On Ukraine’s example, its coup d’état (financed by the US/ Vitoria Nuland’s F..kc the EU docet) and the pursuit of a proxy war against Russia on European soil, one can see a clear US strategy:
Keep the Germans (the locomotive of Europe) down (by blowing up their main infrastructures/ NorthStream docet), the Russians out and the US on European soil (only for geostrategic purposes).
Now the new US administration (luckily) wants peace with Russia, but not for the Europeans! Clearly, the military-industrial complex demands its fair share (the pharmaceutical complex has been fed for now/ Covid docet) and the EU must foot the bill with “RearmEU”.
800 billion Euro for bombs! Can we, as a civil society, not come up with anything more intelligent? Diplomacy for example!
Naomi, you are a human-centered intellectual. Please don’t be unfair when analyzing the life of ordinary people. It is hard in Europe as it is in the US. Not Europe but your elites are responsible for many of your (economic and cultural) disasters. Why not pledge for adequate and honest political leadership instead of justifying the destruction of welfare buying bombs?
Ms. Wolf is completely wrong about European universal free health care. In the first place it not free. You have to pay for doctor’s visits and hospital if you don’t carry extra heath insurance, which is expensive. Then all health care is overseen by the government and is big Pharma driven. Doctors have protocols they must obey from the top. There are no functional medicine doctors here or naturopaths who will look for the root cause of a disease. Drugs are prescribed as the treatment. Natural options are nonexistent. Integrative physicians are no where to be found. Americans have an idealized vision of Europe’s health care. They see it through rose colored glasses that understands nothing about the reality.
The EU is like a teenager who whines & criticizes dad while expecting him to endlessly hand out cash.
A friend said to me - angrily - in 2024:
“If Trump wins he’ll stop funding the Ukrainian war”. (Good!)
The tone was exactly as Naomi says - entitlement. Many Europeans have been persuaded to want the war to continue - with no hope of “victory”. They are blind to the risk of WW3 if Trump does not achieve PEACE.
To my friend I asked WHY ON EARTH America taxpayers should defend the border of a country they’d probably never heard of before 2022 & would almost certainly never visit.
“How would YOU feel if you were expected to send YOUR money year after year to fund some war in Mexico?”
He looked astonished, blank - and then admitted that there was in fact no good reason why Americans should fund war in Europe year after year.
I’m sick of Brits & Europeans sneering at America while demanding endless handouts!
The empire is crumbling and over-extended. Suddenly this is supposed to be the fault of Europe. My country (Germany) is still an occupied colony of the empire. You are welcome to pack your stuff and go home, taking your nuclear weapons with you.
The U.S. is starting one stupid war after another. The last example is the Ukraine war in an attempt to break up Russia. Imperial stuff like that (plus enormous corruption and the need to enforce the Petro-Dollar) is the cause for America's over-sized military spending. Shifting the blame to Europe is a cheap diversion tactic.
This is by far the worst piece I have ever read from Naomi. Is the Trump government forcing you to repeat their stupid reasoning? What happened?
The US military-industrial complex does start wars. But its ‘liberal’ GLOBALISTS who wanted the Ukraine war - an international group just as European as American. Haven’t you seen the VP of the EU - Kaja Kallas - openly calling to break Russia into “small countries”?
For her to say that (videos online) means it’s an aim of the EU.
And it’s MADNESS. These lunatics KNOW that would lead straight to WW3.
So we’d better hope President Trump can work with both sides to achieve PEACE.
However, the US has to an extent created this situation, by basing its military and airfields and missiles all over Europe creating a bit of a legacy situation. This inequality should have been addressed by both the US and Europ decades ago before it became too one sided.
It a bit like, if you’re insisting on being big daddy, who am I to argue
There also, might not have been this defence crisis if the US had behaved in a much more mature and considered way after 911, didn’t keep drawing red lines and then letting them be transgressed, and currently if Biden and Sullivan had been serious about giving Ukraine the tools it needed in a timely fashion and started holding their hand out to a Europe for equivalence a lot earlier. Assumptions have been made, Mistakes have been made, yes, here and in The US.
Very skewed perceptions indeed, and quite the story you're spinning. You do realise that going on a holiday to a place, eating in nice restaurants and going to museums is very different than the reality of day-to-day life of actual residents of the place? I loved visiting London, but having lived there for two years you realise that the only rent that you can afford is miles outside of the city, in derelict buildings and sketchy neighbourhoods. It is true that many cultural activities are subsidised, and that health care, social security and maternity/paternity leave are much better in Europe than in the US, but it's a pity that you view this as adolescent decadence rather than something the US might learn a thing or two from. I think you would do well to compare the wealth distributions of the US and Europe and rethink some of your points in this essay. It may well be true that Europeans enjoy a higher standard of living on average than Americans do, but the crux of that sentence is the *on average*. While wealth inequality is becoming a real issue in Europe too, it is absolutely out of control in the US, where broligarchs are now apparently able to buy their seats in the white house. I assure you this is a much better predictor as to why you don't see many of your fellow Americans sitting outside with a glass of wine, discussing art and playing with their kids (as Europeans do every afternoon, of course). You might also want to compare tax rates while you're at it. The US isn't sponsoring European quality of life, they're paying for it with their own taxes and reign in the millionaires that want to segregate themselves in gated communities. Please don't be fooled that the military aid that the US provides to Europe is the cause of all of your society's woes - this is just another scape goat that American elites would just love for people to eat up. I agree that it is high time that Europe takes care of its own defense (albeit a shame that we are living in times where this has once again become a necessity), but don't forget that this is a tiny percentage of US GDP, and just one part of a mighty global military empire that the US has forged since the end of WWII, which I would remind you has been a very conscious strategy of projecting hard power rather than an act of charity, as you would have your readers believe.
We wouldn't be at war with Ukraine if you guys hadn't staged a coup in 2014. Germany wouldn't be in decline if you hadn't deindustrialised it. You've been meddling all round the world for decades.
Go away and leave us alone.
It's not the EU that's bleeding you dry. It's your own deep state, BlackRock and Blackstone. Address the problem. Don't blame us.
I dunno...that might all be true but with my limited experience in Europe I can't help but think of tiny walk-up apartments in old buildings in need of maintenance and renovation, no dryers, no AC, unreliable heat, hand-held showers, long waits to access that universal health care, all of the problems that open borders and limitless immigration bring...
Ripple - you’re right. Life in the EU is not as rosy as Naomi believes.
Daily life is expensive.
But a real problem in Europe is that people stubbornly resist change, innovation. Suggesting things could be done differently always creates panic. At the moment, a DOGE to cut spending would be unthinkable! Particularly if it aimed to cut useless agencies & the jobs of some of the millions of bureaucrats.
The EU ‘leadership’ itself costs a fortune with its luxury travel etc. And its work is very far from transparent. Documents online are deliberately very long, cross-referencing other docs, written in impossible bureaucrat-see.
One example of the way the leaders keep their distance from the people - the EU VP is called Kaja Kallas. I’ve asked dozens of friends if they know who she is? NOT ONE DID.
Great article. I am a little surprised to find out that Europeans are living well, or at least better than us. I have read all sorts of stories about Europe being in tough shape, due mostly to yielding to the wishes of the WEF and the global bankers cabal. Stories of German factories closing because energy costs were too high; people raiding forests for downed trees for heat, and so on.
Supporting the defenses of Europe and others have put a pinch on our finances, but the simple truth of the matter is that we have an uncontrolled government with a real bad spending addiction. It spends far in excess of what it wrings out of us. On top of that is the corruption in global spending and the outright theft. Of course, it is well past the time that the world stops relying on the good old US to save their bacon. It is time for all these greedy nations to bulk up their defense and to be responsible for protecting themselves.
Great essay. I'll be blunt and say what was written between your lines. The US has been subsidizing and enabling the EU's socialism experiment for years. They can face reality or not, that's tteir problem, we've got our own to resolve, and finally a President who is going to put America first. I'm not interested in spending a dime for a country like Britian that will sentence a man to 6 months in jail for an offense meme. We are Americans and free speech is our heritage. See if the EU can afford their Green grift if they have to pay for their own defence.
Eventually they will reluctantly have to face the reality that the world's paradigm changed last Nov 5th. If not they will become irrelevant.
The US has been Europe’s cash cow for way too long, and the difference in the standard of living shows it. Not only do they benefit from our taxes for their own defense, but they are a lovely vacation spot for many Americans who contribute more of their hard-earned dollars into Europe’s tourist industry. It’s like a 40-year old still living with his parents and milking them for unending food, shelter, clothing, education while they go broke. Europe has to stand on its own two feet like every other nation. Who needs allies like this? And let’s not forget the role that our own military industrial complex and intelligence agencies play in drumming up the all the false flags and proxy wars in the name of “defending democracy.” If that could be stopped, maybe we all could cut back on military budgets.
hi, as a former European i could confirm most of Naomis observations and i have to add that i was shocked visiting the us the first time back in 1992! the discrepancies between reality and what has been said and showed about america cant be more off! so, there is something about americans represent themselves abroad and the reality that is happening on the streets and homes here. no wonder that most Europeans have an image of the us that doesnt line up much, and as you can see by the date ive given, its not since yesterday.... Well there is certainly more to say about the European side, too, but... just wanna add this for people to catch a broader view.
Retired American lawyer living and traveling in Europe, where I have family and friends. It’s a great life for all reasons Dr. Wolf describes. The people and their perception of America are also just as she describes them. I love Europe, but I’m an America first. The status quo is unrealistic, unfair, and unsustainable, for all the reasons she describes.
On Ukraine’s example, its coup d’état (financed by the US/ Vitoria Nuland’s F..kc the EU docet) and the pursuit of a proxy war against Russia on European soil, one can see a clear US strategy:
Keep the Germans (the locomotive of Europe) down (by blowing up their main infrastructures/ NorthStream docet), the Russians out and the US on European soil (only for geostrategic purposes).
Now the new US administration (luckily) wants peace with Russia, but not for the Europeans! Clearly, the military-industrial complex demands its fair share (the pharmaceutical complex has been fed for now/ Covid docet) and the EU must foot the bill with “RearmEU”.
800 billion Euro for bombs! Can we, as a civil society, not come up with anything more intelligent? Diplomacy for example!
Naomi, you are a human-centered intellectual. Please don’t be unfair when analyzing the life of ordinary people. It is hard in Europe as it is in the US. Not Europe but your elites are responsible for many of your (economic and cultural) disasters. Why not pledge for adequate and honest political leadership instead of justifying the destruction of welfare buying bombs?
Let’s shift upwards, not downwards!
Ms. Wolf is completely wrong about European universal free health care. In the first place it not free. You have to pay for doctor’s visits and hospital if you don’t carry extra heath insurance, which is expensive. Then all health care is overseen by the government and is big Pharma driven. Doctors have protocols they must obey from the top. There are no functional medicine doctors here or naturopaths who will look for the root cause of a disease. Drugs are prescribed as the treatment. Natural options are nonexistent. Integrative physicians are no where to be found. Americans have an idealized vision of Europe’s health care. They see it through rose colored glasses that understands nothing about the reality.
Well said!
(European here, with many ties to the USA.)
The EU is like a teenager who whines & criticizes dad while expecting him to endlessly hand out cash.
A friend said to me - angrily - in 2024:
“If Trump wins he’ll stop funding the Ukrainian war”. (Good!)
The tone was exactly as Naomi says - entitlement. Many Europeans have been persuaded to want the war to continue - with no hope of “victory”. They are blind to the risk of WW3 if Trump does not achieve PEACE.
To my friend I asked WHY ON EARTH America taxpayers should defend the border of a country they’d probably never heard of before 2022 & would almost certainly never visit.
“How would YOU feel if you were expected to send YOUR money year after year to fund some war in Mexico?”
He looked astonished, blank - and then admitted that there was in fact no good reason why Americans should fund war in Europe year after year.
I’m sick of Brits & Europeans sneering at America while demanding endless handouts!
The empire is crumbling and over-extended. Suddenly this is supposed to be the fault of Europe. My country (Germany) is still an occupied colony of the empire. You are welcome to pack your stuff and go home, taking your nuclear weapons with you.
The U.S. is starting one stupid war after another. The last example is the Ukraine war in an attempt to break up Russia. Imperial stuff like that (plus enormous corruption and the need to enforce the Petro-Dollar) is the cause for America's over-sized military spending. Shifting the blame to Europe is a cheap diversion tactic.
This is by far the worst piece I have ever read from Naomi. Is the Trump government forcing you to repeat their stupid reasoning? What happened?
Dhan, IMO you’re partially right.
The US military-industrial complex does start wars. But its ‘liberal’ GLOBALISTS who wanted the Ukraine war - an international group just as European as American. Haven’t you seen the VP of the EU - Kaja Kallas - openly calling to break Russia into “small countries”?
For her to say that (videos online) means it’s an aim of the EU.
And it’s MADNESS. These lunatics KNOW that would lead straight to WW3.
So we’d better hope President Trump can work with both sides to achieve PEACE.
However, the US has to an extent created this situation, by basing its military and airfields and missiles all over Europe creating a bit of a legacy situation. This inequality should have been addressed by both the US and Europ decades ago before it became too one sided.
It a bit like, if you’re insisting on being big daddy, who am I to argue
There also, might not have been this defence crisis if the US had behaved in a much more mature and considered way after 911, didn’t keep drawing red lines and then letting them be transgressed, and currently if Biden and Sullivan had been serious about giving Ukraine the tools it needed in a timely fashion and started holding their hand out to a Europe for equivalence a lot earlier. Assumptions have been made, Mistakes have been made, yes, here and in The US.
Gotch - don’t forget Biden said a small incursion into Ukraine by Russia would be OK….
Very skewed perceptions indeed, and quite the story you're spinning. You do realise that going on a holiday to a place, eating in nice restaurants and going to museums is very different than the reality of day-to-day life of actual residents of the place? I loved visiting London, but having lived there for two years you realise that the only rent that you can afford is miles outside of the city, in derelict buildings and sketchy neighbourhoods. It is true that many cultural activities are subsidised, and that health care, social security and maternity/paternity leave are much better in Europe than in the US, but it's a pity that you view this as adolescent decadence rather than something the US might learn a thing or two from. I think you would do well to compare the wealth distributions of the US and Europe and rethink some of your points in this essay. It may well be true that Europeans enjoy a higher standard of living on average than Americans do, but the crux of that sentence is the *on average*. While wealth inequality is becoming a real issue in Europe too, it is absolutely out of control in the US, where broligarchs are now apparently able to buy their seats in the white house. I assure you this is a much better predictor as to why you don't see many of your fellow Americans sitting outside with a glass of wine, discussing art and playing with their kids (as Europeans do every afternoon, of course). You might also want to compare tax rates while you're at it. The US isn't sponsoring European quality of life, they're paying for it with their own taxes and reign in the millionaires that want to segregate themselves in gated communities. Please don't be fooled that the military aid that the US provides to Europe is the cause of all of your society's woes - this is just another scape goat that American elites would just love for people to eat up. I agree that it is high time that Europe takes care of its own defense (albeit a shame that we are living in times where this has once again become a necessity), but don't forget that this is a tiny percentage of US GDP, and just one part of a mighty global military empire that the US has forged since the end of WWII, which I would remind you has been a very conscious strategy of projecting hard power rather than an act of charity, as you would have your readers believe.
Some very well made points there
We wouldn't be at war with Ukraine if you guys hadn't staged a coup in 2014. Germany wouldn't be in decline if you hadn't deindustrialised it. You've been meddling all round the world for decades.
Go away and leave us alone.
It's not the EU that's bleeding you dry. It's your own deep state, BlackRock and Blackstone. Address the problem. Don't blame us.
I dunno...that might all be true but with my limited experience in Europe I can't help but think of tiny walk-up apartments in old buildings in need of maintenance and renovation, no dryers, no AC, unreliable heat, hand-held showers, long waits to access that universal health care, all of the problems that open borders and limitless immigration bring...
Ripple - you’re right. Life in the EU is not as rosy as Naomi believes.
Daily life is expensive.
But a real problem in Europe is that people stubbornly resist change, innovation. Suggesting things could be done differently always creates panic. At the moment, a DOGE to cut spending would be unthinkable! Particularly if it aimed to cut useless agencies & the jobs of some of the millions of bureaucrats.
The EU ‘leadership’ itself costs a fortune with its luxury travel etc. And its work is very far from transparent. Documents online are deliberately very long, cross-referencing other docs, written in impossible bureaucrat-see.
One example of the way the leaders keep their distance from the people - the EU VP is called Kaja Kallas. I’ve asked dozens of friends if they know who she is? NOT ONE DID.
The EU bureaucrats are a law unto themselves.
Great article. I am a little surprised to find out that Europeans are living well, or at least better than us. I have read all sorts of stories about Europe being in tough shape, due mostly to yielding to the wishes of the WEF and the global bankers cabal. Stories of German factories closing because energy costs were too high; people raiding forests for downed trees for heat, and so on.
Supporting the defenses of Europe and others have put a pinch on our finances, but the simple truth of the matter is that we have an uncontrolled government with a real bad spending addiction. It spends far in excess of what it wrings out of us. On top of that is the corruption in global spending and the outright theft. Of course, it is well past the time that the world stops relying on the good old US to save their bacon. It is time for all these greedy nations to bulk up their defense and to be responsible for protecting themselves.
Great essay. I'll be blunt and say what was written between your lines. The US has been subsidizing and enabling the EU's socialism experiment for years. They can face reality or not, that's tteir problem, we've got our own to resolve, and finally a President who is going to put America first. I'm not interested in spending a dime for a country like Britian that will sentence a man to 6 months in jail for an offense meme. We are Americans and free speech is our heritage. See if the EU can afford their Green grift if they have to pay for their own defence.
Eventually they will reluctantly have to face the reality that the world's paradigm changed last Nov 5th. If not they will become irrelevant.
Dick Minnis
removingthecataract.substack.com
European here Mr Minnis.
I agree!
I used to think they weren't poisoning our food to make us sick..."𝐛𝐮𝐭" this changed everything.... https://t.co/4NWnqxRjgM
The US has been Europe’s cash cow for way too long, and the difference in the standard of living shows it. Not only do they benefit from our taxes for their own defense, but they are a lovely vacation spot for many Americans who contribute more of their hard-earned dollars into Europe’s tourist industry. It’s like a 40-year old still living with his parents and milking them for unending food, shelter, clothing, education while they go broke. Europe has to stand on its own two feet like every other nation. Who needs allies like this? And let’s not forget the role that our own military industrial complex and intelligence agencies play in drumming up the all the false flags and proxy wars in the name of “defending democracy.” If that could be stopped, maybe we all could cut back on military budgets.
feel the same about israel?
hi, as a former European i could confirm most of Naomis observations and i have to add that i was shocked visiting the us the first time back in 1992! the discrepancies between reality and what has been said and showed about america cant be more off! so, there is something about americans represent themselves abroad and the reality that is happening on the streets and homes here. no wonder that most Europeans have an image of the us that doesnt line up much, and as you can see by the date ive given, its not since yesterday.... Well there is certainly more to say about the European side, too, but... just wanna add this for people to catch a broader view.
I'm curious why you did not address the Islam issue in Europe. From what I can tell, Europe's life of riley lifestyle is about to come crashing down.
Retired American lawyer living and traveling in Europe, where I have family and friends. It’s a great life for all reasons Dr. Wolf describes. The people and their perception of America are also just as she describes them. I love Europe, but I’m an America first. The status quo is unrealistic, unfair, and unsustainable, for all the reasons she describes.
Excellent!