I’m having a look at the way the world is turning, and I’d love to think that the good guys are doing something to stand up to the bad guys. For a start, a single independent nuclear weapons program shared between the UK, Germany, Poland, France and the Baltics seems an obvious smart move. An expanded EU customs unions that includes the UK, Canada, Mexico, Panama, maybe even Australia and New Zealand. We could call this the Western Alliance. And it’d be set up with the mechanism built in to quickly eject a rogue state if needs be.
Then the military alliance, significantly upgraded, would be called the Western Forces, and we can troll Trump by encouraging various US states to secede and sign up. And we’d put clips of the fascist US president being shot dead on the floor of the Oval Office, but then deny that we’re trying to put ideas in folks head. And we’d all wink and nudge a lot. We’d continue the economic blockade of Russia of course, because Putin is who he is and has done what he’s done and there’s no turning it back.
But I turn on the news, and Starmer has decided to make a marginal spending increase, effective in a couple of years time. And there’s talk of letting Russia back into the G7, or G8 as it would be. They’re all mad and spineless. At least Macron is fact checking Trump while sat right next to him. But it’s all going to pot. It won’t end well. Not at all. Eighty-five years ago, Churchill faced down fascists and bellowed, “If necessary, alone!” Today, the collective whimper is, well….you’ve read the post title.
On the plus side, the entertainment industry also seem to have sussed out which way this is all going, and are finishing up their franchises and telly series. The final Gavin and Stacey at Christmas was brilliant. We loved Paddington 3. They’ve clearly given up on any more James Bond. And last night Mrs P and I went to see the last instalment of Bridget Jones which was brilliant. Second only to the first one, in my opinion.
Yes, yes it’s a small crumb of comfort, knowing that Bridget ended up happy ever after, even as the rest of us are vaporised in a nuclear blast. But sometimes you have to take what you can get. Now, is there just enough time for a remake of the original Planet of the Apes, brought up to date with a modern explanation as to how the Statue of Liberty ended up as it did….
The Mexile 
The money and manpower is in Western Europe’s favor. Restructuring the EU is needed, was ten years ago, more so now. Let Hungry do as it wants but send no more big fat checks. The war industry needs the kind of subsidies that China and the US doles out.
When the polls in the US start showing the GOP getting an outright pounding in the midterms, Trump’s leverage over the spinless lot will be gone.
I do not see any way around a rescission, a big one, as a reaction to all the sabots tossed into our gears of business and government here in the US. Just the disruption from kicking out the cheap labor pool will trip GNP into negative growth for six months.
And Putin, I figure the spooks in Europe have ten different plans for whacking the old boy if he teams up with Trump.
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We certainly outdo the Russians/Belarusians in manpower and money. But we’re less willing to sacrifice either. It’s a problem.
There’s certainly signs that things are going to take a turn for the worse in the US. The GOP might well take a pounding in the mid terms. It’ll be interesting to see what happens then. These nutters haven’t been willing to pay attention to reality so far, and seem less willing to act within its realms as time goes on.
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Canadian politicians have started talking about a Western Alliance, as well as being in a trade/nuclear pact with the European countries as well as Australia and New Zealand.
I think the only thing that will convince Cheeto that his actions are a bad decision will be if Canada shuts off or puts export tariffs on the electricity, oil and water that we Canadians provide to the US. It won’t be until the Senators and Congressmen from those states convince him that they actually do depend on Canada for their energy that he sees the light, or dark.
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The big long term loser will be the US. Of course it will. People will find other ways of doing things. China and others will expand into areas around the world where vacuums have been created with the departure of the US. Trust has been lost, and it won’t easily come back.
Until then, world leaders will blow smoke up Trump’s behind as they ease their ways into the new world. I don’t know what’s funnier, the sight of these folk kissing the ring, or the fact that it works.
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