Reconnecting citizens with EU decision-making is possible – and needs to happen now
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May 1, 2019
April 29, 2019
The Netherlands: The Marker Wadden Archpelago- a wild-birds eco-haven
Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/27/marker-wadden-islands-netherlands-manmade-archipelago-wild-birds-eco-haven
April 28, 2019
The Netherlands: King's Day, King's Night widely celebrated without incident - by Zack Newmar
People across the Netherlands took to the streets Friday night and Saturday to celebrate King Willem-Alexander's birthday. By 4 p.m. on Saturday, only a handful of atypical arrests were announced byauthorities.
Only a handful of people were stopped in the biggest cities of the Netherlands, including just three in Amsterdam on King's Day, a police spokesperson told Nu.nl. Over a hundred incidents in the city overnight required an ambulance to be dispatched, mostly to treat people under the influence of alcohol. No "significant incidents" were announced by
overnight and first shift police teams in Breda, Eindhoven, Groningen, Rotterdam, and The Hague.
In Almere, police detained or arrested about a dozen people overnight. Authorities declared the city center to be an area at risk ofviolence when two rival youth gangs announced intention to brawl there. Nine of the suspects were held on weapons-related charges, including teenagers as young as 15 allegedly armed with screwdrivers, according to broadcaster NOS.
Read more: King's Day, King's Night widely celebrated without incident | NL Times
Only a handful of people were stopped in the biggest cities of the Netherlands, including just three in Amsterdam on King's Day, a police spokesperson told Nu.nl. Over a hundred incidents in the city overnight required an ambulance to be dispatched, mostly to treat people under the influence of alcohol. No "significant incidents" were announced by
overnight and first shift police teams in Breda, Eindhoven, Groningen, Rotterdam, and The Hague.
In Almere, police detained or arrested about a dozen people overnight. Authorities declared the city center to be an area at risk ofviolence when two rival youth gangs announced intention to brawl there. Nine of the suspects were held on weapons-related charges, including teenagers as young as 15 allegedly armed with screwdrivers, according to broadcaster NOS.
Read more: King's Day, King's Night widely celebrated without incident | NL Times
April 26, 2019
April 25, 2019
USA -Trump's Foreign Policy: It is all about RealPolitiek and the EU better get their act togetherUSA -Trump's Foreign Policy: It is all about RealPolitiek and the EU better get their act together
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| Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck |
Trump has embraced the law of the jungle, which political scientists and historians define as RealPolitik.
The term “RealPolitik” is widely used today as a synonym for “power politics” and understood as the realist approach to foreign policy, a venerable tradition that stretches from Machiavelli and Bismarck to scholar-diplomats of the postwar era such as George Kennan and Henry Kissinger.
RealPolitik
can also be seen as the political approach of self-sufficiency.
Decisions on public policy, when approached from a position of
RealPolitik, are not afforded time for sympathy or compassion. Rather,
RealPolitik is an approach of shrewd pragmatism solely on the basis of
political expedience.
Case
in Point: In the Middle East the US Trump Administration has chosen
three principal partners: Israel - the only nation in the Middle East
with a nuclear arsenal - Saudi-Arabia, the number one oil producer in
the world and Egypt , the country with the largest army in the Middle
East.These countries have developed a very close relation with the US
over the years and importantly to the US, do what they are told to do by
the US.
Realpolitik
has played a huge role in this case, as it allowed Israel’s Prime
Minister, Netanyahu, to successfully outplay the Iranians in most
encounters, as proven by the recent Israeli attacks on Iranian military
bases in Syria. Moreover, it allowed Israel to develop close
relationships with Arab states that were previously aggressive towards
the Israeli cause, a thing that was deemed close to impossible a couple
of decades ago.
In
Europe, the US Trump Administration considers Russia, not the EU, as
the most important power, and developed a "cloaked", but nevertheless
close relationship with them.It is no secret, except it seems to the EU
Commission, that the US Trump Administration would like nothing better
than seeing the EU break apart.
The
EU has been engulfed in a state of political instability that seems to
have no end in sight. Cohesion between member states is at a historical
low, populists are gaining traction at a pace never seen before and a
constant state of fear and paranoia has characterized the European
population ever since the migration wave has hit the continent four
years ago.
At
present it seems that pragmatism and self-interest is what
characterizes Western Europe the most and a fracture has appeared
between the underprivileged East and the heavily industrialized West.
The recent emergence of the populist parties have made this very clear and now the European continent finds itself for the very first time with countries that have elected far-right or Eurosceptic political parties, as seen in the cases of Italy, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Romania and the Czech Republic. Realpolitik dictates that the ideology doesn’t matter anymore, but what happens when the two ideas are applied at the same time?
The recent emergence of the populist parties have made this very clear and now the European continent finds itself for the very first time with countries that have elected far-right or Eurosceptic political parties, as seen in the cases of Italy, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Romania and the Czech Republic. Realpolitik dictates that the ideology doesn’t matter anymore, but what happens when the two ideas are applied at the same time?
If
Britain does not come to its senses about Brexit and holds a second
referendum to stay in the EU, it is very well possible Britain could
become one of the poorest nations in Europe within a period of ten
years, specially if Scotland votes to become an independent nation and
joins the EU.
In
the Far East it is quite obvious that the US Trump Administration
considers China not only as the major power in the Region, but certainly
a long term dangerous rival.
Issues around technology transfer have been key during trade talks between the world's two largest economies in recent months.
"Every country now correctly recognizes that their prosperity, their wealth, their economic security, their military security is going to be linked to keeping a technological edge," says Stephen Olson, research fellow at global trade advisory body Hinrich Foundation.
But many also say their dispute goes well beyond trade - it represents a power-struggle between two very different world views.
Unfortunately, deal or no trade deal, that rivalry is only expected to broaden and become more difficult to resolve.
"We have entered into a new normal in which US-China geopolitical competition has intensified and become more explicit," says Michael Hirson, Asia director at consultancy firm Eurasia Group.
Realpolitik is now at play also between China and the US, at the highest level possible/
This isn’t the Cold War whatsoever, this is a completely different world. One based on economic factors, international political bullying and a shock factor never seen before.
Welcome to Earth, which side are you on?
April 24, 2019
United Nations: one million species at risk of extinction due to human actions UN report says
One million species at risk of extinction due to human actions, UN
report says Up to one million species face extinction due to human
influence, according to a draft UN report obtained by AFP that
painstakingly catalogues how humanity has undermined the natural
resources upon which its very survival depends.
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