Putin puts troops in western Russia on alert in drill

[Deleted]

It simply shows how "good" EU policies happen to be for those who elect them... that's democracy for you.

Its something more than democracy and EU policies,shame you simplify it to that.

I dont want to go in massive Skro style wall of text but current rise anti-immgrant far right is,sadly,a testimony for weakness of liberal muli-culturalism and monumental failure of left who werent there to provide at least anything during 2008 crysis.
Because in Europe of today its pretty much two party system - either liberals or wackos from right-wing parties and of course,whos but some butthurt nationalists are going to vote for the latter, so in the last decade in Europe pretty much only one party has ruled - party of existing liberal,democratic capitalism,a little bit of welfare mixed in.
So then the only real opposition to this are right-wing creeps who channel this romanticism for strong leader,tightly controlled state apparatus and whos rhethoric is centered around this passionate subject of decadency,disappearence of Christian legacy etc.

Anti-Antlanticism has become an excuse for all those - hinthint - that want authoritorian form of capitalism.The famous ''managed democracy'' of Russia is an example of that and China has been using this model for last 20 years - a capitalism which doesnt need democracy and is even more efficient than European.Thats why I have such a contempt for it and I watched with horror Berlusconis - who by no chance had a bromance with Putin - rule in Italy where he turned whatever we have left of democracy in to empty gesture,a circus.
The disease from East - I dont mean it in racist way - is slowly creeping in Europe (Greece,Hungary) and thats a sad turn.Only true,modern left can provide an escape from this deadlock but its dead,sadly.


Got to go,bye.

[Haven]

This attitude,posture would be rational if russia wanted to remain a definition of ''backwardness''.

So saying that we've been through much worse makes us... definition of "backwardness"?

Ukraine,Im sorry to say this but at the moment its a failed state.I dont think it has much future,unless you want to become something like Belarus,in integration with Russia.

Smearing Russia, bringing down separatists and damaging Crimea are top priorities in Kiev right now. Note that solving Ukraine's problems is not on that list...

[Rukentuts]

So saying that we've been through much worse makes us... definition of "backwardness"?

The fact you make the same mistakes over and over does. One autocrat after another.

[GennGreymane]

one thousand pages of whose propaganda is worse and U.S/European country did this 200 years ago so its ok in the modern world. 1000 pages of Iraq happened so Russia can do what ever.

Just say'in

[Cybran]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...A4D07320140514

Berlusconi's comments followed the publication in Italy of extracts from a new book by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner which suggested that EU officials had approached the U.S. government with a project to force Berlusconi to resign.

"They wanted us to refuse to back IMF loans to Italy as long as he refused to go," Geithner's book "Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises," was quoted as saying by daily La Stampa.

Geithner said the United States rejected the approach, saying "We can't have his blood on our hands".

Berlusconi, currently serving a community service order after being convicted of tax fraud last year, said the book showed there had been a "clear violation of democratic rules and an attack on the sovereignty of our country".

"The plot is an extremely serious piece of news which confirms what I've been saying for some time," he told Rai state television in an interview.

What is the alternative for Belarus, Ukraine and Russia? To become puppet states controlled by Brussels and the IMF? Where Merkel and Sarkozy run the show behind the scenes?

[Deleted]

What is the alternative for Belarus, Ukraine and Russia? To become a puppet state controlled by Brussels and the IMF? Where Merkel and Sarkozy run the show behind the scenes?

Better Merkel than Putin!

[Cybran]

Better Merkel than Putin!

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f6f4d...#axzz31h0nrnqM

Mr Sarkozy attempted to manage the three-way impasse. The US wanted Germany to contribute its SDRs but Germany was only willing to give a partial commitment if Italy gave in on the IMF programme. Giulio Tremonti, Italy’s finance minister, held firm: Rome would accept IMF monitoring but no programme. Would the Italian monitoring plan, plus a commitment by Germany to contribute bilateral loans, be enough, Mr Sarkozy asked.

“No. Germany has one-fourth of all [eurozone] SDR allocations,” Mr Obama objected. “If you have all the EU countries together but not Germany . . . it starts losing credibility.”

Then came Ms Merkel’s tearful breakdown. “That is not fair. I cannot decide in lieu of the Bundesbank. I cannot do that.”

The emotional outburst appeared to temper the American and French demands for an agreement there and then. “He saw that he went too far,” one European in the room said of Mr Obama.

The US president asked whether Ms Merkel could work it out with the Bundesbank by Monday. Mr Sarkozy suggested finance ministers meet to agree the details before the summit ended the next day. Perhaps something vague could be mentioned in the summit’s communiqué, Mr Obama suggested. No, said Mr Sarkozy, but we could meet again in the morning.

It was as if the two men had not heard her. She made the point again: “I’m not going to take such a big risk without getting anything from Italy. I’m not going to commit suicide.”

And with that, the meeting ended. Leaving the late-night session, Mr Obama put his arm around Ms Merkel as if to comfort her – a scene captured by the White House’s official photographer. The image adorned the walls of the West Wing for months.

The leaders met again the next morning but the momentum was gone. “The storm was over,” said one person at both meetings. The SDR plan would never again see the light of day. Italy would get a monitoring programme but no funding. And to compound the failure, Mr Berlusconi at his closing news conference publicly acknowledged what everyone had assiduously attempted to keep secret: that the IMF had offered him a rescue programme. Italy would suffer the stigma of needing a rescue but without receiving any assistance.

The Cannes failure provided new oxygen to the eurozone fire. When markets reopened, Italian borrowing costs soared. Within the week they would nearly touch 7.5 per cent. Greece’s would go above 33 per cent, a level almost without precedent for a developed country. Now, with no new firewall in place, it was unclear what would save the euro.

Really? The unempolyment in Russia is below 10% while the unemployment in Italy is over 25%. Merkel could have prevented that in 2011, but she refused to act and now Italy, Greece and Spain are paying the price. Her hesitation and bargainings nearly destroyed Europe.

[Deleted]

Really? The unempolyment in Russia is below 10% while the unemployment in Italy is over 25%. Merkel could have prevented that in 2011, but she refused to act and now Italy, Greece and Spain are paying the price. Her hesitation and bargainings nearly destroyed Europe.

Meanwhile, the title of your article says "How the eurozone was saved". Can you criticize Merkel for how she handled the crisis? Yes.

And you know, unemployment rates does not truly reflect over the economic situation.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markadom...low-in-august/

[Ravenblade]

Truth is she never was committed to anything, it was merely that she got tasked to do something and if you know politics run in Germany it is clear why she rejected. She has Schäuble - who has practically run the eurozone from the shadows - breathing down her neck and has her own faction as well the voters and donors to answer to. If she had done that then it would have been political suicide, she wasn't willing to sac her political office for something she would have to shoulder the risk alone especially with so many potential objections she would have to defend against. It would have led to a political stand-off which would would have frozen the political process here and therefore she might have resigned. This is why she was more than willing to give up the responsibility for fiscal responsibilities to a centralized EU fiscal management. People really need to look at realistic perspectives first before tasking her with stuff. This is also why I said tasking Mrs.Merkel with the role of the mediator in the Ukraine conflict can only lead to war and conflict and look where things are heading to. Great job, now she has to count on individuals like Mr.Gysi or Mr.Ischinger to do the job.

[Cybran]

Meanwhile, the title of your article says "How the eurozone was saved". Can you criticize Merkel for how she handled the crisis?

It's a 3 part series, the saving will come later. Her failure and political games inflamed the markets and eroded the confidence in Southern Europe. Her desire to meddle in the affairs of foreign countries has led to a lost decade and tens of thousands young people without a future.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/19ca6...#axzz31h0nrnqM

The only country where such a debate is taking place is Italy. Opinion polls suggest that more than 50 per cent of Italians support parties that have questioned their country’s commitment to the euro in one form or another. The Lega Nord, a northern Italian separatist party, wants out. The populist Five Star Movement, with more than 25 per cent approval in the opinion polls, wants a referendum. Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister, last week said Italy required a lower exchange rate as a precondition for staying in.

Plus. Italy is still considering leaving the Euro zone. They need fiscal flexibility.

[Deleted]

Her desire to meddle in the affairs of foreign countries has led to a lost decade and tens of thousands young people without a future.

Including you I guess? Get an education.

The job market is not bad. People just don't want to become engineers or programmers. Get an education that contains just a bit of academic math and you're almost guaranteed a job.

Plus. Italy is still considering leaving the Euro zone. They need fiscal flexibility.

I really don't care until they actually leave.

[Cybran]

Including you I guess? Get an education.

Petty insults again? I am actually an CS Engineer. That is not the point.


The point is that the IMF, Merkel and Srakozy are trying to remove democratically elected people with back door dealings and plots. They aren't better than Putin.

[Deleted]

Petty insults again? I am actually an CS Engineer. That is not the point.

It totally is. People who don't want to get an education, that's their own fault. I can understand there being unemployment problems in America since they don't have free education, but in the EU that's not a problem, you can get an education free anywhere you want as long as you've got good enough grades. Instead people want to work at cafes while local companies cry out for engineers and IT-dudes, and then complain when they can't get a job that millions of other people try to do.

And what you say Merkel & CO are doing is what Putin is doing. Whether what you say is true or not, at least Merkel & CO cares enough about Europe to make sure there's a long-term economic plan for Europe and putting money into public insitutions and infrastructure, whereas Putin conquers and spends money here and there so that he can keep a resort peninsula.

[Rukentuts]

It totally is. People who don't want to get an education, that's their own fault. I can understand there being unemployment problems in America since they don't have free education, but in the EU that's not a problem, you can get an education free anywhere you want as long as you've got good enough grades. Instead people want to work at cafes while local companies cry out for engineers and IT-dudes, and then complain when they can't get a job that millions of other people try to do.

And what you say Merkel & CO are doing is what Putin is doing. Whether what you say is true or not, at least Merkel & CO cares enough about Europe to make sure there's a long-term economic plan for Europe and putting money into public insitutions and infrastructure, whereas Putin conquers and spends money here and there so that he can keep a resort peninsula.

Maybe he has no interest in being a productive member of society.

[Cybran]

It totally is. People who don't want to get an education, that's their own fault.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...0BJBSQ20130221

For more than a century unskilled Italians have gone abroad to escape poverty, but these days the people running for the exits are among the country's top brains.

A growing wave of technologists, researchers and entrepreneurs is flowing away from the motherland. Few think this weekend's elections will do much to alleviate the gloom.

"I am Italian and I love Italy. But every time I come back to visit, I see the country is sliding a little further back," said Andrea Ballarini, an economics graduate who left for the U.S. West Coast nearly three years ago.

When Ballarini graduated from the elite Bocconi, Italy's best-known university, he had no plans to leave home and dreamed of setting up his own company in his native land.

But as economic crisis began to bite three years ago, the 32-year-old entrepreneur crossed the Atlantic.

"My business partner and I bought a ticket for San Francisco. We just wanted to check Silicon Valley out. We never came back," said Ballarini, who was won over by the pro-business atmosphere of the West Coast and now runs a virtual business fair platform called HyperFair.

"Back in Italy, each day began with a list of the problems I had to solve. Here I make each day a list of the things I want to do," he added.

Bullshit. It's educated engineers and doctors who can't find work and leave their countries. You are clueless as usual.

[Shalcker]

And what you say Merkel & CO are doing is what Putin is doing. Whether what you say is true or not, at least Merkel & CO cares enough about Europe to make sure there's a long-term economic plan for Europe and putting money into public insitutions and infrastructure, whereas Putin conquers and spends money here and there so that he can keep a resort peninsula.

Into same public institutions and infrastructure... Where is the difference really?

[Deleted]

Bullshit. It's educated engineers and doctors who can't find work and leave their countries. You are clueless as usual.

As usual, you cite articles that don't support what you're saying... according to the article you cite, the Italians are leaving the EU because of the superior business atmosphere of the US, not because they can't find jobs.

By the way... seeing how you're so desperate to prove that engineers don't get jobs in Europe... are you by any chance unemployed even though you're an engineer?

[Rukentuts]

By the way... seeing how you're so desperate to prove that engineers don't get jobs in Europe... are you by any chance unemployed even though you're an engineer?

And why would he want to go to Russia? Land of little high tech and brain flight?

[Cyberowl]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...0BJBSQ20130221


Bullshit. It's educated engineers and doctors who can't find work and leave their countries. You are clueless as usual.

Who can't find work? He simply got a better offer in the US. And that is not evidence, that is a nice little story. There are hundred stories telling the same and hundred stories telling the opposite.

If you are high educated and willing to move to other countries/cities you will find a better job, nothing new.

[Cybran]

As usual, you cite articles that don't support what you're saying... according to the article you cite, the Italians are leaving the EU because of the superior business atmosphere of the US, not because they can't find jobs.

It's only superior, because of the 4 year Euro crisis. There is heavy austerity and lack of investments in Italy. Firms are not hiring new staff which leaves millions out of work. Youth unemployment there is 40% thanks to Merkel and Co.

Also my personal life is non of your business.