From:

https://twitter.com/giulio_mattioli/status/1564182628688924672

  • BeamBrain [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Weird how all these liberal countries are turning fascist as conditions deterioriate. If only someone could have predicted this.

      • cawsby [he/him]
        hexagon
        ·
        2 years ago

        If the UK does not rejoin the EU it will become a permanent client state of the US.

        The dollar/pound ratio will become so whack average Americans will start vacationing there again, like during the Thatcher years.

        • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Okay ngl my immediate reaction to that is :sicko-hair:

          I’d love to be able to cheaply vacation in the UK. Even better if they open up immigration for us before the US collapses

            • cawsby [he/him]
              hexagon
              ·
              2 years ago

              UK could be too if they went back to eating eel pies.

                • cawsby [he/him]
                  hexagon
                  ·
                  2 years ago

                  :ukkk:

                  Wild eels driven from UK market:

                  That decades-old supply chain has suddenly become illegal because the EU in 2010 banned the export of European eels outside the bloc — and since January 1, Britain has left that single market.

                  :chefs-kiss:

                  https://www.politico.eu/article/wild-eels-driven-from-uk-market-brexit/

          • SoyViking [he/him]
            ·
            2 years ago

            Even better if they open up immigration for us before the US collapses

            But then you would be living in Terf Island which is hardly an upgrade.

            • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
              ·
              2 years ago

              The big difference is I just expect gradual decline on terf island, vs the US which I expect to look like Syria or Nazi Germany in a decade or two.

  • cawsby [he/him]
    hexagon
    ·
    2 years ago

    :no-fash:

    What is going on Italy? I have not been paying attention to Italian politics since before Covid, what happened?

    • Foolio [any]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Similar situation to France - neolib "centrist" party, focused on practical solutions etc, has shit the bed and rapidly lost support (they're yellow, 5 star movement on the chart). The Far Right is the main beneficiary. Difference between France and Italy is "our guys" on the Left in France have/had more momentum and Italy has more unity between the far right and mere "conservatives" or w/e.

    • Dyno [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      la prima volta come tragedia, la seconda come farsa

  • cawsby [he/him]
    hexagon
    ·
    2 years ago

    Protesters tearing down a billboard poster of fascist politician Giorgia Meloni in Olbia, Sardinia

    https://twitter.com/GraffitiRadical/status/1564261924484759553

    • cawsby [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      2 years ago

      German gas supplies are almost full for the winter, it is doubtful come next Fall there will still be a major energy crisis in Europe - it will be brutal winter for some poorer EU countries though. When energy prices hit ~$100 a barrel for oil a lot of oil fields become viable that aren't usually pumped, and oil just hit $100 a barrel. At $150 tons of small gas and oil fracking sites become viable. Russian gas was cheap to extract, but Europe still has significant reserves of medium/high cost oil and gas fields. Europe will need to build massive amounts of LNG infrastructure over the next few years to compensate for the loss of Nord Stream 1/2. Probably the cost of 4-5x Nord Streams across the bloc.

      • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        The fundamental problem with the Western economic model is that its not enough to just have gas in reserve. Someone still needs to profit off its distribution and sale. And when the supplies are limited, that creates ample opportunity for market fuckery.

        Losing the Nord Stream imports means the EU is vulnerable to both natural and artificial supply shocks. I'm just waiting with baited breath for some modern day Soros or Enron to step in, corner the market on gas in London or Brussels, and charge everyone a zillion dollars a kwh.

        That's awesome for a handful of key influential players, but its going to once again knee-cap the domestic industrial economy. Which means Europe will be even more dependent on foreign imports than when this mess started.

        And where does that bring you? Back to Xi. :xigma-male:

        • cawsby [he/him]
          hexagon
          ·
          2 years ago

          If the 500 year droughts in Europe and China continue, neither economy is going to be in good shape.

          About 1/3rd of the world's heavy industrial base - metals/chemicals/textiles - is built in areas dependent on hydro power.

          About 25% of the world's arable land is in drought atm, and that number may increase to as high as 75% by 2050.

          https://www.unccd.int/resources/publications/drought-numbers

          Let's hope China and the EU come together at least to fight climate change, there is no choice anymore.

          • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
            ·
            2 years ago

            Either we fight climate change now or we do a Malthusian Collapse in another generation and the issue becomes moot.