Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

What's Next, After the Slam?

by Frank Schnittger Wed Mar 22nd, 2023 at 09:57:47 AM EST

As the immediate emotions die down and the dust settles on Ireland's great  Six Nations Grand Slam, it becomes possible - nay essential - too take a more nuanced and balanced  view of what transpired, and more importantly, on what must come next.

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Settler Extremism Blessed by Jerusalem Leaders

by Oui Sun Mar 19th, 2023 at 05:55:32 PM EST

Decades of ugly scenes of settler attacks on Palestinian homes, olive groves and just simply brutality because it can with impunity ... call it "price tag" and the settler terrorists will be protected.

In aftermath of ugly pogrom by illegal settlers on West Bank Palestinian territory ...

Israel's Fascists Call for Genocide on Palestinians |i Mar 3rd, 2023 |

Read more... (8 comments, 3539 words in story)

US Interference In Lebanon-Syria-Iraq

by Oui Fri Mar 17th, 2023 at 09:47:44 AM EST

Added chapters on #Syria and #Iraq in lead-up to NWO and war in Ukraine …

Work in progress ...

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City Agriculture - March 17, 2023

by gmoke Fri Mar 17th, 2023 at 03:05:27 AM EST

Chinese natural restoration project

http://inhabitat.com/a-restoration-project-in-china-uses-a-sponge-system/

Urban Permaculture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qXgbrIYcFE

Floating farm in Rotterdam
http://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/20/say-hello-to-the-floating-farm-in-rotterdam/

Editorial Comment:  Previous mentions of Rotterdam in City Agriculture
World's first floating dairy farm in Rotterdam, Netherlands
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-45130010
http://cityag.blogspot.com/2018/08/city-agriculture-august-30-2018.html

Floating Park in Rotterdam made from recycled plastic
http://www.recycledpark.com/
http://www.recycledisland.com/about.html
https:/cityag.blogspot.com/2018/08/city-agriculture-august-30-2018.html
Editorial Comment:  The Floating Park seems to have vanished but the group behind it is still removing plastic from waterways.
Editorial Comment:  Aztecs and other South American peoples built floating gardens for hundreds of years.  They called them chinampas

A rooftop forest for Rotterdam
http://www.mvrdv.nl/news/2603/with-construction-almost-complete-depot-boijmans-van-beuningen-prepare s-for-preview-opening-in-september
http://www.mvrdv.nl/news/2652/depot-boijmans-van-beuningen-rooftop-forest-awarded-rooftop-award-2020
http://inhabitat.com/an-award-winning-forest-tops-the-worlds-first-publicly-accessible-art-depot/
http://cityag.blogspot.com/2021/01/city-agriculture-january-20-2021-happy.html

Rotterdam's roofscape - greening 10 million square feet of rooftops
http://www.c40.org/case-studies/cities100-rotterdam-mitigation-meets-adaptation-on-rotterdam-s-rooft ops

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f082078d610926644d22e00/t/621e3b2a1ee23c373149cac0/1646148404 157/URBANISTEN_Rotterdam_Rooftop_Potential_EN.pdf
http://www.fastcompany.com/90755913/inside-rotterdams-quest-to-green-10-million-square-feet-of-rooft ops
http://cityag.blogspot.com/2022/07/city-agriculture-july-31-2022.html

Dallas TX plans for urban farms
http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/urban-farms-in-dallas-will-be-vital-to-a-healthier-population-cit y-officials-say-15696187
Dallas Climate Action Plan on food access
http://www.dallasclimateaction.com/foodaccess

How container farms can help with climate change
http://energynerdshow.com/episodes/mit-lab-explores-how-container-farms-can-help-with-climate-change
hat tip Bruce Biewald

Kroger partners with Gotham Greens to supply more than 1000 stores
http://www.agritecture.com/blog/2023/2/9/kroger-expanding-gotham-greens-to-more-than-1000-stores

Japan's agricultural decarbonization plan
http://sponsored.bloomberg.com/article/jco/japan-where-food-security-meets-innovation
Editorial Comment:  government press release

Shock Election Loss Rutte IV In Senate Race

by Oui Thu Mar 16th, 2023 at 08:40:52 AM EST

Rutte Falls As Years Were Wasted Preliminary analysis …

Just as Red Wall Labour in the UK was punished, so 13 years of Rutte governance in The Hague responsible for multiple cans of headache dossiers kicking down the road. Rural Netherlands punished the arrogance of rich Randstad of economic wealth, especially Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.

Wopke Hoekstra and party chairman Marnix van Rij, did not represent the roots of the CDA electorate ... Hoekstra set on the lap of Mark Rutte and partied for business profits and hurting the ordinary, hard-working people. The support votes for Pieter Omtzigt was an indicator of the problems within the Christian Democrats. He was on the list in 2021 and received 342,000 votes, the equivalent of 5 seats in parliament. At the request of Mark Rutte, he should be offered a position outside of parliament because of his effort in transparency of the childcare benefits scandal due to discriminatory tax policy and AI algorithm accusation of fraud in households.

Read more... (16 comments, 1348 words in story)

Stalemate Endures, Pessimism Grows, Deaths Mount

by Oui Wed Mar 15th, 2023 at 04:27:00 PM EST

Covered by b @MoA

Finally some truth about the real state of the Ukrainian military is sneaking into main stream media. It is as bad, still not fully disclosed, as we have described it again and again.

The opening paragraph:

    The quality of Ukraine's military force, once considered a substantial advantage over Russia, has been degraded by a year of casualties that have taken many of the most experienced fighters off the battlefield, leading some Ukrainian officials to question Kyiv's readiness to mount a much-anticipated spring offensive.

That spring offensive is as likely to happen as the announced relief campaign to unblock Bakhmut. The later is bogged down in mud which will only become worse over the next few weeks.

Ukraine - Media Start To Acknowledge Reality

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Honduras Establishes Close Ties with China

by Oui Wed Mar 15th, 2023 at 10:51:45 AM EST

Burning candles late at night in the Oval Office ... blatant violation of the spirit of the Monroe doctrine.

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A Grand Slam for Ireland?

by Frank Schnittger Tue Mar 14th, 2023 at 03:39:57 PM EST


A Grand Slam in the 5 or 6 Nations rugby Championship has only been won 41 times in the 97 years it has been contested with England (13), Wales (12), France (10) leading the way and with Scotland and Ireland on 3 apiece some way behind. Ireland won it in 1948 (Ravenhill), 2009 (Cardiff) and 2018 (Twickenham) and it is an honour previously achieved only by some vintage Irish teams led by legendary players such Jackie Kyle, Brian O'Driscoll, and Rory Best.  Were Ireland to win it on Saturday it would be our first time ever to win it in Lansdowne Road.

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Living In Spain and Social-Democracy

by Oui Mon Mar 13th, 2023 at 11:33:57 AM EST

Why Trickle-Down Economics Works in Theory But Not in Fact

Once you accept that excessive inequality is a bad thing you're arguing about the details of how you deal with that. The current argument almost everywhere is whether people having to depend on the charity of food banks is a good thing or not.
[Source: Colman - "Pitchforks"]

La rosa se marchita: el declive de la socialdemocracia europea

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USA Censorship Act to Kill Disinformation

by Oui Mon Mar 13th, 2023 at 11:12:36 AM EST

We told you so, America is under attack from hybrid warfare, hacking and digital surveillance.

'Spineless, Corrupt, Amoral F**kwits': Matt Taibbi Rips Mainstream Media Ignoring FTC's Demand For Twitter to Out Journos

The Censorship-Industrial-Complex Must Be Broken  

On Thursday, two of those journalists testified before the subcommittee about what they found. To summarize very briefly the testimony of Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger, they found that the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies were having regular meetings with Twitter and other tech platforms to impose various degrees of control over the content, as well as the accounts, permitted on social media.

They also found that U.S. taxpayers have been funding a long list of non-governmental and academic organizations that monitored social media content and sent the tech companies bulk requests for takedowns and account bans.

And they found that this censorship, funded and coordinated by the U.S. government, sought the removal not only of false information, but also of true facts that were considered unhelpful, including truthful reports of COVID-19 vaccine injuries. You can read their report on what they are calling the "Censorship-Industrial Complex" on Twitter, or find their work on Substack.com.

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Flying Fortresses and Nuclear Threat

by Oui Sun Mar 12th, 2023 at 05:47:46 PM EST

Translation:
Polish fighter jets once again escorted an American B-52 bomber. This is an important part of the interoperability exercise. Together, we care for the security of NATO's eastern flank.

Boeing B52H Stratofortress over Baltic Sea 2019

Translation:
16:25 Moscow time
Strategic bomber #Boeing B-52H #Stratofortress of the US Air Force 🇺🇸, tail number 61-0009, training exercise of the bombing of the base of the Baltic fleet. #USAF #B52

[Information corrected from 61-0009 to 60-0058]

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Universal Criticism Asylum Threshold EU Fortress

by Oui Sat Mar 11th, 2023 at 01:46:00 PM EST

He who is w/o fault, throws the first stone ...

UN refugee agency `profoundly concerned' by UK's illegal migration bill saying it amounts to an asylum ban - as it happened | The Guardian |

Colonialism could foster on racist undertones and has infested culture across Europe. Both England and The Netherlands are rooted on white supremacy and with the rise of rightwing populism in politics has raised its ugly head.

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China Trade and Relations

by Oui Fri Mar 10th, 2023 at 07:10:06 PM EST

Inevitable after defeat in Afghanistan Istanbul, pull-back leaving behind a terror state in Central Asia. Women’s rights, Human Rights … broken promises.

China Mediates Between Iran and Saudi Arabia

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani, Saudi Arabia’s national security adviser Musaid Al Aiban, and the director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party Wang Yi attend a ceremony in Beijing on March 10, 2023 to sign a joint statement on restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

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SBU As a Terror Network

by Oui Fri Mar 10th, 2023 at 02:01:17 PM EST

Accusation of sabotage Nord Stream 1 & 2 gas pipelines under Baltic Sea bed ...

Ian Bremmer his $0.02 worth ... 🤣

Do not expect a non-Western opinion from Ian ... 🔥 Atlanticism  #wearenato

Build on the experience of KGB in Soviet era Ukraine ...

Got to admit, the SBU just gets more evil every day. Turns out they had a terrorist network operating here in Tiraspol that was just dismantled by the MGB (PMR's state security service).

The ringleader was born in Tiraspol but moved to Odessa 12 years ago - seems to be a rather low-life thug with numerous criminal arrests, stuff like stealing cars and selling drugs.

The other two members of the network were Ukrainians posing as refugees in PMR.
Turns out that these people have been installing trackers in gov't officials cars for SIX MONTHS.

The two "refugees" then imported an expensive Land Rover and packed the driver's side door with 8kg of plastic explosives plus ball bearings, screws, etc. The plan was to detonate the car near a gov't building and use the shrapnel to maximize casualties.

Utterly reprehensible. I have to admit PMR President Krasnoselsky for doing the responsible thing and calling on people NOT to take revenge against (innocent) Ukrainians or let this thing turn into an outburst of ethnic violence.

Posted by: Sam (in Tiraspol) | Mar 10 2023 7:49 utc | 234

Read more... (15 comments, 1427 words in story)

A Return to Normalcy?

by Frank Schnittger Thu Mar 9th, 2023 at 04:09:52 PM EST

- An Irish perspective cross-posted with Slugger O'Toole

On the assumption that UK Ireland, EU, and US relations are once again beginning to resemble what used to be regarded as normality, how can we expect those relations to evolve in the future? The Brexit fever in England seems to have broken and a more pragmatic and competent PM appears to be in charge.

Of course, some nods to Brexit orthodoxy may still be required to keep the Brexit ultra wing of the Tory party on board, chiefly in the form of clampdowns on illegal immigration, and tax cuts for the wealthy "to promote growth". Great play will be made of some EU era regulations being canned and new opportunities in the Pacific rim being pursued. But beyond all the spin, what really has changed or is likely to change in the near future, and particularly in relation to Ireland?

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Georgia and Foreign Agents or Spy Law

by Oui Thu Mar 9th, 2023 at 12:35:21 PM EST

GD Political Council, People's Power and Parliamentary Majority's Issue a Joint Statement on Withdrawal of the Draft Law on Agents | 9 March 2023 |

Georgian Dream's Political Council, People's Power and the Parliamentary majority issued a joint statement saying that as a result of the internal consultations a decision has been taken to withdraw the draft foreign agents' laws from the Parliament.

Continued below the fold ...

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Nord Stream Blasts Timeline of Denial

by Oui Wed Mar 8th, 2023 at 01:28:34 PM EST

... and obfuscation and a poor cover for US author of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Most all NATO countries now seem to agree there is no evidence Russia was the perpetrator. All signs, rhetoric and silence points towards the global leader claiming a New World Order respecting sovereignty and peaceful intention in accordance with the UN Charter.

See also my diary about neo-colonial warfare ... the right turn to endless wars, chaos, suffering and destruction.

A sterling photo-op NATO women and foreign policy

Ann Linde has retweeted ...

Read more... (16 comments, 3565 words in story)

Crimea As Endgame Before Going M.A.D.

by Oui Mon Mar 6th, 2023 at 03:00:46 PM EST

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Scourge of Joint Alliance USA, KSA and Jihadists

by Oui Sat Mar 4th, 2023 at 05:34:48 PM EST

If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas

The United States should finally end its campaign of terror across the globe fighting illusionary enemies and adversaries, instilling fears and endless wars.

The Western Atlanticists should stop its support of terror groups by providing asylum and safe havens after murdering civilians on a mass scale. The double standard will just return to haunt you as we have witnessed in the 9/11 attacks.

No lessons learned and the White House and US Congress prefer military confrontation and conflicts, while diplomacy is completely doomed to failure.

End the terror campaign on the sovereign state, the Islamic Republic of Iran, a member of the United Nations and protected by the UN Charter. Terror begets terror, revenge attacks should and can stop immediately. Start diplomacy for a START like treaty to stop the hybrid warfare of terror groups, proxies for the West, sometimes framed as "freedom fighters". The scourge of terror has no end, unless the politicians of powerful states decide it is enough. I call them politicians because responsible leadership has been lacking for decades.

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Israel's Fascists Call for Genocide on Palestinians

by Oui Fri Mar 3rd, 2023 at 11:19:09 AM EST

In aftermath of ugly pogrom by illegal settlers on West Bank Palestinian territory ...

US Statement Beyond 'Not Helpful'

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News and Views

 March 2023

by Oui - Feb 28, 175 comments

Your take on today's news media



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