The added benefit is no reliance on foreign tech companies who will kow-tow to autocratic governments. Also since we can afford to develop open source software, it will also benefit poorer and developing countries. Which is a goal on it’s own, but will also put the the EU in a good light elsewhere.

While technically correct. I don’t think the existence of Hans Island, an uninhabited speck between Greenland and Canada really counts as a land border between the EU and Canada. Any trade would happen by ship or plane directly between the continents. Not a border corssing on Hans Island.

Although, if EU rules require some kind of land border… Hans Island might be important after all.

The EU is not a geographical union despite it’s name. Even then, Canada and Europe share a common border; the Atlantic Ocean. Also it’s part of the Commonwealth, Has a strong economy, social politics, The Greco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian tradition. And they speak the two most common European languages. Canada makes more sense than Türkiye if you disregard distance.

Didn’t even know that. Makes the recent news how his secret trip to Israeli-occupied territories got leaked all the more revealing of his true allegiances.

If history had taken a different turn here or there. It could have easily been French or German or Dutch. In “our timeline” it happened to be the British Empire.

Unsurprising, as the biggest party in the government is populist, autocratic and pro-Putin.

US military hardware is top notch. But the US has shown itself to be an unreliable ally. So spending that money at home, supporting the local economy where the money will ultimately flow back to the governments via taxes. Also there is almost nothing the US makes that we don’t or can’t make here with a few exceptions like the F-22 or X-37 (AKA the satellite snatcher).

I thought the whole point of Lemmy was that it didn’t matter what instance you joined. Can I move my account, or do I need to make a new one on a new instance?

If the Oligarchs and their families feel safe in Moscow, they don’t mind bending over with the wind. But if the war comes to their doorstep, in this case as drones, they might reconsider that tune.

A common language serves common communication. As a happenstance of history that turned out to be English. Changing it would be enormously costly and hinder cooperation. Aside from that, learning English is useful as it’s more or less commonly understood in almost every country in the world.

It was a “alternatives to American apps/sites” on Reddit that got me here