The point is to give Russia the advantage and turn the countries of Europe all into vazal states to rule over them like an emperor. EU really doesn’t like that plan of course.

It used to be a bully you could reason and work with, and that at least understood give and take. Now it’s just a drunk bully, starting fights for whatever.

Big pal Putin didn’t hesitate to use gas and oil as a weapon. Trump tries to do the same with trade and the dollar. Run away fast is the only answer.

He always wanted to be king, an absolute ruler, and was pretty clear about it, admiring dictators, saying your won’t have to vote anymore. But the speed how this is happening and how he gets away with it is a bit shocking.

And sending a space ship at a good fraction of light speed to a nearby star uses more energy than our total civilization uses at the moment. We’ve got some work to do climbing up the Kardashev scale before we’re anywhere close to that kind of travel.

Oh yeah, that time the USA kept lying about weapons of mass destruction found there and Washington not liking being called out by almost everyone.

China goes wolf warrior diplomacy from time so that’s a given. It’s what made many countries to make sure to not fully commit to trade with China.

Much greater models

It’s Musk, so the new model is simply “the more money you have, the more you receive”

Technically they can be replicated, but the network effect and their current economies of scale are harder.

Not a cartoon anymore.

Certain military hardware doesn’t have an equal. And a number of digital services.

Biotech is still on the waiting list with vat grown meat.

The plan was simple enough.

1. Lie

2. Do some tariffs

3. All countries get scared and give him money, attention and trade

4. Profit

Turns out global retaliation against him was not part of the plan.

Some doubt the potential for growth with satellite internet. It’s still expensive for developing countries. It doesn’t have enough capacity for handling cities so that leaves rural customers in western countries and they’re not the biggest or richest customer base to build on.

There are many professionals driving a bit oversized vehicles, like small cargo trucks and large vans. But these people are smart enough to know they don’t fit in a standard parking spot.

Notice how those French places are not a total ruin.

And it’ll be used to suppress wages, because “you’re not making new stuff, just fixing some problems in existing code.” That you have to rewrite most of it is conveniently not counted.

That’s at least what was tried with movie writers.

This’ll be closer to the collapse of the Soviet Union, when living in said union.

So that makes him a classic useful idiot.