1905
Japan: “Check it out, we’re white and successful like you, let’s rule the world together! We already beat up Russia and China!”
Europe: “Hell no, you are exotic and erotic but you’re not white and you’re not welcome.”
1980
Japan: “We’re successful like you, let’s manage the…”
Europe: “Sorry dudes but we’re glued to America, the guys who stopped you last time. Ninjas are cool and exotic but your multinationals are scary and you still smell of Yellow Peril to us.”
2018
Japan: “Guys…”
Europe: “Oh hell yes come on over here. Have you seen those dastandly Americans, Chinese and Russians?”
Originally shared by Jürgen Hubert
The best deals!
All made possible by Donald Trump.
https://news.sky.com/story/european-union-signs-its-biggest-ever-trade-deal-after-striking-agreement-with-japan-11439525//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js
Tattered Remains of Tartary 
This could be great. I worried about them. “It’s like learning Dutch,” a friend told me once and we choked back the sobs.
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haha who but a fool would learn Dutch?
ahem.
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IKR “a wealthy person with time itself to kill.” Portuguese came up too.
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This is gonna hurt.
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Gus L who and why?
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America is gonna get hurt as its empire depends on the post WWII trade and treaty regime. The US breaking its agreements and tossing away the multicultural norms that have allowed it to dominate the past 70 years in favor of becoming a part of a one-party/authoritarian block of white supremacist apartheid states (with Russia and maybe Poland?) is going to damage a lot of livelihoods.
Alternatively, the world seems to be entering a phase where oligarchs and plutocrats will have most of the power – and these folks have little national loyalty. however, the alliance between petrochemical fortunes in the US, Russia and Gulf states vs. international banking, manufacturing and technology wealth also seems a losing one for the dying, geographically linked plutocrats. I suspect that when the fallout settles it’s going to be the people and nations that backed the oil wealth who are left mired in environmental catastrophe, political instability and poverty.
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