Allan Mertner #Rejoin

So the obvious solution is to make it clear that Europe funds Ukraine for the next 5 or even 10 years if need be. As long as we keep funding Ukraine in 1-2 year chunks, Putin can (perhaps rightly) think he can outlast European support.

The US is now proposing to gather a huge amount of extra information for people that want to go there on an ESTA visa. I already felt no inclination to visit, but this is just totally insane. Who has this information at hand, and is willing to provide it for a visit to the US? No, thanks.

I’d like Bluesky to be my main feed, but its hard to find who to follow. Recommendations, please :)

If you want to watch the whole video, it is from my conversation at @siliconcurtain.bsky.social.

I like that idea, but in the case of X I’m not sure that hitting it commercially is enough. Musk seems happy to run his disinformation megaphone at a loss, as long as he can use it to his benefit.

Should X/Twitter be banned in the UK and the EU?

As it’s now being used to spread and promote misinformation and propaganda to serve autocrats and oligarchs that don’t care about living in a more liberal, harmonious society, maybe the answer is yes.

What do you think?

The US is in the process of betraying everything they have stood for the last 80 years. Granting all of the wishes the Russians could have hoped for after attacking Ukraine, abandoning both treaties, promises and principles, It’s an utter tragedy for the world, and ultimately for the US too.

And if it came to that, and the alternative is that the US leaves Europe to its own devices militarily, I think many would go for it. Imagine that. The US military as effectively a mercenary force to those who are willing to pay.

Is it unthinkable? What do you think?

3/3

I think a very Trump thing to do instead would be to offer US troops and protection to European countries on a paid basis. “You don’t want to spend? No problem. Pay us for protection instead”. It would satisfy Trump’s need for a fair deal, and he’d be seen to be winning.

2/3

Here’s a thought that I haven’t seen anywhere but just occurred to me…

Trump is unhappy that European countries aren’t spending enough on defense. Maybe he’ll ask us to spend 5%. Maybe he’ll pull out of NATO.

1/3

YouTube video by Allan Mertner Efficient Spaceships in Factorio Space Age

I like to play Factorio, and with v2 finally out there is a lot to explore. I’ve made a couple of videos explaining things I’ve learned to fellow Factorians :)

Here is the first one, about making fuel efficient spaceships:
youtu.be/wyzcl0ixOh4

John Oliver discusses the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.Connect with Last Week Tonight online... Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel fo... Israel-Hamas War: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

John Oliver really hits home with his latest Last Week Tonight, covering Israel vs Hamas. It’s gruesome that both Israelis and Palestinians have been seriously let down by their governments. Cease fire now and stop killing innocent people.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ9P...