Export World Champion under Pressure

BERLIN (Own report) – With intense shuttle diplomacy, members of the German government are seeking to avert the impending US punitive tariffs on European goods and the loss of access to the important US market. Following Germany’s Finance Minster Olaf Scholz’s visit to the US capital yesterday, Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected in Washington on Friday. Already in the run up to these visits, Berlin seems ready to envisage a revival of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This strategic decision is accompanied by a clear frontline position against China, as was resolutely demanded by the Trump administration. In addition, German-Russian business relations are increasingly under attack in Washington. At the same time, EU criticism of Germany’s unilateral trade policies is growing. Germany’s export oriented economy is particularly vulnerable to the protectionism that is gaining strength on a global scale. Berlin’s Beggar-thy-Neighbor-Policy could prove a strategic disadvantage under these new global economic conditions.

The Coup Is Complete – Trump Is Done

 

If there is one thing the last 48 hours have proved to me, it’s this.  Donald Trump is no longer acting President. The coup against Trump has been completed.

I’m going to keep this simple. Follow the dots and try to keep up.

1. The Deep State’s lies are being unraveled in real time thanks to the collective intelligence of the ‘internet’ and our ability to synthesize data in real time.
2. The Skripal poisoning and the latest Syrian “chemical weapons” attack share the same thing — both set government officials off rushing to judgment and action before any official investigation could debunk them.
3. Trump has pissed off everyone in power on both sides of the Atlantic since coming into power.

Canada and EU break through globalisation gloom to sign trade deal

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, centre, signs the trade deal with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, left, and European Council president Donald Tusk, right. Photo: AP

 

Brussels: The European Union and Canada signed a far-reaching trade agreement on Sunday that commits them to opening their markets to greater competition, after overcoming a last-minute political obstacle that reflected the growing scepticism toward globalisation in much of the developed world.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had been forced to call off an earlier trip to sign the deal after Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, used its veto to withhold Belgian approval of the deal. The pact required the support of all 28 signatory countries.

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Mr Trudeau signed the pact on Sunday, joined by Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, which represents the leaders of the member states; Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, which holds the rotating presidency of the body that runs the bloc’s ministerial meetings; and Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm.

Aiming at Confrontation

BERLIN/MOSCOW (Own report) – In view of the Duma elections in Russia, the German foreign policy establishment is discussing Russia’s future foreign policy and appropriate western reactions. This discussion is deemed necessary, given the fact that the institutions analyzing foreign policy had failed to foresee Russian initiatives both in the Ukrainian conflict and the Syrian war, according to a study by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). The SWP analysis indicates that politicians and experts were taken in by their own propaganda and their “stereotyping” interpretations “blinded” them to actual developments. In his contribution to the discussion, a well-known Russian expert wrote that, for the time being, Moscow as well as the western powers will most likely continue a confrontational foreign policy, because it is in their respective interests. With this policy, both sides would seek to consolidate their alliances and overcome the growing divisions within their own societies. In the West, this can be seen in the mantra-like “mention of Putin in the establishment parties’ elections and other campaigns.”

China’s Hundred-Year Strategy

Beijing has a documented plan to be the premier global superpower by 2049. It’s over halfway there. 

Americans think in four-year election cycles. Chinese leaders think in terms of centuries. Just leaf through the glossy, cream-colored, gold-flecked pages of The Governance of China. This anthology of political theories by Chinese President Xi Jinping is considered almost sacred scripture in Beijing.

Across 18 chapters about leading the most populous nation on the planet, Xi outlines his utopian vision for the Chinese people. In the world he describes, the Chinese are heirs to an ancient and unique civilization entitled to a privileged position among nations. In this world, China is an economic, cultural and military superpower, while the United States is no longer a major geopolitical power.

Obama’s amazing THREAT to Britain: UK would be at the ‘back of the queue’ after Brexit

BARACK Obama was last night condemned for trying to “blackmail” Britain into remaining in the EU.

The US President warned the UK would be “at the back of the queue” for a trade deal with America if it quit Brussels.

But his threat provoked outrage and scorn from pro-Brexit campaigners, who dismissed it as yet another scaremongering ploy from the pro-EU lobby.

Mr Obama, who will no longer be in office when decisions on a trade deal are made, delivered a lecture to the British people on why he thinks it is in the UK’s, America’s and the world’s best interests for Britain to vote to stay in the EU on June 23.

The Challenge for the Next President: Reversing the Decline in U.S. Power

A top priority for the next President of the United States must be to demonstrate the strength and confidence to protect the nation’s vital interests at home and abroad. These vital interests are: (1) defense of the homeland; (2) prevention or successful conclusion of a major war with the potential to destabilize regions of critical interest to the U.S.; and (3) preservation of freedom of movement within the global commons: the sea, the air, cyberspace, and outer space domains through which the world conducts business.[1]

There is clearly a need to do something different. The Heritage Foundation’s Index of U.S. Military Strength graded the ability of the United States to protect its vital interests as “marginal,” an assessment that reflects both deteriorating U.S. capabilities and rising concerns in key parts of the world.[2] Further, it is clear that this Administration’s approach to defense and foreign policy is deeply flawed.[3] In practice, it has served the nation poorly.

TTIP and CETA Would ‘Remove People’s Rights From Basic Human Needs’

The controversial TTIP and CETA trade deals could leave people’s access to basic rights such as water and energy at the mercy of large multinational corporations as part of a wholesale takeover of public services, a new report has warned.

The ‘Public Services Under Attack’ report, released by a group of international NGOs and trade unions, claims that the CETA and TTIP trade deals, being negotiated between the EU, and Canada and the US respectively, would expose public services to highly damaging “commercialization” from multinational corporations.

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While the UK government has previously stated that “TTIP will not change the way that the NHS, or other public services, is run,” the report has raised questions over the legitimacy of such claims, pointing out the ‘negative list’ approach to public services in the CETA deal.

Debt, War and Empire By Other Means

This is how the Fourth Reich is coming to be. If you’re still looking for Nazis, you’re 70 years too late. The German hegemony is conquering through other means.

“You have not anchored Germany to Europe,… You have anchored Europe to a newly dominant, unified Germany. In the end, my friends, you’ll find it will not work.“

– Margaret Thatcher

 How right she was.

 

 

This video below may help one to understand some of the seemingly obtuse demands from the Troika with regard to Greece.

The video is a bit dated, but the debt scheme it describes remains largely unchanged. The primary development has been the creation of an experiment called the European Union and the character of the targets.   One might also look to the wars of ‘preventative intervention’ and ‘colour revolutions’ that raise up puppet regimes for examples of more contemporary economic spoliation.

“Obama Is Destroying Europe”, “Dragging It Into A Crusade Against Russia” Says Former French PM

Für deutsche Leser die Ihre Nachrichten auf Deutsch lesen möchten oder Leute, die Deutsch verstehen kann, klicken Sie bitte den Link ganz unten auf.

A large portion of the English translated version will remain here.

 

While on the surface the European leaders of G-7 nations are all smiles in their photo-ops next to US president Barack Obama, there is an unmistakable tension and simmering resentment at the US for forcing Europe into America’s personal crusades.

“Today, Europe is not independent… The US is drawing us [the EU] into a crusade against Russia, which contradicts the interests of Europe,” said the former French Prime Minister Fillon while the chief economist at Bremer Landesbank adds that as a result of US policies “unmeasurable damage lies in an elevated geopolitical risk situation for the people in the EU.”

Leaked TISA Documents Reveal Privacy Threat

Under the draft provisions of the latest trade deal to be leaked by Wikileaks, countries could be barred from trying to control where their citizens’ personal data is held or whether it’s accessible from outside the country.

Wikileaks has released 17 documents relating to the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), currently under negotiation between the US, the European Union and 23 other nations. These negotiating texts are supposed to remain secret for five years after TISA is finalized and brought into force.

The biggest US-EU free trade agreement in history is advancing behind closed doors

Secret negotiations between the US and EU for the biggest bilateral trade agreement ever negotiated resume on April 20 in New York. The talks are attracting increasing criticism as activists guess at the proposals while politicians keep the details behind closed doors.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a massive new trade deal, expected to be completed in the next few months, that would cut tariffs on imported goods between the two powers while standardising safety rules.

That might mean Scottish manufacturers can sell woollen jumpers in the US cheaply, while give US brands direct access to the EU market. Critics say it could reduce European safety standards and allow the privatisation of services such as the NHS.

AIIB a means for China to achieve ‘Belt and Road’

China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) initiative is a means to achieve its goal of bolstering regional integration and connectivity through its “Belt and Road” strategy, Lu Chung-ta, director of investments and marketing at Shin Kong Investment Trust Co.

The establishment of the AIIB is widely regarded as an effort by China to create an international financial institution that rivals the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Asia Development Bank and curb the US’s leading position in global financial decision-making bodies in the post-World War II era.

EU to open new chapters on Turkey accession ‘soon’

Chapter 17 on Economic and Monetary Policy will be opened ”soon”, according to Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The European Union supports opening new chapters on Turkey’s accession into the 28-nation-bloc, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk has said.

What Happens Next In Russia – A 6-Step Recipe For Western Disaster

Even though two of the most bloodiest wars in modern history resulted from pacts between Europe and Russia, the Europeans have always accepted that risk and usually chose Russia as a partner over the United States. This needs to be remembered when considering what direction Europe is going today. History does in fact repeat itself.

 

Recent events, such as the overthrow of the government in Ukraine, the secession of Crimea and its decision to join the Russian Federation, the subsequent military campaign against civilians in Eastern Ukraine, western sanctions against Russia, and, most recently, the attack on the ruble, have caused a certain phase transition to occur within Russian society, which, I believe, is very poorly, if at all, understood in the west. This lack of understanding puts Europe at a significant disadvantage in being able to negotiate an end to this crisis.

Whereas prior to these events the Russians were rather content to consider themselves “just another European country,” they have now remembered that they are a distinct civilization, with different civilizational roots (Byzantium rather than Rome)—one that has been subject to concerted western efforts to destroy it once or twice a century, be it by Sweden, Poland, France, Germany, or some combination of the above. This has conditioned the Russian character in a specific set of ways which, if not adequately understood, is likely to lead to disaster for Europe and the world.