Daily Archives: 14. Februar 2020


14.02.2020 - 23:25 [ Reuters ]

Mexico‘s oil regulator fires 18 employees from contract oversight unit

Mexico’s oil regulator fired 18 employees on Friday that formed part of a unit responsible for supervising some 100 exploration and production contracts won at auction by private companies including U.S.-based Exxon Mobil Corp and Britain’s BP.

14.02.2020 - 21:33 [ German Foreign Policy ]

Die NATO in der arabischen Welt

Vor Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz: Westliche Mächte bemühen sich um Konsolidierung ihres bröckelnden Einflusses in Nah- und Mittelost

14.02.2020 - 17:12 [ Jan Techau, Senior Fellow & Director, Europe Program at the German Marshall Fund / Twitter ]

Was that a Steinmeier endorsement of NATO‘s two per cent spending goal just now? #MSC2020

14.02.2020 - 17:08 [ Deutsche Atlantische Gesellschaft/ Twitter ]

Deutschlands Rolle in der Sicherheitspolitik bedeute für #Steinmeier eine Doppelstrategie: Stärkung der #EU und Stärkung der #NATO!

Die Rolle der #USA sieht der Bundespräsident als elementar. Die Einsicht darein vermisse er in der Europäischen #SiPo-Debatte teilweise.

#MSC2020

14.02.2020 - 17:02 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz: Steinmeier warnt vor „destruktiver“ Weltpolitik

Deutschland sei auf Europa angewiesen, es dürfe auf keinen Fall scheitern. Scheitere das europäische Projekt, dann stünden auch die Lehren der deutschen Geschichte nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg infrage.

Zugleich sprach sich Steinmeier für höhere deutsche Verteidigungsausgaben und eine Stärkung des europäischen Pfeilers in der NATO aus. Er bekannte sich zu dem Ziel der NATO, dass jeder Mitgliedstaat zwei Prozent seines Bruttoinlandsprodukts für die Streitkräfte ausgeben soll.

14.02.2020 - 16:52 [ Haaretz ]

Siding With Israel, Germany Says ICC Has No Jurisdiction in Palestinian Territories

Germany filed a petition Friday with the International Criminal Court in which it requested to be „a friend of the court“ (amicus curiae) in deliberations that will examine if the court has jurisdiction to rule whether Israel committed war crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

In its petition, Germany backed Israel‘s argument that the court‘s jurisdiction does not extend to occupied Palestinian territories, as Palestine is not a state that fulfills all the criteria under general international law, although it has joined the ICC‘s Rome Statute.

14.02.2020 - 16:44 [ AlMasdarNews.com ]

Syrian Army announces Aleppo-Damascus Highway is fully secured for first time in 9 years

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has announced that the Aleppo-Damascus Highway (M-5) has been fully secured for the first time in nine years.

14.02.2020 - 15:44 [ Secular Talk / Twitter ]

A weird thing I always encounter in left circles: good people generally seem to think all criticism is genuine. There‘s a bizarre mental block into looking into motive, and how indeed some criticism is just a cynical ploy.

14.02.2020 - 15:20 [ MDR ]

Ministerpräsidenten-Krise: Mohring will CDU-Parteivorsitz aufgeben

Wie ein Sprecher der CDU-Fraktion MDR THÜRINGEN bestätigte, haben acht Abgeordnete der Fraktion einen Misstrauensantrag gestellt. Zu den Unterzeichnern gehören nach MDR THÜRINGEN-Informationen die Abgeordneten Beate Meißner, Volker Emde, Marcus Malsch und Andreas Bühl.
Über den Antrag soll nach Angaben des Sprechers bei der nächsten regulären Fraktionssitzung am Mittwoch abgestimmt werden.

14.02.2020 - 15:12 [ ABC News ]

Pompeo makes 1st trip to Africa in bid to reassert US as leading partner

„The challenge that Pompeo‘s facing in Africa is explaining the contradictory messages coming from Washington,“ said Witney Schneidman, a fellow at the Brookings Institution‘s Africa Growth Initiative. „It‘s the lack of attention that‘s been paid. It‘s the fact that (former national security adviser John) Bolton rolled out this Africa strategy 14 months ago, and since then, very little has been accomplished where many other nations have moved forward.“

14.02.2020 - 13:51 [ Xinhua ]

Munich Security Conference to focus on „westlessness“

(10.02.2020)

The Munich Security Report, which is published annually ahead of the MSC, sets the tone for the conference that is known as the „Davos“ in global security and political issues. This year‘s MSC will be convened from Friday to Sunday this week.

„There is a double phenomenon right now, that the first is the West is less western, and the second is the world as a whole is less western. What does it mean to German, European and global relations, especially to our security politics?“ said Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the MSC, at a press conference Monday morning in Berlin.

14.02.2020 - 13:36 [ Time.com ]

‘Our Hearts Are Dead.’ After 9 Years of Civil War, Libyans Are Tired of Being Pawns in a Geopolitical Game of Chess

Though Libyans shaped the ebb and flow of battle, they were hardly alone, even then: circling high above were foreign warplanes from the NATO-led coalition that kept at bay fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. And contrary to some official denials, there were also “boots on the ground” in the form of foreign special operations forces and intelligence personnel, from France, Britain, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, who discretely channeled weapons and training to fractious anti-Gaddafi groups. In such meddling, there were already signs of a proxy rivalry that would explode into open warfare years later.

14.02.2020 - 13:27 [ Washington Post ]

EU officials push for bloc to enforce Libya arms embargo

One European diplomat said there was agreement among the bloc’s 27 members to strengthen U.N. monitoring of the embargo, but not on the issue of dispatching naval assets.

The diplomat, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Austria has objected to putting naval ships back into the Mediterranean, and issue that would likely come up at the annual Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

14.02.2020 - 12:55 [ Taniel / Twitter ]

..even with all that attention, the IDP still hasn‘t felt like it has to so much as acknowledge that it has yet to report the results of likely 2 precincts, which is absolutely bonkers,.or to fix their results we know don‘t conform to sheets.

14.02.2020 - 12:40 [ Yahoo News ]

Documents reveal DNC was ‚intimately involved‘ in development of troubled Iowa caucus app

The copies of Atwater’s email and Shadow’s contract with the IDP obtained by Yahoo News contained some redactions. Sources familiar with the original documents confirmed the authenticity of the copies. Atwater’s email was redacted to omit the name of the IDP official she communicated with. The Shadow contract was redacted to omit signatures and details about how much the company was paid by the IDP.

14.02.2020 - 12:10 [ New York Times ]

Centrists Are the Most Hostile to Democracy, Not Extremists

(23.05.2018)

Respondents who put themselves at the center of the political spectrum are the least supportive of democracy, according to several survey measures. These include views of democracy as the “best political system,” and a more general rating of democratic politics. In both, those in the center have the most critical views of democracy.

Some of the most striking data reflect respondents’ views of elections. Support for “free and fair” elections drops at the center for every single country in the sample. The size of the centrist gap is striking. In the case of the United States, fewer than half of people in the political center view elections as essential.

14.02.2020 - 11:40 [ theHill.com ]

Sanders builds double-digit national lead: poll

The latest Morning Consult poll finds Sanders at 29 percent support, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden at 19 percent and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at 18 percent. Sanders gained 3 points in the poll after winning the New Hampshire primary this week, while Biden lost 3 points after a disastrous fifth-place showing.

14.02.2020 - 11:36 [ Tagesschau ]

Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz: Allianz gegen die Einzelkämpfer

Eine Welt aus den Fugen. Eine Welt, in der das Recht des Stärkeren gilt. Oder wie es Kanzlerin Merkel vor knapp drei Jahren formuliert hat:

„Die Zeiten, in denen wir uns auf andere völlig verlassen konnten, die sind ein Stück vorbei.“

14.02.2020 - 04:21 [ junge Welt ]

Sozialversicherungsbeiträge: Freischaffend und ausgebeutet

Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Goethe-Institut darf weiter auf billige Honorarlehrkräfte setzen

14.02.2020 - 03:44 [ The Hill ]

Nevada Democratic Party to use Google custom calculator to tally caucus results

Party Executive Director Alana Mounce sent a memo explaining that the calculator will be loaded onto 2,000 iPads purchased by the Nevada State Democratic Party, with the iPads then distributed to precinct chairs.

14.02.2020 - 03:17 [ Great Lake Now ]

Ohio anti-protest bill could criminalize support for pipeline demonstrations

The bill follows concepts in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s model Critical Infrastructure Protection Act. Ohio Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, is a member of ALEC’s board of directors.

14.02.2020 - 02:58 [ The Abbotsford News ]

VIDEO: B.C. officials to meet Wet’suwet’en chiefs over gas pipeline protest

B.C. Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser has agreed to a meeting with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs to resolve an impasse that has seen roadblocks on the route of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline spread to the nearby CN Rail tracks in northwestern B.C.

A letter from Premier John Horgan to a Wet’suwet’en chief confirms acceptance of a meeting, to be joined by a federal representative and a member of the neighbouring Gitxsan community.

14.02.2020 - 02:48 [ CityNews ]

‚This is war‘: Anti-pipeline protesters occupy David Eby Vancouver constituency office

The Vancouver constituency office of B.C.’s Attorney General was taken over Thursday by anti-pipeline protesters and supporters of Wet’suwet’en people opposed to a GasLink pipeline project.

Upwards of 50 people occupied the office and surrounding sidewalk, singing, drumming, giving speeches and milling about the room. Attorney General David Eby was in Victoria at the time of the protest.

14.02.2020 - 02:11 [ Morningstar ]

Canadian National Railway Shuts Down Eastern Canada Operations

Protesters have said they are blocking the trains to support an indigenous group that opposes the construction of a natural-gas pipeline in northern British Columbia.

14.02.2020 - 01:50 [ teleSUR ]

Colombian National Strike Committee Calls For New Protests

Protesters and organizations continue to strike against the policies implemented by Duque and the resurgence of violence in the country. On Nov. 21, as millions of Colombians, took to the streets to hold the biggest protest against Duque since he came to power in Aug. 2018.