John Hjorth

Luca [ @Luke ], On a more serious note, I personally at least try to read this topic with an open mind, and try not to go too much over board. There is a lot to learn from it about American, Canadian and European policies, opinions, sentiments and cultures. Certainly much better than reading any news outlet about it. All while I can't help being a Dane, and thereby European, with my own biases.

@LC, We had such a thingy available on the former software platform, unfortunately not on the current.

! Lively pages up and lively pages down about which a$$hole insulted which a$$hole! Gregs [ @Gregmals ] long term calculations above are killing me!

Luca [ @Luke ], You obviously don't understand the concept of a dress code.

I came across this post by @nwoodman today, and it really cracked me up!

Keir Starmer is now speaking to the press.

AP New - Politics [March 2nd 2025] : UK, France and Ukraine agree to work on ceasefire plan for Russia’s war in Ukraine. At least and finally, some adults are taking the initiative and are stepping up to the task. About time, I would say. I think it is important here, that two countries engaging here are of the ones with nuclear capabilities. I still think, this will eventually fail, though [because of the counterpart, Russia]. And then we can hope for a tangible and positive outcome of the meeting in London tomorrow today.

Now that you are posting here India related, @Spekulatius, Is just my personal and subjective percption, or do we actually have an under-representation of investment related stuff related to India in general here on CofB&F? [This may perhaps not be the right place to bring that up, btw.]

I agree, @Sweet, Painfully slow, to a degree, where it becomes so painfully slow, that it may be up for discussion if some European politicians really are up to the task, they are elected for, and doing their job orderly and properly. The voters' multiyear election cycles creates so much inertia in this whole democratic system, when things get volatile. In short, democracy can actually at times become so cumbersome and bureaucratic.

OK, I'll go first : It's perhaps not as specific as perhaps some here may want, but anyway : Do not .. - do not! - ... Never! - Ever! invest any of your hard earned currency units, whatever the currency of yours may be! - in Russia! In short, I have a hard time to get to a better way of ruining your own life! Being p**ssed, in bad mood, depressed, resignating and whatnot becomes a part of your daily agenda! Investing is meant to be fun and at the same time rewarding - why ever else to engage in it? Here, with Russia, and if your a man, you're most likely doomed to loose your libido! - And if you're a woman, you'll likely become frigid!

There certainly is an element of truth to the above, but to understand the shades of what's going on in Europe right now, you don't get a true, fair view, detailed and fine meshed picture of the development in the situation, unless you study the development by country. The overall picture is, that there has been too much talk, lingering, 'hot air' venting and such stuff among the European countries about this, and absolute much too less action, several of the large European countries here being the worst ones, bacause the all have their individual issues to deal with, i.e. actually Spain being the worst culprit in that matter. But there is an almost tectonic shift going on right now a long as we post here. Posted here especially for James [ @james22 ] and Mike [ @cubsfan ], but certainly also for all others.

@CGJB, Your statement may be correct, perhaps not. What really matters here is, that it is irrelevant. And so are some of @Lukes statements, that you are commenting on, too. Simply because the arguments are rear-view looking, in stead of forward looking. Argumentation related solution solving needs by logic to be forward looking instead of rear-view looking, or the quarrel between the disagreeing parties continues endlessly with no solutions achieved. The last sentense of mine here is also why I think no peaceful solution is feasible to this situation, because by now, no European leader trusts Putin, except as far as I know two : The leaders of Hungary and Belarus, who at this point do really not matter in the context.

@Luke, Not any different than what has been going on lately. Just make the agreement public when done, so everybody know, provided by Reuters, AP News, Blommberg, CNN, CNBC, Wall Street Journal ... - all of them! What I suggested about referendums in territories occupied may be totally unrealitistic in the situation and actual context, that I will admit. Have you listened the speech of the Finnish President a few days ago at MSC2025 about his experience of loosing contact to family members [father, grandparents] suddenly living in Russia, after what has happened between Russia and Finland? I think people here tend to forget that Russian military is alreday dearly roughed up, decimated and amputated.

@73 Reds, It has absolutely nothing with diplomacy to do. It's hands-on problem solving by conscious choice of solution metod to achieve the desired solution and outcome, in a case, where one has no trust to the future behavior of the adversary, based on what one already has experienced. It usually not that complicated, unless one is naive. One looks in the toolbox for the biggest hammer one have, and if the biggest hammer one have is considered not big enough, one may ask the friendly neighbour, if one can borrorow the bigger one, that you know that the friendly neighbour actually have

@73 Reds and Mike [ @cubsfan, A suggestion : 1. Europe leases / borrows relatively short term [AirBnB style] some or all of CVN-68 to CVN-77 [the US Nimitz class aircraft carriers] from USA plus perhaps also CVN-78 [USS Gerald R. Ford] including all needed supplies, planes, crews [volunteer fighter pilots only, though, on double bubble, paid by Europe], and then we Europeans initiate a special military operation [<- you know, right?, -doing this is not war!], and then we kick all Russians and the likes out of the occupied areas of Ukraine. It's just a business deal with a dealmaker, also, right? And we do it a way, that Putin will never forget, and so that he never get such ideas again. It's called eating his own cooking. 2. Ukraine asked to back off and out of Russia. 3. New referendums about which state tot belong to in such areas covered by point 1. above, including Crimea. 4. Europe has to take care of it's own peacekeeping against Russia after the above sweep.

@73 Reds, Three presidents, one of them a vice, all three amateurs out in diplomacy. Now next lower level professional diplomatic ressources from both sides will discretely step in and will clean up the messwithout any yelling, namecalling etc. that their political superiors here created yesterday. Three skating men on ice delivering a performance getting a low grade for the artistic impression. A bump in the road. I personally don't think or believe the US administration have a clue of, nor even a specific and tangible plan for how to solve this conflict.

@73 Reds, Three presidents, one of them a vice, all three amateurs out in diplomacy. Now next lower level professional diplomatic ressources from both sides will discretely step in and will clean up the messwithout any yelling, namecalling etc. that their political superiors here created yesterday. Three skating men on ice delivering a performance getting a low grade for the artistic impression. A bump in the road. I personally don't think or believe the US administration have a clue of, nor even a specific and tangible plan for how to solve this conflict.

Very good post and points here, @Castanza , In that respect : Zero performance bonus here for the two presidents and the vice president. Counterproductive and not positive in any way for a solution to the overall matter at hand, and likely also not at all to any of the parties involved in this whole mess, here even meant as including for Russia.

And ... the Day After! -Topic still going like crazy! I'm sure there was a red stamp with text 'Hot' on this topic yesterday evening on the forum index! -It seems to be gone now, and where are the 'hot stuff'?! [j/k] :

This. Thank you, @Milu. Proportions really matter here. In the meantime everybody has forgotten that Russia by now, out of pure desparation, has started to use donkeys to bring ammo to the frontline.

Ohh, no! @Spekulatius, I would certainly prefer we 'take' the Greenland matter at a later moment. I really don't know if I about that should laugh or cry.

Oh, Mike [ @cubsfan ], Please give us a break with this line of posting here.

Mike [ @cubsfan ], I think it was 1996 I did receive the monthly news script from The Association of Danish CPAs. A Danish CPA had got into a quarrel with a client, that was not related to fees, and naturally in that situation had seeked greener grass elsewhere, thereby by in writing terminating the business relation with said CPA. Next thing that happened, was that the CPA soured dearly, got really angry, and did send a letter to the former client, a la : 'Certainly OK, because I don't want to have clients like you.' [<- The last part I'm 100% sure of by memory, literally, so derogatory and condesending, but no real foul language.] While receiving that letter from the CPA, the former client went totally ballistic [, in stead of just moving on], and filed a claim at the body for professional misconduct among Danish CPAs [, which has by law competence to issue fines to members going rough and straying]. At that time, the existing regulation had the max limit for fines set to DKK 300,000. The body issued a personal fine to the CPA of DKK 300,000 [non-tax deductible], example setting. - - - o 0 o - - - If that claim body should have todays performance of the three men arguing publicly in the White House in presence of the Press brought in for assessment, my personal guess would be the following : Mr. Trump : fine USD 30 million, Mr. Zelenskyj : fine USD 20 million, & Mr. Vance : fine USD 2 million [<- Disclosure : I actually like him, and his approach to things]. - - - o 0 o - - - So : No bonus to any of these gents for performance here today, simply because this is in no way about them selves. Bad form and lack of etikette all over!

@Pellom, From the 2024 Semper Augustus Letter :

Mike [ @cubsfan ], I'm dead sure the telephone lines already are glowing in the whole Europe by now after the first freeze and shock after this happening. - - - o 0 o - - - And, yes, as you said, : Never, ever! loose your temper when there are high stakes in the game! - And that goes for all three gentlemen involved in the quarrel. Rare minerals deal now down the drain!