The European Union: Glorious New 'Holy Roman Empire', Anglo-American Trojan Horse, or Left-Liberal Globalist Nightmare?

[Debra]

It looks as though the WEF is meeting on the down low and not waiting for the Davos meet up in January?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1466943958840340482

Ugh, that’s just dirty and creepy, considering that they are possibly all there now for the total Solar eclipse, in Antarctica.
From what I have come to understand these “Satanist” groups believe they are going to bring about Armageddon, force the messiah to return, if they create enough human suffering and despair.
I imagine they are all dancing around in their underwear trying to speed the coming of the Apocalypse or increase their “occult” powers over the world...

Eclipses in Antarctica

Which upcoming lunar and solar eclipses are visible in Antarctica, and what do they look like?

www.timeanddate.com

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'It won't work.'
'It is doomed to fail.'

EU nations band together to buy gas​

25 Mar, 2022

European Union will look to replace Russian gas with more expensive American alternative

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Friday that the European Union will purchase gas on its own and divide it between members, a new development for the 27-member bloc.

The move comes as European leaders seek to ditch Russian imports, and the US is waiting to ship its more costly product to the continent.

“The energy mix and concrete situation in our members is very different but we need to work together to pool our weight,” Von der Leyen said at a press conference after a two-day summit in Brussels, Belgium. “We have an enormous purchasing power. Therefore, I welcome that we will now use our collective bargaining power. Instead of outbidding each other, driving prices up, we will pool our demand.”

Von der Leyen has already promised to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, but some EU countries remain dependent on a steady supply from Russia. Germany, whose leaders have recently warned that their economy could crash were Russian imports sanctioned, relies on Moscow for more than half of its gas supply.

However, leaders in Berlin have balked at paying for Russian gas in rubles, as Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded they do earlier this week. France too has opposed the gas-for-rubles system, with French President Emmanuel Macron telling reporters on Friday that he believes such a demand is “forbidden” by law.

Should the EU refuse to pay in rubles, as it likely will, its members will have to source their gas elsewhere. The US will likely step in to fill that void. In a joint news conference with US President Joe Biden on Friday, von der Leyen said that Washington would step up its deliveries of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to “at least 50 billion cubic meters” per year, which she said would replace a third of the gas currently provided by Russia.

"We as Europeans want to diversify away from Russia towards suppliers that we trust, that are our friends, that are reliable," she said.

However, American LNG is more expensive than the Russian alternative, and getting it to Europe involves condensing it to fill special tanker ships, before converting it back to gas upon arrival at a purpose-built port facility. There are currently two dozen LNG import terminals in Europe, but none in Germany, which is an important gas distribution location. At present, work has yet to begin on Germany’s flagship LNG terminal, which is set to start receiving gas in 2024.

These issues with pricing and logistics led Germany to ignore American offers of LNG shipments under President Donald Trump, and press ahead with the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia instead. However, Nord Stream 2’s certification was halted in response to the conflict in Ukraine.

"I know eliminating Russian gas will have costs for Europe,” Biden said during his appearance with von der Leyen, before adding that high energy prices are something that Europe should put up with to oppose Putin.

“It’s not only the right thing to do from a moral standpoint,” he said. “It's gonna put us on a much stronger strategic footing.”

Qatar says replacing Russian gas is impossible​

25 Mar, 2022

The country refuses to take sides in the Ukraine crisis

Replacing Russian natural gas on the European market is “not practically possible,” Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi said in an interview with CNN on Thursday.

The official, who is also the president and CEO of state-owned QatarEnergy, noted that “from 30 to 40% of the total volume of gas supplied to the world market comes from Russia.”

The EU imposed economic sanctions on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, and announced it would move towards gradually slashing consumption of Russian natural gas this year. Over 40% of the EU’s gas imports come from Russia.

However, Al-Kaabi said Qatar would not impose sanctions on the Russian oil and gas sector, stressing that “energy should stay out of politics.” According to the minister, Qatar will not take sides in the Ukraine crisis.

 

[thorbiorn]

I didn't agree with it 100% of course, but found it to largely synch with, and enrich, our findings. Namely that an underlying structural (or natural) tendency towards integration of Europe around Germany is a recurring phenomenon which the Anglo-Americans have sought to control or 'manage'.

Here are more notes to the above video, which is still very relevant to what goes on in Europe.

Hitchens pledges innocence for Britain and claims US is the one who does what the UK used to, that is make sure there is no great power forming on the continent. I don't think Britain is as devoid of influence, at least not of the underhand sorts. I don't understand how he can say the EU is essentially German when it is so clear the US has much influential, as he himself points out, and when it is occupying Germany through all the bases and personnel.

Below are times with links

00:00 Introduction of the speaker
4:04 To begin

6:45 The central part of the war (WWII)

9:12 By great good fortune (The intervention of Russia)

9:41 But do you think (The recovery of Germany) Mittleeuropa by Friederich Nauman and The Deluge by Adam Tooze are mentioned

10:51 What Germany discovered (The creation of nations that were not nations, fake kingdom of Poland, puppet state of Ukraine)

Limited Sovereignty a concept introduced by Richard von Kuhlmann
11:31 The remarkable events of 2014 Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
12:27 What took place in Kiev in 2014 was a naked putch Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
13:17 The European Union and NATO Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
15:41 Extraordinary intervention, compares with a what if intervention in Scotland Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
16:15 John Brennan, Director of the CIA in Kiev Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
16:43 Subsequent events compares Crimea with situation in Turkey's occupation of Cyprus which did not give any sanctions
18:29 George Friedman to the Russian newspaper Kommersant Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
19:02 This is a huge struggle, The Global Chessboard, 1997 book by Zbigniew Brzezinski Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
19:45 And why was the European Union doing this Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
20:21 Scums of the Earth by Arthur Koestler is mentioned Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means The book has a chapter on the struggle between Germany and France.
20:54 Germany was prepared, he talks about the formation of the EU and the understanding with France, The Elysée Treaty, behind it was the US to ensure no power dominates in Europe. The CIA was behind the EU. Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
23:07 And then there is another - he goes on to connect Ukraine to Middle East Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means
25:08 We have a very complicated war related to the creation of a new power, the European Union is fundamentally German, and referring to Syria and Ukraine as the war zone Peter Hitchens - The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means

The reason I came to this video was because I had watched a video in German, which explains the WWII from a German perspective
Hitlers Krieg - Was Guido Knopp verschweigt by Alphart Geyer. Here is a version with English
Hitler's War - What the Historians Neglect to Mention by Alphart Geyer (Germany 2009) [english dub]
What was new to me was that Hitler apparently already in late November of 1941 was aware the war in Eastern Europe was lost, but how to get out of it in political terms? The story of the film basically ends in late 1941 and the last few years are covered in a few minutes.

The film claims that France and Britain were not so interested in saving Poland as they were in crushing Germany. At the end, it is said that 100,000 patents were taken out by the winners of the war. If one adds the video talk by Hitchen with the film by Geyer, one can understand why Germany has been hesitating to cut off Russian energy resources. They know, but hesitate to "Sit back and watch Europe commit suicide."

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'It won't work.'
'It is doomed to fail.'

EU nations band together to buy gas​

25 Mar, 2022

Qatar says replacing Russian gas is impossible​

25 Mar, 2022

EU, UK to Allow Payment for Russian Gas in Rubles Under Certain Conditions​

By Tim Korso - 2 hours ago (Updated: 52 minutes ago)

Moscow previously issued a new decree requiring "unfriendly states" to pay for Russian gas in rubles. Kremlin includes all countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia "unfriendly".

European companies will be able to pay for the Russian gas while meeting Moscow's demands to do so in rubles without violating EU sanctions at the same time.

The scheme proposed by the European Commission suggests that companies will wire their payments in euros or dollars to a bank account in Russia, where the currency will be converted into rubles. Brussels' memo said that the European firms' obligations will be complete once the payment in currency is deposited in the Russian bank. They will therefore not be in breach of the EU's own sanctions on Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine.

"EU companies can ask their Russian counterparts to fulfil their contractual obligations in the same manner as before the adoption of the decree, i.e. by depositing the due amount in euros or dollars", the document said referring to Moscow's decree to pay for gas in rubles.

On the same day, UK Treasury also issued a document that temporarily allowed British companies to wire funds to the Russian Gazprombank to pay for Russian gas — despite London slapping sanctions on the arm of the national gas company. The sanctions waiver lasts until 31 May and will allow the UK companies to meet the new requirements for gas payments issued by Russia in April.

UK authorities explained the time limit on the waiver as part of the EU's aim of gradually phase out Russian energy imports in the light of the special operation.

Moscow issued the new decree early in April in response to the western sanctions, requiring countries that imposed them — dubbed "unfriendly" by Russia — to "pay for Russian gas in rubles". Technically, the decree required importers to deposit their gas payments in euros and dollars in accounts at Gazprombank, which had already been sanctioned by some of those states. Later, these deposits would be converted into rubles to complete the payments.

The Kremlin decree came as a response not only to anti-Russia sanctions, but also to the decision by western governments to unlawfully freeze the Russian Central Bank's assets in foreign currencies deposited in their countries. Moscow recently vowed to sue those governments over the move and fight to release the funds.

 

[thorbiorn]

On MindMatters, there was an interview in 2021:

Is Liberalism the New Totalitarianism? A Conversation with Ryszard Legutko where among other points Legutko argues that the EU parliament is not similar to a one party system, because there are not major difference between the Liberals, the Christian and Social Democrats and the Green parties. The point is made at 17:04 / 1:46:55, although he begins his argument before.

During the Cold War, the world's liberal democracies, like the USA, were widely perceived as the bastion of freedom, especially to those behind the Iron Curtain. But the past three decades have caused many to revise their views. With the rise of totalitarian thinking and practice in the West in those years, the question must be asked: what happened?

Professor of Philosophy and conservative politician Ryszard Legutko pondered these questions in the 1990s and 2000s, culminating in his 2012 book "The Demon in Democracy: Totalitarian Temptations in Free Societies" (published in English in 2016), and his latest book, "The Cunning of Freedom: Saving the Self in an Age of False Idols" (2021). Legutko argues that at its root, liberalism as ideology shares many of the same features as communism. Despite their differences, both share essentially the same views of history, the future, politics, ideology, and religion. These tendencies cause ideology to seep into every aspect of daily life ("the personal is political") - in liberalism, to a degree even the communists weren't able to achieve, despite their best efforts. These trends have only gotten worse in the years since the book's release.

Today on MindMatters we talk to Professor Legutko about his books, life under communism, editing samizdat, the recent controversy with his university's "office of safety and equality," and the time he got sued for calling some students "spoiled brats."

 

[Zasino]

However, Al-Kaabi said Qatar would not impose sanctions on the Russian oil and gas sector, stressing that “energy should stay out of politics.”

As should Sport, Art, Healthcare, etc. etc....

 

[Maat]

EU child sex abuse reports increase by 6000% in ten years

The European Commission proposes to establish a new EU agency to tackle the growing problem of child sex abuse in the 27-nation bloc. Unveiling the plans, the commission says reports of such abuse in the EU have increased by six-thousand percent during the past decade.

www.presstv.ir

EU child sex abuse reports increase by 6000% in ten years​

Many believe the crime of sexually abusing a child is even more heinous than murder. The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, says 85 million child sex abuse videos and images were identified by the bloc's authorities last year, a record number.

The commission says it's not known, exactly, why these crimes are on the rise but analysts say the EU has been allowed to expand too quickly with some nations harboring criminal gangs. The EU commission is proposing to establish a new agency designed to prevent child sex abuse and support victims.

Anti-trafficking agencies say two million children recently entered the EU having fled the conflict in Ukraine, many of them unaccompanied. Gangs and individuals see an opportunity for exploitation. The European Commission has a message for predators.

But critics are asking why more has not been done up to now. Given that it promotes itself as a project designed to protect and improve the lives of citizens, rights groups say this issue seriously undermines the credibility of the European Union.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'The aggressive EU does not believe in peace but not ready for war.'

EU not prepared for war – top diplomat​

26 May, 2022

Josep Borrell claims the bloc’s armies would “run out of ammo in two weeks” if confronted with a conflict such as in Ukraine

The European Union is not prepared for a war such as the one in Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell warned on Wednesday. He made the claim at a debate panel hosted by the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) think tank.

The top diplomat stated that he doesn’t believe it “realistic” that European nations could substantially improve their military capabilities in a timely manner, since the process is “voluntaristic” and there is no “law of gravity to make things happen.”

He explained that even though it is well known where the EU defense shortcomings are, there has to be a “wake-up call” for members to act in a coordinated manner and not end up wasting money. However, he expressed his dismay that the war in Ukraine was apparently not “the right wake up call.”

“We should learn from this war. Look, the European armies couldn't maintain a war like the one in Ukraine for more than two weeks. They’ll run out of ammunition,” Borrel said.

He also pointed to the fact that Europeans had grown too accustomed to peace and refused to acknowledge the threat looming from abroad. He stated that the EU was built with the banner of peace and that war had “disappeared from our collective imagination,” after the founders of the bloc set out to make war “mentally impossible.”

However, the diplomat noted that peace was “no longer an engine, no longer something that moves. Yes, peace, okay, what else?”

“Don't believe that peace is the natural state of things. The natural state of things is war and we in Europe, we have been accustomed to believe that peace is the normal state and I hope that we are not going to learn that this is not the case,” he said.

Borrell went on to compare Europeans to “big birds that put their head inside the sand” and don’t want to understand how dangerous the world is, insisting that it is important to make them understand “how the world is.”

Borrell previously called for an enhancement of European defense capabilities and for shortfalls revealed by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to be overcome. He wrote in his blog on Sunday that the most obvious examples of such gaps were the “depleted stockpiles resulting from the military support we provided to Ukraine,” as well as issues “inherited from past budget cuts and underinvestments.”

“The EU needs to take on more responsibility for its own security,” which would require creating “modern and interoperable European armed forces, looking at the higher-end of the spectrum and also striving to scale up capabilities and forces,” he pointed out.

The diplomat underscored three main lines of action that should eventually allow the bloc to eradicate the current deficiencies in its defense: working on combat readiness, stockpile replenishment and modernization of its capabilities.

“The time to push forward European defense is now. We need to strengthen the European defense industrial base and to be operational with the needed military capacities. To be able to increase our military capacity to defend ourselves, to make NATO stronger and to support better our partners whenever needed,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, Moscow has decried the EU’s increasing militarization and has argued that the bloc is becoming an “aggressive militant player that has ambitions stretching far beyond the European continent” and is “following in the footsteps of NATO.”

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'The EU is falling apart.'

EU unity on Russia sanctions ‘crumbling’ – Germany​

29 May, 2022

German economy minister warns of waning “unity” in the EU as the bloc is struggling to agree on oil embargo against Russia

The unity the EU demonstrated after Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine is starting to “crumble,” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Sunday. The warning comes ahead of the bloc’s summit to discuss a new sanctions package against Moscow and a potential oil embargo.

“After Russia's attack on Ukraine, we saw what can happen when Europe stands united. With a view to the summit tomorrow, let's hope it continues like this. But it is already starting to crumble and crumble again," Habeck told a news conference.

The EU has struggled to agree on imposing the oil embargo on Russia, with multiple member countries voicing concerns that the move would become fatal for their economies. Hungary, which receives most of its oil from Russia, has been the most prominent opponent of the embargo, comparing the potential effect of a full ban to “an atomic bomb.” Similar concerns over the embargo have been voiced by other landlocked nations, namely Czechia and Slovakia.

Earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered an explanation as to why the EU still continues to buy Russian oil.

“If we would completely, immediately, as of today cut off the [Russian] oil, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin might be able to take the oil that he does not sell to the EU to the world market, where the prices will increase, and sell it for more – and that would fill his war chests,” von der Leyen said in an interview with MSNBC.

The EU diplomats have reportedly tried to come up with a compromise solution to the sanctions deadlock, kick-starting the embargo with banning deliveries of Russian oil by sea while exempting pipelines from the potential restrictions. The attempt, however, has apparently failed, with the EU nations now set to try and agree on the restrictions during the summit scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

The EU has imposed multiple packages of sanctions on Russia after it launched a large-scale offensive against Ukraine in late February.

Russia attacked the neighboring country following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'But the EU will not last that long.'

Anti-Russia sanctions will last ‘a long time’ – key EU member​

31 May, 2022

Restrictions imposed against Moscow could change global trade routes for years, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has warned

Sanctions the EU imposed against Russia over its military operation in Ukraine will last for many years, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told journalists following a European Council meeting on Tuesday. The restrictions that are now expected to affect oil trade will change international trade routes “for many years, if not forever,” Draghi believes.

Speaking about the energy trade, the Italian premier said that “we cannot imagine that, after the conflict, our energy policy will return to the way it was before.” The EU “must move now” to find new energy suppliers “in the long run.”

The prime minister also hailed the latest EU summit as a “success,” pointing to the fact that it was not “possible” to imagine that all EU member states would be “united on an embargo of about 90% of Russian oil just few days ago.”

The EU nations agreed early on Tuesday, following weeks of deliberations, on a ban of 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of this year, as part of the sixth sanctions package. The measure would target Russian crude delivered by sea, while allowing a temporary exemption for pipeline fuel, to win the support of Hungary and other landlocked countries.

“We must maintain unity on sanctions,” Italy’s prime minister said, adding that Rome would agree to any restrictions against Moscow as long as “there are no imbalances between the member states” of the EU when it comes to imposing these restrictions.

Draghi has said his nation would not be affected by the decision since the deadline set for the end of 2022 gives it time to prepare. Italy will also continue to buy Russian gas in accordance with a scheme suggested by the Russian Gazprom energy giant, he has confirmed. The Italian prime minister has called it “a frustrating situation of great embarrassment” but added that “it cannot be done otherwise.”

According to the prime minister the western sanctions approved so far will have “maximum impact” on the Russian economy “from this summer onwards.”

The Italian leader has also said that “almost all if not all major nations” within the EU, except for Italy, oppose Ukraine’s accession to the bloc right now. Still, when asked if he can imagine a “quick path” for Ukraine into the EU, Draghi answered “yes” and added that the EU Commission also appears to be eyeing this possibility.

For now, the EU should focus on preventing a global food crisis, which, according to Draghi, could turn into a “catastrophe.” He also appeared to favor a tough approach in talks with Moscow on this issue.

“Confrontation with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is necessary to solve the problem of wheat, of food security,” he said, though he added that he was “skeptical” about phone calls to Putin, as such conversations are unlikely to have any use other than showing “that it is Putin who does not want peace.”

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

'The EU could not be saved.'

EU’s new plan won’t save Eurozone from collapsing – media​

19 Jun, 2022

The European Central Bank introduced a tool this week to help southern states with rising debt, but analysts doubt it will succeed

The new bond reinvestment plan introduced by the European Central Bank (ECB) earlier this week to help indebted EU states is unlikely to work, Reuters and Bloomberg report, citing analysts.

The ECB came up with the plan to help the EU’s southern nations, the bloc’s most indebted, with mounting obligations. The regulator said it would direct cash to more indebted nations from debt maturing in the €1.7 trillion ($1.8 trillion) pandemic support scheme. This means that while prior to the announcement, the process of buying ECB bonds by states took place in accordance with each individual country’s investment, preference would now be given to countries with high debt, such as Italy, with its gross debt amounting to around 150% of GDP.

However, experts say the move is unlikely to solve the debt crises. Olli Rehn, Finland’s Central Bank chief, told Reuters that the measure will merely help prevent “unwarranted” market moves and will not help countries in case of truly large debt issues.

Markus Ferber, a German member of the European Parliament, noted that the ECB might be stretching its area of expertise too far.

“The ECB’s job is to deliver on price stability, not to ensure favorable financing conditions… Some countries now simply get the bill for years of irresponsible fiscal policies,” he told the news outlet.

According to financial analyst Richard Cookson, while the main goal of a central bank is to keep inflation low, the European regulator seems to have a different target – keeping the weakest EU members “from leaving the currency union.”

“The ECB has now put itself in an impossible position… For the past 10 years, rather than targeting inflation, monetary policy has been set with a view to keeping its weakest members from leaving the currency union. Bluntly, it is no longer an inflation-targeting central bank,” Cookson wrote in an article in Bloomberg.

Offering the soaring inflation in most EU states as an example of the ECB’s failed policies, he said that even the recently announced key rate hike of 0.25%, its first such move in 11 years, would hardly change the situation.

“The ECB could disguise its true intentions when inflation was low but when inflation is high and rising, disguising its true aims becomes impossible… the ECB can’t target inflation and keep spreads of weaker peripheral borrowers, such as Italy, low,” he said, adding that while it may be risky to target inflation with rate hikes, “trying to subsidize weaker borrowers is an even worse policy.

“The ECB should have nothing to do with it… Ultimately, it should not be for the ECB to decide who is and isn’t in the euro,” he stated, stressing that this year “is likely to be a make-or-break year for the euro.”

 

[fifty_five]

Brand loyalty and customer service

 

[Nienna]

Brand loyalty and customer service

Is this photo-shopped and that's what you wrote is all about?

Sorry for being clueless in this.

 

[fifty_five]

Is this photo-shopped and that's what you wrote is all about?

Sorry for being clueless in this.

In all the evidence. And I take responsibility for the smile (2x). No problem

 

[fifty_five]

Anyway im sorry. I understand that if you are not European you think that maby the ring of the bell at 12 am it is only an amazon delivery