Military Madness > War-Mongering NATO outed by Brazil's Lula at BRICS; Denmark warns of ramping up EU defense spending

 

Brazil’s Lula accuses NATO of fueling arms race

The military bloc’s push for higher defense spending encourages more wars, the Brazilian president has said

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva © Sputnik / Sergey Bobylyov

NATO is fueling a global arms race by pushing for massive increases in military spending, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said. The US-led military bloc endorsed a plan last month to raise its defense spending target from 2% to 5% of GDP.

Speaking on Sunday at the opening of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Lula said the world is experiencing a record number of armed conflicts since World War II and warned that NATO’s policies are exacerbating the situation.

NATO has to have a raison d'être. Being without one after the collapse of communism in Europe, they went about finding a new reason for their existence. The Western War Industry found one for them about 2013. NATO became the storefront for the Western Weapons Industry. They are now excelling at it thanks to Biden and Trump.

“NATO’s recent decision [to raise military spending to 5% of GDP] is fueling an arms race,” Lula said. “It has become much easier to invest in maintaining wars than to invest in achieving peace,” the Brazilian leader said, referring to previous Western promises to provide 0.7% of GDP to aid developing countries.

While not yet formalized, the NATO proposal has been backed by Secretary-General Mark Rutte and several member states, including the US and Poland. A number of Western leaders have justified the spending increase as a response to what they claim is a growing threat from Russia.

READ MORE: West using ‘Russia threat’ to distract from own failures – Lavrov

Moscow has consistently denied any intention to attack NATO states and dismissed such warnings as baseless fearmongering aimed at justifying militarization and distracting from domestic problems.

In an interview published on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated that NATO’s expansion toward Russia’s borders and efforts to integrate Ukraine into the alliance constitute a direct threat to Russian security. He said these moves left Moscow with no choice but to launch its military operation against Kiev in 2022.

Lavrov also accused NATO of transforming itself into an offensive bloc, pointing to its past interventions in Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Libya. He claimed that NATO’s militarization and demonization of Russia are being used to deflect attention from inflation, migration, and other domestic problems in the West.

The minister has also warned that NATO’s proposed spending increase could end up being “catastrophic” and lead to the bloc’s collapse. Moscow, meanwhile, intends to reduce its military spending in the coming years – a process that will be guided by “common sense, not made-up threats like NATO member states,” Lavrov said.

================================================================================================

NATO state issues warning over ramping up defense spending

Western nations risk financial unsustainability when implementing their militarization plans, the Danish economy minister says

Danish Minister for Economic Affairs Stephanie Lose, Brussels, Belgium, December 10, 2024. ©  Thierry Monasse / Getty Images

EU nations risk “increased debt levels and unsustainable finances” if they raise defense spending too quickly, Danish Economy Minister Stephanie Lose has warned. EU and NATO members are pushing to invest billions of euros in troops and weapons.

NATO leaders agreed last month to increase the target for defense spending from 2% to 5% of GDP, with 3.5% allocated directly to the military and the remainder directed toward broader security initiatives. Brussels previously unveiled the €800 billion ($940 billion) ‘ReArm Europe’ program.

Denmark is among 12 EU nations taking advantage of a special ‘national escape clause’, which allows them to bypass the EU’s budget deficit rules when borrowing for military purposes. Lose told Euractiv that she does not fault countries such as France and Italy for opting out, in an interview published on Monday.

”It’s good if you adhere to sound public finances... if it means that they’re exploring ways to fulfill the 3.5% NATO goal without being on an unsustainable path,” she said, adding that if the reluctance indicates a lack of room to boost defense spending, “then it’s, of course, a problem.”

Read more

 German MPs demand more money for Ukraine – Bild

Speaking ahead of an EU ministerial meeting that she is set to chair Monday – as Denmark currently holds the rotating presidency of the bloc – Lose cited US trade tariffs and competition from China as additional pressures limiting the EU’s ability to increase military investment.

European NATO members say they need to increase their defense budgets to deter the alleged threat from Russia, which has denied that it poses any threat to these countries, accusing Western officials of using fear to justify the budget increases, as well as the decline in the standard of living among their citizens.

Again, is there the least bit of intel that indicates Russia is planning to attack Europe? That should be the least that Europe demands before spending a trillion dollars.

Western Europe’s industrial competitiveness has fallen since EU leaders reduced Russian energy imports, which supported the region’s industries for decades. The move was part of sanctions against Russia due to the Ukraine conflict.

Yes, but think about how filthy rich American LNG producers have become.

Russia considers the conflict to be a result of NATO expansion, saying the US-led military bloc presents a direct threat to national security.

===============================================================================================

Military Madness > Will Trump dump NATO, take Greenland and Canada too? NATO's Proxy War in Ukraine and the millions of unwanted refugees; Senior Officer fired for losing mines in Poland

 

It appears, that Copenhagen is just beginning to realize that America is a much bigger threat to Europe than Russia. NATO is the mechanism America has used to control Europe, along with destroying Russia's ability to provide natural gas to Europe. But NATO would require all countries to protect Denmark if America attacked its state in Greenland. So, the thing to watch for is whether Trump dumps NATO and dares Europe (and Canada) to try and stop him. It could provide an excuse for Trump to invade Canada and make it the 51st state as he likes to think.

Ukrainian aid has crippled Denmark’s defense capabilities – Politico

Copenhagen has donated almost all of its armed forces’ heavy land-warfare equipment to Kiev, the media outlet claims

FILE PHOTO. ©  Global Look Press / Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert

The donation of military aid to Kiev has depleted Denmark’s already limited defense capabilities, Politico reported on Friday.

The news outlet raised the issue in a report outlining a hypothetical scenario involving a military standoff between the Nordic country and the US over Greenland. Donations to Ukraine have made it even more difficult for Copenhagen to defend itself despite exceeding NATO’s 2% spending target, the report said.

US President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that he would like to acquire the Danish-controlled territory of Greenland, and refused to rule out a military takeover of the island earlier in January. Brussels responded to Trump’s comments by describing a potential US attack on the island as a “highly theoretical issue.” The topic has regularly appeared in the news headlines recently, with Reuters claiming that the incoming US president was “serious” about the acquisition.

Even though donations of heavy military equipment would not be a decisive factor in any potential conflict due to the massive disparity in the two nations’ defense capabilities, they have still crippled the Danish Armed Forces, Politico reported.

READ MORE: Trump serious about acquiring Greenland – Reuters

“Denmark has … significantly depleted its own arms stocks by giving artillery systems and tanks to Kiev, arguing that, unlike the Ukrainians, the Danes don’t face a direct threat from a hostile imperialist power,” the media outlet said, adding that “most of [the kingdom’s] heavy land-warfare equipment” had gone to the Ukrainian military.

That would still be of little significance in the event of a US attack, Politico maintained, as a nation with a defense budget amounting to $9.9 billion and armed forces totaling 17,000 soldiers would be facing a major power with the world’s biggest defense spending of $948 billion in 2024 and an army of 1.3 million personnel.

“That would be the shortest war in the world, there is no defensive capacity in Greenland,” Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told Politico.

READ MORE: EU responds to Trump threat to absorb Greenland

“Denmark has been very aware it cannot defend Greenland against anybody on its own,” said Kristian Soby Kristensen, a senior researcher at the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Military Studies. The Danish government is taking the issue “very seriously” and has no intention of escalating “a war of words” with the incoming US administration, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said this week.

Relying on NATO or the EU would also be problematic for Copenhagen, according to the report, since Brussels would simply be unable to muster any “genuine military force,” even if the EU Treaty’s mutual-assistance clause were triggered. It is also unclear whether Denmark could invoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty if attacked by another member of the bloc.

“You would essentially have a NATO member annexing the territory of another NATO member. So it would be pretty uncharted territory,” Agathe Demarais, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Politico.

Since February 24, 2022, approximately 40 million border crossings from Ukraine to other countries were recorded as of December 2024. Most of the refugees fled to Poland. More than 6.2 million refugees from Ukraine were recorded in Europe as of December 16, 2024.

Poles tired of Ukrainians – defense minister

Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz referred to “young Ukrainian men driving the latest cars or staying in five-star hotels” in the EU country

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. ©  Getty Images/Artur Widak

Poles are “fatigued” of Ukrainian migrants in their country, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has stated. The official partially attributed this sentiment to the sight of young men leading an ostentatious lifestyle in the EU nation instead of defending their homeland.

Nearly a million Ukrainians currently reside in Poland, according to UN estimates. While Poland opened its doors to those fleeing the neighboring country following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, attitudes towards Ukrainians among Poles have somewhat soured since then.

In an interview to the Financial Times published on Sunday, Kosiniak-Kamysz said: “Of course there is fatigue in Polish society, and it is understandable especially when people here see young Ukrainian men driving the latest cars or staying in five-star hotels.”

In October, the official voiced identical criticisms, arguing that young Ukrainian men flaunting their wealth were an affront to Polish taxpayers, who contribute to Warsaw’s military and financial aid to Kiev.

READ MORE: Ukraine urging EU to cut welfare payments to its citizens – EL Pais

Around the same time, the Center for Public Opinion Research published a poll indicating that some 67% of Polish citizens were in favor of deporting male Ukrainian migrants back home.

Referring to a recent spat over the delivery of the remaining Polish MiG-29 fighter jets, the defense chief on Sunday also suggested that the Ukrainian leadership would do well to “remember that when others were only sending helmets, we sent tanks.”

In November 2024, Kosiniak-Kamysz similarly suggested that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky had a “short memory.”

A month prior, Kiev slammed its NATO backers, and Poland in particular, over their failure to provide previously promised Soviet-era warplanes. Warsaw clarified that it needed the remaining MiG-29 fighter jets to ensure its own security before the F-35s that it has ordered arrive.

This is how NATO keeps the War Industry inventories moving. NATO is the War Industry's storefront.

In his interview to the FT, Kosiniak-Kamysz also ruled out deploying Polish peacekeepers to Ukraine once Kiev and Moscow seal a truce, calling for “greater burden sharing and diversification within NATO” instead.

Polish general dismissed after anti-tank mines found near IKEA

Maj. Gen. Artur Kepczynski, who oversaw logistics, reportedly hid their disappearance from his superiors

FILE PHOTO: Ikea logo on the store front of a warehouse in Poland © Global Look Press / Mateusz Slodkowski

A Polish general has been dismissed after soldiers lost track of 240 anti-tank mines, which were later found in a train wagon near a warehouse belonging to Swedish furniture retailer IKEA.

The Polish Ministry of Defense announced the dismissal of Major General Artur Kepczynski, head of the Support Inspectorate, on Thursday, via a post on X.

The official statement from the ministry did not elaborate on the reasons for his dismissal, but local media have linked it to last July’s incident, when soldiers failed to unload part of a train carrying over 1,000 tons of explosives.

The oversight led to 240 anti-tank mines being moved around the country before eventually going missing. Major General Kepczynski, responsible for managing the military's logistics support system, reportedly concealed the disappearance of the mines from his superiors.

The mishap reportedly came to light when IKEA warehouse staff contacted the military, inquiring when they would collect their mines.

IKEA Industry Poland CEO Malgorzata Dobies-Turulska confirmed that on last July , PKP Cargo had reported the presence of a military box in one of the train wagons that arrived at IKEA Industry Orla. She said a representative of the freight carrier had opened the wagon, and the box was retrieved by military police the same day.

The mines involved are believed to be MN-123, used by the Polish military. They are designed to be deployed from vehicles to create minefields of varying densities to neutralize enemy vehicles.

The District Prosecutor’s Office in Szczecin-Niebuszewo has been conducting an investigation into the matter since August 2024. Charges of improper supervision of military property have been brought against four soldiers. They face up to five years in prison.

Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has acknowledged that several months passed between the time he learned of the incident and the general’s resignation. In an interview with RMF FM on Friday, he stated that the general had “drawn the consequences he was supposed to draw,” but added, “more could have been done,” explaining the decision.

The Defense Minister noted that military police had acted very quickly. He emphasized that “civilian supervision in this matter played a key role.”

Does that mean that the story would never have seen the light of day without civilian involvement? Do you think that if IKEA people were not involved the General would still have his job?

Islam - Current Day > New Police Chief for Iran not good news for the girls; Saudis Arrest 15,000 Illegal Expats in one week; Times Square Jihadist; Young Danes Turning against migrants

..

Iran replaces police chief amid protests

General Ahmad-Reza Radan sanctioned by US in 2010,

and later on by European Union

Published:  January 07, 2023 17:45

AFP

  

This handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on January 7, 2023

shows him meeting with the newly-appointed police chief General Ahmad-Reza Radan in Tehran.

Image Credit: AFP

Tehran: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed on Saturday a new police chief, nearly four months into protests triggered by Mahsa Amini’s death.

The Islamic republic has been gripped by unrest since the September 16 death in custody of Iranian Kurdish Amini, 22, following her arrest for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

Khamenei, who has the final say in major state policies and is commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces, appointed General Ahmad-Reza Radan to replace Hossein Ashtari, said a statement posted on the leader’s official website.

Khamenei ordered the police department to “improve its capabilities” as well as “train specialised forces for various security sectors”.

This doesn't sound very promising for the girls.

Radan, born in 1963, was deputy police chief from 2008 to 2014 and went on to lead the police’s Centre for Strategic Studies. He was replaced as deputy by Ashtari, who was made the force’s commander in 2015.

Both Radan and Ashtari began their military career in the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The new police chief was sanctioned by the United States in 2010, and later on by the European Union, over “human rights abuses” in connection with protests that followed Iran’s contested presidential elections of 2009.

In the statement announcing Radan’s appointment, Khamenei expressed “gratitude and satisfaction” with Ashtari’s eight-year service.

Iranian authorities describe the current nationwide protests as “riots” and say hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed and thousands arrested.

Saudi Arabia: Expat held for harbouring 17 absconding women

in Riyadh

In recent months, Saudi Arabia has intensified clampdown on illegals, facilitators

Published:  January 07, 2023 15:22

Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent

  

Cairo: Police in Riyadh had arrested an expatriate for illegally employing and accommodating 17 female expatriates, reported to have absented themselves from their official workplaces, Saudi media reported.

The male suspect, an Egyptian national, had harboured the absentees in a housing unit in Riyadh in violation of law.

They all were arrested and referred to public prosecution, police said, without giving further details.

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry has repeatedly warned that those who facilitate the entry of infiltrators into the kingdom or provide them with transportation, shelter or any sort of assistance face penalties of a maximum of 15 years in prison, and a fine of up to SR1 million, as well as confiscation of the transport and the accommodation means, in addition to naming to shame them.

In recent months, Saudi Arabia, which hosts a large community of migrant workers, has intensified a crackdown on violators of its labour, residency and border security laws.

Last week, Saudi authorities arrested two citizens for transporting and sheltering illegal expatriates in the south-western region of Asir.

A spokesman for Asir police said transportation and accommodation of violators of the border security rules is a major, dishonouring crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a hefty fine.

Saudi Arabia earlier this month said it had arrested 15,328 illegal expatriates in one week.

The arrests, made over the period from December 22 to 28, included 8,808 violators of the kingdom’s residency system, 4,038 more violators of the border security rules and 2,482 others who breached the labour regulations.

During the same period, authorities arrested 10 persons for involvement in transporting and sheltering violators of residency, border and work regulations.

Times Square 'jihadi', 19, was arrested with chilling manifesto 

Ordered family to convert to Islam to avoid 'hellfire' -

and apologized to mother for 'not having been a good enough son'

Trevor Bickford, 19, of Wells, Maine is accused of slashing two NYPD cops 

Bickford allegedly wrote a manifesto in which he told family members to 'repent to Allah'

In a message to his brother who is in the Army, Bickford said 'you have joined the ranks of my enemy. And for that I can give you no kind words'

The attack happened around 10pm near Times Square on New Year's Eve

Two officers, including a rookie NYPD cop, were injured in the attack

By ANDREA CAVALLIER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 10:07 EST, 1 January 2023 | UPDATED: 17:26 EST, 1 January 2023

Please go to The Daily Mail for the full story.

Survey: Young Danes opposed to their children being educated alongside immigrants

A third clearly oppose integration as they would never consider

entering into a relationship with one

Trampolinhuset prefers to blame the politicians, not the people (photo: Trampolinhuset)

January 4th, 2023 1:10 pm| 

by Ben Hamilton

The Copenhagen Post

It’s often said that Danes are fiercely protective of their culture, but that younger generations are far more open to societal change and diversity. However. a new study of young ethnically-Danish people’s attitudes towards immigrants would appear to buck that theory.

It suggests that while young Danes are generally sympathetic to the plight of refugees, they would not like to see them, or immigrants, educated at the same schools as their children.

Last summer, around 500 Danes aged 18-30 took part in ‘Changing Minds – Improving Citizens’, a survey conducted by Trampolinhuset in collaboration with partners in Romania and Spain, where a further 1,000 young adults were interviewed. 

A third of the sample in Denmark concur there are too many immigrants in Denmark, and that they have no interest in entering into a relationship with one.

Positive about economic benefits

Some 85 percent agreed that there were many/a fair number of immigrants in Denmark – of these, 45 percent said there were too many.

Some 41 percent believe the immigrants are far more likely to commit crimes than ethnic Danes, and only 36 percent said they would be comfortable with having one as a neighbour.

While the women in the survey said they empathised with the challenges faced by immigrants, most men said they were mostly indifferent to their situation, with some saying they felt threatened.

Those who were positive about immigration said they were happy about the increased cultural diversity and economic growth it caused.

Politicians’ rhetoric to blame

Trampolinhuset regards the survey as a wake-up call that Denmark “cannot live in isolation from the outside world”, but is not surprised by the findings.

“The survey reveals attitudes that are natural for a generation that has grown up with governments, politicians and opinion makers over the last 25 years using immigrants and refugees actively as enemy images in their political campaigns,” it contended.

This is a typically far-left observation that is nowhere near reality. It's not the conservative politicians who have influenced opinion, it is the liberal governments who decided that cultural suicide was a good thing. It was also the reality of migrants bringing criminal behaviour to Denmark, as well as a religion that has no tolerance for Christianity.

“We need their ideas and labour. Today’s Danes already come in all colours and with many different cultures in their luggage. If we want democracy for all of us, we must stop thinking in ‘them and us’ terms. Since our politicians live in the past, it is a task that civil society must undertake.”