“Treason is the gravest crime possible and traitors must be punished. I am not saying the Salisbury incident is the way to do it, but traitors must be punished.”
An article which is not even able to spell out the german President‘s name properly in an anti-EU newspaper should be taken with a grain of salt.
It boasts with half-truths and a stunning lack of knowledge about the global economy and the political issues, that the current trade wars started by the US consequently may have.
The entire global economy is currently at risk as a whole and as a successful global export nation, Germany of course is very vulnerable.
Just as a short example: in his anti- german biased text, the author criticises Merkel for being in disagreement about the Head of the European PARLIAMENT (and following that the head of the EU Commission).
Macron wants to ignore the result of the voter‘s decision of the recent parliamentary elections and install a consensus candidate solely by decision by the heads of states.
We have been beating this to death „One must obey the voter‘s decision“ and Macron is trying to do the opposite.
Merkel still standing with the candidate* who was running on top of the EVP list and won the parliamentary elections is just that! So she‘s standing exactly for what has been broadly demanded after the Brexit vote!
*disclaimer: I am not a fan of Manfred Weber, I don‘t like his policy and have not voted for him and his party
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I am very worried about what is going on presently in Hong Kong, what I am calling my second home.
There are hundreds of thousands on the streets protesting peacefully and some radicals have now stormed the government building and are vandalising it. So far the Hong Kong Police have been very passive (in contrary to 2 weeks ago) but I fear for the worst to happen in the coming hours.
I hope that Joshua Wong comes out and is condemning the violence from that small part of "protesters".
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Storming the Parliament is extreme, but the situation the HK population is in looks desperate too. A rich elite rules in HK, but they have some freedoms. In 2047 the former colony (did anyone else notice how the demonstrators in the Parliament brought a large British flag?) will become a part of China and they have never accepted any freedom for their citizens. The leaders in HK are rich businesmen who are mainly interested in good realtions with mainland China so they can make more money. That's my impression at least. Is this your impression too, Higgins?
The issue is not a rich elite.
The current government in HK is selected from China and the people in HK fear that their liberal and democratic rights are step by step taken away from them.
China guaranteed a special system for Hong Kong until 2047, but it seems that they are tightening up earlier and HK people are trying to fight that from the start.
I am impressed how non-violent the parliament has been taken back by the HK police - imagine this happening in any other country and we‘d have seen a bloodbath.
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I might be wrong, but I think parts of the HK Parliament is picked by China, a small part is picked by the people and the rest is from some chamber of Commerce.
As usual TP shows his impeckable grasp of the situation. The situation in HK and Britain are very much alike, Brexit is in fact a result ofthe British exeprience from back in the 60's when the EU killed off a dozen million or so of it'citizens in an effort to modernise. :v
I love Freedon and Democracy so wish them all the best of luck against the
monolithic, undemocratic Governing comittee. ........ But enough about Brexit !
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Now something critical about the EU - I am genuinely pissed!
So, for decades, the highest EU Job (President of the European Commission) has been haggled out between the Heads of States behind closed doors and that has been rightly criticized for a long time.
The 2015 EU parliamentary elections changed that. The winner of the EU parliamentary elections (Mr. Juncker) became head of the EU (President of the Commission).
So, 2019, the candidate for the winning party (EVP) was Mr. Weber and he should become the President of the European Commission.
Now the praised "reformer" Mr. Macron doesn't like Weber and Weber has many enemies in Hungary, Poland and Romania because he openly criticized their erosion of democracy and uprising autocratism.
As it seems today, the Heads of States agreed now on a consensus candidate which has been haggled out behind closed doors - just like in the bad old days.
I find Mrs. v.d. Leyen a brilliant choice and she will be an outstanding EU Commission President without any doubt. That is not the point!
She was not running for EU Parliament. And she was not elected in the recent elections.
Now before the usual suspects are showing up and are moaning about the "dictatorial EU", just one remark:
The Heads of States have all been elected in democratic elections and they have been elected to represent their nations and their people.
I still would have expected that the Top Job would have chosen from the parliamentary elections only.
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Now something critical about the EU - I am genuinely pissed!
So, for decades, the highest EU Job (President of the European Commission) has been haggled out between the Heads of States behind closed doors and that has been rightly criticized for a long time.
The 2015 EU parliamentary elections changed that. The winner of the EU parliamentary elections (Mr. Juncker) became head of the EU (President of the Commission).
So, 2019, the candidate for the winning party (EVP) was Mr. Weber and he should become the President of the European Commission.
Now the praised "reformer" Mr. Macron doesn't like Weber and Weber has many enemies in Hungary, Poland and Romania because he openly criticized their erosion of democracy and uprising autocratism.
As it seems today, the Heads of States agreed now on a consensus candidate which has been haggled out behind closed doors - just like in the bad old days.
I find Mrs. v.d. Leyen a brilliant choice and she will be an outstanding EU Commission President without any doubt. That is not the point!
She was not running for EU Parliament. And she was not elected in the recent elections.
Now before the usual suspects are showing up and are moaning about the "dictatorial EU", just one remark:
The Heads of States have all been elected in democratic elections and they have been elected to represent their nations and their people.
I still would have expected that the Top Job would have chosen from the parliamentary elections only.
Granted I know very little about EU politics but the whole situation makes no sense whatsoever. The EVP party won and Weber should be president but because Macron doesn't like him the EU leaders get together and work a backroom deal to install another person? Ultimately the 2015 rule change is a change in name only as Macron or another head of state can disagree with the winner, have him/her removed and then install a more favorable individual. What recourse does Weber have and why haven't the EU members denounced this back room deal? Granted I don't know his politics but the rule changes make no sense when people can choose to not follow them!
Hungary‘s Leader, Victor Orban took cold revenge, with friendly assistance of Poland, Czech, Slovenia and with help from his italian populist friends.
Basically an alliance of Rightwing Populist Nationalist lead strongmen ruined things for Weber, but Macron would not accept him either. Macron‘s argument was that Weber has no experience in any top position in politics or government.
Keep in mind, we are talking about 2 different jobs:
President of the EU parliament
President of the European Commission
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Hungary‘s Leader, Victor Orban took cold revenge, with friendly assistance of Poland, Czech, Slovenia and with help from his italian populist friends.
Basically an alliance of Rightwing Populist Nationalist lead strongmen ruined things for Weber, but Macron would not accept him either. Macron‘s argument was that Weber has no experience in any top position in politics or government.
Keep in mind, we are talking about 2 different jobs:
President of the EU parliament
President of the European Commission
I was under the impression that you were talking about the EU commission and not the parliament.
Weber won the EU parliamentary elections and may have been elected to the parliamentary president consequently.
The EU parliament is relatively weak, differently to other national parliaments and in recent years, everyone tried to strenghten the role of the EU parliament.
2015 was important because for the first time, the winner of the parliamentary election got president of the EU Commission which is the real top job in Europe.
To become president of the Commission, you need the blessings from the heads of states and from the parliament.
The heads of States, the European Council proposes their candidate and he/she must be elected by the parliament then.
2015 the Council agreed on the winner of the parliamentary elections, 2019 not.
Europe is complicated.
It started a a trading block and the decision have been solely made by the heads of states.
That changes slowly but the old powers are still that.
I appreciate the clarification and it sounds like the EU governing system is way more complicated than it needs to be 8-) It seems like even with all the changes made things are being run like nothing is really different.
Just remember the recent discussions in the UK, where many people felt, that their national needs and views are not being represented.
And I don‘t go as deep as speaking about the people in Northern Ireland or Scotland.
To give all these national influences a voice, there is a complicated balance between the parliament, the Council and other organs of the EU constitution.
I agree, that it‘s complicated but making it easier*, that will mean that nations give up power and that is not really popular among many states.
* Which basically means that you are painting with a broader brush so to say
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I'm watching the July 30 Democratic debate, the one with Warren, Sanders and more. There are several promising candidates, so far I especialy like Delany and Buttigieg . There are also some ideas I don't think are great. Almost all countries now have universal health care, and by now it should be obvious from the numbers that it's a far better system than the US one. But why ban the private health insurance companies and take health insurances away from people who like them, as Warren and Sanders want? Norway and most countries with a public health system allow people to take up private health insurances if they want to. Few people do this because there's no need, but they have the option. Just create a universal health care system that's better than the one that costs far more than any other on Earth, but delivers worse results than most developed nations. Then the Insurance Companies will be losing because of competition, not a communist-style ban.
Neither do I think it's good idea to give cash to people simply because they are black as reperations for slavery. Putting more money into schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, raising the minimum wage and other efforts make life better in low-income areas is probably more effective and a better solution, especially since those communities are black neighbourhoods anyway.
some time ago the American rapper A$AP Rocky and his bodyguards were involved in a streetfight in Stockholm, Sweden. I don't know if he's guilty, that's for the Swedish courts to decide. Then Trump sent this tweet:
That's right: The US President expects the prime minister of another country to intervene in an ongoing a police investigation!
A judicial system that's independent from the executive branch is a key part of a democracy. Either the US president doesn't know this or he doesn't care - I don't know what's worse.
Now he sent the US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs (Yes, really! ) ) ) to follow the court case.
I know, he was released to the US until the Court delivers its verdict.
The Special envoy delivered a letter saying the US wants to resolve this case as soon as possible to avoid potential negative consequences in the bilateral realtionship between the US and Sweden.
This case is about a streetfight in one of the most democratic nations in the world with a judicial system at least as good as the US one.
Comments
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/vladimir-putin-theresa-may-skripal-g20-summit-japan-salisbury-attack-a8978786.html
“Treason is the gravest crime possible and traitors must be punished. I am not saying the Salisbury incident is the way to do it, but traitors must be punished.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1146974/germany-crisis-Samy-Chaar-angela-merkel-health-brexit-europe
It boasts with half-truths and a stunning lack of knowledge about the global economy and the political issues, that the current trade wars started by the US consequently may have.
The entire global economy is currently at risk as a whole and as a successful global export nation, Germany of course is very vulnerable.
Just as a short example: in his anti- german biased text, the author criticises Merkel for being in disagreement about the Head of the European PARLIAMENT (and following that the head of the EU Commission).
Macron wants to ignore the result of the voter‘s decision of the recent parliamentary elections and install a consensus candidate solely by decision by the heads of states.
We have been beating this to death „One must obey the voter‘s decision“ and Macron is trying to do the opposite.
Merkel still standing with the candidate* who was running on top of the EVP list and won the parliamentary elections is just that! So she‘s standing exactly for what has been broadly demanded after the Brexit vote!
*disclaimer: I am not a fan of Manfred Weber, I don‘t like his policy and have not voted for him and his party
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
There are hundreds of thousands on the streets protesting peacefully and some radicals have now stormed the government building and are vandalising it. So far the Hong Kong Police have been very passive (in contrary to 2 weeks ago) but I fear for the worst to happen in the coming hours.
I hope that Joshua Wong comes out and is condemning the violence from that small part of "protesters".
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
The current government in HK is selected from China and the people in HK fear that their liberal and democratic rights are step by step taken away from them.
China guaranteed a special system for Hong Kong until 2047, but it seems that they are tightening up earlier and HK people are trying to fight that from the start.
I am impressed how non-violent the parliament has been taken back by the HK police - imagine this happening in any other country and we‘d have seen a bloodbath.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
The authoritarian EU and keep our Democracy.
As usual TP shows his impeckable grasp of the situation. The situation in HK and Britain are very much alike, Brexit is in fact a result ofthe British exeprience from back in the 60's when the EU killed off a dozen million or so of it'citizens in an effort to modernise. :v
Stop him being a wolf !
monolithic, undemocratic Governing comittee. ........ But enough about Brexit !
The parliamentary elections are free with the „minor“ flaw, that all candidates are hand-picked by China
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
So, for decades, the highest EU Job (President of the European Commission) has been haggled out between the Heads of States behind closed doors and that has been rightly criticized for a long time.
The 2015 EU parliamentary elections changed that. The winner of the EU parliamentary elections (Mr. Juncker) became head of the EU (President of the Commission).
So, 2019, the candidate for the winning party (EVP) was Mr. Weber and he should become the President of the European Commission.
Now the praised "reformer" Mr. Macron doesn't like Weber and Weber has many enemies in Hungary, Poland and Romania because he openly criticized their erosion of democracy and uprising autocratism.
As it seems today, the Heads of States agreed now on a consensus candidate which has been haggled out behind closed doors - just like in the bad old days.
I find Mrs. v.d. Leyen a brilliant choice and she will be an outstanding EU Commission President without any doubt. That is not the point!
She was not running for EU Parliament. And she was not elected in the recent elections.
Now before the usual suspects are showing up and are moaning about the "dictatorial EU", just one remark:
The Heads of States have all been elected in democratic elections and they have been elected to represent their nations and their people.
I still would have expected that the Top Job would have chosen from the parliamentary elections only.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Granted I know very little about EU politics but the whole situation makes no sense whatsoever. The EVP party won and Weber should be president but because Macron doesn't like him the EU leaders get together and work a backroom deal to install another person? Ultimately the 2015 rule change is a change in name only as Macron or another head of state can disagree with the winner, have him/her removed and then install a more favorable individual. What recourse does Weber have and why haven't the EU members denounced this back room deal? Granted I don't know his politics but the rule changes make no sense when people can choose to not follow them!
Basically an alliance of Rightwing Populist Nationalist lead strongmen ruined things for Weber, but Macron would not accept him either. Macron‘s argument was that Weber has no experience in any top position in politics or government.
Keep in mind, we are talking about 2 different jobs:
President of the EU parliament
President of the European Commission
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I was under the impression that you were talking about the EU commission and not the parliament.
The EU parliament is relatively weak, differently to other national parliaments and in recent years, everyone tried to strenghten the role of the EU parliament.
2015 was important because for the first time, the winner of the parliamentary election got president of the EU Commission which is the real top job in Europe.
To become president of the Commission, you need the blessings from the heads of states and from the parliament.
The heads of States, the European Council proposes their candidate and he/she must be elected by the parliament then.
2015 the Council agreed on the winner of the parliamentary elections, 2019 not.
Europe is complicated.
It started a a trading block and the decision have been solely made by the heads of states.
That changes slowly but the old powers are still that.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_European_Commission
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Just remember the recent discussions in the UK, where many people felt, that their national needs and views are not being represented.
And I don‘t go as deep as speaking about the people in Northern Ireland or Scotland.
To give all these national influences a voice, there is a complicated balance between the parliament, the Council and other organs of the EU constitution.
I agree, that it‘s complicated but making it easier*, that will mean that nations give up power and that is not really popular among many states.
* Which basically means that you are painting with a broader brush so to say
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Neither do I think it's good idea to give cash to people simply because they are black as reperations for slavery. Putting more money into schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, raising the minimum wage and other efforts make life better in low-income areas is probably more effective and a better solution, especially since those communities are black neighbourhoods anyway.
Hawaii‘s Tulsi Gabbard is drop gorgeous!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
That's right: The US President expects the prime minister of another country to intervene in an ongoing a police investigation!
A judicial system that's independent from the executive branch is a key part of a democracy. Either the US president doesn't know this or he doesn't care - I don't know what's worse.
Now he sent the US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs (Yes, really!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
The Special envoy delivered a letter saying the US wants to resolve this case as soon as possible to avoid potential negative consequences in the bilateral realtionship between the US and Sweden.
This case is about a streetfight in one of the most democratic nations in the world with a judicial system at least as good as the US one.