I am quite happy that some of our roots in Europe, like those from the Ottoman empire, are long gone because I would not want to wear this fashionable-onion-hat.
And most likely very few in Europe would probably listen to the Ottoman music today, or understand their contemporary poetry and art. Not to mention their buildings and many traditions that are not at all compatible with today’s standards, morally and structurally.
But these are our “roots”, right? Or if we go back our roots in Europe were the Roman empire. Should we go way back? Why do we regard “our culture” as the “happenings” that have happened only for the past hundreds of years? Isn’t that an arbitrary line to draw and call it “our culture”? Especially since we know we cannot freeze that culture in time and hope to take it with us intact into the distant future.
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Not long ago Spain also won the Euro Cup – the biggest sport competition in Europe. Football that is. After the game people went into the streets to celebrate. The Spanish flags on display, honks, partying, “We won!” people were screaming!
What is interesting is that these are two of their best players of the tournament:
Yamal and Nico. Yamal’s father is a Spanish immigrant from Equatorial Guinea, and his mother is Moroccan. And Nico’s parents had to cross the Sahara’s desert to immigrate to Spain “illegally”.
Also two of Spain’s best defenders are called Robin Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte – not a fucking chance these are Spanish names! These guys are born in France.
Speaking of France, this is their football team:
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Not long ago Spain also won the Euro Cup – the biggest sport competition in Europe. Football that is. After the game people went into the streets to celebrate. The Spanish flags on display, honks, partying, “We won!” people were screaming!
What is interesting is that these are two of their best players of the tournament:
Yamal and Nico. Yamal’s father is a Spanish immigrant from Equatorial Guinea, and his mother is Moroccan. And Nico’s parents had to cross the Sahara’s desert to immigrate to Spain “illegally”.
Also two of Spain’s best defenders are called Robin Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte – not a fucking chance these are Spanish names! These guys are born in France.
Speaking of France, this is their football team:
No, this is not an African team, it is the “french” team. Most of their players have African roots. In fact when they won the World Cup in 2018, 87% of their team was made up of immigrants (them, their parents, or grandparents). And historically this has always been true for France.
Even their most iconic player Zinedine Zidane is of Algerian descent. His parents immigrated to Paris and he has described himself as a “non-practising Muslim”.
Lastly this is how the other finalists of Euro 2024, England, would look without immigrants:
Overall the African immigrants were some of the best players of this Europe football competition.
Keep that in mind!
So when their supporters shout “We won!” waving their nation’s flag, who is “we”? Who is Spain, France, England?
Food and Football, two very culturally grounded things in Europe, are all made up of bits from other parts of the world. And so is the case with every sport and dish from anywhere on this globe.
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Your browsing data stays within the EU and is protected from cyber threats without being monetized!
Experience DNS4EU, the European security ecosystem led by Whalebone. Access our free Public Service for private browsing or upgrade to DNS4GOV for professional-grade government and critical infrastructure protection.
"Basel Adra, Palestinian filmmaker and Oscar winner: ‘Israelis don’t see us as human beings’
The director of the documentary ‘No Other Land’ took part in a cultural event in Madrid and explained how Israeli violence in the West Bank has increased after he won the statuette"
#Solar just became #Europe's biggest source of #electricity – here's the milestone it hit Generating a record 52 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and supplying 25% of all electricity used in the #EuropeanUnion in June 2026. That’s the first time solar has provided a quarter of the EU’s monthly electricity. It also made solar the bloc’s largest source of electricity for the month, ahead of nuclear (21%), gas (15%), wind (14%), hydro (12%), and coal (8%). electrek.co/2026/07/15/solar-j…
...in a, with hindsight overly rigurous accession process, loosing a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to finally reconcile the Near East with #Europe after milennia of warfare...and historically brief interregna of #AlexanderTheGreat and the (Eastern) #RomanEmpire. 1)
The same must not happen again with the current accession candidates from the #Balkans, and #Ukraine.
You Europeans are always complaining about #Europe. And I'm not saying Europe is perfect and deserves no criticism, but as an American I am often envious of your set of problems versus our set of problems. So some of you may roll your eyes at news like this but for me it is amazing and a glorious revelation
This is only the first step #Europe needs to stifle its own citizens!
After losing your right of free speech by basically implementing #chatcontrol people will not feel open to speak freely online #observereffect
Then they will implement a thing called #prebunking and actively start #censorship your chats, or #shadowban your conversation without you knowing.
They will implemend a #cbdc #euro and follow every monetary transaction, they will map your entire life!
When you become a problem to #Europe #dictatorship they can freeze all your assets *without* a legal court order, under the council regulation (EU) 2024/2642 ( October 8 2024) ask former retired Swiss colonel #JacquesBaud
You're unable to chat, unable to travel, unable to afford housing, unable to buy food.
They can basically erase your excistence from society with a click of a button!
"A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we'll give them the right to make Patriots," President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In shift, Trump praises #Zelensky, says he will let #Ukraine build Patriot missiles
#Trump kicked off the second day of the #NATO summit in Turkey Wednesday by restating his “need” to control #Greenland, blasting #Europe #allies as “hopeless” & threatening countries that did not support the #US - #Israel #war on #Iran.
Ahhhh #Iceland. Somewhere I wouldn't mind visiting during the next European heatwave...
But did you know that Iceland is planning a referendum this summer about Joining the #EU? What do you think? Should they join? What are your favourite facts about Iceland? And do you have any questions about Iceland joining the EU, or any about Iceland at all?
At least 18 people were killed in #Kyiv, the local authorities said. Ukraine’s president had warned that Moscow was preparing a “massive strike” as his country’s forces have hit deeper into Russian territory.
🚨 #Russia likely used shadow ships to launch drones over #Europe that repeatedly disrupted civilian aviation, as it monitored #military sites & tested the air #defenses of #NATO nations, acc/to a report published Thursday by the #IISS think tank.
The report, which was shared before publication with AP, plotted 144 suspected drone sightings across Europe, including in NATO members #Germany, #France, #Belgium, the #Netherlands, the #UK, & #Denmark, between 2024 & 2026.
"France is currently glowing red with heat. Not metaphorically. Literally. Land surface temperatures in parts of the country have been recorded at levels more commonly associated with the Sahara Desert.
France. The country of vineyards, alpine villages, stone farmhouses, rivers, forests and temperate European summers. Looking like the Sahara. That should stop us in our tracks.
The real story isn’t that France is having a heatwave. It’s that climate change is making places behave like somewhere else. Places are beginning to lose the climate that shaped their buildings, their farms, their infrastructure, their ecosystems, their communities, cultures and expectations of normal life.
France isn’t built for the Sahara. Its schools, homes, hospitals, railways, power stations and aged-care facilities weren’t designed for repeated extreme heat. Its rivers weren’t meant to run so hot that nuclear power stations have to reduce output because cooling water is too warm. Its classrooms weren’t meant to become dangerous places for children t
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"France is currently glowing red with heat. Not metaphorically. Literally. Land surface temperatures in parts of the country have been recorded at levels more commonly associated with the Sahara Desert.
France. The country of vineyards, alpine villages, stone farmhouses, rivers, forests and temperate European summers. Looking like the Sahara. That should stop us in our tracks.
The real story isn’t that France is having a heatwave. It’s that climate change is making places behave like somewhere else. Places are beginning to lose the climate that shaped their buildings, their farms, their infrastructure, their ecosystems, their communities, cultures and expectations of normal life.
France isn’t built for the Sahara. Its schools, homes, hospitals, railways, power stations and aged-care facilities weren’t designed for repeated extreme heat. Its rivers weren’t meant to run so hot that nuclear power stations have to reduce output because cooling water is too warm. Its classrooms weren’t meant to become dangerous places for children to sit exams."
Gregory Andrews argues that when France is hotter than the Sahara, it’s a global warning about climate change, shifting baselines and Australia’s future.
Lobbying, incompetence, unlucky while doing thinkinks, bad hair day ... 🤔
I'm sure there are many valid reasons why they point in one direction with one hand, and in a completely different direction with the other. The head? Oh, it's up there somewhere, where the sun is probably not present.
The US wants full access to European police databases - which contain details of completely innocent people, like protesters and asylum-seekers. They’re threatening to remove visa-free travel if they don’t get their way.
“Scientists say the early-season heatwave is part of a broader warming trend. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising by approximately 0.56C per decade since the mid-1990s, more than double the global average.”
![Q. Do you feel Spain supports the Palestinian cause?
A. Absolutely. Both the government and ordinary people. For example, I remember a footballer did something small with a flag and caused a huge stir [he is referring to Lamine Yamal, who waved a Palestinian flag in May during FC Barcelona’s victory parade after winning La Liga]. Israeli ministers and officials had to comment on it, which drew even more attention.
Q. Europe is more hesitant…
A. We hope Spain doesn’t change because, you know, in Europe and other countries it’s easy to get support at first, but after a while the government changes or people within the government itself — as has happened in Sweden — change their minds and stop supporting the cause or even turn against it. The Israeli lobby always finds a way to influence official policies.](https://friendica.hellquist.eu/photo/preview/640/5697641 "Q. Do you feel Spain supports the Palestinian cause?
A. Absolutely. Both the government and ordinary people. For example, I remember a footballer did something small with a flag and caused a huge stir [he is referring to Lamine Yamal, who waved a Palestinian flag in May during FC Barcelona’s victory parade after winning La Liga]. Israeli ministers and officials had to comment on it, which drew even more attention.
Q. Europe is more hesitant…
A. We hope Spain doesn’t change because, you know, in Europe and other countries it’s easy to get support at first, but after a while the government changes or people within the government itself — as has happened in Sweden — change their minds and stop supporting the cause or even turn against it. The Israeli lobby always finds a way to influence official policies.")
![Q. With Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in charge, can one still be optimistic about the future of Palestinians?
A. No, and regarding Israelis, it’s not only Netanyahu, the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, or the settlers. Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir were elected by the people, and I believe they represent the majority of Israelis. For me, the problem is Israeli society. Even before [the Hamas-led attacks on] October 7 we lived under occupation, but Israelis in Tel Aviv lived their normal lives; the money from their taxes went to the settlers, to the settlements, and to the army, which killed Palestinians, although in smaller numbers than after October 7. But they do not see us as human beings. That’s why they accept the occupation and cannot claim ignorance; we live in the same territory and they cannot say they didn’t know what was happening. And now I think they have reached their worst moment in terms of racism and tolerance of the crimes committed against us Palestinians. So I don’t think change will come through elections in Israel or the United States.](https://friendica.hellquist.eu/photo/preview/640/5697645 "Q. With Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in charge, can one still be optimistic about the future of Palestinians?
A. No, and regarding Israelis, it’s not only Netanyahu, the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, or the settlers. Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir were elected by the people, and I believe they represent the majority of Israelis. For me, the problem is Israeli society. Even before [the Hamas-led attacks on] October 7 we lived under occupation, but Israelis in Tel Aviv lived their normal lives; the money from their taxes went to the settlers, to the settlements, and to the army, which killed Palestinians, although in smaller numbers than after October 7. But they do not see us as human beings. That’s why they accept the occupation and cannot claim ignorance; we live in the same territory and they cannot say they didn’t know what was happening. And now I think they have reached their worst moment in terms of racism and tolerance of the crimes committed against us Palestinians. So I don’t think change will come through elections in Israel or the United States.")
