Germany Needs a Scarier Army to Daunt Putin
Europe's biggest economy needs more fiscal firepower to sustainably fund its armed forces and more soldiers to secure the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's borders. A reform of its needlessly restrictive so-called debt brake and reviving military service should therefore be at the top of the next government's priority list.
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Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tourist Says He Was Denied Entry To U.S. Over A Seemingly Innocent Photo — And It Could Happen To You
Seeing Vice President JD Vance as a bald, shiny orb can make you laugh ― but can it get you denied entry at a U.S. border? According to one tourist, yes. Norwegian tourist Mads Mikkelsen told Nordlys that he was denied entry at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on June 11 after authorities searched his phone and found a Vance meme on his phone camera roll, and then proceeded to question him about right-wing extremism and drug smuggling. Mikkelsen later told Nordlys that he did tell border officials he had tried marijuana in Germany and in New Mexico, but did not think this was relevant because they are both places where it is legal. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin refuted Mikkelsen's allegations about the meme being the reason for his heightened scrutiny. 'Claims that Mads Mikkelsen was denied entry because of a JD Vance meme are FALSE,' she wrote on X. 'Mikkelsen was refused entry into the U.S. for his admitted drug use.' But regardless of Mikkelsen's story, can a political meme on your phone be the reason you get denied entry? Following President Donald Trump's executive order for 'enhanced vetting,' border agents have been using aggressive tactics on legal immigrants and tourists. We were made for this moment. HuffPost will aggressively, fairly and honestly cover the Trump administration. But we need your help. . 'It is absolutely possible that a meme, or an article, or a photograph can be used as the basis for the denial of entry,' said Petra Molnar, lawyer and author of 'The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.' 'Decisions at the border are highly discretionary, made all the more so by the recent push for border enforcement to scrutinize social media for so-called risky behavior,' she continued, citing the State Department's recent plans to screen people applying for visas to the U.S. for perceived 'hostility' toward America, and to ask them to make their social media accounts 'public' for review. 'In this current climate, what may appear as a silly joke can be used as the basis for detention, interrogation, and deportation,' Molnar said. Here's what you need to know when traveling feels riskier than ever. Border agents have wide discretion. U.S. citizens have more protections than tourists and visa holders. Yes, the U.S. government asserts the right to search your electronic devices when you cross U.S. borders, but if you are a U.S. citizen, you cannot be denied entry, no matter what absurd caricatures of Vance you keep on your phone. 'You're an American citizen. They cannot say, 'Oh, you're not coming into your own country.' That's against the law,' explained Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney at Electronic Frontier Foundation. As a U.S. citizen, you can, however, face interrogations, travel delays or device confiscations for refusing to comply to device searches. 'It might be confiscated for several weeks or months,' Cope said to consider. Meanwhile, visitors and visa-holders have fewer rights than U.S. citizens when they travel to the U.S. and 'are particularly vulnerable to being denied entry, or at the very least may face an unpleasant interrogation with the possibility of having to hand over their devices indefinitely,' Molnar said. Cope said a border agent denying a tourist over a meme is 'ridiculous,' but the Norwegian visitor had no real recourse, because he's a not a U.S. citizen. 'Unfortunately, non-green card holders, non-citizens have almost no leverage to not comply with the request to grant access to their device,' she said. It helps to know what's in your power to refuse. In order to prepare for travel, know your rights about what border agents can and cannot do. Know that they are supposed to put your phone into airplane mode before they start to search it and are not supposed to be looking at cloud-based applications, although there have been reports of people saying their social media accounts were reviewed. 'Disable biometric identification like FaceID, limit automatic cloud access, set up disappearing messages and consider switching to applications like Signal,' Molnar suggested. You can also go one step further and 'consider getting a second phone or not bringing your laptop, or removing materials which could possibly solicit further scrutiny,' she noted. Know that you are not required to share your password to unlock your phone, but visa holders and visitors could be denied entry for their refusal. When asked, neither Customs and Border Protection nor the Department of Homeland Security answered HuffPost questions about Mikkelsen's claim that a border agent told him he would be imprisoned or fined for not sharing his phone passcode. When asked, DHS only redirected HuffPost to McLaughlin's public statement about Mikkelsen being denied entry over drug use. To be clear, Cope explained, there's no legal basis for Customs and Border Protection officials threatening a traveler with jail time and fines for refusing to share a passcode for a device search. 'It's basically, either you're denied entry or your phone gets confiscated,' she said. 'There's no crime there.' There are pros and cons to refusing a device search, and your personal risk is highly contingent on your immigration status. 'People have to balance the privacy invasion of a device search with, do they risk being denied entry? Or do they risk missing a flight or being detained?' Cope said. Ultimately, if you are nervous about what could happen when you travel to the U.S., you are right to feel this way. Consider that 'It seems like this administration is being very touchy about ... people who express opposition to the Trump administration in one way or another,' Cope said. 'And [this JD Vance meme] is the most benign kind of opposition.' 'People are rightly worried about the growing surveillance apparatus in the U.S., which now includes scrutiny over memes and social media content,' Molnar said. She noted that the right to privacy is not just about avoiding scrutiny over wrongdoing but about 'our fundamental right to personal autonomy and freedom from surveillance, rights which are increasingly coming under attack.' The one thing we know for sure: because of this story, Vance memes that make the vice president look childlike or absurd are going to be seen even more, and that's one action this administration does not have the power to control. Related... Does Border Patrol Have The Right To Go Through Your Phone? Here Are The Alarming Facts. The Surprising Reason These Wild JD Vance Memes Keep Spreading Why You Can (And Should) Opt Out Of TSA Facial Recognition Right Now
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
'Donaldddddd': Foreign leaders schmooze Trump on his personal cell
Those leaders include French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who Trump will meet for a round of golf in Scotland on Monday, according to the person and two others familiar with the calls. The three, like others in this story, were granted anonymity to discuss private talks. The informality of these conversations, although hardly different from the off-the-cuff style Trump often showcases in public settings, can still be striking to aides listening on the other end of the line. A person familiar with one of the president's conversations with Macron recalled the two leaders 'bro-ing out' as they greeted one another. 'It was oddly amusing — Trump would say 'Emmanuellllll' and really draw out the l and then Macron would go, 'Donaldddddd' and draw out the d,' they recalled. 'And it sort of went back and forth.' Foreign officials credit their ability to adapt to Trump's freewheeling style to improved personal relationships, which, they say, is leading to more favorable outcomes. One European official pointed to last month's NATO leaders summit in The Netherlands where Trump announced that he'd changed his mind about the alliance after meeting with cohorts he lauded as 'great leaders.' He told reporters that he was departing feeling 'differently' and had determined that the cause of European security was 'not a rip off.' And since then he has agreed to authorize more defense aid for Ukraine so long as Europe foots the bill. 'There's less friction and more alignment in some cases,' said the European official. 'Some of that is the result of a lot of leaders being more hands-on with Trump, and, yes, more solicitous in private.'
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Elon Musk has a simple solution for Tesla's problems in Europe
Elon Musk's time in Washington, D.C., leading the Department of Government Efficiency may have been short, but he seems to have learned a lot from the experience. As an unofficial member of President Donald Trump's cabinet, Musk was only allowed to serve in government for 130 days. Once his time was up, his relationship with Trump disintegrated, leading to a war of words and online threats that have continued to this week. Related: Tesla is set to deliver dismal sales, but here's why investors don't care While Musk promised investors he would spend more time at Tesla HQ in Austin once his time in D.C. ended, he has flirted with starting his own political party and spends much of his social media bandwidth commenting on government concerns. But his political interests aren't just confined to the U.S.; Musk has also commented on the nonexistent white genocide he believes is happening in South Africa. Musk has also publicly endorsed the AfD, a German right-wing party that some view as extremist, and he was accused of doing a Nazi salute on stage. Coincidentally, Germany is also one of the many European countries where Tesla sales have fallen sharply since Musk embarked on his far-right political journey. Just a couple of years after it spent billions to build a European hub in Germany, Tesla's future on the mainland appears to be worse than ever. Tesla sales in Europe were down nearly 40% from January to April compared to the previous year. In June, sales dropped another 39%. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Tesla's first-half sales were down 44% in Europe. Image source: Leong/Washington Post via Getty Images Months ago, Musk seemingly acknowledged that his political activities have played a part in his company's decline. After sales in Germany reportedly fell 62%, and numbers in Norway, the UK, and France weren't much better, Musk said that any politically left-leaning buyers who abandoned the company have been replaced by people who align better with his politics. Perhaps his time in Washington has made him more diplomatic, because he wasn't so flippant when talking to investors this week. During his second-quarter earnings call, he detailed how Tesla would win back customers. "It's worth noting that we do not actually yet have approval for supervised FSD in Europe. So our sales in Europe, we think, will improve significantly once we are able to give customers the same experience that they have in the U.S.," Musk said. Related: Tesla driver gives damning testimony in fatal Autopilot crash trial "[FSD] really is the single biggest demand driver." But that doesn't explain why the company reported six months of falling market share. January YouGov polls showing 71% unfavorability ratings in Germany and the UK may explain the decline a bit more. One reason investors may have trouble swallowing Musk's assertion that a lack of FSD is the reason for falling European sales is the company's recent C-suite shakeup. Tesla reportedly fired Omead Afshar, its head of North American and European operations, in June following a massive drop in European EV deliveries. Afshar, who joined Tesla in 2017, was just promoted to the position in November. The Wall Street Journal described Afshar as one of Musk's closest confidants at the company. Tesla shares closed the week down about 4%, rallying sharply after the steep decline immediately following its earnings release. Related: Tesla fires longtime insider as Europe slump deepens The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
