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Neo-Nazi "new salute" spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 14:30:02 2013, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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Neo-Nazi symbol spreads in Europe

Modern 'Hitler salute' gaining momentum among anti-Semites, who pose for pictures in sensitive sites worldwide and in Israel, including alongside IDF soldiers who are unaware of gesture's meaning

Kobi Nachshoni
12.12.13, 13:48

The right hand and its fingers are stretched downwards along the body, while the left hand performs a "salute" movement on the opposite arm. Sound like an aerobic exercise for beginners? According to anti-Semitism researchers, it is actually a clear anti-Semitic symbol, a modern Nazi salute, spreading among Jew haters across Europe.

In recent months, the researchers warn, anti-Semites have been taking advantage of the lack of public awareness of the new "salute" and taking pictures of themselves performing the salute in particularly symbolic and sensitive places around the world like the Treblinka extermination camp, the Western Wall plaza and next to IDF soldiers, as well as alongside Jews who are unaware of the "trick." They then post the photos on the Internet.

The phenomenon was revealed in a conference held earlier this week in New York by the World Zionist Organization's Department for Countering Anti-Semitism, in the presence of senior officials involved in researching and countering anti-Semitism in Israel and the United States.

'It's reaching Israel and must be stopped'

In order to expose the public to the new movement, which many have encountered but were unaware of its meaning, the conference organizers presented pictures and videos of neo-Nazis documenting themselves performing it in different places around the world.

As part of a more concrete effort, the Defense Ministry has been asked to warn IDF soldiers against the phenomenon in a bid to prevent them from unknowingly participating in further embarrassing photographs.

The new salute, based on a reverse Nazi symbol, was created by a French comedian called Dieudonné, who is known for his anti-Semitic acts and statements and has even been convicted by courts in France several times in the past. The physical gesture, which he dubbed "quenelle," has spread in the country, but the government has yet to define it as illegal.

Different sources have been arguing whether it is seen as anti-Semitic gesture in all cases. There are those who say that some of those photographed doing the "quenelle" gesture are doing it for "anti-establishment" motives which are not necessarily anti-Semitic. Among anti-Semites, however, as the WZO indicates, it is a common anti-Semitic gesture, and media outlets have even been apologizing for mistakenly exposing it.

Neo-Nazis do 'quenelle'

Yaakov Haguel, head of the WZO's Department for Countering Anti-Semitism and the conference's organizer, told Ynet that the department's Red Email received initial pictures of the new salute several months ago, but "we didn't understand what it was about."

They later realized the meaning of the gesture and were then exposed to cases in which neo-Nazis performed it in Jewish holy sites in Israel and around the world.

"It's gaining more and more momentum, spreading on the Internet and social networks and turning into a clear Nazi symbol, and it doesn't appear to be a passing phenomenon," says Haguel. "It's spreading to Israel too these days, and we must acknowledge that and stop it."

Eitan Behar, director of the Center for Diaspora Communications and Countering Anti-Semitism at the WZO, told Ynet that the phenomenon he defined as "extremely troubling was gaining momentum in recent weeks.

"Saluting with raised hands is banned in the European Union, and people even get arrested for it, so the neo-Nazi activists perform the same gesture in a different angle," he noted.

Popular Facebook page

A special Facebook page is updated very frequently, particularly with photos from around the world documenting the new salute in places with religious and national significance to Jews. It has accumulated tens of thousands of regular followers, and almost 100% of them are active — through "likes," shares and comments. A special website has also been launched for the same purpose.

In the center led by Behar, volunteers from all over the world monitor anti-Semitic incidents in the media, Internet and social networks. As an expert on the issue, he asserts that the new phenomenon is significant and linked to hatred of Jews.

"It has some general anti-establishment aspects, and the person who invented it is a comedian, but one cannot escape its main message as a new, unhumorous Nazi symbol," he said.

The "saluters" take advantage of many people's innocence and ask them to perform the gesture as they take a picture of them — including IDF soldiers and Holocaust survivors.

The sites where they choose to do so leave no room for doubt: The Anne Frank House, synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, the Western Wall plaza, against the backdrop of German and Israeli flags, on streets with "Jewish" names. They have also posted processed photos of famous characters, like Superman and Santa Claus, performing the salute.

Rise in anti-Semitic incidents

The Countering Anti-Semitism and Delegitimization of Israel Conference is held every two years in a different country. This year it took place in the United States, following the rise in the number of anti-Semitic events recorded in New York, Louisiana, Long Island, Miami Beach and Michigan, which include violent assaults, vandalism, harassment and threats against Jews.

The conference was initiated by the Department for Countering Anti-Semitism of the WZO in collaboration with the American Zionist Movement and the Israeli Consulate in New York. It was attended by Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Ira Forman, former Harvard Professor Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, who wrote "The Devil That Never Dies: The Rise and Threat of Global Anti-Semitism," and others.

The issues discussed during the conference included "anti-Semitism in Zionist ideology," anti-Semitic expressions in arts and culture, the role of the US in fighting global anti-Semitism and the war on anti-Semitism on the Internet and social networks.

The organizers presented hate crimes from recent months, including an attack on Jewish school students in Pine Bush, New York, anti-Semitic statements by an American rap singer in a radio station interview, and more.

'Alarming trend of hatred of Jews'

Yaakov Haguel said during the conference that "anti-Semitism is a sore evil. We must fight it in any way possible. The hypocrisy of countries in the world must end. It's time to join forces, Jews and non-Jews, governments and organizations, and put an end to rising anti-Semitism.

"The recent anti-Semitic incidents point to an alarming trend of hatred of Jews around the world and particularly in the US, which is considered by many the safest place for Jews. Unfortunately, we are witnessing dozens of anti-Semitic incidents on average within one week across the US.

"It's as simple as this: If we put our heads down — we'll get hit in the head. I call on leaders of the Jewish communities in the US, of all streams, on heads of the Jewish student organizations in the US and the world, to join forces with us in this important struggle. We have no other people, we have no other past, and we have a shared future. We must put an end to anti-Semitism."

Deputy Defense Minister Danon said, "The anti-Semites of the new era attack Israel incessantly. They are not shocked by the horrors in Syria and are not crying out, but when the State of Israel defends its citizens against merciless terrorists and missiles launched on school, they cry out that it's a 'massacre.' They are characterized by indifference, hypocrisy and racism. They must be renounced by every modern society."

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Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel

Posted by Dan Lawrence on Fri Dec 13 14:45:02 2013, in response to Neo-Nazi "new salute" spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 14:30:02 2013.

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Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 15:10:33 2013, in response to Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel, posted by Dan Lawrence on Fri Dec 13 14:45:02 2013.

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Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Fri Dec 13 18:56:37 2013, in response to Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 15:10:33 2013.

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Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel

Posted by Dan Lawrence on Fri Dec 13 23:42:27 2013, in response to Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel, posted by Olog-hai on Fri Dec 13 15:10:33 2013.

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Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel

Posted by Dan Lawrence on Fri Dec 13 23:44:21 2013, in response to Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel, posted by SelkirkTMO on Fri Dec 13 18:56:37 2013.

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Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Fri Dec 13 23:49:31 2013, in response to Re: Neo-Nazi ''new salute'' spreads across EUEUEUEUEU and has even reached Israel, posted by Dan Lawrence on Fri Dec 13 23:44:21 2013.

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EUEUEUEUEU–Palestinian Authority fiscal scandal revealed by EUEUEUEUEU Auditors

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Dec 16 05:43:31 2013, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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The EU Auditors Report: A PA-EU Financial Scandal

By David Singer
Sunday, December 15, 2013 6:48 PM

European taxpayers are supporting a massive fraud.

The European Union (EU) has become embroiled in a financial scandal of massive proportions in relation to the financial assistance given by it to the Palestinian Authority (PA) since 1994.

This appears very clear from the comprehensive European Court of Auditors Report dated 22 October 2013 which was only made public this week.

The Report reveals the following:

1. During the period 1994–2006, more than €2.7 bil­lion was allocated to the Palestinian Authority from the EU’s general budget.
   
   
2. Between 2007 and 2012, some €2.9 billion was committed from the EU general budget. The main focus of EU assistance involved direct financial support (DFS) — which accounted for 47.4 % of the overall assistance in the period 2007–12.
   
   
3. DFS was the EU's response to the political, fis­cal and humanitarian crisis that followed the temporary suspension of most aid to the PA following Hamas' January 2006 election victory. A "temporary international mechanism" (TIM) was established which aimed to ensure the direct delivery of assistance to the Palestinian population while bypassing a Hamas-led government.
   
   
4. TIM — initially set up for 3 months — operated between June 2006 and February 2008 until replaced by the current mechanism, PEGASE, which is largely based on TIM.
   
   
5. PEGASE DFS has had the broad objective of helping the PA continue to function until the overall political objective of a two-state solution is achieved.
   
   
6. The main objective of PEGASE DFS is to help the PA to meet its obligations towards civil service employees and pensioners (CSP) and maintain the functioning of the administration and the provision of essential public services to the population;
   
   
7. Support for civil servants and pensioners comprised 72.5% of total funding.
   
   
8. Since the launch of PEGASE DFS in February 2008, few substantial changes have been made to the CSP component. This is in spite of changes in the operational environment, including the increasing number of beneficiaries, the rise in the number of civil servants not attending work after public sector strikes in Gaza in August–September 2008 and the growing need for civil service reform.
   
   
9. The EU has not developed a clear strategy on how to reduce the PA's dependency on PEGASE DFS support over time.
   
   
10. From 2008 to 2012, the average number of civil servants and pensioners that regularly had part of their salary paid by contributions from the CSP component rose from 75 502 to 84 320. This represents approximately half of the PA’s 170 000 civil servants and pensioners.
    
    
11. The PA has made little progress on civil service and pension reforms to reduce the fiscal impact of the increasing numbers of staff and pensioners, for example, by reducing the number of PA staff or amending the rules regulating entitlements.
    
    The audit found indications that in Gaza a considerable number of civil servants were receiving salaries — partly funded by PEGASE DFS — because they were eligible for support by virtue of being on the PA payroll but who were not going to work due to the political situation in Gaza. Some civil servants were dismissed after the Hamas takeover because they supported the PA, while others were demoted or locked out following the PA trade union strikes of August–September 2008.
    
    
12. Out of 10 Gaza beneficiaries selected by the audit for interviews, three stated that they were not working, while one was absent. The audit also found that the State Audit and Administra­tive Control Bureau was obliged, in accordance with PA regulations, to pay salaries for its 90 staff members in Gaza, all of whom are unable to work.
    
    These findings are consistent with estimates based on data from interviews provided in a 2010 evaluation of PEGASE contracted by the EU which indicated that 22% and 24% respectively of the staff employed by the PA Ministries of Health and Education in Gaza were not working at the time.
    
    
13. The EU, while aware of this problem, has not taken adequate steps to address it and was unable to provide clear information on the extent of this practice. Given the amount of money which the EU is providing through PEGASE DFS, it would have been ex­pected that they could obtain such information from the PA.
    
    
14. Despite the importance of this issue, there was no transparent reference to PEGASE DFS being used to pay non‑performing workers in any of the EU's financing documentation for the annual programs.
    
    
15. While PEGASE is intended to support public services for the benefit of the Palestinian Arab population, the payment of non‑performing civil servants does not serve this objective.

Spending hundreds of millions of dollars supposedly supporting the salaries of public servants that no longer occupy those positions and doing nothing to arrest this expenditure — although knowing it was happening — indicates an appalling standard of financial irresponsibility for which the EU has become famous.

This financial gravy train seems set to continue while:

1. Hamas and the PLO refuse to reconcile their differences
   
   
2. The PLO rejects any kind of settlement with Israel that entails Israel obtaining sovereignty in any part of the "West Bank".

The European Union is on a treadmill from which it must now extricate itself.

The obvious solution is to make sure EU money gets to the most needy — not phantom employees who have been having a financial feast at European taxpayers expense.

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Red China's lunar rover display backdrop shows EUEUEUEUEU being nuked

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Dec 18 03:21:31 2013, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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Chinese rover diorama shows Europe being nuked

By Robert T. Gonzales
12/17/13 9:34am

China deserves all the congratulations in the world for landing its first spacecraft on the Moon. It's a big deal — both for China and humanity at large. But can somebody please explain why the background image at this exhibit for China's recently deployed Yutu Rover depicts a massive mushroom cloud over Europe?

Here's a closer view of the photo, which was captured last month at the China International Industry Fair 2013 in Shanghai, and has been quietly circulating in various news outlets ever since. The display shows a model of the China National Space Administration's Moon-roving Yutu (aka "Jade Rabbit") spacecraft atop a mock lunar surface, and set against a backdrop image of the Earth seen from space. But hold on a second — what's that over Europe?



Yep, that's a mushroom cloud. But why would an exhibit for Yutu Rover be set against an image of Europe under nuclear attack?

The most likely explanation – the one we're hoping for, anyway – is that this was just an unfortunate diplomatic oversight. As a redditor by the name of wigg1es points out, the backdrop is actually a stock image, which means it's entirely possible that whoever was responsible for arranging this diorama picked the art out of a lineup without scrutinizing it for depictions of nuclear bombardment.

Still, there are undoubtedly those who will interpret the choice of image as a deliberate gesture. China – having been denied membership in the multinational partnership that operates the International Space Station – has managed to forge an increasingly impressive space program largely on its own (NASA, for instance, is banned by Congress from any contact, collaborations or partnerships with China, primarily due to concerns about technology transfer), a fact that has made for some disquieting observations about China's rise to ascendancy. To quote former NASA administrator Michael Griffen, who in 2011 had this to say about China's lunar ambitions at a hearing before a NASA oversight committee:

In my opinion, China understands what it takes to be a great power. We have written the script for them… They are a near-peer competitor of ours and I would worry very much about the future of this nation if we were not — and if we were not seen by all — to be a world leader.

When the Chinese can reach the moon and we cannot, I don't see why any other nation would regard us as a world leader.

Is someone in China asserting their country's dominance over those nations that snubbed their ambitions of space exploration? Possibly. But until we hear otherwise, we're chalking this one up to an unfortunate oversight.

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Re: Red China's lunar rover display backdrop shows EUEUEUEUEU being nuked

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Wed Dec 18 14:14:19 2013, in response to Red China's lunar rover display backdrop shows EUEUEUEUEU being nuked, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Dec 18 03:21:31 2013.

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EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Dec 30 13:26:07 2013, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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EU penpushers take THREE TIMES the sick days of British workers: Figures show officials took an average of 14.6 days off sick last year

• Official figures show one in seven staff were absent for more than 20 days
• Comparable survey of British workers show just five days off per year
• Euroskeptic Tory MP Peter Bone said the figures were 'disgraceful'

By LARISA BROWN
PUBLISHED: 21:11 EST, 29 December 2013 | UPDATED: 06:02 EST, 30 December 2013

EU officials are off sick three times more than the average British worker, it was revealed last night.

According to official figures, European Commission officials took an average of 14.6 days off sick last year — triple the amount taken by British workers in the private sector.

One in seven staff were absent from more than 20 days.

In contrast, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry found British staff working in the private sector took around five sick days a year.

The figures also showed European officials even outstripped Britain’s civil servants and public sector staff — who took half as many days off work.

Peter Bone, a prominent Euroskeptic Conservative MP, told the Telegraph the figures were "disgraceful".

He said: "I'm appalled at the waste of money. It is unbelievable that they are taking so much time off. However, nobody in truth would notice whether they are there or not. They have no real job; they are just pushing bits of paper around and costing taxpayers billions of pounds."

Pieter Cleppe, of the Open Europe think tank, said that the levels of illness among European Commission staff was "surprising" given their higher pay and perks.

He said: "That EU officials are off sick so often is surprising, especially when they are paid more, taxed less and tend to have better conditions than either civil servants in member states or people working in the private sector."

Between 3.5 and 3.7 percent of working days were lost to sickness overall, but the commission said this was a figure in line with other European countries.

The average European worker takes 7.3 days off work each year, according to figures compiled this year by PwC — precisely half the figure for EU staff.

Only Germany, out of the Western European countries, appears to have a substantially worse sickness absence problem than EU officialdom, with officials taking an average of 19.3 days off sick last year.

According to British figures, EU officials are well paid, with 16 percent of administrative staff at the commission earning more than £84,000 ($139,000) a year. These are paid at low "community" tax rates of around 20 percent.

On top of high wages, staff receive annual holidays of 24 days as well as seven days off for public holidays and, this year, eight "non-working" days out of the office when the Brussels institutions are closed in summer and at Christmas.

Many commission staff are also eligible for a "flexitime" scheme that gives an extra 24 days off work every year for those that put in an extra 45 minutes a day in the office.

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

Posted by RockParkMan on Mon Dec 30 17:43:43 2013, in response to EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year, posted by Olog-hai on Mon Dec 30 13:26:07 2013.

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Dec 30 18:15:34 2013, in response to Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year, posted by SubwaySurf on Mon Dec 30 17:55:06 2013.

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Dec 30 18:45:50 2013, in response to Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year, posted by SubwaySurf on Mon Dec 30 18:40:40 2013.

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take...yada. Yada yada

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Hmmmmm

Posted by SubwaySurf on Mon Dec 30 20:00:52 2013, in response to Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year, posted by RockParkMan on Mon Dec 30 19:08:40 2013.

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take...yada yada yada

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take...yada yada yada

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU bureaucrats take average of 14.6 sick days off per year

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Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take...yada yada yada

Posted by streetcarman1 on Tue Dec 31 09:26:13 2013, in response to Re: MORECHILDLIKECRAPFROMOLOG bureaucrats take...yada yada yada, posted by Dan Lawrence on Mon Dec 30 22:13:44 2013.

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EUEUEUEUEU power "shift" from Brussels to Berlin evident in 2013

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Jan 6 12:58:35 2014, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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EU power shifts from Brussels to Berlin

01/06/14 @ 09:34
By Valentina Pop

While the eurozone crisis in 2013 lingered in most countries, Germany seemed to be doing better than ever.

It had low unemployment, high productivity and exports so strong that the European Commission asked it to do more to help ailing periphery countries in the single currency bloc.

Chancellor Angela Merkel — the most powerful leader in Europe — was elected once again and took up a third mandate in a coalition government with the Social Democrats.

Merkel's popularity is remarkable in Europe, where most leaders are distrusted by their voters and governments are unstable due to the economic crisis, austerity fatigue, perceived incompetence or corruption scandals.

By contrast, Merkel's party almost won a supermajority in the September elections scoring 41.5 percent of the vote. It was the party's best result in more than 20 years.

Merkel's "safe pair of hands" are appreciated by Germans. They like her cautious governing style; the fact that she rarely rushes into decisions.

A giant billboard close to Berlin's government quarter did not even feature her face, just her signature 'rhombus' hand gesture. It suggested that all Germans needed to do was to keep "Mutti" in charge.

Her election message was simple: "Germany is doing well." By reelecting her, Germany would continue to be well-off, an "anchor of stability" in a shaky Europe where several countries have had to apply for a bailout.

Merkel's success with her voters is also based on her tried and tested approach to eurozone policy: acting only when necessary and never in advance.

In 2013, her center-right government continued to preach "structural reforms" and told other countries to do their "homework."

Her coalition government with the Social Democrats will not deviate from that course.

The coalition program agreed after almost two months of negotiations promised more of the same: more sticks than carrots; supervision; control and a little bit of "solidarity" with troubled euro peers.

This approach has dominated the major euro policy decisions taken in Brussels.

With Germany having to pay the lion's share of any EU bailout, the German taxpayer stood and will continue to stay at the forefront of all policy decisions on the euro.

When a leaked report from the German intelligence service showed that Cyprus' banking sector was full of shady Russian money, it caused uproar in Germany.

Wasting German taxpayers' cash to protect Russian oligarchs became a political no-go.

The conditions for Cyprus' €10 billion bailout was that bank depositors had to take a hit. The smartest Russians had already moved their money elsewhere, but Berlin needed a political sacrifice. And it got what it wanted.

Protests in southern Europe denouncing Germany's "austerity diktat" did prompt some cosmetic change in Merkel's policy.

She became more active on youth employment, organizing a mini-summit on the issue in Berlin. The German development bank also granted bilateral loans to Portugal and Spain to help small enterprises.

But the underlying message continued to be "fiscal discipline" coupled with centralized supervision. The German government's latest push is for binding "contracts" in which counties oblige themselves to painful reforms in return for cheap loans.

Germany's industrial leaders also made a show of power.

The EU commission watered down a proposal to cap CO2 emissions and delayed its implementation until 2021 after Germany's environment minister, with auto lobbyists snapping at his heels, said Nein.

The power shift was noticed abroad.

China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited Berlin in May. He did not bother to go to Brussels. Merkel said she supports China's stance in an EU trade war on solar panels and a grimacing commission bowed to Berlin once again.

US President Barack Obama also visited Europe for his second time since taking office. He skipped the EU capital, but he also went to Berlin. His visit was overshadowed by the US spying scandal. Merkel remained courteous and even joked in a TV interview that she did not think her phone was being tapped.

But the joke was on her a few months later, when US whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that US spooks had bugged her mobile.

They were not alone — British, Chinese, Russian and even North Korean spies were also keeping tabs.

The famous question — "Who do I call when I want to talk Europe?" — has no answer. The EU is too complicated. But 2013 showed that calling Berlin (or bugging its calls) is a good place to start.

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU power ''shift'' from Brussels to Berlin evident in 2013

Posted by SLRT on Tue Jan 7 06:40:34 2014, in response to EUEUEUEUEU power "shift" from Brussels to Berlin evident in 2013, posted by Olog-hai on Mon Jan 6 12:58:35 2014.

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU power ''shift'' from Brussels to Berlin evident in 2013

Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Jan 7 10:33:36 2014, in response to Re: EUEUEUEUEU power ''shift'' from Brussels to Berlin evident in 2013, posted by SLRT on Tue Jan 7 06:40:34 2014.

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Google Maps edit of Berlin plaza (to "Adolf-Hitler-Platz") approved; Google apologizes (EUEUEUEUEU)

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Jan 11 14:31:57 2014, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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Google apologizes after Berlin street is accidentally renamed after Adolf Hitler on its maps service

• Theodor-Heuss-Platz renamed Adolf-Hitler-Platz, its Nazi era name
• Google apologized for the 'mistake' — which was online for a few hours

By LIZZIE EDMONDS
PUBLISHED: 20:48 EST, 10 January 2014 | UPDATED: 20:48 EST, 10 January 2014

Google has apologized after its mapping service renamed a road in Berlin after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

The intersection, usually called Theodor-Heuss-Platz, temporarily regained its Nazi-era name — Adolf-Hitler-Platz.

The area carried Hitler's name after he came to power in 1933 until the end of the Second World War.

Previously, it was known as Reichskanzlerplatz and in 1963 it was renamed after Theodor Heuss — the country's first president.

Local media reported the mistake remained on Google Maps for a couple of hours.

Google spokeswoman Lena Wagner said Friday the company quickly took down the name after the error was discovered.

Google says it's not clear how the error occurred, but that 'we apologize for this mistake.'

Scores of streets and squares were named after Hitler during his 1933-1945 dictatorship.

The intersection in question, in western Berlin, sits on what the Nazis envisioned as the capital's main east-west axis for a redesign of the city that was never completed.

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Re: EUEUEUEUEU power ''shift'' from Brussels to Berlin evident in 2013

Posted by Dan Lawrence on Sun Jan 12 13:09:52 2014, in response to Re: EUEUEUEUEU power ''shift'' from Brussels to Berlin evident in 2013, posted by Olog-hai on Tue Jan 7 10:33:36 2014.

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Netanyahu slams EUEUEUEUEU for their hypocrisy over West Bank settlements

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri Jan 17 21:05:52 2014, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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Israel PM slams EU 'hypocrisy' on settlements

By Hazel Ward
January 16, 2014 4:48 PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the European Union Thursday for calling in ambassadors over plans for some 1,800 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu's angry remarks come hot on the heels of a public spat between his defence minister and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is energetically pushing Israel and the Palestinians toward a framework for a peace agreement.

"This is hypocritical. The EU calls our ambassadors in because of the construction of a few houses? When did the EU call in the Palestinian ambassadors about incitement that calls for Israel's destruction?" Netanyahu asked foreign correspondents at his annual new year reception.

"It's time to stop this hypocrisy," he said. "This imbalance… doesn't advance peace, I think it pushes peace further away."

Netanyahu's government announced plans for the new homes in the West Bank, including annexed Arab east Jerusalem, just days after the latest peace mission by US Secretary of State John Kerry who has slammed them as "illegitimate" and "unhelpful."

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had said she was "deeply concerned" over the move, adding that settlements were "illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make the two-state solution impossible".

Foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP that Israeli ambassadors in London, Rome and Paris were summoned "in protest" over the settlement plans, which were unveiled last Friday.

Palmor said that the move was coordinated between the three governments and that it was possible other European governments might have matched the move.

A spokesman for the British Foreign Office told AFP the Israeli ambassador was summoned "over the Israeli government's recent decision to announce new settlement tenders".

A spokesperson for the Spanish foreign ministry said the Israeli envoy was summoned for Friday.

Netanyahu rejected the notion settlement construction ran counter to peace efforts.

"We are keeping in line exactly with the understandings we undertook at the beginning of the talks," he said at the reception. "It was also equally clear that Israel undertook no restraints on construction."

Kerry, who has already made 10 trips to the region in less than a year in a quest for a framework agreement, was the target of a personal diatribe by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon earlier this week that sparked a furious row between the allies.

Yaalon reportedly described the top US diplomat's drive for a peace deal as the "obsession" of a man with a "sense of messianism", comments the White House described as "offensive".

Yaalon later apologized, but the spat underlined the estrangement between the longtime allies which has already seen angry public rows over Iran policy and Israel's defiant drive to expand its settlements in the midst of peace talks with the Palestinians, launched in July and set to last till the end of April.

Kerry has focused his latest efforts specifically on security, with his team proposing a detailed plan for arrangements on the border between Jordan and a future Palestinian state.

Netanyahu met King Abdullah II in Amman on Thursday for what he described as "an excellent meeting… we have excellent relations."

"Any peace agreement in the region has to assure that the border between Israel and Jordan… is always a tranquil and safe border," he said of the Jordan Valley. "That is an interest for us, I think for the Palestinians as well and certainly for Jordan."

Israel demands a long-term troop presence on the Jordan Valley border. Palestinians will not countenance any open-ended deployment and have called instead for an international force.

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EUEUEUEUEU Banks Boycott Israel over so-called "settlements

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Feb 1 21:21:48 2014, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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US blasts European banks’ decision to blacklist Israeli firms

Boycotting groups that operate in West Bank will not help resolve conflict, says State Department

BY ADIV STERMAN
February 1, 2014, 5:25 pm
Updated: February 1, 2014, 6:40 pm

The US does not believe boycotts directed against Israel will help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Friday in response to a recent decision by two European banks to end cooperation with Israeli banks that have operations in the West Bank.

“Boycotts directed against Israel do not help, and we oppose them,” she said.

Two weeks ago, two of Europe’s largest financial service institutions announced they would terminate all joint operations with Israeli banks who deal with Jewish settlements in the West Bank, deemed by the European Union to be illegal under international law.

Sweden’s Nordea Bank and Denmark’s Danske Bank, both the largest banks in their respective countries, are considered to be two of Europe’s most important financial institutions, serving together over 16 million customers across the continent. The banks hold billions of dollars’ worth of assets.

According to Walla, Danske Bank recently updated its list of companies with which it does not engage on ethical grounds to include Israel’s Bank Hapoalim, which has several branches in settlements across the Green Line and has invested in numerous projects throughout the West Bank.

Nordea Bank, meanwhile, demanded of Israeli banks Leumi and Mizrahi-Tefahot to immediately make public their operations in the West Bank.

An official statement released by the Swedish bank two weeks ago cited concern over “possible violations of international norms” that the Israeli banks might have committed.

EU guidelines published in July mandate a denial of European funding to, and cooperation with, Israeli institutions based or operating over the Green Line, and a requirement that all future agreements between Israel and the EU include a clause in which Israel accepts the position that none of the territory over the Green Line belongs to the Jewish state.

In December, Dutch water company Vitens, which provides water to 5.4 million people in the Netherlands, announced that it would discontinue all joint ventures with Israel’s national water supplier Mekorot, in protest against the Israeli company’s operations in the West Bank

“The company concluded that it would be very difficult to develop joint ventures together, considering the fact that they cannot be seen as divorced from their political context,” a company statement said. ”We follow international law.”

Earlier in December, the UK Trade and Investment agency discouraged British firms from entering into business deals with companies located in or associated with West Bank settlements.

The agency warned businesses of the “clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements,” which are “illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible.”

The report urged firms contemplating economic or financial involvement in settlements to seek legal counsel on the matter, and also addressed the “potential reputational implications” that could result from dealing with businesses beyond the Green Line, as well as “possible abuses of the rights of individuals.”

Yifa Yaakov contributed to this report

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Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says "F*** the EUEUEUEUEU"

Posted by Olog-hai on Sun Feb 9 21:56:52 2014, in response to EUEUEUEUEU Olog, posted by RockParkMan on Sat Nov 12 14:58:17 2011.

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US envoy says 'F*** the EU' in leaked recording

Georgi Gotev
07 February 2014

Victoria Nuland, the United States' top diplomat for Europe and Eurasia, apologized yesterday (6 February) after a voice recording of her using crude language about the EU with the US ambassador to Kyiv was published on YouTube.

The intercepted conversation apparently dates from 26 January, when a government reshuffle was being considered in Ukraine following pro-European protests in Kyiv, which had turned violent.

In the conversation, Nuland, who is Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the US Department of State, and Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the US ambassador in Kyiv, discuss possible nominations of opposition leaders to form a new government.

Nuland is heard saying “F*** the EU”, and the US ambassador answers “exactly”.

The authenticity of the recording [which can be heard here on YouTube] cannot be independently verified, but the fact that Nuland has apologized appears to confirm its authenticity. The White House believes “a Russian hand” is behind the leak.

The planned government reshuffle had seen Arseny Yatsenyuk, the leader of the Batkivschchyna party of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, being offered the job of prime minister. Vitaly Klitschko, a former international boxing champion, was offered the job of deputy prime minister.

Nuland said she did not think that Klitschko should be in government. She said that “Yatse”, meaning Yatsenyuk, “is the guy” to be prime minister, while Klitschko, from the outside, should keep the unity of the opposition. Klitscko working under Yatsenyuk is not going to work, she said.

Both diplomats also exchanged concerns over the third opposition leader, Oleh Tyahnybok, who heads the nationalist Svoboda party. The ambassador advised Nuland not to talk with the three leaders, but only to Klitschko.

Then Nuland spoke about Robert Serry, a Dutch diplomat appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as his representative to deal with the crisis in Ukraine.

Nice to have the UN

Nuland said that the arrival of Serry in Kyiv “would be great".

She added: "I think to help glue this thing, and have the UN glue it, and you know — f*** the EU“, she says. “Exactly”, Pyatt replied, adding that the US wants somebody like Serry “to help midwife this”, in what appears to be testimony of difference between US and EU policies on how to influence the political process in Ukraine.

Both Yatsenyuk and Klitschko have turned down the proposals to join the government, which is led by Serhiy Arbuzov, a close associate of the president, Viktor Yanukovich.

EU officials quoted by Reuters said they would not comment on a "leaked alleged" conversation. The audio clip was first posted on Twitter by Dmitry Loskutov, an aide to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, a diplomatic source quoted by Reuters said. According to his account @DLoskutov, this happened at 9.30 a.m. Brussels time on Thursday.

The release of the recording, whatever its source and authenticity, appears designed to discredit the Western powers, portray Ukraine's opposition as Western pawns and to drive a wedge between Brussels and Washington, Reuters added.

The Ukrainian news website Zerkalo nedeli quoted White House spokesperson Jay Carney saying that Russia was involved in the leaked voice recording.

British daily The Guardian quoted State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki that Nuland “has been in contact with her EU counterparts and of course has apologized for these reported comments”.

Psaki said that if the Russians were responsible for listening to, recording and posting a private diplomatic telephone conversation, it would be “a new low in Russian tradecraft”. Pressed on whether the call was authentic, Psaki said: “I didn’t say it was inauthentic.”

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Re: Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says ''F*** the EUEUEUEUEU''

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Feb 9 22:03:58 2014, in response to Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says "F*** the EUEUEUEUEU", posted by Olog-hai on Sun Feb 9 21:56:52 2014.

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Re: Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says ''F*** the EUEUEUEUEU''

Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Mon Feb 10 00:32:18 2014, in response to Re: Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says ''F*** the EUEUEUEUEU'', posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Feb 9 22:03:58 2014.

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Re: Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says ''F*** the EUEUEUEUEU''

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Mon Feb 10 00:40:57 2014, in response to Re: Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says ''F*** the EUEUEUEUEU'', posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Mon Feb 10 00:32:18 2014.

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Re: Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says ''F*** the EUEUEUEUEU''

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Feb 10 01:35:36 2014, in response to Re: Victoria Nuland (from US Department of State) says ''F*** the EUEUEUEUEU'', posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Feb 9 22:03:58 2014.

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