Free Republic

In the wake of the shoot-down of the Malaysian Airlines plane over Ukraine, various pundits continue to say it is unlikely that Europe will do much about it. But why? It is just a lack of will? Or something else? The evidence is being ignored by most of the media, but it continues to indicate that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an agent, or at least a stooge, of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. In an extraordinary development, the office of the President of Russia reports that Putin said on Wednesday that the German Chancellor is “a reputable European leader under whose...

A man set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Berlin on Monday night. Police said it was too soon to say whether it was part of a political protest. Amid tensions in Berlin over pro-Gaza protests and a rise in anti-Semitism, the 46-year-old doused himself in a flammable liquid and then set himself alight with a cigarette lighter at 11.45pm on Monday. Police said the man, who is of Arab descent, only suffered minor injuries outside the Israeli embassy in south-west Berlin. A police spokesman told The Local his feet and legs were burnt and he was now...

“Berlin police cower before Jew-haters,” proclaimed a headline in the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel—and this line has been posted numerous times on social networking sites. It was reported that a group of Arabs shouted “Jew, Jew, cowardly pig, come out and fight alone” at a recent demonstration and police officers did not interfere.In many European cities, what began as peaceful protests turned into outpourings of anti-Jewish sentiments and violence against counter-demonstrators. […] The Gaza conflict has stirred up public opinion in Europe, and it has brought Israel-hatred to Germany along with it, according to political scientist Stephan Grigat. […] Grigat has...

A man set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Berlin on Monday night. Police said it was too soon to say whether it was part of a political protest. Amid tensions in Berlin over pro-Gaza protests and a rise in anti-Semitism, the 46-year-old doused himself in a flammable liquid and then set himself alight with a cigarette lighter at 11.45pm on Monday. Police said the man, who is of Arab descent, only suffered minor injuries outside the Israeli embassy in south-west Berlin. …

BERLIN — An angry mob gathered on Berlin’s famed Kurfürstendamm avenue Thursday. Draped in Palestinian flags and shaking their fists in rage, they chanted in German, “Jude, Jude feiges Schwein! Komm heraus und kämpf allein!” (“Jew, Jew, cowardly swine, come out and fight on your own!”) Earlier last week in Dortmund and Frankfurt anti-Israel protester chanted, “Hamas Hamas Juden ins gas!” (“Hamas Hamas Jews to the gas!”). On Friday, a 200-strong mob in Essen chimed in, “Scheiss Juden!” (“Jewish shit”) This week, similar mobs gathered in Kassel, Nuremberg, Mainz, and other cities throughout Germany. The crowds are largely young, with...

An imam in the German capital, Berlin, recently gave a sermon in which he expressed support for Gaza and called for “the annihilation of Jews”. […] “Oh Allah, destroy the Zionist Jews. They are no challenge for you,” he continued. “Count them and kill them to the very last one. Don’t spare a single one of them. Shake the ground beneath their feet. Make them suffer terribly. Deflect their bullets. Disperse them. They behave tyranically all over the world and spread corruption.” …

Now that the U.S.-Russia relationship has broken down, Moscow could throw a wrench into the teetering nuclear negotiations with Iran. The escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow, brought to fever by the MH17 airliner disaster, are finally to the point where they threaten to spoil the number one item on President Obama’s foreign policy agenda: the nuclear talks with Iran. The man doing the threatening is Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier this week, Putin promised to retaliate against the United States for new sanctions targeting his friends and business associates, as well as large Russian defense, energy, and financial firms....

Germany on Sunday honored a group of Nazi-era officers who tried to kill Adolf Hitler 70 years ago. The plot — portrayed in films such as the 2008 Hollywood movie "Valkyrie" — helped establish a principle under which German soldiers today are encouraged to defy orders if they would result in a crime or violate human dignity.

BERLIN (AP) -- Germany on Sunday honored a group of Nazi-era officers who tried to kill Adolf Hitler 70 years ago. The plot - portrayed in films such as the 2008 Hollywood movie "Valkyrie" - helped establish a principle under which German soldiers today are encouraged to defy orders if they would result in a crime or violate human dignity. In a somber ceremony, President Joachim Gauck called the July 20, 1944, bombing of Hitler's Wolf's Lair headquarters in Eastern Prussia a "significant day in German history" for showing the world that there were Germans who opposed the Nazi regime....

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte says Russia's president has "one last chance" to show he is serious about helping rescuers recover the bodies of the victims of crashed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The attack on the plane has claimed the lives of 28 Australians and eight permanent Australian residents, who were among the 298 passengers and crew on board. Mr Rutte's comments come amid reports pro-Russian rebels have taken 38 bodies from the site. Minutes after what he described as a "very intense" conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Mr Rutte said: "He has one last chance to show he...

The celebration began on Wednesday evening during an EU summit: a box of Belgian pralines (that she won’t touch given her diet); a bunch of flowers; champagne; and a German football shirt signed by all EU leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel turned 60 on Thursday (17 July), but kept her cool, no-frills attitude towards the wave of tributes. […] With unmatched popularity rates and the status of the longest-serving and most powerful of EU leaders, Merkel has achieved remarkable success after starting out as a scientist in the then East Germany. A Forsa poll on Wednesday showed that after more...

The ruling of the European Court of Human Rights this month to uphold France's 2011 ban on wearing the burqa and niqab veil in public has reignited the debate in Germany too, as The Local finds out in Frankfurt. Berlin plans one home for three religions (04 Jun 14) Court bans Muslim pupil from wearing face veil (28 Apr 14) CDU candidate forced to remove Turkish logo (24 Apr 14) Opponents of such a ban here say it would heavily infringe on personal, cultural and religious freedoms and only serve to inflame tensions. Advocates insist the burqa has no place...

We should not be surprised that Moscow is categorically rejecting the accusation that it was responsible for the Malaysian airline disaster. For the default position of Russian President Vladimir Putin when confronted with some unpalatable truth is to tell a bare-faced lie. Remember how, when Russian Spetsnaz special forces were rampaging through Crimea earlier this year, Mr Putin told a Russian press conference that there were no Russian forces in Ukraine? Well, now we are dealing with a similar situation....with the Russian leader trying to shift the blame for the crash on to anyone but himself. The most recent example...

One U.S. official said Washington strongly suspected the missile that downed the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was fired by Ukrainian separatists backed by Moscow...The Netherlands declared a day of national mourning for its 154 dead. Twenty-eight passengers were Malaysian, 27 Australian, 11 Indonesian, six British, four German, four Belgian, three Filipino and one Canadian. All 15 crew were Malaysian. Nationalities of the others aboard were unclear.

After Jean-Claude Juncker’s election to the Commission Presidency in Strasbourg on Tuesday (15 July), excitement in Germany was felt across party lines. “(It’s) A good sign for Europe’s capacity to act,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel commented. “He will receive our total support,” said the country’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. For the first time, European citizens have had direct influence on the appointment of the EU top job—and they successfully asserted their choice, Steinmeier said optimistically. Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament, spoke of a “historic day for European Democracy”. …

I have a guest post this morning from Saxo Bank chief economist Steen Jakobsen regarding the slowing German economy. Steen says the German economy is decelerating too quick for comfort and faces a triple whammy from Asian rebalancing, the US economy, and a bad energy policy. From Steen JakobsenGermany May Have Won the World Cup, but Its Economy is Cooling Fast We need to congratulate Germany on its World Cup win. It was a victory for organisation and science, but unfortunately the Germany economy is slowing fast — and too fast for comfort when we look at Eurozone GDP. I...

As Christian religious belief declines in Europe, the continent’s pagan heart comes more and more to the fore, and England, is only the latest European country to witness this growing phenomenon. A major pedophilia scandal is currently rocking British society, in which as many as 20 prominent politicians, judges and other members of the British establishment are suspected of having abused children in the 1980s and 1990s as part of a pedophile ring. The victims were among society’s most vulnerable, being mostly boys from state children’s homes. And such abuse, it is suspected, may have been going on for decades....

The head of Germany's parliamentary inquiry into the NSA spying scandal has suggested the government return to using typewriters to protect national secrets from prying eyes. German soldier allegedly spied for US (09 Jul 14) 'Wake up Germany and smell the cyber-coffee' (08 Jul 14) 'Enough!' Germans say in latest US spy scandal (07 Jul 14) Germany's politicians are considering going back to using old-fashioned typewriters to create sensitive documents, head of the inquiry committee Patrick Sensburg told ARD broadcaster on Monday. “Unlike other inquiry committees, we are investigating an ongoing situation. Intelligence activities are still going on, they are...

RIO DE JANEIRO – Mario Goetze volleyed in the winning goal in extra time to give Germany its fourth World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina on Sunday. Goetze controlled the ball with his chest and then shot past Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero in the 113th minute.

TORONTO - A German soldier dies silently as a World War II spy trained near Oshawa quickly and efficiently slits his throat. A trainee is killed while crawling under barbed wire during a live ammunition exercise. Recreated by a Canadian cast, such scenes — which viewers can see July 14 at 9 p.m. EST, July 15 at 3 p.m. or July 19 at 7 p.m. EST EST when History channel airs Camp X: Secret Agent School — echo the grim realities of agents who risked their lives while preparing to destroy enemy power plants and bridges. “We’re always looking for stories that...

Rocks were thrown at police in Berlin during a protest by some 1,000 demonstrators—most of them Palestinians—against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. As many as 10 demonstrators were arrested for breach of the peace and trying to forcibly free others already arrested in Saturday’s protest, a police spokesman said. One police officer was struck by a rock but was not injured. The march was unregistered; demonstrations in Berlin require a police permit. …

“political temper tantrum” after ordering the CIA station chief to leave the country over allegations the U.S. had recruited two government officials to spy. “It just doesn't seem like a very adult reaction to expel the CIA chief from Germany,” Rogers said in an interview with CNN. “And it's concerning and it's a political temper tantrum like I've never seen before that I think is not productive, it is jeopardizing both intelligence cooperation and relationships with beyond the intelligence relationship between America and Germany.” Rogers said the expulsion, announced earlier this week, was “a huge deal,” and said he was...

Every two years, a select group of Western fighter manufacturers touch down at Farnborough air show to promote their wares in what is perhaps the toughest of all sales categories. As the home show for Eurofighter partner company BAE Systems, the event offers a prime opportunity to highlight the credentials of the Typhoon, as it works with allies Airbus Defence & Space and Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aermacchi to add to their operators list. Austria, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the UK have together received more than a combined 400 examples so far, and Oman is under contract to field 12...

Multi-role functionality has been a long time coming for the Eurofighter Typhoon. But the four-nation industrial consortium building the combat jet says the Phase 1 Enhancements (P1E) package that is now entering service represents a “paradigm shift” in capability. The commander of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon force, Air Cmdr. Gary Waterfall, said the new package allows the RAF to drop 500-pound Paveway IV “smart” bombs “at the moment of our choosing, on targets of our choosing, with a multitude of fuse settings, impact angles and arrivals.” Laurie Hilditch, Eurofighter GmbH future capabilities manager, added, “The operator may...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel may hold brief talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin when both attend the soccer World Cup final in Brazil on Sunday, Merkel’s spokesman said on Friday. […] Merkel is traveling to Rio de Janeiro to see Germany play Argentina in the final, and Putin is attending because Russia will host the next World Cup in 2018. …

For decades, Germany’s position in the West remained unquestioned. Following the NSA spying and other political scandals, many Germans want greater independence from the US. But does that mean getting closer to Moscow? […] On the one hand, Germans are disappointed by the Americans and their unceasing surveillance activities. At the same time, they have demonstrated a surprising level of sympathy for the Russians and their president, Vladimir Putin, in the Ukraine crisis. This raises the fundamental question of Germany’s national identity. In the long run, Germans will have to decide which side they prefer. …

In an interview, outgoing NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discusses Germany’s postwar tradition of pacifism and his belief the country is now ready, and indeed has the responsibility, to take on a greater role in global affairs. […] “Germany is a normal country today, with the kinds of rights and duties other countries have. That’s why Germany should play an important role in foreign and security policy, be it in the EU, NATO or in international politics.” …

Michael Hartmann, a leading member of the Germany’s left of center Social Democratic Party, has admitted to taking crystal meth. […] He had hoped the drug would improve his performance at work, (his) lawyer said. […] The 51-year-old politician had previously spoken out against cannabis. …

The EU’s bailout fund has moved closer to being able to directly pump money into troubled banks after the German government introduced a bill allowing direct bank recapitalization. The draft law will now require approval in the Bundestag, but is planned to enter into force in November. “This is an important step to stabilize our financial sector … and to increase further the trust in our common European currency,” said finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble on Wednesday (9 July). He added that the law would help “rule out the risk that the taxpayer would have to accept liability, as in the...

Kerry Admits: Iran Negotiations Not WorkingPosted By Majid Rafizadeh On July 10, 2014 @ 12:35 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | No Comments In less than two week, the interim nuclear deal will expire, most likely without a final deal being struck between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the G5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany).The Islamic Republic has been given years to come clean and halt its ideological and regional hegemonic ambitions of obtaining nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, the Obama administration believes that we need to give the Islamic Republic another chance, trusting the...

Many of the graphic images being shared on social media are really from Syria or Iraq, finds the broadcaster. […] “A #BBCtrending investigation has found that many of these images are not from the latest conflict and not even from Gaza. Some date as far back as 2009 and others are from conflicts in Syria and Iraq.” …

A top Social Democrat politician on Wednesday admitted he took crystal meth, but said he only did it to improve his performance at work.The apartment of Michael Hartmann, the interior policy expert for the centre-left SPD (Social Democrats), was searched by police last week in a drugs probe. And on Wednesday the lawyer of the lawmaker from Mainz said his client did buy and consume a small quantity of the drug in autumn 2013. His lawyer said he used crystal meth for around a month, but was not addicted to the drug. The lawyer said Hartmann had hoped to “improve...

BERLIN — Germany’s relations with the United States plunged to a low point Thursday, with the government demanding the expulsion of the chief American intelligence official stationed here because, it said, Washington has refused to cooperate with German inquiries into United States intelligence activities. “The representative of the U.S. intelligence services at the United States Embassy has been asked to leave Germany,” a government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement. German officials have been frustrated in their efforts to receive clarification from Washington since last summer, when it was reported that the National Security Agency had been monitoring the...

Germany told the CIA station chief in Berlin to leave the country on Thursday in a dramatic display of anger from Chancellor Angela Merkel at the behaviour of a close ally after officials unearthed two suspected U.S. spies. The scandal has chilled relations with Washington to levels not seen since Merkel’s predecessor opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. It follows allegations that Merkel herself, who grew up in Stasi-ridden East Germany, was among thousands of Germans whose mobile phones have been bugged by American agents. “Spying on allies … is a waste of energy,” the chancellor said in...

In what amounts to a diplomatic earthquake, Berlin has asked the country's top CIA official to leave Germany. The measures comes in response to the second allegation in a week of a German government employee spying for the US.

The German government has ordered the expulsion of a CIA official in Berlin in response to two cases of alleged spying by the US. The official is said to have acted as a CIA contact at the US embassy, reports say, in a scandal that has infuriated German politicians. A German intelligence official was arrested last week on suspicion of spying. An inquiry has also begun into a German defense ministry worker, reports said. “The representative of the US intelligence services at the embassy of the United States of America has been told to leave Germany,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert...

German politicians reacted angrily on Wednesday to news of a suspected U.S. spy in the defence ministry, which came days after the arrest of a German foreign intelligence agency worker as a double agent. After the federal prosecutors said authorities had conducted searches in connection with a second spying case, Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition partners said Washington should remove any U.S. embassy staff involved and cease spying on its ally. Security sources told Reuters the latest suspect was from the military and worked in the defence ministry in Berlin, but no arrest appeared to have been made. The ministry confirmed...

On Tuesday, Germany demolished the host nation Brazil in a 7-1 World Cup win that will go down in history. It was an astonishing victory for the Germans, and an epically humiliating loss for the Brazilians. For observers, it was at the very least remarkable.After the game, Malaysian MP Bung Mokhtar Radin, a member of the dominant United Malays National Organization, decided to tweet to congratulate Germany.He did so by congratulating Hitler. WELL DONE..BRAVO...LONG LIVE HITLER...— Bung Moktar Radin (@MyKinabatangan) July 8, 2014 Celebrating a man who died almost 70 years ago for his country winning a sporting event would...

WASHINGTON — When President Obama placed a call to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany last Thursday, he had a busy agenda: to consult with a close ally and to mobilize wavering Europeans to put more pressure on Russia to end its covert incursions in Ukraine. What Mr. Obama did not know was that a day earlier, a young German intelligence operative had been arrested and had admitted that he had been passing secrets to the Central Intelligence Agency. While Ms. Merkel chose not to raise the issue during the call, the fact that the president was kept in the dark...

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — The fireworks began at dawn. All around this city, loud pops and bangs rang out as men and women and children, so many dressed in yellow, set off flares and beeped car horns. It was supposed to be a magical day. The Brazilian national soccer team, playing at home, was one game away from a World Cup final. No one could have guessed the tears would come before halftime. No one could have imagined there would be flags burning in the streets before dinner. Certainly no one could have envisioned that any Brazilian fans, watching their...

The dreams of millions of Brazilian football fans have been left in tatters as Germany beat the host nation a 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. Spectators inside in The Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte were in tears as their side succumbed to the humiliating defeat, ending dreams of a title on home soil. The side were booed off following the disappointing performance, the biggest defeat in a World Cup semi-final and Brazil's worst defeat in their history. Four goals in the space of just seven first-half minutes silenced an entire nation and the shell-shocked hosts leaving them an almost...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Chinese youth on Tuesday to help protect the environment and conserve energy, telling a group of elite university students that sustainability does not have to come at the cost of economic growth and can ensure a better world. In a speech at Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China’s top universities, Merkel said it does not make sense to separate economic performance, environmental protection and social responsibility. “Sustainable development does not sacrifice economic growth. This is a misunderstanding. Sustainable development gives us a new opportunity to create wealth,” Merkel said at the end of...

The German government is expecting around 175,000 people to file applications for asylum this year, the highest number in two decades. Regional politicians are acting surprised, but there have been signs of this development for years now. […] The refugees in Germany are fleeing many things: the civil war in Syria, the recent wave of terror in Iraq, torturous regimes but also, in many cases, a life of poverty and no prospects, be it in Africa or as a member of the Roma minority in Serbia. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) estimates that as many as 175,000...

Former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton called Chancellor Angela Merkel “the greatest leader in Europe” during a visit to Berlin on Sunday and said it was high time America had a woman leader too, though without confirming she would seek the job. Clinton also referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “tough customer with a pretty thin skin” in an appearance at a Berlin theater to promote her new book, “Hard Choices”. …

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. will work with Germany to resolve its concerns over reports that a German intelligence employee spied for the United States, the White House said Monday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. is aware that a German citizen was arrested amid allegations he was purportedly working for the U.S. But he would not say whether the reports are accurate. "This is an intelligence matter, it's a matter that is under investigation by the German law enforcement authorities, so I'm not in a position to comment on it from here," Earnest said. German Chancellor Angela...

Germany may step up its counter-espionage efforts after an employee of its intelligence service was arrested on suspicion of spying for the US. Measures being considered in response to scandal include monitoring the intelligence activities of nominal Nato allies such as America, Britain and France, as well as expelling US agents from Germany. According to a report in Bild, interior minister Thomas de Maizière has emphasised the urgent need for a "360 degree vision" of the foreign secret agency's activities. The newspaper claims to have obtained an internal document which outlines "concrete counter measures", thus moving away from a policy...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to China this weekend for her seventh visit, eager to deepen trade and investment ties between the export powerhouses of Europe and Asia. For the EU’s biggest economy, China is a crucial mass market, where companies want its technology and millions of newly prosperous crave German goods from Audi sedans to luxury home appliances. […] China is Germany’s number-two export market outside Europe after the United States. It sold goods worth €67 billion to China last year, while imports from the Asian giant topped €73 billion. …

It seems that every day brings new claims and counter-claims about who’s spying on whom. Governments are trying to limit the damage, but that damage is not limited to governments, expert Jeremie Zimmermann told DW.… It’s something of historical amplitude and we still need to take some distance to be able to understand what is exactly going on. What we see is the unraveling of the very infrastructure for a total surveillance society that we are realizing, day by day, is already deployed all around the world under our feet. The infrastructure for surveilling everything about everybody all the time....

An employee of Germany's intelligence agency has been arrested on suspicion of spying for the US, reports say. The man is said to have been trying to gather details about a German parliamentary committee that is investigating claims of US espionage. German media say the man arrested this week is a 31-year-old employee of the federal intelligence agency, known as the BND. The German federal prosecutor's office confirmed the man's arrest, but gave no other details. A spokesman for Ms Merkel said she had been informed of the arrest, as had the members of the nine-strong parliamentary committee investigating the...

Twelve EU countries have warned investors not to do business with Israeli settler entities, amid a security crisis in Israel and Palestine. The group includes: Austria; Belgium; Croatia; Denmark; Finland; Greece; Ireland; Luxembourg; Malta; Portugal; Slovakia; and Slovenia. Portugal published its statement on Wednesday (2 July) and the others came out on Thursday. France, Italy, and Spain put out similar communiques earlier this week. Germany and the UK already did it months ago. Poland is expected to publish a warning shortly. The Irish foreign ministry said the action “has been coordinated at EU level”. …