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Thread: Merkel responds to Trump: 'I have witnessed' Germany under Soviet control

  1. #1

    Merkel responds to Trump: 'I have witnessed' Germany under Soviet control

    At his first breakfast at the NATO meetings Trump accused Germany of being "captive of Russia" for importing some of their natural gas from that country. She grew up in communist East Germany which was under the control of the USSR at the time.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to hit back at US President Donald Trump's claim that "Germany is a captive of Russia" by drawing on her own upbringing in Soviet-controlled East Germany.

    "I wanted to say that, because of current events, I have witnessed this myself, that a part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union. And I am very happy that we are today unified in freedom as the Federal Republic of Germany," she said in an arrival statement at the NATO Summit Wednesday, according to an English translation of her remarks.

    Merkel, who was born in Hamburg in 1954, has spoken on numerous occasions about her upbringing under Soviet occupation.

    "The first political event from my childhood that I remember distinctly is the building of the Berlin Wall 50 years ago. I was 7 years old at the time. Seeing grown-ups, even my parents, so stunned that they broke out in tears, shook me to the core. My mother's family, for example, was divided by the building of the Wall," she said in remarks upon receiving the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.

    "I grew up in the part of Germany that was not free, the German Democratic Republic. For many years I dreamed of freedom, just as many others did -- also of the freedom to travel to the United States," she said then.

    Although she did not mention the US President by name in her NATO statement, Merkel's comments seemed to be a direct repudiation of Trump's earlier remarks, in which he maligned Germany for getting natural gas from Russia.

    "Germany is a captive of Russia," Trump said at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "It's very inappropriate."

    "I think it's something that NATO has to look at," Trump said. "Germany is totally controlled by Russia."

    Trump's comments drew pushback from Stoltenberg, who defended the importance of the alliance's defense goals.



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  3. #2
    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44794688

    Trump: How much of Germany's gas comes from Russia?



    The claim: Germany imports 60% to 70% of its energy from Russia.

    Reality Check verdict: Germany relies on Russia for most of its imports of natural gas. But gas makes up less than 20% of Germany's energy mix for power production.

    At a Nato summit, US President Donald Trump criticised Germany for importing so much of its gas from Russia while expecting the US to pay to protect it from Russia.

    "Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will be getting from 60% to 70% of their energy from Russia and a new pipeline," he said.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel has responded by saying that having had experience of a time when part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union, she is now confident that the whole country is independent.

    Mr Trump is right that Germany relies on Russia for most of its gas imports. Eurostat estimates that Russia is responsible for between 50% and 75% of Germany's gas imports.

    The commodities brokerage Marex Spectron told Reality Check that about 60% of Germany's gas was imported from Russia, with most of the rest coming from Norway.

    But that does not mean that 60% of Germany's energy comes from Russia - Germany's energy mix for power production is about 40% coal, more than 30% renewables, less than 20% gas and 10% nuclear, according to Marex Spectron.
    That would mean that Russia does supply about 15% of Germany's energy- not "60- 70%".

  4. #3
    She was part of Germany being under Soviet control.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  5. #4
    They likely pay less from Russia then they would from US.

    Don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by shakey1 View Post
    They likely pay less from Russia then they would from US.
    It would be a really long pipeline. Shipping in tankers is costly too.

  7. #6
    Merkel responds to Trump: 'I have witnessed' Germany under Soviet control
    She doesn't miss the foreign Soviet master, but she longs for the days of socialism, the Stasi and total control.
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
    "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul

    Proponent of real science.
    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  8. #7
    Shaddup, Merkel. No one cares. Pay for the cost and upkeep for our troops in Germany or get your own damned Army, Air Force and Navy.

  9. #8
    Anybody that thinks its wrong to make up random stats about Germany can get the hell out.
    1. Don't lie.
    2. Don't cheat.
    3. Don't steal.
    4. Don't kill.
    5. Don't commit adultery.
    6. Don't covet what your neighbor has, especially his wife.
    7. Honor your father and mother.
    8. Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
    9. Don’t use your Higher Power's name in vain, or anyone else's.
    10. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

    "For the love of money is the root of all evil..." -- I Timothy 6:10, KJV



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  11. #9
    So Zippyjyan, why aren't you moving to Germany? You'd have a Head of State that is very much like Hillary Clinton.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by dude58677 View Post
    So Zippyjyan, why aren't you moving to Germany? You'd have a Head of State that is very much like Hillary Clinton.
    I have been to Germany. Nice country. Also East Germany. Not so nice.

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    I have been to Germany. Nice country. Also East Germany. Not so nice.
    Which side were you really working for?
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    I have been to Germany. Nice country. Also East Germany. Not so nice.
    That's very good and very nice. Now why don't you make like a tree and leave?

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by dude58677 View Post
    That's very good and very nice. Now why don't you make like a tree and leave?
    US is the best place on Earth (that I have seen- I have not experienced the entire planet). If the US is so bad, why do you stay? Of course then you would become the foreigner.
    Last edited by Zippyjuan; 07-11-2018 at 04:05 PM.

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    US is the best place on Earth (that I have seen- I have not experienced the entire planet). If the US is so bad, why do you stay? Of course then you would become the foreigner.
    America is being Made Great Again why should I leave?

  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by dude58677 View Post
    America is being Made Great Again why should I leave?
    No reason either of us should leave.

  18. #16
    I did not like that he was discouraging trade with Russia. More trade less NATO would be the best path forward.



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by milgram View Post
    I did not like that he was discouraging trade with Russia. More trade less NATO would be the best path forward.
    He is using their own anti-Russia propaganda against them, the goal here is to break NATO and the EU.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    He is using their own anti-Russia propaganda against them, the goal here is to break NATO and the EU.
    Putin would love that- yes.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Putin would love that- yes.
    As would any anti-globalist patriot, I don't consider Putin to be a "Good Guy" but he isn't wrong about everything.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Putin would love that- yes.
    So would Ron Paul. He says we should have gotten out of NATO 30 years ago. I agree.

  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    She was part of Germany being under Soviet control.
    She's so used to preference falsification she doesn't even notice it. My policies are great! We just need to get rid of people who oppose them(brainwashing is ok)!

  25. #22
    With less than a week to go before President Trump is scheduled to meet with President Putin in Helsinki, the State Department has decided to renew its pressure campaign on Western businesses invested in Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany.

    According to Reuters, the State Department has doubled down on previous warnings to Europe, most recently in May when Trump gave Merkel an ultimatum to drop the Russian gas pipeline, and has been "making it clear" to firms involved with "the Russian energy export pipeline sector" that they're at risk of being sanctioned.
    "We have been clear that firms working in the Russian energy export pipeline sector are engaging in a line of business that carries sanctions risk," a spokesman for the U.S. State Department told Reuters.
    "We believe it (the pipeline) would undermine Europe’s overall energy security and stability by providing Russia another tool for the political coercion of European countries, especially Ukraine. Russia understands that this project is dividing Europe, and is using that to its advantage."
    The warning comes after President Trump accused Germany of being a "captive of Russia" because of its dependence on the pipeline for LNG, unleashing a diplomatic scandal ahead of his official NATO visit.

    Five prominent Western firms have invested in the pipeline - Wintershall and Uniper, in Germany, OMV in Austria, Anglo-Dutch Shell (a British-Dutch multinational) and Engie of France.
    Should the State Department follow through with its threat, the EU has threatened swift retaliation (given that Germany isn't the only European country that's energy-dependent on Russia). That's also why the EU has warned against moves in the US Congress to escalate sanctions with Russia (though the US media would have you believe that Trump is the true source of resistance). The point that Trump made earlier about the pipeline undermining NATO is actually the official position of the State Department. It also happens to be correct. Germany and much of Europe are effectively held hostage by Russian energy exports. While the US media reports that Trump himself is undermining NATO by meeting with Putin, there are probably more than a few EU energy ministers who were relieved at the prospect of their meeting.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-...ssian-pipeline
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  26. #23
    Account Restricted. Admin to review account standing


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  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Jamesiv1 View Post
    Anybody that thinks its wrong to make up random stats about Germany can get the hell out.
    Yes , picking on germans and Merkel is fully approved by Oyarde.
    Do something Danke



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by AuH20 View Post
    The magical mystical rhymes of The DJ Donald Trumpmaster D.
    Last edited by Jamesiv1; 07-12-2018 at 02:33 AM.
    1. Don't lie.
    2. Don't cheat.
    3. Don't steal.
    4. Don't kill.
    5. Don't commit adultery.
    6. Don't covet what your neighbor has, especially his wife.
    7. Honor your father and mother.
    8. Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
    9. Don’t use your Higher Power's name in vain, or anyone else's.
    10. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

    "For the love of money is the root of all evil..." -- I Timothy 6:10, KJV

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by milgram View Post
    I did not like that he was discouraging trade with Russia. More trade less NATO would be the best path forward.
    He wasn't really. He was pointing out the stupidity of having us/NATO supposedly in Germany to protect them FROM Russia, all the while having Germany trading with Russia and giving Russia a major power position by relying on them for energy.

  31. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    She doesn't miss the foreign Soviet master, but she longs for the days of socialism, the Stasi and total control.

    Interestingly Trump, Hillary, and severe Libertarian Bill Weld all listed Merkel as their favorite world leader. http://therightscoop.com/not-making-...-world-leader/

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    At his first breakfast at the NATO meetings Trump accused Germany of being "captive of Russia" for importing some of their natural gas from that country. She grew up in communist East Germany which was under the control of the USSR at the time.
    Zippy,
    You apparently did a good job fact checking some numbers and I will take you at your word they are correct.
    But the bigger point trump was making is that Germany is spending less than their agreed upon amount for nato defense and that results in USA spending more to pay Germany’s share.....and that nato defense is specifically defending against places such as Russia.

    Can you see the problem or irony or whichever word you’d like to use, when Germany asks the USA to pay for German defense against Russia and then agrees to make a large trade deal with Russia?

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by TommyJeff View Post
    Zippy,
    You apparently did a good job fact checking some numbers and I will take you at your word they are correct.
    But the bigger point trump was making is that Germany is spending less than their agreed upon amount for nato defense and that results in USA spending more to pay Germany’s share.....and that nato defense is specifically defending against places such as Russia.

    Can you see the problem or irony or whichever word you’d like to use, when Germany asks the USA to pay for German defense against Russia and then agrees to make a large trade deal with Russia?
    @Zippyjuan Bueller?


  34. #30

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