And even the EU alone does not need to hide from the US. Including the other countries shifts it even more.

It is the US that is becoming more and more alone, especially if we finally do our homework and realise our potential.

They arent alone

Yes agreed , it's been imo dramatically portrayed as we have been overly dependant on the US to take the lead after WWII. They were able to cut through most internal divisions, and now its enterily up to us.

Time to feel more confident and step out in the World, not as post-WWII Europe or an infant sucking at anyone's tits, but as self conscious and aware Union with it's own character, values and way of life.

What about Africa? There's a lot to gain in Africa. It's not all war and corruption, there's plenty of oppertunity to grow business relations. With Europe's declining worker population and Africa's growing population, it might be a good idea to look at emigration or outsourcing opportunities there.

And with a "friend" like today's usa we don't need enemies

It's really becoming a "ideological worldwar" or something. Supposedly there a three geospheres and the main topic is democracy versus autocracy.

CNN Portugal tonight was already distorting the current situation, claiming that Costa's recent statements about Europeans not being subject to US interference were due to Trump saying that Europe would collapse civilizationally in 20 years because of its immigration policies, which is false or at least not the whole truth. Costa said what he said because the USA now considers the dismantling of the EU and support for Eurosceptic parties a priority in its defense strategy.

Europe, betrayed, is under attack.

TIL about Craig Unger goodreads has some nice reviews:

"One of the things I found valuable about House of Trump, House of Putin is that Unger makes clear—if such a thing can be made clear—what a strange, amorphous organism Russian/Ukrainian organized crime can be: equal parts legitimate business and human trafficking, government influence and illegal money laundering, threats of blackmail whispered in darkness and bold murder on the daytime streets."

I think many (should) know most of the story though. But like you say it's circumstancial. You know what I've been thinking lately; what if it was FSB who ordered to off Epstein, afraid he might blow the whistle on this scandals? Wouldn't be entirely wild anymore.

Trump has been a Russian asset since 1986 at least.

Why have the US intelligence agencies done nothing? At least Trump is a double agent, or tripple.

There must be a story of complicated alliances of which we know almost nothing. I am just sure that American billionaires have not handed over the keys to the US to Russia.

Yup. This idea of geographical, ideological alignments or lack thereof between blocs or countries entirely misses what's actually going on. It's why it's rarely revealing and it fails to create useful predictions. Instead I find that looking at the owner class as acting against the working classes domestically and internationaly provides a much better picture of the world.

arsenal of democracy

And a democracy with arsenals.

That is really complex. The imperialism of France is very different to that of Slovakia for example and the EU has members with everything in between.

Another situation where a dictator believes his own propaganda, thinks European democracies and their citizens are weak and decadent, only to come to the belated conclusion that people are people, that people can become monstrous when faced with any kind of hardship, and you really shouldn't underestimate the descendants of people who collectively killed millions upon millions.

It would be funny if the entirely predictable result wasn't unimaginable suffering.