Don't. Mention. The. Poverty and gang violence.
Look, what's really annoying about this whole "investing in defense and climate change" bullshit is that neither pays returns... actually, they're not even investments, just pure drag/waste.
Sweden’s central bank has been worrying about what cashless consumers would do if an emergency such as a Russian cyberattack took down the electrical or communications grid. And so as of July, Swedish consumers can buy essential goods using their Mastercard and Visa cards without a network connection. The central bank (the Riksbank) wants to go further by enabling offline purchases with Swish, a local mobile payments system that bypasses the Visa and Mastercard networks altogether.
Confession: this shit I had no idea about. Somebody needs to work on extensive mash networks for Bitcoin transactions
Russia threatens their territory, China threatens their markets, and they can no longer count on the U.S. to defend either. A recent visit to Denmark and Sweden showed me how they are pivoting to this new reality: sinking more money and manpower into defense; tackling vulnerabilities in payment systems, supply chains and trade relations; and integrating their economies, defense industries and militaries more tightly with each other and Europe.
"they seem to be thriving" is a little of a stretch... and to the extent they are, it's not because of wasteful military spending but, in Denmark's case, the back of a Novo Nordisk-powered economy.
It's kind of disgusting to celebrate, and I don't know why people/observers are proud of this.
Last year, Denmark and Norway each spent more than the U.S. on defense as a share of GDP, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. A decade ago they spent a third as much. Sweden and Finland aren’t far behind.
"“When you have private parties and gatherings, we talk about prepping: ‘Do you prep, do you not prep?’ ” said Mortensen."
Denmark has made women eligible for conscription and extended conscripts’ service to 11 months from four.
Ah, yes. True. That's certainly what Danish women need to be doing.
I honestly, thoroughly struggle with understanding this. Craving non-dependency on "other countries" is one long, slippery slope to autarky. Why is the line defense? Surely food supplies are more critical for survival... let's grow everything ourselves! Preferably in our gardens, right
LOL at this Europoorean cope... you gotta reach for Spotify (an American-listed software company) to find a successful Swedish big-scale company in modern times.
"Military spending is contributing to the fiscal crisis now engulfing France."
What?! oh lord, knock me down with a feather. I thought it was, like, stimulative or something??
TL;DR, this is ridiculous middle-way cope. Just realize that Western civ is the way (#1591565), that America is its (only?) brighly shining star -- and apply for membership in the great United States of the West. Embrace your vassal status, idiot Europooreans.
Well... just give it a while before the dollar is no longer world reserve currency. Then the US will become poor on steroids.
Your (=US) only hope is to destroy the rest of the world before that happens... 🤷
The US petrodollar is entirely built upon military power projection.
Without it USA would be Broke.
The ability of the US to project its power and keep vital strategic shipping routes open is now under challenge.
The Zionist puppet petrodollar empire is under attack.
OP is an Icelandic welfare beneficiary who denies climate change and believes the petrodollar empire will rule for another 1000 years.
Norway and Denmark were so formidable in 1940