What a load of tosh. The US hasn't threatened war against anyone, and obviously isn't eyeing an alliance with Russia. On the contrary, the US is trying to strengthen NATO by pushing the other members to spend more on defence. It is also still funding a war defending against Russia.

LibreOffice downloads obviously have nothing to do with any of this.

While I agree the leap to linking geopolitics to LibreOffice's success is a stretch you are misrepresenting the American position.

The President of the United states, its commander in chief, explicitly did not rule out military action when discussing his desire to bring Greenland and the Panama canal under direct American control. The rhetoric of making Canada the "51st state" while less explicit a threat is still one. Greenlanders, Panamanians and Canadians all clearly see these as threats.

Just to set the record straight even if this is going to be flagged

Repeatedly The current administration has stated

* That they would acquire Greenland by any means necessary https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3361358/us...

* That they would Make Canada part of the US as its 51st State https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg198xxy1xo

* That they would engage in trade war with Europe over alleged imbalance and loss in trade https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/27/trump-threatens-far-larger-t...

Given this context, if you are not directly in the US or directly a US company, it makes a lot of sense to start to question your future ability as well as future costs for access to US controlled systems.

The US has literally expressed intent to annex Canada, Greenland, and Panama.

Saying you're planning to take over (part of) another state's territory, and that we'll "go as far as we have to" to do it, doesn't sound all that peaceful to me.

And people seem to be learning to take Trump's insane talk seriously. So no, I don't think the connection with LibreOffice downloads is a "load of tosh", but just one example of a larger shift.

> US is trying to strengthen NATO by pushing the other members to spend more on defence

And by threatening to invade Greenland (which is Danish territory). And by starting a trade war against EU. And by having the leaked messages of US vice president describing how much he despises Europe.

The US has a very odd way of strengthening an alliance by alienating its allies.

Don't forget that the US is also clearly supporting parties that are both against democracy and against the EU.

I don't really think anybody alive in 2025 still falls for "don't feel safe" phrasing. It's on top of the list of phrases that indicate bullshit. This is just a message board, but if you use that phrase in real life people will think you are dishonest, and look to distance themselves from you as fast as they can. Because it's the number one phrase of people who make up false accusations against others.

There is a tide turning, and it has been especially strong in the places mentioned in the parent comment to yours. People at large there are actively label-watching to sort out the U.S. products in favour of others. It is real and it is happening, so I'm led to believe that your exposure to popular sentiment from those places is low. Its not too late for you and others who would wave away international discontent with U.S. products to look around and adjust accordingly. The sooner that your preconcieved reactions i.e. ''dishonesty'' and ''false accusations'' are dissolved, the better for the world.

In the context of this thread, I don't see the choice between LibreOffice and Office365 in the same way I see people putting back the Kentucky Bourbon and grabbing the Scotch or Canadian Rye in its place, to give a common example. A software purchase is strategic, not about instant gratification.

That has to be the most pathetic attempt to sound threatening I have seen on this message board so far. In a few years you will probably look back at your comment and laugh at yourself.

A better strategy than boycotting to gain market share, is to make actually good products that people want to buy. That's something Europeans could learn from Americans when it comes to technology, and we would all be better off for it. Very few customers have the patience to suffer an inferior product for ideological reasons in the long run, so the effect of political boycotting is usually quite limited.

It's of course different for consumer goods which have no important difference in quality, such as the liquors you're mentioning.

Consumers in the countries mentioned do not have to ''sound threatening'' when they look at the country of origin label on products and actively choose a non-U.S.A. alternative. Your reaction to that is of no concern to them when their sovereignty and jobs are threatened. This leads me to strongly believe that your exposure to current events in those places seems to be quite limited.

What's the problem in that situation? The consumer has the full privilege to pick the alternative they prefer, for whatever reason. But there has to be a suitable alternative for that to happen. I would assume that the world is big enough to have a bunch of fully fledged office suites.

Current events are motivating people and their stores and governments to not choose U.S. products. The motivation is strong and widespread. I would have to think that sensible marketing folks in the U.S. have to be wargaming the effects upon their bottom line when their product lines are under such suppressing forces:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f35-blair-trump-1.7484477

If that becomes reality, what would you expect the US companies to do?

They could put pressure on the US government to enact economic reforms and stability or they can accept that sales will be down during Great Depression 2.

So giant corporations should pressure democratically elected leaders to go against the policies that their people elected them for, to benefit foreign interests? And the person telling me this is somebody who has taken their username from an active terrorist organization who favors political violence to forward a socialist ideology. You might not be a member of such an organization, maybe just an admirer. I don't need to know, and probably the surveillance organizations we're talking about in this thread already know what they want to know.

And the motivation for all of this is that people would "not feel safe" by the threat of some word processing or spreadsheet software.

To me it seems that people here are doubling into themselves into the highest confusion.

I don't remember Elon Musk (who is obviously a fascist if you do any basic research on his recent history and family history) being on any ballots. I don't remember Trump campaigning on mass layoffs. I don't remember Trump campaigning on firing veterans. I remember Trump mocking other candidates for being warmongers. The mass deportations appear to be targeting free speech and skin colors and Ukrainians more than actual illegal immigrants and criminal immigrants. There is also the issue of skipping due process for these mass layoffs. Trump did not campaign on bringingback monarchy. Trump did not campaign on dismantling social security. Trump denied any interest in Project 2025. Trump sold a rugpull shitcoin right before inauguration. All evidence available shows that Trump is for sale to the highest bidder and has contempt for the constitution.

So no, these are not the policies that people voted for. These are policies that oligarchs cooked up.

The actual phrasing I've heard was much harsher and I was trying to keep it more neutral for a public forum. Feel free to substitute.

"Elbows up" isn't rude, so is suitable for fora, and for one country whose sovereignty has been directly threatened by the country where Microsoft is based, captures that attitude perfectly.

This could be checked by someone with access to country level sales numbers (or download numbers for libreoffice). Absent that, the recent price rise to pay for AI that most people don't need (since there are currently free of charge options elsewhere) is a more plausible explanation at a time when cost of living is a big topic in multiple countries.

That's a sensible response that seems to not be informed by recent buying trends in countries that are now grappling with sudden U.S. trade policy shifts. The sentiments are very strong, and need to be examined seriously by folks in the U.S. who will suddenly be feeling the negative effects. This is the world today, and it is taking a decidedly anti-U.S. tone for buyers and shoppers in other countries. To wit:

https://www.newsweek.com/kentucky-bourbon-boss-bemoans-canad...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7vjlv7pzdo

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/danish-viking-bloo...

Trump wants to disrupt global trade so people making their own small disruption is an odd way to protest that, although I understand the sentiment. Shipyard Brewery are not my enemy and I hope I will continue to be able to buy their beer in the UK.

When one person makes such a disruption, it is small. When entire countries are actively suppressing or removing U.S.-made products from the marketplace, the effects are of course much stronger, which is why I gave those links as only just a few examples.