Raider of the lost Ark
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Posts posted by Raider of the lost Ark
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2 hours ago, Nessie said:
https://amp.dw.com/en/nord-stream-2-the-gas-pipelines-second-power-struggle/a-60613442
“The pipeline belongs to the Russian state-owned company Gazprom and was built with the backing of five European energy firms. ...
I was talking about an investment by the German state/government. I could care less if there are German companies involved and will lose their investment in case Nord Stream 2 will never operate. The project itself was always under discussion and in result they should not act surprised now. They are free to send their complaints to Gerhard Schröder at Gazprom.
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25 minutes ago, Nessie said:
Yes, they did suspend as expected, but I believe that Germany is doing this just for the sake of doing something amist this events, but in the long run Germany will eventually lift this suspension and the Nord Stream 2 will operate as planned. This gas pipeline was a huge investment on their part and for now they must get in line with the sanctions bandwagon from the west, but make no mistake Germany has made clear that it has its own interests and are not exactly in the same page with the US and UK.
Germany did not pay anything. Nord Stream 2 is solely financed by Russia.
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3 hours ago, karbatal said:
Oh and these issues are so very complicated that if anybody knows more or finds articles it will be interesting. I doubt anybody of us is an expert and surely we miss all the important data.
THIS.
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3 hours ago, karbatal said:
Very interesting.
To be fair we live a thousand times better in the EU with free healthcare and relatively cheap if not free education and workers protection precisely because we spend far less than USA in the military. That means we are clients of USA in terms of army. And it makes us incredibly dependent. I am totally with you.
I had hopes in Germany in this Ukraine mess. Germany has spent billions to build that stream pipe to bring Russian gas and now the botoxed turd of the White House forbids it. And the EU has to bow and BUY THE AMERICAN GAS PRODUCED THROUGH FRACKING.
Not to mention all the fracking possibilities in east Ukraine that surely in the future will be bought from the EU and paid to USA companies after the country is destroyed. It’s Syria part II.
I do think a European Army is a must at some point and I don't even think it will be a huge financial burden that may result in negative effects on healthcare or education. European countries spent insane amounts of money on the most insane things, there is lots of improvement. And of course, let's tax those big companies properly. The EU needs to become independent from the U.S. in this regard. I don't mind the NATO. It is a defense alliance afterall and except for Afganistan after 9/11 NATO troups did never invade a country. And it makes perfect sense for some countries to become a NATO member. I wonder if Russia had invaded the Baltic countries already if it wasn't for NATO. While there are only very little NATO soldiers in those countries (under normal circumstances), it works to scare off Russia because they know, the moment they shoot a NATO soldier, the full alliance will fight back.
Regarding Nordstream 2. As far as I know, the pipeline was fully financed by Russia. No money from Germany. That said, I blame Germany in part for the gas situation. As mentioned in a previous post, they were warned about storage sites and that there is potential for extortion. I don't know, it often feels a if German goverments are way to naive to deal with countries like Russia or China. Time to realize, not everyone is acting in good faith. And yes, now we may need to import liquid gas from the U.S. Produced via fracking. All of this in times when we should concentrate on renewables. It's a shame.
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The Russian narrative is so ridiculous. If only the situation wasn't so serious.
What's next? Will Russia claim the U.S. or NATO forced Russia to invade Ukraine?
And Putin doesn't give a sh*t about sanctions? Well, for him personally with all his billions and his palaces it will most likely have no consequence. But what if Russia will be cut off from the International payment system? It has never happened before. This will cause disruptions of epic proportions for the Russian economy. An economy that is overall on the level of a developing country. Except for natural gas and oil and some minerals, there is nothing this country produces that is of any interest for other countries. With no money going in or out, they may try to become self-reliant. Good Luck.
I just don't get it anymore, what the f*ck is the problem of the Russian government. Is their pride really that hurt that they are no longer the size and have no longer the influence of the former Soviet-Union? I don't buy that they feel threatened by the NATO getting closer and closer to their territory and fear the NATO may invade Russia at some point. If history has shown one thing, the moment a country does have nuclear weapons there is no danger of an invasion. Never wondered why the U.S. did not attack Pakistan, although everyone knows that Pakistan is the true breeding ground for all Islamic terror?
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At this point I am way more angry at the EU. With all things going on worldwide I had hopes the EU will finally grow some balls. I don't mind them confronting Russia, China and the US. If only there was a European leader to speak up and tell them to f*ck off. I don't even know where our German chancellor is. It feels as if he had disappeared. He is such a sleeping pill. And let's face it, he only won because the other candidate was so bad.
When will the EU realize that they are the biggest and most powerful economy and market in the world. A market the rest of the world wants and needs access to. Start to play the power game, stop with being nice and believing that if the EU plays nice the rest will play nice as well. How many times has Europe been f*cked over by China or the US because the EU thought those countries believe in partnership the way the EU does. Even worse, there are so many things the EU or countries of the EU have been warned about and they ignored all threats just to act surpised later. In Germany the government has been warned for ages that China is stealing German technology, they have been warned that they should not sell large parts of the German storage sites for natural gas to a company that belongs to Gazprom. And look where we are in 2022. The storage sites have not been filled properly, there are hardly any reserves, the gas price is through the roof with many people not knowing how to pay for heating and electricity, gas providers going broke or unable to deliver costumers. And China for many years bought German companies that were developing strategic technolgies, even defense before the government finally stepped in. I still remember 15 years ago, when the Chinese visited German technology fairs, they literally crawled under and into the machines and made photographs from every angle possible. It was as funny as pathetic. Well, it stopped being funny when a year later they sold cheap replicas of those machines or products. Again, everyone knows what's going on, everyone cries foul but the politicians in charge wont do anything, except another round of appeasement.
Sorry for the rant.
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When I hear Camilla, I always have to think of Camomille. Princess Camomille? Could be some character from a childrens book or an animated movie for kids until 5 years of age. "Princess Camomille and the adventures of the tea pot".
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I'm confused. I thought her marriage to Charles was only possible under the condition that she would never become Queen?
Also, "Queen Camilla" sounds hardly royal. Does she have other names?
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3 hours ago, elijah said:
... However, what has been happening with prices/inflation is not helping Biden especially when Trump made his presidency all about money etc. ...
And again, this seems to be rather a US exclusive issue, pinning inflation on the president or the government. Let's face it, inflation in Europe is just as high as in the US, maybe even higher. I have not heard anyone blaming governments for the situation. Calls to take measures to ease the situation, especially for low income citiztens, yes. But no one says, Merkel or Macron caused this situation. I'm sorry, but it becomes more and more obvious that a large part of the U.S. populaton does not understand how the Worlds functions in general and in economics in particular.
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A Polexit? Why? They are not stupid. They are the biggest recipient of EU money. It is the same with Hungary. Their governments disrespect the EU but they gladly take billions in Euros each year. Unfortunately there are no real punishments and no member state can be kicked out, thanks to the statutes of the EU. The EU had rose tinted glasses on when it came to accepting new members. They did not believe for a second, that members would turn against them and merely consider the EU as heir chance to grab money. Now it is too late and the EU can hardly do anything about it.
The most disturbing thing is that the majority of people in Poland and Hungary are in favor of the EU and their current governents are acting against the will of their very own people.
I'm afraid this EU will dissolve at some point. We will most likely see a EU 2.0.
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15 hours ago, karbatal said:
Frankly, I hope people there and in the rest of the so called First World realise that immigration is vital to our lives. What we should do is give decent fair wages and rights to the migrants instead of sending them back home!
Thank you very much. All of this is common sense and it makes one wonder why there are still people, politicians, companies not acting accordingly. Some industries are running out of workers, mainly because they still do not pay decent wages. In fact they find the most stupid excuses why they don't find people for hire. In the end, their very own stupidity will destroy their businesses.
Here is an example: In Germany it is a huge issue in the hospitality industry. Once hotels and restaurants were allowed to re-open (Well, technically hotels did not have to close. They were not allowed to welcome tourists for many months, but business travelers were allowed. Of course, many of them closed because it was unsustainable without tourists and only a fraction of business travel in times of home office.), they realized, their staff was gone. Why? Because they looked around in other industries and quickly realized, they can much as much or much more money for less work in other industries. In fact, this is going on for years now. Yet, business owners and managers are turning a blind eye and find the most ridiculous explanations why people are no longer willing to work in hospitality, when the answer is really simple: money and work/life balance. Their ignorance will be their own demise. And they deserve it.
And yes, immigration is the only solution.
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The thing is, the truck driver shortage in the UK solved some issues in western Europe. None of the truck drivers that had to leave the UK are unemployed. They were all hired by German and Dutch companies. They make as much money or more than they used to in the UK. And they are closer to their families since drivers are mainly from Eastern Europe. And they are treated with way more respect now. The UK wants them to come back? Those drivers don't give a f*ck.
The fact, that the real custom controls at UK borders have not even begun, should be a grim outlook for what's to come considerding how dire the situation is already. But of course, none of this has anything to do with Brexit.
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I am sick and tired of this religious sh*t. If you are going to a public school, leave any religion at the door. Period. And I mean that for any country and any religion. You want to practice religion at school? Well, go to a private school that is run by an organization of your religion. Although I think that all matters regarding public health even apply at those schools. As it should be.
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19 hours ago, Junior said:
I still remember the fairytale about WOMD launched in Iraq supposed to reach the UK to justify a war. This man better keeps quiet. He is not in the position to talk. He disgusts me.
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The situation is getting more and more confusing. On German TV they had military people that were part of ISAF and they are wondering why the Afghan military and government surrendered immediately with hardly any resistance, especially in Kabul. They had way more people and were better equipped than the Taliban. And why the president left the country so early. Their only conclusion is that there was actually a deal between the Taliban and the Afghan military and government. What they don't understand is how this deal (if there was indeed one) could have been negotiated without the US or other foreign intelligence taking notice.
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22 hours ago, sotos8 said:
do you mean Germany was a democracy before 1933?
From 1918 to 1933 it was a parlamentary democracy. Before that a constituational monarchy. But the democratic movement goes back until 1848 when elections to the National Assembly in Frankfurt were hold. The first German parliament was at Frankfurts Paulskirche. Their main goal was to create one German National State and give it a constitution. It failed. It could not be achieved until 1871. But only after WW1 and the resignation of the German emperor, Germany became a democracy by definition.
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I feel sorry for the women and girls. I feel sorry for those who helped the international troups. They all might be in danger.
But I'm not surprised. Afganistan is a special place. The Soviets had to give up at some point, now the NATO troups have given up. And the Afgani troups and government surrendered immediately with hardly any signs of resistance. Some countries are simply not made for democracy. Sorry to say that. But it is what it is. The same goes for some countries in the middle east. Maybe this is the lesson the West has to learn. I don't remember any country that has been liberated and where democracy was successfully implemented from an outside source. (The USA tend to claim they brought democracy to Germany after WW2, which of course is utter nonsense since Germany was very much a democracy before the war). It appears the will to overcome certain situations can only come from within. History has shown, there is no other way. It has always been that way. Revolutions in Europe, civil war in the United States.
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I have read, the Israeli study should be taken with a grain of salt. Because the study was hardly a comprehensive one and the results are most likely misleading. They somehow only had data taken from areas with the hightest infection rates in Israel and the study is not across all age brackets, again only from the age group with the highest risk to be infected. Also, double vaccinated people were not involved.
The UK study was much more comprehensive.
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18 minutes ago, sotos8 said:
and that's a mild infection from this virus..
Compared to those on ventilators and other machines in IC units, absolutely.
As someone who hardly ever has fever, maybe around 36.5/37, the 39 was an experience. The most frustrating thing was that it felt like ages before it became better. There was no progress. Usually with a cold or a flu, after 3-4 days you feel significantly better but here it was dragging on. All I could do was to take some paracetamol and sleep.
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Next Monday will be my first and only with Biontech / Pfizer. Got infected in mid January. Unfortunately with full blown symptoms. Had 9 days with more than 39 degrees fever. Cannot recommend that to anyone. Took me 4 weeks to go back to work.
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Now that the Trump Org will de indicted, it will go down the drain anyway. All the financial issues will be revealed. Experts have already said an indictment will bankrupt the company. One can only hope. And this time he can't hide it.
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6 hours ago, LSD said:
She is such a one trick pony. Always making such offensive comments. That's all she does. People should start asking when she will start working on her day job. I'm sure she has done nothing. So how exactly is she working in the interest of the people who voted for her to improve their daily lifes? Oh I forgot, she can't since she has been booted off of almost all commitees because of her behaviour and therefore has no influence on legislation. Her opponents should start asking questions. From my point of view she is a lazy c*nt.
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On 6/23/2021 at 3:46 PM, karbatal said:
I hope the rule of law applies and they don't get a single euro from the recovery fund.
It appears Hungary has really crossed the line too far this time. Western Europe, Southern Europe and the Baltic States are really pissed off. The Dutch prime minister even said Hungary should leave the EU if they no longer respect the laws and rules they once accepted when entering the EU. Of course, all Eastern EU members are quiet.
It becomes more and more obvious that certain countries only see the EU as an organization that pumps billions of Euros in subsidies into their countries but are no longer interested in the basic principles of the EU. Since there is no possibility to kick a member out (the founders were so innocent to believe that all members are part of it for the best interest of all members), the only solution is to dissolve the EU as we know it and form a new one. Maybe this threat alone will make some countries re-think. Because where do they want go? Hungary and Poland as a Russian ally. They hate Russia even more than the rest of Europe because of their past. Well, they could make a trade deal with the UK. I'm sure that will work fine. Not.
I wish the EU would finally start penalizing those anti democratic countries. But there are so many insane things regarding the EU. Why is the EU transfering billions in Euros to possible future members in Eastern Europe and Turkey to promote democracy? If they want to be a member of the EU and the benefits of this very exclusive club they should work these things out on there own. And Turkey, really? They will never become a member of the EU. What a waste of money.
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I think the only way is to vaccinate in big numbers. The results are obvious. In Germany we now have 46% first dose and 21% fully vaccinated. And the infections are going down rapidly. Unfortunately supply is still an issue, which means the overall number of available doses is just steady. In the last days the average number of first doses dropped to something around 500.000 when we were already at 1 million +. Reason is that more people now need to get their second shot and therefore those doses need to be hold in stock. Nevertheless, the overall situation has improved significantly. Things are going back to "normal". But that is the "normal" of summer 2020, which means masks and social distancing. Anyway, still better than all those months in lockdown.
New war in Europe, courtesy of Putin
in Politics and World Events
Posted
No sanctions in relation to the current situation in Ukraine have been imposed yet. There are some minor sanctions still in place in regards to Russias invasion in Crimea.
Putin and Lavrov personally could care less. They have enriched themselves over the years and certainly will not starve in the future. Well, as long as they stay in Russia. The new sanctions will basically cut off all financial relations of Russia to the rest of the World. No money will flow in or out of Russia. Russia will not be able to sell bonds to finance their household. Keep in mind, mighty Russia is only mighty on a military basis and this only because of nuclear weapons. In regards to everything else economically Russia is a midget. Their GDP is slightly higher than the GDP of Switzerland. Except for natural gas, oil and some mineral ressources, this country has nothing else that is competitive or needed around the globe. Russia can still work with China, I guess. Well, as a Chinese colony more or less. Russia may take a look at some African nations that "enjoy" a cooperation with China. Does Putin know that he will need to bow to Winnie Pooh at some point? This is going to be very interesting.