Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

We Are All From Mars Now

by Oui Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 12:19:54 PM EST

Architect of Lviv Uprising of 2014 Speaks Out

I suspect this is a piece of propaganda from Kyiv as I cannot find a recent statement of Vicky Nuland in this regard. As far back as March 22 there was a similar statement for a resolution ... just hogwash as diplomacy and a compromise solution is only meaningful before hostilities starts. Mid-Februari 2022 the Ukrainian Army and Azov battalion started an artillery barrage on the Donbas as OSCE reported (w/o UK and U.S. observers as they pulled out a fortnight before Feb. 24th).

Warning disinformation


By searching further a day later, there are several articles in the media. Ms. Nuland spoke before a Senate hearing, thus indeed a BS statement not worth a deflated US dime.

Victoria Nuland : the U.S. is ready to "ease sanctions if Russian forces leave Ukraine"

The U.S. Deputy State Department Secretary Victoria Nuland said the United States is ready to ease sanctions against Russia for the sake of "serious negotiations" on Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian troops from there. In addition, Ms. Nuland said that the Abrams tanks will not be at Ukraine's disposal in time for its spring offensive against Russia.

    "In the context of the Russian decision to engage in serious negotiations and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and return the territories, I would, of course, welcome the easing of sanctions," Victoria Nuland said at a Senate hearing. 

According to Ms. Nuland, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has a similar position.

Earlier today, on January 26, the United States added more sanctions on Russia and its officials.

 

The Atlantic Rift | by Alexander G Rubio @EuroTrib on Feb 1st, 2006 |

Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the advent of the Iraq war in particular, but really predating those events by at least a decade, there's been a perception that the Atlantic powers have been drifting apart, and, on the American side, that Europe has grown complacent and unwilling to stand up in defence of itself or its principles.

This notion was famously popularised by Robert Kagan in his phrase, "Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus". 1 The same attitude underlies historian Victor Davis Hanson's "Letter to the Europeans", published in The National Review Online on January 6 of this year, decrying what he saw as European failure to live up to their heritage.

Note 1 : Robert Kagan, Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. [link to book]

We are all from Mars now as I have predicted this development from 2005 forward.

This is going to be a long drawn-out war with many more deaths, casualties and destruction. Primarily the people in Ukraine will suffer, does the West really care? I doubt it as here in The Netherlands everyone is busy with their job and to secure income to lead a happy life with their family members. All pleasures a wealthy nation can provide, Ukraine is a far away dispute not on everyone's mind.

The Neoconservative Theory of International Politics | Sept. 2018 |

Kristol's core four 'theses' of neoconservative foreign policy are as follows:

    1. Patriotism is a natural and healthy sentiment and should be encouraged by both private and public institutions.
    1. International institutions that point to an ultimate world government should be regarded with the deepest suspicion.
    2. Statesmen should, above all, have the ability to distinguish friends from enemies.
    3. For a great power, the "national interest" is not a geographical term.

If we are to take Kristol at face value, clearly there is no point of going forward with looking at neoconservatism as an IR [International Relations] theory, for his set of attitudes is just that. And yet, his four core theses are built upon a series of assumptions, including that about regime type, anarchy, interest formation, and collective security that make it appear to be much closer to an IR theory than a simple `persuasion.'  

Where are the Barbarians located in the Real World mr. Josep Borrell, not infected by your rearing and imagination.

Strictly fictionary sourced from an ultra-conservative Irish citizen ...

'Solving' Middle Europe|

Ralph Adams Cram's First-World-War Plan for Redrawing Borders

Ralph Adams Cram was not just one of the most influential American architects of the first half of the twentieth century: he was a rounded intellectual who expressed his thinking in fiction, essays, and books in addition to the buildings he designed.

All the same, amidst the clamours of the First World War this architect of buildings played the architect of peoples and sketched out his idea of what Europe after the war -- presuming the defeat of the Central Powers -- would look like.

In A Plan for the Settlement of Middle Europe: Partition Without Annexation, Cram set out his model for the territorial redivision of central and eastern Europe "to anticipate an ending consonant with righteousness, and to consider what must be done... forever to prevent this sort of thing happening again".

Cram, who provided a map as a general guide, predicted the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark, the Trentino and Trieste to Italy, much of Transylvania to Romania, Posen to a restored Poland, and Silesia divided in three.

Fundamental to the architect's thinking was that "neither Germany, Austria-Hungary, nor Turkey can be permitted to exist as integral or even potential empires". Austria and Hungary would be split and Germany needed to be partitioned (not, as some later plans had it, annexed).

Ralph Adams Cram -- American architect and writer (1863-1942)

Nuland: US ready to discuss easing sanctions against Russia after withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine | Azeri Report - April 29, 2022 |

The US is ready to discuss the easing of sanctions against Russia after the withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, Report informs.

If the Russians leave, there could be some easing of sanctions, Nuland noted. But the US must also be ready to return these sanctions, reapply them if Putin returns or threatens to return, she said.

She added that Ukraine can ask for international peacekeepers to monitor the agreement on the withdrawal of troops and ensure security along the borders.

Vicky Nuland in Pow-Wow with war party in US Congress - March 9, 2022

U.S. Under Secretary of State Nuland on Accelerating Aid to Ukraine and Sanctions Against Russia

Nuland and members of the committee expressed concern that conditions would continue to deteriorate in Ukraine. Committee Chairman Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said, "I am afraid - and I hope I'm dead wrong - that this may be just the beginning of the fight for Ukraine's existence...We are prepared to support the Ukrainian people. But it may be a long road. So while the response of the past 12 days is valiant, it cannot be the end."

Menendez acknowledged that the Ukrainians are fighting for more than their own physical and national survival. "The fight for Ukraine is a fight for democracy. A fight for freedom." Nuland said Putin is "testing the foundations of international law and he is testing us all," and added that "Ukrainians are fighting for their nation's survival, but they are also fighting for all of us."

Senators who oppose the administration's negotiations to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal that President Donald Trump jettisoned expressed concern that Russia might benefit from any such arrangement. And several committee members said they opposed any plans to supplement U.S. energy supplies with oil from Venezuela.

Nuland said the administration is moving urgently to both provide the needed aid to Ukraine and ensure that sanctions against Russia exert maximum pressure on Putin from countries and economies around the world.

"From the U.S. perspective, the endgame is the strategic defeat of President Putin in this adventure," Nuland said.

More on suspending talks with Iran on JCPOA nuclear deal and boycott of Venezuelan oil export ...

Mission Accomplished: A thirty years war fighting terror under leadership and inspiration from America.

When will the global community stand up realizing the United States is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Remarks by Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland at a UN Security Council High-Level Briefing on Global Counterterrorism

Last year, the world faced more than 8,000 terrorist incidents, across 65 countries, killing more than 23,000 people - stories like Mrs. Anjali, of families and communities left shattered, stories of unbelievable horror and desperation, but also of heroism like hers.

Other recent attacks around the world - the bombing of a police station in Indonesia, the coup attempt in Germany, and hateful incidents here in our country - remind us that no country is safe from this threat, and it cannot be defeated by any of us alone or by any regional bloc. We must all work together.

It is incumbent upon us to tackle these issues jointly - from the under- and ungoverned spaces susceptible to terrorist control, to the desperate conditions conducive to recruitment, to the sources of illicit financing, to the perverse ideologies spreading online and across borders.

The UN now estimates that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism, what we call REMVE, has increased over 320 percent in recent years, with worrying new transnational links among groups.

This ideology, rooted in perennial hate like xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, and all forms of bigotry, has found common cause online, with new members being recruited through various social media platforms, and fake and manipulated photos quickly spreading misinformation and hate.

It is therefore critical that we build on our shared capabilities to better detect, degrade, and respond to these new threats.

That's why we are working with partners to strengthen their domestic law enforcement, judicial capabilities, and border security, improve intelligence and information sharing on these threats, and sever key sources of terrorist-financing.

In May, we launched the Counterterrorism Law Enforcement Forum in Berlin, bringing together law enforcement officials from some 40 countries to build capacity and share best practices.

After the Patriot Act, more shit initiated by American [In]Justice Department and Policing. Remember the cops in Ferguson Missouri??

There's nothing Jewish about fighting against Palestinian freedom or militarizing the police | JVP - Dec. 2022 |

Written during the height of the Black-led uprisings in June 2020 sparked by the police murder of George Floyd. Entitled "Law Enforcement Trainings in Israel" and authored by senior staff at the ADL, the document details how the ADL, one of the main facilitators of police exchanges between the U.S. and Israel, was forced to acknowledge that its exchange program helped militarize U.S. police and harm communities of color.

The leaked memo also reveals that the ADL decided to disrupt their police exchange program in large part due to sustained campaigning by the nation-wide Deadly Exchange campaign and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). JVP, along with its coalition partners across the U.S., sees this as a key, vital step towards stopping the militarization of our communities, defunding and abolishing policing, and challenging the US-Israel alliance that maintains Israeli apartheid.

Before the Iraq War, US Special Forces and Army Units got city guerrilla training on location in Israel before doing damage in Baghdad and Fallujah. Vast experience from Jenin during the Second Intifada of Palestinians after the failed Oslo Accords under Ariel Sharon and Bibi Netanyahu.

No need to remind the community jihadist terrorism was nurtured and supported by both Israel and the US. Fighting on our side, the extremists were repeatedly called "freedom fighters" from Afghanistan in the 1980s, to Chechnya, Caucasus, Bosnia, Kosovo, Xinjiang, Libya, Egypt and Syria. The US quite easily and w/o blushing renamed the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq or MEK from an terrorist group to a opposition force we should support contra Ira. Thanks to strong lobby under leadership of John McCain, John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani.

As the bombing reprisal of Afghanistan lasted longer than the necessary three months, it became a war on Islam provoking a global backlash of terror acts and easy recruitment of thousands of fighters. Many jihadists received training from UK and U.S. Special Forces in top secret camps in Northern Jordan and Camp Bondsteel in Albania. Destroying planet Earth one nation at a time.

The illegal invasion of Iraq under false pretenses is a major war crime and crime against humanity. Under president Trump and the rightwing Republicans, Islamophobia peaked and due to the influx of Syrian 🇸🇾 refugees to Europe, xenophobia got an impulse leading to a political surge to the right across Europe, a breeding ground for violence and ultimate war. No time for peace ☮️ in Europe.

As our top EU diplomat so rightly put the issue forward: "It's Us vs Them" ... the jungle outside the beautiful garden of Europe. Similar words uttered by an infantile George Bush on the ruins of the Twin Towers in New York of mayor Rudy Giuliani. As Bush was briefed by Cheney and Rumsfeld on the urgency of the Iraq War through picture cards depicting Biblical scenes.

"Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists"

Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People - Sept. 20, 2011

This mentality prevails now for some time across Europe and with the younger generation lacking any knowledge of European and World history. The knowledge stops at the turn of the century and the start of the digital age. We can remake the world is commonplace today. America's path of war to a NWO

How is Israel's land grab different from Russian occupation of Crimea and the Donbas? Western hypocrisy for all to see.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸

From the diaries ...

New Fascist Pariah States America and Israel Lashing Out | June 2018 |

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'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 12:29:03 PM EST
except women, they are from Venus (Now  Touring to a Theater Near You!). And no one cares from where "minorities" come.

C-SPAN | Hearing on Countering Russian Aggression, 26 Jan
A/V (EN), FIFTH WAVE running time 02:02:00

Officials from the State and Defense departments and USAID [Celeste Wallander DOD, Vic Nuland STATE, Erin McKee USAID] testified on Capitol Hill on Russian aggression amid its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Topics included new sanctions against the Wagner Group (a Russian paramilitary organization), China and Iran providing technology and drones to Russia, concerns that nations such as India and South Africa continue doing business with Russia, and other matters. On the day before the hearing, President Biden announced the U.S. was sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to help defend itself against a Russian springtime offensive.
hosted by Light saber rattling Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert "I-did-not-bribe-that-man" Menedez (D-NJ)
by Cat on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 03:17:16 PM EST

The Shocking Liberation of Auschwitz: Soviets 'Knew Nothing' as They Approached -- January 27, 1945 |

While some had been driven from the camp, thousands of emaciated prisoners had been left behind to die.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 03:39:50 PM EST
The largest of its kind, the Auschwitz camp complex was essential to carrying out the Nazi plan for the "Final Solution." Auschwitz left its mark as one of the most infamous camps of the Holocaust | USHMM |

The best estimates of the number of victims at the Auschwitz camp complex, including the killing center at Auschwitz-Birkenau, between 1940 and 1945 are:

  • Jews (1,095,000 deported to Auschwitz, 960,000 died)
  • Non-Jewish Poles (140,000- 150,000 deported, 74,000 died)
  • Roma (Gypsies) (23,000 deported, 21,000 died)
  • Soviet prisoners of war (15,000 deported and died)
  • Other nationalities (25,000 deported, 10,000- 15,000 died)

On June 22, 1941, German forces invaded the Soviet Union. Three million German soldiers were reinforced by Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, Italian, Slovak, and Croatian troops. Within weeks, German divisions conquered the Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. In September the Germans laid siege to Sevastopol and Leningrad, and by late October, the cities of Minsk, Smolensk, Kiev, Odessa, and Kharkov had fallen. Millions of Soviet soldiers were encircled, cut off from supplies and reinforcements, and forced to surrender.

Soviets Viewed as Subhuman Enemies

Yet for Nazi Germany this attack was not an "ordinary" military operation. The war against the Soviet Union was a war of annihilation between German fascism and Soviet communism; a racial war between German "Aryans" and subhuman Slavs and Jews. From the very beginning this war of annihilation against the Soviet Union included the killing of prisoners of war (POWs) on a massive scale. 

In part, German officials excused their ill treatment and murder of Soviet POWs by pointing out that the Soviet Union was not a signatory to the Geneva Convention and its soldiers did not warrant the protection that the convention extended to prisoners of war. In reality, their reasons were more complex. German authorities viewed Soviet POWs as a particular threat, regarding them not only as Slavic subhumans but as part of the "Bolshevik menace" linked in Nazi ideology to the concept of  a "Jewish conspiracy."

The brutal treatment of Soviet POWs by the Germans violated every standard of warfare. Existing sources suggest that some 5.7 million Soviet army personnel fell into German hands during World War II.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 03:41:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
To appreciate what operation #Barbarossa inflicted on the Russian military psyche (surprise attack) in conjunction with the close encounters from #NORAD `79 ☢️ and #AbleArcher `83 ☢️ one hopes (God willing) NATO deconfliction comms are very sound and diplomacy prevails - always. [Twitter Geoff Stoke - June 23, 2021]

Soviet Union and The Great Patriotic War between 27 and 40 million died

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 03:42:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

US embassy apologizes for saying Auschwitz death camp was liberated by Americans

On Tuesday, the Russian embassy in US responded to the original tweet claiming that it was Americans who liberated the camp, slamming it as "shameful WWII history rewriting"

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 03:42:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

⚡️Pentagon confirms that Ukraine will receive Abrams M1A2 tanks not M1A1. It's the newer and more advanced version.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 03:44:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"M1A2 tanks not M1A1...the newer and more advanced version": The first time GAO disputed this idea—"modernizing" US heavy tank fleet— was 1996, while panning "operational readiness," cost of Army maintenance "overhaul" per unit, and acquisition of additional units.

[Abrams] M1 TANKS, Status of Proposed Overhaul Program: "The Army does not maintain data that shows the extent, if any, of the latent deficiencies, nor does the Army have a predictive readiness system that would show what would happen to operational readiness if there were no depot overhaul program."

35 years and two invasions later, land-roving proved no longer fit for "modern" US expeditionary purposes and variable terrain. Consider parallel R&D of light-infantry MANPADs, UAVs, USVs, UMVs ("drones"), satellite-guided missile systems, and nuke-propelled submarines as well as USAF quixotic quest for stealthy air superiority.

Nevertheless, DOD continues to feed purchase orders to Abrams principal manufacturer (General Dynamics FKA Chrystler) and its subcontractors for detail modifications that expand the "product line". Why is that? To underwrite US arms dealers' inventory of sunk cost for sale (cash or finance) to foreign "partners".

military-today | M1A1, M1A2, M1A2 SEP, TUSK one "Whispering Death" chassis, varied amenitites

...Development of improved M1A1 began in 1988 [Gulf War!]. About 1,200-1,500 M1A2 main battle tanks were delivered to the US army. Out of this number approximately 1,000 out-dated M1 main battle tanks [MBTs] were upgraded to the M1A2 standard. It is planned that this tank will remain in service beyond 2050. The M1A2 has been exported to Kuwait (218) and Saudi Arabia (457)....
military.com | M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank
mobile phone service!
by Cat on Sun Jan 29th, 2023 at 03:45:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
C-SPAN | Hearing on Countering Russian Aggression, 26 Jan
CARDIN @00:42:58: I'd like to follow-up on Chairman Menedez's last point first in that is accountability. Tomorrow is Holocaust Rememberance Day, the 77th aniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. I appreciate and believe that we're making substantial progress in maintaining the evidence to pursue war crimes or crimes against humanity for those that are responsible at the highest levels.

Pharmabio Test™ clinical and diagnostic center in Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast. Experimental drugs, bacterial and coronavirus specimens, blood and urine samples, manufacturing equipment and HD-stripped PCs, trap mines, "patient" records and death certificates, and employee documents dated 2015-2022
Early action is going to be important. Is there any hope that we could move forward with some recognized international mechanism that could start the process so that there is—it's known internationally—that accountability is going to be party of the resolution of this conflict?
NULAND: So, Senator Cardin, as I said, we're working hard on this with our G7 partners and with Ukrain. While we ...
CARDIN: I undersatand, you're working on gathering the evidence ...
NULAND: No, no, no, also on which of the various models  for uh pursuing ... just us ...
CARDIN: What is the progress on that?
NULAND: I would like to see us come to conclusions before the anniversary, around February. But it may take another few months. But certainly before the summer, I would hope. I would also note that when I was with the secretary in Kyiv in September, we went to Irpyn to see one of the towns that have been decimated by Russian missiles, and we met with some of the non-governmental organizations that [US]AID is supporting who were minutely gathering evidence and plotting it. So ...
by Cat on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 06:29:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician)

From my diary on East Galicia in Poland, today Western Ukraine ...

Nazi collaborator Dutch art collector Pieter Menten and Banderistas in Galicia, Poland

The Ukrainians in Lviv played a major role of collaboration with the Nazis.

#stepanbandera #OUN #pogroms

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 06:55:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Of course through proxy Ukraine and blood of its soldiers ... membership to the military "garden" of Europe has to be earned. The Maidan and Donbas massacres were just a preview of more to come.

RAND Report Avoiding a Long War -- U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict | January 2023 |

Color Revolutions and Regime Change in Belarus and Russia

The Biden administration changed tact. He endorsed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the color revolution candidate that had failed the elections in Belarus.

Biden also allowed for the delivery of more offensive weapons to Ukraine. The regime in Kiev was encouraged to retake the rebellions Donbas republics. The green light for that was given in early 2022 even as the White House knew that Russia would respond militarily.

The consequences for Ukraine that RAND had predicted in 2019 ensued. The U.S. aim for the war is, as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in April 2022, to 'weaken Russia':

A National Security Council spokesperson said that Austin's comments were consistent with what the US' goals have been for months - namely, "to make this invasion a strategic failure for Russia."

"We want Ukraine to win," the spokesperson added. "One of our goals has been to limit Russia's ability to do something like this again, as Secretary Austin said. That's why we are arming the Ukrainians with weapons and equipment to defend themselves from Russian attacks ...

In the meantime with a surge in more advanced arms for offensive counterattacks, the goal has been set to reconquer Crimea. As long as manpower makes this possible.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 08:03:55 PM EST

One year in, both Ukraine and Russia still think they can win

As the US announces it will procure tanks for Ukraine, Kyiv and Moscow are fighting a battle of attrition in Bakhmut -- and preparing for what's next.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 08:11:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Russian agency says it blocked access to CIA, FBI websites for spreading false information

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 09:17:03 PM EST

Ukraine updates: Russia intensifies front-line offensive

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 09:36:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Afd lost its bearing, is now close to policy contributed to West-German's Cold War hero Willy Brandt ... at least in words.

From Ostpolitik to 'frostpolitik'? Merkel, Putin and German foreign policy towards Russia | Jan. 2016 |

Germany's relationship with Russia has historically been one of the most crucial in shaping Europe's fate. Despite radical transformation in the nature of European Great Power politics, it continues to be pertinent from the perspective of today's world. Germany's willingness to establish good relations with the Soviet Union in the late 1960s--its emphasis on economic relations and cooperation instead of political disagreements--prepared the ground for the end of the Cold War and German unification twenty years later. Germany's basic policy towards Russia remained broadly unchanged despite German unification and changes in the domestic political coalitions and leadership, sometimes against political expectations. In the European context, Germany's attitude towards Russia created the backbone of EU-Russia relations.

Until the 2014 coup d'état destroyed the balance in European relations with the Russian federation.

U.S. Intelligence: Lying Liars and Warmongers | June 30, 2018 |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 11:03:34 PM EST
An exceptional piece ...

Willy Brandt's Forgotten Ostpolitik | Jan. 2, 2014 |

Recently I have had the great pleasure of participating in an event commemorating what would have been Willy Brandt's 100th birthday in Berlin. During the conference we elaborated on his legacy together with his old friend Egon Bahr. The discussions were very inspiring, however they led to the sad conclusion that Willy Brandt is not enough remembered in Central and Eastern Europe.

Willy Brandt was indeed a very peculiar figure in the politics of his time; not eager to join the Cold War, sensitive to social injustice and prepared to dare more democracy. The fact that he was an Anti-Nazi activist during World War II for long was not recognized in Germany. He was often offended by his political opponents as a child of an illegitimate relationship or of being detached from Germany due to his long time in exile.

Several determined attempts finally resulted in him winning the German federal elections of 1969. However, this was just the beginning. The Kniefall in Warsaw in 1970 is one of the most iconic gestures of modern European history. Ironically enough, the one who took the blame was in fact beyond guilt, actively opposing Nazi terror and the atrocities of World War II. Poland took a special place in Brandt's political agenda - as a moral center of his politics. This gesture of German recognition of responsibility for the Holocaust and the atrocities committed in Poland by the German occupation forces showed political and personal class. This moment, important as it was, was, however, primarily symbolic. What counts most are Brandt's political actions. Experience gained while governing besieged West Berlin - an island of freedom and democracy in the sea of Stasi GDR - was a valuable lesson learned about the iron curtain, the Soviet Union and the Cold War.

The Ostverträge proved Brandt's understanding for the ultimate goal of peace and security in the region over nationalistic ambitions and historical amnesia. Egon Bahr's strategy of `change through cooperation' (Wandel durch Annäherung) created a new quality in international relations, opening more doors than the arms race. The Treaty of Warsaw - at first so controversial in German society and so unbearable for conservatives tirelessly demanding reunification with Silesia - turned out to be the beginning of new era in Polish-German relations. After all, the main goal was to abolish the iron curtain and Poland as a socialist but relatively independent state had the potential to be the forerunner. Unfortunately, change took longer than Brandt would have wanted.

One has to keep in mind that parallel to redefining ties with Poland and balancing relations with the USSR, Germany still remained divided internally. This was naturally Brandt's biggest concern, to reunite `what belongs together'. This perspective shows the double importance of the treaty with Poland. Brandt was legitimizing the border of East Germany being the Chancellor of the West. The CDU's reluctance and stubbornness in a accepting Willy Brandt's politics was very short sighted - the chance for restoring the old status quo was minuscule if there at all. Brandt's pragmatism ended the time of temporary ceasefire. Rightfully so, one of the SPD's election slogans was `So that you can live in peace also tomorrow' (Damit Sie auch morgen in Frieden leben können, 1969).

50 years since Willy Brandt's historic gesture in Poland

On December 7, 1970, German Chancellor Willy Brandt fell to his knees at the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto. The "Warsaw Genuflection" opened the way to reconciliation, but some today dismiss it as an "empty gesture."

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 11:04:43 PM EST


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 at 11:08:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ukraine is a de facto NATO country except for the formal acceptance with Article 5 security protection. It's NATO's war against the Russian Federation. All bets are open.

Defend. Resist. Repeat: Ukraine's lessons for European defence | ECFR - Nov. 9, 2022 |

Ukraine's response to the Russian invasion holds vital lessons for the rest of Europe.

  • Ukraine's response to Russian aggression in 2022 holds valuable lessons for the EU and its member states.
  • Since 2014, Ukraine has transformed its armed forces, mobilised a network of reservists, and coordinated military and civilian defence agencies to prioritise cross-society resilience to crises.
  • It has done so by adopting NATO best practices and through a unique movement of volunteers who help fund the war effort.
  • The Ukrainian armed forces have also found innovative ways to use new technologies in mounting an asymmetric response to their much larger adversary.
  • EU member states can learn from Ukraine's experiences, but this should be a two-way street - with European countries continuing to supply weapons and provide training to Ukraine, and gaining real-world wartime insights in return.

Ukraine's defence has evolved over eight years of war from an `anti-terrorist operation' (ATO) to a `joint forces operation'. The government has placed the armed forces and law enforcement agencies under a single command; and then, after the February 2022 Russian invasion, created a de-facto "Total defense system".



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 08:41:20 AM EST
Zelensky Signs Controversial Law Toughening Punishment for Desertion in Army | Kyiv Post |

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday signed a controversial law toughening punishments for disobedience or desertion from the armed forces amid Russia's invasion.

Stronger sanctions will also apply to offences such as threatening commanders, fleeing the battlefield, or consuming alcohol, according to the law published on the Ukrainian parliament's website.

The new law also prohibits courts from giving reduced or suspended sentences to soldiers found guilty.

Soldiers could face up to 12 years in prison for desertion, up to 10 years for disobedience or refusal to fight, and up to seven years for threatening a superior.

The text was criticised by human rights activists and some organisations had called on the president not to sign the measure, which was passed by parliament in December.

Candidates are now swept off the streets in small towns and villages and enlisted in UA for the battle front. Horrible loss of lives on both sides ...

Зеленський підписав закон про відповідальніс&# 1090;ь в армії|

Translation:
Zelensky signed the law on responsibility in the army | DW News -Jan. 25, 2023 |

The document provides for tougher administrative and criminal penalties for violations by the military. Earlier, human rights defenders spoke out against this law, but it was supported by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 08:42:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Attacks on Roma in Ukraine | CSCE US Congress Visitors Center - July 25, 2018 |

Roma are the largest ethnic minority group in Europe and experience widespread discrimination and bigotry. Since the adoption of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document, the U.S.  Helsinki Commission has actively monitored and advanced the OSCE's human rights commitments to Roma.

Over the course of 2018, attacks on Roma in Ukraine have escalated dramatically. Several of the mob attacks have been filmed and broadcast in an attempt to intimidate Roma communities. The attacks have destroyed property, injured many, and killed at least one.

Families, homes, and entire communities have been the target of these mob attacks.  Since April, the Roma Coalition reported eight attacks against Roma settlements in Ukraine, and more than 150 people have fallen victim to these attacks.  Although efforts have been made at the local, national, and international levels to counter this violence, much remains to be done.

Helsinki Commission Counsel on International Law Erika Schlager explained, "These messages were intended to stoke fear and sow interethnic tension ... by engaging sooner rather than later, it makes it more likely that the government can take the actions necessary to put an end to this kind of violence."

Map of Recent Attacks on Roma in Ukraine

Predominantly in Galicia East or Western Ukraine Lviv and regions. Same hate is on the rise in Georgia.

Scapegoating of LGBTI people on increase in Europe

American moral values? Perhaps, but not mine nor (West) European principles of the Four Freedoms. Hellish to shut your eyes for realities in former Soviet states.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 11:49:16 AM EST
regeringen.se | The government's first 100 days: Migration, 24 Jan "media kit"
Migration is a priority area for the government. The area is also one of the cooperation projects that the government parties have with the cooperation party Sweden Democrats to solve Sweden's most important social problems. The cooperation is based on the Tidö Agreement. With the first 100 days now over, a lot of action in the area has been done, and more are in the works.

International information campaign about the paradigm shift in migration policy

The government has today presented an international information campaign about the paradigm shift in migration policy. The campaign will be launched shortly and the aim is to reach out more broadly about the new migration policy. The information campaign consists of, among other things, the following:
[...]
Implemented measures in migration
• increasing the number of internal controls on foreigners
• increasing the fight against irregular migration and prioritizing work with internal alien control
• intensifying the work regarding the return of people
•increasing the number of detention places
[...]

government.se | Sweden's Presidency of the Council of the EU, Jan - June 2023
by Cat on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 01:38:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Dutch PM Mark Rutte has been on the wrong side of Human Rights in his political career, has send a proposal to Sweden (in 27 languages). Mark is an under-study of UK Immigration Laws. Rutte wishes to legalize what has been illegal for decades. #boris #pittipatel #sikorski #andrzejduda

The Three Seas Initiative: Geopolitical Determinants and Polish Interests

Utter bulls*it from Mark ... not the number of asylum seekers increased, the refugees from NATO's war in Ukraine surged. Rutte and his VVD Tory policy has defunded the entities to receive and house these people. SHAME Tory policy of targeted austerity measures in government ... if you don't "contribute" to Dutch economy, we don't want you to live in The Netherlands.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 02:25:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
C-SPAN | Hearing on Countering Russian Aggression, 26 Jan
MERKLEY @01:34:17: A last question—my colleague was mentioning that Europeans are not putting as much support into Ukraine as we are. And I wonder what that analysis looks like, if one considers the much higher prices they are paying for energy or to host refugees and if you have any sense of how all that balances out in terms of our thinking about the sacrifices the European partners are making?
NULAND: Well, thank you for raising that, Senator Merkely. I did mention that refugee burden, some ten million refugees hosted all over Europe, which, you know, impacts towns and communities all over the continent. And you see that everywhere, but your point about that fact that in—you know, most of my European friends report a three hundred percent increase in their energy bills over the winter, and if you just, say, think about the sticker shock that that would create. If it were happening here, you're are absolutely right, but um that speaks to the fact that they have now woken up to the fact that the dependence they had on Russian oil [?!] was bad for their national interest[s]. And so there will be uh, as hard as this has been, there will be good structural changes that come out the other end.
by Cat on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 02:36:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
what a fu*king idiot and ditto American neo-colonialism ... European self-interest starts beyond the rusted iron curtain of the USSR era. ...

Europe's Frontier: A Rusted Iron Curtain | Jan. 7, 2018 |

"Europe faces a threat to its cohesion. But this time it's on the eastern front, not the western"

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 02:52:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
< wipes tears >
by Cat on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 10:46:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
swedish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu | Ministers discussed migration challenges from third countries and the fight against crime in the digital age, 26 Jan
EU justice and home affairs ministers met in Stockholm for the first informal ministerial meeting under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Sweden's Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer chaired the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting.

EU justice and home affairs ministers met in Stockholm for the first informal ministerial meeting under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Sweden's Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer chaired the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting.
[...]
The afternoon began with a minute's silence for the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi who along with several other people tragically died in a helicopter accident in Kyiv last week. In light of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator was also present to give an update on the internal security dialogue with Ukraine.
[...]

enc: press conference A/V (EN), running time 00:25:26
by Cat on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 08:39:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 at 05:45:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Sun Jan 29th, 2023 at 09:41:31 AM EST
His last official (re)tweet ...

A boost for European sales of Lockheed F-35s ...

Agreement between Pentagon and Lockheed for 398 F-35 jets | Jan. 8, 2023 |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Jan 29th, 2023 at 09:43:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Baerbock is the best foreign minister since Joschka Fischer, possibly since Willy Brandt. Not afraid to break the mould and rise to the occasion ...

Same mould, same stupidity ...

Ex-Bundesaußenminister Joschka Fischer über Kooperationen in der Klimakrise und die Fehler der deutschen Russland- und Ukrainepolitik

Sorry, not even close in the same league as one of my heroes Willy Brandt. When I lived in the States, he visited St. Louis more than once and I listened to him in evening radio programs from Stan Musial's famous restaurant. Delightful and very hopeful in the period of the Cold War. I believe at the time he was Berlin's mayor.

The Nobel Peace Prize 1971 was awarded to Willy Brandt "for paving the way for a meaningful dialogue between East and West"

Grüner Außenminister Joschka Fischer für Kriegseinsatz der Bundeswehr im Kosovo

Barely in office, the first Green Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, is faced with crucial questions. At the special party conference of the Greens in Bielefeld, he justified the first foreign deployment of the Bundeswehr in Kosovo with reference to "Never again Auschwitz". Joschka Fischer had just come into office with the red-green government takeover. The atmosphere at the special party conference in Bielefeld is correspondingly heated.

International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to begin trial for Kosovo's former president Hashim Thaci on March 1

Germany did some excellent work in district of Kunduz, yet the politics of war was a complete failure, quite similar to the campaign in non-NATO country Ukraine. The Bundeswehr participated in the 20 year disaster of the Afghan campaign and were left behind when ally America left Kabul in the dark of night, as they had done before in Saigon.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged major shortfalls in equipment for the Bundeswehr's military | DW News - Sept. 28, 2014 |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Jan 30th, 2023 at 01:05:26 PM EST
The new situation today will have dire consequences for the future because it is now obvious to everyone: Only when you have nuclear weapons are you really sovereign and safe. If you don't have it, you only have limited sovereignty. This experience will lead to a much more unsafe world.
Kim famille be, like, d'Oh. Sharif famille be, like, wut? Ayatollahs past and present be, like, PULL THE OTHER ONE, LADDY!
by Cat on Mon Jan 30th, 2023 at 04:27:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Fall of Kabul whistleblower sues UK government after sacking

Exclusive: Civil servant who gave anonymous interview to BBC about Afghan withdrawal says service 'dangerously politicised'

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Feb 4th, 2023 at 06:08:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Confession by former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett ...

    ‎2:19:52 מלחמת רוסיה-אוקראינה The Russia-Ukraine War
    ‎2:20:30 היחסים עם פוטין The relationship with Putin
    ‎2:31:22 ישראל בין הפטיש לסדן Israel caught in the middle
    ‎2:32:22 התיווך בין אוקראינה לרוסיה Mediating between Ukraine and Russia
    ‎2:40:05 מאחורי הקלעים של התיווך Behind the scenes of mediation

A damning interview I can relate to .. a condemnation of the West, NATO expansion and the U.S. building on the Monroe doctrine ... trashes all the war propaganda.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Feb 6th, 2023 at 10:04:37 PM EST
Diplomat slams Bennett's remarks about West's breakdown of talks as another confession | Tass |

In his first interview after vacating his office, Bennett, who acted as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine in early 2022, shared his recollections about contacts with both sides. Among other things, he said that President Putin had granted physical security to his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky. According to Bennett, he told that the Ukrainian president over the phone, "returned to his office and recorded a video from his office," where he said he was afraid of nothing. At the same time, Bennett recalled, it was Zelensky, who feared for his life, to ask him to raise this topic with Putin.

In April 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Russian-Ukrainian talks that were proceeding quite successfully in Istanbul, were broken down "on the direct order from the United States and London," which "totally control the Zelensky regime." Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutrky, who was a member of the Russian delegation to the talks with Kiev, also said that Zelensky had "evidently received an order from the Washington patrons to frustrate the negotiations."

In February 2023, Lavrov said that Russia is acting as the West wanted, i.e. seeking "victory on the battlefield." "This is their formula. It was them who refused from the talks and forced the Kiev regime to withdraw from the negotiating process at the moment when in late March there was a possibility to end it politically," he said.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Mon Feb 6th, 2023 at 10:05:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ukraine slams Macron's remarks not to 'humiliate' Russia | Al Jazeera - June 4, 2022 |

Ukraine says President Emmanuel Macron's comments about not humiliating Russia 'can only humiliate France'.

From my diary ..

Last Ditch Effort to Prevent War in Europe | June 30, 2022 |

Related reading ...

Merkel Defends Her Legacy and Russia Policy | June 8, 2022 |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Feb 6th, 2023 at 10:07:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Translation:
Fertilizer producer Yara, known in the Netherlands for its factory in Sluiskil (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen), is the next company in a long line that has recorded a mega profit in times of crisis

Turnover increased from €14.8 bn to €22.3 bn euros, profit from more than 350 million to €2.6 bn euros (seven-fold).

Both companies aim to achieve a significant carbon dioxide reduction in the production of fertilizers in Norway.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Feb 8th, 2023 at 02:37:06 PM EST
Yara International ASA fertilizer plants poised to reap EU "embargo" profits
by Cat on Thu Feb 9th, 2023 at 08:02:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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