‘Could’ specifies a possibility of an event occurring, as opposed to no possibility.

For example, I could have rice for dinner, however there is no way I could jump to the moon.

When applied to the context of this conversation:

A person born in the 90s could have had their childhood affected by the recession in the 80s. A person born in the 50s could not have had their childhood affected by the recession in the 80s.

Could is only vague in the scope of probability; this is because it’s a confirmation of the possibility, rather than a defined probability.

Acting like they can’t do anything without the US?

The continent is prepping for a US & Russian led invasion if anything (none of which are to be purchased from the US either)

EU to tax US digital services in response to trump’s tariffs

EU push for an alternative to US operating systems

Whilst it was true that the EU relied on the US for many things, (the primary being digital services), they’ve proven themselves to be a dangerous partner who has shown active disdain for us, the movement to exile American tech has begun, and will likely end in a similar vein to how Chinese tech is viewed here.

Most of the kit that is made in US uses parts distributed by other countries… So even domestic sales of US created products are likely to be impacted. Gotta give it to Krasnov, he’s doing a bloody good job at the task he’s been set.

Id like to think that me pointing out this entire scenario was caused by the UK & US due to their support of Israel made it obvious where I stand on this debate. But apparently not.

As for the pedantry; the language used was not a personal opinion; but rather utilising their own language to draw the subsequent metaphor.

This is the big one. Steam are currently seen as the exception to the rule largely due to Gabe’s commitment to the gaming community. It’s one of the few large American companies that actually seem to practice what they preach. This is probably largely due to steam being privately owned rather than publicly traded, so Gabe can afford to do stuff that benefits his customers, rather than milk them for the shareholders benefit.

Once good ol’ Gabe is gone though, steam will likely eventually be sold publicly and the gradual enshittification brought about by the American shareholder will be inevitable, so whilst steams not an immediate threat like other American platforms, you’re certainly not wrong to bring them up as a potential threat.

The irony being that Houthi were attacking predominantly US & UK ships due to their ongoing support of Israel. The US created this problem, and then moan when they have to clean it up. At this point, the US is the world stage equivalent of a petulant child spilling milk on their shirt and then throwing a tantrum.