Kaja Kallas will lead European foreign policy as the EU Foreign Policy Representative. A move to Brussels may be beneficial because it has lost some of its appeal in domestic politics.
Kaja Kallas does not allow herself to be misled. She was asked several times in a radio interview with the Estonian public broadcaster EER whether this would be her last interview as Prime Minister of Estonia and whether she had already packed her bags for the new post in Brussels.
Callas said: “Let me make it clear that the first issue is who will be nominated for the position of European Union foreign policy representative, and the heads of state and government will decide that.” This is what happened now.
A clear position against Putin
Callas is very knowledgeable about European politics. The Prime Minister of Estonia is a political figure in high demand, and not only at EU summits. It is constantly pushing Europe to help Ukraine faster and more efficiently. It also regularly calls for a clear stance against Putin in clear words.
She wasn’t impressed with the fact that he put her on the wanted list. „He wants us to be afraid,” the 47-year-old said in an interview with The Sun newspaper in February. „But that means we give him what he wants. That’s why we shouldn’t be afraid.” Daily ARD topicsShe still didn’t want to mince her words.
Putin is clearly using this as a weapon to spread fear and show that we are not a real country. He is blaming me for things that are actually internal Russian affairs. But we are an independent country.
Kallas said this shows that Putin has imperialist dreams and ideas. When her inclusion on the list was announced, many people told her it was a badge of honor. “I must have done something right if the Russians are that angry with me,” she said afterward.
That made an impression. As well as the heads of European states and governments.
Family history As an incentive
She will not be the first in her family to pursue a career in Brussels. After Estonia’s independence in 1991, her father Siem became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance. As Prime Minister, he negotiated Estonia’s path to joining the European Union and NATO and then became an EU Commissioner.
Perhaps this is why her daughter Kaja initially chose a different path and worked as a lawyer. In the economically liberal Reform Party, Kallas also made rapid progress in politics: as a member of the European Parliament and then as the first woman to lead her party.
Since 2021, you have been the prime minister of a country that borders Russia directly – and is home to a large ethnic Russian minority. Your vision of Moscow is always influenced by your family history.
“When Russia occupied Estonia, it deported Estonians to Siberia and brought Russians into the country. My family was also deported to Siberia. By the end of the occupation, the Russian minority was 30 percent.”
Her personal family history is also her motivation. It represents what many Estonians have experienced, Kallas says. The Russian attack on Ukraine has changed many Baltic states’ sense of security and opened old wounds. With her open words, Callas encourages her compatriots.
It lost its domestic political appeal
The road to Brussels may also have domestic political reasons. In Estonia, she has lost her appeal. The austerity measures taken by her government are very unpopular. And when it became known that her husband Arvo Halik was involved in a transport company that continued to transport goods to Russia despite the sanctions, her reputation was also damaged.
In the European elections, her Reform Party came third with just 17.9%. The new mission in Brussels comes at the right time, and perhaps too convenient for Kallas.
Biden’s mental state was criticised after the televised US election duel. Now similar concerns are being raised about Trump – is the former president suffering from dementia?
ATLANTA — The televised duel between U.S. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump was in many ways a disaster. Biden wowed viewers with occasional outbursts of anger. His opponent, on the other hand, told lie after lie in the best Trumpian fashion. The Chinese Global Times He even referred to the discussion as a „reality show.”
Criticism was directed primarily at Biden, whose behavior has been disqualified by some for a second term as US president. He himself tried to appease voters during a US election campaign appearance in November: “I know what’s right and what’s wrong. I know how to do this job, and I know how to get things done,” Biden said in North Carolina. Support is now coming from his own party: a former House speaker claims to have detected signs of dementia in Trump.
Ahead of 2024 US Elections – Pelosi Hints Trump Has Dementia Due to TV Duel
Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco representative in the House of Representatives, responded: CNN Biden should not be judged on a “bad night.” “It was a good presidency and the American people should choose that,” Pelosi said.
One has to be fair in the debate about Biden’s mental state. “There are health experts who believe that Trump has dementia,” Pelosi said. It’s not that the Republican is simply lying, “he doesn’t know the truth.” Still, she can have discussions with Biden. “We’re testing Joe Biden up close. We know how well he knows the issues and how well he’s informed.”
’Signs of Dementia’ – Psychologist Criticizes Trump’s Mental State
Pelosi isn’t the only one who has doubts about the former president’s mental state. Psychologist Harry Segal said in early April that Trump was showing “signs of early dementia.” When he made his diagnosis remotely, Segal didn’t mince his words on “The David Pakman Show.” “I see this cognitive decline as an additional threat to an already unpredictable, mentally challenged individual who should not be anywhere near the White House,” he said.
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Many colleagues agree with Segal’s opinion. How Focus on the Internet Hundreds of doctors have signed a petition saying Trump has a possible diagnosis of dementia. Forensic psychiatrist Elizabeth Zoffman said Trump’s behavior could be consistent with symptoms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Signs include tactlessness, irritability, and disinhibition. Zoffman strongly advises Trump to get himself tested. Because such a condition can get worse.
Trump Brags About Health Test – Former President Claims Mental Fitness Ahead of 2024 US Election
“They always show you the first thing first, for example a giraffe or a tiger or this or that – a whale,” she says. Washington Post Trump in New Hampshire in mid-January. Trump was supposed to recognize animal drawings as part of a mental health test. And since he passed the test with flying colors, the former president probably likes to brag about his cognitive abilities.
But the test’s developer, Ziad Nasreddine, speaking shortly after Trump’s statement, noted that the test in question did not contain any whales. “I don’t think we have a version with a whale,” Nasreddine said. However, he acknowledged the possibility that Trump was simply listing examples.
However, the ability to remember animal shapes is not a good indicator of one’s fitness to be president of the United States, said cardiologist and professor of medicine and surgery Jonathan Reiner. “That’s a very low bar for someone who has the launch codes for a nuclear weapon in his pocket, and certainly not something to brag about,” he said. Washington Post.
Biden admits mistakes after failed TV duel against Trump: 'I understand the concern’
Whether Trump has dementia or not may not matter much to Biden’s critics. So the US president found himself in need of an explanation after the televised debate. “I understand the concern about the debate,” Biden said aloud. Independent At an event. „I get it. I didn’t have a great evening.”
It remains to be seen whether Biden can convince people of his abilities. After the televised debate, some in the Democratic Party are calling for Kamala Harris to run against Trump. According to the US intelligence community Newsweek According to a poll conducted by the Date for Progress think tank, the vice president is the first choice to succeed Biden with 39% of the total vote. (Nahi)
“I’m proud to go to prison” – Bannon begins four-month sentence
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Steve Bannon is in jail because he refused to testify before the US Congress and provide documents to lawmakers.
Source: Reuters
Contempt of Congress: Former Trump confidant Steve Bannon will spend the next four months in a Connecticut prison. The 70-year-old sees himself as a political victim of the Democrats. “I’m proud to be going to prison,” Bannon said.
sTiff Bannon, a longtime confidant of former US President Donald Trump, has begun a four-month prison sentence. The 70-year-old appeared Monday at a prison in Connecticut, where he turned himself in and was taken into custody, the prison authority said.
He has previously declared himself a “political prisoner” to reporters. Bannon added that Trump has shown “great solidarity” with him. In addition, the former White House chief strategist has taken a stand against Democrats, especially Attorney General Merrick Garland. “I’m proud to be going to prison,” Bannon said. In doing so, he stands up to “Garland’s corrupt Justice Department.”
Outside the prison on Monday, Bannon was greeted by a group of Trump supporters. In a nod to the right-wing populist’s possible re-election in November, they held up “Trump 2024” flags. Also in attendance was far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump supporter.
Steve Bannon stands next to Marjorie Taylor Greene and other supporters outside the prison in Danbury, Connecticut.
Source: Reuters
Bannon was convicted in 2022 of contempt of Congress for ignoring a subpoena from the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and failing to provide requested documents. The court allowed Bannon to remain free for nearly two years while he legally fought his four-month prison sentence.
After an appeals court upheld the convictions, the judge ordered him to begin his prison sentence on July 1. Just last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Bannon’s urgent request to stay his detention.
Bannon has been with Trump’s political rise since the beginning, first as chairman of the far-right news site Breitbart News, then as campaign manager in 2016. After Trump won the election, he became chief White House strategist. Trump fired him in August 2017.
A small Swedish town sells its land allocated for construction at low prices
July 1, 2024 at 6:29 PM
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In order to stimulate growth in the sparsely populated area, the small Swedish town of Gottjeni is offering building plots at ridiculous prices. The response is overwhelming.
Land for building at less than ten cents per square meter: Because of this deal offer, a small town in southwestern Sweden has been seized by interested parties. “We started the campaign in mid-April,” said Johan Mansson, mayor of Goteni, a town of 5,000 people. 30 properties that have been abandoned for decades have been put up for sale at a price per square meter of one Swedish krona (about ten cents). It was a “crazy idea” and a marketing campaign.
“With this attractive offer, the municipality wanted to provide more living space in the low-density area and thus stimulate growth in the area,” Mansson continued. The properties on offer range in size from seven to 1,200 square metres. When purchasing, the new owner undertakes to build a house on them within two years. Shortly after the campaign began, three properties were sold, which is “a great success for such a small community,” said Mayor Mansson. “We could never have imagined what would happen to us.”
Sales have been temporarily halted
Because when a local TV station reported the unusual offer at the end of June, the story spread like wildfire: Swedish media reported, a video was distributed on the Tiktok platform, two English-language media outlets picked up the story and millions of people discovered it Götene and unbeatable land prices .
From that moment on, the city government was inundated with emails and calls. In the meantime, sales were halted so that all offers could be considered. “We have interested parties from Europe, Asia — especially India and Pakistan — as well as the United States, Australia and even South America,” said Mayor Manson. The campaign has put the small town “on the world map.” The property sale will continue at auction in early August.
