Free Republic

If Europe’s elites want war, they should pick up a rifle and fight. After the European Commission levied a several-hundred-million-dollar fine on Elon Musk and his social media platform X earlier this month, journalist Michael Shellenberger wrote a damning post in which he excoriated Europe’s rank censorship and state-sponsored propaganda. He accused the commission of engaging “in a deception campaign aimed at confusing” Europeans and Americans into thinking that European elites’ “goal” is anything other than “to censor the American people.” Shellenberger pointed out that Musk’s fine came while European governments are demanding backdoor access to all private text messages...

Europe stands at a crossroads: compete meaningfully in the AI race or stick to its world-leading climate goals. “It’s like a fork in the road moment for Europe,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives told CNBC. The bloc can either “play in the future” or risk “missing a big part of this technology wave.” The dilemma is compounded by the region’s mandates for green energy. Globally, energy is the biggest bottleneck for building out AI-related data center projects. While the U.S. fires up fossil-fuel plants to power its build-out, Europe requires developers to disclose energy and water efficiency measures, adding red tape...

In 1988, if you had told anyone that the Soviet Union would cease to exist just four years later, you would have been dismissed as a crank. The institutions looked solid, the bureaucracy entrenched, and the power absolute. Yet by 1992, it was history. Today, European politicians in Brussels, Berlin, and Paris suffer from the same dangerous optimism. They believe they are so safely ensconced in their institutional frameworks that public anger can never truly throw them out of the saddle. But looking at the trajectory of the European Union, I believe we are closer to a revolutionary moment than...

When elections were annulled in Romania, Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner, said: "We did it in Romania, and we will do it in Germany." It’s worth remembering that quote when the same institutions now lecture others about coercion and democratic norms. ... Elon Musk .. Tyranny Breton gets his dessert

Almost half a billion pounds of taxpayers' money should be used to make Channel migrants more comfortable in France before they try to cross to Britain, the Green Party's new leader will say tomorrow. Zack Polanski will use his provocative Christmas Day message to say £476 million currently being spent on 'cruelty' trying to stop them should to go towards a new system based on 'compassion, kindness and humanity'. In a video whose release is timed to clash with the King's Speech he will talk about a three-day visit to Calais he made in the run-up to the festive period....

List of personae non gratae from UK and EU for their role in state-sanctioned extra-territorial censorship. Some are even in the US and are getting deported! Transcript linked below video

Europeans can be so stupid on this: 1. “What about the Russians?” We are not allied with Russia. We have a wide variety of sanctions against them. We have long supported Ukraine in the current war. At least Putin doesn’t whine. 2. “We are democratic!” No. Europe is bureaucratic with many layers separating voters from policy. Plus you regulate media and control information so your voters are badly misinformed. 3. “We support free speech!” No you don’t. Either you think we’re stupid enough to believe that or you’re stupid enough to believe it. This whole conflict is driven by your...

A UK teacher said he was reported to government counter-terrorism investigators and forced to resign just for showing high school senior-age students videos of President Trump. The politics teacher at Henley College in Oxfordshire, northwest of London, told the Telegraph he was accused of causing “emotional harm” to the students, who were all 17 or 18 years old — with child protective services suggesting he could be guilty of a “hate crime.” “They likened me to a terrorist. It was completely jarring,” the teacher, who asked for his name not to be used, told the paper. “It’s dystopian, like something...

Denmark said Monday it will summon the US ambassador after President Donald Trump announced he had appointed a special envoy to Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory he has threatened to annex. In response, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said they stood "in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland". Denmark said Monday it would summon the US ambassador after President Donald Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland who immediately vowed to make the Danish autonomous territory "a part of the US". Since returning to the White House in January,...

In an interview with NBC News' Andrea Mitchell, Finnish President Alexander Stubb weighed in on the attempted peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. He likened the possibility of Ukraine ceding land to Russia to the U.S. giving up multiple states.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz broke with the generally optimistic tone of European leaders during their meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump on Monday, stating that peace talks could not continue without a ceasefire. ... "Now the path is open. You opened it last Friday, but now the way is open for complicated negotiations," he said, adding, "And to be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire at the latest from the next meeting on." "I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire," he went on. "So, let's work on...

Summary Zelenskiy flies to Washington on Monday to meet Trump Merz, Macron, Starmer, Meloni, von der Leyen to accompany him Rubio sees progress but says both sides need to make concessions Putin wants swathe of Ukraine land in peace deal, sources say Putin warned Europe against 'behind-the-scenes intrigue' LONDON/KYIV, Aug 17 (Reuters) - European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday, seeking to shore up Zelenskiy's position as the U.S. president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years.Trump is leaning on Zelenskiy to...

US President Donald Trump has refused a joint meeting with European leaders and will receive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alone. This was reported by Bild, according to UNN. Details As stated in the publication, only after the one-on-one talks between the President of Ukraine and the US will representatives of the EU and NATO join them. A joint working dinner and discussion in an expanded format are planned. In addition to Merz and von der Leyen, the delegation will also include French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and...

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to “robust” security guarantees, including “effectively” offering Ukraine Article Five-like protection, during their historic Friday meeting. “We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing,” Witkoff said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Witkoff explained that Russia agreed to allow the United States and other European countries to “effectively offer [Ukraine] Article Five-like language to cover a security guarantee,” referring to the provision of NATO that states an attack on one NATO member is seen as an...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will attend the meeting of the presidents of the United States and Ukraine, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, respectively, his government spokesperson announced on Sunday. Previously, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed on X that she would attend the encounter too. The event will take place in Washington DC on Monday. The meeting would follow Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, during which they both confirmed their commitment to a swift solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

European leaders have revealed they will join Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky when he meets Donald Trump for peace talks at the White House tomorrow. Sir Keir Starmer, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and France's Emmanuel Macron will travel to Washington. Ms Von der Leyen said 'at the request of President Zelensky, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow.' Other European leaders confirming they will go tomorrow included Finnish president Alexander Stubb, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte. Mr Zelensky's Oval...

The intellectually honest political watcher knows that overall Ukraine represents the largest international money laundering operation to shift wealth from taxpayers to the politically connected institutions, since COVID-19. The money is the motive to continue the conflict.With President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin scheduled to meet in Alaska for a summit to negotiate a ceasefire, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz quickly organizes a meeting between EU leaders and the U.K to figure out how the keep the war going.As the industrial capital of the EU, Germany has a lot at stake given the nature of their contracting economy. The EU military...

Not for the first time, European capitals are gripped with apprehension that Russian President Vladimir Putin will surgically divide the transatlantic alliance as well as get everything he wants in Ukraine.Ahead of the suddenly announced summit in Alaska on Friday between Putin and US President Donald Trump, one European diplomat, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak on the record, told CNN: “We are at risk of being a footnote in history.”In part, European fears are down to just how little is known about what the Kremlin has proposed in order to halt the fighting...

Shock turns into outrage. Europeans feel they’ve been duped by Donald Trump. But the trade deal merely lays bare the EU’s accelerating loss of power. Anyone familiar with German politics has long known that Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, is no political heavyweight. Her record as Germany’s family and defense minister speaks for itself. She lacks the intellectual and strategic abilities to navigate or reform complex systems. Yes, she was outplayed by Trump during the trade negotiations -- as expected. But this misses the point. What Europeans are loudly lamenting is not just a bad deal,...

The White House has warned Sir Keir Starmer to stop threatening American tech companies amid mounting backlash over Britain’s online safety law. Members of Donald Trump’s administration are monitoring the Online Safety Act with “great interest and concern” after key allies said it was censoring free speech and imposing unfair burdens on US businesses. The law, which regulates online speech, allows the British government to levy massive fines on companies like Apple, Truth Social, and X if it finds that rules on hate speech have been broken. Those in the president’s inner circle see the potential penalties as an unwarranted...