NATO

[HONDO74]

What does the US do for the Nato alliance in Europe?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-44717074

The United States contributes more money to NATO than all the rest combined.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

The United States contributes more money to NATO than all the rest combined.

When has that not been true? That better always be true or there's something very wrong with the US economy. It's based on percent of GDP.

I am and not surprised to see Greece fulfilling its obligation, but then what is 2% of their GDP?

If everyone would deliver their 2% as agreed.......

[Mitch]

They're not fulfilling their 2% requirement negotiated in the '14 contract, but the Obama administration gave them 'til 2024 to meet it. The US contributes a little over 3.5% of GDP, but the way our economy is now growing, we could cut back to 2% and actually end up paying more than we are now. That hinges largely on trade negotiations.
And when Pelosi, Schumer, John Kerry, and other diplomats under the Obama Administration, plus all the Democrat pundits in the media are all saying that Trump was brash, undiplomatic, overbearing, insolent, and stupid to present his case the way he did, that tells me that Trump did exactly the right thing, 'cause now the other countries are gonna up their ante. But it still sounds like 2024 is the deadline, and that needs to be changed to right now, this year!
And then there is the thing about Europe buying their oil and natural gas from Russia, the enemy we've sworn to protect them against. We get hit with the double whammy. Add our 130 billion dollar trade deficit with Europe. Besides our NATO contribution, they can use our deficit money to buy the energy from Russia. We are now the largest oil and natural gas producer in the world. They should be gettin' their energy from us, since we're the ones who got their backs. And then we have sanctions and restrictions on Russia because of their Ukraine takeover, and Europe's buying energy from Russia stabs us in the back again and twists the knife.

[rex desilets]

[Mitch]

What's up, Rex?

[Roy]

I've heard that our oil and natural gas is more expensive to the Europeans, than the Russian stuff. I don't know what the cost difference is.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I've heard that our oil and natural gas is more expensive to the Europeans, than the Russian stuff. I don't know what the cost difference is.

Of course it is. We have to ship it across an ocean; they use pipelines and ground transportation. But Germany's real energy problem resides in their discontinuance of nuclear power and having to replace it with something else on short notice - poor decision making will cost them. France OTOH is about 75-80% nuclear power for electricity. Fairly independent - they made a decision not to be tethered or dependent on others; they are also quite probably the largest recycler/re-processor of nuclear fuel for the world..............except for the US. We just store ours w/o recycling/re-processing - poor decision that costs the US.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Reading your reply to Roy, above, I am reminded of the impressive breadth and depth of things my fellow forumites here on MTJ know. It is one of the factors that keeps me coming back, in addition to the myriad, interesting personalities, of course.

[Mitch]

I've heard that our oil and natural gas is more expensive to the Europeans, than the Russian stuff. I don't know what the cost difference is.

Of course it is. We have to ship it across an ocean; they use pipelines and ground transportation. But Germany's real energy problem resides in their discontinuance of nuclear power and having to replace it with something else on short notice - poor decision making will cost them.

It is poor decision making, considering you're buying fuel oil and energy from an avowed enemy. No matter how good the relationship seems on the outside, Putin, (an ex-KGB man), still has ulterior motives of conquest or being the top dog on their continent. All it would take is one bitterly cold winter and he'd have them by the short hairs. And what if he decided to strangle their oil supplies, (ie: gasoline and diesel), what happens to their economies? Shortages cause huge price increases. France would fair the best, but Germany would be under the gun, along with some of the smaller countries. Never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I've heard that our oil and natural gas is more expensive to the Europeans, than the Russian stuff. I don't know what the cost difference is.

Of course it is. We have to ship it across an ocean; they use pipelines and ground transportation. But Germany's real energy problem resides in their discontinuance of nuclear power and having to replace it with something else on short notice - poor decision making will cost them.

It is poor decision making, considering you're buying fuel oil and energy from an avowed enemy. No matter how good the relationship seems on the outside, Putin, (an ex-KGB man), still has ulterior motives of conquest or being the top dog on their continent. All it would take is one bitterly cold winter and he'd have them by the short hairs. And what if he decided to strangle their oil supplies, (ie: gasoline and diesel), what happens to their economies? Shortages cause huge price increases.

Russia has done that in the past to neighboring countries - Ukraine being one - basically blackmailed them into submission. Just setting up to repeat history - people have short memories. But then Putin is our best friend now, right - idiocy!

France would fair the best, but Germany would be under the gun, along with some of the smaller countries. Never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket.

Their choice. Then again, we make terrible choices regarding energy in the US all the time and fail to think ahead more than next week's paycheck.

[rex desilets]

What's up, Rex?

Angry agreement with your post

[HONDO74]

Nord Stream is the pipeline direct from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. While Norway and Denmark are Nato members, Sweden and Finland are neutral countries like Switzerland and not members of Nato.

Norway has a vast supply of oil and gas in the north Atlantic and sells it to other countries. It provides for their excellent standard of living.

[HONDO74]

Russia has done that in the past to neighboring countries - Ukraine being one - basically blackmailed them into submission. Just setting up to repeat history - people have short memories. But then Putin is our best friend now, right - idiocy!

Angela Dorothea Merkel
Born 1954 in west Germany. Her family moved to east Germany when she was an infant

In 1968, Merkel joined the Free German Youth (FDJ), the official communist youth movement sponsored by the ruling Marxist–Leninist Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

Later, at the Academy of Sciences, she became a member of its FDJ secretariat. According to her former colleagues, she openly propagated Marxism as the secretary for "Agitation and Propaganda".

At school, she learned to speak Russian fluently, and was awarded prizes for her proficiency in Russian and Mathematics

Merkel was educated at Karl Marx University, Leipzig, where she studied physics from 1973 to 1978.

Merkel worked and studied at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences in Berlin-Adlershof from 1978 to 1990. After being awarded a doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) for her thesis on quantum chemistry in 1986, she worked as a researcher and published several papers. In 1986 she was able to travel freely to West Germany to attend a congress;

[up148]

Nord Stream is the pipeline direct from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. While Norway and Denmark are Nato members, Sweden and Finland are neutral countries like Switzerland and not members of Nato.

Norway has a vast supply of oil and gas in the north Atlantic and sells it to other countries. It provides for their excellent standard of living.

That's brilliant! Put it under the Baltic Sea and that way there's no possibility of a horrible oil leak.

Or maybe you just don't have to pay your neighbors to run it through their country.

Actually I don't know sh*t about this, it just looks dumb from Hondo's illustration. I guess you'll know you have a leak when all the fish float to the top.

BH

[rex desilets]

Win-win: a Russian-constructed pipeline carrying Russian oil/gas. What's not to like?