The Divided State of Europe

[nivek]

King vetoes major public events for his 75th birthday: Charles decides there have already been enough recent big royal occasions and wants his own celebrations to be 'minimal' and 'family orientated'​

The monarch, who will turn 75 in November, has decided he doesn't want a big fuss for his birthday after more than a year of big royal events, according to royal insiders. In the last 14 months, the nation has celebrated Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee, mourned her death with a state funeral, celebrated King Charles and Queen Camilla's Coronation, and watched the monarch take part in his first ever Trooping the Colour ceremony (right). Instead of a big public event, insiders have said the King is more likely to focus on carrying out engagements while celebrating privately with his family - and a nice cake as well.

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King Charles III more popular with Americans than Biden or Trump, poll finds​

King Charles III of England is proving more popular with the U.S. public than the two most prominent candidates for president.

A poll from Gallup released Wednesday shows the British monarch is more popular with the American public than both President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Respondents gave identical ratings for Biden and Trump, both polling at about 41% favorable. Biden suffered a slightly higher unfavorability rating, receiving 57% to Trump's 55%.

King Charles scored better numbers than Trump and Biden on both accounts with a favorability score of 46% and an unfavorability score of 37%.

However, scoring even higher than King Charles — and highest out of all individuals in the survey — was his son, Prince William. Prince William scored a 49% favorability rating and a mere 22% unfavorability rating.

(More on the link)

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Although often mocked in America, this is an advantage of the system of constitutional monarchy. The position of head of state is divorced from that of chief executive, thus he is non-partisan. In America, you have a political system of elective monarchy.

 

[nivek]

The fire was at a scale that has never been seen before in the Canary Islands, officials said. Wildfires are also raging on the Spanish island of Tenerife where nearly 30,000 people have been evacuated.



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[nivek]

Privileged snowflake...

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Prince Harry appears to take another jab at Royal family saying he didn't have a support network after return from Afghanistan and he 'curled up on floor in foetal position' in new Netflix documentary​

Prince Harry has claimed he did not have a support network after return from serving in Afghanistan and his trauma was 'never discussed', in another apparent swipe at the Royal Family as his new Heart Of Invictus series was launched on Netflix today. The Duke of Sussex also said that he was not aware of the trauma he still had from his mother Princess Diana dying in Paris in August 1997 when he was aged just 12. He said that when he returned from war in 2009, the 'biggest struggle for me was no one around me really could help', adding: 'I didn't have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify what was actually going on with me.' Harry also told the show: 'Unfortunately like most of us the first time you consider therapy is when you are lying on the floor in the foetal position probably wishing you had dealt with some of this stuff previously. And that's what I really want to change.'

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[nivek]

French fighters shot down Italian passenger jet that mysteriously crashed in 1980 killing 81 people: Attempt to assassinate Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi went disastrously wrong and was covered up, ex-Italian PM reveals​

A former Italian premier today stunned the world after claiming a French air force missile brought down a passenger jet in 1980 killing 81 people in a failed bid to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi.

Former two-time premier Giuliano Amato said the aircraft was attacked by mistake over the Mediterranean Sea and a Libyan military jet was the real target.

Amato appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron to either refute or confirm his assertion about the cause of the crash of Itavia flight 870 on June 27, 1980.

In an interview with Rome daily La Repubblica, Mr Amato said he is convinced that France hit the plane while targeting a Libyan jet it thought had Gaddafi onboard.

And Amato also contended that Italy tipped off Gaddafi, and so the Libyan, who was heading back to Tripoli from a meeting in Yugoslavia, did not board the military jet.

What caused the crash is one of modern Italy's most enduring mysteries.

Some say a bomb exploded aboard the Itavia jetliner on a flight from Bologna to Sicily, while others say examination of the wreckage, pulled up from the seafloor years later, indicate it was hit by a missile.

Radar traces indicated a flurry of aircraft activity in that part of the skies when the plane went down.

Mr Amato was quoted as saying: 'The most credible version is that of responsibility of the French air force, in complicity with the Americans and who participated in a war in the skies that evening of June 27.'

Nato planned to 'simulate an exercise, with many planes in action, during which a missile was supposed to be fired' with Gaddafi as the target, Mr Amato said.

In the aftermath of the crash, French, US and Nato officials denied any military activity in the skies that night.

According to Mr Amato, a missile was allegedly fired by a French fighter jet that had taken off from an aircraft carrier, possibly off Corsica's southern coast.

Mr Macron, 45, was a toddler when the passenger jet went down in the sea near the tiny Italian island of Ustica.

(More on the link)

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[nivek]

LOL Activists glue themselves to the wrong tank.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNrMmh0Yf-U


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[nivek]

'We recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us': King Charles's moving tribute to the Queen as he marks the anniversary of her death at Balmoral and releases long-lost portrait of his beloved mama​

The King has paid a moving tribute to his adored mother as the nation marks the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death. In an unprecedented break with tradition, signifying how touched he has been by the country's grief at her passing but also pride in a remarkable life of public duty, His Majesty recalled his mother's 'long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us'. Initially Charles, 74, had planned only to mark his mother's death - and his own grief-tinged accession - in 'quiet contemplation' at home in Scotland. In doing so he would follow the same pattern that Queen Elizabeth chose to adopt for 70 years, marking her father King George VI's death, at Sandringham in Norfolk, away from public gaze.



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[nivek]

When the Queen died, republicans gleefully predicted the monarchy's demise. But the opposite is true - Charles's first year as King has reinforced Royalty's granite sense of permanence​

Amid all the usual froth and fury, Twitter did manage to throw up one decent observation during that historic week this time last year. 'There's a pint of milk in my fridge,' ran a much-repeated meme. 'It has seen two monarchs and two prime ministers - and it's still going strong.' This not only had the merit of being true, given the appointment of Liz Truss as PM on September 6 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8. It also seemed a thoroughly British response to what might become a very grave crisis. For in most of the world, the idea of a country losing both a head of state and a head of government in the space of three days would be a recipe for serious civil disorder, if not civil war.

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[nivek]

Belgian boy beaten to tears, forced to kiss feet of suspected migrants in video, sparking outcry​

A boy was humiliated and beaten to tears by a "bullying gang" of youngsters – suspected of migrant origin – in Zelzate, a Flemish region in Belgium, according to a video that went viral on social media last week.

According to a video that circulated online, six young people surround a boy. The gang forces him to get on his knees and kiss their feet.

"Kiss, kiss," the gang demands. After the boy complies with their requests by force, he is punched in his head and face several times. The gang laughs and leaves.

The identities of the gang members involved in the criminal assault, which reportedly occurred on Aug. 11, were not immediately revealed by police.

The president of Vlaams Belang, the Flemish far-right populist party, called the video "disgusting." Some in the party suspected the gang were of migrant origin.

"A White Flemish child has to kiss the feet of Muslims," Filip Dewinter said, calling it the "humiliation of the non-Muslims."

Another video – which was recorded in proximity to the assault on the boy – shows people pulling a girl's hair and smacking her in the face while she is on the ground. A relative of the girl reportedly said she is afraid to leave the house after the incident.

(More on the link)

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[nivek]

Americans rank United Kingdom as the best country in the world, poll reveals - with New Zealand second...and the US in third​

Americans rank the United Kingdom as the best country in the world, a poll has revealed.

The U.S. News & World Report survey - which aggregates data from worldwide respondents in a range of categories - found its American readers rated the UK as better than anywhere else on the planet.

It represented a climb of eight places on the ranking, beating out New Zealand in second place and the US itself in third.

When data from all respondents globally was collected, Switzerland came out on top, with the UK in ninth.

The ranking was produced by identifying a set of 73 country 'attributes' - terms that can be used to describe a country and that are also relevant to the success of a modern nation.

Various attributes and nations were then presented in a survey of more than 17,000 people from across the globe from March 17 to June 12, as participants assessed whether they associated an attribute with a nation.

(More on the link)

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[nivek]

Countries that offered aid for the Moroccan people but the state declined. France and Germany had somewhat of a diplomatic crisis with Morocco recently, due to the status of the Western Sahara. Italy, Poland: racism, Turkey? But they accepted help from Spain.



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[nivek]

Uncontrolled migration is putting the future of Europe at stake, Italy warns as the number of people arriving illegally returns to crisis levels of 2015​

Italy's hard-Right prime minister has claimed that Europe's future is at stake unless the EU can stop the surge of uncontrolled migration across the Mediterranean.

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the populist Brothers of Italy party, made the declaration alongside the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where thousands of irregular migrants have landed on their journeys to Europe.

'The future that Europe wants for itself is at stake here,' Meloni, 46, declared at a press conference on the island.

'The future of Europe depends on its ability to tackle epoch-making challenges of our time and the challenge of illegal immigration is for sure one of them.'

She said that Italy could not shoulder the full weight of responsibility for fighting irregular migration: 'We all stake our future on this issue. At the very least we need an EU naval mission against smugglers.'

(More on the link)

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[nivek]

Biohazard tents erected in Dover as alert issued after arrival of migrants from France​

The Home Office has confirmed that a biohazard response at Dover harbour on Friday afternoon followed reports of some migrants arriving from France and "being unwell". GB News filmed as authorities wore specialist biohazard coveralls at the main migrant processing facility.

A number of blue biohazard tents were also erected near the main gangway where Border Force vessels disembark those migrants they pick up in the Channel.
GB News Kent producer reported that around a dozen personnel wore white coveralls and face masks as they unloaded dozens of people from the Border Force catamarans Ranger and Volunteer.

Some of the arrivals were led into the blue biohazard tents.

At least four people were also pushed off the Border Force vessels in wheelchairs.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Precautionary measures, such as staff wearing protective clothing and enhanced cleaning were taken, in line with UK Health and Safety Agency guidance, following reports of some small boat arrivals being unwell."

The spokesperson added: "This is a routine response with prearranged protocols which are designed in cooperation with the UKHSA."

There have been regular health concerns and confirmed health-related incidents in recent months, relating to those arriving across the English Channel on small boats. Those migrants spend weeks, sometimes months sleeping rough in makeshift campsites around Calais and Dunkirk, where outbreaks of disease are commonplace.

In recent weeks, authorities dealt with outbreaks of scabies and a confirmed case of tuberculosis at the migrant accommodation centre at Wethersfield in Essex. Those outbreaks at the former RAF base have now been dealt with and the site has given the all-clear.

GB News can confirm that around 300 migrants arrived in Dover harbour on Friday, after being picked up on 6 small boats in the Channel. It takes the total who have arrived across the Channel so far this year to more than 23,800.

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[nivek]

Italy's call for naval blockade may be only way to stem Europe's migrant crisis, expert says as Italian PM Meloni warned criminal networks are exploiting the migrants during her UN speech​

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discusses Italy’s relations with China and the conservative movement’s growing influence in Europe.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on the European Union to create a naval blockade in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at blocking the flow of migrants, arguing the "future of Europe" is at stake.

"What is at stake is the future of Europe because the future of Europe depends on its capacity to deal with the huge challenges of our time," Meloni told reporters over the weekend, according to a report from The Telegraph.

The prime minister's comments come after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's weekend visit to Lampedusa, a small Italian island that has become one of the hot spots of Europe's migrant crisis. More than 10,000 migrants arrived at the island just north of Africa last week, according to the report, far surpassing the permanent population of 6,000.

Meloni argued the only "serious" way for Europe to get a grip on the crisis was for a blockade, stopping the migrants from being able to depart North African countries on boats bound for Europe.

(More on the link)

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[AD1184]

Italy's call for naval blockade may be only way to stem Europe's migrant crisis, expert says as Italian PM Meloni warned criminal networks are exploiting the migrants during her UN speech​

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discusses Italy’s relations with China and the conservative movement’s growing influence in Europe.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on the European Union to create a naval blockade in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at blocking the flow of migrants, arguing the "future of Europe" is at stake.

"What is at stake is the future of Europe because the future of Europe depends on its capacity to deal with the huge challenges of our time," Meloni told reporters over the weekend, according to a report from The Telegraph.

The prime minister's comments come after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's weekend visit to Lampedusa, a small Italian island that has become one of the hot spots of Europe's migrant crisis. More than 10,000 migrants arrived at the island just north of Africa last week, according to the report, far surpassing the permanent population of 6,000.

Meloni argued the only "serious" way for Europe to get a grip on the crisis was for a blockade, stopping the migrants from being able to depart North African countries on boats bound for Europe.

(More on the link)

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A naval blockade won't do much, as European naval vessels, when they interdict a boat full of migrants heading across the sea, typically escort it to the nearest safe European port (unless we are talking about the French, who escort it towards British waters). A blockade is only effective with the implied threat of the use of force, which is not going to be the case. Instead, naval vessels are merely beacons of safety for migrants crossing the sea. We used to think that sea borders were good protection, but a sea border provides no defence on its own.

After the joint US-European conquest of Libya in 2011, which I was heavily opposed to at the time, Europe could not even exploit the situation to create a landing area in Libya to take back all migrants caught crossing the Mediterranean, but instead created arrangements to bring them all into Europe, which was a catastrophic mistake of existential proportions.

Unless, and until, every migrant attempting to cross the Mediterranean is taken back to the African coast as a matter of course, this crisis is only going to worsen. This situation is the joint legacy of David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Barack Obama, and it served to compound the problems created by the stupid Iraq and Afghanistan wars that were the legacy of Bush and Blair.

 

[nivek]

A naval blockade won't do much, as European naval vessels, when they interdict a boat full of migrants heading across the sea, typically escort it to the nearest safe European port (unless we are talking about the French, who escort it towards British waters). A blockade is only effective with the implied threat of the use of force, which is not going to be the case. Instead, naval vessels are merely beacons of safety for migrants crossing the sea. We used to think that sea borders were good protection, but a sea border provides no defence on its own.

Both Europe and to a lesser degree the US are dealing with this continual flood of illegal immigrants, the US government ( Biden administration ) has certainly allowed this problem to escalate to levels out of control...The media reports that trickle down to us are barely scratching the surface to the depth of the problem, yes this is an existential problem without any doubt...

After the joint US-European conquest of Libya in 2011, which I was heavily opposed to at the time, Europe could not even exploit the situation to create a landing area in Libya to take back all migrants caught crossing the Mediterranean, but instead created arrangements to bring them all into Europe, which was a catastrophic mistake of existential proportions.

I was also heavily opposed to the conquest of Libya, and the death of Muammar Gaddafi was tragic in my opinion, I doubt Libya will ever recover from those events...

Unless, and until, every migrant attempting to cross the Mediterranean is taken back to the African coast as a matter of course, this crisis is only going to worsen. This situation is the joint legacy of David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Barack Obama, and it served to compound the problems created by the stupid Iraq and Afghanistan wars that were the legacy of Bush and Blair.

Nicolas Sarkozy certainly had his own personal reasons for wanting Muammar Gaddafi out of the picture, using Libyan money to fund his own political campaign in France...

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[nivek]

View: https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1705947917947744561


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[nivek]

Germany's 'bleak' economy is now 'treading water' with key business confidence barometer sliding for the fifth time in a row - days after country's production fell for third straight month​

German's 'bleak' economy is now 'treading water' after business morale deteriorated for a fifth month in a row, amid mounting fears of double-dip recession.

While business sentiment fell less than expected in September, a key survey on Monday showed it was a fifth consecutive decline, days after the country's production was revealed to have fallen for a third straight month.

It comes as Europe's biggest economy struggles to recover from a recession.

The Ifo institute's closely watched confidence barometer, based on a survey of 9,000 companies, ticked down to 85.7 points from 85.8 the previous month.

Analysts surveyed by financial data company FactSet had expected a sharper fall, at 85 points, a small positive for the 'sick man of Europe'.

(More on the link)

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[nivek]

View: https://twitter.com/timacheson/status/1706329377275891715


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[nivek]

View: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1707758153977204846


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