Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
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by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Oct 1st, 2021 at 05:27:55 PM EST
Up to 3,200 pedophiles worked in French Catholic Church since 1950, independent commission says
(CNN) Between 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile clergymen have worked in the French Catholic Church since the 1950s, the president of an independent commission on sexual abuse told CNN Sunday.

"We had to cross historical, sociological, medical and psychiatric perspectives. We had to call upon skills in the area of child protection, social work, questions of abuse and also bring to bear skills in the area of theology and law," said Jean-Marc Sauvé, ahead of the release of the commission's final report on Tuesday.

Read in Le Monde earlier today:

  • Jean-Marc Sauvé called the 2900-3200 range "a minimal estimate"
  • About 115,00 priests, in total, were exercising during the 70 years between 1950 to date
by Bernard (bernard) on Mon Oct 4th, 2021 at 06:52:17 PM EST
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ECHR: Vatican can't be sued in European courts by sex abuse victims
The plaintiffs are seeking to hold Belgian and Vatican church leaders accountable for the "structurally deficient manner in which the Church had dealt with the problem of sexual abuse within its ranks," the court said in a news release (EN). The judgment was available only in French.  
[...]
However, the European Court of Human Rights said the Belgian courts had not erred in shooting down their claims against the Vatican because the Belgian courts "had not departed from the generally recognized principles of international law in matters of State immunity."
[...]
The dissenting opinion by Judge Darian Pavli buttresses the plaintiffs' chances of getting a grand chamber hearing. Pavli faulted the Belgian courts for not adequately examining the plaintiffs' claims that the Holy See may have been responsible for ordering Belgian bishops to cover up rape and molestation by clergy.
by Cat on Tue Oct 12th, 2021 at 05:57:17 PM EST
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Politico.eu |  5 takeaways from Italy's local elections
National government intact
[...]
Democrat success
[...]
Right suffer, but not that much
[...]
From 5Stars to zero stars
[...]
Meloni on the rise
Politico.com |  5 takeaways from Italy's local elections
ditto
by Cat on Tue Oct 5th, 2021 at 12:31:23 AM EST
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Politico.eu.com | Call to ban neo-fascist groups after violent protests in Rome
On Saturday, demonstrators trashed a union building and attacked a hospital emergency room as part of a day of violence that has been likened to the Capitol Hill riot in Washington in January. The protest left 38 police officers injured, with 12 protesters arrested including the leaders of a neo-fascist group called Forza Nuova (New Power).
[...]
The Democratic Party on Monday filed a motion in parliament calling for the government to dissolve neo-fascist groups, saying it is time to "end ambiguity about fascism" in Italy. ... The 5Star Movement, which is allied with the Democrats and is the largest party in parliament, also backed the motion.
by Cat on Tue Oct 12th, 2021 at 02:38:38 AM EST
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Mytilineos lands major RES project in Italy
The RSD Business Unit is strategically positioned in the Italian market with a 1.7-gigawatt solar energy storage and green hydrogen pipeline. The projects are at different stages of development and located in 15 regions.
by Cat on Tue Oct 5th, 2021 at 01:09:56 AM EST
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Latest Corona-related news in brief:
NATIONAL EMPLOYERS ORGANIZATION NHO wants state officials to clarify whether employers can legally demand that any sick employees test themselves for the Corona virus. As many return to the workplace after 18 months in home offices, it's unclear who's responsible for testing and covering the costs of sick pay.
by Cat on Tue Oct 5th, 2021 at 01:25:09 AM EST
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EU finance ministers strike three countries off tax haven ["]blacklist["], ignoring Parliament's calls
EU finance ministers met on Tuesday (5 October) and approved the removal of Anguilla, Dominica, and Seychelles from the list.
archived a RAFT of documents 2017, Lagarde list 2012
by Cat on Tue Oct 5th, 2021 at 05:51:23 PM EST
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The Netherlands too has a shortage of 10,000 truck drivers: NOS
Many truckers who work for Dutch firms come from eastern Europe, but are often denied salaries in line with their Dutch colleagues, according to trade union federation FNV. Some companies use complicated cross-border constructions to get round the Dutch pay scales. In July, for example, a Dutch transport company was ordered to give 10 Hungarian lorry drivers back pay which could run into hundreds of thousands of euros for failing to pay them a salary in line with Dutch requirements.
[...]
n the UK, where the shortage is much more serious, just 27 people have applied so far for one of 300 visas set aside for lorry drivers to deliver fuel to petrol stations, the Times reported on Tuesday.
by Cat on Tue Oct 5th, 2021 at 07:11:27 PM EST
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by Cat on Tue Oct 5th, 2021 at 07:15:10 PM EST
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formerly-known-as the DW 30-minute documentary Nigeria's Black Ax (secret society | fraternity | "mafia") global network of (slavery | human trafficking | prostitution | racketeering) managed by ( migrant "madames", colloq. US-Eng. bottom bitches) operating in Germany
by Cat on Wed Oct 6th, 2021 at 03:26:26 PM EST
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German election chaos in Berlin -- what happens now?
The problem stemmed from the fact that more people were eligible to vote in the local district elections than in the other elections: not just German citizens over the age of 18, but also EU citizens over the age of 16. And yet, mail-in ballots for all three elections had to be put in a single envelope.

This meant it was possible for those over the age of 18 to apply for a mail-in ballot, but then pass on their ballot papers to EU citizens over the age of 16 who had also applied for mail-in ballots and could put the papers into their own envelope. Meanwhile, the person over the age of 18 would not vote by mail at all, but would simply go and vote on election day.

by Cat on Tue Oct 12th, 2021 at 02:33:31 AM EST
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Romania's Covid 'fourth wave' surpasses first outbreak, 4 Oct
"With a total record of over 11,000 daily Covid cases, Romania significantly outpaces both the European and world average. ... Plummeting vaccine interest in Romania comes from a long-standing mistrust in authorities, vaccine-scepticism, plus officials' poor approach in dealing with the virus.... "We need to overcome the political gridlock. We need authorities to be able to fight the coronavirus, as well as rising gas and electricity prices", Iulius Marian Firczak MP told EUobserver"
Romanian political parties prepare for a no-confidence vote
"To overthrow the government, 234 votes are needed. The three parties that want to oust the prime minister have more than 280, but their common interests stop there."
Romanian government falls after losing no-confidence vote, poll of polls
The opposition center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) and far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR) were joined in supporting the no-confidence motion by ex-coalition members from the Union to Save Romania (USR, formerly known as USR-PLUS). The government collapse could lead to early elections in Romania, which are triggered when a prime minister and their cabinet are rejected twice in a row by MPs. That could take months, leaving the country in limbo. The PSD has demanded an election as soon as possible.
by Cat on Wed Oct 6th, 2021 at 12:21:57 AM EST
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French senators arrive in Taiwan amid tensions with China
The group, led by senator Alain Richard, will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwanese economic and health officials and the Mainland Affairs Council. Richard, a former French defense minister, previously visited Taiwan in 2015 and 2018, according to Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency, and heads the Taiwan Friendship group in the French Senate.
[...]
The visit is part of normal and regular parliamentary exchanges between France and Taiwan, which were not politicized in the past, said Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia Program at the Institut Montaigne in Paris.
[...]
China [sic; s/b CCP] and Taiwan [sic; s/b KMT] split amid civil war in 1949. Today they have extensive trade and investment ties but no official relations, and China has increasingly mobilized military, diplomatic and economic pressure to undermine Tsai's independence-leaning administration.
Biden says he and China's Xi agree to abide by Taiwan agreement
channeling surrender of the CSA to Teh Union at Apptomatox, VA, which concluded the US war of Northern Aggression, sort of
by Cat on Wed Oct 6th, 2021 at 03:55:13 PM EST
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OK, but maybe they should try to sell the Chinese submarines instead?
by generic on Wed Oct 6th, 2021 at 03:58:14 PM EST
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I'm sorry, Dave. I don't see that presidential PREROGATIVE stipulated in the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

Watch: Biden Seems to Invent 'Taiwan Agreement' With China in Press Comments

by Cat on Thu Oct 7th, 2021 at 02:54:51 AM EST
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"... peace and security of the Western Pacific area ..."

"Stipulates that withdrawal of diplomatic recognition of the Government on Taiwan shall not affect ..."

"... shall make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capacity ..."

"... license for nuclear exports to the people on Taiwan ..."

Thus after the surrender of Saigon and South Vietnam to the Communist People's Republic of Hanoi, the United States national security interest was limited to "western Pacific". Globalization provided the stimulus not to overlook SE Asia and extend the Pacific fleet and command to the Indo-Pacific. So we didn't lose Vietnam after all ... victory was a matter of a few decades. The CCP of China be forewarned. 😂 🇨🇳

Although the great efforts by Kissinger and Nixon, the United States was no match for Communist China of Chairman Mao Zedong ...

Four days after receiving the invitation the 15-member team crossed into mainland China from Hong Kong. The team members were photographed in front of the Great Wall, made it on the cover of Time, but were thoroughly demolished in every game they played.

A smart US President would invite a Chinese baseball team to thaw hostile relations and beat the crap out of them in seven innings.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Thu Oct 7th, 2021 at 08:34:51 AM EST
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US still fighting WW2
by asdf on Thu Oct 7th, 2021 at 02:22:21 PM EST
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oh. Wait. I get it.
France can unload those trojan horses on China for the right price!
by Cat on Thu Oct 7th, 2021 at 03:19:54 AM EST
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Appomattox
Andrew Johnson, Ex rel Garland (not that one, the other one), etc. and international NORMZ, notwithstanding Old World "proxy war" in the New World
by Cat on Wed Oct 6th, 2021 at 04:13:34 PM EST
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Opposition wins surprise majority
"Together, a liberal-conservative three-party coalition won 27.7% of the vote, while Pirates and Mayors, another opposition group, got 15.5%."
CNN Newsource | Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's populist party loses grip
"With 98.84% of votes counted, the center-right alliance Spolu (Together) leads the count with 27.58% of the ballots, followed by Babiš's ANO party with 27.32%, and the centrist PirStan coalition with 14.45%."
by Cat on Sat Oct 9th, 2021 at 06:08:44 PM EST
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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announces resignation
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Saturday announced that he would step down amid allegations of financial impropriety against his office.

Kurz said he would move to parliament as leader of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg will replace him as chancellor, he said.

"My country is more important to me than myself," Kurz said in a televised statement.

"What we need now are stable conditions,'' he told reporters in Vienna. "So, in order to resolve the stalemate, I want to make way to prevent chaos and ensure stability."

by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Oct 9th, 2021 at 06:50:46 PM EST
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Though the Bundeskanzler doesn't really have any buttons to press and the party leader is involved in every decision. We'll have to see if the Greens will swallow that, though it seems unlikely that elections will change anything fundamentally.
by generic on Sat Oct 9th, 2021 at 07:04:16 PM EST
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What about the Greens? Will they keep going as junior partner in a coalition with ÖVP?
by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Oct 10th, 2021 at 10:15:44 AM EST
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Seems like they will, as of one hour ago. Though things are still fluid.

by generic on Sun Oct 10th, 2021 at 10:36:19 AM EST
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Wait, how is it the 10th already? Anyway, as of yesterday.
by generic on Sun Oct 10th, 2021 at 11:01:24 AM EST
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Der Postillon claims that Laschet is immigrating to Austria to take the job
Vor seiner Einreise in die Alpenrepublik soll der Politiker bereits telefonisch beim österreichischen CDU-Äquivalent ÖVP vorstellig geworden sein. "Die waren begeistert, als ich mich als junge, charismatische Führungspersönlichkeit mit Regierungserfahrung vorgestellt habe, die lediglich mittelkorrupt ist. Offenbar hat es mein baldiger Vorgänger da ein wenig übertrieben", so Laschet.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sat Oct 9th, 2021 at 09:19:09 PM EST
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by Cat on Sat Oct 9th, 2021 at 07:14:09 PM EST
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Finland lobbied EU to declare nuclear power sustainable after unpublished cabinet decision supported by Greens
"If nuclear power gets the so-called 'green label', financing for nuclear projects will be easier to come by and the terms of any loans will be softer than for other energy projects. ... Finland's decision was reached at a meeting of ministers on 9 July, but not announced publicly."
US President nominates new Finland ambassador
"The Associated Press reports that [Douglas T.] Hickey is a prominent Democratic fundraiser and telecom executive."
Coronavirus latest: 1,618 new cases over the weekend; Child poverty grows; PM denies restrictions lifted too early, illustrated
"The government's telecommuting recommendations are scheduled to end in the middle of October, but employee opinions are divided on whether returning to the workplace is a good idea."
by Cat on Tue Oct 12th, 2021 at 02:58:44 AM EST
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European gas price surge prompts switch to coal
Why is that?
You have reached your article limit.
by Cat on Wed Oct 13th, 2021 at 12:54:58 AM EST
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They haven't even finished voting, but the result is clear.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Mon Oct 18th, 2021 at 07:21:20 AM EST
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I was right. The centre-left won almost everywhere. In the specific case of Cosenza the count so far is Francesco Caruso (centre-left) at 57.9% while Francesco Caruso (right - no pretense of "centre" here) got 42.1%
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Mon Oct 18th, 2021 at 02:11:44 PM EST
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Now it's reached a "peer reviewed" publication, the European Journal of Epidemiology. (For anyone like me who is not in "the biz", there is hardly anything about this on wikipedia, just boilerplate/PR.)

"Increases in COVID-19 are unrelated to levels of vaccination across 68 countries and 2947 counties in the United States"
"At the country-level, there appears to be no discernable relationship between percentage of population fully vaccinated and new COVID-19 cases in the last 7 days (Fig. 1). In fact, the trend line suggests a marginally positive association such that countries with higher percentage of population fully vaccinated have higher COVID-19 cases per 1 million people."

Full article:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10654-021-00808-7

by Number 6 on Tue Oct 26th, 2021 at 10:46:44 AM EST
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Court slaps $1.2M daily fine on Poland in rule-of-law fight
the [ECJ] said in a news release that the daily fine was necessary "to avoid serious and irreparable harm to the legal order of the European Union and to the values on which that Union is founded, in particular that of the rule of law." The court said it would issue a full ruling at a later date.
archived practice, practice, practice
by Cat on Wed Oct 27th, 2021 at 10:30:04 PM EST
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[EC] investigates ["US-based"] Nvidia's purchase of ["UK-based"] chip designer Arm
"Our investigation aims to ensure that companies active in Europe continue having effective access to the technology that is necessary to produce state-of-the-art semiconductor products at competitive prices," said EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who's in charge of competition and digital issues for the bloc. [...] The commission has until March 15 to decide whether to clear the deal. The EU concerns echo those cited by the U.K's competition watchdog, which opened its own investigation earlier this year.
European Commission to launch Chips Act in bid for strategic autonomy
by Cat on Thu Oct 28th, 2021 at 12:20:33 AM EST
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by Cat on Mon Nov 1st, 2021 at 05:47:20 AM EST
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by Cat on Mon Nov 1st, 2021 at 06:06:37 AM EST
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