President Trump says ‘probably’ when asked if he might pull US troops out of Italy, Spain and Germany

Good news! Bravo! Please go ahead President Trump!

Since about 1945, Europe has a free rider on US military power!

Let the European countries build their own NATO!

"... Trump has harshly criticized NATO allies ​for not sending their navies to help open the Strait of Hormuz, which was closed to global shipping following the start of a U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran on February 28. He has also said that he is considering withdrawing the United States from the alliance. ..."

Trump says ‘probably’ when asked if he might pull US troops out of Italy, Spain

Harvard University: Did U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine make things worse? Really!

More signs of Trump Derangement Syndrome? Why this headline?

My guess is that President Trump offered the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible a last chance when he met him in Alaska to come clean on the double invasion of the Ukraine (2014, 2022). These two Russian invasions were in total violation of a bilateral agreement of 1994 between Russia and the Ukraine that promised among other things a secure territorial integrity of the Ukraine!

Maybe President Trump also wanted to signal to any Russian opposition that it was high time to remove Putin the Terrible and make Russia a peaceful and prosperous country again!

That President Trump may very well insist that Europe needs to take more care of its own defenses and rely less on the US for their defense since the Cold War ended in 1991. This is a very legitimate and overdue political goal for the US! Europe has been a free rider for far too long in this respect given e.g. the belligerent Putin the Terrible!

The recent uptick of Russian military provocations/aggressions against at least three NATO member countries appear to be Putin the Terrible's (age 72) last straw! Maybe resistance/opposition against him is building up in Russia. Maybe Putin the Terrible is on borrowed time and he knows it!

"... Russia [No! Putin the Terrible] may be hoping to leverage any disagreement between NATO and the U.S. over the appropriate response to the incursions to undermine solidarity and “hollow out” NATO’s Article 5 mutual security guarantee among members ...

“Russia [No! Putin the Terrible, the former KGB agent] excels in the gray zone, in areas where there’s murk and ambiguity, and this drone incursion is squarely in the gray zone,” ... that the U.S. and NATO should expect Russia to continue using drones and other forms of hybrid warfare in Europe and the Baltic states unless they’re deterred. ...

Another option open to Europe, one that it could take unilaterally, would be to hand Ukraine the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets as a kind of down payment on future reparations for the war ..."

Did U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine make things worse? — Harvard Gazette "Incursions, increase in aggression really just part of ongoing push by Putin to destabilize ties of allies, scholars and analysts say"

German Chancellor Merz says Europe was free-riding on US

What an honest and direct remark! Bravo!

At least 25 low- and middle-income Countries to budget more for HIV/AIDS measures as U.S. withdraws aid

Good news! President Trump called out the many free rider countries! 

Unfortunately, these sources do not report explicitly whether other Western countries stepped up their efforts.

"In the wake of deep cuts in foreign assistance made by President Donald Trump’s administration, at least 25 countries expect to increase their domestic budgets for efforts to treat and prevent HIV infection and AIDS, according to a new report from the United Nations.

Separately, the government of South Africa, the country with the world’s highest number of HIV infections, last week announced a concrete plan to help fill the funding gap. But a close look at that plan suggests the country will still have to massively scale back its response to its epidemic—a harbinger of what many other countries will likely face. ..."

"But the sudden withdrawal of the single biggest contributor to the global HIV response disrupted treatment and prevention programmes around the world in early 2025. 

International assistance accounts for 80% of prevention programmes in low- and middle-income countries. ... 

Twenty-five of the 60 low- and middle-income countries included in this report have found ways to increase HIV spending from domestic resources into 2026. This is the future of the HIV response—nationally owned and led, sustainable, inclusive and multisectoral. ..."

Global Health NOW: Danish Study Finds Aluminum in Vaccines Safe; Abortion Access in Sicily; and Missed Flood Warnings in Texas and North Carolina

Countries to budget more for HIV/AIDS measures as U.S. withdraws aid

UNAIDS: Aids, Crisis And The Power To Transform "Global Aids Update 2025"

Rotten Strikebreakers

Prologue

This is the third blog post in a series on special minorities in our society that have been called all kinds of names and whose members unjustly are viewed as scum or worse or are often accused of terrible things.

I have previously written about the speculator here and the free rider here.

Jack London On Strikebreakers

Although “The Scab” is only attributed to Jack London its content is telling. Here is a quote from the opening of The Scab (emphasis added):

“After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, and the vampire, he had some awful substance left with which he made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul, a water brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles. When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and Angels weep in Heaven, and the Devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out” (Source)

One has to add that Jack London is widely considered to have been a Socialist activist. So much for the warmhearted compassion of Socialist activists.

Why Did Employers In The USA Hire Pinkerton To Protect Strikebreaker?

Guess what is one of the picture chosen for the entry on strikebreaker in Wikipedia? It shows Pinkerton agents protecting strikebreakers entering the premises of a company to go to work.

Do strikers or their sympathisers have any right to hinder or worse commit violent or threatening acts against so called strikebreakers? Why did the government run police not protect the strikebreakers?

Do strikebreakers have the right to work for an employer who refuses to negotiate with strikers or labor unions? Of course, they do!

A Civil Society Conceived In Liberty Under The Rule Of Legitimate Law

In such a society the striker and strikebreaker have the same rights, i.e. the striker can refuse to work and the strikebreaker can choose to work. Both have to be non violent at all times!

Why should a person not choose to work for a desirable employer if the opportunity arises.

Strikers can establish their own company or work for another employer if they so choose.

The employer at his/her free will can choose to negotiate or not with strikers or hire strikebreakers.

The role of government is to promote justice by protecting equally the rights of the parties involved and property rights.

The Convenient Abuse Of The Free Rider

A Maligned Minority

Like the speculators or Jews, free riders are often convenient scapegoats or cheap excuses to serve the powerful. In particular big government has a strong tendency to blame such minorities in pursuit of their grand schemes and to impose government control.

The German Word For Free Rider

The German word is “Trittbrettfaher” (literally translated: footboard rider as if riding a tram for free by hanging on the outside of a tram). It also kind of connotes that people step on it with their feet.

Canary In The Coal Mine

The occurrence of free riders should be seen as early warning signs. There is maybe something to be learnt when free riders appear.

More often than not, minorities hold a mirror in front of the majority or those in power. The motivations of free riders are as diverse as anything that humans do. Free riders too enjoy liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Maybe an individual is a free rider with respect to one activity, but not in everything he or she does.

More Competition

I would also argue, in many instances, free riders serve in the interest of more competition and freedom of choice. Free riders incur risks of being resented.

Free Riders And Obamacare

The four liberal Justices on the US Supreme Court, i.e. Justices Ginsburg, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Breyer, surely used the free rider to defend the unconstitutional individual mandate. What a shame!

Who are those free riders of health care? Individuals who pay with credit or cash for any health care they need. Individuals who travel abroad to obtain cheaper health care. Individuals who live a healthy life style. I am sure there are more examples.