Qatar helium shutdown puts chip supply chain on a two-week clock

Re:Qatar helium shutdown puts chip supply chain on a two-wee... by actionfromafar on Friday March 13, 2026 @10:24AM (#47364909)

I feel that as soon as the existential threat easened with the splintering of the Soviet Union, the US started doing some self-harming libertarian flavored shit to itself.

In the 1980s, I assume getting rid of the "strategic reserve" of anything would have met more pushback, because of primal fear overriding greed.

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Re:Qatar helium shutdown puts chip supply chain on a two-wee... by noah_buddy on Friday March 13, 2026 @03:47PM (#47368860)

Yes, Reagan was noted for his desire to avoid privatization of anything. /s

Kidding aside, the US has had libertarian pipe dreams for the better part of its history. The aberration was the New Deal period up until the mid 60s.

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Re:Qatar helium shutdown puts chip supply chain on a two-wee... by scythe on Friday March 13, 2026 @03:53PM (#47368964)

> We are going to do a terrible thing to you — we are going to deprive you of an enemy.

– Georgi Arbatov, Soviet political scientist, 1988

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Re:Qatar helium shutdown puts chip supply chain on a two-wee... by trollbridge on Friday March 13, 2026 @04:03PM (#47369104)

Wasn’t the original purpose of the strategic helium reserve to build fleets of zeppelins?

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