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What @slatestarcodex is saying is of course tongue-in-cheek. But this is real: Egypt leased their Mediterranean peninsula to the UAE in return for $35B. It’s a win/win for both countries. As the sovereign debt crisis gets underway, expect many more deals like this. https://t.co/XbLkjH4ANe Egypt has returned to partial stability since the chaos of the Arab Spring, but it needs money. And the UAE is arguably the best run country in the region. More context: https://t.co/PTrrLoL4nI Initiating violence is very expensive. (In addition to being immoral.) The US spent $5T on war, for nothing. Russia spends >$1B/day on Ukraine. So, war is an absolute last resort. Much smarter to buy from a willing seller. Land is a commodity in the Internet era anyway.