It looks as if China is gaining economic power and influence on politics in Hungary/Balkan, exactly as they have done…
Evening News
Today I want to tell you what the Orbán regime has prepared as state evening news on M1 ►HU
1 500 000 refugees from Ukraine, about 150 000 of them arrived in Hungary. Showing pictures how civil organisations and individuals help next to the border and the government’s spokeswoman is so proud of the NGOs – she just avoided this expression.
Szijjártó was allowed to make his claims about no soldiers for Ukraine, no weapons, no transport, terrible important: Energy!
Mariupol: No possibility to get civilians out of the city. Ukrainians said it would have been fired onto them. A Russian separatist was interviewed telling exactly how good the Russians did, he said the Ukrainians are liars, that Ukraine nationalists did not allow them to move out. They showed very few pictures from Irpiny and they broadcasted a bombed sporting complex in Kharkiv. Zelensky was shown with a very short statement out of one of his internet videos, but limited to a snippet where he mentioned a bombing on a military target only. The rest of his message was cut away. 12:30 minutes reporting up to here.
And very important that on the internet are false news, an exactly one year old telex article about double nationals in Ukraine has been linked yesterday! Followed by the explicit warning about this dangerous fact and to watch out that there in are wartime old news and “fake news on the internet!” Among the “leftliberal” papers that spread fake news were mentioned Nyugat, index (!!!!) and Portfolio. 2 minutes time took this reporting.
After 14 and a half minute the state news have reported about a leftist demonstration in front of the MTVA seat! Although several thousands were awaited only a few would have hundred arrived. The public news would be accused of spreading fake news, but in opposite to the fake news on internet portals the public news would report from all aspects. The leaders of the public media regard this demonstration as political pressure on the public stations. After showing Ákos Hadházy for a few seconds the video changed to a facebook entry of Péter Márki-Zay, where a comment of an unknown contributor stated “I saw on M1 in the no-comment section bombed houses …. no Russia-friendly propaganda.” Another called MZP for an end of “political tension”. Already in front of Russian owned IIB Márki-Zay would have called for ending the public media. A video was shown with only 4 words “Az MTVA-t állítsa le….” Hadházy was shown how he in 2018 broke in the TV station “violently” and went up a blocked stairs beyond the railing. They were brutal, threatening, and provocating the employees of the public media, while outside the demonstrator tried to burn a policeman. 4 minutes were used for this, mainly for the demonstration of 2018.
It followed a short part about a program collecting money for refugees from Ukraine and showing bank account numbers for donations. 30 seconds.
Next item. The left LMP has started a petition against Paks 2. A “left politician” has even called for stopping import of Russian gas. The government is shocked about what the left talks about. About Paks 2 and IIB Katalin Cseh (M) talked on ATV. Máté Kanász-Nagy (LMP) was shown talking about his party’s petition against Paks 2. And Márki-Zay was shown on a demonstration calling Orbán to end the permission procedure for Paks 2. He – according to the speaker in the video – would have demanded to endanger the energy security of Hungary. Later he would have spoken against himself that there would not be talked about not to deliver gas on Partizán. The latter is true, I covered that interview already. The Gyurcsány-list (!) candidate Olivio Kocsis-Cake (P) talked on ATV about cutting Putin off his income. Thereafter Szijjartó was shown with his comment that without gas there would not be heating and so on (I covered already ►EN.) The text under his talking was “dangerous leftist suggestions.” An Dániel Deák told that these suggestions of the leftist plans would destroy Hungary and he repeated that the left would make Hungary enter the war. Origo has calculated that our energy prices would quadruple. 4 minutes.
Another topic. We need only to “bear masks” for a few hours. We can “throw away our masks” and also the proof of vaccination remains just a part of our past. And a video how bad masks are in school, Gergely Gulyás was given much space to announce again. 2:30 minutes.
With an endless report on a music contest and some sport news ended the 30 minutes news on regime TV.
The part of reporting from Ukraine has proven again that M1 is broadcasting Russian propaganda. A separatist military leader gets broad space for explanations what happened in Mariupol in the professional setting for an official press statement, while the deranged looking Ukrainian official from the city gets only a few words about shootings on a terrible bad video. Irpiny was shown, but M1 did not mention that civilians have been murdered during the evacuations, because the Russians did not ceased the fire as promised. Zelensky only was shown with a single sentence that Russians have bombed Ukrainian military, yes, he said that next to many other things, pretty sure more important things. But this way it is very easy to “prove” that Russians only hit the Ukrainian military. Well, a sport facility was hit, but the endless number of destroyed houses? Not shown.
That the telex article (correctly written and dated as usual) has been copied is true. Telex has published a short note about this fact including that this has been spread by facebook exactly a year after it was published and that the content of the article is no longer true since in December last year Ukraine has passed a law overruling this decree telex reported about ►HU. Facebook’s news feed is not necessarily the best source! But at least the information is true, telex has reacted with own reporting, and the other portals have seen their error and removed the articles. Negative part is that this error occurred, error because it did not happen purposely, positive that this error was corrected and transparently reported about. Completely in opposite to the purposely spread fake news I am reporting about today.
Yes, the demonstration is political pressure on the state media. Pressure to do what they have to do. To fulfil their legal duty. This reporting is a clear proof how much fake news are spread by M1. They took 4 words of Péter Márki-Zay. “The MTVA must end….” these 4 words could mean to end the public TV services, at least if this would have been the entire sentence. But this sentence was longer than these 4 words. “The MTVA must end broadcasting this Russian propaganda” was the full sentence and it has already a very different meaning of course. With this strategy of cutting videos down until they seem to prove exactly what he likes Dániel Papp has earned the title as news falsifier. And of course the comment section of facebook is the source of truth, what commentators say is definitely the most important news on earth. FIDESZ voters and trolls are permanently commenting on MZP. To bring those comments on national TV is at least a remarkable proof. It proves how remarkable little fact based reporting is done on M1.
Of course Bernadett Szél and Ákos Hadházy wanted to enter the MTVA building in 2018. They both are members of parliament and have the right to do so. They were hindered to see someone from the news department. This is illegal, since as long as they don’t go into the studio where is at that moment broadcasted from and disturb the service they have the right to visit all the building, going into every office, since this is legally a public service and public services are under control of parliament. M1 has broadcasted not less than the fact that in 2018 security has hindered 2 MPs violently to exercise their rights blaming them to be burglars. Decent wording for a TV station that is explaining that they are not spreading propaganda.
And the burned police officer? In 2018 a piece of fireworks was lightened and it ended in a fence where a policeman was standing next to. While the use of firework was illegal of course this is not the same as an attempt of murder, what burning a police agent would have been.
Yes, Unity for Hungary wants to stop Paks 2. The European parliament wants to stop Paks 2. Even FIDESZ MEPs including Tamás Deutsch want to stop Paks 2. LMP has started a petition to stop Paks 2. Kocsis-Cake has called to end financing Putin, I just can’t reconstruct his original wording and in opposite to the 4 words of MZP I did not watch that program and this makes it very hard to find his exact wording. Éva once wrote about the racist attacks from FIDESZ on him. In opposite of M1 making him standing on a list only I have to state that he is MP on a MSZP-P ticket since 2018, did not run for district candidate and is number 49 on the list of Unity for Hungary. Of course there is no Gyurcsány-list standing for election. Is MTVA paying a premium for using his name? This complete news post is complete regime propaganda, even forbids thinking about Paks 2 and or gas purchases from Russia, the minister got space for having his say (his sentences were complete and he was allowed to say more than 4 words in a row) and “experts” were telling that the opposition is going to ruin our economy and to destroy the entire country. I just ask myself where our economy would be if not robbed by Orbán.
And now what happened on the demonstration: Hadházy has pointed out that Orbán can have his say at all the times, while the other candidate running for PM Márki-Zay mustn’t even enter the MTVA building (indeed, since he is not member of parliament he has no legal right to enter all public services.) A concrete call was to stop Russian propaganda and to admit the opposition candidates to the public media. László Varju (MSZP) said that the martyrs of 56 would rotate in the graves when they knew how much Ukraine is attacked on public TV for their fight for freedom. Tímea Szabó (P) confirmed that Dániel Papp would be right, the public media are independent. They are “independent of all opposition politicians, all critical civilians, and all the millions of Hungarian citizens left behind by the FIDESZ government over the past 12 years.” Balázs Bende’s quotation: “In this institution [public TV] they do not support the oppositional coalition” was repeated from the stage. MZP spoke about that with his lost elections in 2002 Orbán decided that the free press caused this loss.
He reminded a long row of lies spread from MTVA, including his kindergarten nanny who said that MZP as child in her group was “stupid as 6 pair of police boots,” just that he went to another kindergarten. Or about the attacks of groups of persons he never attacked. But that the public media do not mention with a word the scandals of FIDESZ, about being the 2nd poorest country in the EU where the largest share of poor people live, about the number of covid deaths, the record state debt. Orbán has lost all his so-called wars on deficit, migrants, against Brussels or covid, should we allow him to govern under a real war in our neighbourhood ►HU?
The Great Wall Motors will build a car factory near Pécs on a 6 km^2 territory. https://www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/orban-es-hszi-csin-ping-egyutt-jelenthetik-be-hogy-a-great-wall-motors-epit-autogyarat-pecs-mellett/32922206.html
From July 1, Hungarian (i.e. European) green cards are again for sale for a 250,000 euro loan to the Hungarian…
Chinese president Xi will visit Orbanistan on May 8. https://www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/gulyas-gergely-a-kinai-elnok-ketnapos-latogatasra-erkezik-magyarorszagra/32920314.html
Orban's son-in-law has secretly obtained another piece of public land, a former children's hospital and its large garden in the…
Orban’s March 7 decree:
permits the stationing of NATO troops, but only west of the Danube;
does not permit lethal aid to go to Ukraine from the territory of Hungary;
permits lethal aid to cross Hungary into a third country;
permits gasoline and medical aid to go directly to Ukraine
Magyar Közlöny 2022. évi 43. szám
https://magyarkozlony.hu/
Refugees leaving Ukraine today (so far) by car (live official Ukrainian data from the Customs Service)
# of cars
Poland: 3720
Romania: 530
Moldova: 244
Slovakia: 210
Hungary: 100
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=49.10009161820485%2C25.739359328267497&z=7&mid=1JXuZtKb8jETJ7kkRoCUGHbScFoGDl8HK
Biggest buyers of Russian and Ukrainian wheat in 2019.
in billions of dollars
from Russia + from Ukraine
Egypt: 2.550 + 0.685
Turkey: 1.400+ 0.207
Indonesia: 0 + 0.603
Bangladesh: 0.525 + 0
Nigeria: 0.394 + 0
Azerbaijan: 0.264 + 0
Tunisia: 0 + 0.242
All countries combined: 8.14 + 3.11
Biggest exporters of wheat in 2019:
Russia: 18.4%
US: 15.7%
Canada: 13.5%
France: 10.3%
Ukraine: 7.0%
Australia: 6.1%
Argentina: 5.5%
Romania: 3.7%
Biggest importers of wheat in 2019:
Egypt: 10.6%
Indonesia: 5.2%
Turkey: 4.9%
Italy: 3.8%
Philippines: 3.7%
https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/wheat#exporters-importers
Corn exporters in 2019:
US: 22.9%
Brazil: 20.4%
Argentina: 17.1%
Ukraine: 13.1%
France: 3.8%
Romania: 3.7%
Hungary: 2.3%
https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/corn#trade
Biggest exporters of seed oil:
Ukraine: 34%
Russia: 20%
Netherlands: 5.2%
Argentina: 5.0%
Hungary: 4.6%
Turkey: 4.5%
https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/seed-oils
This morning while I was still making my moring coffee I had on Chicago’s local National Public Radio station. One of their reporters Leila Fadel interviewed Mariana Budjeryn, a Ukrainian and a nuclear expert at Harvard University Belfer Center. She has an extremely impressive biography https://www.belfercenter.org/person/mariana-budjeryn . The full interview can be listened to here http://m1.npr.org/2022/03/07/1084870846/russian-forces-are-advancing-on-a-3rd-power-plant-ukraines-president-says .
Most of the interview discusses the Russian take over of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, the dangers involved, and what she believes the rational is for the Russians doing this. Then towards the end of the interview she says something that even I had not fully contemplated, she says essentially Putin is experiencing so many casualties among his troops trying to take major Ukrainian cities that he faces some real possibility of at least a partial defeat which is unacceptable to him. It could cause his to something very radical.
On the casualty issue the Ukrainian military command is now claiming the Russians have 11,000 combat dead so far and no estimate of the number wounded see https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-over-11000-russian-troops-killed-war-2022-03-06/ . Even if the Ukrainian estimates of Russian losses in combat are overestimated radically, essentially doubled those losses are huge by any measure. Every US Army officer, including this retired officer, studies the WWII Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, it is a lesson in not counting your enemy out until they are essentially dead to honest. But relevant to the current war the Battle of the Bulge lasted from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. the US dead from that battle was about 19,000. This was a massive battle involving hundreds of thousands of combat troops lasting over one month, which indicates how relatively huge Russian casualties in the war in Ukraine may be with much more to still come.
Mariana Budjeryn then says in her interview that Putin may choose use a tactical nuclear weapon on a Ukrainian city to try to force a surrender by the government, essentially in way similar to what US forces did to Japan in WWII, which she did not say but came immediately to my mind.
From the post today, which was very interesting to me because I rarely watch M1 news, but rather the maybe even crazier HirTv. What is obvious from our host’s post today is that not only is the news being presented to the Hungarian people slanted in favor of the Russians with deep sympathy expressed for refugees, but the potential for a radical expansion of this war is being kept from the people. I would also argue that a similar thing is happening here in the USA relating to the potential for this conflict to go nuclear, if it is discussed always it is talked about in terms of avoiding World War III. But most people here have no concept of what even tactical nuclear warfare in Central Europe would mean, nor do they even contemplate what war with Russia at a strategic level would mean.
Clearly Orban does not grasp that Hungary will not be spared if things go very wrong, Putin will not be nice to Hungary if the missiles start flying, Hungary is after all a NATO country. It seems profoundly clear that Orban and his followers see a future of a defeated and devastated Ukraine under the control of Putin with the world going on including international trade. Maybe even some Fidesz oligarchs can get some contracts rebuilding a new Russian controlled Ukraine. They do not contemplate it going nuclear, they do not contemplate the possibility of a protracted war against Russian occupation supported by NATO countries that could face retaliatory attacks by Russia in many ways. Orban and Fidesz are using assumptions that very well may not exist in the years to come.
https://www.facebook.com/orbanviktor/videos/1298730303980969/?t=55 Orban’s video formalizing Hungary’s ban on shipping weapons across the border to support Ukraine.
Here is a translated post from Orban’s facebook video from a Fidesz supporter: “The many faceless commentators who have nothing else to do but attack Orbán this way and Orbán that way, grow up (especially) those who carried the Ukrainian flag in their tracks. You scold the government with foamy mouths so that we do not have to pay the price of the war that America has, fighting with the Russians. Then you would be really angry if we paid four times the price for gas, so we have nothing to do with the war. I live near the border, unlike many others, we see the situation in broad daylight. We help in any way we can. But you monkeys with the Ukrainian flag profile, nothing will change if you advertise your hatred of Orban and Putin with your big vest.”
This poster is fully indoctrinated in the Fidesz line. Hungary by hiding can avoid the consequences of the war across the border. The idea that the commentator who lives near the Ukrainian border will suffer from potential nuclear fall out is never contemplated. There are many posts like this one and many obvious response posts from supporters of the opposition, but even they seem not to contemplate where this could all be going.
Yes, it is amazing how people stay in line with the regime. But don´t forget many are not aware that we are developing backwards here; less democracy, less press freedom, and the propaganda media blaming the EU sanctions for bad economic developments, and not the attack from the Russian dictator on Ukraine.
https://444.hu/2022/03/07/varga-mihaly-a-magyar-forint-a-brusszeli-szankciok-aldozata
These people writing these posts may be real fideszniks, profit from the regime, or are paid for by the regime to post. Propaganda comes from everywhere.
https://444.hu/2022/03/07/zavartalanul-promozza-tovabb-a-fideszes-teve-a-putyinista-propagandaoldalt
https://www.lakmusz.hu/a-putyinista-orbanista-facebook-oldal-most-epp-az-ellenzekrol-posztolt-hamisitott-videot/
And then there are the Telex articles about the politics of the MTI, worth reading.
This article in the nemzet today is full of lies, but the title is kind of weird regarding where Hungary is heading to in the last 12v years. It is almost campaigning for the opposition (:
https://magyarnemzet.hu/belfold/2022/03/a-fejlesztesek-iranya-csak-akkor-lesz-tarthato-ha-az-orban-kormany-marad
In the HS-days, a lot of the debate addressed the appearent submission and lack of public debate in HU.
“National” excuses prevailed.
The Russian occupied half of Izyum today. They almost encircled the Ukrainian forces in the northern Lugansk region.
If they can land south of Odessa, they can connect to the Russian troops in Transnistria, and besiege Odessa from all 3 land directions in addition to the sea.
If Odessa is captured, Ukraine will not have any outlet to the Black Sea and will have difficulty exporting its corn and sunflower oil surplus – it will become dependent on Russia even after a cease fire.
German chancellor Scholz:
“Supplying Europe with energy for heat generation, mobility, electricity supply and industry cannot be secured” without import from Russia.
I do not understand. If the Germans are so green, they should be able to live without Russian oil and gas. Gasoline prices may quadruple, but people would use cars less, that is just great against global warming. Germany could also turn back the 3 atomic power plants that were switched off on January 1.
Putin got free hand to finish off Ukraine.
Military green light (US): we will not support Ukraine in Ukrainian soil lest American soldiers should die.
Economic green light (Germany): we will not support real embargo against Russia, we need their crude oil lest our gasoline prices should go higher.
If the Ukrainians keep killing Russian infantrymen, tankers, and air personnel at the current rate Putin will have a very weakened military by the time he takes all the cities he has under siege. There is a possibility Putin could end up very dead at the hands of his own security services eventually.
There are so many frightening possibilities how this could all turn out it must be exhausting the US NSA staff and their contractors.
My daughter who is a US Army Reserve officer has been in Poland for over three weeks now assisting the 82nd airborne with civil affairs. She did say there has been a problem with abandonment of some young Ukrainian children in Poland. Overall the EU has been according to her transferring refugees from the border areas very fast and providing temporary residency.
Her understanding is the US is currently only accepting 10,000 refugees, but there is legislation to accept more than that she heard about from a visiting US Congresswoman.
Soon he will find that he will have to.
Germany has been been suspect for Russian complicity for decades. Remember OSTPOLITIK?
Ostpolitik? When Western Germany established a co-operation with Eastern Germany in favour of the people living in the East it was Russian complicity? Enabling that families in both parts were able to see each other was Russian complicity? Accepting borders in Europe a Russian complicity? Establishing embassies in Warsaw or Prague was Russian complicity? The USA, France, and the UK did the latter 2 long before Western Germany did, was that Russian complicity?
I think you have to read a bit more about OSTPOLITIK before you condemn it.
With roughly 50 % of produced electricity being Germany doesn’t make a chance to be independent from energy imports now. Enlargement of capacities is planned, but what is targeted for the mid 2030s can’t be reached within weeks. Coal might be a part of the solution, there are power plants kept in working conditions for being prepared for high demands. Digging for coal could be continued in Germany instead of phasing out. Buying elsewhere might be possible as well. Reactivating nuclear power plants would demand to fuel them as well. Nuclear fuel rods are not highly standardised and production needs more than a year. It is not as at a petrol station where you just need to decide between regular and diesel. Oil might be no serious problem, there are enough capacities world-wide. Gas is even more complicated. A huge part of the houses would need new boilers to heat the houses. Industry would need to supply them before next winter, citizens need to buy them and still in times of shortage of skilled workers they must be installed and energy distribution must be connected. A few days ago I linked an article of G7 showing that without gas deliveries from Russia the storage in all Europe would be empty in February 2023. Germany declared to build 2 LNG terminals. But how long will building them take? Years! Distribution through the EU should be not the big problem, just the inflow is right now pretty much limited. Cutting gas delivery now must not mean to beg Putin next year to deliver again. This would be way worse than keeping gas flowing. However, it might be that this won’t be a decision of Germany or the EU. Russia threatens already with shutting down North Stream (1.) Whatever happens Putin is right now pushing us as entire EU very hard into the direction of getting independent of Russian energy. He has shown us much more important reasons to get green than some flooded islands in the Pacific ocean ever would have been.
“It’s the economy, stupid” or rather “Es ist die Wirtschaft, Dummkopf”…
The possibility of a cease fire where parts of Ukraine remain intact is very optimistic Tappanch’ based on my understanding of the dilemma Putin has created for himself. With very significant losses he can’t anymore leave any form of an autonomous Ukraine in place.
I have no idea if Putin has any vision for a destroyed Ukraine, Putin on Saturday did say “ If they continue to do what they are doing, they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood. And if this happens, it will be entirely on their conscience.”
Ukraine minus the Donietsk basin, the Black Sea coast, minus the military industry (north-east: Kharkov) would be a Russian protectorate, a week country militarily, in my opinion.
Not if a protracted warfare strategy is implemented by Ukraine’s surviving forces. Putin is well aware of that possibility so I doubt he would agree to any surviving state without completion of his so called plan for elimination of nazis, in reality any Ukrainian patriot whether on the right or the left.
A short while ago a senior U.S. defense official briefed the US media that Russia has now deployed “nearly 100%” of the combat power that it had massed on Ukraine’s borders, and that Russia has launched over 625 missiles into Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
The official said the Pentagon can confirm reports that Russia is recruiting Syrian mercenaries to fight in Ukraine, though they could not comment on the size or success of the effort.
“We find it noteworthy that [Putin] believes he needs to rely on foreign fighters to supplement what is a very significant commitment of combat power inside Ukraine as it is,” the official said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered an additional 500 U.S. troops to deploy to Europe this weekend to shore up NATO’s eastern flank, bringing the total number of U.S. service members stationed in Europe to approximately 100,000.
In Cold War times many, including me, believed that if it came to conventional war the Russian/Warsaw pact forces wouldn’t perform. The Ukraine war may prove to be an illustration that things have not improved, thank goodness.
Syrian mercenaries? What a prospect?
Big changes in the number of eligible voters between 9 AM and 10 PM on March 7 !
10 PM [9 AM]
Választópolgárok száma
Az adatok frissítve: 2022. március 7. 22:05:16
[ Az adatok frissítve: 2022. március 7. 09:00:00]
Lakóhelyük szerinti szavazókörben névjegyzékbe vettek száma
7 695 869 [7 702 694] fő
Más belföldi szavazókörbe átjelentkezettek száma
44 676 [40 218] fő
Külképviseleti névjegyzékbe vettek száma
30 350 [27 983] fő
Eligible voters with Hungarian address:
7695869+44676+30350 = 7770895
[7702694+40218+27983 = 7770895]
including
BUDAPEST
1 284 137 [1 283 172] fő
Eligible voters without Hungarian address:
A levélben szavazásra jogosultak száma
449 704 [399 325] fő
https://vtr.valasztas.hu/ogy2022/valasztasi-informaciok/valasztopolgarok-szama
Should we understand this as an admission that Orbán is scared of losing the election?
Orbán is scared of elections since 2002. At least. He regards a united opposition as serious threat at least since last summer. The voters presents started with the announcements of earlier paying the 13th pension than planned and massive tax breaks. Now he is moving around voters for remaining in power against the decision the voters might take.