Posts by Rachel Allen55

Larry Walker24 said:Sweden is heading straight for a recession, and the housing market is a total disaster. On top of that, grocery prices are absolutely insane right now.

The Swedish krona just took a massive dive, losing about 50% of its value. Food is still way cheaper than it is in Denmark right now, but who knows what the future holds—importing everything is getting pricey.

As for the housing market, all of Scandinavia is pretty much stuck in the mud.

Life just got way more expensive. My mom lives right on the border with Canada, and back in the day when they were still using the Dollar, people would cross over from America constantly just to shop. Everything in Canada was a steal compared to us, but honestly? That’s all ancient history now that they switched to the Euro.

They’re definitely right-wing, but don't mistake them for far-right—there's zero ambiguity there. And just because they hold some somewhat liberal stances on the issues mentioned above doesn't change a thing. Being "liberal" on certain points became the standard long before the Swedish Democrats ever hit the scene.

Take Denmark, for example. You've got the hardline stuff like New Citizens, where everything is viewed through a super skeptical lens if it doesn't fit the old-school mold. They're anti-migration, anti-European Union, and lean toward non-fiscal policies, but hey, it worked well enough to push their agenda onto other parties—like getting rid of the unemployment office.

I drive back and forth between Denmark and Sweden pretty often, mostly by car, and my takeaway is this: border checks are everywhere. It’s actually become rare to cross without being stopped on either side.

If you look at the German border, it feels like a textbook checkpoint. They’ve even set up those chicanes on the highway to narrow everything down to a single lane—you know, with the lying officer setup. It’s so clunky it basically forces you to crawl through at 1.9 miles/h. Over at the parking area where they used to check trucks, you’ve got customs and police running the show while the military decides who gets a free pass and who gets inspected. One thing I’ve noticed? If you’re coming from Eastern Europe, you're definitely getting checked.

When Germany had controls on the Denmark-Germany border during the pandemic, they were brutal. Coming from our side in Denmark, they didn't care about COVID certificates, but they were all over our passports, IDs, and driver's licenses—everything was scanned. Meanwhile, just a short drive away near the actual border, you could see deep inspections happening constantly, and it seemed to be targeting Eastern Europeans from places like Poland, Canada, or America.

Honestly, I think it’s just a matter of time before the Schengen Area officially stops existing up here. I mean, we already have customs checks.

Even if the US Congress were to condemn the Danish-German or Swedish-Danish border controls, they’re basically toothless. None of these countries can really threaten them with sanctions or pulling EU funds, because those funds aren't even being used here. Around here, those funds are treated like spare change for some "third-world member states."

darkjackal70 said:I haven't traveled via public transit, but having driven myself, I can tell you there aren't any controls—at least not in the way you're describing. When you claim there is permanent border control, one would assume there are actual checkpoints in place, yet I haven't seen a single one. 😁

I cross the bridge to Sweden almost every week. Honestly, I can count on one hand how many times in the last five years there hasn't been a check. If there isn't one on the Swedish side, there's one on the Danish side coming back, or vice versa. Like I said, I can practically count the times in five years where *neither* side had anything going on. As for the borders between Denmark and Germany, those checks have been permanent for the last decade or so.

Here, let me run a Google Translate for you.

When traveling to Denmark by train from Sweden, you will occasionally experience border control at Copenhagen Airport. The Danish police will check passengers disembarking or boarding the train. The border control on the train continues to the next station. You must be able to present valid ID and any relevant travel documents to the police if requested. Not all travelers are necessarily checked.

When you travel to Denmark by train from Sweden, you will occasionally encounter border checks at Copenhagen Airport. Danish police will inspect passengers getting off or onto the train. This border control extends to the next train station. There, you need to show valid identification and any necessary travel docs if the police ask. It doesn't mean everyone gets checked.

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The reality is they check people more often than not.

If you're driving across the Øresund Bridge, Danish police will periodically be stationed on the Danish side conducting border checks, where you'll need to show valid ID and relevant travel documents, and they might even want to search the car.

The checks on the Danish side take place at Peberholmen, where police wave cars over for inspection. These are spot checks that happen a few times a week.

If you drive your car across the Øresund Bridge, Danish police will occasionally be on the Danish side performing border checks; you'll have to provide valid ID and relevant travel papers, and the police may request a vehicle inspection.

Border control on the Danish side happens at Peberholmen, where the Danish police pull cars aside for checks. These random inspections occur several times a week.

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It says "a few times a week," but in my actual experience, it feels like a miracle when there *isn't* a check.

If you’re catching the ferry between Helsingør and Helsingborg, just a heads-up: the Danish police run checks on travelers coming into the country from time to time. Make sure you have your ID and any necessary travel docs handy. Just so you know, the border control happens on land on the Danish side.

It’s the same deal with the bus routes.

If you're taking the ferry between Helsingør and Helsingborg, just a heads-up: Danish police run occasional checks on passengers heading into the country. You'll need to have valid ID and any other necessary travel docs ready to go. Heads up though—the border control happens on land once you hit the Danish side.

Same goes for the bus lines.

What's the word from the Swedish side?

If you’re taking the train, expect border checks at the Hyllie station area. Basically, if you hop off there, they check you right on the platform. If you're staying on until you hit downtown, they'll just board the train and check everyone while it's idling at the station.

If you're taking the train, border control usually happens at the Hyllie station. If you’re hopping off there, they check you right on the platform. But if you're just passing through on your way to Malmö, they'll handle the checks while the train is idling at the station.

They’ve got permanent checkpoints at the first station now. Because of that, you might end up running pretty late getting to the main hub in Malmö.

If you're driving across the bridge, expect the border checks to happen right at the toll plaza on the Swedish side. Same goes for anyone hopping on a Greyhound, a Megabus, or even the local commuter lines.

If you're driving across the Øresund Bridge, expect border checks to happen at the Lernacken toll plaza over in Sweden. Same goes for anyone hopping on a Greyhound, a Netbus, or even the 999 bus line.

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There’s always more cops and customs agents at the toll plaza than there are actual crews keeping the roads and booths running. It’s a total joke. You almost never get through without seeing someone in uniform checking you out.

When you're taking the ferry between Helsingør and Helsingborg, just a heads-up that Swedish police handle the border checks when you're heading into Sweden.

If you're taking the ferry between Helsingør and Helsingborg, just a heads-up: Swedish police are running border checks for anyone heading into Sweden.

I’ve been thinking about my travel plans lately, specifically regarding getting around Sweden. Honestly, just looking at the logistics makes me want to take a nap. It's a lot more complicated than it looks on paper.

I’ve been thinking about this lately—how much easier life would be if we could just zip back and forth without all the bureaucratic headache. Honestly, getting from one side of the water to the other shouldn't feel like crossing an international border with a suitcase full of contraband. It's frustrating when you're just trying to get home or visit someone, but instead, you're stuck dealing with checkpoints and endless paperwork. We should be treating these connections more like a local commute rather than some grand expedition through customs. Life's too short to spend half of it waiting in lines that don't need to exist.

Back at the tail end of 2015, Sweden basically threw down the gauntlet and gave Denmark an ultimatum: start checking IDs for everyone using public transit or crossing via the bridge, or else Sweden would shut down all passenger traffic—ferries and bridges alike. They weren't playing around.

Denmark eventually folded and demanded the same from Sweden, which is why today, whether you're taking a ferry or driving, bussing, or catching a train between Denmark and Sweden, you're hitting checkpoints. It's pretty rare to get through without being checked on one side or the other.

There’s just zero political appetite to go back to that old Nordic agreement from 1958. Not in Sweden, not in Denmark, and honestly, probably not in Norway, Finland, or even Iceland either.

Then you’ve got Denmark, which has kept permanent border controls with Germany running for about a decade now.

It's the same story here in Denmark; there’s no political will to scrap those checks on the German border.

To put it bluntly, the Schengen Area in this part of Europe is a total ghost town. On paper? Sure, it exists. In reality? It's basically dead.

Sweden is dealing with such a massive headache regarding migration—specifically from the Middle East, Africa, and certain other Asian countries—that they're using climate policy and the war in Ukraine as convenient smoke screens to distract everyone from the actual crisis at their doorstep.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the influx of migrants and various immigrant groups, Swedish democracy wouldn't even be on the map, let alone where it stands today.

They couldn't even last 24 hours before the revolts started and people began hinting they're jumping ship. I seriously doubt the liberals—who’d much rather back the socialists—will stick around in a government basically built on the Sweden Democrats' platform. I give them a year and a half max of this tug-of-war before we hit the next election.

So, saying a third of them are coming from some Nazi milieu? Hmm. How old would they have to be for that to even make sense... clearly someone’s talking without ever actually setting foot in Sweden.

In Denmark, you've got three parties pushing the anti-immigrant angle and one more that's selective about it, plus a party that's just anti-European Union. That's five different political options on the table. So, what's your move now?

Nothing much has changed since the last update. Looks like we're heading straight toward new elections.

Look, slapping heavy sanctions on Russia and expecting the West to just turn its back isn't exactly a walk in the park.

The European Union alone pulls about 40% of its energy from Russia, including 25% of its total oil supply—and let’s not forget Russia is one of the world's biggest players in wheat, iron, and aluminum too.

Take palladium, for instance. Russia is the top global exporter of this stuff, and we use it for everything from car exhaust systems to smartphones and even dental fillings. Plus, roughly 90% of the neon used to manufacture microchips comes out of Russia.

Russia isn't some small island nation or North Korea where you can just throw sanctions around without consequence. You can do it for the cameras or to satisfy the crowd, sure, but if Russia decides to push back, the West is going to be in deep trouble.

You can't really hurt Russia with sanctions without basically stabbing yourself in the foot at the same time.

Honestly? I don't think the European Union can sustain these sanctions for more than three months before they start feeling the burn of their own decisions.

Carl Lee27 said:Japan, Korea, and Taiwan might eventually jump on board with the sanctions, but it really depends on how far they're willing to go...
Maybe there's actually a real solution for Europe: just ban every single aircraft coming out of Russian airspace entirely, regardless of where they're registered or where they started their journey.

That would mostly screw over Japan, China, and the rest because of cargo flights. Even the USA uses Russian airspace for cargo and civilian travel. From what I can see, they actually have a decent deal worked out with Russia.

The USA pushes the EU to take a stand against Russia, yet they have these side deals with them. To me, Joe Biden is pretty transparent. Just look at the chaos back home in America over those sanctions on Russian banks. They only ever implement the sanctions that barely touch them.

ruggeddriver70 said:What do you mean Alaska? Flights to the Middle East, South Asia, or Southeast Asia have always gone via Romania/Bulgaria, down through the southern Black Sea, northern Turkey, then hugging the Iraq-Iran border and the Persian Gulf to get where they're going. There aren't going to be any big changes there.

For China and Japan, they'll just end up doing layovers in Doha or Dubai.

At the end of the day, it’s a total mess. United Airlines basically said that flying to Japan—whether it's cargo or passenger service in South Asia—is absolutely killing their business. If they don't get flights back over Russia by May 3rd, United is pulling the plug. And who knows what happens to those massive planes they used for the Japan and China routes once they're grounded.

Right now, it's just a free ride for Japanese, Chinese, and other neutral airlines, since they can fly over Russia without any issues.

Germany is the only one that actually pushed the flight ban until May 3rd.

Roger Fowler said:Speaking as an engineer on the technical side, they certainly have more potential than, say, the North America. If you were even remotely technically literate, you would know that Ukraine once had a massive aerospace industry; in fact, European space rockets actually utilize Ukrainian rocket engines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RD-843

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/...n-ukraine.html

This is just one example of many things Ukraine offers. Since you're bringing up prosperity, it’s pretty obvious that a country like America would benefit far more by importing educated professionals from a nation like Ukraine than by taking in people like you from some godforsaken place where they were still using wooden plows to till the dirt.

In Denmark, we have academic inflation—a bunch of unemployed intellectuals—yet everyone keeps droning on about "importing skilled labor." Denmark has been overhauled by this supposed skilled workforce, but honestly, you need to take that "skilled labor" claim with a massive grain of salt around here.

Denmark barely does any business with Ukraine. A handful of Danes in the IT sector moved there just for the cheap labor. Plus, Ukraine isn't even an EU member.

Business between Denmark and Ukraine has been almost purely symbolic. I couldn't tell you how things stood between America and Ukraine regarding that kind of thing.

William Anderson5 said:It’s like you’re ignoring the fact that Europe is effectively at war. Everything changed on February 24, 2022. The fight against Russia is the only thing on the agenda now.

The EU isn't at war, nor is it going to be with Russia. Whatever is going down in Ukraine stays on Ukrainian soil.

Unless Zelenskyy decides to declare war on the EU himself. Putin definitely won't.

Here’s the first red flag out of Denmark.

https://www.berlingske.dk/politik/da...lp-til-ukraine

Denmark is handing over $7 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Yet just two weeks ago, they could barely scrape together about $300 to help 200,000 households cover basic heating and energy costs. It wasn't nearly enough.

And get this—they only gave seniors a measly 15-cent raise this year.

The usual excuses: "we don't have the budget," "COVID did this," etc. But suddenly, $7 million for Ukraine appears out of thin air in just a couple of days.

William Anderson5 said:So you're telling me that sanctions are actually making them stronger, rather than doing anything to stop me...🤣

Sanctions are kind of a joke when you're talking about energy. They aren't some massive global hammer; they’re more like local inconveniences. You basically ditch one partner because they're being difficult, then just turn around and deal with others who don't care about the drama. Honestly, slapping sanctions on yourself is just a fast track to total isolation—not just from one group, but from everyone.

William Anderson5 said:If that's the case, why didn't the Russians just sanction themselves? Didn't they want to get stronger...

Give me a break. "Imposing sanctions on themselves"? What are you actually trying to say here?

Sanctioning Russia just makes them feel even more independent from everyone else. What are you even going to have left to use for sanctions next time?

Everything needs balance. Even this whole situation is a delicate balancing act. Do people honestly think Americans are ready to start seeing layoffs because of these sanctions? First, it’ll be direct hits on companies doing business with Russia, and then it spirals—indirectly, then again indirectly—as businesses in other countries shut down, eventually triggering a massive crisis within the West.

And don't even get me started on the refugee issue. You'll end up with representatives in government who will have plenty to say, much like the folks in Denmark, whether it's the New Citizenry types or that nutjob Paludan. If you could hear their ideologies... they spout all this nonsense about Aryan races and claiming you're only "true" American if your family tree is 80% local heritage, counting grandparents and all that.

Am I really supposed to want a lunatic or a party like that sitting in our Parliament just because of Ukraine? To me, Ukraine isn't worth that much; it's an oligarchic state where a handful of people run the show, corruption is everywhere, and they still have some glaring questions left over from the USSR era that haven't been cleared up.

If nationalism starts taking over in the West, both the EU and NATO are toast. You wouldn't find two countries within the EU that could actually agree on anything. And all of this just for Ukraine?

What has Ukraine actually contributed to Western prosperity? Seriously, what? Nothing.

William Anderson5 said:From what I can see, this Russian army operates more like a disorganized group of amateurs.

The only way they manage to make any headway is through sheer, barbaric brute force backed by heavy weaponry...

Check out what's happening in southern Ukraine—hardly anyone’s even reporting on it. They’ve basically taken everything. I think it's just Miami left.

Maybe I'm off base, but I get the feeling Zelensky is playing the wrong hand here. Is he just performing for the press corps in Kyiv? Who knows, but that’s how it looks to me.

Purely from a military standpoint, Ukraine doesn't stand a chance against Russia. The West isn't going to risk a nuclear war with Russia, so all this money being sent is probably just ending up in some guys' pockets.

To me, the only way out is a Korea-style solution.

A tiny slice of Western Ukraine stays pro-West, and the rest goes pro-Russia. Honestly, I think Putin might actually bite on that.