What I expect from a Biden administration on European foreign policy: 1. An instant full commitment to NATO. 2. A full support to the European Union. 3. Support for democracy in Europe (look out Hungary and Poland!) 4. A firm policy with the EU against Russian aggression.
5. A restructuring of sanctions against Russia so that they make sense again: If Russia leaves Donbas, e.g., those sanctions should be lifted. 6. A new START treaty with Russia & a new INF treaty. 7. Full support for Ukraine militarily, democratically & for anticorruption.
8. US return to the Paris accord on climate change with reinforced US commitments. 9. US return to WHO & global cooperation against pandemics. 10. Fight against Russian dark money, including transparency of company ownership in the US.
11. Abolition of fake US "national security" tariffs on EU steel & aluminum exports to the US. 12. Full cooperation with the WTO again.
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A few unqualified people who really need to be sacked: 1. Trump (done) 2. Jared Kushner (received security clearance from POTUS while making big money unknown how) 3. Ivanka Trump (received security clearance from POTUS while making big money unknown how)
4. Dr. Scott Atlas - knows nothing about epidemics, his single are of responsibility. 5. Peter Navarro - has no clue about China or trade policy (his two areas of responsibility) 6. Lawrence Kudlow - "chief" economist, but really just a CNBC talking head.
Thank you for good advice: 7. Stephen Miller - responsible for Trump's racist immigration policy & locking up small children in cages. 8. Betsy DeVos - the main enemy of public education in the US. 9. Mike Pompeo - the complicit destroyer of US alliances & commitment to democracy
Finally, Trump's tax returns have surfaced! Thank you, @nytimes!
How outrageous: "Mr. Trump paid no federal income taxes in 11 of 18 years that The Times examined. In 2017, after he became president, his tax bill was only $750."
What a tax cheat! nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/…
"The financial pressure on him is increasing as hundreds of millions of dollars in loans he personally guaranteed are soon coming due."
I wonder whom he might have turned to?
"Even while declaring losses, he has managed to enjoy a lavish lifestyle by taking tax deductions on what most people would consider personal expenses, including residences, aircraft and $70,000 in hairstyling for television."
Traditionally, I always watch the US President's state of the union address, while I ignore the address of the President of the European Commission. This year, I did the opposite & yesterday I was richly awarded by Ursula von der Leyen. ec.europa.eu/commission/pre…
Her start: "One of the most courageous minds of our times, Andrei Sakharov – a man so admired by this House
- always spoke of his unshakeable belief in the hidden strength of the human spirit.
In these last six months, Europeans have shown how strong that human spirit really is."
She focused on human values: "We are inspired by their empathy, bravery and sense of duty – and I want to start this speech by paying tribute to them all."
"This will show Europeans that our Union is there to protect all."
US Treasury sanctioned Derkach for colluding with Giuliani: "From at least late 2019 through mid-2020, Derkach waged a covert influence campaign centered on cultivating false and unsubstantiated narratives concerning U.S. officials in the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election...
spurring corruption investigations in both Ukraine and the United States designed to culminate prior to election day. Derkach’s unsubstantiated narratives were pushed in Western media through coverage of press conferences and other news events..." home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…
"Between May and July 2020, Derkach released edited audio tapes and other unsupported information with the intent to discredit U.S. officials, and he levied unsubstantiated allegations against U.S. and international political figures."
Senate Intelligence Committee Report: "Manafort hired and worked increasingly closely with a Russian national, Konstantin Kilimnik . Kilimnik is a Russian intelligence officer. Kilimnik quickly became an integral part of Manafort's operations in Ukraine and Russia..."
"Manafort briefed Kilimnik on sensitive Campaign polling data and the
Campaign's strategy for beating Hillary Clinton . AtManafort's direction , Gates used an
encrypted messaging application to send additional Campaign polling data to Kilimnik ."
Why Putin should not & is not likely to intervene militarily in Belarus in support of Lukashenko: 1. Putin really can't stand Lukashenko & he is very emotional. 2. Lukashenko appears to have no popular support (unlike Yaunukovych who had 40% of Ukrainians behind him).
3. Given that the Belarusian Deputy Minister of Interior apologized for violence yesterday, Lukashenko probably no longer controls a significant number of siloviki. 4. A Russian military intervention in Belarus would probably be bloody & certainly cost Russia too much.
5. The Belarusian opposition is against Lukashenko, not Russia. The Kremlin may be able to live with that. 6. Putin's regime is very able to infiltrate & manipulate, which costs much less than military intervention. Why be too blatant?