[ExI] putin and the three pirates problem

[Brian Manning Delaney]

El 2014-03-04 19:53, Aleksei Riikonen escribió:

> (Also, I personally *want* NATO to break-up, since we could then have
> a German-led military alliance in Europe  [...].

Germany's track record with its use of appreciable military power isn't 
exactly enviable.

> and I much prefer allying
> with the Germans when compared to the US, since I see the US as being
> on the somewhat inevitable road of becoming a very nasty plutocratic
> police state

All industrially developed countries are on that same path. It's just 
more obvious in the case of the US, because the US is a superpower.

> they don't really care about human rights or anything,

The US, compared to other superpowers that have existed throughout 
history (no other comparison matters), has perhaps the greatest concern 
for human rights. Doesn't say much, since superpowers per definition 
don't NEED to care about others much. But still.

> what with the spying on everyone and senior figures saying they'd like
> to assassinate Snowden and so on.)

All countries spy on as many people as they can. The difference with the 
US? There is a healthy skepticism towards centralized power, which makes 
critical journalism and whistle-blowing more likely. Where's the UK 
Snowden? The German Snowden?

> I'm not *extremely* confident that the US would give up the empire,
> though. It would be wiser than risking nuclear war, but of course the
> economic losses would be... substantial, to say the least. (But still
> much more survivable than a nuclear war.)

God help us if Germany or the EU replaces the US as the world's 
superpower -- though I do think the US is on the wrong track, but so is 
everyone, ESPECIALLY Europe:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/03/russia-vladimir-putin-the-west-104134.html

"Europe is really run by an elite with the morality of the hedge fund: 
Make money at all costs and move it offshore."

Brian