FOCUS Online writes:


The case of Roman Protassevich, who is kidnapped by the Belarusian authorities on an intra-European flight, once again reveals the reluctance and powerlessness of the EU in its foreign policy. The naivety of Brussels must come to an end. -

The American geostrategist Robert Kagan, once started as a neoconservative in the service of Secretary of State George P. Shultz, later advised the presidential candidate John McCain, only to leave the Republican Party screaming in the Trump vs. Clinton election campaign and to join the realpolitician Hillary Clinton. He is one of the great independent thinkers in the USA. In his standard work "Power and Powerlessness" [I think the real original title is:Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order, Skybird] it says: -

“We should no longer pretend that Europeans and Americans share the same worldview, or that they even live in the same world. On the all-important question of power - the question of effectiveness, ethics, and the desirability of power - American and European views diverge. (...) Europe turns away from power. It enters a post-historical paradise of peace and relative prosperity that equates to the realization of Kant's, Eternal Peace ‛. (...) In contrast, the United States remains stuck in history and wields power in an anarchic world in which international regulations and international law cannot be relied on and in which true security still depends on the possession and use of military power. "-

The Americans came from Mars and the Europeans from Venus, he summarizes his analysis. -

Little has changed in this finding. After Trump, America has returned to a rule-based but nonetheless militarily defensive foreign policy. Europe has remained the procrastinator who looks with the eyes of love at a world that unfortunately eludes his harmonious longings: -

A war is raging on the eastern border of Ukraine, which the Russian leadership, in accordance with its strategic goals, is sometimes boiling down and then boiling up again. Europe begs Putin for peace. -

Turkey has left the route to Europe that has been offered to it and is using the refugees from the slums of the world as hostages to extort more and more payments. Europe grimaces, but pays. -

On August 23, 2019, Putin had the Berlin zoo murdered and the opposition Alexei Navalny imprisoned and harassed at home. Europe hands over its dispatches.

The Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, which is supported by Iran and Saudi Arabia among others, has launched a military offensive against Israel. Germany cannot even get a grip on anti-Semitism on its own streets, where the hostility to Jews from home and from immigrants embraces each other. -

Belarusian President Lukashenko is not afraid of forcing a Ryanair plane from its interceptors in Minsk and arresting the journalist and blogger Roman Protassevich in front of the world. Europe is threatened - but with what? -

This has been going on for decades. Europe is permanently appalled, routinely disapproves of the use of force and assures the attacked Israelis and the imprisoned Belarusian journalist of specifically European solidarity - that is, guaranteed without consequences. -

This Europe is the stadium announcer who counts the goals of the tournament participants without even entering the field. This Europe is the angel of peace who has no wings and therefore cannot fly. In its deliberate naivety, this Europe will ultimately protect no one - not even itself. Mars and Venus are 120 million kilometers apart in the planetary system and light years apart in political orbit. It would be worth talking about in the election year too. -

Several European airlines have said that they will not fly over Belarus, days after a dissident journalist was arrested on a flight diverted to Minsk.

Air France is the latest major carrier to ban overflights. Neighbouring Ukraine and Poland are stopping all flights to and from Belarus.

Western countries accuse Belarus of hijacking the Ryanair plane carrying journalist Roman Protasevich on Sunday.

The Greece-Lithuania flight was rerouted over a supposed bomb threat.

Belarus authorities on Monday released video of Mr Protasevich that appears to have been recorded under duress since his arrest.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57239162

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJL5rE0k79Y

sounds like you boys over there got yourself a little problem again so i'm going watch how y'all handle this but i know,mother Russia will flex her arms and y'all be on your knee's or you be screaming for the ole red,white and blue only country i see with the manhood is UK and i'm not sure what state UK military wise is and biden don't get me started on him best thing i can say about him he couldn't get himself out of a wet paper bag and he could mess up a special kind of dream

Nothing to do with the UK as far as I'm concerned. Best if left to the EU to 'deal' with it.

Lets see how the mighty EU deal with a tyrant. :haha:

"UK acts now!". "That is why we left!"
How is the "UK"'s answer different or more effective than what all else in Europe do? :hmmm:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...rren-mccaffery

The Express, humble as always :D

An Air France flight from Paris to Moscow wanted to avoid Belarussian airspace, and was rejected by Russia for an alternative route into and through Russian airspace to Moscow. It had to break off.

Maybe its a good idea to cancel all flight movements from and to Russia, too?

Oh, and have a closer look at Kaliningrad. Not only is it a Russian sensor and missile thorn driven deep in NATO's Eastern front area, but its also a vulnerability for the Russians, exposed and land-isolated as it is.

Oh, wait, I forgot. It would need military capability and cojohnes to do that. Okay. Send a protest note then, and then let grass grow over it all.

^ Also avoid Austria then:
https://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/02/w...ane/index.html
:O:

I wonder what this meeting between Biden and Putin will accomplish.

^Got mentioned in the linked story in post 1 already. They also reminded of an incident 50 years ago when two Libyans fighterjets enforced the landing of a British plane at Tripolis to get two Sudanese revolutionists off the plane.

Russia has just banned/thrown out three German political-cultural NGOs.


Ein Schelm wer Böses dabei denkt...

A flight by AustrianAirliners enroute for Vienna to Moscow suffered the same fate as Air Fracne yesterday. The Austrian plane wanted to avoid Belarussian airspace and was rejected by Russia for entering Russian airspace, so had to abort.

Both incidents are another Russian provoication by which the Russians want to wenfiorce European compliance. And both incidents so far do not get commented by the EU, adding to the impression that the EU once again is unprepared, as so often, to confront harsh realities it planned to just dream them away.

^ Can't say I'm surprised.

Russia's foreign ministry has condemned the EU's call for Europe-based airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, calling it completely irresponsible.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting after Russia had denied entry to two airlines that planned to avoid Belarus, said passenger safety was at risk.

EU leaders had acted after Belarus forced a Ryanair plane to divert and land in the capital, Minsk.

A Belarusian dissident journalist and his girlfriend were then arrested.

Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega are both in jail. A court on Friday rejected Ms Sapega's appeal against her two-month detention.

The EU's 27 leaders met this week and demanded their immediate release, as has the G7 group of nations.

The UN's civil aviation agency has said it will launch a "fact-finding" investigation into Belarus's actions, and whether there had been any breach of international aviation law.

No reason was given for Moscow's decision to refuse access to flights from Air France and Austrian Airlines, but an Air France spokesperson linked Russia requiring "new authorisation" to the airline bypassing Belarus airspace.

On Friday, Russia's aviation authority allowed entry to several European airlines bypassing Belarus, including Austrian Airlines, although Air France did cancel another Paris-Moscow flight.

Russia's federal aviation agency warned that airlines that changed routes might have to await longer clearance times.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57279482

Some sources think this poor innocent journalist isnt so innocent afterall.

Possibly just another useful idiot. If the articles are true why risk the embarassment by supporting this clown? Sure Lukashenko is no saint but then neither are these alleged murderous psychopaths we seem to be supporting.

That quote doesn't instil much confidence as to the truth of these allegations does it Rockstar, anonymous and allegations must never be used in the same sentence because it's most certainly a bare faced lie made up by this Lukashenko regime.
Why doesn't the accuser come from behind the shield of invisibility they're hiding behind and face the world press and lets see them squirm under the scrutiny of the world media, it's not as if they're under any threat from President Lukashenko is it.
Me thinks this anonymous person is actually a spokesperson from inside one of President Lukashenko's internal security departments and these allegations should be flushed down the toilet where they belong. :o

In a couple of month from now-airtraffic will resume to its normal over and around Belarus.

EU needed to show some kind of strength in front of its citizens.
(how high percentage who believed it I can't say)

Markus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_...cite_note-:0-4


Section "Career - Azov Batallion Allegations"

I am sure he wanted to join Navalny in his fascist efforts to found a new fourth Reich and destroy the beautiful democracy of Putin, or Lukashenko.

Nawalny is a populist in the meaning of "opportunist". He has been right, he has been left, he changed colours like a chameleon, he poses with that political orientation that at a givne time wins him sympathies, support, votes.

No matter how ya look at it, Putin Lushenko, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, all of it, is just one big hot mess.

Just wanted to point out that there are other sources of information which exist. Sometimes I get the feeling we're all being treated like mushrooms being fed crap and kept in the dark as to what's really going on, its insulting. Im all for my government I really like my country. I just wish we could find someone to support besides alledged neo-nazis. If he's not then would expect a strong response in defense of him. But so far I see nothing.

From wikipedia:

Azov Battalion founder Andriy Biletsky wrote that Protasevich “actually fought with the Azov Battalion and other units against the occupation of Ukraine, but as a journalist his weapon was not the machine gun, but the word,”

That's the weirdest looking pencil hanging around his neck I've ever seen. Maybe it was shopped in?

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/c...ng?format=750w