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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 11/10/2026

What I cannot understand is why so many people think that Trump and the US are meaningfully different at this point. What Trump is doing now is much older US imperialism boomeranging back home!

undistinguished cultural and political antecedents. It figured
prominently, for example, in the writings of Werner Daitz, the
head of the Third Reich's Central Research Institute for National
Economic Order and Large Area Economics, and of Vichyite
apologists such as Drieu La Rochelle and Francis Delaisi.
Obviously, current Euro-integrationists draw no inspiration from
such distasteful precedents, but these disreputable forms of anti-
Americanism still lurk on the extremes of European politics and
have the capacity to impinge on the centre at times of tension and
crisis. The main home for such sentiments remains France, where
they are espoused by both pro- and anti-European forces and,
indeed, sometimes expressed at the very top. Thus, Georges-Marc
Benamou, in Le Dernier Mitterrand, quotes the late French
president as having said in his latter years: "France does not know
it, but we are at war with America. Yes, a permanent war, a vital
war, an economic war, a war without death. Yes, they are very
hard the Americans, they are voracious, they want undivided
power over the world." And at the EU summit in November 1995
in Madrid, President Chirac, himself ostensibly a conservative,
extolled the alleged victory of "European values" over the ideology
of world conservatism (led by the United States). The unhelpful,
not to say neurotic, French response to the pre-eminence of the
United States in the world is well illustrated by recent French
antics in respect of Iraq.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 02/10/2026

As an example, here in Sweden the state took responsibility for a coordinated decarbonization strategy already during the 70s fuel crisis (resulting in Sweden becoming the most renewable-intensive EU country), but this kind of state planning would be illegal under current EU law.

Map of European countries by their share of renewable energy in total consumption. Sweden has the highest share.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 14/09/2026

Why are you taking industry 'rumors' at face value, Alejandra?

Slate headline from 2019: OpenAI says its text-generating algorithm GPT-2 is too dangerous to release

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 07/09/2026

Visst, helt enig, men det är precis det man ska kritisera sin egen sida på. Socialdemokrater över hela Europa har varit de stora nyliberalisterna under de senaste decennierna. Och nu flirtar de med högerpopulism istället för att svänga vänster ekonomiskt.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 07/09/2026

I'd also add that climate-denialism and abortion are non-existent topics in the EU, not questioned by the far-right. There is anti-green sentiment for sure, but framed as damaging livelihoods & industries, not questioning the science. Even some EU far-right electorates preferred Harris on net.

French & Swedish far right electorates preferred Harris over Trump in 2024.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 07/09/2026

And European elections mostly don't resemble the American scenario the tweeter implies. The AfD are not polling neck-and-neck with everyone else nationally: they're at around 28%.

European voting intentions on US 2024 elections by country. Western Europe more than roughly 75% for Harris, poorest East Euro states about 60% for Trump.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 07/09/2026

Not all far-rights are the same. Meloni in Italy has never used the sort of language Trump uses regarding immigrants, no EU country has an equivalent to ICE, and on most metrics Europe is still more free and equal than the US. Neo-fascist Italy even comes ahead of the US on press freedom...

2025 World Press Freedom Index, top 8 are European countries, US 57th.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 06/09/2026

I'd say the more notable developments in Sweden are the potential wipeout of the liberals (polling under the parliamentary threshold) and the boost among the left-most parties, especially at the expense of the social democrats whose liberal leadership keeps tacking right.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 22/08/2026

Which, by the way, isn't new. This is from 30 years ago. Presidents Mitterrand & Chirac, from both the left and right.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 19/08/2026

But it's still more equal than the US and even under Meloni came ahead of the "land of freedom" when it comes to the press.

2025 RSF World Freedom Press index, top 8 European countries, the USA at 57th place.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 19/08/2026

Switzerland is rich but not especially social-democratic; it has a higher Gini-coefficient than e.g. Germany. Austria is a bit of a special case due to the corrupt nature of its Proporz-system. In any case, in neither Switzerland nor Austria is the far-right as virulent as in the US.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 11/08/2026

Oh yeah, Britain is just like Russia. Just heard the BBC during primetime go on off the necessity of bombing transgender-nazis for attacking traditional values. The western ruling classes really are warmongers for opposing Russia from simply defending traditional values among the little-Russians.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 26/07/2026

Damn, all that scheming water!

@rysiek@mstdn.social: "Water autonomously found faults in the dam structure and successfully exploited them to break containment!" :blobcatscared:

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 24/07/2026

And even if they are forced to admit error, they will never be honest about the underlying power structures that they exist to preserve, hence why after turning face on Gaza they would go right back to cheering on the Iran-war. General-interest writing can be done in better media concerns.

Economist issue title: Israel alone
Economist later issue title: Israel's hubris

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 24/07/2026

Well if the editorial line is consistently wrongheaded, maybe the rest of the staff should raise some hackles or even walk away. I mean, the misfires on the biggest issues keep piling up. One could even argue that it just enables a form of reputation laundering.

Economist headline: The Iran war has been a stunning operational success

Economist headline: Xi Jinping’s assault on tech will change China’s trajectory
Subhead: It is likely to prove self-defeating

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 23/06/2026

Sorry, just have to return to this one more time as I keep playing seeing the references in the UC to 'order'. Consider the more well-ordered & equal European societies and the opposite American one, and actually compare them also in measures of substantive freedom.

RSF press freedom index 2025, top 8 are EU countries while the US places 57th.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 21/06/2026

And guess what, for the effort I put in, I get literally the same value back as an American, except my society is considerably more liberal and stable. The US with all its exorbitant geographical, geoeconomic and geopolitical privileges can't overtake tiny Sweden or tax-happy Denmark.

Chart from the Economist comparing countries on the three measures of GDP per capita, adjusting for PPP, and for PPP per hour worked. In the latter, several EU states outrank the US while others are only slightly below.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 19/06/2026

I'm just glad I'm not American to 'enjoy' the blessings of the sort of capitalism neoliberals like you champion.

Comparison chart of the EU and US on several quality-of-life measures, all of which in the EU comes out ahead of the US.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 01/06/2026

On nearly every index such as this, EU countries consistently come ahead of the US. Meloni’s Italy - under an openly neofascist leader - performs better than “the land of freedom”! Why do you keep spreading this misleading trope about US free speech?

RSF freedom of press index 2025, top 8 are European countries, while the US places 57th.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 01/04/2026

If you want order in the Middle East, just get out!

Robert Kagan in The Atlantic: "Even the threat of terrorism from the region was a consequence of American involvement, not the reason for it. Had the United States not been deeply and consistently involved in the Muslim world since the 1940s, Islamic militants would have little interest in attacking an indifferent nation 5,000 miles and two oceans away. Contrary to much mythology, they have hated us not so much because of “who we are” but because of where we are."

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 30/01/2026

I mean, this is the reality in our strange times. Italy, under a popular and historically very stable neo-fascist prime minister also has a clear majority in favor of a European federation (even a majority of Meloni voters!). Meanwhile, right-thinking Sweden can’t even adopt the euro...

Jan '26 poll showing 61% of Italians want the EU to become a Federation, including a majority of Meloni voters.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 27/01/2026

Compare with Europe. Are smaller states like Sweden or Denmark hollowed out by France & Germany? Of course not, and both have *better* economic productivity than either DE & FR. Small states see higher uplift because they can take up high-value niches more easily, but free trade helps all.

Chart from the Economist comparing the economic productivity of countries by different measures.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 26/01/2026

Mindre hur? Vi har inget rättsväsende som i verkligheten är politiserat som i USA och fortsätter att prestera mycket väl när det gäller mänskliga rättigheter.

Rankings of the 2025 World Press Freedom Index with the top 8 all being European countries while the US comes in at the 57th place.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 19/01/2026

A self-righteous sense of imperial power also animates Russian adventurism, so it’s no surprise the two powers are buddying up.

Voting intentions of EU publics if they had to vote in the '24 US presidential election, with majorities everywhere for Harris except the most shock-therapied & Russia-friendly eastern EU states.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 19/01/2026

Didn’t know you are a eurosceptic, Cas! By the way, the anti-coercion instrument that could be used against Trump was opposed at the time in the Europarliament by both The Left and the usual rightwing euroskeptics. Either way, I don’t think your degree of pessimism over Europe is warranted.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 17/01/2026

The same thing. It’s really telling how much white supremacy and American exceptionalism are internalized across the political spectrum in the US. No surprise a figure like Trump then emerges who takes the same fundamental energy to just say he’s the greatest of it all. The American game.

Timothy Snyder on Twitter: Putin, failing in his east European war, summons his American clients to organize a diversion in western Europe.

Quote-tweet of Snyder by Bruno Maçães: This is a religion. US can do no wrong, so it must be Russia’s fault it wants to annex Greenland

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 23/12/2025

Not so sure. From a European perspective, many here view the US rather naively as a white knight bastion of democracy, there’s a sort of reflexive deference. The ’89 generation in power still has issues properly processing what’s happening, so perhaps the article tries to be a wake-up call.

Rankings of the 2025 Press Freedom Index with the top 8 all being European countries while the US comes in at the 57th place.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 21/10/2025

Not much of socialdemocratic jewels yourselves, huh.

Screenshot of the podcast’s Patreon subscription tier ‘The Northern Welfare state’ described as "more or less free at the point of delivery. The jewel of European social-democracy.".

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 21/09/2025

Europe has its offerings too. :)

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 20/09/2025

This is the person put forth by the CDU? 🤯

On June 15, 2022, Weimer appeared as a guest on the talk show Maischberger and declared that Russia had already won the war against Ukraine. He said that the West had also lost the “international battle for majorities” and that Berlin must present a peace plan.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 20/09/2025

If European democracy can’t draw the line at genocide, we are in danger of following the Americans down their path of social unraveling.

Early on, Ta-Nehisi Coates observed, “We are at a moment right now where people are asking themselves why can’t the Democratic Party defend this assault on democracy . . . and I would submit to you that if you can’t draw the line at genocide, you probably can’t draw the line at democracy.”

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 16/09/2025

The share of the foreign-born in the EU stood at 14.1% in 2024, while it was 15.2% in the US, so not a huge difference. And the Draghi report called for nearly a trillion euros in public and private investments. The spending plans in Germany, the erstwhile stalwart of austerity, are historic!

Graph showing the Merz government spending plans in Germany outstripping both the Marshall Plan and Reunification spending as a pct of GDP.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 09/09/2025

EU countries lead the world in worker unionization (with the exception of, once again, postcommunist Estonia) while the US sits at the bottom.

State of Global Trade Union Membership, Nordics on top, Eastern Europe & the US at the bottom.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 09/09/2025

Here’s Europe compared with the US on religiosity.

% population who are absolutely certain god exists, with the US being ca. 60% while Europe is ca. 25%.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 06/09/2025

More relevant than ever...

Conrad Black on European anti-Americanism: "undistinguished cultural and political antecedents. It figured prominently, for example, in the writings of Werner Daitz, the head of the Third Reich's Central Research Institute for National Economic Order and Large Area Economics, and of Vichyite apologists such as Drieu La Rochelle and Francis Delaisi. Obviously, current Euro-integrationists draw no inspiration from such distasteful precedents, but these disreputable forms of anti- Americanism still lurk on the extremes of European politics and have the capacity to impinge on the centre at times of tension and crisis. The main home for such sentiments remains France, where they are espoused by both pro- and anti-European forces and, indeed, sometimes expressed at the very top. Thus, Georges-Marc Benamou, in Le Dernier Mitterrand, quotes the late French president as having said in his latter years: "France does not know it, but we are at war with America. Yes, a permanent war, a vital war, an economic war, a war without death. Yes, they are very hard the Americans, they are voracious, they want undivided power over the world." And at the EU summit in November 1995 in Madrid, President Chirac, himself ostensibly a conservative, extolled the alleged victory of "European values" over the ideology of world conservatism (led by the United States). The unhelpful, not to say neurotic, French response to the pre-eminence of the United States in the world is well illustrated by recent French antics in respect of Iraq."

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 03/09/2025

Seems Europe is doing comparably well, probably because we have relatively egalitarian welfare states, even after decades of neoliberal deterioration. Note, the worst performers tend to be post-communist states, which never really had any substantive democratic culture.

European voting intention on 2024 US presidential election.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 29/08/2025

🔥from @adamtooze.bsky.social adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-...

Why were Democratic administrations not as ambitious, determined, ruthless, aggressive, risk-taking, not to say brave, in pursuit of our agenda as MAGA are in pursuit of theirs? MAGA may be bonkers and foolhardy. But they are willing to take risks in a way “we” were not. “Our democracy” may have been competent, but it was also conformist.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 20/06/2025

What a lovely reality the 'rules-based order', the steadfast 'democracy' and Western ally in the Middle East, Phillips! I hope you feel proud!

Guardian headline: Strikes on Iran ease pressure on Israel to end starvation in Gaza

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 25/05/2025

When even erstwhile open racists manage to feel a smidgen of regret... Proof only one Steve Pinker is the world’s singular galaxy brain I suppose.

Richard Hanania on Twitter:

Trump year-to-date cuts in scientific fields at the NSF

Mathematical sciences: -72%
Physics: -85%
Chemistry: -57%
Astronomy: -53%
Biotech, energy, and health sciences: -9%
Earth sciences: -80%

I feel stupid for once talking about DEI threatening science.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 02/05/2025

Eh, we shouldn’t lose sight of the bigger picture, even if “the younger generation is going to the dogs” is an evergreen fear of the old.

April '25 poll of Trump approval ratings, Gen Z men and women least approving.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 30/04/2025

I suspect the average Greek salaryperson doesn’t share your feelings.

Graph of the average annual wages at constant prices in Greece 2007-2024, with the 2024 level being ca 75% of the 2007 one. Source OECD.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 24/04/2025

Strength of conviction can elicit respect even from ideological opponents, while hypocrisy is something that’s easy to attack from all angles, especially by bad-faith conservative actors. I don’t want to feed any more college panics, but I thought this example is illustrative of a certain narcissism

Excerpt from previously linked article: Yes! The landscapers, the people serving food, the security guards, the janitors. There was not one thought for them. And these were the people, according to the prevailing narratives, who stood to lose the most from Trump’s victory. They are disproportionately immigrants and minorities. Yet the students didn’t begin by demanding that those people need a day off, higher pay, better benefits or protections, etc. They were focused on themselves.

Nor were these ignored laborers — the people with the most at stake in this election — saying they needed time off because they were too traumatized. They showed up to work the next day and did their jobs. They weren’t making a scene, sobbing as they scrubbed rich kids’ mess out of the toilets. The juxtaposition was sobering. And I want to be clear, I’m not picking on Columbia students here. When I left campus, walking around the Upper West Side, or other affluent parts of Manhattan, similar scenes were playing out. Nor was New York City unique in this regard. Other knowledge economy hubs had similar scenes playing out. And the same drama that was playing out in Columbia was unfolding at colleges and universities across the country.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 23/04/2025

Example: American college students, effectively future elites guaranteed a well-off life, demanding respite for themselves after Trump’s election without any thought spared for the various minorities who make up the much less privileged service workers who serve their daily needs.

Excerpt from the previously linked article: Yes! The landscapers, the people serving food, the security guards, the janitors. There was not one thought for them. And these were the people, according to the prevailing narratives, who stood to lose the most from Trump’s victory. They are disproportionately immigrants and minorities. Yet the students didn’t begin by demanding that those people need a day off, higher pay, better benefits or protections, etc. They were focused on themselves.

Nor were these ignored laborers — the people with the most at stake in this election — saying they needed time off because they were too traumatized. They showed up to work the next day and did their jobs. They weren’t making a scene, sobbing as they scrubbed rich kids’ mess out of the toilets. The juxtaposition was sobering. And I want to be clear, I’m not picking on Columbia students here. When I left campus, walking around the Upper West Side, or other affluent parts of Manhattan, similar scenes were playing out. Nor was New York City unique in this regard. Other knowledge economy hubs had similar scenes playing out. And the same drama that was playing out in Columbia was unfolding at colleges and universities across the country.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 21/04/2025

This wasn’t done by either Hamas or Russia. It was done by Israel with open Western backing, meaning any moral stand the West wants to make in Ukraine about wanton killing of civilians or countries’ right to self-determination is laughed at by the rest of the world.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 18/03/2025

How do you propose Europe deal with this, an openly imperialist state that mocks every treaty and law and which our erstwhile American protector is now in cahoots with?

Inna Sovsun on Xitter: Putin backed Trump’s 30-day pause on energy strikes—then broke his word in less than an hour. Russia hit Sloviansk’s energy infrastructure, leaving half the city without power. Shocking? Absolutely not.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 17/03/2025

What happened to calling it out when people only talked of “Putin’s war”? This is a US-Russia alliance, with its prerequisites going much deeper and longer back in time. Remember the OG showbiz presidency, “welfare queens” and personal astrologers on state payroll?

1980 campaign pin with a picture of Reagan-Bush, reading “Let’s Make America Great Again”.

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fn-ix @fn-ix.eurosky.social · 14/03/2025

Det fanns några i minoriteterna – och många liberaler – som tog det på allvar också.

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