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1. anon29+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-02-03 18:54:16
Europe's main strategy these days seems to be blaming others instead of looking at themselves.

For example, they blame America for their own issue of lacking tech companies, despite Europe taking credit for having fewer work hours, more 'equitable' societies, etc.

They blame China for their own issue of lacking domestic manufacturing, despite their pride at having strong unions, supposedly good labor protections, and vacations.

They blame India for the bogey of 'buying Russian oil', instead of blaming themselves for being the LARGEST purchaser of refined oil products from India. As if India, one of the hottest countries on the planet, actually needs heating oil.

At this point, which country / region does Europe not blame? It's always someone else's fault. No one even thinks to look inside themselves.

replies(3): >>bborud+l3 >>Tulliu+i4 >>alephn+vK
2. bborud+l3[view] [source] 2026-02-03 19:08:27
>>anon29+(OP)
You are framing this as moral blame. It isn't about that. It is about strategic risk.

Why would we blame the US for our own inability to build a viable software industry? Europe has been painfully aware for years that this is self-inflicted.

The reason there is now serious talk about reducing dependence on the US is not resentment, it is risk. Dependence used to be a convenience. It is increasingly a liability. Trust in long-term stability, rule continuity, and alignment of interests is no longer something we can assume. That changes the calculus, regardless of who is "at fault".

From the perspective of someone who works in software, I’m glad this conversation is finally happening. It’s not about assigning blame. It is about taking responsibility for capabilities we should never have outsourced so completely in the first place.

If this looks like blame from the outside, that’s a misunderstanding of what self-correction looks like.

replies(1): >>anon29+Wq1
3. Tulliu+i4[view] [source] 2026-02-03 19:12:36
>>anon29+(OP)
There's plenty of chatter these days that Europe needs to be more independent from other powers, needs to be more competitive and so on.

What's not clear is if Europeans are actually willing to federalize/centralize power enough to make that happen. E.g. in foreign policy, a Europe with twenty different strategies and twenty different militaries will never be able to swing its weight around the same as the US*, even if the collective level of power is the same on paper. But Europeans are still focused so much on "my country wants to do X" that it seems like they'd rather be separate than strong.

* A strong military is almost always an important component of foreign policy, even when it's not actually used to do anything...because of the implication.

4. alephn+vK[view] [source] 2026-02-03 22:36:49
>>anon29+(OP)
> They blame India for the bogey of 'buying Russian oil', instead of blaming themselves for being the LARGEST purchaser of refined oil products from India. As if India, one of the hottest countries on the planet, actually needs heating oil

India and the EU have managed to work as adults and find a way to sign an FTA [0] and Defense Pact [1] last week. The adults in the room found a way to compromise and turn a zero sum game into a stag hunt and anyone repeating tired tropes like above is either extremely uninformed or a bot.

[0] - https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-cou...

[1] - https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/security-and-defence-eu-and-...

replies(1): >>irishc+o31
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5. irishc+o31[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 00:22:56
>>alephn+vK
> The adults in the room found a way to compromise and turn a zero sum game into a stag hunt and anyone repeating tired tropes like above is either extremely uninformed or a bot.

If there were adults in the room in 2023, trump doesn’t get elected.

The adults in the room bypassed a democratic primary. The adults in the room proffered up a candidate whose vote platform was solely based on “I’m not him!”

Adults cut from the same cloth made the same emotional decisions with this trade agreement: “we aren’t trading with trump!” Fuck yeah, now what?

The adults in the room lost the plot decades ago.

replies(1): >>alephn+6g1
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6. alephn+6g1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 01:46:11
>>irishc+o31
Read my comment, and dig into the context. Also, who said the current situation is not something some of us so called adults are opposed to [0][1]

[0] - >>43574128

[1] - >>44989996

replies(1): >>irishc+Lq1
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7. irishc+Lq1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 03:10:53
>>alephn+6g1
I mean… respond to my comment and I’ll click those links and do the homework to give a thoughtful response to yours…?
replies(1): >>alephn+ot1
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8. anon29+Wq1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 03:12:00
>>bborud+l3
Nothing about moral blame. Just what I read about online as reasons various things are happening. European leaders told India that it was the main reason for the Russian war. I'm sorry thats ridiculous. Europe is ridiculous frankly
replies(1): >>bborud+3j2
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9. alephn+ot1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 03:34:56
>>irishc+Lq1
I responded to your comment. If you cannot read between the lines that's on you.
replies(1): >>irishc+YE4
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10. bborud+3j2[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 11:05:45
>>anon29+Wq1
I don’t think you must be following European politics very closely and you are getting worked up about things that are not real.

No heads of state or government in Europe believes, or claims, that India is to blame for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

They blame Russia for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

I can’t know where you get your “news” from, but perhaps you should consider trying to follow more serious news organizations. AP, Reuters and BBC are highly factual with little or no political spin. For more analytical content you may consider The Economist, but be aware that they do publish opinion as well.

You seem to need a news diet that is higher on factuality and lower on spin.

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11. irishc+YE4[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-02-04 23:24:38
>>alephn+ot1
> I responded to your comment. If you cannot read between the lines that's on you.

It isn't on me to infer your thought processes. How strange.

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