Comments by "Paul Gerlach" (@pjhgerlach) on "TLDR News EU" channel.

  1. Mark Rutte had become the favorite blaming target. People that think everything will get better now he's gone will soon realize that other parties with their big mouth will also fail to solve the pressing problems.
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  2.  @rayzas4885  The rate of the Rubble is temporary and unsustainable. Don't think Russia's economy is immune to the sanctions. They take some time.
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  3.  @Mob135  Well, then you are even better of than I am. I'm also struggling but know when to prioritise and freedom is at the top of my list. If you want to change things politically, vote for the party of choice or start a political party that's not corrupt. Expose those that are corrupt and bring them to court. Or if that does not help, leave the country for a better place. But please stop complaining. I'm not like the Romans, I've never started a war but I think that we should be prepared to fight if someone forces one upon us. I never hope it will come to that but I'm convinced that Russia should be stopped for the security of Europe.
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  4. Indeed. It's all about to much livestock on a too small piece of land. Spread this over an area like Germany and you don't have this problem.
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  5. I would advice the EU to keep it's wallet shut for some time.
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  6.  @Okiejayjay  You are free to leave.
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  7.  @Okiejayjay  Thanks.
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  8. One thing that's clear is that no European country has the capacity to be self sufficient. The Netherlands has to import food to provide its 17 million people. Most foods cannot even be grown domestic and without substantial import of soya our livestock cannot be supported. Yes local farmers are important but they act like they are the most important which they, I'm sorry to say, aren't.
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  9. Just keep pushing until every Russian is out off Ukraine. No matter how long it takes. Moldova should attack Transnistria together with Ukraine to eliminate the Russian threat there.
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  10. Ah yes, the Balkans. Here we go again.
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  11. We don't need a Russian trojan horse inside the EU.
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  12.  @ja_u  Just like any good parent it should make unpopular decisions in order to protect them. Giving in to nuclear threats is very unwise to say the least because it creates a precedent for any dictator that is trying to get his hands on these weapons.
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  13.  @redrazr6269  So how did you vote then? Better yet; why do you vote?
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  14.  @EMP1RE917  You are probably right but maybe some smart lawyer finds a loophole.
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  15.  @EMP1RE917  Well it got me thinking. As Russia can steal Ukrainian territory, why would it not be possible to steal from Russia. Sort of transferring those assets to Ukraine as spoils of war. An why not, Russia's kleptocracy has taken a lot of Ukrainian assets. Maybe law can provide some good shit this time.
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  16. Switzerland can still remain 'neutral' because it's surrounded by NATO countries.
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  17.  @user-op8fg3ny3j  Comparing both shows that you are missing a bundle of brain cells.
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  18.  @LEONSKENNEDY91  If they feel Serb then they could live in Serbia. Simple. Otherwise just conform to the laws of the country you live in. It works both ways indeed.
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  19. No one is untouchable as history has shown.
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  20.  @1994mrmysteryman  No, but if that's what it takes, so be it.
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  21. The EU should invest in automation and bring manufacturing back to Europe.
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  22. Yes. Next question.
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  23.  @Blah888  Maybe you should ask Ukrainians?
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  24. The EU can do without France but France cannot do without the EU.
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  25. True and most countries are already doing but these things take time. How long do you think it will take before the US delivers your 500 HIMARS systems?
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  26.  @Levi_Natty  .... not sure how you want to link a memorandum of 2008 with events in 1998? NATO has operated on two occasions. First in 1995 in a response to the Srebrenica genocide and Markale massacres. Second in 1999 during the Kosovo war when it launched a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in response to (yet again) ethnic cleansing of Albanians. It's this campaign that was carried out without the expressed endorsement of the UN Security Council. The invasion of Iraq was mainly a US/UK undertaking not a NATO. In Syria it was the US, UK and France that were mainly in operation not a NATO presence. Here it was a civil war in which the brutal Assad regime was 'saved' by indiscriminate bombing of civilians and chemical warfare by Russia.
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  27.  @Levi_Natty  I'm not going to discuss whether or not the invasion of Iraq was illegally. I'm not a lawyer. What I do know is that some NATO members found that an invasion was not justified. The problem lies in the fact that NATO members do not need a consensus for military action outside the no. 5 article. Does that mean that you can hold all NATO countries responsible for the actions of one of it's members? I don't think so. The article 5 is crystal clear to all members, but when it comes to the use of forces outside this area things get murky. I suspect that the US deliberately wants to keep it that way. As a EU citizen I not comfortable with this. Most members sign up for article 5 because that's the best insurance against Russian aggression but when it comes to the use of force outside of this, NATO members do not share the same opinion. So, in the case of the US, I'm afraid to say that they can have their cake and eat it.
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  28.  @robertmifkovic6325  We'll see..
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  29.  @borg.ia2  I agree, Turkey (or better Turkiye) has a complicated relation with Russia as a NATO country. I Also think that NATO vessels in the Mediterranean have the capability to strike targets in the Black Sea. So, if the shit hits the fan, the probably won't need access.
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  30.  @danielscalera6057  Russia made the EU dependable on Russian energy but that doesn't mean it cannot do without it. Getting it from other sources than Russia is possible and a price it's willing and able to pay. Don't confuse NATO with EU. And don't underestimate the determination of the EU and NATO.
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  31.  @danielscalera6057  It wil not be easy, but there's no way back. Europe is committed to end it's dependence on Russian energy no matter what the outcome of this war will be.
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  32.  @danielscalera6057  Yes, you could say that I'm an optimist. A pessimist will never solve a problem, an optimist will at least try. I grew up during the cold war and after the collapse of the Soviet Union I really believed that the world, or at leased Europe, could become a better and safer place. That has changed over the past decade and this war in Ukraine marks a new low in European security. Instead of trying to solve threats like global warming we are fighting each other. Instead of spending money on things that can really improve our lives, we are forced to spend it on rearmament. I'm a Dutchman but I feel more European. Maybe even citizen of the world. I truly believe in corporation and in the EU. I see how interconnected the world has become. How one decision of a leader to invade an other country could trigger famine in large parts of Africa that already struggles with the effect of global warming. I believe that supporting Ukraine is the right thing to do. I firmly believe that Ukraine has the right to determine it's own future and that Russia should be driven out. I dislike armed conflict but am realistic enough to see that sometimes force has to be answered by force. Yes, I'm an optimist that thinks this crisis can be used to strive for a future Europe that is much less dependable on fossil fuel. The Fossil fuels that have caused so much death and destruction in this world. I don't see Russia as a threat to Europe but I do see Putin's regime as such. I know he also posses a threat to Russia itself. Russia is a part of Europe just as Ukraine is and we should start to respect each other. Call me an optimist, even a fool, I don't care. I still have faith in humanity.
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  33.  @Paul-zu2he  Gee, I wonder why.
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  34. The problem is that Americans fail to see that it's an investment in their own security. The problem with your roads is that richest people in your country pay the least amount of tax. The spending on NATO (not counting that for your own defense) dwarfs in comparison to the total annual budget. The problem is the the US is not spending it's tax money wisely like European countries (with way higher taxes than the US) do.
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  35.  @kevin___  As a Dutchman I'm also familiar with that. Is also requires a binding referendum in order to change the constitution. Article 1 had only minor changes.
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  36. Russians (or Chechens) have even started to steal Ukrainian tractors not knowing that some of them were fitted with GPS trackers and could be remotely disabled. Reportedly their journey could be followed all the way to Chechnya.🤣
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  37. Yet more proof of Russian meddling in European politics. This is the biggest threat and should be addressed quickly and swiftly.
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  38.  @pr0gn0sis65  No but a country can be punished by cutting cash flows form Brussels.
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  39. @Kawinfinity In this case they aren't. They are, just like us guessing what happend and that's just what the Ukrainian army want's us and the Russians to do.
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  40.  @SD-vp5vo  Enough to stop the Russians. Even Ukraine was too much for them.
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  41.  @joeschipper6465  Two years ago they said he was not going to attack Ukraine...
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  42.  @shtein4476  Are you dumb or just ignorant? If you have an aggressive neighbour like Russia it's better to be prepared. We will not go to war with Russia unless Russia starts a war against us.
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  43. So Russia used a weapon of mass destruction in Ukraine and is thinking of turning the Power plant into a dirty bomb. Why are we still watching at the sideline?
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  44. Will not work Trump. We don't like oligarchs and value our privacy.
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  45. @ronmastrio2798  Nor does the US....
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  46.  @bachelor3846  Oh, the expansion of NATO is a direct consequence of the 'warm' relation Russia had with its satellite states. When the USSR collapsed they quickly looked fir protection from 'mother' Russia.
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  47.  @bachelor3846  No arguing with someone with a set world view as you. At least we understand the situation here in Europe bettet. And please don't take my word. Ask anyone in those formally occupied countries what they think about Russia. Heck, ask the Chechens, Georgians or Moldovans for that matter. Any country that think Rusdia is great should join the Russian Federation. I'll guarantee you thst no NATO member will make that switch. So despite what you hear from Russian media NATO is no threat to Russia but Russia is a threat to NATO. The US is not Russia that want to tell others what to do. But hey, you obviously knows better rhan someone how lives their.
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  48.  @bachelor3846  You stated that the expansion of NATO was a provocative towards Russia. To which I stated that is was a consequence of Russia's aggression towards it's neighbours. Please read more carefully.
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  49.  @bachelor3846  I guess you are making things up as this conversation goes along. The USSR collapsed. It had no choice than to disolve it. Otherwise it would still exists. Gorbatsjov made the right call for free elections. Everything appeared to be well as relations between Russia and the rest of Europe improved. Even Putin in its earlier period created treade between Russia and the EU and Russia became more prosperous. That started to change in 2008 with the invasion of Georgia and in 2014 with the invasion of Crimea after the democratic revolution. After that Russia started a proxy war in the Donbass. Putin radicalized more and more claiming that NATO expansion was a threat to Russia and he started to place troops at the border with Ukraine. Even in Belarus which appears to be nothing more than an appendix of Russia. He made demands that NATO should withdraw from all the eastern European countries and these should be demilitarized or else there would be consequence. Of course these demands could not be met by the NATO members. Putin knew this as it would give him an excuse to invade Ukraine and so expand his empire. The genocide against Russians in Ukraine and that this country was full of nazi's was an extra lie to justify this invasion for his own people. So here we are. With Russian troops killing and raping their Slavic brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Putin is very good at smoke and mirrors. If Russia would have been a NATO member he would have instigated some kind of fake attack on Russia to justify an attack. It would be very difficult for NATO to make out who would be the aggressor. Expelling them both would give Putin the freedom to attack that other ex-NATO member. Relations between Russia and the rest of Europe were goid until Putin decided to be tsar and imprisoned the opposition. His conquest to recreate the Russian empire at the expense of the Ukrainian people changed it all.
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  50. First Mussolini now this. When the economy goes down, rats rear their heads. Smooth talk but when in power...
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