EU economy is bigger than the US - by Bob Bryan

As a single country, the US is the biggest economy in the world.

But given its close ties, you could easily argue that the countries of the European Union make for one big economy. Indeed, you would be arguing that it's the world's largest economy.

The adjusted GDP of the 28 EU member nations is bigger than both China and the US, the traditional list of world's economic super powers.

"In nominal U.S. dollar terms, the European Union (plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland) accounted for 25.4% of world output in 2014 according to data from the International Monetary Fund.  That was greater than America’s share (22.5%) and well in excess of China’s—13.4%," said Quinlan.

The EU consumer is also on top. The EU, plus periphery nations, accounted for 28.5% of all consumer spending in 2014, according to Quinlan, above both the 26.6% spent by US consumers and the 15.6% spent by the emerging economies of the Brazil, Russia, India and China combined. This attracts global companies to the region.

"Gaining access to wealthy consumers is among the primary reasons that US companies venture overseas, and hence the continued attraction of Europe to US firms," wrote Quinlan.

So while Greece has little direct impact on the US, stabilizing the massive EU economy should still be a huge concern for Americans and the rest of the world.

Read more: CHARTS: EU economy is bigger than the US - Business Insid

Middle East: Saudi Arabia: From the Eyes of an Insider - by Mona Eltahawy

Nothing prepared me for Saudi Arabia. I was born in Egypt, but my family left for London when I was seven years old. After almost eight years in the United Kingdom, we moved to Saudi Arabia in 1982.

Both my parents, Egyptians who had earned PhDs in medicine in London, had found jobs in Jeddah, teaching medical students and technicians clinical microbiology.

The campuses were segregated. My mother taught the women on the female campus and my father taught the men on the male campus.

When an instructor of the same gender wasn’t available, the classes were taught via closed-circuit television, and the students would have to ask questions using telephone sets.

My mother, who had been the breadwinner of the family for our last year in the United Kingdom, when we lived in Glasgow, now found that she could not legally drive. We became dependent on my father to take us everywhere.

As we waited for our new car to be delivered, we relied on gypsy cabs and public buses.

On the buses, we would buy our ticket from the driver, and then my mother and I would make our way to the back two rows (four if we were lucky) designated for women.

The back of the bus. What does that remind you of? Segregation is the only way to describe it.

The campuses were segregated. My mother taught the women on the female campus and my father taught the men on the male campus.

When an instructor of the same gender wasn’t available, the classes were taught via closed-circuit television, and the students would have to ask questions using telephone sets.

My mother, who had been the breadwinner of the family for our last year in the United Kingdom, when we lived in Glasgow, now found that she could not legally drive. We became dependent on my father to take us everywhere.

It felt as though we’d moved to another planet whose inhabitants fervently wished women did not exist. I lived in this surreal atmosphere for six years.

In this world, women, no matter how young or how old, are required to have a male guardian – a father, a brother, or even a son – and can do nothing without this guardian’s permission.

Yes, this is Saudi Arabia, the country where a gang rape survivor was sentenced to jail for agreeing to get into a car with an unrelated male and needed a royal pardon; Saudi Arabia, where a woman who broke the ban on driving was sentenced to ten lashes and, again, needed a royal pardon.

Note EU-Digest: Democracy and women's rights - still a major stumbling block in country which considers itself the cradle of Islam. 
 
Read moreSaudi Arabia: From the Eyes of an Insider - The Globali

Malta: Major protest against the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

A huge Trojan horse – the infamous horse that hid thousands of Greek fighters to overthrow the city of Troy – has been erected in Valletta this morning to protest against the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), “a dangerous deal that puts the interests of big businesses before the rights of EU citizens.”

The giant inflatable Trojan horse was installed by Friends of the Earth Malta and the Front Against TTIP (Malta) during the launch of a week of activities aimed at increasing awareness about the TTIP.

The organisations said the TTIP would enable food safety rules to be amended with the aim of facilitating trade – even to the detriment of the environment and the general public.

Urging the government, political parties, and Maltese MEPs to support their call against the trade agreement, the organisations insisted that the EU-US deal contains “hidden dangers” that could be detrimental to the environment and for the general public.

The organisations said that the TTIP would set up mechanisms that will enable big businesses to sue states for compensation if any new state regulations are seen as harmful to investment and profits.

“TTIP may reduce the possibility of restricting genetically modified organisms and the use of hormones and other chemicals in factory-farmed animals. Proposed legislation will be evaluated by its merit towards increasing trade, rather than increasing quality of life or environmental protection,” said Martin Galea de Giovanni, FoE Malta Director and member of the Front.

“The Front is against setting up of alternative, ‘compromise’ mechanisms that will still give the power to big business to sue states for compensation if any new state regulations are seen as harmful to investment and profits. This will make regulatory innovation slower and less ambitious.”

The Front Against TTIP (Malta) is made up of left-wing think tank Zminijietna, Moviment Graffiti, Association of Federative Socialist, GWU Youth, Friends of the Earth Malta, Partit Komunista Malti, Garden of Knowledge (Malta), ADZ - Green Youth, Malta Organic Agriculture Movement (MOAM), Greenhouse Malta, Gaia Foundation, and Alternattiva Demokratika. 

Read more: Trojan horse erected in protest against ‘dangerous’ EU-US trade agreement - MaltaToday.com.mt

Religious Discrimination - Migrants crisis: Slovakia 'will only accept Christians'

Slovakia says it will only accept Christians when it takes in Syrian refugees under a EU relocation scheme.

The country is due to receive 200 people from camps in Turkey, Italy and Greece under the EU plan to resettle 40,000 new arrivals.

Interior ministry spokesman Ivan Netik said Muslims would not be accepted because they would not feel at home.

The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) called on countries to take an "inclusive approach" to relocation.
But Mr Netik denied the move was discriminatory and said it was intended to ensure community cohesion.

Note EU-Digest: whatever way the Slovaks want to call what they are doing - it is discrimination with a capital D and should be unacceptable by the EU.

Read more: Migrants crisis: Slovakia 'will only accept Christians' - BBC News

Netherlands - France: Fanatic Islamic Gunman opens fire in Amsterdam-Paris train, wounding two people - by ngelique Chrisafis

Yesterday, August 21, a crazy Islamic fanatic gunman went on a shooting spree in the high speed TGV train from Amsterdam to Paris but fortunately got downed by two alert US servicemen on vacation: The shooting is believed to have taken place as the man left the toilet and the Americans tackled and overpowered him.

Note EU-Digest: Compliments to these two courageous US service men.

Read more: Fanatic Islamic Gunman opens fire on Amsterdam-Paris train, wounding two people | World news | The Guardian

Syria/USA: Refugees/Migrants: Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Syria - provided by USCIS

Good news for Syrian refugees and migrants who want to apply for residency/immigrant status in the US.

For additional information click on link:: Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Syria | USCIS

USA: Native American Council Offers Amnesty to 240 Million Undocumented US Whites

At a meeting on Friday in Taos, New Mexico, USA  Native American leaders weighed a handful of proposals about the future of the United State’s large, illegal European population. After a long debate, NANC decided to extend a road to citizenship for those without criminal records or contagious diseases.

“We will give Europeans the option to apply for Native Citizenship,” explained Chief Sauti of the Nez Perce tribe. “To obtain legal status, each applicant must write a heartfelt apology for their ancestors’ crimes, pay an application fee of $5,000, and, if currently on any ancestral Native land, they must relinquish that land to NANC or pay the market price, which we decide.

“Any illegal European who has a criminal record of any sort, minus traffic and parking tickets, will be deported back to their native land. Anybody with contagious diseases like HIV, smallpox, herpes, etc, will not qualify and will also be deported.”

European colonization of North America began in the 16th and 17th centuries, when arrivals from France, Spain and England first established settlements on land that had been occupied by native peoples. Explorers Lewis & Clark further opened up western lands to settlement, which ultimately led to the creation of the Indian reservation system.

Despite the large number of Europeans residing in the United States, historical scholars mostly agree that indigenous lands were taken illegally through war, genocide and forced displacement.

Read more; Native American Council Offers Amnesty to 240 Million Undocumented Whites | City World News