Vatican's nativity scene

The above photo shows the Vatican's nativity scene that was unveiled on the 15th of  December in St. Peter Square.

The nativity scene is surrounded by Vatican police officers, who are responsible for public order and crime prevention. If someone wanted to visit Vatican square and St. Peter Basilica, he/she would  have to pass through Vatican police security checkpoints.

The Christmas tree set up in Vatican square comes from Norther Italy. It is 25 meters tall and weighing 8,000 Kilograms.

Happy Christmas 🎄🎀🎁

Russian frozen assets

I'd like to share Hungarian President's point of view about Russia's frozen assets. Mr. Orban has just said that "there are two countries which are at war. It's not the EU, it's Russia and Ukraine, and somebody, the EU , would like to take away the money of one of the warring parties, and to give it to the other one. It's a marching into the war, so the Belgian Prime Minister is right. We should not do that."  

The above photo shows the Hungarian Parliament building on the eastern bank of the Danube river. I took the picture of that neo-gothic landmark in April this year. 

Greetings

Rome's Christmas decoration

 

Rome's Christmas 20-metre tree was unveiled on the 2nd of December this year. I saw it yesterday. Many locals and tourists were walking and shopping close to the Spanish steps, named after the Spanish Embassy located there. That place is famous for the monumental staircase and its elegant baroque architecture.

People were also enjoying Christmas decoretion.

                 

There were a lot of Christmas decoretions hanging on the front doors of older Rome's residential buildings.

I noticed that some holiday decorations had nothing to do with Christmas, such as the Wolksvagen Bettle, produced by the German company Wolksvagen from 1938 to 2003, 

... and the polar bear. 

The International Union for Conservation of Nature reports that the global population of polar bears is 22,000 to 31,000.

Have a nice weekend 🌲

U.S. tariffs on EU's wine & spirits

 

Glad to hear that pasta, cheese, wine and spirits, as well as olive oil and sunglasses, are among the priority sectors of Italy's goods that the European Union wants Washington to shield from higher tariffs.

Major Irish whishey distillery owners are also hopeful U.S. customs duties will be reduced. 

It seems higher tariffs continue to impact negatively on U.S. sales and jobs, although they generate government revenue.  

The weather has been too cold since the 27th of November ... it's perfect for a glass of red wine 🍷❄🙂

In the meanwhile, on the geopolitical front, the 49-year-old Ukrainian man, Serhii Kuznietsov, arrived in Germany two days ago, after Italy's highest court approved his extradition later last week. That man is suspected of setting off explosions that damaged the EU Nord Stream pipelines in 2022. I clearly know that a very small number of blogging friends don't like such news, as they have been shaped to believe that Ukrainians can never be guilty parties. But we are talking about a German criminal court, not a Belarusian or Russian one. Not to mention that EU, UK and US' newspapers don't highlight this news as it should.

Have a nice weekend 🍁🍷🌰

Scandals that were once overlooked

The machinery of Ukraine war's support begins to slow. And Western media begins to expose Kyiv government's scandals that were once overlooked.

The more Western investigators and journalists uncover about corruption and mismanagement in Ukraine, the easier it becomes for Washington & EU to justify a gradual disengagement without admitting strategic defeat to Russia.   

I don't forget 2022 Pope Francis' interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. He said "Transatlantic military alliance "barking" at Russia's door may have led to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine". In other words, he said Ukraine war was perhaps somehow provoked.

The stupidity is that if someone were to understand how Russia-Ukraine war was provoked, he/she would be labelled as pro-Putin. 

Valerij Zaluzhnyj

Just a few thoughts about money that we, EU's taxpayers, have been sending to Zelensky since 2022.

According to the German prosecutor's office, the Supreme Commander of Ukraine's armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyj, is behind the explosions on the Nord Steam 1 and 2 EU's gas pipelines (Wall Street Journal also reported this news early this week). This means there are evidence that President Zelensky, who blamed repeatedly the Russian government, knew that the Supreme Commander of Ukraine's armed forces had carried out the attack on the EU's pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

In other words, since 2022 we, EU's taxpayers, have been sending money to Zelensky, who orchestrated a terrorist attack on EU's energy infrastuctures.

Congratulations to the EU leaders who still continue to send money to Zelensky. 

Old front door

Just trying to be back in touch with our lovely blogging community. Sorry for delay.  Thanks to all the blogger friends who have asked me to write down a post again. 

I'd like to show that man who was quietly painting his front door in the historic part of the town on a sunny Saturday, on the 1st of November.

Have a nice Weekend.