Politics

[Ray B]

The biggest threat isn't the president, it's those that control him.

 

[Tbitty]

The biggest threat isn't the president, it's those that control him.

And 3rd in line is the nut cases that are unable/unwilling to open their eyes, ears, and minds and instead belive there is no problem.

 

[IdaRam]

Apart from that I have read news reports of plenty of German people whose livelihoods will vanish if/when the us based are closed and troops moved....so not everyone in Germany apoears to want this to happen....

Agree completely

 

[Brent in Az]

The best way to fix our party is to rid the swamp of the establishment GOP Rino's.
It's a start.

Liz Cheney ousted from role as House GOP Conference chair; replacement still unclear

House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney Wednesday morning in a closed-door vote from the No. 3 spot from leadership -- but the Wyoming Republican remained defiant on the way out.

www.foxnews.com

 

[Vashper]

... Germany ... at the same time trying to build a gas pipeline that will directly pump money to a defacto NATO enemy and at the same time work directly against EU goals of having secure sources of independent, reliable gas supplies. Soviet gas supplies are notoriously unreliable, and they have in the non-distant past used their gas valve to exert political pressure.

In my opinion, unreliable Russian gas (and oil) has been pumped to Europe for decades, including through Poland, and no one refuses transit money, which is regularly paid by the main enemy of NATO. The Germans, in my opinion, would just like to get rid of the middleman - normal market behavior. Well, not everyone likes it.

 

[Ray B]

I can't blame any of the European countries for making arrangements with the Communists regarding a supply of fuel. they certainly (even the US citizens) can't depend on a reliable source of fuel from the US companies thanks to the Morons currently driving the bus.

 

[Opposite Pole]

In my opinion, unreliable Russian gas (and oil) has been pumped to Europe for decades, including through Poland, and no one refuses transit money, which is regularly paid by the main enemy of NATO. The Germans, in my opinion, would just like to get rid of the middleman - normal market behavior. Well, not everyone likes it.

Poland was stuck with the Russian gas and it cost us dearly. For nearly five decades after WW2, we were de facto occupied by the Soviet Union and were unable to use other suppliers.

We now have alternate delivery routes through our own LPG terminal and are in the process of building a pipeline to the North Sea in cooperation with Norway and Denmark (The Baltic Pipe project) and have also increased our own production.

The Nabucco pipeline instead of the Nord Stream program would provide alternate delivery sources to the EU and as such increase energy independence and lower the cost of gas.

The Russian state company Gazprom does use its monopolly to drive up prices and recently lost a large case in Arbitral Tribunal and was made to refund Poland approximately 1.5billion USD for overcharged gas bills, Gazprom appealed against the rulling and lost again.

Having alternative suppliers is always beneficial.

 

[spike.t]

 

[wesheltonj]

The future of Germany is with the east and not with the west. I recommend to the US guys the following video:

Be honest, your troops are not protectors. The protection of Germany is part of a Hollywood view (the other part ist the written history: USA covers the russian war crimes und Russia covers the US war crimes ) .
I want to add, that this thoughts are very actual: The US wants to prevent the gas pipeline North Stream 2 from Russia to Germany. Maybe you heard about it.

Well, I guess the residents of Berlin (who were living in the sixties) might disagree that the USA was not their protectors. And those living in the 80's living in the East when Reagan spent the USSR into bankruptcy might also disagree. And how is the USA repaid. By Germany refusing pay their 2% to NATO while buying its gas from Gazprom instead of the USA. I suppose the Russian Army and Air Force could just as easy man the current bases and posts and spend their payroll into your local economy.

By the way, the Blue Fire rollercoaster, sponsored by Gazprom at Europa Park is my favorite.

 

[Vashper]

Poland was stuck with the Russian gas and it cost us dearly. For nearly five decades after WW2, we were de facto occupied by the Soviet Union and were unable to use other suppliers.

We now have alternate delivery routes through our own LPG terminal and are in the process of building a pipeline to the North Sea in cooperation with Norway and Denmark (The Baltic Pipe project) and have also increased our own production.

The Nabucco pipeline instead of the Nord Stream program would provide alternate delivery sources to the EU and as such increase energy independence and lower the cost of gas.

The Russian state company Gazprom does use its monopolly to drive up prices and recently lost a large case in Arbitral Tribunal and was made to refund Poland approximately 1.5billion USD for overcharged gas bills, Gazprom appealed against the rulling and lost again.

Having alternative suppliers is always beneficial.

I completely agree with you, it was bad to supply someone with gas against their will. And I hope that this will stop soon. In particular, because there is a practice where arbitration retroactively changes the terms of commercial contracts. But I am generally against the export of raw materials.
By the way, you have been able to use other suppliers for 30 years, and this is your right. But the question is about transit: why can't Germany just change the transit scheme? It does not increase the purchase of communist gas, but only changes the route of its delivery. Just like Germany's right to use those suppliers, and in a way that it likes. Because, as you correctly said ," having alternative suppliers is always beneficial." The same applies to transiters.

 

[Tbitty]

 

[Ike85123]

View attachment 401694

Ya, tell me about it ! Im in arizona, we get alot of Californians selling their 1000sq ft shoeboxs for a million dollars and buyin a 300k home here. But sadly, they bring their views and voting power with them !

 

[Vashper]

Ya, tell me about it ! Im in arizona, we get alot of Californians selling their 1000sq ft shoeboxs for a million dollars and buyin a 300k home here. But sadly, they bring their views and voting power with them !

Just the same situation in Europe. Only there are refugees not from California, but from Africa.

 

[GuttormG]

The MENA "immigrants" do not but anything, they are given....

 

[Hogpatrol]

May not be true in states where plastic bags are banned.

 

[Vashper]

These bags were smuggled from totalitarian states.

P.S. Nostalgia surged from this photo - we bought beer like this, in our youth, when there were no PET bottles yet.

 

[Opposite Pole]

I completely agree with you, it was bad to supply someone with gas against their will. And I hope that this will stop soon. In particular, because there is a practice where arbitration retroactively changes the terms of commercial contracts. But I am generally against the export of raw materials.
By the way, you have been able to use other suppliers for 30 years, and this is your right. But the question is about transit: why can't Germany just change the transit scheme? It does not increase the purchase of communist gas, but only changes the route of its delivery. Just like Germany's right to use those suppliers, and in a way that it likes. Because, as you correctly said ," having alternative suppliers is always beneficial." The same applies to transiters.

Germany has the right to use any suppliers it chooses, just like any other country/organisation/person. The issue is not who Germany chooses to purchase the fuel from; it is that it torpedos joint EU programs of gas independence. It is not a matter of gas transfer costs. Rather it is a matter of Europe's strategic gas security and EU's joint energy programs.

The ex-soviet block countries in Europe were stuck with the pipelines from Russia. Whenever Russians decided they wanted to exert some political pressure, they threatened these countries with stopping supplies. In fact, in the XXI century, they did, on several occasions, stop gas supplies (during the winter of course). Perhaps it takes living in a place that is, for whatever reason, dependent on Russia's politics to understand the importance of independence from it. Establishing several gas delivery routes to Europe the Russians gain tools to further meddle in Europe and exert further political pressure more selectively as they can be more accurate with the gas valves under their control. As 21st-century history shows, they think nothing of breaking their strategically important, contractual obligations and selectively pick the most horrendous times to do so.

 

[Streifengnu]

Russia was always! - even during the cold war - a reliable provider of gaz. This german-russian partnership is much older than many may think. Poland and other eastern countries had no $s to pay the gaz, so Poland has an other view on this point.
Look on the map: who is closer to us? Gaz from the USA or gaz from Russia ?
I would warm me up also with US-gaz. But i suppose, the US never can make prices like the closer russians can do.
I don't talk about history of WW2. History is written by the winner (Hollywood in the western hemisphere) and i read a lot of it in this threat. BTW it is over. If anybody wants some information about my german view, please feel free to contact me over an email.
The whole subject would be a nice theme after hunting in the evening sitting around a fire with an whisky or beer.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Russia was always! - even during the cold war - a reliable provider of gaz. This german-russian partnership is much older than many may think. Poland and other eastern countries had no $s to pay the gaz, so Poland has an other view on this point.
Look on the map: who is closer to us? Gaz from the USA or gaz from Russia ?
I would warm me up also with US-gaz. But i suppose, the US never can make prices like the closer russians can do.
I don't talk about history of WW2. History is written by the winner (Hollywood in the western hemisphere) and i read a lot of it in this threat. BTW it is over. If anybody wants some information about my german view, please feel free to contact me over an email.

I hate to break it to you but the Russian view of WWII Germany isn’t any better than that of the US. In fact, it’s probably worse in most cases.

It’s also not as though we were the ones propping up a socialist police state in Eastern Germany for half a century.

 

[Streifengnu]

Please consider: the speech of Friedmann was in 2015/16.
Here is a longer part with an larger context:

He is talking about Germany at 9:42.
From our german menthality we are between the west and the east. But Russia has learned the lesson and is even ready to give us the stolen eastern terretories back. (the horror scenario for Poland). As Friedmann mentions absolutly correct: the german-russian relationship is very complex.
When i was hunting in Belarus i learned the interpretation of WW2 in the eastern hemisphere.
Common with the west is: we are the heroes and we won the war. (BTW: on the eastern as on the western front: every german soldier faced 10-12 soldiers on the other side). If anybody celebrates that victory over Germany, that is ridicolous (best seen every year 9th of may in Moscow).They celebrate that 10-12 russian soldiers have killed 1 german. That is an neutral view, isn't it ?
I just want to give you this inside view from europe.
Let me finish with an Hollywood answer of the german-russian alliance:
Frankenstein & Igor .... german technology and russian craftmanship