Old World Politics

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Re: Old World Politics

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Swedish commissioner Ylva Johansson addressing the European Parliament on the Qatargate scandal.



And here’s a summary of what’s going on:

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Re: Old World Politics

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As of today Croatia has switched currency to the Euro, the 20th country to do so, and they’ve also joined the Schengen area, which means they can travel through most of Europe without a passport. :thumbs:

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Re: Old World Politics

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If you’re not familiar with the Schengen area, it is a number of countries, mostly in the EU, that have agreed to reduce border control within the area to a minimum. Once you are within the Schengen area you can move around freely, as if it all were one country, and you don’t need to show your passport.

Not all EU countries are members, Ireland has opted out and some of the newer member states like Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus, have not qualified yet. The Schengen area members need to have strict border control against non Schengen countries and they share information of who enters and leaves the area with eachother. Thus there is a set of standards you need to fulfill. Croatia has now met those standards and will switch from orange to blue on the map.

There are also some non-EU countries that are part of the Schengen area. The Nordic countries agreed to open borders and free movement within them back in the 1950’s already, and so when Schengen came about Sweden, Denmark and Finland demanded that Norway and Iceland must be allowed to join despite not being EU members. This was accepted, and as a result the other two EFTA members, Lichtenstein and Switzerland also asked to join and were accepted. Thus all of Western Europe, except the British Isles are one integrated area where you need not worry about border control. And an ever greater part of Eastern Europe is gradually being incorporated.

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Re: Old World Politics

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Typical border crossing between Norway and Sweden.


https://youtu.be/oeLXTkYw57A

When I was studying in Gothenburg, my wife and I made a day trip to Oslo (itks like a three hour drive) and we asked a Czech and a German student if they wanted to come along. The Czech guy was worried. ”But I only have a visa for Sweden, so I could getinto trouble.” No worries we said. Don’t bring your passport, just sit in the back seat and try to look Swedish.

When we crossed the border he was flabbergasted. ”This is a border?! Wtf?!” We even made a little detour, drove up to the customs station and showed him ”This is where you go if you have something to declare” then turned around and went back to the main road again.

He was stunned. But you know, back then Czechoslovakia was still a communist dictatorship, so they had walls, barbed wire, armed guards and shit at their border and cross examined everyone who wanted to cross it, regardless,of which way. Within the Nordic countries we have had free movement since the 1950’s.

But Norway is not in the EU, you say. This is the outer border of the European Union! How can it not be better protected?
Well, sort of. But Norway is a member of the single market, allowing for the free movement of goods and services, and also of the Schengen area, allowing for the free movement of people. So while they’re technically not an EU member, in practice they basically are. But kind of like how Puerto Rico is part of the USA, despite not having represenation in congress. Instead of being real members, with representatives in the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council, Norway just accepts the frameworks the rest of us agrre on, that disputes will be handled by the European Court and pay a yearly fee for being allowed access to the single market.

Sounds like a raw deal, you may think. So if they have to accept EU rules, why abstain from the right to vote on them? :eh:

Two main reasons: fishing rights and whale hunting. :look:

Norway has some of the richest fishing waters of Europe, and fishing is one of their main industries. It used to be THE main industry until they found oil. If they were to become full EU members, they would not be allowed to discriminate against other Europeans, and thus would be forced to allow fishing vessels from the entire EU the same access to their fisheries as Norwegian fishingmen.

Norway, Iceland, South Korea and Japan are the only countries to still practice commercial whale hunting. Denmark (ie the Faroe Islands and Greenland), Canada, Russia, Indonesia and the USA still allow whale hunting by aboriginal groups for cultural reasons, and in reality aboriginal whaling kills more whales than commercial whaling does, but still. Anyway, there is no way the EU would allow that. We’re already trying to convince Norway they ought to stop anyway, but they seem to be really hooked on eating whale blubber.

So, to keep their monopoly on fishing off the coast of Norway, and to be able to keep slaughtering whales, they prefer to have this sort of ”reduced membership”. They also kind of rely on their Nordic siblings (Sweden, Denmark and Finland) to keep their interests in mind when it comes to EU politics. So there you go.
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Re: Old World Politics

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Oh, and to be fair, during the pandemic Norway basically shut the border, to the great consternation of those in the border area that live in one country and work in the other, and for all those Norwegians who own a second home in Sweden, that they could no longer access.

But we’re back to normal now.
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Re: Old World Politics

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OK, so this guy is predicting the imminent collapse of China. I’m not saying he is wrong, the underlying factors he is quoting are all there. I’m thinking it could have other outcomes though. He is mentioning how they are dependent on Russian imports for their agriculture, and that Russia is going to have problems delivering and may cut the Chinese off. And this is where I have a different prediction. I have long stated that it is only a matter of time before China invades and seizes Siberia. And this could be what brings it about.

Siberia is rich in natural resources, is bordering on China and has nearly no population at all. Russia is some 17,000,000 km2 and 13,000,000 of that is Siberia, but of the 143 million people living in Russia only 33 million live in Siberia. Meanwhile China has more than 300 million people in the province adjacent to Siberia and another billion in the rest of China. If Russia stops delivering oil, fertilizer and whatnot that China needs, what is to stop the Chinese from just walking in and seizzing it? Nukes you say. But the Chinese have nukes themselves, probably better than the Russian ones. I mean, would you rather buy a Russian or a Chinese car? Would you rather buy a Russian or a Chinese cell phone? Why should nukes be different.

And the failed invasion of Ukraine has weakened Russia immensly, both militarily and economically. And they only had the GDP of Italy to begin with; two thirds of the Canadian GDP.

But I digress. Interesting video, anyway:

Last edited by Per on Sun Jan 29, 2023 3:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Old World Politics

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I had to watch that one twice Per. Holy fuck it sure sounds dire for Russia and China but is this an option piece or is it as likely as it sounds?
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Re: Old World Politics

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China's foreign investments are the elephant in every room
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Re: Old World Politics

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If China collapses how will we get our new iPhones? Actually the whole world’s economy will go into the tank since they produce majority of the electronics we need on a day to day basis. The video makes it sound like there will a collapse within the next decade but highly doubt that.
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Re: Old World Politics

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Per wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2023 7:49 am Siberia is rich in natural resources, is bordering on China and has nearly no population at all. Russia is some 17,000,000 km2 and 13,000,000 of that is Siberia, but of the 143 million people living in Russia only 33 million live in Siberia.
So basically almost a full quarter of their population..... :lol:

I bet that number doesn't include the forgotten millions that are in the gulag.....they'll be frontline fodder.
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Re: Old World Politics

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Mëds wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2023 4:02 pm
Per wrote: Sat Jan 28, 2023 7:49 am Siberia is rich in natural resources, is bordering on China and has nearly no population at all. Russia is some 17,000,000 km2 and 13,000,000 of that is Siberia, but of the 143 million people living in Russia only 33 million live in Siberia.
So basically almost a full quarter of their population..... :lol:

I bet that number doesn't include the forgotten millions that are in the gulag.....they'll be frontline fodder.
Right, so one quarter of the population spread out over 75% of the land, while 75% of the population is crammed into less than one quarter of the land, ie the European part of Russia. Also, Russia is no longer making all their demographic information easily available, and for the longest time the trend has been that people from Siberia tend to take every chance they get to move to the big cities in Russia proper, so my guess is that the 33 million figure may be overly optimistic.
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Re: Old World Politics

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The French are going crazy over the government wanting to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64.

Given that we live longer and healthier lives, while having fewer and fewer children, it is simple mathematics that we need to work longer. Most EU countries have 65 or 66 as the retirement age. Sweden has raised it from 65 to 66 in recent years and it will be 67 by the time I retire. We have a flexible range though, you can retire at 63, but then you get less than you would if you work till 66, and you have a right to work till 69, ie your employer can’t terminate you because of your age till then. In Sweden you cannot fire people without cause, but you have not had to keep people on after they reach their retirement age. Now the employee has a right to determine themselves when they want to retire, but the longer you stay on, the higher your pension will be. Anyway, these changes in Sweden have been accepted as a logical demographical consequence of longer life expectancy.

I just don’t understand the French. If they insist on retiring that early, their pensions will have to be really low.
It’s simple mathematics. And yet they are rioting in the streets.
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Re: Old World Politics

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The French government has now passed the legislation, making 64 the new retirement age in France, and there is now violent street protests all over the country. They even burnt down city hall in one place. :o

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65057249

So, when do people in Canada retire? :?
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Re: Old World Politics

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Per wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 6:44 am The French government has now passed the legislation, making 64 the new retirement age in France, and there is now violent street protests all over the country. They even burnt down city hall in one place. :o

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65057249

So, when do people in Canada retire? :?
All depends, the national pension called CPP starts at 60 (at a reduced rate), 65 is normal rate and then increases each year until 70, we also have OAS which starts at 65 and you can delay it to 70. Each year you delay you receive more per month.

If you have a private pension then the earliest I believe is 55, it all depends on how long you were there, again this is usually at a reduced rate as your pension is based upon the highest earnings for 5 years so you normally make more each year.

We also have RRSP and it all depends on how much you put into it and how well it does.
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Re: Old World Politics

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Per wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2023 6:44 am The French government has now passed the legislation, making 64 the new retirement age in France, and there is now violent street protests all over the country. They even burnt down city hall in one place. :o

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65057249

So, when do people in Canada retire? :?
Our filthy dirty corrupt liberal government is making noise about making it 67....while they enjoy 6k/night hotel vacations on our taxes

Filthy dirty animals!
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