I think this charade parade is both a play to his MAGA base and a sort of loyalty test to see who in the military goes along with him.

On the one hand, scurvy is not a concern, because it is very unlikely to develop it, even with a bad diet, as far as I know. On the other hand, it might not be possible, economically viable or environmentally sound to add vitamin C to water in the way fluoridation is; I don’t know enough to judge here.

It’s fascinating how some people, however fringe, believe both:

• that there is a Deep State or some other form of conspiracy that controls hurricanes and people’s minds; and
• that Trump –or anyone else for that matter– can rein in such a powerful, almost omnipotent force.

On the one hand, I share your doubt, which is justified in the face of all the deceit and mismanagement that Merz in particular and the CDU and CSU in general engage in and their disdain for the public good. On the other hand, the fact that the Sovereign Tech Fund / Agency survived the German budget crisis gives me some hope that it will at least stay.

Although they could do more, I wouldn’t say they don’t care. For instance, Germany established the Sovereign Tech Agency.

Trump could blame Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve. In fact, Trump is already pressuring him, writing or at least posting the following:

This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates. He is always “late,” but he could now change his image, and quickly. Energy prices are down, Interest Rates are down, Inflation is down, even Eggs are down 69%, and Jobs are UP, all within two months - A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!

On Reddit someone posted a parody of the whole affair. I believe it was originally posted on r/wallstreetbets, but it has since been deleted.

Donald Trump did indeed write at least the first three sentences back in 2018. I couldn’t find a source for the rest of the quote, but (a) I wouldn’t put it past that man to utter such nonsense and (b) it’s only fair we indulge in some stretching of the truth, given the extent to which he and his lackeys disregard it.

For anyone who doesn’t know: this is a clever reference to the myth of Midas’ Touch that I’m totally stealing.

Hogwash! Capitalist pigs will end us. I for one advocate for roo committees.

Prices are so bad that De Beers is for sale?!

BHP’s bid for Anglo American, which owns De Beers, is playing a role too.

I was thinking about this earlier and I’m scared about what this might mean for the future of the Pebble Mine, […].

Industry executives presumably interviewed or at least consulted by the Financial Times believe the Pebble Mine will be approved:

The Pebble Project in Alaska, a copper-gold project owned by Toronto-listed Northern Dynasty Minerals, is also expected to get its final approval under the new administration, according to industry executives.

Rio Tinto’s CEO certainly expressed optimism about the prospects of the Resolution project, which has been similarly blocked so far:

“I do think that we have really good chances now to progress that project,” said Jakob Stausholm, chief executive of the London-listed miner, in an interview with the Financial Times, which will be broadcast on Wednesday. “We have made a lot of progress.”

Given the current price of copper and its expected future demand, both the Pebble Mine and Resolution are worth a fortune. Given the current geopolitical climate, both are strategically located too. They even sit in red states: Alaska and Arizona, respectively.

Indeed; the title confused me too. I guess they assumed the connection with Europe to be implicit, given they are the European Center for Digital Rights and use a .eu domain.

As if labour abuses were limited to the meat industry or more common there than in “vegan industries” like agriculture.

This is rather “yet another reason” for proper labour laws and strong unions across the board.