Europe
December 26, 2022 — John Hinderaker
In general, political apologies are worse than useless. The Left can never be appeased, and an apology just leads to more demands, often of a financial nature. But the case of Belgium tests that principle: Why Belgium Won’t Apologize For Its Savagery In Congo: Belgium’s king has vetoed an apology for his country’s savage colonial past in central Africa, raising the ghost of his ancestor Leopold II whose reign of
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November 13, 2022 — John Hinderaker
The NATO alliance seems stronger in light of events in Ukraine and Russia. But economic competition and security may be something else. The Telegraph headlines: “Europe has picked a side in the new Cold War – China.” In the new Cold War economy, trade will be restricted, technology fenced off, and intellectual property fiercely protected. Manufacturing capabilities will be built up, and supply chains brought closer to home to ensure
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November 11, 2022 — Steven Hayward
Last week we noted that European inflation is running higher than U.S. inflation, and today news out of London that the British economy is officially in recession. It also appears that recession is already under way in continental Europe, at least in their all-important manufacturing sector, which is swooning toward 2009 and COVID shutdown levels. This may be more on account of the insane energy policies and incipient shortages, but
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November 6, 2022 — Steven Hayward
Yes indeed I am presently en route to Europe for a number of meetings in several different undisclosed locations to plot and scheme against the left, though my podcast co-conspirators John Yoo and Lucretia and I will surface briefly for a podcast recorded on location in Milan early next week. I do have one public event, however. I know Power Line has a handful of readers in Budapest, because one
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October 7, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Joe Biden’s dementia took center stage in world diplomatic circles when he went off-script at a fundraiser last night. He was quoted as saying: “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since [President JFK] Kennedy and the [1962] Cuban missile crisis. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.” *** Mr Biden said he
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September 29, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Conservative electoral victories across Europe have the continent’s left-wing establishment nervous. New British Prime Minister Liz Truss and her chancellor have announced a program of tax cuts intended to incentivize growth in Britain’s economy. Who knows? It has worked before, it may work again. But the International Monetary Fund isn’t waiting to find out. It demands that the U.K. change its announced policy to conform to liberal norms. The Telegraph
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September 28, 2022 — Steven Hayward
Who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines? Your guess is as good as mine. It does seem peculiar to think Russia would have blown up their own pipeline, but it is not inconceivable that a faction of Russia’s military is trying to sabotage Putin as a prelude for ousting him, or that Putin sees it as a kind of “Cortez burning his ships” moment to indicate that he is all-in
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September 26, 2022 — Steven Hayward
We’re getting another confirmation today of a key definition in Power Line’s Lexicon of Leftist Terms: ‘”Populism” is when the wrong person or cause wins a free election”.’ The corollary is that every Republican candidate for president is Hitler, and now we learn that every Italian conservative is Mussolini. On the other hand, I can see why the authoritarian elites of the European Union, who have made vague threats against
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September 24, 2022 — John Hinderaker
We wrote here about today’s election in Italy, and the likelihood that it will be won by a conservative coalition led by Giorgia Meloni and the Brothers of Italy party. Meloni is “far right,” which means she is skeptical of the benefits of endless illegal immigration, and a “firebrand,” which means she gives speeches that voters like. The election is going on right now, and Meloni is favored to emerge
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September 15, 2022 — Steven Hayward
I’ll bet Tom Friedman would really like to indulge his authoritarian impulse to be “China for a day” (because then we could impose the “right solutions” to all our problems) right now. Today he uncorked a primal scream whose subtext is: Sarah Palin (and Donald Trump) were right: we should drill, baby, drill! here in the U.S. Yes—for oil and natural gas! Don’t believe me? It turns out that Putin
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September 13, 2022 — Steven Hayward
The Washington Post reported yesterday that someone woke up Slow Joe: White House alarm rises over Europe as Putin threatens energy supply White House officials are growing increasingly alarmed about Europe’s energy crisis and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to force a bleak winter on the continent. Seeking to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine and force a retreat, Western allies have moved to set a cap on what
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September 11, 2022 — Steven Hayward
Perhaps the most memorable comment at the outbreak of World War I—or at least the one quoted in every history book—came from the British foreign minister Sir Edward Grey: “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time.” The first half of this statement suddenly applies again to Europe’s energy crisis that threatens a cold and dark winter ahead, and we’ll have
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September 7, 2022 — John Hinderaker
To Europe, anyway. Years of horrible decisions by European leaders have come home to roost, as Europeans now worry about how to heat their homes this winter. Reliance on a geopolitical enemy for much of their energy turned out to be a mistake, as Russia has now shut off gas supplies. Who could have predicted it? Other than anyone with a modicum of common sense? Which Europe’s governing class has
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August 24, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Here in America, we have a chief executive who is elderly, frail, and in declining health. Not so in Finland. Finland’s Prime Minister is Sanna Marin, 36 years old and pretty. Over the last week or so, Marin has been caught up in a series of scandals–or are they pseudo-scandals? What is clear is that she likes to party, while her husband apparently doesn’t. Two videos of Marin partying with
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July 26, 2022 — John Hinderaker
An election is coming up in Italy in September, and the Brothers of Italy party, led by co-founder Giorgia Meloni, is currently leading the polls. There has been scant attention to the election in the U.S., but European news coverage is interesting for what it tells us about the state of politics on that continent, which in some ways mirrors conditions here in America. France 24 headlines: “Brothers of Italy,
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July 3, 2022 — John Hinderaker
It isn’t just the U.S.: around the world “green” fanatics are destroying livelihoods and dragging down standards of living. This instance comes from the Netherlands: “Dutch farmers protest livestock cuts to curb nitrogen.” In one of their largest-ever demonstrations, the farmers demanded the scrapping of recently announced plans by the Hague-based government, which could see a 30 percent reduction in livestock. The Netherlands, the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter… I was
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April 3, 2022 — Steven Hayward
The polls have closed over in Hungary, where parliamentary elections will determine whether Viktor Orban and his Fidesz Party will remain in power, or be displaced by a conservative coalition that promises to continue many of Orban’s policies (such as, unfortunately, heavy dependence on Russia for energy supplies). Significant that Orban’s opposition calculates that it can only succeed by running a candidate who is nearly as socially conservative as Orban.
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