Libya Conflict - International community moves to enforce arms embargo | MSC - February 2020 | [video]
EU must develop 'appetite for power' says foreign policy chief Josep Borrell:
"We should be able to act, not everyday making comments or expressing concern."
Europe's top diplomatic told the Munich Security Conference.
The Libya intervention of 2011 under false pretense of R2P followed by unlawful regime change deposing of dictator Gaddafi. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took notice after NATO's u lawful bombardment of Serbia to enforce Kosovo independence.
Today the French armed forces in Mali are ousted and replaced by Wagner mercenaries and the military in neighboring Niger took over power of a corrupt regime which failed the people over many years.
Uranium in Niger: When a Blessing Becomes a Curse | April 19, 2018 |
Key word | France's Areva |
Niger Country Report 2022
Niger's largely peaceful and seemingly democratic presidential elections in 2020 and 2021 will result in the country's first handover of power from one civilian leader to another. This is a milestone in the country's political history. However, President Mahamadou Issoufou's second term has seen authoritarian backsliding. Civil society organizations, protest leaders and journalists critical of the government have become the victims of violence and intimidation by the security services. Many individuals critical of the government have been incarcerated under dubious circumstances and for lengthy periods. These are worrisome developments, as they undermine many of the democratic gains of the 2011 political transition.
Again, a bizarre joke in Niger speaks French
Nigeria's president and new chairman of the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Bola Ahmed Tinubu rallies the subregion to confront what is now called "Africa's coup belt", he would find that the problem in the region's largest landlocked country, which shares the longest land border with Nigeria, is far more complicated than it appears.
Many diaries passed on the ignorant Libyan intervention by US/NATO in 2011 and it's aftermath, the effects on Mali and sub-Saharan nations. Creating chaos and preaching about Barbarians and Civilization.
Tuareg Declare Independent State in Mali (Gaddafi Mercenaries | @BooMan on Apr 6, 2012 |
Josep Borrell: Europe's undiplomatic envoy
The 72-year-old Spanish Socialist has ruffled feathers in Moscow, Washington, Tel Aviv and London -- not to mention in Catalonia.
Josep Borrell has big ambitions for the post of EU foreign policy chief, and a strong temperament that could make it work -- if he doesn't alienate everyone in the process.
Spain's acting foreign minister, nominated to be the next high representative of the Union for foreign affairs and security policy, has built a reputation for speaking his mind and challenging authority over a four-decade career in some of the top jobs in Spanish and European politics. Popular among Spanish voters, he shows a decidedly undiplomatic relish for conflict.
Recent examples include describing Russia as "our old enemy" -- triggering a spat between Moscow and Madrid; saying the Americans had only "killed four Indians" before independence (faced with the anger of U.S. indigenous rights groups, he apologized); and decrying Washington's "cowboy" diplomacy on Venezuela.
"I don't want to speak as high representative," Borrell told POLITICO at his ministry in Madrid, pointing out that MEPs' cross-examination of Commission nominees is no "mere formality." (Von der Leyen has already secured the Parliament's approval and Michel's Council appointment doesn't need it.)
If he does pass that hurdle, Borrell will succeed
Federica Mogherini as the EU's top diplomat in November. The contrast between the two could hardly be more apparent.
Borrell will need all his experience and network to reach elusive unanimity and deliver what EU leaders have set as one of their top four priorities: becoming more "united" and "assertive" on the global stage.
"Some say he's not too diplomatic. That could be a strength as well as a weakness," said European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, who was vice president of the European Parliament under Borrell.
"He has the heterodoxy of the untamed," said José Antonio Zarzalejos, who was editor of El Correo and ABC in Borrell's national political heyday in the late 1990s. "He was a politician with great intellectual capacity ... who had personal opinions and could defy the most canonical ones within the Socialist Party."
Borrell entered government in 1982, when the Socialists won power under Felipe González. During their uninterrupted rule until 1996, he was successively secretary of state for budget, for treasury and minister of infrastructure.
'America? They only killed four Indians!' Spain minister sparks furious row | Bay Radio - Nov. 29, 2018 |
Mr Borrell claimed the US is well integrated [what a fuc*ked up fascist idiot he is - Oui] because "the only thing they had done was kill four Indians" before the country gained independence. The PSOE minister was speaking at a Complutense University of Madrid forum on the future of Europe. in the speech he claimed the US is better politically integrated than the EU because they speak the same language before making his bombshell claim.
He said: "They have little previous history. There were born to independence practically without history.
"The only thing that they have done was to kill four Indians, apart from that it was very easy." [No mention of Abe Lincoln and a devastating Civil War - Spanish Conquistadores in the Americas had a tougher time on genocide of the indigenous people of South America]
The mass extermination of Native Americans in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries saw hundreds of thousands killed.
Centre-right Ciudadanos's Fernando Maura attacked the Socialist PSOE minister's "deplorable" remarks.
Ciudadanos responded to Mr Borrell's remarks, citing a report published on March 2, 2018 which showed there had been 1,500 wars or attacks on Native Americans.
By the ends of the 19th century, only 238,000 Native Americans would remain from an estimated population of five to 15 million in 1492.
Europe Must Learn Quickly to Speak the Language of Power
INDIA: Open letter to Josep Borrell, EU Vice-President, on his visit to India
You are visiting India in the midst of ongoing assaults on human rights, which stand as the "elephant in the room" and must urgently be addressed. Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2020 report ranked India as one of the `Countries in the Spotlight' for the "deterioration of basic freedoms". Human rights defenders are systematically persecuted, most notably through use of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, India's prime counter-terrorism law which allows the executive to designate individuals as terrorists without due process, and through planted evidence.
Religious freedoms are systematically curtailed
, and senior members of the ruling BJP have engaged in hate speech and legitimation of violence against religious minorities. This includes sitting Members of Parliament and Ministers, such as Pragya Thakur, Anurag Thakur, Raja Singh, Yogi Adityanath, and Amit Shah.
In 2021, the European Parliament expressed concern at these developments in European Parliament Recommendation 2021/2023(INI), and drew the attention of the European Commission towards the crumbling rule of law and human rights situation in India.
... unleash the full potential of the bilateral relationship between the world's two biggest democracies; reiterate the need for a deeper partnership based on the shared values of freedom, democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, equality, respect for human rights, a commitment to promoting an inclusive, coherent and rules-based global order, effective multilateralism and sustainable development, fighting climate change, and promoting peace and stability in the world ...
Additionally, the European Parliament has recently called on the European External Action Service to prioritise public statements about human rights over diplomacy behind closed doors.
Yet, neither you nor the executive bodies of the EU's foreign policy - the European Commission, the European External Action Service - have publicly condemned or expressed concern about human rights violations in India. Now again, the agenda made public for your visit does not contain a single mention of human rights,
As Russia's war against Ukraine marks its one-year anniversary, the High Representative will convey a strong message on Russia's blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, and its global consequences, in particular on energy and food insecurity ...
and instead notes that you will discuss "the bilateral aspects of the strategic partnership and a range of regional and international security issues," the "green transition", and "disinformation and cybersecurity".
We are alarmed about this lack of commitment to human rights, which constitute a foundational element in the EU's foreign policy. Your silence on human rights is indicative not only of apathy towards human rights in India, but also a sign of the rule of law crisis that the EU is currently undergoing. The EU cannot be shortsighted and compromise on rule of law, human rights and democracy for the sake of staying relevant.
As the High Representative on Foreign Affairs of the European Union, you are obliged to publicly speak on human rights, a founding pillar of the European Union's foreign policy. We recall that Article 3(5) TEU reads: "In its relations with the wider world, the Union shall [...] contribute to [...] the protection of human rights", and that Article 21(1) TEU reaffirms: "The Union's action on the international scene shall be guided by [...] democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity".
Many, many times I have written the EU Commission and Parliament and member states are contravening it's very founding principles by adapting the the violent, unlawful moral values of the United States of America. The EU with a leading military and political role of NATO in Brussels, has been many years on a path of disaster and enduring wars.
The United Nations has no intrinsic value being located in New York, please exchange NATO HQ Brussels with the truly global institution establish to end all wars, encourage peace of neighboring states through the UN Charter.
Back to basics and the rule of International law, not the stupid decisions made in the White House and Pentagon for military interventions to bully states into submission under threat of regime change. This is totally unacceptable in a world under threat of Climate Change caused by the Industrial Revolution of the North and lack of principles and human values to protect the people. Catastrophic 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 🇷🇺 🇨🇳
Roosevelt's 4 Freedoms Award to Angela Merkel | @BooMan by Oui on Jan 10, 2016 |
The Nobel Peace Prize has often been wrongly awarded ... based on faint hope instead of reality and award responsible statecraft and leadership.
The Nobel Peace Prize committee has a curious sense of timing: awarding President Obama the Peace Prize before he had accomplished anything much in office, and now awarding the EU the Peace Prize at a time when it seems intent on unraveling much of what has been achieved in European Solidarity in the past 60 years. Perhaps both awards can be described as a form of preemptive peace making: Instead of the more usual approach of rewarding a peacemaker for a life-times achievement of making peace long after it can do any good to help their efforts, it chose instead to reward Obama early in order to make it more possible for him to unwind the warmongering of President Bush. And now it is rewarding current EU leaders for NOT YET having unraveled most of what has been achieved in terms of EU solidarity in order to remind them of the rich peace making heritage bequeathed to them by the EU's founders, and thus make it more possible for them to reverse current negative trends.
My eternal optimism in life took a hit for the worse two years ago as Biden continued on a path leading to war and climate disaster.
h/t to Cat for his contributions here @ET. Keeping the mind sharp and don't fall for the war narrative coming from the G7 and NATO. Many thanks.
Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together | UAE Visit 2019 |
Pope Francis had a damning message for European leaders when he addressed them in the European Parliament. He attacked Europe's 'throwaway culture'. He said the elderly, the seriously ill and unborn children are ignored. He said technology and economics are now more important than people. He said men and women were just "cogs in a machine that treats them as items of consumption". He added that: "Whenever a human life no longer proves useful for that machine, it is discarded." He called it the "consequence of a throwaway culture, and an uncontrolled consumerism".
The Pope criticised Europe's politicians and systems. He said Europe's dynamic, caring and artistic cultures were disappearing because of bureaucracy. He said great ideas were being replaced by "the bureaucratic technicalities of its institutions" which were "downright harmful" to people. The Pope warned that Europe risked losing its sense of community. He said: "One of the most common diseases in Europe today is the loneliness typical of those who have no connection with others. This is especially true of the elderly, who are often abandoned to their fate, and also in the young."
The religious epistle as published by Rome. The church as a bureaucratic institution has failed human kind and brought harm. Fifty years ago as I was growing up, the face of the world was completely different, much has been accomplished, but the role of the three "great" religions has been rightly diminished as extreme orthodox views prevailed and the lives of children were endangered. Does Europe need a new sort of French Revolution, preferably w/o the chaos and bloodshed. Europe is at war ...
ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Strasbourg, France
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
To speak of transcendent human dignity thus means appealing to human nature, to our innate capacity to distinguish good from evil, to that "compass" deep within our hearts, which God has impressed upon all creation. Above all, it means regarding human beings not as absolutes, but as beings in relation. In my view, one of the most common diseases in Europe today is the loneliness typical of those who have no connection with others. This is especially true of the elderly, who are often abandoned to their fate, and also in the young who lack clear points of reference and opportunities for the future. It is also seen in the many poor who dwell in our cities and in the disorientation of immigrants who came here seeking a better future.
This loneliness has become more acute as a result of the economic crisis, whose effects continue to have tragic consequences for the life of society. In recent years, as the European Union has expanded, there has been growing mistrust on the part of citizens towards institutions considered to be aloof, engaged in laying down rules perceived as insensitive to individual peoples, if not downright harmful. In many quarters we encounter a general impression of weariness and aging, of a Europe which is now a "grandmother", no longer fertile and vibrant. As a result, the great ideas which once inspired Europe seem to have lost their attraction, only to be replaced by the bureaucratic technicalities of its institutions.
Together with this, we encounter certain rather selfish lifestyles, marked by an opulence which is no longer sustainable and frequently indifferent to the world around us, and especially to the poorest of the poor.
Islam and Christianity share an inherent "idea of conquest"
When he was asked why he never referred to Europe's roots as Christian - he has often spoken of Europe having a multicultural identity - Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic church, said he spoke of roots in the plural because there were so many.
"When I hear talk of the Christian roots of Europe, I sometimes dread the tone, which can seem triumphalist or even vengeful. It then takes on colonialist overtones," he said. Christianity's contribution to the culture was ought to be of service - of "Christ in the washing of the feet" - and not a "colonial enterprise".
Diaries archived "Inquisition" ...
The series of Crusades against non-Christians and heretics began in 1095, with an armed mission to the Middle East.
