| This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a pocket-sized palace of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here. Shakespeare’s Hamlet may have imposed a kind of indelible literary decay around the state of Denmark, but — as regular readers of this newsletter know — the country has always been one of my favorite vacation spots, especially the capital, Copenhagen. So I’ve been disconcerted by the predicament of the small nation: tangling with Donald Trump over Greenland and, increasingly, Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. Russia’s ruler apparently seems angry enough at the Danes to send drones to disrupt their airports. As Marc Champion points out, Denmark has taken the initiative in trying to forge European military policy to thwart not just Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but Moscow’s broader expansionist ambitions. The country’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, pressed the cause at a just-concluded summit of European leaders. Her message was clear, as Marc summarizes: “Europe is already the target of a hybrid war; it needs to understand that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is also aimed at the West. ... And stop thinking about Ukraine as a national security question (would Russian tanks really ever reach Portugal?). Think instead in terms of what your country gains from the collective strength and defense Putin wants to destroy.” That’s the kind of thinking that disturbs the Kremlin, which prefers the indecisive Europe that prattles about the invasion but delivers little of substance. Mette and her country have done more than talk. They’ve taken responsibility for the reconstruction of the southern Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv. And they’ve devised a system of weapons purchases from Ukrainian manufacturers that has an immediate effect on the frontlines. Why is Denmark at the forefront and not, say, Germany? “Political will, fiscal space, history and serendipity,” says Marc, pointing out that the country was a frontline state itself during the Cold War. “Before that, Danish history had been one of repeated loss to larger powers starting in 1648. ... Now the US has said it wants to take … Greenland. So Danes feel they have a big stake in preserving the rules that protect smaller countries from big ones.” Says Marc: “The best advice Europe’s leaders can take is to park their pride and listen to the Danes.” The Legacies of Jane Goodall | The British wildlife conservationist Jane Goodall was the advocate for chimpanzees in the wild, as Lara Williams declares in her column. But who will speak for the chimps now that Goodall has passed away at the age of 91? Lara makes the point that we all have to step up because the health of these incredibly intelligent apes is very much tied up with our own. “Habitat loss from deforestation, mining and agriculture has put humans and primates in close quarters, allowing zoonotic pathogens – transmitted from animal to human – to proliferate,” Lara writes. HIV and the Ebola virus may have started from the underground market in Africa for chimpanzee meat, part of an enormous and illegal wildlife trade. That trade has also taken the primates far from their habitats to the US and elsewhere, as pets or as movie extras or for scientific research, only to be abandoned. Organizations like Save the Chimps, a Florida-based non-profit, operates sanctuaries for these homeless apes. It’s one small way Goodall’s work continues. “Private credit managers have proven their prowess in fundraising, but are falling short on dealmaking. With mountains of cash waiting to be deployed, they are latching onto the artificial intelligence data center boom, hoping to stay relevant as banks reclaim their dominant position in corporate lending. … [P]rivate credit lenders believe they have a unique edge over commercial banks, in that they allow AI companies to borrow big without hurting their credit ratings.” — Shuli Ren in “AI Data Centers Give Private Credit Its Mojo Back.”  “KPop Demon Hunters wasn’t the only surprise summer smash set in Seoul. Since April’s so-called Liberation Day announcement, the South Korean stock market [the Korean Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi] has been killing it. ... Investment banks have upgraded their expectations for South Korean shares, assuming the reforms remain on track. Morgan Stanley, for one, has revised up its 12-month Kospi target to 4,000 as a base case scenario.” — Juliana Liu in “Forget K-Pop, the Kospi Is South Korea’s Latest Hit.” The new Monroe Doctrine isn’t like the old Monroe Doctrine. — Andreas Kluth How does Silver Lake exit its big deal? — Chris Hughes Nike needs a fresh foot forward. — Andrea Felsted The banality of the First Brands disaster. — Chris Bryant Some languages are going extinct. AI won’t help. — Catherine Thorbecke What Europe needs to fight drones. — Parmy Olson Southeast Asia’s coming China shock. — Daniel Moss Europe and the digital dollar challenge. — Lionel Laurent Walk of the Town: The Little Palace That Could | For all the pomp and circumstance it provides, Buckingham Palace can appear forbidding behind the metal fence that separates it from the adoring tourists (and the phone and watch thieves who prey on them). A warm sunset helps. And perhaps eventually the £130 million ($175 million) that will be spent to refurbish it over the next two years — a controversial amount that Rosa Prince wrote about in July.  Buckingham Palace at dusk. Photograph by Howard Chua-Eoan/Bloomberg Buck House — as royalists sometimes refer to it — is the ceremonial palace of the current sovereign. Unlike his mother, who actually lived in it, King Charles III and his wife, Camilla, live in Clarence House down The Mall, sharing a gated compound with the much older St. James’s Palace.  St. James’s Palace. Photograph by Howard Chua-Eoan/Bloomberg Indeed, St. James’s is the working palace of the royals. If you have a chance to visit, you will see parking slots allotted to specific Windsors — including Charles’s sister Anne, the Princess Royal, the most diligent member of the family.  No parking except for you-know-who. Photograph by Howard Chua-Eoan/Bloomberg So many monsters...  “So I tells her, ‘You’re not the only Thalassomedon in the sea!’” Illustration by Howard Chua-Eoan/Bloomberg Notes: Please send scaled-down arguments and feedback to Howard Chua-Eoan at hchuaeoan@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and find us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. | 
