@timanrebel@TimurNegru My Dad was Captain on several. North Sea routes back in the 80’s. Before cheap airplane DFDS connected Northern Europe by sea. I spend most of my school holidays onboard a ship.
@nannestad@RosenvoldGeo Minder om den første tid med Metroen. Passagertallet måtte nedjusteres, ustabil drift og selv Martin Lidegaard advarede i 2003 mod udbygning pga ustabil drift. I dag anerkende de fleste vel Metroens betydning for Københavns udvikling de sidste 25 år https://t.co/84GWLNHvND
I don't think I'm exaggerating by saying that this truly is the US's Suez moment: Saudi Arabia just entered into a NATO-like alliance with Pakistan whereby "any attack on either country is an attack on both."
The symbolic is extraordinary: Saudi Arabia was in many ways THE poster child of US client states. If they no longer trusts American security guarantees, why should anyone else?
And of course the fact this actually happened and wasn't prevented by the U.S. is immensely telling in and of itself.
This has so many other consequences that it's almost too much to fathom:
- First of all, it means that Saudi Arabia now benefits from Pakistan's nuclear deterrence (and the deal does include nuclear: a senior Saudi Official told Al Jazeera that “this is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means”, https://t.co/90hWQUmTQm). Which means we now officially have two nuclear-backed blocs in the Middle East: US-Israel vs Pakistan-Saudi. Additionally, Pakistan explicitly rejects a "no first use" doctrine - meaning Saudi Arabia now has a protector willing to use nuclear weapons preemptively.
- Given that 81% of Pakistan's weapon imports come from China (https://t.co/ZCPNfZSodQ), it also means that Saudi Arabia just indirectly aligned itself with the Chinese military-industrial complex
- This effectively extends the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to the Persian Gulf, protected by Pakistani nuclear weapons and Chinese military technology - creating a secure energy corridor from the Middle East to China that completely bypasses the Strait of Malacca
- The timing is probably no coincidence, just days after Israel's strike on Qatar, the ultimate proof of the worthlessness of US protection.
- Other Gulf states, and probably in due times other countries "protected" by the U.S., are likely to explore comparable models in the next few months. In fact this might lead to a cascading collapse of the U.S. global alliance system, leading to an entirely new international system where regional nuclear powers become security providers.
- Hard to see how that doesn't permanently kill any chance of Israel-Saudi normalization: Pakistan does not recognize Israel either and with this alliance the Saudis now can resist US pressure as they don't solely depend on them for their defense
- It puts India in an extremely tough spot: its archenemy just became the security guarantor for one its primary energy suppliers
- This undoubtedly kills IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor), the Biden administration's flagship grand strategy to counter China's Belt and Road that was supposed to connect India to Europe via Saudi Arabia
- There is a monetary aspect too: this is another nail in the coffin of the petrodollar system (an agreement to price oil exclusively in USD in exchange for US protection). Saudi Arabia is now much more flexible to price oil in whatever currency it wishes
And this is just what's immediately visible. As a final word: if anyone had any remaining doubt that we were now in a multipolar world, that debate is now settled permanently. American global dominance is no more.
Rasmus har ret. Jeg ville dog ønske at foketinget var bedre til at bruge de demokratiske redskaber Grundloven giver. Eksemplevis §42. Fremtidige regeringer ville tænke sig grundigt om inden fremsættelse af lovforslag, hvis muligheden for folkeafstemning var en reel mulighed.
Mange vil sikkert påstå, det er mig, den er gal med. Måske. Men jeg er træt af skuespillet i folketingssalen. Vi har et demokratisk problem, og det bør vi være ærlige om.
Tak @PernilleVermund og @KofodPeter
@SuzanneRosenbak@rikkestenpigen@Westgard_87 Jeg vil ikke bidrage til velfærdssamfundet. Jeg går op i hvordan mine elever kan lære så meget som muligt, blive nysgerrige og kritiske, så de får det bedst mulige udgangspunkt for deres videre liv. Og tro mig de unge har til alle tider gennemskuet den form for falsk indpakning.
@TorbenLl1@PatrickVogelius@Pawfabrin@LiberalAlliance Så er det jeg her vil gøre opmærksom på at det hedder arveafgift- nu boafgift. Og din argumentation holder ikke da en afgift er jo ikke en skat. Dermed er der heller ikke tale om dobbeltbeskatning, som du indledte med.
Da Moderaterne forsøgte at presse Mike Fonseca til at sælge sit folketingsmandat, nøjedes de ikke med at gå efter ham.
Fonsecas dengang 15-årige kærestes far fortæller til Frihedsbrevet, hvordan han flere gange blev ringet op af Ulla Østergaard, der dengang var kommunikationschef i partiet.
“Ligesom for at få os til at overtale Mike til at trække sit mandat,” siger han i interviewet.
Læs eller lyt til historien via linket i kommentarfeltet.
(Foto: Jens Dresling/Ritzau Scanpix)
I aften er der partilederdebat fra Folkemødet, men statsminister Mette Frederiksen deltager ikke.
- Der skal tales om finansieringen af oprustningen, som statsministeren ikke har en plan for.
- Der skal tales om pensionsalder, som statsministeren ikke vil dele sin politik for.
- Der skal tales om klimakampen, hvor regeringen ikke kan fortælle om den er for eller imod atomkraft.
- Der skal tales om et hav af emner, hvor det er svært at være regering. Hvor det er svært at fortælle danskerne, hvad den rigtige vej frem er. Men hvor man netop skylder danskerne et klart svar.
Så Mette Frederiksen pjækker og slipper således for at se vægelsindet ud i fjernsynet.
Hvis du tænker, at statsministeren måske ikke har tid, fordi hun er ude og "værne mod Rusland," som hun foregøgler, så er her listen over statsministerens program på dette års folkemøde.
Mine personlige favoritter er, at hun skal i DR Minisjang torsdag og i morgen skal hun spille petanque.
Torsdag:
Mette er med til at åbne Folkemødet
Mette er i DR Minisjang
Mette fortæller om “regeringens indre liv” i DI
Mette taler med Rune Lykkeberg fra Information
Mette taler med Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Mette taler med Anne Sofie Kragh, om hvordan Mette håndterer alle kriserne
Mette taler med Daniel Rye om terrorangrebet i København for ti år siden
Fredag:
Mette spiller petanque hos Fagbevægelsen
Mette taler om tilbagetrækning hos A4 Medier
Mette taler om det gode ældreliv hos Ældre Sagen
Mette taler om “naturen i en verden i opbrud” i DN
Mette holder partiledertale