Trump admin seizes US$120,000,000 owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as stake in an offshore wind project, demands that it be invested in fossil fuel development instead.

  • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.mlOP
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    3 hours ago

    First of all, NATO is not a defensive alliance by any stretch of imagination. This alliance has a long history of invading and destroying countries and it’s responsible for killing and displacing millions of people. NATO invaded Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.

    Second, it’s kind of weird that you don’t understand why weapons production is a key part of a military alliance. Who produces the military strength is, in fact, the key question. And read what I actually wrote. What I said was that replacing the US role would take decades. I said there’s no magic way to shortcut that.

    We can also see how this investment of yours works out in practice already. Europeans pledged to produce 1.5 mil artillery shells for Ukraine. A bunch of money was allocated to various slush funds, and the shells never materialized. That’s what NATO is actually good at, sucking money out of productive economy and driving austerity to line the pockets of the oligarchs.

    And not sure which capabilities you claim already exist. Given how NATO weapons performed in Ukraine and Iran, it’s pretty clear that there is no meaningful capability here.

    And why would it matter whether China is a NATO ally or not. China is the only major world power that can contest the US. Why would anybody be imbecilic enough to want to turn China into a potential adversary? What sort of absolute idiocy would that be. Also, what military technology could China possibly steal from countries that are far behind it technologically in every way. What fantasy world do live in? Chinese universities dominate world rankings right now. China has more scientists than all of the west combined. They’re at the bleeding edge of pretty much every technological field.

    These new results reveal the stunning shift in research leadership over the past two decades towards large economies in the Indo-Pacific, led by China’s exceptional gains. The US led in 60 of 64 technologies in the five years from 2003 to 2007, but in the most recent five years (2019–2023) is leading in seven. China led in just three of 64 technologies in 2003–20074 but is now the lead country in 57 of 64 technologies in 2019–2023, increasing its lead from our rankings last year (2018–2022), where it was leading in 52 technologies.

    If anything, it’s NATO countries who would be stealing Chinese tech and not the other way around.

    • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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      2 hours ago

      Wait. You think it would take “decades” for some of the most industrialized countries on the planet to start making weapons…that they already know how to make? I don’t think you realize how many of the highly specialised machines that are required for making those weapons, are actually manufactured in Europe already.

      Europeans pledged to produce 1.5 mil artillery shells for Ukraine. A bunch of money was allocated to various slush funds, and the shells never materialized.

      Are you talking about this? If so, it seems you are getting your information from questionable sources.

      And yes, NATO is a defensive alliance. If you want to get technical about that list of countries that “NATO” attacked…that was actually the United Nations, in every case except for Iraq. And most NATO nations didn’t participate in that invasion. That was the US and Great Britain acting alone, very similar to the current situation with the US and Israel attacking Iran. All the other campaigns you mentioned were UN sanctioned. I agree that some of those should never have happened…but at least place the responsibility where it belongs.

      And why would it matter whether China is a NATO ally or not. China is the only major world power that can contest the US. Why would anybody be imbecilic enough to want to turn China into a potential adversary?

      You need to go back and read what I wrote. China cannot be trusted with proprietary military designs. They would be sold to the highest bidder as soon as China was able to replicate the manufacturing process. There is a reason why most of NATO’s weapons are produced in the US, and the rest are produced by NATO allies. You don’t just outsource your highly classified military tech, to people you know will steal it.

      And not sure which capabilities you claim already exist. Given how NATO weapons performed in Ukraine and Iran, it’s pretty clear that there is no meaningful capability here.

      I don’t know, man. Ukraine has done pretty well, holding off Russia for the last few years, using NATO’s surplus. Again, I think you’re getting bad information when it comes to the specifics of your argument.