by Oui
Mon May 2nd, 2022 at 10:30:04 AM EST
Just as one hundred years ago, American corporate capitalism bands together with European fascism, this time with the historic states of the former Prussian empire across Poland, Baltics and the Ukraine.
Delivery heavy weapons to Ukraine ...
Delivering heavy weapons to #Ukraine is the right step forward. Otherwise we would need to tell #Ukraine: 'Fight alone'. Clearly, that's not what we want to do. We are standing in solidarity with #Ukraine. @ABaerbock #Bundestag
Those Infamous Border Changes: A Crash Course in Polish History
The beginning of the end for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth came in 1772, with the first of three partitions which carved up Polish lands among the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian Empires. The second partition, in which only the Russian and Prussian Empires participated, occurred in 1793. After the third partition in 1795, among all three empires, Poland vanished from the map.
By the second half of the 19th century, things had settled down a bit. The geopolitical map of "Poland" didn't change during the time from the 1880s through the early 1900s, when most of our ancestors emigrated, until the end of World War I when Poland was reborn as a new, independent Polish state. The featured map at the top (Figure 6) is one of my favorites, because it clearly defines the borders of Galicia and the various Prussian and Russian provinces commonly mentioned in documents pertaining to our ancestors.
Figure 6: Central and Eastern Europe in 1900 (Credit: easteurotopo.org)
Germans ordered in survival mode ...
Home Secretary Nancy Faeser: "It definitely makes sense to have an emergency supply at home" | Handelsblatt |
In an interview, Interior Minister Faeser emphasized that it makes sense to have an emergency supply at home, for example in the event of a longer power outage. The SPD politician also advocates reactivating shelters in the country.
Against the background of the Ukraine war, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser advises citizens to take precautions in the event of a crisis. "Think, for example, of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure," said the SPD politician to the "Handelsblatt". "If the power goes out for a longer period of time or daily life is restricted in some other way, then it definitely makes sense to have an emergency supply at home."
In this context, Faeser referred to a list published by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK). There it says, for example, that you should have enough food and drink in the household for at least ten days. However, it is not necessary to create the stock "all at once". According to the BBK, it can be gradually built up.
Minister: Reactivate [nuclear] shelters
At the same time, the minister emphasized the importance of civil protection, which she gave "high priority". "We have to get up to speed here in order to cope with the many crises - pandemics, climate change, threats of war." It must be checked which protective measures are necessary. This not only affects technical issues, "but also supplies for food, medicines or medical supplies". There are still 599 shelters in Germany. There are also some that are used differently today. "It makes sense if we reactivate some of them," said Faeser.
Bundesinnenministerin plant Ausbau des deutschen Katastrophenschutzes | Zeit Online - Apr 9, 2022 |
Mehr Schutzräume, mehr Warnsirenen und mehr Vorräte: Angesichts des Kriegs in der Ukraine will Nancy Faeser Deutschland besser für Katastrophen wappnen.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz: Bundeswehr rearmament not at the expense of social projects
Scholz: Bundeswehr rearmament not at the expense of social projects
Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the special assets for the Bundeswehr on Sunday. The military build-up will not be at the expense of socio-political projects, declared the Chancellor at a Labor Day rally in Düsseldorf. Scholz also announced further aid for Ukraine at the weekend.
Düsseldorf/Dortmund. According to Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), the higher defense spending in Germany will not lead to a change of course by the Federal Government in social areas. "If we now spend more money on security and defense because we have to in the face of this aggression, then the following also applies: We will not end any of our projects that we want to launch for a more just and solidarity-based society in this country "Scholz said on Sunday at a DGB rally on Labor Day in Düsseldorf. He went there several times on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
At several rally locations on May 1st in Germany, speakers from the trade unions made it clear that the extra billions for the Bundeswehr should not come at the expense of the social sector. "We need this money for future investments in the transformation. And we need it for the efficiency of our welfare state," said the chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, in Berlin. Military peacekeeping must not be at the expense of social peace. The DGB state chairwoman of North Rhine-Westphalia, Anja Weber, also demanded at the rally in Dortmund that she should not be at the expense of spending on social affairs.
DGB-Vorsitzender Reiner Hoffmann bei einer Kundgebung zum Tag der Arbeit am 1. Mai am Brandenburger Tor in Berlin
Friedrich Merz visit Kyiv
Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, confirmed on Friday that he would ask parliament to vote on a motion calling for "immediate" deliveries of heavy weapons, including battle tanks, to Ukraine. "If the government doesn't deliver, then the Bundestag has to deliver." The SPD warned the opposition about "starting a political fight".
Olaf Scholz's government has repeatedly delayed sending heavy weapons, such as Marder tanks, to Ukraine. The government has said such a move would mean that Germany would no longer be able to meet its NATO obligations or that it would take too long to train Ukrainian soldiers in the use of Western weapons.
Most recently, Mr. Scholz explained his hesitation by saying that he was trying to avoid nuclear war.
Choose Peace, Not War
House leader Pelosi sends a message there will be no diplomatic ouvertures, we cannot back down. We are in there until victory is won, there will be no compromise. All Russians must leave the sovereign land of Ukraine.
Pelosi: "America stands with Ukraine, until victory is won. Do not be bullied by bullies. If they make threats, do not back down. We are there for the fight. And you cannot fold to a bully."
Transcript of U.S. Congressional Delegation Press Conference in Rzeszów, Poland
It is with great sorrow that we come here. With great pride, we leave with a firmer understanding and more current understanding of what needs to be done -- with a deeper appreciation and inspiration from those who are in this fight. And again, the resolve to move quickly to pass into legis - we are already writing into legislation the initiatives that President Biden put forth.
We're very proud of our President. His experience as a Member - as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, as Senator many years and a Vice President of the United States. And now President, he knows the challenges in the fight against democracy versus oppression, democracy versus autocracy. And he has unified - he has been a force for unity in NATO, as well as in the United States.
Crocodile tears in the Pentagon ...
Another escalation ... will any top level American general survive a visit to Kyiv?
Attack on #Izium attempt to assassinate Gen. Staff of RAF Gen. Valeriy Gerasimov ... disinformation and fake news by western war propaganda.
Lessons of war not learned by German politicians ...
Why Germany's Christian Democrats support the war against Iraq | WSWS - Feb 25, 2003 |
The war against Iraq has split not only the European elite, but also that of Germany. Sections of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and Free Democrats (FDP), as well as the German conservative press, are conducting a campaign against the political course adopted by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (Social Democratic Party--SPD) and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (Green Party) that is growing more hysterical by the day.
A recent example is the article by CDU leader Angela Merkel published in The Washington Post on February 20. Under the headline "Schroeder Doesn't Speak for All Germans," Merkel accuses the chancellor of sweeping aside for tactical electoral reasons the "most important lesson of German politics," i.e., that Germany should never again go it alone.
The German government's blocking of military aid for Turkey "undermines the very basis of NATO's legitimacy," writes Merkel, who goes on to defend Eastern European candidate members to the European Union (EU) against criticisms made by French President Jacques Chirac. According to Merkel, these countries have merely declared "their commitment to the transatlantic partnership between Europe and the United States".
Two weeks ago, the CDU chair delivered a speech supporting the US war policy at the Munich NATO security conference. Only the direct threat of force and massive American troop presence in the region had forced Saddam Hussein to cooperate with the weapons inspectors, she said. Schroeder's policy, she declared, contradicted "German state interests".
[Update-1]
Pacifism is outdated in a new Germany
Russia's war in Ukraine was the dominant theme of May 1 Labor Day marches across Germany | DW News |
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, from the center-left Social Democrats, told a May Day rally in Düsseldorf that his government was committed to supporting Ukraine with weapons.
He said a pacifist approach was outdated and warned of the effect that the war would have on food prices.
"I respect all pacifism, I respect all attitudes," said Scholz. "But it must seem cynical to a citizen of Ukraine to be told to defend himself against Putin's aggression without weapons.''
The German chancellor also warned of the danger posed by rising food prices, with Ukraine — one of the biggest exporters of wheat in the world — unable to ship grain because of the war.
However, Verdi Union leader Frank Werneke warned against an arms race in the wake of the German government's announcement that it was also set to increase defense spending.
"We don't want a new arms race that comes at the expense of urgent investments in social welfare, education and climate protection," he told a rally in the western city of Mainz.
In Frankfurt, supporters of the Left Party marched behind a banner saying "Stop the war!"
War of choice should never be an option … needless war.
My Left Wing Manifesto | by Maryscott OConnor on Jul 20th, 2005 |
END OF UPDATE
