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1. Embed this notice
   Monika (greenskyoverme@ohai.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:11:04 JST Monika

   • Kevin Beaumont

   @GossiTheDog Image description:
   "I am communicating closely with a lot of prime ministers, and heads of EU states and for me it is an absolute priority to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible, so that we achieve independence from the US, step by step," Merz
   said. "I never thought that I would ever need to say something like that, on television, but after the latest statements made by Donald Trump last week, it is clear, that the Americans - at any case these Americans, this administration -

   • Embed this notice
     Bert Hubert NL 🇺🇦🇪🇺 (bert_hubert@mastodon.nl)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 17:46:56 JST Bert Hubert NL 🇺🇦🇪🇺

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog Goes very well with https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/you-can-no-longer-base-your-government-and-society-on-us-clouds/ - I hope Germany starts taking this seriously too & will go beyond "we got Microsoft to put servers here, and Germans operate them, so we are now sovereign".

     Monika repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Monika (greenskyoverme@ohai.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:14:41 JST Monika

     in reply to

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog Image description continued:
     mostly don't care about the fate of Europe one way or another," he added. Merz said it was not certain what the future has in store for NATO and if Europe will need to act quickly to shore up its own defenses. He also criticized Trump confidant Musk for meddling in the German election campaign, saying that the "intervention from Washington were no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less brazen, than the intervention that we have seen from
     Moscow."

   • Embed this notice
     Jonly (jonly@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:14:45 JST Jonly

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog well thats a shift from Merz

   • Embed this notice
     BenBen (benben@chaos.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:14:46 JST BenBen

     in reply to

     • Santiago Lema :amiga:
     • Kevin Beaumont

     @santiago @GossiTheDog Especially from Merz, an outspoken Transatlanticist in Germany…

   • Embed this notice
     Harmaquendë (harmaquende@infosec.exchange)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:14:47 JST Harmaquendë

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog Indeed, it is really a HUGE change in German official position and international doctrine. Some people will say it is only logical, given J.D. Vance last talk and all the drastic changes made by Trump, but they don't realize how much Germany is (and soon "was"?) close of the USA. With this declaration, we can expect a (re)new initiative, especially in European Defense, something Germany was always against.

   • Embed this notice
     Santiago Lema :amiga: (santiago@masto.lema.org)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:14:48 JST Santiago Lema :amiga:

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog "intervention from Washington were no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less brazen, than the intervention that we have seen from Moscow."

     Even if it obvious it is something to state it publicly!

     Monika repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Bert Hubert NL 🇺🇦🇪🇺 (bert_hubert@mastodon.nl)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:14:50 JST Bert Hubert NL 🇺🇦🇪🇺

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog I very much agree. Individual countries still make their own choices, and because of the "October MS Exchange Apocalypse", these choices are happening now: https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/final_exchange_server_update/

   • Embed this notice
     Andreas K (yacc143@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:14:51 JST Andreas K

     • Kevin Beaumont
     • Bert Hubert NL 🇺🇦🇪🇺

     @GossiTheDog @bert_hubert
     It's only a question till somebody gets fired for buying Microsoft.

     For the moment it's still "nobody ever gets fired for buying MS". (the current version of the evergreen of IT.)

     The moment this starts to break, it's rather clear (and the rulings are here) that the USA, even in the "rule-of-law, democracy version", is not a safe state in the sense of the GDPR. You do have to close your eyes and do very fanciful interpretation to arrive at any other conclusion.

   • Embed this notice
     Rastal (rastal@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:15:19 JST Rastal

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog The US has far too much soft power and corporate investment in Europe, (and especially in UK most of all) for Europe to ever seriously consider standing on its own two feet, that is, even if pursuing a path of self determination would be the best strategy, EU leaders (like UK) simply cannot do it, mission impossible.

     "Vassal State by Angus Hanton" explains the mind-blowing extent of how the US runs and essentially owns the UK. There's probably a similar book for Germany.

   • Embed this notice
     Mike (rs_hole@mastodon.online)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:17:33 JST Mike

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog

     The EU has a population of 450M people, 3x that of Russia yet they feel they need US backing to defend themselves. Why is that? They have the technology, people and wealth to be self sufficient

   • Embed this notice
     Fardels Bear (riggbeck@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:17:40 JST Fardels Bear

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog

     Consolation for the fact that the Conservatives won, though they''ll have to form a coalition with some smaller non-AfD parties. Merz at least broke the appalled silence and opened up a new front against Europe's enemies, Trump and Putin. It could have been worse.

   • Embed this notice
     Simon Zerafa (simonzerafa@infosec.exchange)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:17:42 JST Simon Zerafa

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog

     Unless something radical happens then NATO with the US is probably coming to an end, for now.

     The name might continue or it may be reformed as a new organisation. North Sea European Alliance?

     The UK and France will provide a joint nuclear counterforce. Defence spending will need to increase in Europe to compensate for the US no longer being involved. More Taxes.

     The ongoing Trade Wars won't help at all. For anyone. Less Trade and Less Revenue.

     If UK/US intelligence cooperation is reduced or abandoned that will be a huge issue going forward. For both parties. Less knowledge and information.

     Europe will get involved in Ukraine more directly. More ramifications.

   • Embed this notice
     Monika (greenskyoverme@ohai.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:19:38 JST Monika

     in reply to

     • WikiParty

     @michaelgraaf Stable doors?

   • Embed this notice
     WikiParty (michaelgraaf@cheeseburger.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:19:39 JST WikiParty

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog That sound in the distance is the slamming of stable doors...

   • Embed this notice
     Daniel Quinn (danielquinn@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:19:40 JST Daniel Quinn

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog it's about time EU leaders started waking up the fact that the United States (at least in my lifetime) has *never* been a partner with anyone. They don't play well with others, and will choose domination over cooperation every time.

     We cannot rely on them for anything, and doing so runs the risk of their crazy rubbing off on the rest of us.

   • Embed this notice
     Secret Squirrel (secret_squirrel@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:19:41 JST Secret Squirrel

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog To my EU friends and colleagues - I am so sorry that this needed to be said. He's right though. You need to stand separate from us because we're hard to trust right now. We'll clean our house, but things have changed.

   • Embed this notice
     Kat (kats@chaosfem.tw)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:19:44 JST Kat

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog That is one of the most reassuring things I've heard from Germany in quite a while.

   • Embed this notice
     Monika (greenskyoverme@ohai.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:25:36 JST Monika

     in reply to

     • Markus Ojala

     @mojala He doesn’t, don’t worry

   • Embed this notice
     Markus Ojala (mojala@mastodon.online)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:25:37 JST Markus Ojala

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog lets just hope he doesnt by extension mean that Russia is better.

   • Embed this notice
     Xavier Knol :verified_paw: :donor: (xejknol@infosec.exchange)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:25:38 JST Xavier Knol :verified_paw: :donor:

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog finally some realistic talk from European leaders, now to hope they will also focus on digital sovereignty as well as military.
     Since otherwise we can still be crippled fairly easily.

   • Embed this notice
     VessOnSecurity (bontchev@infosec.exchange)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:25:41 JST VessOnSecurity

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GossiTheDog On the plus side, a kerfuffle between Russia and the European Defense Force (or whatever they call it) is much less likely to go nuclear than one between Russia and a US-dominated NATO.

   • Embed this notice
     Monika (greenskyoverme@ohai.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:39:55 JST Monika

     in reply to

     • Court Cantrell will not comply

     @courtcan 🙂

     Luckily the iPhone was able to copy the text from the image.

   • Embed this notice
     Court Cantrell will not comply (courtcan@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 24-Feb-2025 23:39:56 JST Court Cantrell will not comply

     in reply to

     • Kevin Beaumont

     @GreenSkyOverMe Thank you for doing that! I was scrolling through comments, hoping someone had gotten to it before I could.

     @GossiTheDog