Thank you, Angela - Vielen Dank!

Vielen Dank, Angela!

Thank you!
Vielen Dank!
አመሰግናለሁ
Շնորհակալություն
Çox sağ ol
Eskerrik asko
ধন্যবাদ
Hvala ti
Благодаря
ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတ
Salamat
Zikomo
Aitäh
Kiitos
Je vous remercie
Dankewol
Tapadh leat
Grazas
გმადლობთ
Ευχαριστώ
આભાર
Mèsi
na gode
Mahalo
धन्यवाद
Ua tsaug rau koj
Daalụ
Terima kasih
Go raibh maith agat
Þakka þér
Grazie
ありがとうございました
Matur nuwun
Gràcies
Рақмет сізге
អរគុណ
谢谢
Spas dikim
Gratias tibi
Paldies
Ačiū
Dank je
Dziękuję Ci
Obrigado
спасибо
Tack
Дякую
Takk

Background reading:

http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/692831/west-paying-blood-folly-politicians

Merkel´s memory loss: She does not remember that she was an agitation and propaganda officer in DDR!

Not enough people know about German Chancellor´s past in the service of DDR. That´s why it is important to remind people of her background, as told in the book "The First Life of Angela M.":

The book explores Merkel's life growing up in German Democratic Republic (GDR), where her father Horst Kasner was a Protestant pastor and a committed socialist. He moved to East Germany from West Germany in 1954.
Merkel has said in the past that her FDJ role at the academy was more that of a cultural secretary and that her duties included buying theater tickets and organizing book readings.
'Closeness to the System'
But former German Transport Minister Günther Krause -- an eastern German politician who worked with her in the final months of the GDR and as a fellow minister in the government ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl in the early 1990s -- contradicts her in the book and says she propagated Marxism-Leninism.
"With Agitation and Propaganda you're responsible for brainwashing in the sense of Marxism," he said. "That was her task and that wasn't cultural work. Agitation and Propaganda, that was the group that was meant to fill people's brains with everything you were supposed to believe in the GDR, with all the ideological tricks. And what annoys me about this woman is simply the fact that she doesn't admit to a closeness to the system in the GDR. From a scientific standpoint she wasn't indispensable at the Academy of Sciences. But she was useful as a pastor's daughter in terms of Marxism-Leninism. And she's denying that. But it's the truth."

Merkel reacted to these facts in this way:

On Sunday evening, Merkel said she hadn't covered up anything about her past. "I can only rely on my memory," she said at a public screening of her favorite movie, a popular love film made in East Germany, on Sunday night. "If something turns out to be different, I can live with that."

Frau Merkel apparently suffers from a serious loss of memory. That would not matter if she were a private citizen, but it is deeply disconcerting when we are talking about the person in charge of Germany, and in reality the European Union.

Dr Oliver Hartwich: "Merkel may not politically survive the disaster she has created"

Dr Oliver Hartwich is again spot on in his analysis of the state of the European Union and in putting the blame on the failed German chancellor Angela Merkel:

On multiple fronts the EU as an institution, as a project and as a promise is under simultaneous attack. But unlike in previous times, the result will not be an EU rising like phoenix from the ashes. It will either be the end of the EU or at least the end of the EU as we know it.
Despite its costs in the hundreds of billions, the euro crisis has not derailed the EU just yet. The continent’s monetary, fiscal and banking problems have not been solved, of course. However, they were sufficiently abstract not to cause widespread popular unrest. Plus, by administering some ECB alchemy, they can at least be put on hold for a while.
With the refugee crisis engulfing Europe it is different. More than a million migrants entering the EU mainly via Greece and Italy cannot be ignored, put on hold or inflated away. They have to be dealt with. They are visible. And they are posing serious questions to the way the EU and each individual member state regard themselves. --

The only hope for Merkel to politically survive this situation is also the least likely. She needs to find a European agreement to jointly deal with the crisis. This is not going to happen if EU members cannot even relocate more than 331 refugees.
Merkel also needs help from Turkey in stopping the flow — and last week’s Turkish-German consultations did not suggest that this was going to happen anytime soon. Finally, Merkel needs Greece to protect its sea border with Turkey. Again, you would not want to hold your breath.

Even professional EU optimists like Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the EU Commission, are sounding increasingly desperate. They are both on the record warning of an existential crisis to the EU — and they are right.
The problem is no-one knows what would follow the failure of the EU. All we know is that there is little time left to avert the collapse of this institution.
And while all of this is happening, the United Kingdom is flirting with an exit from the EU, the new Polish government is experimenting with a new form of authoritarianism, and in Portugal the conservatives have failed to form a government despite their better-than-expected showing in last year’s elections.
Politically and economically, Europe is burning. And the one person who deserves more blame than anyone else for the sorry state of the continent is the same who is regularly seen as the ‘most powerful woman in the world’ or Time’s ‘person of the year’: Angela Merkel.
Merkel’s unwillingness to confront the failings of the monetary union despite an insistence on internal devaluation has destabilised Greece and is also responsible for the rise of extremist and populist parties across Europe. Her unilateralism on refugees is dividing the EU and has given rise to Eastern European nationalists. In her own country, her failed euro policies and her naive migration recipes are burdening taxpayers for generations to come.
Merkel may not politically survive the disaster she has created — and that would be well deserved. The collateral damage of her failing would be a Europe that sees the resurrection of nationalism, borders and political extremism. And it would be the end of the EU as we knew it.

Angela Merkel is Time´s "Person of the Year" 2015

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been chosen "Man Person of the Year" by Time Magazine.

Time always tries to find the person, who "for better or for worse...has done the most to influence the events of the year". This year the Time judges obviously opted for a person in the second category, thus putting Frau Merkel in the group consisting of such luminaries as Vladimir Putin, Deng Xiaoping and Yuri Andropov ...

Dr. Oliver Hartwich: "Merkel´s irresponsible decision has created an existential challenge to her own country"

Angela Merkel´s open doors refugee policy has seriously weakened Germany and the entire EU:

Nothing is fine in Europe these days. Since Angela Merkel singlehandedly opened Germany’s borders to refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and any other nomads, the continent has been plunged into chaos. First and foremost, Merkel’s irresponsible decision has created an existential challenge to her own country. But it also threatens to wreck the European Union -- or at least turn it into an entirely different organisation. --

Before too long, we can expect Turkey to use the leverage presented to it by the refugee crisis to extort more concessions from Merkel. And how ironic would that be: to see liberal Britain depart from the EU while authoritarian Turkey joins – and both of them essentially because of the same reason.
Merkel’s political stupidity has exposed her to blackmail from Turkey – and from Greece. Again, it is completely ironic how the balance of power has shifted in Europe. Only half a year ago, it was the Greek government that was humiliated in Europe and had to give in to Germany’s demands. The refugee crisis has changed that too. --

What this shows is how much Merkel’s policies have reduced Germany’s standing. Not so long ago, Germany was seen as strong and Merkel as one of the most powerful politicians in the world. Today, the British are preparing their departure from the EU, Turkey cannot believe its luck to be dictating its demands to Berlin, and even Greece may feel encouraged to stand up to Germany.

We are witnessing a fundamental shift of power within the EU. This shift of power has weakened Merkel’s Germany and it will eventually lead to an EU that is very different from the EU that we knew.

It is indeed the end of the EU as we knew it. Britain out, Turkey in and Greece debt free: who would have thought what seismic shifts the refugee crisis could trigger in the EU’s power play?

Read the entire article here

The end of the Angela Merkel era is in sight

The truth about the incompetence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel is finally coming out:

"Angela Merkel has been Germany’s Chancellor for 10 years, but this is the first time that she is facing serious challenges. Merkel may have survived the euro crisis without a dent in her popularity but Europe’s refugee crisis is leading observers to a hitherto unthinkable question: what if Merkel stumbles over the uncontrolled influx of migrants into her country?

There are problems for Merkel on two fronts. Domestically, her long reign in the opinion polls is drawing to a close as people realise the consequences of her open borders policy. There are now between 5000 and 10,000 migrants arriving in Germany every day. Meanwhile internationally, Merkel faces a double confrontation. On the one hand, EU partners are furious with Germany’s unilateralism. On the other, she now has to beg Turkey for help in containing the flow of Syrian refugees." --

"It is not the first time that Merkel has burdened Germany with the results of her policies. Her decision to switch off nuclear power stations cost energy consumers dearly. Her guarantees for other eurozone countries will haunt German taxpayers for generations.

For years, Merkel drew her political capital from a very simple positioning. By being boring and unexciting, she portrayed a sense of security. The Germans felt safe in her hands, almost irrespective of what she did (or failed to do). But it is hard to feel safe when the country is flooded by more than a million of people in a year and all the head of government has to offer is the slogan “We’ll manage."

As I have often argued in this column, the public’s trust in Merkel’s abilities, let alone achievements, had always been misplaced. She did not achieve half as much as people were willing to give her credit for. However, she was a master of political strategy and communication.

In the current refugee crisis, Merkel again tried to get away with spin and calculation but this time her plan has backfired. Her signal to open Germany’s borders to an unlimited number of migrants was strong, and no matter how much she tries to take it back, she is unable to stem the flow of people into Germany."

Read the entire article here.

Finally som good news from the Norwegian Nobel Committee - They did not choose Merkel!

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is to be congratulated this year:

A senior Danish lawmaker is applauding that the Norwegian Nobel Committee didn't give the 2015 Peace Prize to German Chancellor Angela Merkel who had been viewed as a favorite for the prestigious award.

Soeren Espersen of the Danish People's Party, which supports Denmark's one-party, minority government, wrote Friday on Twitter: "Joy that Merkel didn't as predicted get the Peace Prize. She has thrown Europe into one of the largest migration disasters in modern times."

 

Finally: UK and US to send military personnel to train the army of Ukraine

Finally at least some action in the right direction after Merkel´s disastrous Minsk 2:

British military personnel are to be sent to Ukraine in the next few weeks to provide advice and training, says Prime Minister David Cameron. --

Mr Cameron said he would push for more sanctions on Russia if the separatists failed to observe the truce.

The prime minister told a House of Commons committee that up to 75 British soldiers divided into four teams would go to an area well away from the conflict zone to provide medical, logistics, intelligence and infantry skills. --

In a statement, British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said that the move was a result of "continued Russian-backed aggression".

The United States has already said it is planning to send a battalion of soldiers to train three Ukrainian battalions.