Sweden's Path to Join NATO Cleared

In recent news about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Turkey dropped its opposition to Sweden joining NATO.

"LOLWUT?" you might ask. "How is Turkey's opposition to Sweden joining an alliance a matter of Russia's war on Ukraine?"

The fact is, Sweden's effort to join NATO is entirely about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sweden, like its neighbor Finland, was happy to remain politically neutral outside of NATO for decades. Russia's (second) incursion, which started early last year, set alarm bells ringing, swinging enough popular support behind joining the Western alliance. Finland gained a clear path to join NATO in March.

Permission to join NATO requires unanimous approval from its member countries. Turkey was the last to grant approval for Finland's bid earlier this year. They demanded, and got, concessions to classify rebels opposing the autocratic rule of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as terrorists. Turkey demanded similar concessions of Sweden, which just recently granted them.... But then, in the past week, Turkey added to its demands. It wants EU membership, too.

Diplomatic negotiations managed to unblock Sweden's bid to join NATO from waiting for EU membership for Turkey. Sweden did promise to support it, it seems. Frankly I'm opposed to Turkey joining the EU. The EU is not just about geography or free trade but about shared political bedrock values. Turkey has become a sham democracy. Yes, there's voting, yes there's a parliament and a judiciary, but President Erdogan has refashioned all of them, plus the country's laws, to support his authoritarian rule.

A Free Laundry Basket? Sign Me Up!

The bank where I've held a checking account for twenty-some-odd years sent me this solicitation today to open a new checking account with them:



I've written before about how my banks show little clue they understand my financial situation even though they're required to by law. Here I wonder if my bank even knows how old I am, let alone that I have enough assets I'm unlikely to be swayed by, Ooh! a free laundry basket.

...Though possibly they do know my age and are thinking maybe I have a child in college who'd benefit from a checking account. That possibility makes this far from the worst mismatch they've made. It's not like they're offering me a loan at "only!" 7.99% "to consolidate [my] credit card debt!!!" when a soft pull of my credit report would show I haven't actually carried a balance on a credit card in nearly 20 years. ...And that last time was at 0% APR. 🙄