• BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      German industry is/was in shambles as they allowed an unreliable trade partner, Russia, to completely take over a segment in the German economy (oil & gas). When that unreliable trade partner pulled the rug in 2022, suddenly Germany is paying out the ass for LNG, reducing factory output, even on-lining coal plants to keep the lights on.

      It is simply a bad idea to allow an unreliable trade partner to completely take over a segment in your economy.

      • Omniraptor@lemm.ee
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        7 months ago

        Germany voluntarily divested from Russian gas for political reasons. If Germany was run by more amoral “rationally greedy” business men I’m sure Russia would have happily kept selling energy to them despite the war.

        It’s probably why a certain someone sabotaged the nordstream gas pipelines, to make sure Germany’s moral compass would not falter in the future - as its economy inevitably gets worse without cheap Russian oil and gas.

        • Amoxtli
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          7 months ago

          Fossil fuels are the underpinning of industrial civilization. It was fossil fuels that made the industrial revolution possible, it wasn’t solar panels, and wind turbines, or heavy, giant batteries.

          • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            I don’t understand what your point is here? Fossil fuels were instrumental in the industrial revolution so we have to stick by them forever, planet and people’s health benefits damned?

            Nah. Use the most appropriate tech available. Which is now renewables, electric motors, etc.

          • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            It was water power dude. Water and Windmills started the industrial revolution. We’ve just been finding better ways to spin electric generator motors since then.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        That’s apples and oranges. The German government pulled out of that sector of it’s own will. Largely because they had planned to transition to Nuclear, did not do so, and then did nothing going forward.

        Letting Chinese cars compete is not going kill the big 3 unless they’re criminally negligent at running a business.

      • TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com
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        7 months ago

        I doubt that UberEats drivers would be happy with that being called their economy.

        But ivory towers certainly have comfy chairs.

      • Amoxtli
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        7 months ago

        NATO sanctioned themselves. You don’t get to blame Russia for that.

        • Alto@kbin.social
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          7 months ago

          Russia could’ve, y’know, just not done an illegal invasion of Ukraine.

          • Amoxtli
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            7 months ago

            Russians didn’t cut off natural gas supplies, or refused to pay for the commodity. The EU sanctioned themselves. What’s next? Blame the bombing of NORD-stream pipeline 2 on the Russian invasion? Don’t even discuss legality. Ukraine was legally bound to neutrality by the treaty for their independence. Western news media won’t tell you that. Towing the line of “feel-good” propaganda are we? Take responsibility for once.

              • Amoxtli
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                7 months ago

                You are ignoring causation. The explanation by the West for Putin’s invasion is he decided in 2022 he decided to begin the campaign to conquer all of Europe and the explanation for the timing is that Donald Trump weakened NATO, but at the same time NATO unity is stronger than ever. These explanations are not convincing. Then we are expected to believe that the US never thumbs it nose in other countries’ business. The United States of America is the great destabilizer of the world; it is not China, or even Russia.

                What is logical is that Putin is reacting to an EU and NATO threat to a historically and culturally intertwined region with Russia. What does the US want in Ukraine? You tell us.