“Almost 70 countries have approached Washington to negotiate tariffs. These countries want to help restore balance to global trade,” — US Treasury Secretary Bessent”
Bessent is upset that Trump tells them all to go to hell or tries to mend things.
“Over natten fortsatte Georgiens goda folk att motstå Rysslands övertagande av deras regering, nu in på den 131:a på varandra följande dagen av protester. Tbilisi.”
Musk is not dumber than to realize that this will hit hard against his own company (and all subcontractors) because what his company manufactures is far from 100% Made in USA.
Musk made direct appeals to Trump to reverse sweeping new tariffs
The world’s richest person, a key Trump adviser and political donor, was ultimately unsuccessful.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/04/07/musk-trump-tariffs/
I have said that Musk is out of the game before the end of the year, now I am starting to agree with others who say before the summer.
Trump made sure that Cybertrucks were ordered for 400 million USD, he also replaced another supplier with Starlink and he has also done what he could to market Tesla.
Trump probably feels that he has given back enough to Musk as a thank you for the support he received during the election campaign.
A business that has now become a loss for Tesla due to the tariffs?
👍🏻 seems reasonable.
Musk is already on his way out of the White House.
Then he starts to feel like the planet’s second most hated person 🤣🤣
“Zaluzhnyi about secret HQ in Wiesbaden”
“Estonia’s parliament plans to allow its armed forces to sink ships that threaten undersea cables”
Time now ✊
I am eagerly awaiting the first drop!
“Ukrainian Air Defence shot down: ▪️40/46 UAVs, including 9 were shot down and 31 were suppressed by EW.”
“Ukrainas flygvapen genomförde skickligt tre flyganfall mot byggnader i Goptarivka, Kursk-regionen, där ryska trupper var koncentrerade. I slutet av videon kan du tydligt se dem försöka rensa rasmassorna—letar efter överlevande.”
Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago he said he would reduce military spending by 8%?
“Trump announces record $1 trillion Pentagon budget: “$1 trillion, and nobody’s seen anything like it. We have to build our military and we’re very cost conscious. But the military is something that we have to build, and we have to be strong, because you got a lot of bad forces out there now.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lmbwb5chgs2c
He probably meant including adjusted dollar value 😁.
I believe that different parts of the military were simply tasked with saving, mostly on administration, and that the money would go towards military capacity instead.
“As a result of a UAV attack on the Russian 🇷🇺Shaykovka airfield on March 31, 2025, a number of missiles, a technical room for missile maintenance and preparation were destroyed, and another room was damaged by debris — Kiberboroshno”
“Unlike Victoria, all our land has always been and will always remain Ukrainian.” — MFA spokesman Tykhyi responds to Rep. Victoria Spartz, who suggested Ukraine should cede territory to Russia to end the war.”
“Musk has made a direct appeal to Trump to repeal the radical new tariffs, but his attempt to intervene has so far been unsuccessful. The new tariffs hit the billionaire hard, – WP”
Tricky this. Elon Musk is an innovator and entrepreneur, in other words, a rare bird in the political jungle. And of course, the drop in Tesla is irritating. However, I don’t think he worries excessively about the economy, which was evident in the dealings around Twitter/X where he prioritized freedom of speech over profit.
I myself do not believe in the idea that he “prioritized freedom of speech” but rather realized the benefit of having full control over his own propaganda channel, he has used Twitter to help Trump win the election.
Don’t believe in that theory. He embarrassed himself, overpaid for Twitter, and wanted to justify it with a higher purpose. In real money, Musk is still the world’s overwhelmingly richest person after Tesla’s dive, with the equivalent of 3043 billion Swedish kronor. In fact, in China, the Tesla Model Y has been the best-selling car for the past two years. But he will be out of politics in a few months, closely followed by Trump if tariffs crash life for the average Joe.
If you have read Musk’s posts or those he chooses to retweet or comment on, there is no doubt that he uses Twitter for political influence.
Of course, it is difficult to prove that he also controls the algorithms to control which opinions are spread, but really, his own posts are enough since he has a huge number of followers. He constantly posts messages that are positive towards Trump, negative towards the Democrats and Ukraine.
This is of course purely anecdotal, but after I myself addressed both Musk and Trump in a number of critical posts between December and January, I suddenly lost more than half of my views from one day to the next when I post the morning report (which looks the same every day). From between 4-7,000 down to 1-2,000. Now I haven’t posted anything negative in a while and it has somewhat recovered, so now I can reach 3-4,000 again. The number of followers has not varied by more than about 100 during this time. Of course, that could be a coincidence, but others have reported the same thing.
Musk himself came out and wrote that he would favor positive posts over negative ones.
But as I said, I agree that I think he will soon leave politics, but he will probably continue to engage in it on Twitter.
If Musk bought Twitter primarily to control information or because it was a good complement to xAi, there are differing opinions on that. Now that xAi has bought X, he can download large amounts of current information in real time, which is much more efficient than scanning through a lot of books.
We should also not overlook that positive information is often more truthful than negative information, or at least more attractive to the reader.
Could have been part of the plan, of course!
Most media outlets otherwise seem eager to spread war headlines to generate clicks, if freedom of speech is what one wants to achieve, then neither should be stifled, right?
X is meant to generate money for the owners, not to spread freedom of speech.
Musk may very well have tweaked algorithms to see if the number of tweets increases or decreases.
However, freedom of expression and opinion on X becomes a significant part of the basis for xAI’s learning – so Musk definitely wants full freedom of expression and opinion on X. A bit of filtering and sorting, then xAI outperforms all other AIs – that’s when the cash starts rolling in.
That’s how the bones should go on Doris (old expression in decline).
“Ukrainian EW system “Lima” is capable of knocking off course 🇷🇺Russian UMPK air bombs – The Economist”
“President Trump said the tariffs on China were imposed so that it doesn’t spend its “massive surplus” on the military “China is a massive surplus. That they take and they spend on their military. We don’t want that. I don’t want them to take $500 billion, $600 billion a year & spend it on their military.
I don’t want them spending money on their military. We shouldn’t have to spend that either. I said this to President Xi hopefully it’s the money we are never going to use.” Meanwhile, it is reported that China is selling $50 billion in US treasuries in response to the tariffs.”
“https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3lmbz2q24hc2v
“– Trade wars have no winners and protectionism has no way out. The Chinese people are not causing trouble, but we are not afraid of it. Pressure, threats, and extortion are not the right way to deal with China, says the Foreign Minister’s spokesperson Lin Jian to AFP.
Earlier today, the Foreign Ministry announced that if this is “how the US wants it,” then China will “fight to the end””
https://omni.se/kangan-mot-usa-kina-ar-inte-radda-for-trubbel/a/eMoayO
“China expert: Self-image makes threats impossible to accept
– From a Chinese perspective, Trump’s tariffs are a gross abuse of the country’s status as the world’s largest economy, and the Chinese government is now doing everything it can to turn this into a story of an unreasonable, irrational, and failed USA punishing the world to enrich itself, he tells Berlingske.”
https://omni.se/kinaexpert-sjalvbild-gor-tullhot-omojliga-att-acceptera/a/wgQRjP
“
“Fast fashion giant Shein’s plans to move some of its production out of China to bypass Trump’s tariffs have encountered resistance from the Chinese government. According to reports, authorities have been in contact with Shein and several other companies, advising them against diversifying their supply chains.”
https://omni.se/kallor-shein-uppmanas-att-stanna-i-kina-blaser-av-resa/a/8qk54r
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-08/china-urges-shein-to-halt-supply-chain-shift-after-tariffs?sref=awPI3UV1&embedded-checkout=true
Now I have finished nagging about the USA and customs idiocy, but here is a final comment from an EU perspective.
As I said, it is not necessary to introduce counter-tariffs in haste, it is better to wait for the pseudo-Maoist revolution to play out.
https://x.com/HankeVela/status/1909259594787910009
I agree, I think one should be a bit smarter. Would actually like to see Trump get a good slap in the face in a way, but the risks of an economic backlash are too great.
For my part, feel free to write more, wise and interesting thoughts!
I don’t know if I dare, I might end up under a yellow wall 😅…
That sounds worrying, how do you stay away from them 😅
don’t know 😰
Yes, one should do two things only. 1) Don’t call the USA and ask for negotiations. Just stay silent. 2) Call all other countries and quickly reduce all existing tariffs like hell.
“Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirms that soldiers have entered the Russian region of Belgorod, reports Sky News.”
“A joint space launch with American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts is on its way to the International Space Station, ISS, reports Reuters. Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who aims to strengthen Russian-American relations, said that today’s launch was ‘the latest example of our enduring relationship’ between the two countries.”
Too bad they didn’t send up Musk so he could get a little closer to Mars.
“Pentagon considering withdrawing up to 10,000 US troops from Eastern Europe, – NBC ❗️The US is considering a proposal to reduce troop levels in Poland and Romania as Trump seeks a ceasefire with Putin. If the move is made, it could signal a US retreat from Europe.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lmc5xktdpk2u
“A Moscow lawyer faked his way into the Russian army to spy for Ukraine—leaking GPS data, troop movements, and FSB locations. Now in exile, he says he has no regrets and is ready to keep helping.”
What does it mean that China has started to devalue its currency against the USD?
One way to counteract the tariffs.
👍 Yes, that’s nicely and succinctly put, of course! 😄
I prefer to keep it short when I write on my phone. 😉
It’s on my phone that I switch to only commenting with emojis! 😄
Have they really done it?
They have lost against the dollar, but could it just be because of the tariffs?
Although it might be smart to do it, it would be a way to lower prices towards the USA to reduce the impact of the tariffs, without admitting that this is what they have done. Additionally, it becomes cheaper for everyone else to trade with them. They might see it as more important to maintain trade and maybe even find new buyers even if it results in lower profits?
The USA has been trying for many years to get China to strengthen its currency against the dollar. They can hardly devalue just against the dollar as many exchange rates are interconnected. How is the rate against the EUR?
The Euro has risen more against the Yuan than the dollar has.
Since the customs officers, I meant then, haven’t seen in six months (it’s quite similar).
The Trump administration in the USA is considering attacking cartels in Mexico with drones, sources tell NBC News. The targets would be cartel members and their logistics, and the attacks would be carried out in cooperation with the Mexican government.
Xi Jinping cannot afford to give up. If Donald Trump’s threats of over 100 percent tariffs on China become reality, it would mean the end of the trade relationship between the countries. However, despite this, China is the only country in the world choosing to stand up against the USA. The Chinese leader has portrayed himself as a national savior reviving his country’s greatness, as a result, Beijing has less flexibility to back down from a conflict with Washington.
Now that you are convinced that Trump has spontaneous whims in the morning without any substance –
What do you think would happen if the USA continues to push against China?
Has the USA possibly considered trying to take down China long before?
The problem is how China chooses to react determines whether we enter a global conflict or not, and what you write above suggests that China will NOT back down from Trump’s provocations.
Just as we have seen how unfairly Trump has treated Ukraine, he is treating China the same way now, and as you write, Xi Jinping will not back down.
And if there’s one thing I know about Chinese people, it’s that nowadays they are quite proud, nationalistic, and don’t like the USA. These provocations will have exactly the intended effect – escalation.
I think you should start looking beyond today’s new announcements and what the actual effects of this will be – you are writing it yourself now, it’s some kind of beginning of insight 😀
One revealing thing is that Trump has told Vietnam and the EU to go to hell when they generously offer to reduce all their tariffs against the USA to zero. Then Trump also wants to fine the EU “a lot of money.”
So, when all countries now choose to hold their ground and try to be the adults in the room, Trump just turns up the heat by two notches, and if it doesn’t have the INTENDED EFFECT, he will continue to absurdity.
Just as he did with Ukraine, where the demands keep getting higher even though Ukraine does everything Trump asks for and more.
It’s like when criminals come up with a made-up debt, and after two weeks, you owe them three million without understanding what happened.
Too many forget the Cold War that ended in 1989/1991 and that those were the USA’s best years.
A global conflict is around the corner, and Russia couldn’t take us there.
The USA seems to have taken the baton now and is rapidly leading us towards a global conflict
I still don’t believe that Trump had any plan to crash everything, but it can definitely end there when both sides refuse to back down.
Throughout the entire election, Trump kept going on about how immensely much money the tariffs would bring. Trillions and trillions, so much money that only he understood how much it was. Would essentially solve all problems in the USA.
The tariff revenues could also lead to a positive state budget and could have reduced the national debt. Imagine what a hero he would become if the cutbacks, together with the tariffs, would lead to that! Additionally, it would leave plenty of money to repay his financiers, both through buying from them and providing grants to them (something he has already started).
Getting domestic production going and reducing dependence on China was probably secondary but part of the plan. It also sounds patriotically good to get people on board with the idea.
What if he actually succeeded in isolating the USA? Then he wouldn’t get any tariff revenues anymore?
Now it didn’t quite go as he thought because he probably believed that everyone would give in. He faces internal criticism and pushes for tax cuts, and he probably doesn’t really know how to act when several countries play hardball, but he will surely choose to escalate, that’s what he has done so far.
Increase the pressure until something breaks.
It is extremely difficult to assess a scenario where one deliberately crashes the global economy. Could he really expect to come out as a winner? A USA that has become very dependent on China and other countries? Would be really reckless to have that as a plan.
But as I said, now that he has put himself in a tight spot, anything can happen.
You are probably right in practice even though I don’t believe that was the plan from the beginning.
Maybe you make the mistake of listening to what Trump says in all his smoke screens 😀
If the USA now had plans to take down China (which they have) – and what Trump is doing is leading us to that point – then it would be reasonable to guess that the USA has proceeded with its stated plans to try to take down China, just Trump-style.
There is another gang who believes that Trump is a genius, but they are also wrong because they don’t think he has any malicious intentions at all with what he does – he is trying to make the world a better place.
So you and they agree that all outcomes were completely random, only you assume that the man is a crazy babbling id1ot – and they believe he is a living genius playing 5D chess for the world’s benefit.
On the contrary, I believe everything is just smoke, just like with Ukraine (which was a good calibration, by the way, that came a little earlier) – I maintain that the USA is just like the bank, not our friend.
We’ll have to wait and see, now that China got angry, maybe we won’t have to wait very long.
But if the EU manages to find a balance quickly with China, this might fail for the USA
– however, those are not the statements we hear from China AND the EU has just been considering imposing its own tariffs on China 😀
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/04/04/commission-watching-for-chinese-steel-and-electronics-imports-amid-trade-war
I’m not saying he’s a complete madman and babbling idiot, but he doesn’t think further than his nose because above all he tries to benefit himself while also having high thoughts about himself, and then it’s easy to forget how others reason and react to what you do.
I actually believe more that he’s applying pressure to get his way, not that he’s seeking a global crisis.
I don’t believe in any advanced smoke screens.
Would perhaps add that the most likely scenario is still that Trump realizes that the tariffs at the level he set will not actually benefit the USA (or realize, he has probably been persuaded) and that he will therefore negotiate with everyone and that it will end with the USA managing to get slightly better terms than before.
Trump will declare it as a great victory (even though there is hardly any major difference).
Then he will actually be really mad because he had hoped to get in all the money that those tariffs would have brought. 😄
Absolutely – if it’s true that Trump doesn’t have a malicious plan, we will see de-escalation from him within a month at most and then he will take what he got and declare a great victory.
Unclear to me why he told Vietnam and the EU to go to hell when they gave him everything he asked for?
He might want to prolong it a bit to have time to impose some tariffs and also make us sweat properly before the negotiations?
What do you actually think about when you talk about Trump’s smokescreens?
Trump has never engaged in smokescreens; on the contrary, he has always been very open and straightforward about what he does. He raises tariffs primarily because he believes it will make the USA rich and because he is ideologically against trade.
The American regime also has some form of, probably vague, plan against China. So one should probably, as you probably also believe, see his policy towards China as something separate from other countries. He somehow wants to disrupt China’s balance.
But it is clearly wrong to see his other tariffs as smokescreens. He has been talking for 40 years about how great high tariffs are. It is his big political idea in life. He believes it will make the USA rich because he feels that way.
👍🏻
When Trump was supposed to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia, he said one thing but we saw him do something completely different – something we suspected he would do and then we got it confirmed.
I have learned a little about Trump in those negotiations and I’m trying to apply it to what he is doing now with the whole world.
He has been out talking down the EU and China for quite a while – we have been the focus of his insults. Russia, Erdogan, and a bunch of other countries have been spared.
He says he wants zero tariffs so he threatens with high tariffs if other countries do not remove what they have (or don’t have) against the USA – when other countries generously offer to back down, he tells them to go to hell and pays 50 billion dollars in gold just to respond on WhatsApp.
What will happen is exactly what happened with China – a full trade war.
Then the next step after a full trade war is armed conflict, and in that regard, the USA has also prepared itself by taking action against Iran quite soon. The question is where China stands on that issue 🧐
If I am completely wrong, Trump should reasonably de-escalate from now on when he realizes that we are heading towards a full trade war and armed conflict if it was not his intention?
I believe that he clearly wants high tariffs in the long term. The question is whether he *also* wants a trade war or armed conflict? If he had thought through such a scenario, he should have acquired serious allies, but he is pushing everyone away. Now he possibly has Russia (whom they are still proxy warring against) and maybe Turkey, due to the absence of tariffs on his side.
My guess is that they might want an open trade war with China, but not with others. But I don’t think Trump is really thinking about a trade war, I think he believes he can make countries do as he wants. He is truly testing the power of the USA.
One had hoped for an investment in SMR but it seems to be coal instead.
Trump is perhaps old enough to think that nuclear power is too modern, coal is substantial stuff that is known to work. 😄
“Donald Trump is set to sign several executive orders to increase coal production in the US, according to two sources cited by Reuters. The President has long criticized the Democrats for introducing regulations on emissions from the coal industry and has promised to expand the country’s energy production.”
https://omni.se/trump-vill-oka-kolen-ska-driva-ai-kampen/a/Jbyl88
The USA has almost 1000 coal mines in operation, which is a halving since 2000.
Now, as the USA is going to become self-sufficient in steel, a lot of coal is also used, about 1/2 ton for every ton of steel. If they are not going to do like Stegra and go fossil-free, then a lot of SMR would have been needed.
Trump has signed a whole battery of executive orders to make it easier with raw materials for domestic production in the USA.
Almost as if one begins to suspect that the USA expects to need domestic supply for the industry?
During the golden age of the USA, around the 1950s, it was the USA that accounted for much of the steel production and much else as the rest of the world was being rebuilt.
Then in the 1970s, Europe began to catch up and was no longer dependent on the USA except for defense and the flow of goods changed direction. The steel industry in the USA shrank. It is this period that Bruce Springsteen so vividly depicts in many of his songs.
Trump wants to go back to the 1950s, with cheap domestic energy, its own steel production, and a Europe that is in a dependent relationship with the USA. He has not realized that the train has left the station.
Yes, he wants to go back to that – I believe here that he will try to start a cold war to return there.
Whether he succeeds with his diabolical plan, we don’t know yet, but I think he will create a carpet of chaos and misery in the world.
I have said it before, the USA is doomed, they will never be Great Again!
By 2050, states will want to break free, what do they need the federal government for? Defense? They can handle that themselves along with their neighboring states.
“Zelensky: Chinese soldiers captured in Ukraine”
https://omni.se/zelenskyj-kinesiska-soldater-tillfangatagna-i-ukraina/a/xmvO1X
Here comes the EU’s extended hand to China!
“The EU and China must work to negotiate a resolution, to provide ‘stability and predictability’ in the global economy shaken by Donald Trump’s tariffs. This is according to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, after a conversation with China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang.
Von der Leyen wants to get China on board to avoid further escalation of trade conflicts.”
https://omni.se/von-der-leyen-vill-ha-forhandla-med-kina/a/3MO5rX
That’s what I usually say – the EU and China will approach each other, it’s a smart move.
The problem with China is that they could also undermine the EU at the same time as the USA, they would gladly do so, so the EU should exercise utmost caution in this approach.
I also think it’s good. China, with its production capacity, is what the USA was in the 1950s, but with different products, and unfortunately, authoritarian rule. I don’t think China wants to bring down Europe as long as we are good trading partners and mutually benefit from each other.
Caution is important, I agree 👍🏻.
+1
Now that Trump has had his daily outbursts and wild swings, it’s fortunate that the USA has already taken steps to increase its domestic production of “rare earth metals” now that China has imposed export bans to the entire world, where they accounted for 69% of global exports.
Almost as if the USA anticipated this outcome 🧐
https://www.metaltechnews.com/story/2025/03/26/tech-metals/trump-orders-us-critical-mineral-supplies/2197.html
Do you know who imports 100% of rare earth minerals and has zero domestic production because we have regulated it away – the EU 😶
Do you dare to guess who has been pushing for us not to have mining of this in Sweden?
Our elected politicians of course! That’s what democracy is all about! 😘
You will have to chant this from the Russian torture center in the suburbs in the future when we couldn’t build more weapons to defend ourselves because Trump caused a total freeze on the world market by provoking China.
The cries echo, a torture center for everyone!
The reason we haven’t done it has to do with the economy, why dig it up when we can import cheaper from China (and besides, we avoid the environmental problems ourselves, environmentalists are selfish anyway, let other countries mess up)?
No one would have bought it at inflated prices. If there had been a large enough economic upside, the environmentalists would have been overridden.
Now that the situation looks as it does, it has suddenly become more interesting and maybe it’s possible to get a majority on board.
Sure, one should have thought about it earlier, but you who don’t like us wasting taxpayer money, would you, hand on heart, 10 years ago have wanted to see the state subsidize that mining?
There is a problem – the lead time until a refined product is obtained.
Now I wrote it below, but we have Africa where countries have just been waiting for the EU to approach them with fair trade agreements.
They got Wagner and China instead.
Yes, it’s actually a bit sad about Africa, and the people are the big losers.
The cry is for the Social Democrats to everyone ✊🏻! (according to each individual’s needs)
Even though the cries may have been loud sobs, MP certainly got everyone’s support ✊✊
However, this is a confirmation that not only the EU but also the USA are 100% dependent on imports of certain minerals.
The EU can then either approach China and continue importing, and unlike the USA, we are not planning any 104% tariffs.
Then, of course, the EU can take a place in Greenland; Swedish companies are well advanced there, and we have normalized relations with Denmark after the mishap at Stortorget.
The USA, on the other hand, has put itself in a position where they probably won’t be able to buy any rare earth metals from China now. But okay, they are going to start prospecting when the legal obstacles are removed 😂.
The problem was well that the EU had just considered establishing trade tariffs against China to stop the flood of everything they can’t sell to the USA now?
But yes – we’ll take all the rare earth materials that the USA can’t get now, that would be the most logical thing to do.
I just saw von Leyen say that they have met and want to build a relationship with China. Quick on their feet for the EU, but they are probably quite annoyed with the USA and are looking for opportunities to outmaneuver them. Without introducing new tariffs.
Someone usually nags about how the EU should have quickly intervened in Africa and secured countries there a couple of years back.
You also know that it’s Russia and China who have done it instead.
Now you know why we should have done it 😶
But didn’t Europe do that in the 19th century?
Most of it was colonies.
Someone usually nags about how the EU could have quickly made a big impact in Africa WITH FAIR TRADE AGREEMENTS and secured countries there since a couple of years back.
I usually mention that with the trade agreements but not this time.
We are approaching strategic countries which are somewhat stable and have natural resources – we offer them completely fair trade agreements on equal terms and start trading with them.
Trade in its purest form
A little bit of lobbying pressure must be applied when the opportunity arises! “The new tariffs imposed by the USA could lead to many European pharmaceutical companies relocating their production to the USA. This is the warning from the lobbying organization European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations after conducting an industry survey, according to TT. With the addition of tariffs, there are few incentives to invest in the EU, and significant factors are driving us to relocate to the USA.” [Link to the article: https://omni.se/lakemedelslobbyn-varnar-tillverkning-flyttas-till-usa/a/637XWe%5D
Hopefully the Danes won’t move the production of Ozempic to the USA, so the less fortunate can sew a third back pocket on their jeans.
😂
“The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro is escalating.
“Navarro is truly an idiot. What he says here is clearly false,” Elon Musk responds to a clip on X where Navarro suggests that Musk is a car assembler.
The reasoning is that Musk only collects parts from different countries around the world instead of manufacturing everything in the USA.”
https://omni.se/musk-trumpradgivaren-ar-dummare-an-en-sack-tegelsteg/a/OoAjql
“Elon Musk, who is the world’s richest person and one of Donald Trump’s advisors, tried until the last moment to personally convince the president to abolish the tariffs.
His persuasion attempt was in vain. Instead, Elon Musk shared posts on X praising international cooperation, including highlighting the Nobel Prize-winning free trade advocate Milton Friedman.”
Source
It’s been almost exactly a month since Rubio and Musk clashed.
Musk is probably not easy to deal with 😁
Elon Musk – do you think he will go bankrupt because of this?
After all, he has the shares in Tesla as security for a whole bunch of other businesses, and Tesla is not doing very well right now.
No, not bankruptcy, but they will be surpassed when Musk loses interest and doesn’t want to pump more money into various new models, etc.
I don’t even think that him leaving Tesla will help.
😂
Professor: “Unfortunately, I believe Trump is genuinely stupid.”
“Lars Calmfors, economist and professor emeritus in international economics at Stockholm University, minces no words when he criticizes Donald Trump’s trade policy.
– Unfortunately, I believe that Trump is genuinely stupid,” he tells Dagens Industri, and continues to say that he is “a narcissist who constantly seeks attention.”
https://omni.se/professor-tror-dessvarre-trump-ar-genuint-korkad/a/B01GyQ“
Read it behind the paywall on DI, I think he’s right on target, grumpy Trump kicks the USA back to the Stone Age, barter trade 1:1
Tragic, but not unexpected, that the Supreme Court allows Trump to use wartime laws despite there being no war. The ironic part was that the party that ensured the law was passed was voted out because of it.
“The US Supreme Court allows Donald Trump to temporarily invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport immigrants from the USA, reports several media outlets.”
He has a 5-4 advantage. He will continue to pursue the policies he wants.
We import 99% of the boron we use in the EU from Turkey, I just saw.
If we assume that Trump only wants a golden deal for the USA and that this is his end game. There are quite a few in the thread who believe that.
When do we think he will de-escalate then?
Even Trump should understand that there is a difference between the best export deal that makes the USA rich and a complete export stop or interstate war?
Is it because he doesn’t want a “free trade agreement” with us where there are 0% tariffs both ways?
– does he want 0% from us but for the USA to still have a percentage against us, 10-15-20% or whatever it may be?
Is that what he is aiming for?
“-he wants to have 0% with us but that the USA still gets to have a percentage against us, 10-15-20% or whatever it may be?”
That could absolutely be something he’s after, then he can keep his dear tariffs.
It will be fun in that case, we continue with global trade with the rest of the world and buy certain components cheaply from the USA (no tariffs) while the USA gets a 25% tariff if they want to use the finished product 😂.
If de-escalation occurs, it may well take a couple of months or more if negotiations have to be held with everyone and if some money has to start coming in.
I think he believes he can impose tariffs around 10% higher than the counterpart. I believe he will make deals with some to achieve a 10% tariff difference. He might agree to 10% with Europe if we remove all our tariffs. But most likely the EU will not agree to that. I think his plan is simply to have significantly higher tariffs than the counterpart, and if he can’t have that, he will be very angry and he hasn’t thought beyond that.
EU has an average tariff of about 2.7 percent compared to the rest of the world. Highest tariff wins.
France will definitely say no 🤣
The last sentence suggests that he wants to hold on to those tariffs for as long as he can, so they at least bring in some cash.
“The Trump administration’s negotiations with about 50 countries have already yielded results, says U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
According to him, several countries have said they will not impose retaliatory tariffs, while some have “already lowered their tariffs.”
At the same time, he says that Trump has been clear that no exceptions to the tariffs will be made in the near future.”
https://omni.se/handelschef-trump-tydlig-inga-undantag-fran-tullar/a/25emwa
The nearest time when T says it could be this week… or not, Lisa Ekdal’s chorus fits perfectly.
Who knows, not you
Who knows, not me
We know nothing now
We know nothing today
Yes, I see it, Trump is asking country after country to go to hell 🤣
Oh no, the mayflowers became the first victim of the customs crisis!
“This year’s mayflowers have been delayed due to the customs crisis, reports P4 Blekinge. It is one of the two ships delivering the flowers that has been delayed, according to the organization Majblomman in a press release.”
https://omni.se/arets-majblomma-forsenad-pa-grund-av-tullkrisen/a/B01bvG
Time to move production to Sweden.
“Belgien kommer att avsätta 1 miljard euro årligen för 🇺🇦ukrainskt försvar – premiärminister de Wever”
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3lmcrzgqnqc2e
Belgien kommer att överföra två F-16-stridsflygplan till 🇺🇦Ukrainska flygvapnet i år, och två till nästa år – enligt belgiska premiärministern Bart De Wever.
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3lmcrrxff2k2e
“Russia: “Vid en maskinbyggarfabrik i staden Aleksandrovsk (Perm Krai) har arbetare utlyst en strejk och vägrar att dyka upp på sina skift. Anledningen är tre månaders lönefordran””
Obviously more people assess the risk of an armed conflict as significant. https://youtu.be/1jD1c41d3GU?si=Z1PCwv8pFBml1Fyk
Apropos Africa in today’s thread.
Following Wagner, Kirill strides in.
Russian Orthodox Church expands activity in Africa – CCD “Russia is sharply increasing the ROC’s influence in Africa. In just three years of the ROC’s exarchate operating on the continent, parishes have been established in 30 countries — half of them in 2022 alone. This indicates that the ROC’s growing activity in Africa is directly linked to Russia’s effort to gain more allies following the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” the CCD said.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3979248-russian-orthodox-church-expands-activity-in-africa-ccd.html
Belgian PM announces EUR 1B aid package for Ukraine
The Belgian government will provide Ukraine with a EUR 1 billion aid package this year and plans to allocate at least EUR 1 billion in annual military support throughout its current term.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3979823-belgian-pm-announces-eur-1b-aid-package-for-ukraine.html
Two on that
Three defense agreements signed during Belgian PM’s visit – Zelensky
08.04.2025 17:13
During the visit of Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to Ukraine, three defense agreements were signed between Ukrainian and Belgian partners.
I was busy with some other things so I missed this about tariffs and all, so a question to the intelligentsia here. 1) Is the idea to sabotage the economy so that the FED introduces crisis rates so that the American government gets lower interest costs? 2) Does the tariff chaos affect Ukraine in any way?
Trump has several times gone out and asked the FED to lower the interest rates at least.
Ukraine got well 10% or something?
Thank you. My hypothesis until it is disproven is that the actions of the USA largely aim to keep their biggest rivals, i.e. Europe and China, in check and manage the unsustainable national debt.
USA sends the navy to the Panama Canal – the escalation towards China is not over 😶
If the EU🇪🇺 does not approach China🇨🇳, China🇨🇳 will approach the EU🇪🇺.
“[M]ore Chinese troops in Eastern Ukraine a few weeks ago, from Russian channels.”
@jayinkyiv (x)
https://x.com/jayinkyiv/status/1909591410304491883?s=46
@zelenskyyua (x):
“Our military has captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting as part of the Russian army. This happened on Ukrainian territory—in the Donetsk region. Identification documents, bank cards, and personal data were found in their possession.
We have information suggesting that there are many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just these two. We are currently verifying all the facts—intelligence, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the relevant units of the Armed Forces are working on it.
I have instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to immediately contact Beijing and clarify how China intends to respond to this.
Russia’s involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war. He is looking for ways to continue fighting. This definitely requires a response. A response from the United States, Europe, and all those around the world who want peace.
The captured Chinese citizens are now in the custody of the Security Service of Ukraine.
Relevant investigative and operational actions are ongoing.”
https://x.com/zelenskyyua/status/1909586461029965871?s=46
Both Trump and Vance are out there completely insulting China on Twitter.
There’s no way Xi can back down from this, he would be politically dead.
Is it tonight that 104% tariffs start to apply?
Yes, within 12 hours.