Venezuela: Euro MPs call on Venezuela to release detainees

The European Parliament called Venezuela Thursday to release students and opposition figures "arbitrarily detained" during protests against left-wing President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro has launched a crackdown on the opposition, saying they are doing Washington's work in trying to oust him and other left-wing leaders in Latin America.

Earlier this week, the United States imposed sanctions against Venezuela as Maduro moved closer to rule by decree.

In a resolution passed by 384 votes to 75, the European Parliament called on the government of the oil-rich South American nation to release all those detained and to end its opposition crackdown.

Read more: Euro MPs call on Venezuela to release detainees | News , World | THE DAILY STAR

USA: Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States

The Untold History of the United States is a 2012 documentary series directed, produced, and narrated by Oliver Stone. This, the final, episode in the series recounts the final phase in the U.S.’s metamorphosis from a republic into an empire. It also outlines the financial, business and geopolitical interests underlying the War on Terror as well as the terrible repercussions that war has had — not just on the populations of “enemy” states abroad, but on the freedoms and rights of U.S. citizens and the application of human rights law worldwide. 

The report is alarming if we put it into the context of the next US Presidential elections and the possibility that the US could be ruled by similar people as those described in this video.

See the video at: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41209.htm

Making NATO defunct: Is EU Army intended to reduce US influence in Europe?

An EU Defense Force? Why not.

An EU military force is being justified as protection from Russia, but it may also be a way of reducing US influence as the EU and Germany come to loggerheads with the US and NATO over Ukraine.

While speaking to the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced the time has come for the creation of a unified EU military force. Juncker used rhetoric about “defending the values of the European Union” and nuanced anti-Russian polemics to promote the creation of European army, which would convey a message to Moscow.
 
The polemics and arguments for an EU Army may be based around Russia, but the idea is really directed against the US. The underlying story here is the tensions that are developing between the US, on one side, and the EU and Germany, on the other side. This is why Germany reacted enthusiastically to the proposal, putting its support behind a joint EU armed force.

Previously, the EU military force was seriously mulled over was during the buildup to the illegal Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003 when Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg met to discuss it as an alternative to US-dominated NATO. The idea has been resurrected again under similar circumstances.

In 2003, the friction was over the US-led invasion of Iraq. In 2015, it is because of the mounting friction between Germany and the US over the crisis in Ukraine.

Franco-German differences with the US began to emerge after Tony Blinken, US President Barak Obama’s former Deputy National Security Advisor and current Deputy Secretary of State and the number two diplomat at the US Department of State, announced that the Pentagon was going to send arms into Ukraine at a hearing of the US Congress about his nomination, that was held on November 19, 2014.

As the Fiscal Times put it, “Washington treated Russia and the Europeans to a one-two punch when it revealed its thinking about arming Ukraine.”

Realizing that things could escalate out of control, the French and German response was to initiate a peace offence through diplomatic talks that would eventually lead to a new ceasefire agreement in Minsk, Belarus under the “Normandy Format” consisting of the representatives of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine.

Pessimists may argue that France and Germany opted for diplomacy in February 2015, because the rebels in East Ukraine or Novorossiya, as they call it, were beating Kiev’s forces. In other words, the primary motivation of diplomacy was to save the government in Kiev from collapsing without a fair settlement in the East. This may be true to an extent, but the Franco-German pair also does not want to see Europe turned into an inferno that reduces everyone in it to ashes.

Note EU-Digest: NATO was a good thing after the second world war but seems outdated today and dragging Europeans into US military adventures outside Europe. A EU conscript military would probably also be helpful in the unification process of Europe. As long as they call it a defense force meant soly to defend the territory of the the EU I would be for it.

Read more: Making NATO defunct: Is EU Army intended to reduce US influence in Europe? — RT Op-Edge

Personal Privacy Laws: Britain: Mass spying on UK citizens ‘essential,’ say MPs in landmark report

A British Parliamentary report examining the mass collection of private communications by UK security agencies has defended the practice as “essential.”

The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report, published on Thursday, said only a “tiny” proportion of data collected was ever seen by human eyes.
 
Intelligence agencies “do not seek to circumvent the law” and must seek the “specific authorization” of a cabinet minister before spying on individuals in the UK, the ISC said.

However, the committee also said the current legal framework surrounding surveillance “lacks transparency” and is “unnecessarily complicated.”

The ISC called for a single law to be introduced to regulate UK security services and their bulk collection of private communications.

Read more: Mass spying on UK citizens ‘essential,’ say MPs in landmark report — RT UK

U.S. Struggles to Build a Strong Infrastructure - ranks 12th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-15 - by Albert R. Hunt

If Washington were a rational place, a major measure to rebuild roads, bridges, ports and airports would be a slam dunk.

Few doubt the need. The United States has underinvested in infrastructure: It was ranked 12th in The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-15. Road repair needs are pervasive, a quarter of bridges require upgrades and the fast-rail system falls further behind other countries every year.

There is a broad consensus that infrastructure investment is a significant job-creator. It is embraced by the Chamber of Commerce, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and many governors and mayors of both parties.

Republican congressional leaders want selective big accomplishments to prove they can govern. President Obama wants a few more successes in his final years. Infrastructure is one of the very few areas where they are on roughly the same page.

Moreover, the Highway Trust Fund, which finances federal transportation projects, expires in May.

Yet there is little reason to be sanguine. There likely will be a short-term fix for the highway fund. But the necessary longer-term systemic investments will be kicked down the road, a casualty of partisan gridlock.

Read more: U.S. Struggles to Build a Strong Infrastructure - NYTimes.com

Insurance Industry - SURE: International Insurance Highlights With A Special Focus On Europe

Check out the Spring 2015 edition of Sure!   

Sure! is a compilation of press reports as well as market research conducted by Koster Verzekeringen BV, in order to gain more insight into the developments concerning the insurance industry as it relates to the overall global economic climate, social structure and the political environment.

In the Spring 2015 edition of Sure! Solvency II remains on top, as more and more effects of it's impact are felt around the European Union, radically changing the way insurance companies used to conduct their business. The objective of Solvency II, as aspired by the European Commission, is to create additional transparency and a more harmonized insurance industry throughout the European Union.

The Spring 2015 edition of Sure! also provides insight on how some specific EU member states are being affected by Solvency II , including France, Germany, Italy, Britain, in addition to recent developments in Greece and the Netherlands related to the insurance industry.

EU-Digest

EU Banking Industry - Credit and Debit Cards: EU backs cap on bank card transaction fees

It is estimated some 760 million payment cards are used throughout the EU with the average amount spent around 49 euros.

The new rules could come into force by the end of the year and will apply to both cross-border and domestic card-based payments which costs businesses around Europe an estimated 10-billion euros a year.

Some consumer groups have expressed fear that banks may try to claw back some of the costs through other charges.

Note EU-Digest: Good job EU Parliament ! Lets hope US Banks will also be forced to cut their charges for debit and credit card transactions by the US Congress, but it is not likely. Using an a debit card in the US at a location different from the one issued by your bank will incur from $1.50 to $ 3.00 per transaction. Charges for using your US Credit card for purchases or cash withdrawals will range between 3 to 8% of the transaction amount.

Read more: EU backs cap on bank card transactions | euronews, economy