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If you think things are bad now, then, brace yourself: it is about to get a whole lot worse. If you are alarmed at the speed with which the Trump administration has set about dismantling every institution of American government and every pillar of the international order, you must understand that this is not just the initial burst of activity, the “shock and awe” phase after which things will settle down: if anything, the pace will continue to accelerate.

The world has never before been faced with such a threat. The United States has handed the nuclear codes to a madman, a criminal, a would-be dictator and a moron, all in the same person. Whatever the purpose to which he directs these powers – to impress his dictator friends, to further enrich himself and his cronies, to seize absolute power or just to watch the world burn – we must hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

  • aaron@infosec.pub
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    2 days ago

    The process of global de-dollarisation,much talked about, is being hastened far sooner than I think most people (at least those not privvy to whatever intelligence existed on Trump and others’ motivations and intentions) expected.

    The question as to whether the country with the largest military in the world can accept a much-reduced international role (and much reduced share of unearned global wealth to go with it), without kicking off a kinetic world war three will likely be answered shortly.

    Trump and Musk appear wide open to exploitation/manipulation, without anywhere near the required experience or intelligence to maintain the US’s international position.

    Unstable times ahead.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      global de-dollarisation

      This is the real problem for us in the US. Currently debt doesn’t matter: that’s stupid and short sighted but it doesn’t matter. I’m not entirely sure what global de-dollarisation means but US debt is going to matter a hell of a lot more when we’re treated like any other economy

      • aaron@infosec.pub
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        De-dollarisation is the dismantling of the dollar’s role as global reserve currency, which is intimately tied to the petrodollar arrangement, which caused the world to buy oil in dollars for the last fifty years.

        I welcome any corrections/clarifications, but off the top of my head, the petrodollar arrangement was an agreement that Richard Nixon’s government made with the Saudis in the early seventies where the Saudis agreed to only sell oil in US dollars in return for military support. The agreement was a fifty year deal.

        In order for countries to buy oil they needed dollars. This was and currently still is via the selling of US government bonds, which has allowed the US to fund its deficits by printing more and more US dollars. Ultimately the world has paid for that US spending. This ends with the end of the US dollar as global reserve currency.

        Trump is showing in real time that the US cannot now be relied upon to provide security, so that half of the petrodollar arrangement is dead and gone. Would you fund the enemy’s military spending? Plenty have. And when you wanted to try and sell oil in a currency other than dollars you got a whole lot of freedom!

        This de-dollarisation very much suits the likes of Russia (for historical reasons) and China (for sound economic reasons) who do not want a world dominated by the US.

        Trump is playing into the likes of Putin’s hands fantastically. Not only is Putin getting what he wants from Trump in Ukraine, Trump is also voluntarily dismantling America’s position as global leader. I don’t know if he is a Russian asset, or if he is just so stupid, or believes the US should be an explicit oligarchy.

        Buckle up, the future is not looking good for the US. Countries that have relied on the US are facing a period of serious instability.

    • Tower@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      The chuds at the top (most of them, anyways) know that this will likely lead to ww3, and that’s been the plan. The US is the preeminent military power, so they feel safe, and there’s a shit load of money to be made in war and instability.

      The chuds at the bottom voting for US isolationism don’t understand just how much an interconnected world benefits them and how bad dedollarization is going to be for them. But then that goes along with a lot of people not understanding the benefits of concepts like soft power, humanitarian aid, foreign assistance, etc.

      • clutchtwopointzero@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Even worse, the chuds might be dead of malnourishment, preventable vírus diseases, violence, before the consequences of dedollarization hits them

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        The chuds at the bottom are rooting for dedollarization, because they put all their life savings into $TRUMP

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
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          Are they already that stupid? Maybe I give everyone be too much credit but I assumed the ones putting money into $TRUMP are wealthy people playing the patsy to launder bribes

      • margaritox@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        God, I so wish that an average American was smart enough to realize this. I feel like all they care about are their gas prices.

      • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        If the people at the top’s plan is actually WW3, then they’re stupider than they let on.

        Sure, in theory it’s profitable, in practice though? All you’re left with is a wrecked world that’s worse to live in in every possible way, and that’s assuming nukes won’t fly

        It’s literally the broken window fallacy, which to me has always been a dead obvious problem. Stability, cooperation, and peaceful progress and development has always, and always will be, much more beneficial to everyone in the long run

        These people are literally enemies of humanity

        • futatorius@lemm.ee
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          9 hours ago

          then they’re stupider than they let on

          That’s a certainty.

          These people are literally enemies of humanity

          Yes, they are.

    • masterofn001@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      Here’s a few of my predictions ftom election night and the following days:

      … "Edit:

      Just wanted to add this moment of realization from a CBS news personality.

      He was talking about how people shouldn’t be afraid, that America is the oldest democracy on earth, that democracy wil survive, and things will be OK…

      … And he continued on talking about how trump likely has full control of the government, the house, the senate, the courts, and an immunity ruling.

      After the last words came out of his mouth he looked at the camera and paused and said, (paraphrasing) ** " I’d like to maybe take back the first part of what I said, we should be afraid" **

      I promise you he will order shootings on 5th avenue.

      If you think I, we, us, anyone will be OK, like the half of the nation that elected him, you haven’t been listening.

      People voted for an economy and against scary immigrants.

      They also get the storm, the purge, the accelerationists, the camps, the executions, the prisons, smothered hope for the last possibility of saving this earth from environmental collapse.

      They literally want Armageddon.

      I mean actually fucking literally.

      Once you learn how many in the Republican party, and supreme court, are members of NAR and 7MM - literally groups with the purpose of bringing Jesus back.

      Nobody is going to be OK ."

      https://lemmy.ca/post/32433434/12637803

      I believe his (and Putin’s) goal is to destabilize (destroy) the western order, devalue the current global currency (USD), crash the central banks, fully shift economic power eastward, inflate crypto.

      Tariffs on all north American trading partners will cause harm to the entire continent and beyond.

      If none can trade, none can profit. If the tarrifs go to gov, with this admin, will they really?

      The only thing pro wall street will be how they siphon off whatever wealth is left, pump and dump, crash and burn.

      https://lemmy.ca/post/33768636/13042232

      And here’s a little freebie from Alexander dugin - Putin’s philosopher and author of Foundations of Geopolitics - about Curtis Yarvin, trumpism, and monarchy.

      https://alexanderdugin.substack.com/p/in-the-united-states-three-completely

      The end is nigh, my friends. Very nigh.

    • futatorius@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      The process of global de-dollarisation,much talked about, is being hastened

      China has a thriving economy without the RMB being anyone’s reserve currency.

      • aaron@infosec.pub
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        1 day ago

        I’m not really sure what your point is. I assume you are saying the US can have a thriving economy and not be the global reserve currency? If so, a couple of points:

        1. The US’s debts will come due as it loses global reserve currency status. Do you think it can pay those debts?

        2. US and other capitalists outsourced production to China due to the lack of collectively bargained labour agreements and environmental protections. It was cheap. Are you saying the US could ‘Make America Great Again’ by making it a sweatshop!? Because I don’t think that is what Trump voters had in mind for themselves.