I wouldn’t consider a country that cannot manage its own power supply “successful.”
Like, dunno, the US? Over here we don’t have a word for “brownout” and don’t get me started on Texas.
I’d be eating popcorn over here in Europe if I wasn’t busy facepalming. The US is enforcing secondary sanctions on Cuban gas imports for buying from Venezuela while making no such moves for Russian energy exports. The US is enforcing crippling sanctions on Cuba while being chaps with Vietnam. It’s plain as day that the US’ approach to Cuba has nothing to do with the stated policies but Cuba daring to declare independence, not willing to be a banana republic. They got over the domino theory (which made them intervene in Vietnam), they never got over Bacardi and United Fruit (nowadays Chiquita) losing their slaves. That’s where the term “banana republic” comes from, btw: Chiquita’s slave plantations.
Heck, the US is perfectly willing to shoot themselves into the foot over cigars: A couple of years ago someone in the Eurozone ordered Cuban cigars from a Danish trader, all perfectly legal. Because that involves two different currencies the banks needed to convert stuff, and standard practice between the banks involved happened to be to clear everything via USD. The Americans intercepted the payment, the whole thing made the press over here, and the EU instituted regulations to stop banks from clearing via USD, which they started to do way before the regulations came into effect because they didn’t want to deal with that kind of pettiness, either. Lest you think the US cares about the status of the USD as reserve currency, evidently stopping some random European from smoking Cuban cigars is more important.
It’s pathetic. The US is acting like a spoiled brat miffed that it can’t light the neighbour’s dog on fire so they’re buying up all the shelters in the neighbourhood and setting those on fire. That’s the approximate level of maturity on display, here.
Like, dunno, the US? Over here we don’t have a word for “brownout” and don’t get me started on Texas.
I’d be eating popcorn over here in Europe if I wasn’t busy facepalming. The US is enforcing secondary sanctions on Cuban gas imports for buying from Venezuela while making no such moves for Russian energy exports. The US is enforcing crippling sanctions on Cuba while being chaps with Vietnam. It’s plain as day that the US’ approach to Cuba has nothing to do with the stated policies but Cuba daring to declare independence, not willing to be a banana republic. They got over the domino theory (which made them intervene in Vietnam), they never got over Bacardi and United Fruit (nowadays Chiquita) losing their slaves. That’s where the term “banana republic” comes from, btw: Chiquita’s slave plantations.
Heck, the US is perfectly willing to shoot themselves into the foot over cigars: A couple of years ago someone in the Eurozone ordered Cuban cigars from a Danish trader, all perfectly legal. Because that involves two different currencies the banks needed to convert stuff, and standard practice between the banks involved happened to be to clear everything via USD. The Americans intercepted the payment, the whole thing made the press over here, and the EU instituted regulations to stop banks from clearing via USD, which they started to do way before the regulations came into effect because they didn’t want to deal with that kind of pettiness, either. Lest you think the US cares about the status of the USD as reserve currency, evidently stopping some random European from smoking Cuban cigars is more important.
It’s pathetic. The US is acting like a spoiled brat miffed that it can’t light the neighbour’s dog on fire so they’re buying up all the shelters in the neighbourhood and setting those on fire. That’s the approximate level of maturity on display, here.