A prince, an ambassador, senior diplomats, top politicians. All brought down by the Jeffrey Epstein files. And all in Europe, rather than the United States.

The huge trove of Epstein documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice has sent shock waves through Europe’s political, economic and social elites — dominating headlines, ending careers and spurring political and criminal investigations.

Former U.K. Ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson was fired and could go to prison. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a leadership crisis over the Mandelson appointment. Senior figures have fallen in Norway, Sweden and Slovakia. And, even before the latest batch of files, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of King Charles III, lost his honors, princely title and taxpayer-funded mansion.

  • hector@lemmy.today
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    9 hours ago

    No I am an american and it pisses me off I seem to be angrier about changes in the homeland than you guys are.

    Jury trials, right to protest, are bedrock, non negotiable values, that your politicians are the first in the west to cancel them should be a concern, not the least as the first to adopt these rights.

    • HamFistedVegan@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      I see. A lot of people do see it as concerning. We’ll see if it actually goes ahead. Many people have made their opposition to it clear.

      How do you feel about the current state of your own country and the values that seem to be at threat there, if I may ask?

      • hector@lemmy.today
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        8 hours ago

        Locking down the internet is a huge deal too, they are setting up every ip, every account, connected to a name and face and connected with all other information running it through half baked ai threat detection by companies like palantir to make secret social scores to determine everything. Not just there, everywhere, all this age verification, chatcontrol, it’s trojan horses, (or trojan sheep as the case may be,) to employ these new ai tools, to surrender the population to tech for a cut of the information, which will surrender your information to the US as well make no mistake. Obviously yours in the UK is “ours” already my special partner!

        Very concerned here obviously as one would guess. We are fucked, I don’t want to see Europe also fall to fascists that have every intention of fixing elections for the worst people in the world to remain in permanent control. We will be helping your fascists, secretly and openly, any confidential communications with other candidates, scandals, etc, you should presume the US is sharing with the fascists to help them win, it doesn’t matter how much starmer strokes off the president. All of these changes starmer makes are guarenteeing “reform” gets the vote for reform, just as the Republicans did here, as “our” politicians, labour and the democrats, are running as status quo and deeply unpopular and not trying to be popular.

        The west is going to fall like dominoes barring some real leadership that is not forthcoming because we somehow still trust the controlled opposition of the oligarchs that have captured all of our parties. The far right backed by Putin and now the US are the only ones running as reform, as populist albeit more fake populist as they are mostly scapegoating.

        We need real leaders now, even if in just one country, in the UK, in Europe, it can spread.

        • HamFistedVegan@lemmy.world
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          4 hours ago

          Locking down the internet is a huge deal too, they are setting up every ip, every account, connected to a name and face and connected with all other information running it through half baked ai threat detection by companies like palantir to make secret social scores to determine everything.

          Sorry, what? In the UK? I don’t believe that for a second, unless you have some irrefutable evidence for that. I could write an essay about why that’s not true.

          surrender your information to the US as well make no mistake.

          If that is happening it is by the design of the technology made by someone like Peter Thiel. The UK government would never knowingly allow such a thing to happen. There’s no benefit and they risk being ejected from government if found out. It sounds ridiculous to be honest, sorry.

          Very concerned here obviously as one would guess. We are fucked, I don’t want to see Europe also fall to fascists that have every intention of fixing elections for the worst people in the world to remain in permanent control. We will be helping your fascists, secretly and openly,

          Likewise! I am very concerned just how easily the US has fallen to the right wing spell. Steve Bannon has been shown in the Epstein files as linked to helping all sorts of right wing parties in Europe, including Reform. Luckily we at least have more stringent campaign funding rules that America’s “spend what you want”.

          That is the price America pays for ultimate freedom of speech. It is lauded as the peak of democracy there, yet that very protection is used to guarantee unlimited financing of political campaigns by PACS and the elite. It’s actually a weapon turned against the people. But yeah. Freeeedom.

          The west is going to fall like dominoes barring some real leadership that is not forthcoming because we somehow still trust the controlled opposition of the oligarchs that have captured all of our parties

          Not if citizens are wise to the manipulation tactics used i.e. social media. Many here are becoming aware. Rules are becoming more stringent. I have hope. Reform tend to do well in the less educated sectors of society. If we can educate them then they will see them for what they are. They thrive in poorer areas too. If the economy gets back to prospering then again, they will fade.

          We need real leaders now

          Mark Carney. His Davos speech was excellent. My hope os he starts taking the lead more with middle powers holding firm in the face of economic bullying from superpowers.

          America and China cannot survive alone. They need the middle powers still, just less than the middle ones individually need them. As a collective though they have power.

          My hope is the ties between EU countries grow stronger, hopefully we rejoin soon and we become a collective force.

          That or Trump passes away amd MAGA fade into civil war. That would be nice.