Trump signs sanctions bill against German pipeline

If you're going to quote tracts of text in a foreign language, you really should provide a translation. Here... I'll do it for you (even though I'm fairly conversant in German myself):

"The economy in Germany is kept alive by the enormous trade surpluses. If this were not possible, the German economy would be in a deep valley. In Germany it might work, but not all countries can generate such a gigantic trade surplus demand from the rest of the world.

Despite good employment figures and acceptable growth, Germany is also suffering from an aging, creaking infrastructure. Large investments are necessary. You have maintained your infrastructure even worse than we have - and that is hard to imagine. At the same time, the market wants to invest money, even with negative interest rates. The black zero is not even good for Germany. Although it does not cause unemployment, it prevents investments in the future ".

Ordinarily, I don't like Krugman's assessments of anything, but I do agree with him about negative interest rates, which absolutely kill any incentive for people to SAVE MONEY. And it is true that my German friends are always telling me how horribly difficult it is to make even slight improvements in any infrastructural initiative.

No matter if it is an improved railroad line, an improved highway, new energy-line pathways, new airports, new ANYTHING, it seems that there is always some group of local people who raise holy hell about it and tie everything up in committees and courts for DECADES. Germans even fight the idea of putting wind-driven turbines out in the North Sea to produce electricity, because they think the turbines are ugly and because birds fly into them and get killed.

They (Germans!) also tell me that there are great numbers of jobs in Germany that go unfilled because people simply don't want to work, and because it is so easy to get unemployment handouts there -- FOREVER -- German companies and the German government itself have great difficulty filling many vacant jobs -- and that's part of why so many people from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, etc., etc. are hired now.

 

Yes, I've read much of this 'proof' in other places, too, and rather than try to argue with you, I would ask you this: what has Donald Trump done for Vladimir Putin for the past three years that Trump has been president? Think real hard!

Well, a couple of lower-level Russian bureaucrats had sanctions lifted after they no longer had any connection to larger concerns that remained under American sanctions. And aside from those few, almost invisible 'liftings', did Trump do anything to help Putin?

Actually -- Trump ADDED to the sanctions against Russia, and now, on top of everything else, Trump's hitting Germany with sanctions because Germany is going to buy natural gas from Russia using the Nordstream 2 Pipeline. If Trump was so much in 'love' with Putin, you'd think that he'd at least 'look the other way'... right?!

Funny how we're always hearing all this endless, loud-mouthed, specious bullshit from the hyperliberal Left about how Putin has Trump's lips firmly attached to his ass, but when you ask those same radical Democrats how that has supposedly helped Putin in any material way, they disappear!

 

Putin wants Germany as ally. Trump does evtrything in his power to achieve that. The sanctions were now put into place when they cant stop the pipeline anyways. The only idea behind it, is to anger Germany and drive it further away.

 

You are entirely correct as far as I can tell, and it is regrettable that we are harming our once-excellent relationship with Germany now.

My German friends tell me that they absolutely loathe and despise Trump's American ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, and that they feel that all of those decades of very close cooperation between Germany and the U. S. are drawing to an unpleasant close, at the same time that Russia and China are reaching out to the EU and to Germany especially to develop closer, mutually-beneficial business relationships.

With regard to Nordstream 2, I think my fellow Americans lack an understanding of just how difficult it has been for Germany (and ALL of Western Europe) to find enough sources for their huge energy requirements after it was decided to close all the coal-burning and nuclear power plants there as soon as possible! We have proposed (as you know) that Germany should buy LNG from us, but the whole process by which this would occur is frankly stupid, and it would be enormously expensive for Germany.

Even at that, Germany would not be purchasing more than 30% of its total natural gas requirement from Russia, and Germany has made it clear that it will not "put all of its eggs in one basket" (Alle Eier in einen Korb legen). So, I don't know why we are trying so hard to force Germans to do something that is both stupid and terribly expensive as paying at least 300% more for our LNG. We would rebel and raise hell about it if someone did that to us!

 

Good news. Germany sends the Fortuna to the construction site while Russia sends the Akademik Tscherski“ to complete the pipeline. The americans goal to stop Nordstream 2 failed. They say at most construction is delayed by 2 months.

Meanwhile Germany and Russia also started teh first counterstrike.

USA claim they want protect the interests of Ukraine, because when NS II is active, no gas delivery is needed through Ukraine. Ukraine depends heavily on the fees.

Germany and Russia agreed to reduce the gas flow through Ukraine by 50%. The annual transit amount was 90 billion cubic meters gas and is reduced to 45 billion cubic meters, beginning in January. Ukraine loses 50% of its transit income.

But hey i guess the american tax payer will be happy to pay those 50% of Ukraine income, now that the transit fees are cut by half.

Before the sanctions, Germany and Russia agreed to not cut down the amount of gas transported through Ukraine.

This also explains why Ukraine was against sanctioning Nordstream 2

https://www.focus.de/finanzen/boers...-pipeline-selber-fertigbauen_id_11486850.html

@US Conservative @Yulee @Paul7 @Dayton3

What does this feel like? I mean you praise Trump and through his idiocy now have to subsitute Ukraine even more. And achieved nothing. Doesnt seem like a stable genius for me.

Ukraine earned 3 billion € per year on transport fees. That Germany now cuts the amount of gas delivered through Ukraine down by 50%, means USA will have to pay Ukraine 1.5 billion € per year to compensate that.


1.5 billion € per year...all to delay a german project by 2 months.

@AmericanNationalist

 

The Donald divides the American people and causes unrest. Something like the government shutdown and the impeachment process is exactly what Putin likes.

Some even believe that there soon could be a civil war because of Trump. That would make Tovarishch Putin really happy!

Trump's promise to pull the US out of NATO is another little treat for our ex-KGB officer from the Kremlin.

 

Nicely worded.

But it must read: Putin wants to abuse Germany for his own purposes.

 

Not a single link to your posts ever go after Merkel for immigration hard just as I said and most don't even go after Merkel at all.

In fact from your first link:

Merkel was a great chancellor.

The german invasion from Muslim countries began in 2010.

And you still want to claim you are anti immigration and anti Merkel?

https://www.dw.com/en/two-million-germany-records-largest-influx-of-immigrants-in-2015/a-19131436

Oh and she still wants even more immigrants now.

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/08/angela-merkel-calling-for-more-muslim-migrants

Angela Merkel wants more migrants. “Echoing her ‘wir schaffen das’ [‘we can do this’] mantra from the beginning of the migrant crisis,” Merkel is pushing for the EU to take in 40 thousand more migrants. The “migrant mayhem” because of Merkel’s reckless immigration policy has not fazed her, since the public backlash against her seems to have subsided. Back in February, Merkel “urged Europe to take in more refugees and said Islam is ‘not the source of terror.'”

No condemnation from you anywhere. Your history is one of supporting this tyrant and enabler of Islamic invasion not opposition and you claim now supporting my argument.

 

Putin speaks fluent German. He always says how he admires Germany and says how a german-russian alliance could change the world. German economic power and technology with russian resources.

When the crimean thing happened, Putin did hold a speech where he insulted all. USA, UK, France ect. But not Germany. Infact he used the last 3rd of his speaking time to adress Germany directly. He said why we support this. That we are a captive of america and that nothing will divide Germany and Russia.

 

I give a **** what you say. I would even support green leftist **** like Claudia Roth against an outside agressor. Merkel is none of your business Yankee. We deal with Merkel inside, after the Pipeline is constructed. Capiche? No foreigner has the right to intermingle into our internal affairs.

In the rank of issues i place evry german, no matter what political belieef he holds over any yankee swine. I hope that was clear.

 

This is just about 2020 - more than 50 years after.

Today, we're pouring money into war in Afg and other places, after having watched trillions of dollars spent on Afg, Iraq, Libya, Syria. And, we jacked military spending and continue the Afg war with NO positive outlook.

The lost opportunity for America is just plain sickening.

Here, we can't pay workers to fix our bridges.

 

Plus because the sanctions you now have to pay Ukraine each year 1.5 billion $ because Germany cuts imports via Ukraine by 50% yesterday.

 

And of course, Putin is completely unable to lie.
KGB spies never lie, you know that!

You can see just how much Putin respects Germany from the fact that he sends a contract killer to Berlin who murdered a man in Tiergarten.

It seems to me that you somehow want to become a slave to the Russians like your parents were. That's probably written in your genetic code.

 

No. Just dickheadedness.

 

He murdered a Chechen. Nobody was harmed. That chechen lived on german welfare. 1200 € per month.

Putin did a kindness.

 

How so? Its obvious our both nations have different interests. We can either hold this worn down alliance alive by sacrificing our interests or move on.

The times where no piece of paper could fit between our nations are obviously over. Our leaders have broken with each other. There is almost zero contact. UA acts hostile towards us. We act hostile towards you.

Our alliance is only hold together by contracts that arent worth the paper they are written on.

I believe its best when both sides divide on good terms and normalize relationship. Doesnt mean we become enemies but hold normal basic diplomatic relations.

Face reality, our relations are so worn down, nothing could bring this back to where it was. Only a desaster where we help you or you help us. Since there is nothing in sight i doubt it will be like it was.

Maybe our shared moon landing mission which is planned in 2021 with 2 american and oen german astronaut but some here say USA make berak the contract anyways.

 

Your darling Putin is not allowed to kill anyone on German soil. But he did. In doing so, he disregards Germany's sovereignty.

And you still claim to be a German patriot?
You are a motherf... troll, bro. That's all!

 

Did Putin kill a german? No.

I told you before, i would love to shot the vermin that leeches our welfare ourself. Unfortuntely thats not possible. Im glad Putin did the job. Maybe we can find an arrangement so he gets us rid of other migrants as well.

Btw i have a dark truth for you. Its funny that our government did not send police at first and then barely reacted at all. Two russian diplomats were send out, two german diplmats left russia. Case closed. Looks like we want not make a big fuss out of it.

Fact is, said chechen was a terrorist. Fact is as well, that Germany wanted get rid off him but that was hard because our laws. Looks this was a coordinated thing since both sides play it low.

 

Where did you get the idea a German astronaut is going on the next lunar mission (in 2024 though not 2021 and probably lucky if we make that date). ?

Not saying that you're wrong just I've heard nothing about an ESA astronaut being aboard the U.S. mission. All I've heard crew wise is that it will be a four man crew including two women.

Maybe you're too young and don't have a sense of history but relations between nations wax and wane all the time. In the early 1980s, the U.S. considered West Germany under Helmut Schmidt to be among the least reliable U.S. allies and France under Valerie Giscard Estaing and later Mitterrand to be among the most reliable. A complete reversal of the earlier relationships between the countries.

Of course when Helmut Kohl schemed and manipulated his way into power in West Germany, Germany was considered among the most reliable U.S. allies again.

 

We have a deal. It was signed by Obama. We build the service module and you crew compartment. The first service module got already delivered. It will propell your ship to the moon unmanned in 2021. 2024 then manned. The deal is, that one seat is for a german astronaut. We already chose Alexander Gerst for that.

 

Post a link. Not claiming you're wrong just this is the first I've heard of this detail.

 

There is a lot of international cooperation on space exploration. It's outstanding to see, given that we have so many supremely petty issues on Earth. In my opinion, there should be more. ESA has some seriously exciting launches ahead, and not requiring spacemen.

I'm not a proponent of spacemen. I just do not see a justification for the stupendous costs associated with spacemen. We can explore the moons and planets out to Pluto and beyond without the crippling cost of spacemen.

We could be exploring numerous places for the cost of landng some dudes on the moon, let alone Mars.

Besides exploring surfaces, we could be building telescopes in space - especially important now that Elon Musk is filling the skies with thousands more objects that will impact Earthbound astronomy.

I love the cooperation.

I HATE the waste of spacemen who simply are not needed on the Moon or Mars.

 

Like where?

 

It's not the same..

 

As pointed out, we have the capability to study every planet and Moon in the solar system.

And, we can do more investigation of Kuiper belt objects, asteroids, etc.

We don't need spacement for that. In fact, some of these places are WAY beyond our abilities of human visitation.