GREEK WEEK: Cradle of Western Civilization, Greece Challenges World Trend and Implements a Six-Day Working Week To Boost Employment and Productivity

While in many areas of the so-called ‘civilized world’ (many times societies where the decadence of the Western civilization is more pronounced), governments and businesses are testing a shorter working week of four days, in the southern European country of Greece, the opposite idea is being implemented, with a 48 hour/six-day week coming into force for some businesses.

Rather than dreaming about not working and having an AI robot doing everything for you, the Greeks rolled up their sleeves and got to work more.

The controversial six-day working week is presented as an attempt to boost productivity and employment.

The regulation came into force on Monday (1).

CNBC reported:

“Under the new legislation, which was passed as part of a broader set of labor laws last year, employees of private businesses that provide round-the-clock services will reportedly have the option of working an additional two hours per day or an extra eight-hour shift.

The change means a traditional 40-hour workweek could be extended to 48 hours per week for some businesses. Food service and tourism workers are not included in the six-day working week initiative.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the measure as ‘worker-friendly’ and ‘growth-orientated’.

It would support employees that are not being sufficiently compensated for overtime and help rid the Greek economy of the problem of undeclared labor.

As one would expect, Labor unions have sharply criticized the move.

“Workers in Greece work more than those in the U.S., Japan and others in the 27-member EU, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Greek employees were found to have worked an average of 1,886 hours in 2022, more than the U.S. average of 1,811 and the EU average of 1,571.”

This new regulation goes against the trend to move to a four day week in many western countries, and is seen as an unorthodox step aimed at turbo-charging productivity.

The Guardian reported:

“Under the extended working week, staff in select industries and manufacturing facilities will have the option of working an additional two hours a day or an extra eight-hour shift, rewarded with a top-up fee of 40% added to the daily wage.

[…] ‘The nucleus of this legislation is worker-friendly, it is deeply growth-oriented’, Mitsotakis said before the Greek parliament endorsed the law. ‘And it brings Greece in line with the rest of Europe’.”

Opponents say the reform ‘erodes legal protections’ and chips away at workers’ rights in the name of flexibility.

Read more:

Dust Storm From Sahara Desert Crosses Mediterranean Sea, Gives Greece a Mars-Like Hue (VIDEO)

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Senior Biden Campaign Officials Quietly Push Kamala Harris as Top Choice to Replace Joe Biden

Senior Biden campaign officials are quietly pushing Kamala Harris as the top choice to replace Joe Biden if he drops out of the 2024 presidential race.

Democrats are calling for Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race after his disastrous debate performance.

The knives are out for Joe Biden.

White House reporters from Fox News, CBS, CNN, ABC, Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, Newsmax, and NBC on Tuesday repeatedly grilled Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline following his disastrous debate performance.

One reporter point blank asked KJP if Biden has “Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia.”

Reuters reported:

Vice President Kamala Harris is the top alternative to replace U.S. President Joe Biden if he decides not to continue his reelection campaign, according to seven senior sources at the Biden campaign, the White House and the Democratic National Committee with knowledge of current discussions on the topic.

Biden’s fumbling, sometimes-incoherent and widely-panned first-debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump last week set off a wave of panic within the Democratic party over concerns that he may not be fit enough to serve a second term, and prompted calls for top aides to resign.

Some influential Democrats have floated alternatives to Biden besides Harris, including popular cabinet members and Democratic governors like Gavin Newsom from California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. But trying to sidestep Harris is wishful thinking and would be nearly impossible, these sources, who did not wish to be named, said.

The media is priming the public to accept Kamala Harris as Biden’s replacement.

CBS News caught up with Kamala Harris outside of a Biden-Harris campaign fundraising event in McLean, Virginia on Tuesday evening.

The CBS reporter confronted Kamala Harris about Democrats calling for Joe Biden to drop out.

“Some Democrats are calling on Biden to drop out of the race. What’s your response?” CBS News asked Kamala Harris.

“Joe Biden is our nominee,” Kamala Harris said.

“Are you ready to lead the country if necessary?” CBS News asked.

Kamala Harris responded: “I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.”

WATCH:

NEW —

CBS: Some Democrats are calling on Biden to drop out of the race. What’s your response?

KAMALA: “Joe Biden is our nominee.”

CBS: “Are you ready to lead the country if necessary?”

KAMALA: “I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.” pic.twitter.com/cFMM1cGnZ4

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 2, 2024

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“The Dam Has Broken” – 25 Congressional Democrats Preparing to Call on Joe Biden to End Presidential Campaign Following Catastrophic Debate: Report

Joe Biden appears to be about to face increased pressure to quit the 2024 Presidential race.

Reuters reported Tuesday that a minimum of 25 House Democrats are preparing to call for Old Joe to end his presidential campaign following his horrific debate against President Donald Trump.

A second House Democratic aide told the outlet that more centrist House Democrats in swing seats were getting pounded with questions about Biden in their districts this week.

Multiple polls, including one from Reuters/Ipsos taken after the debate, show that a significant minority of Democrats believe Biden should throw in the towel.

“It looks like the dam has broken,” the aide said.

The break will reportedly come if Biden seems “shaky” in the coming days. Given Biden cannot go a day in public without an embarrassing incident, this seems like a safe bet.

The report comes as several Democrats have already publicly thrown Biden under the bus. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) on Tuesday became the first sitting congressional Democrat to call for Biden to leave the presidential race and told NBC he hoped other Democrats would follow his lead.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) later that day said that Biden would lose to Trump in the election and has made his peace with it. “Democracy will be just fine,” he explained.

TGP’s Kristinn Taylor previously reported four Democrat lawmakers privately called on Biden to drop out of the race. Unlike Doggett, however, they were too cowardly to go public.

It Begins: At Least Four Democratic Lawmakers – Including One Congressman – PRIVATELY Call on Biden to Drop Out of Race After Disastrous Debate

Perhaps the most damning indictment on Biden was former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sudden flip-flop yesterday on Biden’s mental acuity after dismissing concerns just over the weekend. She told MSNBC it was a fair question whether his performance at the debate was a one-off or a sign of a more significant health issues.

“I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’ And so when people ask that question, it’s legitimate, of both candidates,” Pelosi said.

The post “The Dam Has Broken” – 25 Congressional Democrats Preparing to Call on Joe Biden to End Presidential Campaign Following Catastrophic Debate: Report appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

‘Prosecutorial Power’ Urged for 2020 ‘Zuckerbucks’ Influence

This article originally appeared on WND.com

Guest by post by Bob Unruh

‘Republican officials and lawmakers who care about U.S. election integrity should take advantage’

Leading up to the 2020 presidential election, a billionaire leftist, Mark Zuckerberg, handed out some $400 million, now called “Zuckerbucks,” to influence the election, a plan that was put into action by “grants” to local elections officials to “help” them with the election during the COVID pandemic.

But it’s well-known now that the money often went to leftist districts where leftist elections officials used it to recruit leftist voters – who would vote for Joe Biden.

Along with the confirmed election interference by the FBI and CIA on behalf of Biden, it was one of the major influences in the election.

A large part of Zuckerberg’s handout, some $332 million plus, was run through the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a “charity” that by law was not supposed to engage in partisan actions.

Now an investigative report published at the Federalist suggests there’s a way to hold those involved to account.

“Our research revealed that, while election safety during COVID may have been the stated reason for CTCL’s program, this was not its purpose,” the report said.

The scheme operated through “strings attached” grants that purportedly went to many jurisdictions in an apolitical manner.

However, the report said, “Ultimately, the evidence suggests that its purpose was to win the election for Joe Biden at the electoral margin in the swing states. This puts the organization in a legally vulnerable position, and Republican legal officials and lawmakers who care about U.S. election integrity should take advantage.”

The report noted, “It is time for red state legal officials and lawmakers to think seriously about employing their prosecutorial power to sort out the unprecedented role that CTCL played in the 2020 election. State courts and the U.S. tax courts (for 501(c)(3) U.S. Tax Code violations) are promising venues through which to file charges against CTCL, its officers, and administrators.”

The report notes the evidence, including tax records, confirm that the group gave “all larger grants – on both an absolute and per capita basis to deeply Democratic urban areas.”

The “partisan pattern of funding was especially apparent in swing states,” the report revealed.

“In the counties where CTCL made its 50 largest grants per capita, the average partisan lean in favor of Democrats was 33 points, which corresponds to a 67 percent Democrat to 33 percent Republican vote breakdown. What’s more, of CTCL’s 10 largest grants per capita, seven were given to key urban counties and cities in Georgia and Wisconsin. Biden narrowly won these two swing states in 2020 — by no more than 12,000 votes and 21,000 votes respectively.”

The report noted as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the group is legally barred from “partisan activity.”

Since that election, 28 states have taken action to limit or ban election interference through private donations for elections.

The CTCL “money trail,” the report said, “has been well documented with publicly available data, and it displays patterns of intense partisanship at the state and national levels in ways that seem inconsistent with CTCL’s charter as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.”

The report suggested, “there are vast troves of yet-to-be-examined electronic communications that took place during the summer and fall of 2020 while grant applications were solicited, funds were distributed, and advice was circulated regarding the use of those funds in winning the election for Joe Biden.”

While the cash distributions purportedly were to help officials encourage all voters to cast a ballot, the political intent was also was evident because the group gave its money, “all larger grants,” to “deeply Democratic urban areas.”

“In other words, the bulk of the money was spent in a sophisticated and novel effort to mobilize the mail-in ballots of specific voter profiles to benefit Democratic candidates, and the distribution of the largest CTCL grants ultimately increased Democrats’ partisan advantage in the electoral college.”

States with “no chance” of supporting Trump, or those with majority support for Trump, “received very little CTCL funding.”

“Swing states key to Joe Biden’s electoral college strategy like Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were lavished with tens of millions of dollars in CTCL money averaging between $1 and $2 per capita. Georgia, the top CTCL grant recipient, received a whopping $41 million — roughly $4 per capita — the lion’s share of which went to only seven deep blue metro Atlanta counties out of the state’s 159.”

And, the report said, handouts to recruit voters unavoidably are partisan.

“An election official in Dallas, Texas knows that her jurisdiction voted 65 percent Democrat and 34 percent Republican in 2020. Thus, in her county, for every 100 additional voters, the expected distribution of Biden to Trump votes is 65 to 35 — an increase of Biden’s margin by an average of 30 votes. If this election official is successful in turning out an additional random distribution of 100,000 voters in her jurisdiction, she will have padded Biden’s margin by an additional 30,000 votes, even if all she does is say ‘Vote!’” the report said.

Further, “it is not the job of election administrators to boost voter turnout,” the report said.

“CTCL was involved in a conspiracy to interfere in the 2020 election using legally questionable means. Even if private election grants were technically ‘legal’ in 2020, the ability to exercise outside influence over the operation of the election system is not something that should be for sale to the highest bidder, ever,” the report said.

Copyright 2024 WND News Center

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Former NFL Reporter On Biological Men in Women’s Sports: ‘Insanity’

In April,  the Biden regime proudly announced that women would be forced to allow men in their locker rooms and bathrooms with a new 1577-page Title IX ruling.

Women will be forced to compete against men.

And women will be forced to accept men on their sports teams.

The Biden regime’s attack on women and girls will go into effect on August 1 — just in time for the new school year. It requires institutions “to take prompt and effective action when notified of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination in their education programs or activities.”

Those who do not comply will lose federal funding.

At least 26 states are suing Biden over the changes to title IX including  Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

On a recent episode of  OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me”, former NFL reporter Michele Tafoya was asked about the impact on women and girls and the “insanity” of allowing trans people to compete with biological females.

Tafoya said, “It is insane, this whole thing is insanity. Thank God for voices like J.K. Rowling and Riley Gaines and others. Apparently, you need big voices like that to keep up, to keep countering this ridiculousness.”

“I don’t’ care if the male is intact or was born a male – they don’t belong in a women’s locker room, they don’t belong on a women’s team. They are not women. So this notion that trans women or women, it’s ridiculous, because there’s a reason you put the ‘trans’ in front of the word ‘woman,’ because you’re not a woman.”

She continued, “We’re in a weird time. This is one of those lies that they want to keep propagating. ‘Trans women are real women, trans women are real women,’ and then they’ll eventually believe it. I’m not going to believe it. I have a daughter, as well, who competes in athletics. I’ve got nieces. I just care about women. I care about all girls being able to have a fair shot. When you see these girls who have been robbed of their opportunities or places on the podium, it drives me nuts. It doesn’t mean that a trans person cannot participate. It does mean trans women cannot compete against biological women. That’s all we’re saying.”

When asked about the hate-fueled attacks on those fighting to protect women and girls, who are often labeled hateful and transphobic and sometimes even attacked like Riley Gaines, Tafoya says that could not be farther from the truth.

“If you can’t compete, join the millions of other people that have come in last place in a race. But that doesn’t mean you get to change genders so you can be in third place or first place in a race. That ain’t the way this works. It’s very simple, but apparently, we have to keep fighting these gender-ideology voices that think we’re hateful,” she says.

“We’re not hateful, we’re helping women.”

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BREAKING REPORT: Biden Tells Key Ally He’s Considering Departing the Presidential Race

Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Contrary to the gaslighting from the Biden regime and his own family, the White House occupant is apparently having second thoughts on continuing the presidential race.

The New York Times reported this morning that Joe Biden is worried he will not be able to save his candidacy if he’s unable to convince the American people that he has the mental acuity to handle the job following last week’s awful debate performance according to a key ally.

The Biden ally told the Times that Biden knows that his next few appearances heading into the July 4 holiday weekend must go well. This includes an interview scheduled for Friday with former Clinton hitman George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

If these go poorly, he may depart the race altogether.

“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place,” the ally explained to the outlet, referring to Dementia Joe’s debate performance.

The person spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive situation.

The report comes after news that a minimum of 25 House Democrats are preparing to call for Old Joe to end his presidential campaign following his horrific debate against President Donald Trump.

Multiple polls, including one from Reuters/Ipsos taken after the debate, show that a significant minority of Democrats believe Biden should throw in the towel.

Moreover, several Democrats have already publicly tossed Biden under the bus. As The Gateway Pundit reported, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) on Tuesday became the first sitting congressional Democrat to call for Biden to leave the presidential race and told NBC he hoped other Democrats would follow his lead.

Perhaps the most damning indictment on Biden was former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sudden flip-flop yesterday on Biden’s mental acuity after dismissing concerns just over the weekend. She told MSNBC it was a fair question whether his performance at the debate was a one-off or a sign of a more significant health issues.

“I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’ And so when people ask that question, it’s legitimate, of both candidates,” Pelosi said.

White House officials did not respond to the New York Times for a comment.

The post BREAKING REPORT: Biden Tells Key Ally He’s Considering Departing the Presidential Race appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Durandal, the Legendary Sword of Roland, Known as the ‘French Excalibur’, Is Missing From Small Rocamadour Village, Feared Stolen

After remaining 1300 years wedged into a 32-feet high rock in the pleasant little French village of Rocamadour, Durandal, the sword of fabled medieval Knight Roland has reportedly disappeared, and it’s presumed to have been stolen.

Durandal is the rough equivalent of Britain’s Excalibur, which mythical King Arthur  pulled from a rock to become King.

But who was it that did wrench Durandal from the stone is a mystery – a mystery that French gendarmerie will try to solve.

Telegraph reported:

“All the town knows is that one of its main tourist attractions has vanished. It is presumed stolen and an investigation has been launched.

Durandal was the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin (knight) and officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. According to the legend, Durandal was indestructible, and the sharpest sword in all existence, capable of cutting through giant boulders with a single strike.”

Durandal is featured extensively in the medieval ‘Song of Roland’.

To give an idea of the symbolism involved, La Chanson de Roland is simply the oldest surviving masterpiece of French literature.

In it, the magical attributes of Roland’s sword are detailed.

Incredibly, just one manuscript of the Song of Roland in Old French has survived, held at a Library in Oxford, UK.

The sword that local folklore declares it’s Durandal was a major tourist site embedded into a cliff 10 meters high.

“Medieval “myth” has it that before it was given to Roland, Charlemagne received Durandal from an angel. Before his death at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, Roland is said to have tried in vain to break it on the rocks to prevent his enemies from seizing it. He finally threw it into the air to save it. Miraculously travelling hundreds of kilometers, it is said to have embedded itself in the rock face of Rocamadour.

Local mayor Dominique Lenfant said the town was devastated. ‘We’re going to miss Durandal. It’s been part of Rocamadour for centuries, and there’s not a guide who doesn’t point it out when he visits’, he told La Dépêche, a French newspaper. ‘Rocamadour feels it’s been robbed of a part of itself, but even if it’s a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are entwined’.”

Read more:

MIRACLE! AMAZING VIDEO Shows Cross LIT UP and STILL STANDING After Fire Engulfs Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

 

 

The post Durandal, the Legendary Sword of Roland, Known as the ‘French Excalibur’, Is Missing From Small Rocamadour Village, Feared Stolen appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

REPORT: White House in Complete Turmoil Over Biden’s Decline, Insiders Claim ‘Everyone is Freaking the F**k Out’

The White House is in a state of complete turmoil following Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance last Thursday.

According to a bombshell report from Axios on Tuesday, questions about Biden’s future have thrown the entire White House operation into a state of chaos, with many staffers and officials scared and uncertain about the future.

The report states:

Officials on President Biden’s White House and campaign staffs say they’re feeling rage, sadness, frustration and resolve over his debate performance and his team’s response to it, more than a dozen White House and campaign aides told Axios.

Biden’s performance at the debate has left many of his own aides worried about his mental fitness, and angry about what they see as a lack of candor from Biden’s senior aides.

“It’s the first topic of every conversation,” one White House official said. “Senior leadership has given us nothing. To act like it’s business as usual is delusional.”

Another official put it more bluntly: “Everyone is freaking the f*** out.”

“The uncertainty after Thursday is palpable and anxiety is only increasing,” a third White House official told Axios.

“People are looking for leadership and direction that they were told to trust, and hoped was there, but aren’t yet feeling in what is now clearly a defining moment for this presidency.”

The shocking quotes just keep on coming:

Axios granted several Biden officials anonymity to describe the atmosphere in the White House and on the campaign in the days since the debate.

One Biden confidante told Axios: “For everyone who really cares about Biden and his legacy, the debate was just painful to watch.”

“It’s dark,” said an official involved in the campaign. “It feels like there is zero leadership or information. People are being told to keep their heads down and keep working, but they’re not seeing the president or being given any reason why they should have faith in him.”

Such reports underline the growing consensus among Democrat elites that Biden’s dementia is finally catching up with him and that he should make way for a younger, more electable candidate.

However, the Biden campaign has repeatedly pushed back against any suggestions that he should step aside, while the old codger himself has also insisted he won’t be dropping out the race.

Only time will tell what will happen, although Donald Trump will inevitably be the beneficiary of the chaos surrounding the Biden White House.

The post REPORT: White House in Complete Turmoil Over Biden’s Decline, Insiders Claim ‘Everyone is Freaking the F**k Out’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Rethinking NATO After 75 Years: Reckless Expansion, Mission Creep, US Dependency, and Ineffectiveness

NATO staring defeat in the face in Ukraine, courtesy of The Communist.

 

In 1997, Senator Joe Biden advocated for NATO’s expansion, claiming Russia would welcome it. This expansion, combined with mission creep and over-dependence on the US, weakened NATO, making it ineffective in responding to European wars and out-of-area conflicts in the Middle East. Biden’s current open path to NATO policy shows he hasn’t learned from the mistakes of the 90s. Now that relations with Russia are beyond repair and China is the most pressing threat to US national security, should we fix NATO, dilute it further by expanding its mandate to China, form a new Asian NATO, or scrap it altogether?

When World War II ended and the world polarized into a Soviet-led Eastern bloc and a US-led Western bloc, NATO was established for several reasons, including providing collective defense against Soviet aggression. The alliance ensured that an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all, deterring Soviet expansion into Western Europe. Additionally, NATO promoted political stability and economic cooperation, fostering democratic values and market economies. The presence of American military power in Europe reassured smaller nations, enhancing their security and discouraging them from making separate deals with the Soviet Union. Furthermore, NATO facilitated military standardization and interoperability among member states, improving the effectiveness of their combined defense efforts.

However, in the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, both the Clinton and Bush administrations pushed for NATO to address “the new security challenges of the next century.” The alliance shifted its focus away from collective defense and towards a new, less clearly defined mission, addressing “the new security challenges of the next century.”

NATO’s interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina marked its first significant deployments outside member countries, signaling a shift from its founding principle of collective defense against the USSR. During the Bosnian War, NATO conducted Operation Deny Flight (1993-1995) to enforce a no-fly zone and Operation Deliberate Force (1995) to carry out airstrikes against Bosnian Serb forces, contributing to the Dayton Agreement that ended the war. Similarly, NATO’s 1999 intervention in Kosovo, known as Operation Allied Force, aimed to halt ethnic cleansing and atrocities against ethnic Albanians by Yugoslav and Serbian forces. These missions set a precedent for “out of area” interventions and demonstrated NATO’s mission creep, transforming from a focus on collective defense against the Soviet threat to a broader mandate that includes humanitarian intervention and crisis management.

At the same time that NATO was taking on “out-of-area” missions, then-Senator Joe Biden advocated for NATO’s expansion. The alliance began admitting new members, including former Soviet republics, which worsened relations with Russia. This does not justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine; however, it is a fact that Putin cites NATO’s expansion as a justification for the invasion.

The new NATO members were economically and militarily weak, turning NATO membership into a US defense umbrella. This US commitment led these nations to reduce their military forces; for example, the German army is now about one-third its Cold War size. Simultaneously, out-of-area missions in Afghanistan and Libya strained Europe’s dwindling armies, further burdening the US. The belief that a European war was unlikely and that Russia would not replace the USSR as the primary adversary diminished defense priorities among European governments. Feeling safe under the US defense umbrella, only a few members met their 2% GDP defense spending target, forcing the US to shoulder about 70% of NATO’s funding. This complacency led to criticism of NATO for its slow or inadequate responses to several European conflicts, highlighting a lack of preparedness.

During the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, NATO was criticized for its limited reaction. Its response to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea was insufficient, focusing on political and economic measures rather than military intervention. In 2020, NATO failed to meaningfully intervene in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. NATO’s ineffectiveness has allowed these conflicts to reignite, leading to ongoing instability in Georgia, the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war, and Azerbaijan annexing Nagorno-Karabakh and expelling Armenian Christians in 2023.

Since World War II, the United States has been the cornerstone of European defense, but it is questionable whether this should continue. Europe should take ownership of its own defense. Strengthening NATO could involve better burden-sharing, enhancing rapid response capabilities, and refining its strategic focus to contemporary threats. However, NATO has had 75 years to address these issues and has failed to solve them. Another option is to scrap NATO altogether, though this could lead to regional instability and a power vacuum that adversaries might exploit, making it an impractical choice given NATO’s historical significance and existing commitments.

Washington needs to address the China threat, but expanding NATO’s mandate to include this seems ill-advised. NATO has already struggled to defend Europe effectively, making it unlikely to perform well in the Indo-Pacific. For most of Europe, the security threat in the Indo-Pacific is too distant and not relevant. Instead, forming partnerships with regional allies in Asia could be a more targeted approach. Creating an Indo-Pacific NATO, possibly including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and India, could address the security dynamics specific to the region without overextending NATO.

The most likely outcome is that NATO will continue to exist and heavily depend on the US. Biden will keep expanding NATO, Russia will remain an adversary, and regarding China, two solutions are likely. NATO’s mandate might shift further to incorporate the Indo-Pacific, spreading the alliance even thinner. Additionally, an Asian NATO could be developed, or existing frameworks like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or AUKUS might expand to include members from Asia, such as South Korea and the Philippines, as well as European nations like France with interests in the Indo-Pacific. No matter which option is exercised, the US will continue to be the military and economic linchpin that holds it all together.

The post Rethinking NATO After 75 Years: Reckless Expansion, Mission Creep, US Dependency, and Ineffectiveness appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Ukraine May Default on Massive Debt as Early as August

Under pressure in various sectors of the frontline, with its power plants and energy grid under relentless attacks, and trying to find a peace proposal that would keep it from losing 20 per cent of its former territory for good, Ukraine is also under financial threat, as concerning news arise over its debt restructuring efforts.

Kiev could default on its enormous debts as early as next month unless it manages to negotiate a restructuring deal with its creditors, The Economist reported (behind paywall).

With the onset of the war in February 2022, bondholders granted Ukraine a two-year debt freeze. That agreement expires in August, and the creditors expect it to begin paying interest on its debt again.

RT reported:

“The arrangement is worth 15% of Ukraine’s annual GDP, meaning that if payments had been required, they would have been Kiev’s second-biggest category of expenditure after defense.

The conflict with Russia has dealt a heavy blow to the Ukrainian economy, which has shrunk by a quarter since the outbreak of hostilities, the outlet said. Kiev’s debt-to-GDP ratio will approach 94% by the end of the year, despite ‘impressive’ Western backing, although this largely comes in the form of ‘artillery, tanks and earmarked funds, rather than cash’, the article noted.”

Read: ZELENSKY’S PARANOIA: Ukraine’s President Is ‘Emotional and Nervous’, With ‘Deep Anxiety’ – Instructed Officials To Criticize Biden for Skipping Peace Summit in Switzerland

Kiev hasn’t reached an agreement with a group of foreign investors on a restructuring of the country’s $20 billion debt in Eurobonds.

“Ukraine wants to reduce its debt by 60% of its current value, while creditors said 22% was ‘more reasonable’.

If a new debt-restructuring deal is not reached, Ukraine would end up in default. This would damage the country’s credit rating and complicate its ability to borrow in the future.”

Read: End of the Line for Ukraine? UK Paper The Times: ‘It’s Time We Talked About the Fall of Kiev’ – Zelensky: ‘We Are Trying To Find a Way Not to Retreat’

According to  The Economist’s report, Kiev may pull off an extension on its debt-service freeze until 2027 – or else have to declare a default.

One way or another, Ukraine is not expected to resume payments to its creditors.

Read more:

Peter Sweden: IT’S SPREADING – Massive Farmers Protest in Germany (Video)

 

The post Ukraine May Default on Massive Debt as Early as August appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.