Josep Borrell’s vow that government employees and MPs won’t be able to buy luxury goods in Europe failed to land
Russians who undermine Ukrainian sovereignty won’t be able to shop in Milan, party in Saint-Tropez or purchase diamonds in Antwerp, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted on Tuesday. The post was deleted hours later, as it sparked mockery from its intended audience and raised eyebrows in Europe.
The no-more-shopping punchline was part of a thread published on Borrell’s account to announce the EU’s decision to punish Russian officials involved in the recognition of two breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine as sovereign nations. The EU announced personal sanctions targeting 351 members of the Russian State Duma who voted for the move, and others who “are undermining #Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty & independence,” the tweets said.
“No more: Shopping in #Milano Partying in #SaintTropez Diamonds in #Antwerp This is a first step. #WeStandUnited,” the final tweet read.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the post confirmed that Borrell “wasn’t even aware” of what people handling his social media posts write in his name, branding the purported anonymous authors as “undereducated employees.”
Over the years, the account didn’t once comment on civilian victims of the civil war in Ukraine, Zakharova stated, adding that “now we know why.”
“Shopping and partying are the things that really interest [them]. Such behavior by ‘civilized nations’ borders losing all humanity,” she said.
The cavalier tweet was criticized by some European officials too. Assita Kanko, a Belgian member of the European Parliament, representing the conservative New Flemish Alliance, told Borrell to leave the Belgian city alone and do his job of “handling” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The satirical news outlet Le Chou commented on the threat by posting a caricature of Borrell as a mall guard keeping “sneaky Russian oligarchs” from a Gucci store in Milan.
Pepe Borrell Guards Milan’s Fanciest Outlets To Stop Any Sneaky Russian Oligarchs From Shopping There pic.twitter.com/gcyTZQumHx
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Feb 23 (IPS) – Fifty-nine years ago, Bob Dylan recorded “With God on Our Side.” You probably haven’t heard it on the radio for a very long time, if ever, but right now you could listen to it as his most evergreen of topical songs:
The rebel-controlled territories, which comprise a larger eastern Ukraine region called Donbas that borders Russia, have been led by pro-Russia separatists for nearly a decade.
(Image credit: Aleksey Filippov/AFP via Getty Images)
First-term senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) has released a plan for the GOP to take control of the US House and Senate
American senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) released a new Republican Party agenda on Tuesday, in light of the GOP not releasing any such plan for winning control of Congress in the fall.
Scott’s plan, released to various media outlets, including Fox News, contains a handful of proposals, including a promise to finish the southern US border wall and name it after former President Donald Trump, who made the structure central to his own campaign promises.
Titled ‘My Plan to Rescue America’, the agenda outlined by Scott also includes proposals for fighting supposed cultural battles, like treating socialism as a foreign adversary and requiring children in schools to “say the pledge of allegiance, salute the Flag, learn that America is a great country, and choose the school that best fits them.”
This will help “inspire patriotism and stop teaching the revisionist history of the radical left,” according to Scott.
The senator also aims to remove any reference to race in government documents, calling on the government to “never again ask American citizens to disclose their race, ethnicity, or skin color, on any government forms” in order to “eliminate racial politics in America.”
Scott also suggested ending “soft on crime policies that are destroying our cities,” and declaring there are only two genders. Members of Congress would also be limited to 12 years in office.
Scott is the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), but he said his proposed agenda has been put out as his own rather than officially being from the party. He also revealed he had not yet shared the details of the plan with the actual leading Republican in the Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).
“I agree with Mitch McConnell that the election’s mostly going to be about the Biden agenda, but I believe in having plans, and I’m putting this out,” he said.
