Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America’s followers,’ says Macron
http://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-china-america-pressure-interview/

Why would Europe trust a partner who destroys Nordstream to sell their own gas

"Well I think maybe Germany and Japan kneeled like a slave does in subservience before their master (the US), where Russia never did."

That may be so in the conspiracy riddled minds of Russian patriots, but Japanese and Germans are living free lives and believing and saying whatever they choose. How is it that these "enslaved and subservient" people enjoy such freedom, are so much wealthier and have far less corruption than Russia. That sounds like a phenomenal dupe by the United States, with the impoverished and enslaved no doubt regularly retold the updated details by their authoritarian gangster ruling elite via controlled media.

"Let's see how Europe goes next winter... "

A very good idea AC. Time will tell, but my guess is that Europeans will be warm and cosy whilst the Russians will still be brainwashed and oppressed.

German industrial output falls more than expected in December
http://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/german-industrial-output-falls-more-than-expected-december-2023-02-07/

>>Industrial production decreased by 3.1% on the previous month, the office said. In a Reuters poll, analysts had pointed to a drop of 0.7% for the month.
The drop was more severe in energy-intensive industrial sectors, where production decreased by 6.1% in December compared with November.
This illustrates how severely the energy crisis is hurting industry, said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING.
"The former growth engine of the German economy is stuttering and improvement is not really in sight," Brzeski said.<<

Germany Unemployment Rate
http://tradingeconomics.com/germany/unemployment-rate
>>The unemployment rate in Germany edged up to 5.6 percent in March 2023, the highest level since July 2021 and slightly above market expectations of 5.5 percent, as the number of unemployed people rose by 16 thousand to 2.54 million. Year-on-year, the number of unemployed increased by 229 thousand.<<

Do you think maybe they're free to talk about the destruction of Nordstream by the US and that they can't afford their own domestic energy costs, that businesses are closing or moving manufacturing abroad and they're losing their jobs?
- I think it may be a realistic possibility for Germans at home, but I'm not sure the German media would be free to discuss it in such detail...

It looks like I'm not the only one who thinks the way I do.
- And if I think it and others are thinking it...
Well the slaves must obey their masters
[shrugs shoulders]

US TO PUNISH EU SLAVES OVER RUSSIA SANCTIONS
http://www.youtube.com/live/69IcuO505iE?feature=share

AC,

Another tirade of vague and unsupported posts that are largely irrelevant. The world is going through an economic dip at the moment manufacturing capacity in countries that export has all dipped including China.

Also if the EU were vassal states of the US, why have they largely ignored all requests from the US for the previous few decades? It was the second unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine along with the 1000s of war crimes by Russia that spurred them into action.

The only reason that Russia’s economy hasn't plummeted is because of the huge expenditure on the army. Given the huge budget deficits, Russia is running this is only sustainable in the short run.

Considering that Russia has broken every treaty or ceasefire with Ukraine since 1994 Russia simply cannot be trusted, and the outcome of the war must be that the Russian army is degraded to the point where it cannot contemplate attacking its neighbours again and completely withdraws from all occupied Ukraine including Crimea before the sanctions are lifted.

Who cares about the sanctions?
They're doing more harm to the west than to Russia.
BRICS nations are getting all the cheap energy, while western nations get inflation, businesses face bankruptcy and their citizens get welfare.
Sanctions only lock nations out of the western monetary system, and many nations are now looking for ways around this system, not just Russia.
The US has won a small battle with it's sanctions, but has lost the war.

Saudi Arabia has joined BRICS and OPEC+ are willing to reduce output to stick it to the US,
- because the US tried to tell them how much they should sell oil for.
They tried to say 'We are your master and you are our slave'

It's game over for the US, it's simply a matter of time.
- Destroyed by their own sanctions against others.

The US has only one doctrine, 'where there's confusion there's profit'.
Sanctions only work in the short term.
In the long term the opponent learns to circumnavigate
Russia is doing what the US did with Iraq, and the West let the US get away with it.
Why?
Profit!
China is doing as the US showed them, HOW TO
Now everyone is concerned with the Ukraine.
If one was really concerned about lives then the Ukraine should have capitulated as it was not in any position to fight a war much less with Russia.
You don't really think the US is giving armaments away to the Ukrainians for free! PULEEZE...the UK has only recently just finished paying the US for the World War2
Aid comes at a cost! It's called Aid because it's on credit, to be paid for at a later stage and at a time and manner of the donors choice.
The West set the example with Iraq and now want to change the rules.
Why? Iraq is still smouldering.
Afghanistan is a lost cause.
The Palestinians are a living Holocaust...what! just because there are no ovens it's OK.
Give me a break, being two faced is just that
The US has no intention of anything that creates stability because where there's confusion there's profit and the US is profiting big time with Ukraine.
The US will fight Russia down to the last Ukrainian and NATO will help them do it.
And the delusional still think if you tell a lie long enough it will become the truth