CodyLionfish

[CodyLionfish @CLionfish]

The biggest problem that I have with the EU is that they are led by people that have allowed the institution & its countries to slice their own throats in order to maintain the outdated view that Western Eurooe can prosper & develop with US allyship.

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

Dear Louis-Vincent,

Thank you for your thoughtful comment which deserves a more elaborated response than the one I hastily wrote last night at 1:53 AM French time (after a late dinner with a local winemaker, no less 😅).

We agree that the actions of current EU leaders like Thierry Breton and Ursula von der Leyen have often run counter to the interests of European citizens. Their policies and decisions have indeed posed significant challenges to European prosperity, security, and autonomy.

Security: We're presently in the midst of the largest-scale war on the European continent since WW2. Not only did EU leaders do little to prevent it, but they also seem intent on prolonging it, dismissing peace attempts with devastating consequences. The Nord Stream attack - arguably the largest act of sabotage against EU infrastructure in its history - has been largely ignored. The EU's near-total reliance on the U.S. for defense is particularly troubling, given the U.S.'s likely involvement in the Nord Stream incident and its role in triggering the Ukraine conflict through NATO expansion. All in all, EU leaders, both at the EU and national level, have put us in such a disastrous strategic position that it frankly boggles the mind.

Prosperity: in the early 2000s, the EU member states were collectively on par economically with the U.S. The picture has degraded so much that we're now on a trend line whereby "the prosperity gap between the average European and American in 2035 will be as big as between the average European and Indian today" (https://t.co/zSA4GafKQl). If you look at France, our country, today French GDP per capita is lower than the 48th poorest US state, Arkansas.

Autonomy: a third and last duty that we can look at is that of representation, how these leaders act as the face and voice of Europe in the world. And the truth is that our voice has become essentially inaudible and a source of endless mockery. When they don't simply parrot what the U.S. says, which is most of the time, they speak with such hypocrisy, condescension and disconnect from the world's realities that it just makes anyone with a tad of worldliness cringe.

So whilst I'm sure we agree on this diagnosis, we seem to diverge on the role of "free speech" in both the problem and its solution. I believe that Censorship vs. "Free Speech" is a false dichotomy that masks the actual issue: that of sovereignty.

I've never been a free speech absolutist. I'm not "Charlie" for instance. I don't understand why anyone would deem it an essential right of theirs to publish caricatures of Muhammad, eat a beef burger at the entrance of a Hindu temple or depict Jesus as a half-naked obese woman. I'm an atheist myself but I respect everyone's beliefs and culture, and I understand that religion is an integral part of many people's lives. I don't believe my "freedom of speech" should be at the expense of all of us living in harmony together in society, and as such I don't think it grants me the right to purposefully and knowingly insult this or that religion.

Moreover, unrestricted free speech doesn't necessarily lead to a better-informed populace. All too often, free speech is the freedom to lie and manipulate. For proof, the U.S. is undoubtedly the country with the freest speech, yet it paradoxically has one of the most misinformed populations globally.

You mention your admiration for De Gaulle, which I share. It's worth noting that he exercised significant control over French media (like the good old ORTF), understanding the power of narrative in statecraft and the need to protect against foreign influence on public opinion. De Gaulle prioritized sovereignty in all aspects, including control over public discourse.

That said, it's true that today, some of the biggest purveyors of disinformation in Europe and the U.S. are government officials. A future EU with a "ministry of truth" controlled by von der Leyen, Breton, and their ilk is indeed a frightening prospect.

But is Elon Musk truly the answer? Here's a crucial question to consider: if Musk's political stance was diametrically opposed to yours - say, if he was Von Der Leyen and Thierry Breton's biggest cheerleader - but he kept the same "free speech" rhetoric, would you still be backing him?

If the answer is no, as I suspect, it means you don't back him for "free speech" but because of his politics. This reveals that "free speech" is a cover story for political alignment. This point is critical because it exposes the inconsistency in supporting Musk's platform based on free speech principles.

You might think it's no big deal as long as his politics align with yours but it also participate to a trend whereby we Europeans cede control of our narrative to American influence. We've seen this happen time and time again: Americans attract us with a wonderful promises and products - in this instance "free speech" against "bad Brussels" - and we keep becoming more and more vassalized to them.

And it is this very domination, step by step, that explains so much of the dereliction of duty by our leaders that we reviewed above. We've become dependent on the U.S. for our security, and as a result we're less secure. The U.S. has come to dominate so much of our economy, and as a result we're less prosperous. The U.S. dictates a large part of our diplomacy, and as a result we've lost our voice. And, more and more, which is what this exchange with Musk symbolizes, what we think, our own narrative about ourselves, is also dictated by the U.S., or at least exported from it.

Again, it doesn't mean that I back Breton's censorship efforts. I've repeatedly warned about how dystopian a EU ministry of truth would be by the current leadership.

But the key word here is sovereignty: already the big problem that I have with the EU's version of the "truth" is that it is not dictated by European interests but rather reflects an "atlantist" worldview, which given the power differential in practice means U.S. interests. We can clearly see that in what they say about Ukraine, Gaza, or China for instance. So it'd be the height of irony if we concluded that more U.S. influence is the solution. Sure, Musk is more Republican than Democrat and therefore he has a different discourse on some topics, like Ukraine. But it's still an American narrative nonetheless.

All in all it means that ironically, we now find ourselves in a situation where both censorship by current EU leaders and "freedom" of speech as advocated by Musk could lead to the same undesirable outcome: the further erosion of European sovereignty.

What we really need is to go back to good old Gaullist principles of re-building our independence. Neither unchecked 'free speech' dominated by foreign actors nor heavy-handed censorship by current EU leadership will serve European interests. What we need is a renewed focus on European sovereignty – the ability to make our own decisions, shape our own narratives, and determine our own future.

Concretely, what this implies is a gigantic effort to change our institutional culture, the way we approach our economy and how we control all our media ecosystem. A very concrete proposal for instance would be a European educational institution where we send our very best students from all over Europe, who would have an education on statecraft & administration rooted in sovereignty and would be destined for top roles in EU institutions. Meritocracy à la Europe.

With regards to the media, we could mandate that all media - including social media - have a European headquarter with a European leadership team that controls the code and content for the European version of their product, and are answerable to EU law. We could also re-energize Europe's startup ecosystem and in particular encourage the development of EU social media platforms, as well as encourage EU media to write about EU startups as opposed to systematically promoting U.S. startups as they do now... We could also dramatically limit the importation of Hollywood movies and instead encourage European content creation and diffusion... Anyhow, there's no shortage of ideas once you're guided by first principles.

In conclusion, while I understand the temptation to see Musk as an ally against EU overreach, what this means is trading one form of foreign influence for another. The path forward for Europe isn't to choose between censorship and unrestricted 'free speech,' but to forge our own way – one that protects our interests, and reasserts our sovereignty. This requires not just resisting both domestic and foreign actors who undermine our autonomy, but actively building European institutions, platforms, and narratives that reflect our unique conditions. Our goal should be a Europe that is independent, sovereign, and peaceful – and it makes no sense to further lose our autonomy and therefore our freedom for the sake of "free" speech.

[Sabby Sabs @SabbySabs2]

If you voted against @MassieforKY, this is who you actually voted for. ⬇️

[🔻🟩🇰🇵Jamahiriya al-Juche🇰🇵🟩🔻 @ayo_platano]

Imma keep it real with ya Chief, i don’t care what Stalin was doing to your grandpa

[박주현 @hermit_hwarang]

The U.S. military's days in Korea are numbered. Salute to these brave students

[Hüseyin Dogru @hussedogru]

Today’s Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, we remember one of the most famous moments from newly liberated Berlin.

The video shows Lydia Spivak, a young Red Army woman, dancing and directing traffic in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

[Antifa_Ultras @ultras_antifaa]

May 8: Victory Day against fascism.

The Soviet Army defeated the nazis and liberated humanity from fascism.

[Jacobin @jacobin]

On this day 81 years ago, Nazi Germany formally surrendered and the world declared victory over fascism.

To commemorate V-E Day, here's a thread of our work exploring the often-ignored history of the communist-led struggles against fascism in Europe 🧵

[Kagirison Research @KagiriResearch]

@jacobin Stalin SAVED HUMANITY from a catastrophe, and we should commemorate this day with pride. Unfortunately, Europe is choosing the wrong side👇
https://t.co/TYZrD73XHz

[RTSG News @RTSG_News]

🇷🇺 The first Victory Day in Moscow, 1945.

Follow: @RTSG_News

[Nicholas Reed @sogaardreed]

🚨🇷🇺 'We have liberated Europe from fascism, but they will never forgive us for it'

I paid my respect to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War by laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, RIGHT NEXT to Red Square

I joined Gennady Zyuganov and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) who held the commemorative event

[Perspective communiste ☭🔻 @PerspCommuniste]

🇫🇷🚩 Dans l'Humanité du mardi 8 mai 1945, Marcel Cachin rappelle "qu'il reste à détruire tous les vestiges du fascisme".

Un message d'actualité qui rappelle que la bête immonde prospère dans les ruines du capitalisme.

https://t.co/eIxYj2LS1n

[USSR Pictures @PicturesUssr]

"Long live the USSR - the fatherland of workers of the whole world", Soviet poster, 1931

[Ivan Katchanovski @I_Katchanovski]

Open Letter in Support of Academic Freedom and Ivan Katchanovski is now signed by more than 140 people from 33 countries, including over 75 scholars. Thank you everyone for signing & sharing it. It can be signed by sending to [email protected] your name, position/job title, institutional affiliation, country, and if you prefer that your name is not published and only institutional affiliation and country are listed. https://t.co/RSmQfRu66e

[bengt @bengt__r]

die sowjetunion hat mit fast dreißig millionen toten die hauptlast des zweiten welgkriegs getragen. am tag des sieges über nazideutschland ist es (wieder einmal) verboten, die flagge der sowjetunion an einem der sowjetischen ehrenmäler zu zeigen.

[SaxonX @TolstoyXxx]

@battleforeurope This illustrates the CIA/MI6/Mossad are behind most of these attacks Ukraine strikes against Russia.
This is their playbook and a kick in the butt reminder--
this is a Zionist-led USA proxy war in Ukraine being waged against Russia for the interests of BlackRock and the Cabal.

[G.O.U. @ArturoJaur69411]

@battleforeurope And preemptively crying about the Russian retaliation.

[Capt #NotSure~Abolish NATO~End Sanctions @CaptainCrusty66]

@battleforeurope thus proving literally everyone wants ukraine to FAFO.

[Thomas Fazi @battleforeurope]

An insane headline even by Western media standards: preemptively legitimising a possibile Ukrainian terrorist attack at tomorrow’s May 9 parade in Moscow.

[David Drury @daviddrury604]

@HavryshkoMarta The symbols allow us to see who is a Nazi, so removing them would actually be a bad idea. Look at what happened in the west: they removed the Nazi symbols, making everyone think the Nazis were defeated in 1945, and became blind to the Nazis in their own ranks.

[Marta Havryshko @HavryshkoMarta]

This is how Holocaust distortion and abuse of history look. Zelensky's edition.

If you care so much about remembrance and responsibility, start by purging Nazi symbols from Ukraine’s military: Totenkopf, SS runes, Black Sun, Nazi eagles, Dirlewanger, Luftwaffe and Nachtigall references.

Preaching morality while tolerating this is pure hypocrisy.

[In Defense of Communism © @id_communism]

❌ Europe Day
☑️ Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples

Eternal glory to the Soviet people and the Red Army!

#VictoryDay #9May