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The Hurricane spins around hotspots of tension and conflict. Feel free to suggest your stories, opinions and ideas: UIHEN@protonmail.com
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is in favour of an agreement with Putin to end the war in Ukraine: “In a year it will be worse”
History repeats itself, says the founder of the ICC in an interview in Madrid, and diplomacy often stumbles on the same stone, but he is optimistic. The situation is “so critical” that it could become an “opportunity for change,” to shift from the current model of war to that of justice
Biden understands that the strategy in Afghanistan was wrong, but he does not present an alternative. His generals basically agree with what Israel does. Sometimes they ask for smaller bombs, but they do not question the strategy. Bush established the model of war against terror and Obama, who criticized it and won the Nobel Peace Prize, consolidated it
The US likes war, especially when they provide the weapons and others provide the lives. The US uses war to manage conflicts, subsidises its arms production with billions of dollars and does not grieve for the deaths of Ukrainians or civilians in Gaza
Ukraine depends on foreign aid and must close an agreement because in a year it will be worse. The idea of winning Russia over with a war is absurd, although Russia has also worn itself out and for that reason knows that if it has not been able to take Ukraine it cannot expand further. I am surprised that the Europeans do not see it more clearly
Europe has a kind of very strong ideological dependence on the US and political leaders often work in the short term, to survive without foreseeing the consequences. These mass displacements caused by a wrong strategy made Europe less hospitable and many stopped distinguishing between victims and perpetrators, so that the victims of Islamic terrorism became suspected of being Islamic terrorists. A world that sees friends and enemies is a world at war with people, a world of tribes
The United States is an obstacle because it shares the principles, but not their application. It demands them in Ukraine, but does not apply them in Gaza. Israel is manipulating the US, which has demonstrated its absolute impotence in this case, instead of allowing the International Criminal Court to help set limits. What is needed is for non-American communities to help Americans think differently.
Because the US president influences politics much more than the president of your own country
War encourages terrorism. In Gaza it will not end it, it will increase it. The problem is very serious and to solve it not only politicians must intervene, but experts. What happens is that many of them are proposing war. In the US there is a lack of independent professors who propose cooperation
The US must be helped to change, but Europe fell into the trap in Ukraine and supports the war model. Agreements must be sought, knowing that they will not be perfect
Change is possible. The problem is that the leaders of the Western world are not putting the ideals into practice. And of course there are economic incentives, as energy dependency has shown, but we are investing much more in war than in peace
There is the possibility that Israel will bomb Iran and that there will be an escalation of war. Azerbaijan receives weapons from Israel and uses them against Armenia. If Israel bombs Iran, Azerbaijan will invade Armenia. There is a domino effect that we do not perceive because there are no authorities who think globally
I believe that in Ukraine there must be an agreement. We need the leadership of medium and small countries to move towards the model of justice, abandoning the model of war. The transformation has to be case by case
#USA #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Chinese sanctions hit US drone supplier to Ukraine
US corporation Skydio, the largest drone manufacturer in the US, which supplies drones to the Ukrainian military, is facing a supply chain crisis after Beijing imposed sanctions, including banning Chinese groups from supplying it with critical components”
According to the FT, the sanctions have caught the corporation by surprise, which is urgently trying to find alternative suppliers, including those making batteries
According to a statement from the California-based company, which supplies products to corporate and government clients including the US Army, it has sent more than 1,000 drones, including the latest X1model, to Ukraine “to gather intelligence”
#USA #China #Sanctions #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Families seek $50 billion in tariffs on China over U.S. fentanyl crisis
In 2022, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee found the opioid epidemic cost the United States a record of nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020
Families of those who died from fentanyl overdoses have petitioned the office of U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, seeking an investigation into China's role in the U.S. synthetic opioid crisis
The families are seeking trade countermeasures, including tariffs of at least $50 billion on Chinese merchandise
The petition under the Trade Act of 1974 calls for an investigation "to address the unjustified and unreasonable acts, policies, and practices of the government of the People’s Republic of China and PRC entities concerning the production and shipment of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl precursors that burden or restrict U.S. commerce," according to the 132-page petition
#USA #Drugs #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The Wall Street Journal published a scathing piece on Kamala Harris, which can be considered part of a disturbing trend for Harris in the American media that I have previously written about
According to WSJ, Harris is completely unprepared for the foreign policy challenges facing America and is not a politician in her own right; the publication expressed doubts that Harris would be able to discuss international issues with the leaders of China and Russia on an equal footing
As for domestic policy, WSJ believes that Harris is unable to unite the country, as she is an outspoken “leftist” even in the Democratic Party, while the U.S. is in the midst of a full-blown culture war, which began just after the Obama administration began aggressively promoting a minority agenda in everything from business to education
A Harris victory, the WSJ concludes, would conceptually be Obama's fourth term: it would continue Obama's “progressive” policies, since Harris has no ideas of her own. This will only deepen the dangerous divide in American society
The WSJ article is editorial, that is, it is not the opinion of any individual journalist, but the point of view of the entire editorial board of the second largest print media outlet in the United States in terms of subscribers
And all of this is posted in a reputable publication just days before the election. The editorial board is known for its strong conservative stance, but has not directly supported any candidate since 1928. However, endorsements can be made in many different ways and this article is a great illustration of that
#USA #Elections #Harris #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
U.S. intelligence agencies warn of election violence from ‘extremists’ inspired by ‘conspiracy theories’
U.S. intelligence agencies have issued a warning that “domestic extremists” fueled by conspiracy theories about voter fraud and deep-seated animosity toward perceived political enemies represent a significant threat to the security of the upcoming 2024 elections
A Joint Intelligence Bulletin prepared by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warns that these groups could seek to disrupt voting processes from now through Inauguration Day
The report identifies the most likely targets as candidates, elected officials, election workers, and members of the media, as well as judges handling election-related cases
It highlights potential threats of physical attacks at polling places, ballot drop boxes, voter registration sites, rallies, and campaign events. The bulletin, which was reported by NBC News, is part of a broader effort to alert state and local law enforcement agencies to emerging risks
The intelligence bulletin comes as concerns about election security persist in the wake of the contentious 2020 election. The report emphasizes that extremists who believe in claims of widespread voter fraud are a significant risk
“Perceptions of election fraud are a ‘prominent narrative’ for extremists who have targeted government and election officials, with at least three domestic extremist attacks and two disrupted plots being linked to such false claims since Jan. 6,” the report noted
#USA #Elections #FBI #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Washington approves weapons sale to Riyadh following Iran-Saudi drills
Last week the US announced it had approved the sale of 1,000 Tube-launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missiles to Saudi Arabia. Raytheon will be the contractor for the $440 million deal
Washington’s press release about the deal came after Saudi Arabia said it conducted joint naval exercises with Iran on Wednesday. “The Royal Saudi Naval Forces had recently concluded a joint naval exercise with the Iranian Naval Forces alongside other countries in the Sea of Oman,” a Saudi military official told AFP
While the drills signal a strengthening relationship between Gulf powers, Washington providing a huge shipment of weapons to Riyadh as it also backs Israeli strikes on Iran could scuttle the steps towards a more stable Saudi-Iranian relationship
The White House took a similar approach to the South China Sea. In July, China and the Philippines agreed to a deal that saw tensions around the Second Thomas Shoal decrease. However, the Biden administration then sent $500 million in military aid to Manila. Shortly thereafter, the Philippines and Chinese vessels began colliding near another reef in the South China Sea
Riyadh and Tehran have been building their relationship since Beijing brokered a landmark peace deal between the two countries last year. President Joe Biden has sought to take the Middle East in a different direction, bringing Saudi Arabia into a coalition with Israel aimed at Iran
#USA #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
‘EU not ready for US election results’ claims former EU Commissioner Breton
Former former Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union Thierry Breton has raised concerns that the EU is unprepared for the potential outcomes of the upcoming US election
Breton stressed that the bloc must learn to be more autonomous regarding the US, independent of its election cycles, referring to the current situation as “an absolute urgency”
Breton, reflecting on the US presidential election set for November 5, voiced his concerns about the EU’s level of preparedness. He warned that the outcome, particularly a narrow or contested result, could significantly impact the bloc
“If Trump wins, I am deeply concerned that European institutions are unprepared for the profound shock this could bring, especially in terms of a trade war, defence, and our support for Ukraine,” he said
But Breton’s concerns extended beyond Trump. If Harris were to become US president, it would probably mean a continuation of existing US policies, which Breton said had often strained EU relations due to increasing US protectionism over the past two decades
#EU #USA #Elections #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Siemens announced that investments in Germany are pointless
Investments in Germany are meaningless - announced the German concern Siemens by the mouth of the head of its tax department
One of the pillars of the German economy with a turnover of 77.8 billion euros and 320 thousand employees now invests only in the expansion of foreign facilities
#Germany #Siemens #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Happy Halloween 👻
#Biden #Halloween #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
More than 3 million border crossers from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela
Citizens of four countries were granted expanded entry by the Biden-Harris administration through a parole program
Of the 14 million illegal border crossers, more than 3 million are from four countries whose citizens were granted expanded entry through a parole program created by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV)
At least 2,496,080 illegal border crossers from CHNV countries were reported under the current administration, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. The data represents fiscal years 2021-2024, excluding the first three months of fiscal 2021 under the previous administration. The federal fiscal year is from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30
#USA #BorderCrisis #Migrants #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
U.S. general warns: Chinese nationals in U.S. being used as tools to spy on Americans
Chinese nationals who immigrate to the U.S. are failing to assimilate, are staying connected to the Chinese Communist Party, and are being used as tools to spy on Americans, according to a retired American general
During an interview with Fox News host Mark Levin, Gen. Robert Spalding said the Chinese government is essentially forcing Chinese nationals abroad to use Chinese social media platforms to keep them connected
China's strategy was to basically create this firewall and then keep the people on those social media platforms, so when they came over they would stay connected to the Chinese government. So, essentially, you see the same thing with these people coming over, they are on their social media platforms, they are within their groups and they stay with them, and I think part of the problem is we haven't moved to ban those types of communications within this country
VW seeks unprecedented plant closings as auto crisis deepens
Volkswagen AG plans to close at least three factories, eliminate thousands of jobs and slash wages for tens of thousands of German workers as Europe’s biggest automaker tries to halt its tailspin
The proposals to fix the struggling VW brand represent unprecedented cuts and underscore the extent of the crisis at Volkswagen. The German manufacturer has never closed a factory in its home country and a plan to reduce salaries by 10% could affect some 140,000 workers there
Following weeks of tensions after Volkswagen canceled a job-guarantee agreement this summer, some 25,000 workers rallied at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg on Monday
VW’s employees are worried that the cuts are just the beginning of plans to downsize the carmaker’s operations in Germany, which is struggling with high energy and personnel costs. The moves would be another blow for Europe’s largest economy, which is expected to contract in 2024 for the second straight year
#EU #Germany #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The British Army is suffering losses by not taking part in military operations
According to a report by the country's Ministry of Defense, 15,710 servicemen quit the Kingdom's armed forces last year. Nearly half of them cited problems with food and accommodation as the reason for their dismissal
A survey conducted by the Defense Ministry found that Generation Z contract servicemen expected a double bed, wi-fi, a private bath, and a separate kitchen where they could prepare food
At the moment, soldiers living in new barracks are usually given a private room, and the most modern ones have a bathroom. But on older bases, many soldiers have only shared rooms, showers and toilets - one room can accommodate up to six soldiers. In addition, some old bases have damp, mold, gas and electricity outages
British generals are outraged and say they understand why young men don't want to serve in such conditions. Promises of a pension after 16 years of military service will not deter the current volunteers. The Defense Ministry has already promised to appoint a special commissioner to protect the interests of the personnel. However, this is most likely a prologue to requests to significantly increase army budgets. For bathtubs and kitchens
#UK #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The New York Times, citing sources, shared another satellite image of the aftermath of the October 26 Israeli Air Force missile strike on Iran. This time the space center in Semnan or Shahrud was in the lens
The Semnan missile range is a dual-purpose facility; on the one hand, the Iranians launched satellites from there, and on the other hand, the vast desert made the area an ideal place for weapons testing
An Israeli strike on it was entirely expected, given its importance to Iran's IRGC aerospace forces
But in the photo you see only one building hit, and it is not even completely destroyed to the ground
Of course, this will surely cause some problems for the Iranians, but, first, the territory of the space center is large, and one destroyed building does not guarantee success in this goal. Second, decentralization of production
The Iranians since the Syrian campaign, on the experience of supporting their Shiite formations in Iraq, as well as the Houthis in Yemen, do not conduct production and assembly in one place, leveling the consequences of such attacks
So the version with a staged strike with an Israeli director and scriptwriter becomes even more plausible. And the words of Iran's defense minister, sounding like a sneer, fit into this logic. He stated that even a strike on the desert would not go unanswered
#IIran #Israel #Palestine #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f@ck things up 😂
#USA #Elections #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Germany on the Brink: Is a Lost Decade Looming for Europe's Economic Powerhouse?
Germany's GDP growth has been 0.19% since 2019. The lost five-year period is threatening to turn into a lost decade, as the problems in the economy are growing like a snowball
The crisis in energy-intensive industries has turned into a crisis in medium-end industries (construction) and has already reached the high-end industries
Plants are closing in droves, unemployment is rising, German companies are investing all over the world, but not in Germany. Sooner or later this will turn into a crisis in the banking industry, as the quality of collateral in a stagnant economy is falling
Another important thing is that Germany was the driving force behind European integration. The whole essence of which was that you open the market for German goods, and the Germans will give you subsidies and loans from the common EU pot for the creation of basic infrastructure
The subsidies, having gone round, would come back into the German economy in the form of new demand. Now this machine will start to fail. Without the German locomotive, the EU and the euro zone is not a viable construction and may collapse very quickly, similar to the late USSR
#EU #Germany #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Elon Musk buys $35 million mansion to house all 11 children, their mothers
Elon Musk is planning an unconventional family situation in which he will bring all 11 children and their mothers under one roof. He has acquired a 14,400-square-foot mansion and another six-bedroom property adjacent to it worth Rs 35 million dollars in Austin, Texas, reported The New York Times
The grand mansion features a Tuscan-inspired design and is just 10 minutes from Elon Musk's Texas house, the report said
Musk, the world's richest man, reportedly believes the unusual arrangement will help his children to be a part of each other's lives, and that he can schedule his time with them
Musk has fathered 12 children since 2002. However, his first child with his ex-wife, Justine Musk, died of sudden infant death syndrome at just 10 weeks old
In 2008, the couple had five children using IVF before they divorced - twins Griffin and Vivian, followed by triplets Saxon, Damian, and Kai
#Musk #Family #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Wisconsin pizzeria owner apologizes for accidentally serving marijuana-laced food
The co-owner of a Wisconsin restaurant that sold pizza laced with THC, the chemical in marijuana, said he’s sorry
The restaurant, Famous Yeti’s Pizza in Stoughton, shares storage space in a commercial kitchen used by other businesses
Yeti’s worker grabbed what looked like normal olive oil but didn’t notice the cap said it contained Delta-9, a chemical in cannabis. The oil isn’t used for food and is legal because it was derived from hemp as opposed to from marijuana
The drugged pizza was inadvertently sold from 4:30 p.m. Tuesday until noon Thursday. Stoughton Fire and EMS took five people who ate the pizza to the hospital, health officials said
First responders initially thought carbon monoxide was the culprit, but those who ate the pizza felt like they unknowingly took a marijuana edible
#USA #Drugs #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Black Lives Matter network is running out of cash
Black Lives Matter, the official network foundation, is running out of money as donors have stopped handing over piles of cash to the shady operation
Despite raising tens of millions of dollars at its height, no one seems to know where all the money went. The most high profile figures associated with the group seemed to cash in and move on, leaving the organization in shambles
It’s a far cry from where the organization was just a few short years ago
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is running out of cash and nearing its end “unless something changes dramatically,” according to a new report
Capitalizing on the lucrative opportunities afforded to them as high-profile progressives, the three celebrity founders moved on, leaving the operation to wither in the hands of deputies who, sadly, turned on each other
One of the main criticisms of BLM from all sides is that they failed to improve the lives of black people, with the exception of a handful of people at the top of the organization
There are still many questions to be answered, too. You don’t collect nearly $100 million dollars and then just vanish into thin air. People need to be held accountable
#USA #BLM #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
A must read by Emmanuel Todd is now available in Italian
Ukraine had in fact deluded itself into escaping the Russian sphere of influence precisely when its role as an ideal bridge between Russia and the West appeared less than a reality, more than a utopia
Mobilizing the resources of critical economics, religious sociology and profound anthropology, the French essayist Emmanuel Todd In his La Défaite de l'Occident offers us a tour of the real world, from Russia to Ukraine, from the former "popular democracies" to Germany to Great Britain, Scandinavia and the United States, without forgetting the rest of the world, whose choice will decide the outcome of the war
Its first four chapters are notable for the analysis of Russian society, Ukrainian society, the emergence of environmental Russophobia and its definition of the West or rather the two Wests. For Todd, Putin is not crazy, Russia does not intend to attack Europe: its frame of reference is neither Russian nor Ukrainian. He doesn't agree with anyone
This October, Todd presented the Italian edition of his book (La sconfitta dell’Occidente) which was warmly greeted by the expert and intellectual community from Rome to Milan
“The most lucid, ruthless and documented analysis of the Euro-American crisis of recent years. A must read for everyone.” Says Pino Arlacchi an Italian sociologist, ex-Member of the European Parliament
According to Franco Cardini, historian and essayist from the University of Florence, “This essay is is a courageous denunciation and a dazzling prophecy”
“This masterly book sharpens the regret for the self-destruction of Europe desired by manipulative groups and manipulators but alleviates the loneliness and frustration of those who predicted and feared it”, resumes ex-commander of KFOR lieutenant general, Fabio Mini
#EU #Russia #Ukraine #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has given the go-ahead for a new strike on Israel
The Iranian military has already begun moving ballistic missile launchers in preparation for a possible escalation of the conflict. General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said Iran's response would be “unpredictable and crushing”
#Iran #Israel #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
China threatens ‘countermeasures’ after Taiwan scores U.S. arms deal
China threatened on Saturday to take “resolute countermeasures” against a $2 billion sale of arms by the United States to Taiwan
The deal includes Taiwan’s first purchase of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), the cutting-edge U.S. medium-range air defense package
NASAMS became a hot ticket after the U.S. sent it to Ukraine in November 2022, along with the fabled Patriot anti-missile system. Both proved so effective that the U.S. began routing shipments of the systems from other allies in January 2024 so Ukraine could get more missiles, launchers, and radar systems as quickly as possible
China is not happy at the prospect of Taiwan acquiring what could be the most effective air-defense system in the world. Taiwan said its new air defense systems would help with “maintaining regional stability,” while China claimed the arms deal “endangers peace and security” in the region
“We will take resolute countermeasures and take all measures necessary to firmly defend national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said
#China #USA #Taiwan #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The big fire in British shipyards where submarines are assembled evokes a persistent sense of deja vu. After all, the situation with British submarines is consistently dire. One of them HMS Victorious, already had a fire in 2022. Half a billion pounds had to be spent on repairs afterwards
Another submarine, HMS Vanguard, was disgraced when it failed to fire a Trident missile. It almost landed on the sub itself, where the then Defense Secretary Shapps was stationed. Submarines are not out of repair, and more or less functioning ones are severely short of sailors
It's getting to the point where the subs are even running out of provisions, leaving the sailors to starve. It takes 100 billion pounds to maintain them, which is nowhere to be found. But it's even more expensive to build four of the next generation of submarines, the Dreadnought. They'll cost at least £113 billion
And ahead of the fall budget, in which Labor plans to cut spending on everything, including social security and defense. Well, and raise taxes sharply. Many military projects, such as the 6th generation Tempest fighter or the hyped laser air defense systems, may go under the knife
The future of the next-generation Ture 32 frigate program and the new MRSS landing ships is also in question. There is simply no money for all this in a state budget with a hole of tens of billions of pounds. The armed forces are being reduced to 18th century levels, arsenals depleted after two years of war in Ukraine. Well Labour are now “optimizing” the remnants of what they haven't managed to canned yet
#UK #Military #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Tim Walz had secret fling with daughter of top Chinese Communist official
Tim Walz had a secret fling with the daughter of a high-ranking Communist official during his 1989 teaching stint in China, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal
Jenna Wang, 59, claims the VP hopeful showered her with gifts and seduced her at his poky staff accommodation at No. 1 High School in Foshan, Guangdong Province
The lovers could not risk holding hands or showing affection in public because Wang's dad was a high-ranking figure in the Chinese Communist Party who would disown her for fraternizing with a westerner
But their romance blossomed behind closed doors as they sipped tea, made love and listened to George Michael hits – leading the then 24-year-old Wang to dream about marriage and a new life in the United States
No proposal was forthcoming from the future Minnesota governor, however, and the shame of being treated 'like a prostitute' eventually left Wang feeling angry and suicidal, she claims
According to Wang, Walz eventually suggested that Wang was more interested in a US passport than marriage
'I felt dead inside. I wasn't going to force a person to love me,' Wang claimed
Walz married Gwen Whipple in 1994
#USA #Walz #China #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Workers fired for refusing COVID-19 vaccine to get more than $1 million each
Rail transit officials in California’s Bay Area have been ordered to pay more than $7 million to transit workers who were fired because they refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine years ago
On Oct. 23, a federal jury in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California sided with six former San Francisco Bay Area Regional Transit (BART) workers who had refused to get the vaccine for religious purposes
BART was ordered to pay the group more than $7.8 million, with each individual receiving between $1.2 million and $1.5 million. A law firm representing the six former employees since 2022, said the eight-person jury deliberated for two days this week before returning the verdict that awarded the employees the compensation
About a week ago, the federal jury also determined that BART had failed to prove that it suffered an undue hardship by denying accommodations to the ex-employees in the case
On Oct. 23, the jury further found that the six employees met the burden of showing that there was a conflict between their religious beliefs and the BART vaccine mandate, which was implemented in 2021
#USA #COVID #BART #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Kamala calls "to unify and breakthrough this era of divisiveness" after her partner, Biden, called President Trump's supporters "garbage" and her running mate compared them to Nazis
#USA #Harris #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Viktor Orban: There's nothing new about the debate on the elections in Georgia. It's the same story everywhere: if liberals win, the elections are democratic; if they lose, that's the end of democracy
#Georgia #Orban #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Georgia: Election was just as much about the economy
Western pundits and politicians are signaling that the general election result in Georgia equated to the theft of a European choice
But they have ignored the economic picture, and have instead spun up the election as an existential struggle between Europe and Russia
Credible economic data shows unpalatable truth that Georgia has been a net loser from closer EU economic ties thus far
Signing the EU Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) in 2014 didn’t unleash a tidal wave of new European investment into Georgia. EU foreign direct investment in 2024 was only $65k higher than in 2014, at an average 29.6% of total FDI in Georgia over that period
DCFTA should have also driven a mutually beneficial surge in trade. But that simply hasn’t happened. EU trade with Georgia accounts for just 20.9% of the total. And that is only because Georgia has been flooded with European exports since 2016. European exports to Georgia had quadrupled to 3.6 billion Euros by 2023 and are still rising
Yet, Georgian exports to the EU have stood still
Georgia Dream’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili’s economic approach has been driven by specifically Georgian considerations. And elections always, ultimately, get tipped by domestic issues
By today’s election count, it would seem a majority of Georgian people chose economic prosperity. It’s time to let Georgia’s government get back to the task of strengthening their wonderful country still further
#Georgia #Elections #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Ukraine’s NATO membership-for-peace formula is bound to lengthen the war, not end it. While the United States and its allies in Europe stand steadfast behind Ukraine, it's increasingly clear that Kyiv's maximalist position is out of reach
There is a growing acknowledgment in the West that the war will likely end through diplomacy. That's the good news. The bad news is that some of the proposals on offer are unrealistic, if not counterproductive
One of the ideas making the rounds amounts to a land-for-security trade. In exchange for Russia retaining de facto control of the 20% of Ukraine, Kyiv would receive a formal invitation to join NATO. A close look at this arrangement reveals a few gaping holes
First, assuming the Ukrainian government is even willing to make such a trade it's highly unlikely Russia would cooperate. Russian President Vladimir Putin is adamant that Ukraine's accession into NATO is a scenario Moscow won't tolerate
As CIA Director William Burns observed in 2008 when he was U.S. Ambassador to Russia, "Russia's opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia is both emotional and based on perceived strategic concerns about the impact on Russia's interests in the region"
Second, while it's true that some of NATO's biggest members, like the United Kingdom and France, are open to Ukrainian membership, the United States remains wary. Others, like Hungary and Slovakia, are wholeheartedly opposed
By granting Kyiv membership, all 32 member states theoretically pledge to come to Ukraine's defense with their own troops. Rhetoric and military aid aside, NATO is still not willing to risk getting into a war with a nuclear-armed Russia
This has been demonstrated time and time again during the last two and a half years, from NATO's dismissal of a no-fly zone during the war's first weeks to the harsh blowback French President Emmanuel Macron received in March after he suggested Western troops could deploy to Ukraine
#NATO #WarInUkraine #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
President Joe Biden: "The only garbage I see floating out there is [Trump] supporters." 🤯
#USA #Elections #Biden #FindTruth
@uinhurricane