The Xmas tree probably originates from the Nordic" Tree of life ". I remember reading it was used to celebrate life and the return of light during the dark cold winters in the north

To celebrate and remember the return of the sun in the dark Winter, lights were used to chase away the dark; green as a symbol of returning life, like vegetation and plants, and red probably symbolises fruit and harvest.

There are several versions and interpretations, so it probably depends on the country or region the tree was used, and in which century.

Santa Claus ( yes, created in USA by Coca-Cola), was /is originally Saint Nicolaus, which in turn was probably merged with Wodan This is the same God as in Wednes-day ( was originally Wodan’s day, a Nordic God; just like Thursday, was originally Thor’s day ).

Many old Germanic/Nordic religions ( they were very similar) were integrated with Christian symbolism and rituals by the Roman Catholic Church.

Check this link for more general info.

Also because of the ancient Dark versus Light theme, there is definitely an association with the Wild Hunt

In the Norse myths, the original leader of the hunt was the god Odin, known in Germanic myth as Wodan. Odin rode his eight-legged horse, called Sleipnir. His company of hunters were the Valkyries and the dead warriors who resided with him in Valhalla.

The gifts placed in the Christmas trees have also an association as an offering / gift " to forefathers who fell as warriors, and or offering to “the wild hunt” and it’s phantoms, as a sort of guarantee you wouldn’t invoke their wrath and be taken by them to the phantom realm.

Saint Nicolaus in it’s older manifestation had a stronger dark and light side. His demons where probably black or dark, like we see in Austria, Kruppe and Black Pete in the Netherlands/ Flanders region.

A better term would be “developing nations” . The term " third world" refers to not being part of NATO (or not aligned to NATO), and is outdated. Also, there are various sorts of developing countries, richer, poorer, and some are war or conflict zones.

Wasn’t expecting it to be that fast. Anyhow, seems we’re migrating, check.

" Russian-based companies make up about half of the 61 entities added to the EU’s list Monday. In addition to the 19 Chinese companies, it also added nine from Turkey, two in Kyrgyzstan, one in India, one in Kazakhstan, and one in the United Arab Emirates."

"According to the commission’s economic forecast, France is at -5.5%, Italy is at -4.4% and Belgium is at -4.4% and will breach this deficit limit in 2024.

Spain is at exactly -3.0%. Austria, Finland, Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia also have deficits that are too high according to the rules."

Ed:

Thx alot, it’s way more complex than I thought. So getting a stream will be difficult too, as it’s not public anymore. Will try check and see what can be found. Sounds interesting

Before checking this doc out; could you pls give more context?

Under the plan, the EU will apply five levels of tariffs. EV manufacturers that cooperated with Brussels investigators will face a tariff of 21%, while those who did not will be hit with the top tier of 38.1%.

SAIC faces the top tariff, Geely faces a tariff of 20%, while a 17.4% duty will be applied to BYD brands, which include the Dolphin and Seal cars launched in the EU last year.

It is understood that Tesla cooperated with the EU and may initially face the 21% tariff. The EU indicated this could be revised next month to its own individually calculated duty rate after assessing evidence submitted by the US company.

Explainer abbreviation: NCSC (Dutch) National Cyber Security Centre

" Thousands of people rallied in Budapest on Saturday as a political newcomer led a push to mobilise voters against Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, ahead of European elections on Sunday.

“We defeated apathy,” declared Péter Magyar, a former government insider who switched sides and launched an opposition movement, as he stood in front of a vast crowd which filled the capital’s Heroes’ Square."

According to national polls, the PVV would have now ca. 48 out a total of 150 seats in the Dutch House of Representatives; so a 32%.

In this exit poll, PVV won 7 out of a total of 31 European Parliament seats, or 22,5%.

On the other hand PVV went from 1 to 7 seats in the EP. A huge far-right surge was/ is expected for the EP election. But in the Netherlands, it didn’t turn out as high as was predicted.

This whole “thing” is one giant rabbit hole. Getting from bad, worse and then ,“the worst”. I hope we near the end of it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we are we only halfway establishing the ammount of foreign infiltrations and influences. Good they’ve gotten busy with it, finally.

Why? It’s their fault.

As a sort of outsider afaik: many ( Germans) probably still feel the cultural guilt. Also, technically and morally the Germans have made reparations and ammendments ; still many have therefore a soft and blind spot for the Jewish cause. And for sure the Holocaust should never been forgotten.

But the diaspora started many centuries ago. Zionisim started as a (revolutionary) reaction to this dispersal, and as a wakeupcall for the ppl to unite at the end of 19th century iirc.

These (displacement & refuge) problems and in this case ages of racism (antisemitism) are ancient.

And just to be clear, they’re not the only (lost/disturbed) tribe worldwide. Imo, many palestines must specially now be experiencing somewhat similar or parallel to what happened to many Jews during WW II, which makes it even crazier.

It’s just ancient history repeating itself, only the name, the places and the dates have been changed…

I imagine, and this is a recent discussion, that the UN charter and all humanitarian organisations must change and modernize our legal framework and organisation. There are and are going to be way more refuges and horrors in the years to come.

it’s jut so saddeing as fuck. Idk

Not even curb really, just make transparent when NGOs are getting foreign funding.

Problem being with the BILL , is that’s a copypaste Russian Law from Putins desk. And everyone saw what happened there when several 10th of thousands were arrested for protesting, ngos, newspapers were found illegal. Yip, democracic citizen etc were labelled as foreign influence, and handled as traitors . something like this doesn’t bode Well for freedom and democracies.

This is about a (pro Ruzz?) actors in Georgian Government pushing a Bill without any democratic support. Nobody wants it.

Hopefully it gives right wingers less ammo

Yes, I believe that the timing was not a coincidence, as it is before the EP elections. And, like you said, the idea of giving them ammo, although often used as an argument, won’t matter too much as the claims by far right aren’t based on the immediate reality but on fears.

was more looking at analysis about what the effects of the legislation

Sure, I can understand that, but it’s probably hard to find a good one. The treaty leaves room for interpretation by memberstates. So depending on the implementation it will have it’s effects. In due time we’ll probably see.

Imo, the important bit here is that there finally is a much needed accord after all these years; and also, just before the expected rise of the far-right wing influence. So yes, it’s good news.

At the end of the day it’s a political choice between EP representatives Some are unhappy because it’s too strict , others find it’s too lean. Anyhow, there is an accord, and that’s better then having none, and having (legal) uncertainties.

My mistake, I thought you were looking for content and not for controversy. Being critical is good, but I’m not sure where you stan when you label an official democratic EU website, like the one from EP, as a “salespitch”.

Here some extra info: link European Parliament with additional links to regulations

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Right?

Yips, that’s the idea.

Here some DW background info of the youth protest, especially by the Portuguese youngsters.