#European Union 🇪🇺

[xtruss]

The EU Doesn’t Know How to Not Be a Vassal of the US Anymore

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has tried to show Americans how Washington has exploited Western Europe

— Bradley Blankenship | RT | August 22, 2023

(From L to R) US President Joe Biden, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima on May 19, 2023 © Kenny Holston/POOL/AFP

Tucker Carlson, of Fox News fame, recently met with Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic in Budapest, Hungary. The journalist pointed out that the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline has put a serious strain on the European Union’s economy and mentioned that the world was “resetting” in reaction to the conflict in Ukraine and the West’s pledged support for Kiev.

Carlson raises some good issues, and an important one to expand upon is the fact that the EU economy is lagging significantly since the outbreak of the war last year. A June piece by the Financial Times titled ‘Europe has fallen behind America and the gap is growing’ details how the EU is now considerably dependent on the US for its technological, security, and economic needs.

In terms of hard numbers, Jeremy Shapiro and Jana Puglierin of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank have stated: “In 2008, the EU’s economy was somewhat larger than America’s: $16.2tn versus $14.7tn. By 2022, the US economy had grown to $25tn, whereas the EU and the UK together had only reached $19.8tn. America’s economy is now nearly one-third bigger. It is more than 50 per cent larger than the EU without the UK.”

The article goes on to describe a European Union that is dragging far behind the US and China in terms of quality universities, a less-than-pristine start-up environment, and lacking key benefits from its transatlantic peer – namely cheap energy. The Ukraine conflict has impacted the latter to the point that EU companies are paying three or four times what their American competitors are, with Washington being energy-independent and enjoying great domestic supplies. Meanwhile, energy from Russia is waning, European factories are closing in droves, and industry leaders are worried about the region’s future competitiveness.

The ECFR issued its own report on the matter in April, which is far blunter in describing the situation as a kind of “vassalization.” The summary of that report notes that the Ukraine war has exposed the EU’s key dependencies on the US, that over the course of a decade, the bloc has fallen behind the US in virtually every key metric, that it is deadlocked in disagreement and is looking to Washington for leadership.

The ECFR noted two causes for this situation. Firstly, despite the widely understood decline of the US compared to the rise of China, the transatlantic relationship has been unbalanced in Washington’s favor over the last 15 years since the 2008 financial crisis. The Biden administration is keen to exploit this and assert itself in the face of a disjointed Europe. Secondly, no one in the EU knows what greater strategic autonomy could look like – let alone agree on it if they did. There exists no process to decide the EU’s future in an autonomous way given the current status quo, which means US leadership is necessary.

This paints quite an interesting picture. Many commentators, including myself, have long documented the decline of the US and attributed it to a number of factors: less of an attractive environment for foreign direct investment (FDI), financial instability, corruption, and internal political turmoil. This is, of course, relativized to China, which has seen immense economic growth since the founding of the People’s Republic and particularly over the past four decades. But under the smoke screen of a fumbling America and a growing China, the EU has likewise fallen in stature.

The Western Establishment just gave itself a ‘World Peace and Liberty’ Award! Ursula von der Leyen received the ‘Judicial Equivalent’. The Western Establishment just gave itself a ‘World Peace and Liberty’ Award. Ursula von der Leyen received the ‘Judicial Equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize’ from Justin Trudeau in a perfect self-congratulatory orgy

As for the two causes noted by the ECFR, they seem to be intertwined. Many of the key issues that have faced the EU, from migration to the banking crisis to Covid-19, have stemmed directly from the non-federal nature of the EU. And the current political crises are a result of Euroskepticism, i.e. a backlash against what is perceived as an overreach from Brussels by some political organizations within the bloc. The EU is a complicated and sometimes cumbersome bureaucracy that is cherished by some, reviled by others, and, under these assumptions, is an impediment to strategic autonomy.

The ECFR essentially argues for the EU and Western European capitals to lean into the transatlantic partnership, but on terms favorable to themselves. This includes creating an independent security architecture within and complimentary to NATO, creating an economic NATO of sorts and even pursuing a European nuclear weapons program. At least the former two are acceptable, as abandoning the US outright would be politically foolish for the EU at this juncture. It certainly needs to develop a transatlantic free-trade agreement that puts an end to American trade protectionism.

However, the obvious point to help diversify the Western European economic portfolio, reduce genuinely problematic dependencies, and fuel growth is for the EU to develop peer-to-peer relations with the Global South. For one, the EU Parliament could right now ratify the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) to help their companies gain market access in China and tap into one of the world’s largest consumer bases. I would also argue, as I’ve done in the past, that the EU and China could cooperate – rather than compete – on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the Global South because of Europe’s historical connections, due to its colonialist past.

What is clear is that the EU needs to diversify and back off from the transatlantic relationship. With much talk about ‘de-risking’, or even ‘de-coupling’, from China, Western Europe has actually gotten into the position where it is strategically dependent on Washington to the point of being outright vassalized. This is a bleak situation for the EU’s growth model and its hopes for strategic autonomy.

— Bradley Blankenship is an American Journalist, Columnist and Political Commentator. He has a syndicated column at CGTN and is a freelance reporter for international news agencies.

#European Union 🇪🇺 #United States 🇺🇸 #Bradley Blankenship #Tucker Carlson #Western Europe #Serbia’s 🇷🇸 President Aleksandar Vucic | Budapest #Ukraine 🇺🇦 #Financial Times #Jeremy Shapiro | Jana Puglierin #European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) #UK 🇬🇧 #China 🇨🇳 #Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) #Ursula von der Leyen #Euroskepticism #North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO) #Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) #China-EU Comprehensive Agreement

[eaarths-blog]

The 10 steps of fascism

The end of the west Returning to the book “The End of America” by Naomi Wolf, which initially we reviewed in 2009. With the dystopia, we are witnessing in governments all over the world, the supremacist, the colonialist, the zionist, these evil faces highlighted by fascism. It felt prescient to how we have ended here. I am sure that many can see, both sides of the Atlantic, the many actions that…

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#🇪🇺European union #🇮🇱Israel #🇺🇸US #Geo politics #military aggressors #NATO wars #Neo cons #UK politics

[fangirlshameblog]

I ain't saying he's a Recovery Fund goldigger...

#GET US THAT CASH PERRO SANXE 💶 🇪🇺 💶 🇪🇺 💶 🇪🇺 💶 🇪🇺 #OTP tbh #Pedro Sánchez #Ursula von der Leyen #European Union

[unhonestlymirror]

“The people of Lithuania are waiting for you”: President Gitanas Nauseda congratulated Ukrainians on the Day of Dignity and Freedom.

He published a video of his performance in English with Ukrainian subtitles on the social network X.

The caption states that the Revolution of Dignity on the Maidan took place 10 years ago: “United to defend their European choice, in their quest for justice, freedom and democracy, Ukrainians have proven to be an unstoppable force. Despite brutal war from Russia, Ukraine is increasingly moving closer to Europe. The future of Ukraine is in 🇪🇺!"

“The start of accession negotiations in December is another milestone that we all hope for. The people of Lithuania will be waiting for you. We will support you. And we will do everything to help you join the European Union and NATO. Glory to Ukraine!” said Nausėda.

#Revolution of Dignity #Ukraine #Lithuania #stop russian aggression #genocide of ukrainians #russia is a terrorist state #support ukraine #maidan

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Sam Heughan’s Sassenach whisky brand loses the final legal fight in a trademark dispute in the European Union 🇪🇺

Sam Heughan launched his whisky brand "The Sassenach" in 2020, nickname his character uses for his on-screen love interest in the time travel drama "Outlander". Since 2021, Heughan has been embroiled in a legal battle with "Sasse" a German distillery over the name of his whisky brand, arguing that the Sassenach whisky would confuse customers who might think he is linked to them.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which resolves trademark disputes, ruled in favour of the German company and issued a decision upholding the opposition saying The Sassenach could not use the name as a whisky brand. After losing the initial decision at the Fifth Board of Appeals in 2021, Heughan's legal team appealed in 2022 to overturn the decision.

His legal team said there was no risk of confusion as Outlander was popular in Germany. Lawyers for the Sasse distillery, however, said: "The television series may be as popular as the other side claims, which we deny, nonetheless it is not sufficient to assume that the average consumer knows the meaning of that term. Both parties in litigation were given time to present evidence and arguments in their defence and after the Examination period, the Opposition Division’s decision was taken this year 2023.

Great Glen Company or its representative never commented on the EU decisions until last October, in New York when Sam Heughan was asked about Sassenach whisky situation in the European Union in a chat with Mark Gillespie at the Whisky Cast podcast and Heughan's response was very limited, deflecting the question talking about the name in dispute but not the EUIPO's decision, regarding Sassenach whisky that was supposedly aware of the official communication from the European Union Intellectual Property Office - Opposition Division- sent to Great Glen Company in July 2023, which considered that the disputed trademark 'The Sassenach' must be rejected for all the contested goods.

It's a bit curious that after the EUIPO decision, Sam Heughan appeared on a surprise visit to New Orleans, which included podcasts, and events with @sgwinespirits on Tales of the cocktail with an unscheduled tasting of his drinks at the Ritz-Carlton in Nola. Later on, he began his Sassenach sales tour around the United States last summer. If these people had known what had happened with his Sassenach brand in the EU would be different?

In addition, Great Glen Company (GGC) applied to register a new trademark with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the EU, following the EUIPO decision, following its earlier idea to build on all the Outlander ideas, the new trademark is called "LALLYBROCH SPIRITS" (Lallybroch means "lazy tower" in Gaelic). It will not use Midhope/Lallybroch as a distillery. This new trademark has nothing to do with or relate to the grounds of Midhope Castle, the site of a new whisky distillery with a different brand and ownership. Its new application is already registered in the United States.

It's pending resolution in the EU, Canada and the United Kingdom where Heughan requested its registration.

WIPO

EUIPO

THE SASSENACH UNIQUE SPIRITS

The Great Glen Company, Sam Heughan’s firm, applied to register the brand name Scotch whisky THE SASSENACH UNIQUE SPIRITS as a future trademark to sell the whisky across Europe, but Theo Sasse e.K brand distillery in Schöppingen-Germany, objected claiming the name was too close to its trademarked name, which it uses to sell whiskies and brandies spirits.

On 20th July 2023 the Opposition Division takes the following:

DECISION

1. Opposition is upheld for all the contested goods.

2. International registration is entirely refused protection in respect of the European Union.

REASONS

On 24th November 2021 the opponent Theo Sasse e.K filed an opposition against all the goods (Class 33) of international registration designating the European Union. The opposition is based on, inter alia, German trademark registration ‘Sasse’ (word mark). Also, the opponent invoked Article 8(1)(b) EUTMR and Article 8(4) EUTMR.

LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION — ARTICLE 8(1)(b) EUTMR

A likelihood of confusion exists if there is a risk that the public might believe that the goods or services in question, under the assumption that they bear the marks in question, come from the same undertaking or, as the case may be, from economically linked undertakings.

The opposition is based on more than one earlier trade mark. The Opposition Division finds it appropriate to first examine the opposition in relation to the opponent’s German trade mark registration.

a) The goods

The goods on which the opposition is based are, inter alia, the following:

Class 33: Alcoholic beverages, excluding beers. Alcoholic beverages, except beer are identically contained in both lists of goods (including synonyms).

b) Relevant public — degree of attention

The average consumer of the category of products concerned is deemed to be reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect. It should also be borne in mind that the average consumer’s degree of attention is likely to vary according to the category of goods or services in question. In the present case, the goods found to be identical are directed at the public at large.

c) The signs

The relevant territory is Germany.

Contested sign The global appreciation of the visual, aural or conceptual similarity of the marks in question must be based on the overall impression given by the marks, bearing in mind, in particular, their distinctive and dominant components. The earlier mark is the word mark ‘Sasse’. The protection of a word mark concerns the word as such and not the specific graphic or stylistic elements accompanying that mark.

The verbal element ‘SASSENACH’ of the contested mark has, contrary to the allegations of the holder, no meaning for the relevant public and is, therefore, distinctive. Likewise, the unicorn device of the contested sign has no particular meaning in relation to the goods and is distinctive.

THE SASSENACH’ in the contested sign are the dominant elements as they are the most eye-catching.

Visually, the signs coincide in ‘SASSE’, which represents the entire earlier mark. The signs differ in the representation of a unicorn and the additional letters ‘-NACH’ (after SASSE) and the non-distinctive elements ‘The’ as well as ‘UNIQUE SPIRITS’ in the contested mark. Thus, the single word element of the earlier mark is fully contained in the most distinctive verbal element of the contested mark. That fact alone is a clear indication of a visual similarity. Therefore, the signs are similar to a below-average degree.

Aurally, the signs coincide in the syllables ‘Sas-se’, which is the sole and distinctive element of the earlier mark and the beginning of the most important verbal element of the contested sign, ‘Sas-se-nach’. The signs differ in the last letters of this word (one syllable), ‘nach’, and in the first verbal element of the contested sign, ‘The’. The fact remains that the earlier mark is entirely included at the beginning of the most important verbal element of the contested sign.

Conceptually, the signs will always be dissimilar as the contested mark will be understood with at least one meaning, namely the unicorn in the contested mark. As the signs have been found similar in at least one aspect of the comparison, the examination of likelihood of confusion will proceed.

d) Distinctiveness of the earlier mark The distinctiveness of the earlier mark is one of the factors to be taken into account in the global assessment of likelihood of confusion. In the present case, the earlier trade mark as a whole has no meaning for any of the goods in question from the perspective of the public in the relevant territory. Therefore, the distinctiveness of the earlier mark must be seen as normal.

e) Global assessment, other arguments and conclusion The goods at issue are identical. They target the general public, who possesses an average degree of attention. The earlier mark has a normal degree of distinctiveness. The signs are visually similar to a below average degree and aurally similar to an average degree since the sole and distinctive element of the earlier mark, ‘Sasse’, is entirely reproduced at the beginning of the contested sign’s only fully distinctive verbal element, ‘Sassenach’. Evaluating the likelihood of confusion implies some interdependence between the relevant factors and, in particular, a similarity between the marks and between the goods or services.

Considering all the above, especially taking into account that the earlier mark is entirely reproduced in the contested sign and used for goods that are identical, the Opposition Division finds that there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public. Therefore, the opposition is well founded on the basis of the opponent’s German trade mark registration It follows that the contested trade mark must be rejected for all the contested goods. As the earlier right German trade mark registration leads to the success of the opposition and to the rejection of the contested trade mark The Sassenach for all the goods against which the opposition was directed.

The trademark status was "totally refused", meaning that THE SASSENACH UNIQUE SPIRITS trademark cannot be registered in the EU. If SH's trade mark application is refused, he can file an appeal. He must file his notice of appeal within 2 months from the date of the refusal decision (August-September) and the grounds of appeal must be filed within 4 months from the same date of notification (October-November). But, He did not appeal and last November the EUIPO confirmed by letter the provisional refusal of his trademark and refused its protection in the European Union. The final decision was published on 14 December 2023.

Conclusion

The EUIPO’s decision of the Board of Appeals, regarding its whisky has a “displacement” because Sassenach whisky cannot be registered as a trademark in the EU, the Sassenach trademark was refused. SH must be aware the significance of the total refusal decision regarding its whisky brand. If he was planning to recover from a legal dispute by putting his gin on an impromptu Sassenach tour around US last summer, proving that his recent EU legal battle was a mere bump in the road, he should have thought twice. He lost a legal battle to register his Sassenach whisky brand as a European Community trademark ® in 27 states. It is a big difference. It seems that if Heughan wants to continue selling its whisky, it will have to change the name.

LALLYBROCH SPIRITS registration:

United Kingdom

Canada

USA

[workersolidarity]

🇪🇺🇵🇸 EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSION ANNOUNCES THEY WILL NOT BE SUSPENDING AID TO PALESTINE AFTER MEMBER REVOLT

The European Commission announced on Monday they would be suspending aid to Palestine, then quickly backtracked, further announcing aid would NOT be suspended.

Earlier Monday, European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi had told reporters that all payments from the development program for Palestinians would be "immediately suspended" with "all projects put under review. All budget proposals... postponed until further notice."

Then later today, the European Commission released a short statement saying, "there will be no suspension of payments."

The initial announcement took member states by surprise, with Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg dissenting and critics accusing the European Union of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians.

“[Foreign Minister] Jose Manuel Albares called European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi to say he disagrees with this decision,” Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said following the initial announcement.

“Our understanding is that there is no legal basis for a unilateral decision of this kind by an individual commissioner and we do not support a suspension of aid,” a spokesman for Ireland’s foreign ministry had also said.

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister followed suit, expressing their refusal to support the proposal.

#source

WorkerSolidarityNews Telegram

#european commission #european union #eu #eu commission #palestine #palestine news #free palestine #occupied palestine #aid to palestine #news #politics #war #war news #world news #global news #hamas #international affairs #international news #international politics #geopolitics #geopolitics news #geopolitical news #socialist politics #socialist news #palestine aid #al aqsa flood #israel #israel news #worker solidarity #WorkerSolidarityNews

[softservewidow]

Welcome to the european union themed glory hole 🇪🇺

#how dissapointing that the stars are not around the hole #an aesthetic mind she has not

[slunkopunk]

EVROPSKÝ SVAZ?🇪🇺

Milí obrozenci,

jednoho rána jsem přišla na něco převratného (ne úplně)...

Pokud máte anglický překlad Sovětského svazu - Soviet Union, tak by podle této logiky vyplývalo, že European Union je Evropský svaz.

= naložte s touto informací dle vašeho uvážení, důvod pro novotvar Unie je ale jasný. Naši porevoluční spoluobčané se zřejmě obávali slovní spojitosti se Sovětským svazem, nebo chtěli něco, co zní více futuristicky, co já vím kdo to překládal :Dd

#obrozujeme #obrozenci #hezky česky #čumblr

[transparentgentlemenmarker]

Food inflation: June 4 2023

Venezuela 🇻🇪 426%

Lebanon 🇱🇧 350%

Argentina 🇦🇷 115%

Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 102%

Iran 🇮🇷 71.5%

Egypt 🇪🇬 54.7%

Turkey 🇹🇷 53.92%

Pakistan 🇵🇰 48%

Hungary 🇭🇺 39%

Nigeria 🇳🇬 24.6%

Ukraine 🇺🇦 22.2%

Poland 🇵🇱 20%

United Kingdom 🇬🇧 19%

Czechia 🇨🇿 17.3%

Sweden 🇸🇪 16.8%

Germany 🇩🇪 16.8%

Belgium 🇧🇪 16.6%

European Union 🇪🇺 16.4%

Netherlands 🇳🇱 15.6%

France 🇫🇷 14.9%

South Africa 🇿🇦 13.9%

Finland 🇫🇮 13.7%

Austria 🇦🇹 13.2%

Denmark 🇩🇰 13.1%

Spain 🇪🇸 12.9%

Italy 🇮🇹 11.9%

Mexico 🇲🇽 10.05%

Japan 🇯🇵 8.4%

Canada 🇨🇦 8.3%

Australia 🇦🇺 8%

United States 🇺🇸 7.7%

Singapore 🇸🇬 7.1%

Brazil 🇧🇷 5.88%

UAE 🇦🇪 5.78%

Switzerland 🇨🇭 5.4%

South Korea 🇰🇷 5%

Panama 🇵🇦 4.81%

Indonesia 🇮🇩 4.58%

India 🇮🇳 3.84%

Vietnam 🇻🇳 3.8%

Hong Kong 🇭🇰 2.6%

Qatar 🇶🇦 1.71%

Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 1%

China 🇨🇳 0.4%

Russia 🇷🇺 -0.01%

Niger 🇳🇪 -0.4%

Liberia 🇱🇷 -2.47%

South Sudan 🇸🇸 -23.8%

#food

[darnellclayton]

Peter Zeihan’s Thoughts: French 🇫🇷 Troops, Ukraine 🇺🇦 & The European Union’s 🇪🇺 Future

Peter Zeihan discusses France 🇫🇷 discussing sending troops to Ukraine 🇺🇦 & why it makes sense. Also thoughts about the European Union 🇪🇺. Peter Zeihan offers his unfiltered thoughts about France 🇫🇷 proposal to send troops to Ukraine 🇺🇦. Interesting points he makes: French 🇫🇷 troops could defend Ukrainian 🇺🇦 borders along Belarus 🇧🇾 & Moldova 🇲🇩 (along the renegade Transnistria region) France…

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#Economics #Europe #European Union #France #Peter Zeihan #Politics #Russia #Ukraine #War

[bookofcalm]

...after using Tumblr for years, this isbthe first time I post something political, BUT now it is must do! 🌻💙💛

We, Georgian people, support Ukraine and we are against Russian Law, Georgia and Georgian choose Europe Union and we want back to our European family because this is the only place where we all belong! 🇬🇪🇪🇺

P.S. Happy International Women's Day with such amazing Georgian women and men!

Nothing will ever change without a fight, night will surely be followed by day and during this night all twelve stars will surely shine ✨️

☆ ☆ ☆

ასეთი საოცარი ქალებითა და მამაკაცებით გილოცავთ ქალთა საერთაშორისო დღეს! 🌻

ბრძოლის გარეშე არაფერი შეიცვლება, ღამეს აუცილებლად მოყვება დღე და ამ ღამეშიც აუცილებლად იკაშკაშებს თორმეტივე ვარსკვლავი 🇬🇪🇪🇺

#georgia #tbilisi #europe #european union #ukraine #fuck russia #არა რუსულ კანონს #womens day #women #georgian women

[xtruss]

A bulldozer works to maintain Chicago's underground. More frequent and intense storms pose danger to aging infrastructure like these tunnels. Photograph By Keith Ladzinski, National Geographic Image Collection

Here’s What Worries Engineers The Most About U.S. Infrastructure

Water and sewer systems built in the mid-19th century weren't meant to handle the demands of modern cities, and many bridges and levees have aged well past their intended lifespan.

— By Alissa Greenberg | July 17, 2023

Christine Kirchhoff’s family were preparing to move into a new house when Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017. Then the massive storm dumped 50 inches of rain on the area in just a few days, leaving two nearby reservoirs so full that their operators were forced to open the floodgates. Kirchhoff’s family had to be evacuated by boat. Both their original and new houses were inundated.

As an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Pennsylvania State University, Kirchhoff spent a lot of time thinking about water even before it swallowed her family’s livelihood. She is part of the legion of professionals behind the complex, often invisible systems that support American life: dams, roads, the electric grid, and much more.

For the last 25 years, the American Society of Civil Engineers has been sounding the alarm on the state of that infrastructure across the country. In their most recent assessment, for example, transit scored a D- and hazardous waste a D+. It’s an expensive problem to ignore. The ASCE estimates current infrastructure conditions cost the average family $3,300 a year. “Everyone is paying whether they know it or not,” Kirchhoff says.

Train derailments, highway and bridge collapses, and dam failures have become increasingly common. But which areas are civil engineers most concerned could cause imminent catastrophe, and what can we do about it? Kirchhoff and other infrastructure experts weigh in.

Water Contamination Crises are Already Here

The engineers we talked to agreed: our water systems are in trouble. Both those that protect us from water as a hazard (stormwater, dams, levees, bridges) and those that help us manage water as a resource (drinking water, wastewater, inland waterways) are in grim shape.

Streets were flooded after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017. Photograph By Ilana Pancih-Linsmam, The New York Times/Redux

The United States’ 2.2-million-mile drinking water and 800,000-mile sewer system was developed in part in response to the widespread waterborne diseases of the mid nineteenth century, Kirchhoff says. Maintenance has lagged woefully behind since then; some older areas, including some cities in the northeast, still use century-old wooden pipes. And many more of our pipes nationwide are still made of lead.

A water system designed for yesterday’s climate and to filter yesterday’s contaminants is especially problematic in a world of increasing demand, fiercer and more frequent storms, and “forever” chemicals. The result: boil orders, water main breaks, and sewer overflow, plus 15 percent of our water treatment plants working at or over capacity. These issues, combined with the toxicity of lead pipes, lead to water crises like the one that continues to plague Flint, Michigan.

Amlan Mukherjee, the director of sustainability focusing on infrastructure at WAP Sustainability Consulting, recommends focusing on these pipes—swapping lead for PVC or other materials and fixing the leaks that spill some 6 billion gallons of treated water a day—as one high priority fix.

Our coastline is also dotted with facilities storing hazardous oil and other chemical waste cocooned in donut-shaped earthen structures, adds Bilal Ayyub, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Maryland at College Park—structures that, he notes, could be made of concrete. Because of soil’s vulnerabilities, he worries that dramatic rainfall or a storm surge could destroy these structures, resulting in a release of toxic chemicals “bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill by orders of magnitude.”

His worst-case scenario has already happened at least once, when floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey ate through the earthen container at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, releasing noxious waste into a nearby river.

Physical Collapse is Happening Now

Meanwhile, the number of high-hazard-potential dams in the United States now tops 15,000. Many were built during or before the WWII era and have been widely neglected since then. And when it comes to bridges, “there are cautionary tales all over,” says Maria Lehman, president of ASCE and vice chair of the Biden Administration’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council. “Every county in the country has a list of bridges that, if they had money, they would replace tomorrow.”

Our 617,000 bridges include not just those spanning mighty rivers but also every highway overpass and minor link across a stream—and close to one tenth of them are significantly compromised. “If you have to think in terms of catastrophe, we’re already there,” Mukherjee says. In 2007, the collapse of an I-35W bridge in Minnesota killed 13 people and injured 145. More recently, a six-lane bridge over the Mississippi was closed for three months in 2021, disrupting interstate travel and shipping because an inspector missed a significant crack. Americans drive 178 million trips on structurally deficient bridges each day.

Every day, millions of Americans travel across bridges and overpasses, like the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee, that may be structurally deficient. Photograph By Keith Ladzinski, National Geographic Image Collection

Yet the US spends only 1.5-2.5 percent of its GDP on infrastructure, proportionately less than half of what the European Union spends, Lehman says. This long-term lack of funding has run out the clock on many solutions. Many of our bridges were built to last 30-50 years, but nearly half are at least half a century old. The average age of our levees is also 50; our dams average 57.

Now, extreme weather is intensifying just as structures fail. We’ve already seen consequences in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, for example, when collapsing levees inundated 80 percent of New Orleans, killing hundreds, or in the failure of an under-inspected dam in Edenville, Michigan, which flooded the region and destroyed thousands of homes in 2020. The trend is set to continue: after Superstorm Sandy engulfed New York City transit, Ayyub helped study similar risks in Washington, D.C and Shanghai. His models showed widespread flooding that could swamp D.C. metro stations and in severe cases even reach “the backyard of the White House.”

The Future of U.S. Infrastructure

Mukherjee is optimistic about the use of new technology to solve some of these issues, though adoption has been slow. Drones can provide human inspectors with up-close views of areas they can’t reach themselves and reduce chance of human error; a drone on an unrelated project captured footage of the Mississippi bridge crack two years before its discovery.

Ayyub has also worked with North American freight railroads to find weak links using computer modeling, combing through thousands of stations to “identify exactly which point if it fails will have the biggest impact,” he says. Why not do the same with our power grid and waterways?

One piece of good news: in 2021, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides $1.2 trillion over five years for the ailing systems that help American society run, the largest federal investment in US history. It was a major victory. “Every president for the last eight presidents said we should spend a lot of money—like a trillion dollars—on infrastructure, and none of them delivered,” Lehman says.

Unless it is renewed regularly, though, this funding will barely stop the bleeding. And meanwhile, across the country, families like Kirchhoff’s (who after a difficult year were able to rebuild both the destroyed houses) struggle to recover from a relentless march of disasters, many of them preventable. It’s time for the US to learn the lessons drawn from of a century of neglect, Lehman argues, and begin maintaining the systems that makes so much of American life possible while they’re still in working condition.

“If you have a leak in your roof, you go up there, find it, replace the shingles, put on a little tar” she says. “If you let it go, it’s not going to be a little fix: it’s going to be a replacement.”

#US 🇺🇸 #Infrastructure #Alissa Greenberg #Engineers #Christine Kirchhoff #Environmental Engineering #Pennsylvania State University #American Society of Civil Engineers #Contamination #Bilal Ayyub #University of Maryland #Amlan Mukherjee #Exxon Valdez #Hurricane Harvey #Biden Administration’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council #Mississippi River #European Union 🇪🇺 #Hurricane Katrina #New Orleans #Superstorm Sandy #New York City #Washington D.C. #White House #Infrastructure Law

[eaarths-blog]

A history of Colonial fascism

Naomi Klein “Doppelganger” Naomi Klein The team has just finished reading one of our featured authors, as usual, a groundbreaking book. Stand out for us, were chapters 13 & 14. We have a link on our site to download these complimentary from Naomi and her publishers. The truth of supremacist ideology and who wields it then and now will astound many. The history of British and European colonial…

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#🇪🇺European union #🇮🇱Israel #🇺🇸US #Economics #Geo politics #military aggressors #NATO wars #Neo cons #UK politics

[trashboatboy]

I am autism 🌈♾️.

I’m visible 👀 in your children 👦, but if I can help it, I am invisible 🕵️ to you until it’s too late 🔪.

I know 🧠 where you live 🏠.

And guess 🤷 what? I live 🏠 there too.

I hover 🕴️ around all of you.

I know no color barrier 🌈, no religion 🛐, no morality 🦸, no currency💲.

I speak 🗣️ your language 🈵 fluently.

And with every voice 🙊 I take away, I acquire 💁 yet another language 🈵.

I work very quickly 🏃💨.

I work faster 🏃than pediatric aids ☠️, cancer ⚰️, and diabetes 🥀 combined

And if you’re happily married 👰 , I will make sure that your marriage fails ❌.

Your money 💵 will fall into my hands 🤲, and I will bankrupt 🏦 you for my own self-gain 💪.

I don’t sleep 🙅🛌, so I make sure you don’t 🙅 either.

I will make it virtually impossible 🚫 for your family to easily attend a temple 🕍, birthday party 🎂, or public park 🏞️ without a struggle 🏋️, without embarrassment 🤦, without pain 🤕.

You have no cure 💉 for me.

Your scientists 👩‍🔬 don’t have the resources, and I relish 🎉 their desperation 😈. Your neighbors 🏘️ are happier to pretend 🦄 that I don’t exist—of course, until it’s their child 👦.

I am autism 🌈♾️. I have no interest in right ✅ or wrong ❎. I derive great pleasure 🥳 out of your loneliness 🙍.

I will fight 👊 to take away your hope 🙏. I will plot to rob 💰 you of your children 👦 and your dreams 💭. I will make sure that every day you wake up ⏰ you will cry 😭, wondering who will take care of my child 👦 after I die 💀?

And the truth is, I am still winning 🏆, and you are scared 😱. And you should be 🔪.

I am autism 🌈♾️. You ignored 🚮 me. That was a mistake 🔪.

And to autism 🌈♾️ I say:

I am a father 👨‍👦, a mother 🤱, a grandparent 👴, a brother 👦, a sister 👧.

We will spend every waking 👁️ hour trying to weaken 😓 you.

We don’t need sleep 🙅🛌 because we will not rest 😴 until you do.

Family can be much stronger 💪 than autism 🌈♾️ ever anticipated, and we will not be intimidated 😨 by you, nor will the love and strength 💪 of my community.

I am a parent 👩‍👦 riding toward you, and you can push me off this horse 🐎 time and time again, but I will get up, climb back on 🧗, and ride 🏇 on with the message 💌.

Autism 🌈♾️, you forget who we are. You forget who you are dealing 👊 with. You forget the spirit of mothers 🤱, and daughters 👧, and fathers 👨‍👦 and sons 👦.

We are Qatar 🇶🇦. We are the United Kingdom 🇬🇧. We are the United States 🇺🇲. We are China 🇨🇳. We are Argentina 🇦🇷. We are Russia 🇷🇺. We are the European Union 🇪🇺. We are the United Nations 🇺🇳.

We are coming together 👥 in all climates . We call on all faiths 🛐. We search 🔍 with technology 👩‍💻 and voodoo 🙌 and prayer 🙏 and herbs 🌿 and genetic studies 🧬 and a growing awareness 🕵️ you never anticipated 👊.

We have had challenges 🥊, but we are the best when overcoming them. We speak 🗣️ the only language 🈵 that matters: love for our children 👦.

Our capacity to love ♥️ is greater than your capacity to overwhelm 👿.

Autism 🌈♾️ is naïve. You are alone 🏝️. We are a community of warriors 👊. We have a voice 📢.

You think because some of our children cannot speak 🙊, we cannot hear 👂them? That is autism’s 🌈♾️ weakness.

You think that because my child 👦 lives behind a wall 🧱, I am afraid 😨 to knock it down with my bare hands 👊?

You have not properly been introduced 💁 to this community of parents 👨‍👩‍👦 and grandparents 👵, of siblings 👧 and friends 💑 and schoolteachers 👩‍🏫 and therapists 👨‍⚕️ and pediatricians 👩‍⚕️ and scientists 👨‍🔬.

Autism 🌈♾️, if you are not scared 😱, you should be 🔪.

When you came for my child 👦, you forgot: you came for me 🧍.

Autism 🌈♾️, are you listening 👂?

#i saw an autism speaks ad #fuck autism speaks #fuck the puzzle piece #actually autistic #shitpost

[oww666]

🚨 Elon Musk REMOVES Twitter From European Union 🇪🇺 👏

good for him ...now do Canada 

#youtube

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Does Alex have any relationship with Nobleman magazine? Alex’s business relationship has simply become SH’s public relations. He does not offer solutions or services for the alcohol business they have lost. There’s not much He knows how to do. It’s just SH’s tool 🤷‍♀️

@directorlady If you are interested, I already wrote about his situation you can scroll through my blog. SH’s Sassenach mark was totally refused in the European Union 🇪🇺 (27 states). He can’t register his booze with that name. Also in Europe, in Germany 🇩🇪 (Deutsches Patent-und Markenamt) his trademark “The Sassenach” received total refusal in respect of all goods and services.

@directorlady You’re welcome. The business they have lost has nothing to do with profits but with the market. He may not have a healthy cash book. He thought it was about getting an easy market in the EU, and spent two years in a costly legal battle that he lost and as a consequence did not obtain the expected income that he was counting on. He created misleading information about SS on his company website while he was still in litigation, that SS was available to order in the EU and also mentioned Canada, where SS also does not reach. As you know, trademark rights (like patent rights) are territorial and must be affirmatively established in each country (or region such as the EU) of interest. So unless it’s a super famous brand (which SS isn’t), you’re out of luck in Europe. Its brand is similar to another company previously registered in the EU. They have to change the name of the product to enter the market.