That's what I mean! The practical support has been really good. It doesn't filter back into the Discourse. There's no "having done that, what next?" It doesn't feed into discussions about military readiness or spending. The refugee success doesn't impact the endless small boats discourse.

This is rather like the Cameron administration actually being good on Net Zero.

> I am looking forward to the day when problems 5000 miles away from my home are no longer treated as my problem.

The USA does not live in a vacuum.

I think you will find global events 5000 miles away ARE your problem, and mine, whether you like it or not.

So why don't you use it?

Surely you ordinarily cook up at least once nice meal a week; eat it using the nice dinner service and bring a little elegance to your life (and who cares if you break a plate or two, it died doing what it was made for).

> Here in NH it's either once or twice a year

Good god! Why on earth would you make it difficult to dispose of hazardous waste safely?

Here in Blighty, the local tip (sorry 'recycling centre') is open throughout the week and accepts everything from used engine oil and battery acid to asbestos. Granted some of the smaller tips might not have such facilities, but they will direct you to one that will.

All free of charge for non-commercial users. (Business will have their own regulated arrangements for hazardous goods).

> It's about the nukes

Is the right answer.

For all the jingoism being spouted, it would be nice if somebody had a whisper in Mango Mussolinis ear as to why NATO and the post 1945 order was formed, and who benefits from it (hint: all our democracies).

NATO was formed to counter the threat of the Soviet Union which no longer exists. Russia is nothing like the same threat to the US that the Soviet Union was. The US is now more concerned about China.

Europe was economically and militarily important globally than it now is. Therefore defending it is less important to the US than it used to be, while Asia has become more important to the US.

Russia is not even anything like the same threat to Europe that the Soviet Union was. It has been further weakened by the Ukraine war and it will take many years to recover.

As for nukes, there are two acknowledged nuclear powers in western Europe.

>The US is now more concerned about China.

Ah, that's why "U.S. pulls last aircraft carrier in Asia" :)

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-pulls-last-aircraft-c...

Yeah, recent events have clarified how much Israel and Saudi (and Bahrain, Jordan etc) are real defense priorities for the US. Expended a lot of Patriot interceptors and lost several aircraft on the ground including an incredibly expensive E-3 Sentry.

> recent events have clarified how much Israel and Saudi (and Bahrain, Jordan etc) are real defense priorities for the US.

And why might that be? Presumably because the USA decided to start a pointless war in the middle east?

Yes. The real priorities are not the stated priorities because the administration is lying and/or making extremely poor decisions.

Its not the last aircraft carrier in Asia, as there are three in the Indian Ocean.

It is also a failure, not a policy, and if the US is struggling in more important regions its all the more reason to pull back from Europe.

Does the US really want to be facing a Europe with multiple nuclear powers and thousands of warheads?

Europe is a sleeping giant. America has long seen it advantageous to keep the giant sleeping. Now it is dancing around shouting "nee-naw" while the giant slowly opens its eyes.

> Does the US really want to be facing a Europe with multiple nuclear powers and thousands of warheads?

Why not? There is no causus belli to fear, and Russia and China already have lots of weapons.

Europe is not really a sleeping giant. People here are in denial about the decline of the west (as shown by downvotes) but Europe is simply not the power it used to be. Just look at the GDP of Europe as a a proportion of global GDP. It has been the slowest growing region for decades.

Hence "sleeping".

A young man and an old man taking a nap are both "sleeping," but one has his life ahead of him and the other is in his twilight. Europe is the latter.

It’s going to be very sleepy even after it wakes up.

and no giant.

> methanol

Currently made from crude oil in a CO2 emitting process from a finite fossil fuel resource.

And yes, whilst methanol can be distilled from wood/crops (a more expensive process), this simply cannot scale, especially if humanity wishes to eat...... You do realise a large container ship is 1/4 mile long and carries north of 18,000 TEU containers; that's 9000 lorries worth. They are big.

Victim blaming. Nice.

that was just a joke grow up

"just a joke"

Right.

> My tungsten wedding ring

You do realise that in the (admittedly unlikely) event that needs to be cut off in the Emergency Department, they wont have a chance?

Place the tungsten ring against concrete, hit the top of the ring gently with a hammer and increasing the force with each hammer blow until the ring cracks.

Search YouTube for “break tungsten ring” for examples.

It's the weigh I like it.

> Hell, Greta Thunberg crossed the Atlantic on a sailing ship.

I need to attend a scientific conference in the USA next month. Please can you kindly tell me how I can also sail across the Atlantic to get there?

(As an aside, my employer has already issued my burner phone and laptop; SOP for visiting countries such as the USA).

That sounds like something you could do via Zoom and save yourself the hassle.

Nobody claimed we could do a systemic change without, y'know, change.

Yes mate. Because staring at a screen on zoom call is a suitable alternative to free social interaction and scientific relationship building.

I'd rather you look at Zoom and we don't die of a climate catastrophe. I never said we could keep all our little niceties, such is systemic change.