EU owns twice as many treasuries as anyone else in the world…it’s be mutual suicide, but their economy would die in a fire.

Which, to be fair, is good advice in general and good especially for depression.

But, yeah I get what you mean. Here in NL it’s not much better unless you bully your doctors.

As an aside, do they just not know how to use Signal? Are they that dumb?

Belgian person?

Guys this is horrible and widely reported here, but pls keep in mind we have a “lame-duck” caretaker government atm before the new ruling coalition forms (it’s taking a hell of a long time and is difficult).

This caretaker government was a coalition with the PVV, who are our modern fascist party, and other “normal” conservatives, so it’s sad but not surprising.

You can track them: https://globalfishingwatch.org/our-map/

You have to sign up for a free account to get the good data. It’s actually not a bad sub for Marine Traffic, Lloyd’s, Seaweb, etc. It has all ships not just fishing ships, and it has satellite not just terrestrial data.

How to search effectively gets a bit of getting used to.

We have near identical looking bikes like that in Holland. Then again, we have more bikes than people.

Very true. But we are still fighting and willing to get out in the streets.

You can only really see it once.

Anecdotal, n=about 12 or so, but in my little city in NL we have had at least five different families leave the States and move into my neighborhood. The last two years I hear just tons of N American accented English in town, and these folks are not tourists. They are grocery shopping and doing we-live-here stuff.

Then again, it’s fairly easy to come to NL.

Close, only the bit about “sin is the law,” not the entirety of the law.

JC said explicitly that the rest of the OT was still law.

Kinda? The Finns seized a Russian dark fleet vessel with their military and if I remember correctly held her for several days.

There is a LOT of discussion about “safe passage” going on in the EU right now regarding this kind of ship. They are very dangerous because they have no P&I insurance if they have a spill (and you bet your ass they are not maintained to any remotely reasonable standard).

Again, I am not personally in favor of this stuff. Dangerous and irresponsible in multiple ways.

This comment is meant in no way whatsoever to justify this seizure.

That tanker has been dark fleet since at least 2022, and she’s been actively and obviously spoofing since then, e.g., more or less daring the Americas to sanction her, although in a normal world it should have been OFAC doing the sanctioning, not armed marines seizing the ship and cargo.

(Not that I think the sanctions, as they are now constituted, are necessary justified either.)

The books are quite good though.

F for respects (seriously, hope i never feel your pain, have known some with it too)

Charles Stross has got you covered: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laundry_Files

Are you my wife?

Probably could not get a person to the moon and back, alive. Agree.

Ok then we have different definitions of “orbit” and “leaving.”

Agree with your sentiment internet friend, but might want to drop that last sentence. We, uh, did go to the moon, right? Right?