A lot of good points here about pros and cons when considering republic vs constitutional monarchy. I was myself against the idea of monarchy for quite a while, but I realize it’s mostly because I was living in the UK at the time and was exposed to how normal people are treated compared to the upper class. In addition, though the British royal family doesn’t have any power on paper, they have vast connections in all parts of the government and private sector with many ways to influence things. Also, the UK was until recently a two party state, which meant almost total power to whichever party won the election.

Scandinavia doesn’t have as much of a disparity between social classes (even counting royals), and what I see here is that the monarchy provides a stability and continuity that we wouldn’t get with a republic. Anyone can lie, cheat and bribe their way to getting elected president, but when you have a dozen different parties with different policies passing laws with a monarch as an anchor, it works out pretty well.

The King of Norway has a mostly symbolic role in day-to-day affairs. New laws that have been passed by the Storting (Parliament) will have their final approval signed by the King, but this is largely a token approval. The King does have veto power over any given amendment, but if he invokes it, Parliament has the right to vote the same amendment through a second time, at which point it cannot be vetoed. He is the head of the Church of Norway, and also supreme commander of our armed forces. Though command is delegated to other commanders, the King would have a more direct role in questions regarding central command or wartime. When representing our country abroad, he is very much considered a personification of the nation, rather than a representative of the ruling party. Norway’s main reason for maintaining our own monarchy stems very much from declaring independence from Denmark and Sweden, which ruled us for about 500 years.

Who needs’em? If Uncle Vlad hears that Ze Germans are rolling across the Polish border, he’ll be skipping on one leg back to Russia while changing his soiled pants. :D

Probably couldn’t trust Trump to come through, but you have to keep in mind that he’s not an autocrat quite yet. Not everyone in the US government shares his views on NATO and the commitments the US has pledged to under that alliance. Look at the rest of NATO. You have four of the top ten military powers in the world to start off with (UK, France, Turkey, Italy). Then add to that the rest of Europe and Poland’s own considerable military might. Canada would also join in, and those otherwise peaceful Canadians go fucking nuts when provoked. Even disregarding NATO, you have the Anglo-Polish Alliance, which is a mutual assurance that the UK provides military assistance (or vice versa) if their ally is invaded. Poland also has many close friends and allies in the old East Bloc, so the misconception that they would be left to their own devices is simply untrue.

Ukraine isn’t a member of NATO. In fact, their wish to join the EU and NATO could very well be the excuse Putin needed to start the invasion.

Most hilarious part of this meme is the people losing their minds in the comments. “Jesus wasn’t white, he was black! But he didn’t exist, stop with the religious nonsense!”

What else do we have left at this point?

Ukraine not being a NATO member yet is most likely among the main reasons Putin had the balls to send troops across the border. There’s absolutely no way he’d risk a full-on confrontation with NATO, because he knows it would be the end of the Russian Federation.

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“Your money or your life!”

An attack on Poland would immediately invoke NATO Article 5, drawing in the combined forces of continental Europe, the UK, the US and Turkey. The world wouldn’t need to worry about it going nuclear, conventional forces would have the Russians back over the Belarusian border by lunchtime.

I don’t even live in the US, but the internet has conditioned me to prepare myself for something batshit insane whenever I read the words “Florida man”. What’s up with that?

“Omg, wait, let go! Oh… That’s actually really nice and warm, purrrrrrr…”

I don’t nap, but it baffles me that someone would be horrified over someone else having regular naps. If a nap takes you to your happy place, you do you.

The fact that you’re asking has already answered the question. You’re only five weeks in, and already you’re showing more care for the child than some get through their whole childhood. Your greatest gifts will be love, wisdom, patience, understanding and a safe harbour when seas are rough. You’ll do great, and I’m cheering you on. All the best for the pregnancy to come full term.

If it’s Korean noodle soup (like buldak or nongshim), I throw in some sliced spam, an egg, fresh spring onion and a couple slices of American cheese (that plastic cheese they use on burgers). If it’s dry noodles, specifically IndoMie’s Mee Goreng, I shit you not, try adding a teaspoon of unsalted peanut butter in there.

Norwegians are supreme in the Nordics. We can count to five.

Maybe at least pour it in a different container? Edges on those things are sharp.

I’ve lived in London for seven years, never felt there was pressure or expectations of tips, though there were options to tip on the card terminal occasionally. But yes, wages in London are shit (unless you’re a banker), so if I could afford to leave 50p in the pub jar, I would.

Norway has been considered to be super-expensive among tourists and others looking in from abroad. However, Norwegians going to the US really have to mind their spending nowadays, especially when eating out. Forcing employees to rely on tips to get above slave wage is generally not a thing in Europe, so the price we see on the menu is what we expect to pay.

If you go to a gas station near an airport in Western Norway, you can get a massive 300g burger (3/4 lb) with added cheese and bacon for about 200 kroner, which is $19. If you want something that normal people can finish, a regular 150g cheeseburger is about $12. A McDonald’s double cheeseburger is 43 kroner, or $4.12. If you order a burger at a restaurant or a pub, you’ll probably be spending about $25 for a bacon cheeseburger with included fries. You’re not expected to tip in Norway.

Considering that the prices Americans here refer to don’t include taxes and tips, I’m actually pretty sure it would be more expensive to eat out in the US than in Norway, and average pay for a waiter/waitress here is about $41 000 per year.