If you want to do business with Iran, why don't you just use Bitcoin?
This is about control. If they built such a system on Bitcoin, they would have none.
Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
41–50 of 151 posts
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#42This article makes absolutely no sense.
The EU chosing Iran over the US?!
That is not what is going to happen over the reopened Iran deal. What is going to happen is that the EU will fall in line and Iran will be forced to withdraw its activities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen ... due to the severity of the economic hardship caused by the sanctions.
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#43Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've always found it fascinating to link the stand of an entire country to a single person or a group of people. For instance when we say, the U.S. has imposed X sanctions, it's weird to think that it's simply the work of a small group of people. I am doing an awful job at wording my thought, but what I am trying to say that putting a human face/name on an entire country's action makes it interesting.
I think I get (and agree) with that you're putting down. Maybe this phrasing? : "It's weird to think that the actions of the few who wield the most - but not the majority - of the power in the US are talked about as if they are the US." Sometimes, we narrow this down; we say, the X administration. But is that accurate? Does it convey the emotional reality? Maybe we should say; [Person], acting in their duty as [Role]…
You are describing a problem I see often when people try to discuss international relations - they get addicted to using grouping or personal terms to describe truly massive numbers of people, organizations and agendas which at an extremely high level can perhaps some some simple motivation ascribed to them.
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's not a clandestine operation but just a challenge to the US demands, therefore it's public? US: Don't trade with Iran because politics UK, DE, FR, CN, RU: Sorry, We like the deal we made and we would like to trade with Iran. US: If any company trades with Iran, won't be able to trade with the USA. Make your choise. UK, DE, FR, CN, RU: Okay then, we will create an infrastructure where the USA won't be able…
US: Nice. Then we will just roll the dice once a week and point our finger to random big company of yours.
Will I am sure EU will take one from FANG to take money back, it is not like they are already actively doing this /s
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
In 1)-3) you assume that US is the world's global policeman who is always right because it is right. 4) The democratic way: ask people in this "another" country and if the opinions split then restructure it: either convert it peacefully into two countries (like Czechoslovakia) or confederation/federation.
Except in reality, countries close to Russia are desperate to have as much NATO and American presence as possible. Why? Because the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire preceding it were a universal net negative.
So what these countries are currently doing is replacing the "Russian Empire" by the "NATO Empire" (NATO/US invasion) instead of simply turning into a democracy and asking people how they want to live.
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#47This article makes absolutely no sense. The EU chosing Iran over the US?! That is not what is going to happen over the reopened Iran deal. What is going to happen is that the EU will fall in line and Iran will be forced to withdraw its activities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen ... due to the severity of the economic hardship caused by the sanctions.
It’s about Europe choosing sovereignty over their own international politics rather than cow towing to the US. It’s not the EU preferring Iran over the US
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The US should aggressively block any attempt to get around it. The ubiquity of US dollars in international trade allows US to torpedo the economy of any country it so desires. It is like the US has a kill switch to shut down any economy it wishes to. But the only reason the rest of the world plays along and allows the kill switch to exist is that they trust the US to use it responsibly and only in extreme circumsta…
I disagree. I think the only reason the rest of the world plays along is because the rest of the world is weak. The US are simply a bully. But it's true that the advent of Trump makes the bullying more difficult to accept because it's now absurd and incoherent; if some other powers unite and find a way to resist the bullying, then at least some good will have come out of trumpism.
I don't think we've been a bully so much as the rich kid that indirectly paid people to be their friend. I think Trump is accurate in pointing out that many of our arrangements are detrimental to the US on the first level, but at the same time those arrangements, and the unstated threat of their removal, is what gave the US the power to arbitrarily exert its influence. This became even more true as other nations started to take those arrangements as a given and became reliant upon them.
In the grand scheme of things I'm also happy the rest of the world seems to be becoming less dependent on the US. It removes single point of failure scenarios. Economies and nations keeping each other more at arm's reach would help ensure the world acts in a more democratic fashion while simultaneously also providing insulation against the failing of any given nation's poor decisions - be those social, political, economic, or military.
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#49This article makes absolutely no sense. The EU chosing Iran over the US?! That is not what is going to happen over the reopened Iran deal. What is going to happen is that the EU will fall in line and Iran will be forced to withdraw its activities in Syria, Iraq, Yemen ... due to the severity of the economic hardship caused by the sanctions.
Besides which - what is Macron going to do if half the board of BNP Paribas is arrested when they land on US soil for sanctions busting? Invade?
This seems like a very good way for the Europeans to learn how much of the international financial system relies on American goodwill to work as planned.
Re: Europe Finally Has an Excuse to Challenge the Dollar
#50Sanctions are one of the most powerful tools in the US toolbox short of war. In fact it's more important than war when dealing with Great Power adversaries because they have nukes. The US should aggressively block any attempt to get around it. Trump shouldn't have pulled out of the Iran deal, but preserving that power for the future is more important. Here's a good article about OFAC, the Treasury Department group th…
This is just factually wrong. There is great beliefe in some groups about economic sanctions but economists and political sientists mostly agree about this, it not.
The data is pretty clear on this, it does not lead to regimn change or whatever else the country wants.
Now people will claim that the Iran deal is a counterexample, but it is not. I was the US who realied that their sanction had no effect on the nuclear program was going fast. The US then compromised even more.
The US is very good at making sanctions, but bad at removing them.
The way the do it in the Iran case is directly and clearly against all the international laws the US claims to stand for.
Its a sad state of affairs when Iran observes international law and the US spits on it.