[Majorityrights News] Trump will ‘arm Ukraine to the teeth’ if Putin won’t negotiate ceasefire Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 12 November 2024 16:20.
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[Majorityrights Central] A couple of exchanges on the nature and meaning of Christianity’s origin Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 25 July 2023 22:19.
[Majorityrights News] Is the Ukrainian counter-offensive for Bakhmut the counter-offensive for Ukraine? Posted by Guessedworker on Thursday, 18 May 2023 18:55.
Posted by DanielS on Wednesday, 18 July 2018 18:00.
Prometheus unbound. Orban cracks down on immigration (AP) Photo: AP/Press Association Images
ITV Report, “Hungary to pull out of UN accord on migration”, 18 July 2018:
Hungary’s foreign minister said his country will pull out of a United Nations accord on migration to be adopted in December because it goes against his country’s security interests.
Foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said the UN’s Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the final draft of which was released last week, also goes against common sense.
He added that Hungary has doubts about the accord’s non-binding status.
Under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was elected in April to his third consecutive term, Hungary has adopted strict anti-migration measures and made it very difficult for refugees to obtain asylum.
The UN document is a “non-legally binding, co-operative framework” meant to foster “international co-operation among all relevant actors on migration, acknowledging that no state can address migration alone, and upholds the sovereignty of states and their obligations under international law”.
On Thursday 28 and Friday 29 of June the leaders of the 28 Member States of the European Union met in Brussels for a summit to discuss in particular migration policy at a European scale. A summit that has brought some progress but which is not a decisive victory for anyone, even if the V4 can celebrate having imposed its themes and some of its solutions, as well as having overcome the domination of the immigrationist paradigm.
Belgium, Brussels – Once again, the European Union seems to be paralyzed. The leaders of the 28 EU Member States, however, all wanted to move the debate on the migration issue forward, and the discussions dragged on late into the night. Nothing helps, the migration issue is not settled, and no idea is unanimous.
The Hungarian Prime Minister represented the Visegrád countries during the V4-France meeting preceding the summit, in order to negotiate with Emmanuel Macron. The immigrationist governments, like those of the French Republic or Germany, have agreed to abandon the idea of mandatory quotas for all, which is already a great victory for Viktor Orbán and V4. For the strong man of Budapest, who announced on his arrival in Brussels his willingness to put an end to massive and uncontrolled immigration to Europe and initiate remigration, the summit can not however be seen as a total victory.
Certainly, the EU is starting to be in tune with the solution proposed by the V4 three years ago, namely the setting up of refugee camps outside the EU borders – to make the registration of applications and to distinguish refugees from cheaters and economic migrants – and Frontex control over the Mediterranean Sea. But if we do not know the exact content of the negotiations, we understand that each side had to make concessions.
Quotas will only apply to Member States wishing to participate in the relocation of immigrants, but those who oppose it may well be required to participate more heavily in the funding of protection structures. Frontex should indeed significantly increase its workforce in the coming years, and that will have a cost. Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini announced that Slovakia was volunteering to temporarily accommodate 1,200 migrants to relieve neighboring countries – referring to Austria. He insisted, however, that every migrant should be accepted by the government, and that none of them could enter and stay in Slovakia without prior government control and acceptance.
No details on the technical solutions: the EU is talking about increasing aid to the countries of origin of the migrants, but the population of these countries is expected to double by 2050. And what about the migrants which will be refused in the registration camps? Many questions still arise.
A concrete progress for the Visegrád group, certainly because of the Italian pressure on the issue, is that NGOs should now stop picking up in the Libyan territorial waters migrants on smugglers’ ships, and let the Libyan coastguard do their work. This should considerably dry up the massive influx of illegal immigrants into Italy, and therefore into Europe.
So if the V4 has managed to establish itself as a key and influential trading partner, it has not – yet? – obtained total gain of cause. The fight within the EU on the migration issue has not been resolved this week.
Euractiv, “EU summit approves tortured conclusions on migration after sleepless night”, 29 June 2018:
EU leaders reached a much-needed deal on steps to tackle migration after resolving a bitter row with Italy’s inexperienced prime minister. Extended talks lasted through the night and only wrapped up on Friday morning (29 June).
Europe’s leaders got the bitter taste of what anti-system diplomacy, or creative disruption means. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who heads Italy’s month-old populist and anti-immigration government, took the entire summit as hostage.
Conte blocked the summit conclusions in a bid to get his reluctant counterparts to share responsibility for asylum seekers landing on Italian shores.
A summit ending without conclusions would have been a political disaster with unpredictable negative consequences for the EU bloc, so the stakes were high
A relieved Merkel in backround as an agitated Conte gets a pat on the back from Tusk and Macron
Disruptive diplomacy
Former law professor Conte, until recently a virtual political unknown, came to Brussels emboldened by the announcement of an upcoming visit to Washington to visit US President Donald Trump, who has hailed Rome’s tough stance, and who himself blocked the conclusions of a recent G7 leaders meeting on trade.
The summit which is expected to end today by noon, was called the “mother of all summits”, in particular because of the potential impact on the political future of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is wrestling to preserve her fragile government at home.
“Europe has many challenges but migration could end up determining Europe’s destiny,” Merkel told German lawmakers hours ahead of the summit.
There are very few migrants arriving in Germany recently but Merkel’s conservative CSU ally warned it would send back migrants who reach the German border after having registered in other EU states.
Such a move could see a domino effect of re-introduction of internal borders and the collapse of the Schengen area.
In contrast, Italy is actually under migratory pressure from the Central Mediterranean route with significant numbers of arrivals salvaged at sea and brought to its ports. Since the new government took over, Italy has refused to let several migrant rescue boats dock at Italian ports, reopening EU divisions.
“Italy does not need more words, but concrete actions,” Conte told reporters as he arrived at the summit, adding that if EU leaders did not offer more help “we will not have shared conclusions”. Italy wants the responsibility for migrants on ships arriving on its shores to be shared out across the 28-nation European Union.
Drama at summit
European Council spokesman Preben Aamann said that after several hours of talks, conclusions on all issues from the summit – which is also dealing with trade and defence in addition to the core subject of migration – had been blocked.
“Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” an Italian source added.
Other sources said the other 27 EU leaders were “astonished” and unhappy over Italy hardening its position and that “it was a very virulent discussion and everyone jumped on the Italian”.
The ‘mother of all summits’ wrapped up earlier. Check out how it all unfolded here. It was all supposed to be about unity but there wasn’t even a family photo, in what seems like a new tradition.
Jean-Claude Juncker was in full House of Cards mode about his upcoming trip to Washington to try and avert an all-out trade war. Conclusions on the eurozone were, as expected, the bare minimum.
Brexit barely got a mention, except on “insufficient progress”. Emmanuel Macron has lost patience and wants a final withdrawal deal done by the autumn. British actor and repentant Leave voter Danny Dyer summed up ex-PM David Cameron’s role in one moment of genius.
One overlooked result of the summit was an agreement between the Baltics, Poland and the Commission on decoupling Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from Russia’s power grid and sphere of influence.
Euractiv, “EU, Baltics, Poland target Russia grid separation by 2025”, 29 June 2018:
The Baltic nations, Poland and the European Commission agreed Thursday (28 June) on a roadmap to synchronise the region’s electricity network with the rest of continental Europe’s by 2025 and end their reliance on the Russian grid.
The leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the European Commission all signed up to a political agreement during a special ceremony on the sidelines of the ongoing European Council summit.
According to the roadmap, the deadline for concluding the synchronisation of the Baltic grid is set for 2025, using an existing electricity interconnector between Poland and Lithuania, as well as a planned undersea cable.
The latter project will only be undertaken if results of a study by the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) show that it guarantees energy security, security of supply and if costs are within reason. Results due in September.
Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said that “since the beginning of our mandate, my Commission has been committed to having full integration of the Baltic states’ grids with the rest of Europe”.
Energy Union boss Maroš Šefčovič called the deal “solidarity at its best“, adding that the project will “cost us a lot from the European budget”, through the Connecting Europe Facility.
Poland’s role in the preliminary deal is crucial as it will act as the primary link between the Baltics and the rest of Europe. In March, the three countries revealed they would not support any EU sanctions against Warsaw as part of the ongoing rule of law spat with Brussels.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (L-R), Estonian Prime Minister Juris Ratas, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, Latvia’s Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis during Prime Ministers Council of the Baltic Council of Ministers with Polish counterpart in Vilnius, Lithuania 9 Mar 2018. [EPA-EFE]
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have confirmed that they are against imposing EU sanctions on Poland for alleged breaches to the rule of law. EURACTIV Poland reports.
Thursday’s agreement was long overdue, after disputes about how best to cut ties with the Russian-Belorussian network stood in the way of any progress.
Estonia and Latvia initially both favoured setting up a second alternating current (AC) connection with Poland to complement the existing LitPol link but Lithuania and Poland did not support that idea, despite studies showing that two AC connections would be best.
National Vanguard, “Hungarian Government to Outlaw Settling an ‘Alien Population’ in that Country”, 16 June 2018:
THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT has introduced a constitutional amendment to its parliament which will make it constitutionally illegal to settle any “alien population” in that country — and which will make it a jailable offense to in any way help or assist illegal invaders.
The new law — introduced on Tuesday — will make it a criminal offence — punishable with jail — for any person who helps an illegal invader who is not a recognized “refugee,” to either stay — or even attempt to gain status to stay — in that country.
The text of the legislation, posted on parliament’s website, said: “Those who provide financial means … or conduct this organizational activity (for illegal immigration) on a regular basis will be punishable with up to one year in prison.”
In addition, the law specifically rejects European Union quotas to distribute non-White invaders around that bloc.
The new bill also says that foreigners who sought to enter Hungary via a third country in which they were not directly exposed to persecution would not be entitled to “asylum” — a rule which effectively means that no one who is not fleeing a neighboring state (Serbia, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, the Ukraine, and Slovakia) in fear of their lives, will not qualify for “refugee” status.
“We need an action plan to defend Hungary and this is the STOP Soros package of bills,” the interior ministry said in a comment accompanying the legislation.
It said there were international and also Hungarian organizations helping the entry of illegal migrants to Hungary, adding: “Sanctioning these is justified.” It did not name any groups.
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR urged Hungary to scrap the draft law restricting non-governmental organizations, saying it would deprive refugees and asylum-seekers of vital services and encourage “rising xenophobic attitudes”.
The new “Stop Soros” bill no longer contains a 25 percent tax that its previous version in February wanted to impose on foreign donations to non-governmental organisations that back migration.
But the “Hungarian Helsinki Committee,” which provides legal aid to non-White invaders, said the bill was “against European democratic values.”
Background:
Star Online, “Hungary aims to criminalise aiding illegal migration in ‘Stop Soros’ bill”, 29 May 2018:
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Individuals or groups who help migrants not entitled to protection to submit requests for asylum or who help illegal migrants gain status to stay in Hungary will be liable to jail under legislation submitted to parliament on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has also proposed amending the constitution to state that an “alien population” cannot be settled in Hungary, rejecting European Union quotas to distribute migrants around the bloc.
In power since 2010, the nationalist Orban has tightened state control over the media and campaigned on a platform of fierce hostility to immigration - policies that have put him in conflict with the European Union, which funds development policies to the tune of billions of euros a year.
The new bill also says that foreigners who sought to enter Hungary via a third country in which they were not directly exposed to persecution would not be entitled to asylum.
Africa: What are you looking at me for? It has nothing to do with me, there’s nothing more to be said. Israel: We’re going to be deporting 40,000 African migrants, and they’re going to need some place to go. ...listen, we just don’t have enough room in our country. This is the right policy to ease the suffering in South Tel Aviv, where the evil traitors reside. My duty is to return peace and quiet to Tel Aviv and many neighborhoods across the country. In fact, it’s a national duty to protect the Jewish and democratic character of the state. Africa: No, Israel, just No! We’ve been through all of this before. I categorically told the EU in 2015 that we are not taking anyone back. Zero! Israel: Well, they’re not staying in Israel, I can tall you that. Africa: What about asking the Arab oil countries? Israel: (laughs uproariously): Oh, Africa, you crack me up! Africa: Yeah, that was a good one! Israel: Here, wake up the EU and see what she has to say on the matter. I think she’s been drinking again….
The EU: (In drunken swirl, confused about her identities) What? Huh? Did I miss anything? Israel: EU, I’m going to be sending over 40,000 unwanted Africans to you - that alright? EU: Sure, why not? Israel: You already have millions. A couple more won’t make a difference. Israel (to Africa): She doesn’t give a hoot about who enters. Africa: She doesn’t.
EU: What are you talking about? Israel: Now, we’re all signing this document. It’s irreversible and legally binding. EU: What’s going on? Israel: Do you think you can manage this? Do you think you can hold the pen?
EU: Israel!?! ..You! ..You!... uh… (giggles in nervous resignation) ...I forgot what I was going to say.
Posted by DanielS on Wednesday, 13 June 2018 11:27.
While John Ziegler is a darling of (((the neo-cons))) in their criticism of Trump and his (((paleocon))) agenda, Ziegler’s criticisms of Trump remain informative nevertheless. In this podcast he criticizes Trump’s deal making preparation for meeting Kim Jong-un:
John Ziegler: “There are so many elements of this that are just mind-blowing. I can’t believe that he’s even meeting without any agreement being made to begin with. If you remember, when this whole thing started, the story was that he would meet IF North Korea would gave-up unilaterally their nuclear program. That was going to be a precondition for meeting. That’s gone! This is just an equal-footing get-together - giving-up what ever is left of the prestige of The Presidency of The United States, elevating this evil dictator, this horrible piece of crap - I mean Kim Jong-un is a horrible human being! who tortures people, tortures his own people, has threatened this country with nuclear war, and we’re elevating him! Trump has already called him ‘a very honorable person.’
Can you imagine if Obama or Hillary Clinton had decided to meet with Kim Jong-un with no precondition, with no agreement on his part - Kim doesn’t have to give up anything in order to meet with Obama or Hillary? Can you imagine the heads of Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh exploding into fourth of July fireworks? over even the suggestion of this?
But instead, this is now praised as a great idea, and I think it’s a horrible idea. One of the more baffling takes I’ve heard on this is that ‘well, you need to give Trump credit for meeting.’
Why? What? Credit for meeting? The meeting does us no good. The meeting of itself only does Kim Jong-un good. We’re being brought down to their level, he’s being brought up to our level for nothing! He’s giving up nothing in return; and that’s just the best case scenario…
All Trump cares about is the headline of the day, ‘Trump Makes Historic Deal’, doesn’t matter that the deal might suck, and we get noting in return or that it creates further dangers down the road - Trump doesn’t care about anybody but himself - that is a double whammy when it comes to negotiating nuclear deals with deranged dictators. It’s effectively like he’s got the world’s credit-card and he’s having a big party for himself, and he’s not going to be around when we have to pay the bill.
And, by the way, the fact that comes out of the G7 meeting makes this even more vulnerable to a bad deal. Why? Because Trump had this bizarre temper-tantrum and we’re now - this is not an exaggeration folks, and its mind blowing to even contemplate, but - based upon the statements of our President in the last few days, Russia and North Korea are our allies, they’re the ‘good guys’ and Canada, Germany, Great Britain and France - they’re ‘the bad guys.’
And that’s the other part of this. There are people who think, bizarrely, that Trump knows what he’s doing!
There are two things I’m positive about - I’m not a foreign policy expert (but neither is Donald Trump) - there are two things that I’m positive about - if he was doing exactly the same things, and his name was Obama, or Hillary Clinton The Right would be going bananas! That is a hundred percent factual. And number two, there is absolutely no evidence, what-so-ever, that Donald Trump is playing some amazing eight-dimensional chess and knows what the hell he’s doing. He has no idea what he’s doing - none!
And more importantly, his goals are completely at odds with what is good for the world and good for the country because he wants the headline and he wants the history - and he needs it even more now that he took a dump at the G7. This dump at the G7 wasn’t just a little stinky-one. This was a massive dump.
....when Donald Trump said, on the eve of the G7, that Russia should be let back-in, there is no other way to interpret that but that they’ve got something on him!
...the key wasn’t the statement that Russia should be allowed back in the G7 - that got a lot of play - but what is most interesting was that he prefaced it with, ‘I have been Russia’s worst nightmare’ - that’s classic Trump; why is that classic Trump? Because Trump knows his own weaknesses. And Trump lies the biggest to cover those weaknesses. It’s been part of his M.O. for ever. So whenever he makes a declarative statement, for instance, ‘nobody reads the bible more than I do’, you know that’s bullshit - that means he never reads the bible. So when he says, ‘I have been Russia’s worst nightmare’, if you put that through the Trump translation machine, that means Putin has something on him. That’s the way Trump operates, he believes in the big lie theory - you cover your weakness with a massive lie because you know nobody will call you on it.”
Posted by DanielS on Wednesday, 06 June 2018 15:31.
Protesters attend a demonstration against alleged slavery in Libya, at Sergels torg in Stockholm, Sweden, 25 November 2017. [Claudio Bresciani/EPA/EFE]/ Euractiv
Voice of Europe, “Asylum seekers cost Sweden 347 billion euros during their lifetimes”, 6 June 2018:
Svenska Dagbladet journalist, Per Gudmundsson, writes that the net costs of the average refugee are higher than expected. Gudmondsson bases his opinion on a financial report that was published by Sweden’s ESO research institution earlier this week.
Gudmundsson says some immigrant groups are even more costly due to integration failures and labour costs. Therefore, the costs of a refugee or asylum seeker are higher than the previously thought, 291,000 euros (3 million crowns) during their lifetimes.
“The actual costs are higher because no direct costs have been calculated, for example, the cost of subsidised employment,” he says.
Sweden’s migrant population has grown from 690,000 in 2015 to 830,000 in 2017. The ESO report states that “Refugees who immigrate today, are expected to live 58.3 years in Sweden on average”.
During these years, an asylum seeker with an average integration potential is expected to represent a net cost to Sweden’s public finances of 7,184 euros on average per year.”
If you multiply 7,184 euros per refugee x 58.3 (average lifetime) the costs per refugee will be 418,827 euros during their lifetime in Sweden.
By multiplying this with the total number of refugees, we get the total costs for all refugees during their lifetimes:
418,827 x 830,000 = 347 billion euros or 3,580 billion Swedish crowns.
According to the report, The 58.3 years, is about the group that immigrated recently, it is unclear if this varies considerably.
Gudmundsson says this is an inefficient use of funds, which could have had a greater impact in homelands of the refugees.
Related:
Voice of Europe, “Hundreds of thousands of Swedish pensioners live in poverty, according to recent report”, 5 June 2018:
A new report published by the Swedish Pensions Agency shows that as many as 245,000 people of over the age of 65 are below the poverty threshold.
In comparison with the rest of the Nordic countries, Sweden has the highest proportion of poor pensioners (or as the Pension Agency calls it, pensioners with a “relatively low financial standard”).
In the press release, the agency wrote that “the main reason why older people do not reach the upper limit of a relatively low economic standard is that they do not have, or are not entitled to, maximum housing allowance and/or elderly support”.
Of the 245,000 people who were below the limit of relatively low economic standard in 2017, 162,000 were women.
“Women, single individuals, and the oldest in the age group over 65 are those that are at the greatest risk of falling below the income threshold for relatively low economic standards. The main reason for this is a combination of low income-based pensions and low housing costs,” says chief Pensions Agency analyst, Ole Stettergren.
Prometheus unbound. Orban cracks down on immigration (AP) Photo: AP/Press Association Images
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaité during the signing ceremony with Commission boss Jean-Claude Juncker. [European Commission]
A relieved Merkel in backround as an agitated Conte gets a pat on the back from Tusk and Macron
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (L-R), Estonian Prime Minister Juris Ratas, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, Latvia’s Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis during Prime Ministers Council of the Baltic Council of Ministers with Polish counterpart in Vilnius, Lithuania 9 Mar 2018. [EPA-EFE]
Protesters attend a demonstration against alleged slavery in Libya, at Sergels torg in Stockholm, Sweden, 25 November 2017. [Claudio Bresciani/EPA/EFE]/