Europe - The Official Thread

It's not too late. If anything, it is too soon. Words and solemn proclamations mean nothing if you haven't what it takes to back them up.
 
It seems likely that this will be played out over a longer time frame. I'm not sure what grounds exist for compromise & mutual accommodation after both sides have played a pretty aggressive hand. The existing EU countries don't want to support Catalonian claims for fear of further rocking the boat of European unity, but at what point does supporting reasonable autonomist movements within a overarching European framework make more sense than supporting national governments that seek to repress legitimate separatist sentiment? At what point would the Catalans, the Scots, the Walloons etc. feel happier to be semi-autonomous parts of a pan-European government, rather than semi-autonomous parts of national governments? Here are a whole slew of European "separatist" movements with their own particular grievances:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/n...onia-pro-independence-movements-in-europe-map
 
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Why i'm not surprised to learn that prime minister Dimitri Medvedev is supporting Catalunya independence by having engaged bilateral relations this week?
Russia doesn't like state fragmentation unless it happens in the western Europe.
 
Milouse
Why i'm not surprised to learn that prime minister Dimitri Medvedev is supporting Catalunya independence by having engaged bilateral relations this week?
Russia doesn't like state fragmentation unless it happens in the western Europe.
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Where did this come from? I didn't find any confirmation for this.

Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the RF Foreign Ministry, said that Moscow respects the sovereignity and territorial integrity of Spain and called the situation "an internal concern of Spain".

I know the propaganda in some countries will be looking for Moscow's hand in this anyway, like Kremlin has nothing to do but to flame separatism in a country so far away, without any having interests in the region.
 
Rage Racer
I know the propaganda in some countries will be looking for Moscow's hand in this anyway, like Kremlin has nothing to do but to flame separatism in a country so far away, without any having interests in the region.
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There's a strong argument that instability amongst the EU or NATO benefits any nation state who might find themselves a natural "enemy" of them at some point, no?

You could argue that Russia has no interests in Icelandic waters, the North Sea or the middle of the Atlantic but it doesn't stop them maintaining a military presence there. Of course the same is true in reverse of NATO and EU nations too.
 
I apologise wholeheartedly for posting a Daily Express link but I assumed my own country hasn't recognised Catalunyan independence because they don't want to anger the Spanish government over British sovereignty in Gibraltar.

A couple of days ago, however, according to this article, chief Catalunyan representative in the UK Sergi Marcen assures us that the Catalans support the UK's claim to the Rock. Were they trying to sway the British government to their side or did they simply want to troll Madrid as the article asserts? I'm fully prepared to accept "Richard Desmond = bollocks" as a third alternative.
 
So Spain has announced a date for regional elections in Catalonia - the only trouble is, pro-independence Catalans will (in all likelihood) not take part - not least because they will not wish to convey the idea that Spain still have any authority in the region. Thus, the new regional government will be mostly pro-Spanish/anti-independence people. So, the Catalans hold votes where anti-independence supporters refuse to take part, and the Spanish hold votes where pro-independence supporters refuse to take part - with each of them getting the 'democratic' result they want.
 
Touring Mars
So Spain has announced a date for regional elections in Catalonia - the only trouble is, pro-independence Catalans will (in all likelihood) not take part - not least because they will not wish to convey the idea that Spain still have any authority in the region. Thus, the new regional government will be mostly pro-Spanish/anti-independence people. So, the Catalans hold votes where anti-independence supporters refuse to take part, and the Spanish hold votes where pro-independence supporters refuse to take part - with each of them getting the 'democratic' result they want.
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Or the Catalans could just keep voting for pro-independence governments. I'm guessing Spain will keep getting rid of them until they vote for the government that Spain wants, but that just makes a mockery of their "democracy".
 
Nah ... the pro-Independence lunatics will take part. The regional MP seats come with some very nice perks (and salary) and they won't want to miss that.

The Spanish Government has played well. The anti-independence catalans have been rattled and have shown their force, the street (as spaniards say "la calle") is calm, pro Independence politicians are discredited. Whatever dream the indeps had will firmly remain in the oniric realm for the foreseeable future.

And the fact that the head of government has "fled" to Belgium and has hired the ETA lawyer there does him absolutely no favours, even within his own political people.

I may be mistaken, but my best guess is that the pro-Independence parties will take a severe beating in the polls and the next regional governement of Catalunya won't have any of them taking part. They'll become the political opposition, and that's fine.
 
Hun200kmh
And the fact that the head of government has "fled" to Belgium and has hired the ETA lawyer there does him absolutely no favours, even within his own political people.
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From what I saw of him on the news earlier I agree with his stance - prospects of arrest or censure without judicial oversight (such as the Spanish authorities are threatening) are cruel and unusual if every single person who cast a vote in the 'illegal referendum*' is not subject to the same censure. I can understand the political reasons for other countries siding with the ruling state of Spain but I'm astonished that Spain's handling of the crisis isn't being called more into question.

* or exercise of free speech, as some might call it.
 
Russian state denies that there has been a nuclear accident at any of its plants after concerns over the discovery of a concentrated amount of ruthenium-106 in France. BBC.
 
TenEightyOne
Russian state denies that there has been a nuclear accident at any of its plants after concerns over the discovery of a concentrated amount of ruthenium-106 in France. BBC.
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So if no accident, what accounts for the radiation? Perhaps Russia has gone to war with aliens in the heart of the Urals? :rolleyes:
 
Dotini
So if no accident, what accounts for the radiation? Perhaps Russia has gone to war with aliens in the heart of the Urals? :rolleyes:
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Indeed. Of course, we don't know until we know but on balance it seems likely that there has been a leak from Rosatom Mayak. It doesn't seem dangerous though, it's nowhere near Chernobyl levels or those from the infamous explosion at Mayak in the 50s.
 
TenEightyOne
Russian state denies that there has been a nuclear accident at any of its plants after concerns over the discovery of a concentrated amount of ruthenium-106 in France. BBC.
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It’s all Russia again. :lol: Because it's RUthenium.

There’s a guy I know, who specializes on radiochemistry (I'm a chemist, too, but not in radiochemistry), he's from Chelyabinsk, and he made a video on YouTube.
Briefly: Ruthenium-106 is never recieved alone (purely). If it's present, it is spread around the whole process of the nuclear waste recycling, and if some leak really happened, the ruthenium would be detected among other isotopes as well (e.g. krypton-85), and the French wouldn't care about the ruthenium in particular. It is possible to recieve ruthenium-106 alone, but it's VERY expensive and takes a LOT of time, using a cyclotrone. Like he said, "It's like removing tonsils through the ass" (actually, it is recieved with a cyclotrone, but not in quantinities enough to pollute the entire Europe).

Also, there are IAEA reports:
http://geoenergetics.ru/wp-content/...ments_in_Europe_at_2017-10-13_at_1900_UTC.pdf
http://geoenergetics.ru/wp-content/...13_at_1900_UTC_UTC_Technical_Attachment-2.pdf
Assessment of current situation The IAEA collaborated with Member States and relevant international organizations in collecting, analysing and sharing data with emergency contact points via USIE. This facilitated the exchange of information and contributed to national assessments. The reported measurements of Ru-106 in air are in the range of 10s of µBq/m3 to 10s of mBq/m3 . The radiological significance of such concentrations of Ru-106 in the air is very low. The IAEA considers that levels reported to the IAEA pose no risk to human health. On the basis of all data reported up to now, the IAEA has observed some tendency towards decreasing air concentrations of Ru-106. Ru-106 is a common fission product and would not be expected to be routinely monitored in atmosphere. The absence of any other fission products in the air samples implies that the Ru- 106 is not being released from a nuclear power plant. Ru-106 is used in the treatment of ocular cancer. Due to the level of their activities7 , the brachytherapy sources used in these types of cancer treatment are unlikely to cause, if aerosolized and dispersed, the wide-spread reported air concentrations. Some references state that Ru-106 could be used as a source for radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), however such usage is not common due to its short half-life. Based on the monitoring data and the information provided by the Member States to the IAEA, no specific event or location for the dispersal of Ru-106 into the atmosphere have been determined. It is currently not possible for the IAEA to make conclusions towards identifying a location of the release without factual reporting from a State of the origin of the release.
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The 🤬 media in Europe escalated it from "it may have come from Russia" to "it was from Russia", and the Russian internet media picked this 🤬 up, too, and some people are panicking. Especially those who have a phobia for radiation. When the government denies something, it only adds fuel to the fire ("They're lying! They're hiding something from us!"). Even that guy got comments on YouTube telling that he was bribed by Putin (personally, uh huh) to tell this.

Oh... One of the troubles of the modern society of Russia is that people fall for conspiracy bull:censored: too easily.
 
The runaway Chinese space station is now expected to fall somewhere on Europe, March 31. Most of it is expected to burn up on the way in. Toxic chemicals of some kind are probably on board.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/9cab60...02ce35f/ss_china’s-runaway-space-station.html

e46802296cb60efcf1c7c36f982a1a4e
 
By the way but the minor news about the Slovak journalist investigating links and tax frauds between the Slovak politicians and the Italian mafia who was shot dead in his home along with his girlfriend has led to weekly protests in Bratislava and other places. It's estimated that the size of these protests today are larger then the ones Bratislava saw in 1989 at the onset of the velvet revolution.

28943369_10155352954301696_110224655_o.jpg


These have taken place every Friday since the murders happened in late February. It's quite a sight; the square I live on is on the top left where the trams are.

The demands have only led to the downfall of the coalition government (March 10th), the Prime Minister resigning (March 15th) but refusing to step down as leader of his party (March 16th) and the President rejecting the proposed new government (March 21st) which was basically a rehashing of the old one.

So yes, the Putin-wannabe who runs Slovakia, Robert Fico, resigned as Prime Minister but retains his power as party leader. The new Prime Minister is one of his "allies" so it's very much a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

And for what it's worth, there is plenty of speculation linking some dodgy Italians to Slovak defence contractors and finance experts, and Fico's personal State Secretary, a topless model who totally wasn't having an affair with him. It's what Jan Kuciak's final article was about and it's why he was murdered.

This actually was Robert Fico's face as he strolled up to the President to hand him his official resignation:

ap-image.jpg


President Andrej Kiska has long been a critic of Robert Fico and Fico has seen Kiska as a threat and attempted to oust him from power on several occasions.

The eight men initially arrested have been released without charge and no new suspects have been highlighted or apprehended.

So yeah, interesting times in Slovakia.
 
The EU has joined the UK in blaming Russia for the attack on the spy.

While this seems the right thing to do as it has all the hallmarks of a Russian hit, our Prime Minister was asked if he had seen any proof delivered that showed it was the Russians.

No, but that isn't necessary because the Brits see Russian involvement as 'highly likely'.

WHAT THE **** KIND OF REASONING IS THAT???
 
Dennisch
The EU has joined the UK in blaming Russia for the attack on the spy.

While this seems the right thing to do as it has all the hallmarks of a Russian hit, our Prime Minister was asked if he had seen any proof delivered that showed it was the Russians.

No, but that isn't necessary because the Brits see Russian involvement as 'highly likely'.

WHAT THE **** KIND OF REASONING IS THAT???
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Since when do you need proofs for blaming Russia for anything? :rolleyes:
 
To be fair, it is not exactly customary to hand the evidence in an attempted murder case to the prime suspect(s).

However, I do agree more generally with the idea that the accused should at least be aware of what the evidence against them is, but given the highly unusual nature of the attack (the first use of chemical weapons in the UK since WW2), intelligence/diplomatic sensitivity (the victim was a former UK-Russian spy) and the broader issue of Russian behaviour towards the UK, Europe and Nato in recent years, it is understandable why the UK government are playing their cards close to their chest.
 
Touring Mars
To be fair, it is not exactly customary to hand the evidence in an attempted murder case to the prime suspect(s).

However, I do agree more generally with the idea that the accused should at least be aware of what the evidence against them is, but given the highly unusual nature of the attack (the first use of chemical weapons in the UK since WW2), intelligence/diplomatic sensitivity (the victim was a former UK-Russian spy) and the broader issue of Russian behaviour towards the UK, Europe and Nato in recent years, it is understandable why the UK government are playing their cards close to their chest.
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It became a tradition already. "We have the evidence but we won't show it to anyone".

Just like the "Russian meddling in US elections". It's been over a year. Had anyone seen any proofs on public? No. But the US still impose sanctions for it. Who needs proofs anyway? If you keep telling the same thing on TV for a year, sooner or later people will believe. I bet this Russian spy drama is going to be like this as well.

Meanwhile, there's a scary thing going on in France:
http://www.euronews.com/2018/03/23/man-holds-hostages-in-supermarket-in-southwest-france-reports

Hostages taken by a gunman, at least two killed.
 
Rage Racer
Meanwhile, there's a scary thing going on in France:
http://www.euronews.com/2018/03/23/man-holds-hostages-in-supermarket-in-southwest-france-reports

Hostages taken by a gunman, at least two killed.
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Seems as if he'd fired on police from a vehicle before 'hiding' in the supermarket and taking hostages therein. He's claiming affiliation with Da'esh.

Rage Racer
ad anyone seen any proofs on public? No.
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So all those twitbot accounts weren't Russian despite the many independent assessments saying precisely that?
 

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