The person nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to run American policy regarding the Ukraine war wrote a report earlier this year to describe how the US should act to end this war. According to the report, Russia and the Ukraine should accept a ceasefire along the positions reached in the conflict between them at the moment of the ceasefire and start negotiations.
If Russia disagrees, the US would continue and increase their military support to the Ukrainians. If the latter say no, the US would cease all military support. It's not clear what would happen if both sides say no.
In the coming weeks, a crucial question for Europeans will be: what stand to adopt in the face of initiatives that the incoming American administration will be taking and which could easily overturn the premises on which Russians and Ukrainians have been running their campaigns up to now.
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ANTI-SEMITISM
It has become a constant practice of the current leaders of Israel to label all criticism about their country or the conduct of the Israeli government as anti-semitic, to condemn such criticism, ignore it and continue with whatever they're doing no matter what. This issue has become very salient in the last months, especially as Israel's leaders continued to run their war in Gaza in the most inhuman manner. But it also arises in the most brazen way when Israeli citizens are allowed to take up the lands of Palestinians on the West Bank where they set up their own illegal communities.
That anti-semitic people exist who hate Jews just because they are Jews is a reality which cannot be denied. The fight against anti-semitism needs to be continued. But it is getting undermined by the same Jewish leaders of Israel with their tactic of identifying it with criticism against them. In no way do they want to recognize their mistakes and with their conduct, are falling into the absurdly tragical trap of themselves actually encouraging anti-semitism, even where before it did not exist.
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LANDS REGISTER
If I understood well, the government is launching a project by which at long last, it will be setting up from beginning to end, electronically, a lands register covering as well proprietors, past and present, for Malta and Gozo. If this is what is going to be done and the project is actually completed, it would be a spectacular success (even if few people will be aware of it).
For the project to assemble a comprehensive lands register for Malta has been the longest running state initiative ... and never implemented. It was first launched by the Labour administration of the 1950's, just before it came to an abrupt end, more than 65 years ago and has remained pending till now. Some later administrations tried to get it done, others forgot all about it.
Yet, having a full scale lands register for the islands should supposedly be deemed an important target by one and all, especially at a time when environmental issues are being raised continuously. Its absence was well felt in the years when huge controversies erupted between a Labour government and the Curia regarding the Church's immovable property back in the 1980's.