Showing posts with label society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label society. Show all posts

Monday, April 15, 2024

Nordic Council

22-12-10 Sweden's joining NATO would crush Russian power - Caspian > .
22-7-5 How Norway Became Insanely Rich - Dodging Oil Curse - Casual Scholar > .
22-6-12 Estonian Military Vulnerabilities - Task > .
22-3-10 Sweden's pro-NATO reaction to Russian aggression - Force Tech > .
22-2-22 Poland vs. France: Can EU Create Alternative to NATO? - VisPol > .
Sweden's Strategic Posture. Will the Swedes Join NATO? - gtbt > .> Nordic Militaries >>
Nordic societies 
24-4-5 Denmark - The State of Happiness - Lesley Riddoch > .

Nordic Council ..

The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and the Åland Islands. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective countries or areas and are elected by those parliaments. The Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme. The council's official languages are Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, though it uses only the mutually intelligible Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish—as its working languages. These three comprise the first language of around 80% of the region's population and are learned as a second or foreign language by the remaining 20%.

In 1971, the Nordic Council of Ministers, an intergovernmental forum, was established to complement the council. The Council and the Council of Ministers are involved in various forms of cooperation with neighbouring areas in Northern Europe, including the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, the Benelux countries, the Baltic states and Russia.

During WW2, Denmark and Norway were occupied by Germany; Finland was under assault by the Soviet Union; while Sweden, though neutral, still felt the war's effects. Following WW2, the Nordic countries pursued the idea of a Scandinavian defence union to ensure their mutual defence. However, Finland, due to its Paasikivi-Kekkonen policy of neutrality and FCMA treaty with the USSR, could not participate.

It was proposed that the Nordic countries would unify their foreign policy and defence, remain neutral in the event of a conflict and not ally with NATO, which some were planning at the time. The United States, keen on getting access to bases in Scandinavia and believing the Nordic countries incapable of defending themselves, stated it would not ensure military support for Scandinavia if they did not join NATO. As Denmark and Norway sought US aid for their post-war reconstruction, the project collapsed, with Denmark, Norway and Iceland joining NATO.

Further Nordic co-operation, such as an economic customs union, also failed. This led Danish Prime Minister Hans Hedtoft to propose, in 1951, a consultative inter-parliamentary body. This proposal was agreed by Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden in 1952. The council's first session was held in the Danish Parliament on 13 February 1953 and it elected Hans Hedtoft as its president. When Finnish-Soviet relations thawed following the death of Joseph Stalin, Finland joined the council in 1955.

On 2 July 1954, the Nordic labour market was created and in 1958, building upon a 1952 passport-free travel area, the Nordic Passport Union was created. These two measures helped ensure Nordic citizens' free movement around the area. A Nordic Convention on Social Security was implemented in 1955. There were also plans for a single market but they were abandoned in 1959 shortly before Denmark, Norway, and Sweden joined the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Finland became an associated member of EFTA in 1961 and Denmark and Norway applied to join the European Economic Community (EEC).

This move towards the EEC led to desire for a formal Nordic treaty. The Helsinki Treaty outlined the workings of the council and came into force on 24 March 1962. Further advancements on Nordic cooperation were made in the following years: a Nordic School of Public Health, a Nordic Cultural Fund, and Nordic House in Reykjavík were created. Danish Prime Minister Hilmar Baunsgaard proposed full economic cooperation ("Nordek") in 1968. Nordek was agreed in 1970, but Finland then backtracked, stating that its ties with the Soviet Union meant it could not form close economic ties with potential members of the EEC (Denmark and Norway). Nordek was then abandoned.

As a consequence, Denmark and Norway applied to join the EEC and the Nordic Council of Ministers was set up in 1971 to ensure continued Nordic cooperation. In 1970 representatives of the Faroe Islands and Åland were allowed to take part in the Nordic Council as part of the Danish and Finnish delegations. Norway turned down EEC membership in 1972 while Denmark acted as a bridge builder between the EEC and the Nordics. Also in 1973, although it did not opt for full membership of the EEC, Finland negotiated a free trade treaty with the EEC that in practice removed customs duties from 1977 on, although there were transition periods up to 1985 for some products. Sweden did not apply due to its non-alliance policy, which was aimed at preserving neutrality. Greenland subsequently left the EEC and has since sought a more active role in circumpolar affairs.

In the 1970s, the Nordic Council founded the Nordic Industrial Fund, Nordtest and the Nordic Investment Bank. The council's remit was also expanded to include environmental protection and, in order to clean up the pollution in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic, a joint energy network was established. The Nordic Science Policy Council was set up in 1983 and, in 1984, representatives from Greenland were allowed to join the Danish delegation.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Nordic Council began to cooperate more with the Baltic states and new Baltic Sea organisations. Sweden and Finland joined the European Union (EU), the EEC's successor, in 1995. Norway had also applied, but once again voted against membership. However, Norway and Iceland did join the European Economic Area (EEA) which integrated them economically with the EU. The Nordic Passport Union was also subsumed into the EU's Schengen Area in 1996.

The Nordic Council became more outward-looking, to the Arctic, Baltic, Europe, and Canada. The Øresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark led to a large amount of cross-border travel, which in turn led to further efforts to reduce barriers. However, the initially envisioned tasks and functions of the Nordic Council have become partially dormant due to the significant overlap with the EU and EEA. In 2008 Iceland began EU membership talks, but decided to annul these in 2015. Unlike the Benelux, there is no explicit provision in the Treaty on European Union that takes into account Nordic co-operation. However, the Treaties provide that international agreements concluded by the Member States before they become members of the Union remain valid, even if they are contrary to the provisions of Union law. However, each Member State must take all necessary measures to eliminate any discrepancies as quickly as possible. Nordic co-operation can therefore in practice only be designed to the extent that it complies with Union law.

Arctic Cooperation and Politics .
Baltic region .
Baltoscandia .
Baltic Assembly .
Benelux .
Council of the Baltic Sea States .
European Union .
Frugal Four .
NB8 .
Nordic Council Children and Young People's Literature Prize .
Nordic Council's Literature Prize .
Nordic Council Film Prize .
Nordic Council Environment Prize .
Nordic Council Music Prize .
Nordic Identity in Estonia .
Nordic Passport Union .
Nordic Summer University .
Nordic Youth Council .
Nordic countries .
West Nordic Council .

Macroeconomic topics ..

● Economic Geopolitics ..


Friday, December 8, 2023

23-12-8 Declining Despot □

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23-12-9 Скромное выдвижение | [P00ti's Ensured Election Bid] (subs) - Katz > .
23-12-27 Железный занавес | Iron Curtain - Soviet Footsteps? (subs) - Katz > .
23-12-22 P00ti's War: Killer Instinct - NBC > .
23-12-20 Why Weakness Empowers P00tin | Konstantin Kisin | John Anderson > .
23-12-19 Could Ruscia Rebuild And Threaten NATO by 2027? - gtbt > .
23-10-6 [P00's Latest LIES| Tsar Runt's Hints Deciphered] (subs) - Katz > .
23-9-2 When the Elites Will Topple P00ti (subs) - Katz > .
23-9-1 [Resistance Essential | Opposition Shouldn't be Duped] (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-22 Change of Heart in Pro-War [Authoritarian] Community (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-18 Rubble Woes - Pre-Election Economic Strain (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-15 Can P00ti Survive a Lost War? - Spaniel > .
23-8-14 Post-P00: Elites Flee; Opposition Rises (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-13 Anders & Perun - Theories of Victory & Ruscian Political [In] Stability > .
23-8-12 Fear & Loathing Towards the '90s | Leadership Change (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-10 [False Tsar Runt]: Favorability Numbers Tanking (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-8 Who Will Rule [Remains] of Ruscia Post-P00? - K&G > . skip > .
23-8-8 [Ending War as Reelection Bid?] P00's Only Solution (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-5 War vs P00tin's Reelection | System Confused (subs) - Katz > .
23-5-23 [2024? P00litical Divisions: Resistance, Apathy, Ztupidity] - Katz > .  
23-4-21 [Worst] Post-2024 P00tin | [Nightmare of P00sistance] - Katz > .
23-4-11 E-Draft, Ukraine's Offensive & 2024 Election (subs) - Katz > .
23-2-19 Ruscia's Grand Strategy & Ukraine - P00's geostrategic disaster - P > .
23-2-13 Navalny's Defiant Impact Can Only be Judged in Retrospect - Katz >
23-2-10 Political Apoothy | Blame Game, Coping Strategies (subs) - Katz > .
23-1-23 [Pooti's FAIL] | Krumblin's Election Run Prep (subs) - Katz > .

[As of March 2, 2023Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Russia in March 2024. In accordance with electoral law, the first round will be held on Sunday, 17 March. The elections will be the first after the 2020 amendments to the Constitution of Russia, and therefore the first in which incumbent Dicktator Vladimir Pooti would be eligible to seek "reelection". Although Pooti has not yet announced his intention to run for re-election, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported in January 2023 that preparation was underway for his election campaign. This was later denied by his spokesman. If no candidate receives more than half the vote, a second round will take place exactly three weeks later on 7 April 2024. The winner of the election is scheduled to be inaugurated on 7 May 2024.

As was the case in the 2018 Russian presidential election, one of the most prominent opposition leaders, Alexei Navalny, is barred from running due to a prior criminal conviction, which is widely seen as politically motivated.

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Protests Spreading - X+

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Pogrom - Погром
23-3-23 Macron refuses to retract as pension protests escalate – BBC > .
23-3-17 France’s Pension Reforms: Why So Much Opposition? | WSJ > .
French banlieu riots 
23-7-8 Has France Reached a Tipping Point? - Into Europe > .
Brazil
Haiti 
22-10-27 How Iran's Protests Engulfed the Country: A Timeline | WSJ > .
> Islamist Threat >>  
Islamoreactivity  > Islamist Threat >>  
Military Coups 
Orcine Military Ineptitude 
Poland 
23-6-4 Poland: Thousands protest over new law - BBC > .
23-6-4 Half a million protesters join Polish pro-democracy rally - Times > .
Tunisia Protests 
23-3-4 What are Tunisians protesting against? | DW > .
23-10-31 [Hatemongering Spin: Ruscist Government Eroding Society] (subs) - MK > .
Senegal 
23-6-4 At least 15 people die in violent protests in Senegal > .
>> Sociopolitical Dysfunction >>>  Sociopolitical Conflict
Xina
23-9-8 'Wage Hunting': Unpaid Workers Protest Across China | Focus > .
White Hair (Medical Benefits) Protests 
23-2-16 Retiree protests worse nightmare for Beijing than student protests - Lei > .
23-2-16 “White/Grey Hair Revolution”; COVID Situation in PLA - Zeng > .
Xi will almost certainly increase oppressive measures ... [he did]
"Zero" COVID protests
23-1-9 Chongqing Protest - China Update > .
23-1-3 Thousands Protest on New Year's Eve & Day in Xina - Focus > .
22-12-7 Stories of Chinese leader Jiang Zemin - known not discussed - Lei > .
22-12-5 Xina brings in emergency level censorship over protests. | Digging > .
22-12-5 Xina Steps Up Internet Censorship in Response to Protests | WSJ > .
22-12-2 Jiang Zemin Dies - Evil Legacy | Xina’s Protest Crackdown - Uncensored > .
22-12-1 Protests erupt across China over zero-covid policy | ABC Aus > .
22-12-1 serpentza is being BLAMED for the Riots and Protests in China > . skip > .
22-11-30 5-Day Timeline of Xina’s Biggest Protests in Decades | WSJ > .
22-11-30 Protests in major Xinese cities ~ Blank white sheet defiance - Digging > .
22-11-30 End of Xina - PZ > .
22-11-29 Xina’s Totalitarian Gridlock, Woke “Mind Virus” - Hoover > .
22-11-29 Censorship in Xina Has Reached New Levels of Ridiculousness! - cfc > .

22-11-28 In a rare show of defiance, crowds in Xina gathered for the third night as protests against COVID restrictions spread to Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. People held blank sheets of paper, symbolizing censorship, and demanded the Xinese president [Xi] step down.

2022 ..
BOAK ..
Mahsa Amini protests - Iran ..
Unrest 2024 ..

1989

The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (六四事件; liùsì shìjiàn), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth Clearing (六四清场; Liùsì qīngchǎng) or June Fourth Massacre (六四屠杀; liùsì túshā), troops armed with assault rifles and accompanied by tanks fired at the demonstrators and those trying to block the military's advance into Tiananmen Square. The protests started on 15 April and were forcibly suppressed on 4 June when the government declared martial law and sent the People's Liberation Army to occupy parts of central Beijing. Estimates of the death toll vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded. The popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests is sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement (八九民运; Bājiǔ mínyùn) or the Tiananmen Square Incident (天安门事件; Tiān'ānmén shìjiàn).

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Dystopian Denunciations

23-8-3 Spate of Denunciation in Ruscia | Stalin's Great Purge (subs) - Katz > .
24-7-4 Sabotage & poison: Ukrainians resist Russian occupation | DiD > .
24-5-25 Why We Cannot [Easily] Stop Dictators - Versed > . 
23-12-22 P00ti's War: Killer Instinct - NBC > .
23-11-4 [Ruscia Wants to Destroy] International Rules-based Order - Kuzio > .
23-10-6 [Latest Orcine Terrorism & P00ti's Latest Terrified LIES] (subs) - Katz > .
23-9-29 Decoding P00ti-PooXi blueprint for NoXious World Order | DW > .
23-9-2 When the Elites Will Topple P00ti (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-30 Fear is the new normal in Russian politics - Anders > .
23-8-29 Dictatorships: From Spin to Fear | Ruscist Regression (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-22 Change of Heart in Pro-War [Authoritarian] Community (subs) - Katz > .
23-8-15 Can P00ti Survive a Lost War? - Spaniel > .
23-8-14 Post-P00: Elites Flee; Opposition Rises (subs) - Katz > .

WW2 + 

Friday, June 23, 2023

23-6-23 Orcine Ructions ➾ переворот ➾ fizzle □

23-8-26 Game Of 🇷🇺 Generals. Prigozhin Assassinated. Ruscian Ructions. U24 > .
23-6-23 Ruscia-Prigozhin War | PMC Wagner's March on Rostov (subs) | Katz > . (title)
23-6-24 What’s Next for Russia as Wagner Forces Head to Moscow | WSJ > .
23-6-24 [Lukashenko lures Prigozhin] - Rebellion Ends, Wagners Withdraw - Such > .
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23-6-27 Ben Hodges - Post-Coup Likely Future for P00ti and the orcs - Silicon > .
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23-6-29 Wagner's mutiny = tip of the iceberg of Ruscia's fractures | Aliona Hlivco > .
23-7-1 Wagner Rebellion. [Next for] Prigozhin and His Wagner Fighters? - U24 > .
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
23-8-23 Prigozhin Dead [??] | Predictable Outcome of P00ti "Deal" (subs) - Katz > .23-9-5 Fatal Flaw that Doomed the Wagner (PMC) Group - Spaniel > .
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Girkin (Strelkov; Гиркин-Стрелков) 
23-7-22 Strelkov-Girkin JAILED in Moscow! | Artur > .
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Navalny versus P00tin ..
______________________
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______________________


Caveant videntēs = let the viewers beware = Ruscians can't be trusted, and much of the footage appeared unexpected

8:45 pm EEST Prigozhin says Wagner will stop march on Moscow: Wagner Group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on June 24 that the mercenaries would stop their march on Moscow and withdraw to military camps.

5:59 am EEST Rostov Oblast governor asks residents to stay calm as media reports administrative buildings seized in city of Rostov: Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev asked residents to stay calm and remain at home as reports emerged of soldiers and military vehicles on the streets of the southern Russian city of Rostov and the takeover of administrative buildings in Rostov by unidentified [little green Wagner] men.

6:56 am EEST Moscow mayor says 'anti-terrorist measures' being taken in city: Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a post on Telegram that "anti-terrorist measures" were being taken in the city "in connection with the incoming information."

Prigozhin accuses Russian army of attacking Wagner, threatens to respond: Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner Group mercenaries, said Russian Defense Ministry attacked the group's bases in the rear. "We have 25,000 (soldiers), and we're going to respond," he said.

A coup d'état ((listen); 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or an overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, rebel group, military, or a dictator. Many scholars consider a coup successful when the usurpers seize and hold power for at least seven days.

Monday, June 12, 2023

23-6-12 Addio, Berlusconi □


Silvio Berlusconi (listen); 29 September 1936 – 12 June 2023 was an Italian media tycoon, politician, and billionaire who served as the prime minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1994 to 2013; a member of the Senate of the Republic from 2022 to his death in 2023, and previously from March to November 2013; and a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2022, and previously from 1999 to 2001. With a net worth of US$6.8 billion as of June 2023, Berlusconi was the third-wealthiest person in Italy at the time of his death.

Berlusconi was Prime Minister for nine years in total, making him the longest serving post-war Prime Minister of Italy, and the third longest-serving since Italian unification, after Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti. He was the leader of the centre-right party Forza Italia from 1994 to 2009, and its successor party The People of Freedom from 2009 to 2013. He led the revived Forza Italia from 2013 to 2023. Berlusconi was the senior G8 leader from 2009 until 2011, and he held the record for hosting G8 summits (having hosted three summits in Italy). After serving nearly 19 years as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, the country's lower house, he became a member of the Senate following the 2013 Italian general election.

On 1 August 2013, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud by the Supreme Court of Cassation. His four-year prison sentence was confirmed, and he was banned from holding public office for two years. Aged 76, he was exempted from direct imprisonment, and instead served his sentence by doing unpaid community service. Three years of his sentence was automatically pardoned under Italian law; because he had been sentenced to gross imprisonment for more than two years, he was banned from holding legislative office for six years and expelled from the Senate. Berlusconi pledged to stay leader of Forza Italia throughout his custodial sentence and public office ban. After his ban ended, Berlusconi ran for and was elected as an MEP at the 2019 European Parliament election. He returned to the Senate after winning a seat in the 2022 Italian general election.

Berlusconi was known for his populist political style and brash personality. In his long tenure, he was often accused of being an authoritarian leader and a strongman.

sī vīs pācem, parā bellum

igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum    therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...