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Merkel's Legacy as Russian Invasion Lays Up to the final hours before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, former chancellor Angela Merkel had been touted as the person favored by Germans to try to talk President Vladimir Putin out of the conflict. But as Russian bombs fell on Ukrainian cities, a shadow has fallen on Merkel's 16 years in office, with some observers now questioning if her detente policies with Putin had in fact left Germany, and Europe, vulnerable. Once hailed as the leader of the free world, the veteran center-right leader has been accused by some of increasing Europe's...

Berlin (AFP) – Up to the final hours before Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, former chancellor Angela Merkel had been touted as the person favoured by Germans to try to talk President Vladimir Putin out of the conflict. But as Russian bombs fell on Ukrainian cities, a shadow has fallen on Merkel's 16 years in office, with some observers now questioning if her detente policies with Putin had in fact left Germany, and Europe, vulnerable. Once hailed as the leader of the free world, the veteran centre-right leader has been accused by some of increasing Europe's reliance on Russian...

At a time when US officials are saying virtually every day that the US is in “active discussions” to ban Russian oil imports, Germany’s economy minister said that while he regrets the country is still dependent on imports from Moscow, he warned against a comprehensive ban on energy imports from Russia. As Dutesche Welle reports, “Germany is currently still dependent on Russian fossil fuels”, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Thursday; he spoke out against a ban on energy imports from Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I would not advocate an embargo on Russian imports of...

VIDEORemember how the liberal media kept screeching that President Trump was Putin's puppet? Well, the reality was quite the opposite because President Trump OPPOSED the one thing most important to Vladimir Putin, namely the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. A project that President Trump knew would make Western Europe dependent on Russian energy which is why he imposed sanctions upon it.Oh, and does anybody out there really think Russia would have invaded Ukraine if President Trump were still in the White House? But, hey, at least we no longer have mean tweets.

BERLIN–German oil and gas company Wintershall Dea AG, one of the investors in the now frozen Nord Stream 2 pipeline, said it would write off its 1 billion euro, or $1.1 billion, financing in the project and won't pursue new energy ventures in Russia. Germany last week halted the $11 billion Nord Stream 2 project that would have doubled the capacity of an existing pipeline traveling along a similar route and linking Russian gas fields directly to Germany. The project was backed by a number of Western energy players, including Shell PLC, which said on Monday that it would end...

Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), a Democrat who has consistently opposed measures to make America energy independent again, took thousands in donations from a lobbyist for the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Gas prices surged 22 percent in the last two weeks to hit the most expensive ever recorded, $4.43 per gallon, which exceeded the record from July 2008, the prior all-time high, by 32 cents per gallon. So the discovery of Malinowski accepting thousands in donations from a Russian pipeline lobbyist could have severe repercussions for the vulnerable Democrat, who has opposed American energy independence. As Breitbart News reported in...

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.), who has accused Republicans of enabling Russia, took maximum campaign donations from a top lobbyist for Nord Stream 2 AG, the company behind an oil transportation project dubbed "Putin’s pipeline." Swalwell, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, received $2,900 last year from Vincent Roberti Sr., the chairman of lobbying powerhouse Roberti Global. Roberti gave $5,400 to Swalwell’s campaign in 2018. Roberti Global received $2.4 million in 2021 from Nord Stream 2 AG, a Switzerland-based subsidiary of Russian oil giant Gazprom. Critics of the 761-mile pipeline have long said it would allow Vladimir Putin to...

Tony Podesta's firm failed to file legally required disclosures after emails with his WH adviser brother A high-dollar lobbyist and fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign failed to file legally required disclosures for his advocacy on behalf of a foreign government in discussions with Clinton’s future campaign chairman, according to a political law expert. High-powered Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta emailed his brother John, a top White House adviser who would later chair the Clinton campaign, in January 2015. Tony wondered if John would attend a meeting with the Indian ambassador to the United States. “I’m at Camp David Friday,” John...