CPACK started in Budapest! An illustrious group of right wingers was greeted first by some priests (and rabbis ...) and…
May 1st, 2023
As I am not part of any Catholic denomination or doctrine, there is no way I can relate to whatever…
Since Melania and Donald formally met with the Pope I suspect her transgressions may also have been forgiven.
Melania Trump is a Slovenian Catholic, but it is unclear if she attends mass at any parish. It is clear…
But wait, Donald Trump’s wife Melania hosted a closed-door fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago not long ago for the Log Cabin Republicans,…
(in)famous last words of the pope in Hungary:
Common to both those ‘isms’ is a false notion of freedom. Communism offered a ‘freedom’ that was restricted, limited from without, determined by someone else. Consumerism promises a hedonistic, conformist, libertine ‘freedom’ that enslaves people to consumption and to material objects”, the pope said.
Source: dailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/pope-francis-left-hungary-but-mocked-globalism-first/
Freedom? No, of course you have to do what the pope says – or the catholic priest, especially if you are a minor …
Luckily the importance of churches is tending to zero – in Germany alone several 100 000 people are leaving the churches evry year (around half of them catholics.
And the best news:
They no longer have to pay church tax!
It is just stunning to me how Pope Francis went during his visit to Hungary on a diatribe against consumerism as having been the end point of the transition from a command economy. Really not one word that I have seen about racism, not one word about Hungary’s astounding level of hostility to it LBTQ community when he has already spoken out against persecution against that community in other countries. (see for example https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/pope-francis-homosexuality-not-crime-criticizes-unjust-anti-gay-laws-rcna67352)
What are the laws passed to supposedly to protect children in Hungary from LBTQ propaganda? We all know about the four-question referendum asked the public if they support the “promotion” of content related to sexual orientation to children. Essentially, the referendum is asking people whether they want their children exposed to homosexual propaganda in school and the media. None of the questions reached the required threshold of 50% of registered voters casting a valid “yes” or “no” vote (4,107,652) in order for the referendum to be declared valid and binding. Yet Fidesz passed their laws anyway.
It included questions like: “Do you support minors being shown, without any restriction, media content of a sexual nature that is capable of influencing their development?” Orban is urged citizens to vote “no.” Indeed, the questions are worded so that any reasonable person would say “no” to them.
The referendum comes on the back of an Orban government law introduced last summer – the so-called Child Protection Act – which severely violates young people’s right to access information about minority sexualities and LGBTQ people.
I have to say the Pope’s avoidance of critical issues in Hungary on this trip as a progressive American Catholic is deeply depressing. I had some delusional hopes that he might in a creeping manner introduce some changes in my deeply troubled Church that I was born into.
Not surprisingly the Fidesz controlled media in Hungary sees the Pope’s visit as a total victory for Fidesz policies. So do I to be honest.
He possibly turned a blind eye to all that because Hungary “wants peace, not war” in Ukraine?
Yet the Pope at least in theory defends the Ukrainian right to exist as a nation state and resist occupation.
I don’t disagree with Pope Francis that this war has become a bloodbath fought using largely military tactics going back to WWI. I doubt the Ukrainians will achieve their grand objective of liberating all of occupied Ukraine in a spring offensive. Most likely the Russians may retreat to some degree but the slaughter will go on most likely.
Many thoughtful insights regarding importance of speaking out regarding racism and/or anti LGBT.
Sadly, the Pope missed opportunities to show leadership. Additionally, I read your comments about Ukraine with great interest given partial family origins there. I don’t often comment, but I do read your comments and those of still others.
Misi bácsi
Historian Krisztián Ungváry, is presenting a series of twelve lectures in Budapest on history based on documented facts in the 19th and 20th centuries relating to controversies in Hungarian history.
Telex has been publishing articles about these lectures. The latest one is about Hungary’s stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine (https://telex.hu/tudomany/2023/04/29/ungvary-krisztian-orosz-ukran-haboru-tortenelem-propaganda-alhirek-narrativak-cafolat)
I found it challenging to read in Hungarian with my limited knowledge of some of the phrasing and Ungváry makes many interesting arguments in defense of Ukraine and in opposition to the current position of the Orban government.
One thing I did like about Ungváry‘s lecture as summarized by Telex was the fact he does not idealize Zelensky’s Ukraine of today.
Many of the major US News services turn contemporary Ukraine into a heroic nation marching down the road to freedom. This part of the article shows Ungváry‘s more critical approach:
“As for oligarchic rule: the oligarchs do have political weight in Ukraine, as they do everywhere in Eastern Europe. “Hungary has the least reason to regurgitate this,” said Ungváry. – Seen from here, where a gas fitter is the richest man in the country, such an accusation would sound like praise. In Ukraine, in contrast to Hungary, a new government was formed at every election, the presidents do not serve three terms, and mass demonstrations overthrew a seemingly established system three times.”
I think this long Telex summary of the lecture is well worth reading.
Remember CPAC?
The extreme right wingers’ conference will be back in Hungary this weekend.
I don’t have the time nor energy to look at them but it surely will be fun …
Wolfi you may find this article of interest https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/matt-schlapp-cpac-sexual-misconduct-allegation
This article about the Schlapp family is from before the sex scandal broke https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-two-old-school-washington-insiders-became-the-cool-kids-of-trumpism/2017/03/19/5b79f8c8-0440-11e7-b1e9-a05d3c21f7cf_story.html
Both of the Schlapps are supposedly devout Catholics and have a large family. The LBTQ media in the USA has discussed Matt Schlapp as being exploitive of other gay men still in the closet.
In some ways it is like the scandal involving Jozsef Szajer, a top member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party who was arrested at a gay sex party in Brussels during the Covid lockdown.
The LBTQ media in the USA has an ethical dilemma “outing” right wing politicians who are rumored to be closeted gay men with marriages and families. But there are likely some other Trump supporting Republicans who espouse homophobic rhetoric who are also leading a hidden gay life.
One often discussed is US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Istvan, Thanks a lot, a really interesting and kind of funny article. Just two examples:
Schlapp threatened to “go a little bit Hungarian” on the media, referencing the country’s animosity toward unfriendly press.
Re those accusations:
Do you know the meaning of the German word schlapp?
It’s “limp” so obviously those allegations of sexual misconduct can’t be true …
Or his genes did not follow the ancestors. I assume his good Catholic Cuban American anti-communist wife wasn’t having affairs with her compassionate priest who helped her reproductive obligations to the faith that would be the scandal to top them all for the Trump movement.
Surely not a scandal… just par for the course in the trumpian world
CPAC?
Check here – https://hungarian.news/wordpress/index.php/2023/04/15/april-15th-2023/#comment-5035 – some of it’s line-up
…impressive *ssh*l*s, ot?
deleted, little error.
Congratulations!
Hungary made it to rank 72 on the Media Freedom Index
https://rsf.org/en/index
This interview/podcast with the General Milley the current chairman of the US Joint chiefs for staff is actually pretty profound. Its long but I think Milley is as honest as he can possibly be.https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/how-to-avoid-great-power-war-mark-milley
For CPAC in Budapest I have a recommendation, one who knows what white morality means, because not so long ago the Pope wanted to bring morality to Budapest. What morality they were talking about is not fully known. “‘It’s Not How White Men Fight’” means Tucker Carlson whom Hungarianvoice once wanted to invite, out of resentment, to get to know the “real” that of Hungarianvoice, Hungary. What prompted Tucker to write this text message was probably panic. “It was three against one, at least.” wrote Tucker probably three white against one black. He has been hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. Tucker Carlson brings all the prerequisites to represent Fidesz and and perhaps a large part of the population.
Yes Tucker used that language in a text message. Of course being white in the USA I have heard similar things said over the years, usually among white working class people.
Of course my own father who was a boy during Chicago’s great 1919 race riot when violence escalated with each incident, and for 13 days Chicago was without law and order despite the fact that the state militia had been called out on the fourth day. By the end, 38 were dead (23 Blacks, 15 whites), 537 injured, and 1,000 Black families made homeless.
My father, grandfather, and great uncle all deeply disliked Black people. The truth is there is a great deal of racial racial hostility in the USA, so Trucker’s comment was not surprising to me.
In the Army I even heard it from fellow officers about Black soldiers.
Istvan I thought of morality. The morality of the liars, the racists, the self-proclaimed kings, all those who put forward morality. Assuming what can be assumed as a fackt Jesus was a Black man. Your family worships Jesus the deeply disliked Black people. “Where is the bubble now” with the Catholic Church whose flock hate blacks and gays at that.
Of course I have never seen in a Hungarian Catholic Church any image of Jesus Christ who was Semitic.
All scholars agree as a Jew Jesus would likely never have looked the way he has been presented to Roman Catholics.
Research on ancient skeletons in Palestine suggests that Judeans of the time were biologically closer to Iraqi Jews/Persian Jews than to any other contemporary population, according to specialist bio historian Yossi Nagar.
Thus, in terms of physical appearance, the average Judean of the time would have likely had brown or even black hair, olive skin, and brown eyes. Judean men of the time period were on average about 1.65 metres or 5 feet 5 inches in height.
Scholars have also suggested that it is likely Jesus had short hair and a beard, in accordance with Jewish practices of the time and the appearance of philosophers.
The possibility exists, he was supposedly an itinerant preacher and was probably then often exposed to the sun. He certainly did not count as a white man.
As various aspects of a very real war play out in Ukraine,
some attention might perhaps be devoted to this solidly documented account (contrasting blank Russian allegations of “Western disinformation”). This documentary, based on previously classified information raises serious questions.
Anyone familiar with Baltic history, will recognize a pattern of cold war familiarity.
But in today’s world, the non-Russian allies in and around the Baltic have multiple intelligence resources, superior to Russian capability at their disposal, and they don’t shy away from sharing information after a time of secret processing.
The big question is, why don’t the Russians just lay out what they were doing at the scene of the crime? It’s been a year, almost, and all they have done is to blame many others, without any credible evidence.
Russian ‘ghost ships’ with underwater capabilities circled Nord Stream explosion site, documentary claims | World News | Sky News
The pathetic Balázs Bende admits that Hungarians are right-wing Nazis and finds it OK. Who would have thought that … the public media are not dictated by Orban they are just of the same opinion as Orban. 😀
It’s about the journalists Franziska Tschinderle Eva wrote a post about it at the time. It was about simple questions around the Hungarian official foundation of a new right-wing radical party in the EU, which should unite all like-minded, Meloni and Co. Questions about this were considered an insult by the Hungarians. Does Balázs Bende even understand what he says and writes … obviously not! 😀
Another contribution from Eva about Balázs Bende „… He was compared with his colleagues in North Korea … “ 😀 „Let’s add that Balázs Bende in 1993 was the happy recipient of a scholarship, financed by the head of the Soros Empire, to attend the Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts.“ 😀
Something else from the Nazis on the Danube “This weekend, Budapest is due to play host to an event that far-right extremists have bragged online will be “the biggest radical nationalist event since coronavirus.” “
Who has desire on a few pictures of CPAC look. Exceptionally underground “no woke zone” is written in an arch over the entrance … It is certainly an insane success, after all, they only need a few words, Soros-man-woman-migrant-gender even if it sounds like grunting, the clientele wants to hear only that.
Thanks, Don!
In Germany right now I feel so distinct from these little unimportant fascists.
Don’t they realize that everybody’s laughing about them?
Their dreams of taking the whole EU to the far right are really funny …
In Hungary, the poor already pay the majority in terms of numbers the rich pay as much as the poor or even nothing. It’s like the Garden of Eden … for a few.
I feel the same way when I’m in Germany, I feel free, here I have the feeling of a sword of Damocles since Fidesz.
Democracy in Germany still seems healthy enough to keep the far-right, parasitic infections under control.
In Hungary, the democracy never achieved a functional level of immunity. Democratic health there, is at a level where the parasite cynically keeps the host alive.
OV: No…! No…! No…!
EU: No EU Money [for you]!
https://twitter.com/daniel_freund/status/1654146790982135808
Could be used as alternative lyrics for this… [imho horrible, euh, music, but popular], so say NO NO NO NO NO NO, there’s NO money for You-ou!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6FVk2k4qsM&t=58s
Whether or not the drone attack supposedly targeting Putin personally was staged by Russia or not. Today Putin’s PR guy Dmitry Peskov claimed the attack was authorized by the government of the United States,
Peskov‘s direct quote broadcast throughout Russia on state media in translation is as follows: “Such decisions – the definition of goals, the definition of means, and so on – all this is dictated to Kyiv from Washington, and we are well aware of this.”
I have seen speculation overnight among retired US military officers of an eventual Russian hypersonic (Kinzhal) missile attack on the Pecherskyi District of Kyiv.
Pechersk is considered the political center of the city and the phrase “Pechersk Hills” became a metonym for the Ukrainian government and/or political elite. This refers to many branches of the Government of Ukraine, such as the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), the office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (formerly the Ukrainian SSR cabinet), and the Supreme Court of Ukraine, which are situated close to each other.
Most of the US Air Force officers who suggested this possibility thought the Russians would arm the hypersonic missiles with conventional warheads. As they did on the March 7th attack on Odesa which President Biden confirmed on March 9.
It is not known how many Kinzhal missiles the Russians have available for deployment. It would take multiple missiles armed with conventional warheads to level Pecherskyi District according to those officers.
Generally the retired Air Force officers who speculated on a possible Kinzhal missile attack on the governmental heart of Ukraine had doubts about either the Ukrainians or the USA detecting the launching with sufficient time for Ukrainian officials to descend to bomb shelters. It is generally conceded none of the interceptor systems the Ukrainians have can take out the Russian Kinzhals, President Biden indicated in March he believed the hypersonic missiles we’re currently not stoppable.
The so-called attack has to be a classic piece of Russian destructive misinformation. Not worth the time it takes to discuss it.
The pictures shown from the so-called attack, only show a flying object which ignites a pyrotechnical device (like a movie effect) at an altitude ensuring visibility and high enough not to cause any harm. Nothing to do with a real weapon. A hand-grenade strapped to a drone and set to detonate on impact would have been something else.
Unfortunately fake or not there is a real possibility more attempts will be made by the Russians to kill President Zelensky based on what is being broadcast in Russia today. Up to now since the start of the Russian invasion when the Russian Spetsnaz special forces made a real and very serious attempt to kill Zelensky and his family(see https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10766293/Ukraine-war-Russian-troops-came-minutes-killing-Zelensky-early-days-war.html) real Russian efforts to kill Preseident Zelensky stopped.
So at least here in the USA all of this is not taken pretty seriously.
Stopped? – When?
I imagine a real and serious Russian threat on Zelenskyy’s life has existed since he won the election in 2019.
Remember Yuschenko?
After their failure a year ago at the start of the invasion, the Russians stopped most direct attempts to kill Zelensky.
So for example the Russians have not attacked his rail car coming and going from Western Europe. It is safe to assume using satellite surveillance the Russians have an idea when Zelensky is traveling.
I have heard that this drone does not have the range to make it there from Ukraine. Ergo, the drone must have been launched on Russian territory.
Yes likely true, but it appears there is a Russian speaking Ukrainian underground operating in Russia capable of launching a drone. So it could be a Russian operation or it could be a covert operation by the Ukrainians.
“Russian operation” they launch a piff over the Kremlin to drop a nuke?
So far that seems unlikely. But one problem could be that the hypersonic missiles being used on a few occasions had nuclear warheads removed and replaced with conventional ones.
That of course could lead to an error by the Russians.
Then we are off to the nightmare escalation crisis.
During the Cold War I saw the US nuclear artillery shells for our 155mm howitzers. They were painted distinctively and kept in separate bunkers in both Germany and Italy and highly monitored.
I don’t know about how the Russians are dealing with security anymore.
Cordon Breaking
top [2006] – during “left-wing” police terror
bottom [2023] – during “right-wing” democracy
This is a very good example of symptomatic behavior in a population, after many years of being subjected to destructive and chaotic disinformation and propaganda, let alone criminal abuse of power – People don’t know what to believe about anything, especially not themselves and their role in a democratic system.
The “patient” is extremely ill.
In case anyone should be in doubt about the level of integral, national democratic decay in the state of Hungary – An EU country, fundamentally confused about its home on the planet:
Hungary’s far-right PM calls for Trump’s return: ‘Come back, Mr President’ | Viktor Orbán | The Guardian
History is known, but internally disputed.
Present reality is known, but internally disputed.
“Forced ‘Freedom’ of Not Reporting”
At CPAC Hungary the importance of free speech is highlighted, meanwhile kicking out an accredited journalist.
https://twitter.com/floragaramvolgy/status/1654436399800545280
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/05/cpac-hungary-kari-lake-rightwing-press-freedom
Truly like one of the speakers said: “[with illiberals] It’s always opposite…”
Freedom of Speech= Forced to Shut UpTalking of Peace= Rewarding Aggression and WarVery simple, it’s always THEIR freedom – to have guns, to shoot anyone, to lie, to rape anyone and so on …
All those minorities they hate shouldn’t be free in their world.
German media report on the CPAC allowing only extreme right wing representatives like Maaßen (Former head of the constitution police) and other fascists.
So of course German media cannot report on the conference except taking some of their “info”.
Cooperating with all those extremist loonies also from other countries Fidesz is seen as a fascist party now all over Europe.
For those who can read German a very good article – also naming all the fascists from all over the world who participated at the conference:
https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/kontraste/ultrakonservative-rechtsextreme-ungarn-usa-100.html
Crazy!
But Fidesz is happy …
This article https://magyarnemzet.hu/belfold/2023/05/hamarosan-interjut-ad-orban-viktor-kovesse-nalunk-eloben paraphrases Orban: “According to him (Orban), a nuclear power cannot be defeated in a war, and the Russians will not stand idly by as they are attacked or their president is assassinated.”
Orban also according to Magyar Nemzet indicated that Soros played a role in the war in Ukraine, Soros “always dreamed of somehow setting foot in Ukraine and gaining access to Russia’s natural resources.” So apparently Orban has transformed himself from being a gypsy horse trader to a gypsy mind reader/ fortune teller.
Hungary is always attacked according to Orban’s gusto. So easy to see through for non-Hungarians. The “ősi magyar föld” was stolen anyway.
Orban´s Groupie „Tucker Carlson ready to torch Fox News“. 😀 Let them fight! Maybe someone will tell the people that Fox News is the equivalent of Orban’s media conglomerate?
Living in Western Europe, outside the paranoid bubble of far-right conspiracy theories-turned-official-narrative, where Russian and American disinformation campaigns are mapped and tracked, many scams exposed, discussed and met with cold analysis (thank Trump’s diplomatic corps for a new, cool EU view on American media) – the stories coming out of Hungary sound increasingly grotesque/burlesque, bizzarre and derailed, if not downright idiotic – but they are recorded, globally sourced, timelined and filed.
These stories attract very little public attention here (some more in the very conservative GB), as conspiracy-based arguments don’t pass fact checks and many qualified journalists see a meaningful purpose in digging deeper for the dirt.
Should the day arise where Orbán and Co. would be held responsible by the Hungarian public (unlikely, I admit, since they love him and forgive), all possible evidence will be available.
Michael, everyone is the architect of his own fortune. Now one sees well the direction in which it goes. Not that it was different in the past, just not as visible. A circumstance that we owe to the arrogance to belief to be able to ignore everything and this loudly and publicly. The question is rather, will they eat their own soup this time or again not as always in history.
I’m not clear what you mean by the “very conservative GB” (assume Great Britain?). If so, which part of GB do you think is ‘very conservative’? My own view is that political orientations and identities (GB and elsewhere) are more complex and contradictory than this suggests… but I would be interested to know your thinking here.
I don’t live in Great Britain, but have visited several parts of the country and Ireland. Also, I’ve worked with several British collegues. My overall impression is one of deep traditional conservatism – with nuances, of course, but conservatism, even in working-class communities.
I don’t see Brexit as a coincidence at all.
No, I don’t live there either but when I go I get quite a diffrent impression from yours, younger people, for example, are noticeably socially liberal. I suppose that it would depend on what kind of conservatism you mean, I think Brexit had little to do with conservatism as such (with either a small or big c), rather a message about the ‘sharp-end’ experiences of neo-liberalism over an extended period, especially in the UK’s more marginalised regions… I suppose that the picture is not static, and class, generation and place (as well as other forms of social difference) shape political (small and large p) identities in the UK as elsewhere.
I find political labels practically useless, because they tend to shift (or at least move within the broader political spectrum) to an extent where individual labels like “liberal”,”conservative”, “social”, etc. have opposite meanings, depending on where, when and by whom they are applied.
What I meant, was traditional cultural conservatism. All countries have varying degrees of that, directly affecting the politcal culture.
You are right about a higher degree (or level) of social consciousness among younger people in Britain, but the ancient class-oriented parliamental structure doesn’t reflect much youth-influence, further up through the parties.
I may be wrong, but I do interpret a national reaction, such as Brexit, as a regressive move in a more conservative direction.
When the thousand-year-old German Empire celebrates its birthday, what will be conservative?
Good question!
Let me guess –
Synthetic leather pants and suspenders?
Plastic Frankfurt clocks?
Rainbow flags?
The daughter of an acquaintance of my wife has written a really frustrated and devastating article on Hungary – especially how in the horrible economic situation they treat their animals:
https://www.facebook.com/nataliabalint.operasinger
It really hurts to read this!
PS:
She’s mainly working in Germany as a singer, good for her – she wouldn’t stand the crazy Hungarians …
In one of her latest posts she mentions how food has become more expensive in HU than in Germany. I have just returned from Bp a few days ago, I noticed that it’s not limited to food; even certain electronics products sold in HU are now more expensive than here in Western Europe.
Something to enjoy:
Extreme right winger Alex Jones got a call from Tucker Carlson asking for love – it was an AI used by a Canadian comedian which Jones didn’t realise.
https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/05/07/infowars-alex-jones-comedian-arrest/
A real funny story, now all over the media, had a good laugh.
A Marxist is representing the Viktor in Brussels.
From Trotsky to Brexit to Orbán’s attack dog: The man leading Hungary’s fightback against the EU – POLITICO
Radical represents Hungarian culture.
Eva has mentioned Frank Furedi in three articles.
And changing from one extreme to the other – like Fidesz/O1G from communist to liberal to fascist.
Or maybe he is just a “Cross thinker” (Querdenker) who wants people to listen to him?
What would it take, to get Hungarians to accept their georaphic location as a hint of European identity?
Difficult to answer …
Maybe they can’t forget that just around 1000 years ago they invaded the place?
Though they tend to forget the last 100 Horthy years.
I guess if the whole of Europe is Hungarian.
Szijjártó szerint már kiskortól el kell kezdeni magyarnak és kereszténynek nevelni a gyereket (444.hu)
In my opinion, the Hungarian thinking about continuing a (by now) historic, imperial culture, in a region which has been denied its indepedent multi-national identity for much too long, is outdated and counter-productive.
If Hungary has any intention of positive development and prosperity for the minority in Transsylvania, it should engage Romania in a dialogue for mutual development within the region.
Knowing the deep lack of trust and confidence on both sides of the border, let alone the rampant systemic corruption and poor qualification of administrative bodies, that is but a far-away dream.
In my opinion, the Hungarian thinking about continuing a (by now) historic, imperial culture, in a region which has been denied its indepedent multi-national identity for much too long, is outdated and counter-productive.
If Hungary has any intention of positive development and prosperity for the minority in Transsylvania, it should engage Romania in a dialogue for mutual development within the region.
Knowing the deep lack of trust and confidence on both sides of the border, let alone the rampant systemic corruption and poor qualification of administrative bodies, that is but a far-away dream.
This amounts to a social hangover of incredible dimensions.
Something goes wrong with texting on this site.
Hope it can be fixed.
Agree
I agree Michael; however, unlikely this wise approach will happen any time soon.
Böröndi Gábor 😀 didn’t pay attention in seventh grade and therefore wants to reintroduce the Stasi. Just another step towards Russia. Besides, Orban has put a few of his own words in his mouth „Gondoljunk bele a második világháborúba, 1939-ben a német-lengyel háború lokális háborúnak indult, és mi lett a vége? Nem fogták meg – ha fogalmazhatok így – időben békefolyamattal azt az eszkalációt, és elvezetett a második világháborúhoz.“
Wow – and O1G also wants a “peace processing” like the one between Hitler and Stalin, dividing Poland.
Can’t Fidesz realise the real parallels?
Rather OT:
My wife just told me that she saw a report on the bad, bad Germans not letting a Hungarian Intercity train in – because it was unsafe.
But she doesn’t remember what the source was.
A very scathing article on the problems people, especially women in the countryside, have to be able to use independent media in Hungary – this might explain why there are still so many Fideszm voters:
In a country, where the heads of high schools, towns, and villages are mostly loyal to the governing party, there is no interest in teaching where to find information from reliable sources: it’s simpler to disseminate propaganda …
https://kafkadesk.org/2023/05/10/how-can-independent-media-reach-rural-women-a-hungarian-perspective/
I recommend Kafkadesk, it has many good and critical articles on the Fidesz regime and how it is destroying Hungary!
We have crazies in Germany too.
As you may know yesterday (9th of May) was the Russian day of victory against the Nazis and of course there was a big show in Moscow.
The Russian embassy in Berlin also invited guests – who came?
Of course Putin’s friend and paid helper ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with his Korean wife.
Some former politicians from the East German communist system.
Some guys from the Left i. e. the current communist party
and
Some guys from the Fascist AfD!!!
https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/gerhard-schroeder-bei-empfang-in-russischer-botschaft-auch-mit-afd-politikern-a-e9dd5b95-274d-45c9-9724-e4c00efbc309
Now I’m wondering:
Did something similar happen at the Russian embassy in Budapest?
Thanks Wolfi for this update. I knew Schroeder attended the Russian embassy gathering, which was bad enough; however, I did not know about the other “crazies” attendance.
Catholic Church falsifies texts for its students. 🙂
Isn´t it perverse?
No, falsification is Hungarian guiding culture.
I will ask our newest Hungarian born Priest at our Chicago parish about this issue I am confident I will get a thoughtfulresponse.
Istvan any question about forgery, misuse of intellectual property, exclusion of gay people in Hungary, not only in the Hungarian Catholic Church and the blessing Hortys statues one a mere ten kilometers away, is allowed. I can think of more questions but …
Please let us know the response.
but out of Hungary, it is perverse (:
There is a Facebook debate going on among my extended family in Esztergom over this photo one cousin posted from the police response to high school demonstration last week that can be seen below. He wrote next to the photo rosszabbat érdemelnek!
One young cousin who apparently was apparently at the demonstration said in response he was a fascist asshole and then the teachers in the family jumped in to support the young cousin. I still have to wonder why these teachers voted for Orban.
Well, I can think of some reasons.
Assuming your relatives are catholic makes it even more easy
I could go on, but it is getting boring.
Church schools and kindergartens receive one-off utility subsidies (nepszava.hu)
This Telex article was extremely interesting to me https://telex.hu/eszkombajn/2022/02/06/amerikai-magyar-lelkesz-fbi-ugynok
It was about a Hungarian speaking American named István Sziártó who was born in rural West Virginia in 1910 into a community of Hungarian miners. (There was a similar community in deep Southern Illinois that recruited Hungarian miners to the USA in the early 1900s.)
A small part of that original community exists still in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia a township of 758 people in 2020. The only evidence being some obvious Hungarian family names. One of attraction of Berkeley Springs for Hungarian immigrants were the mineral baths there.
There is a memorial Church there to the Hungarians killed in combat in the 1956 revolt. The county that Berkeley Springs is in voted over 75% for Trump in the last election.
Sziártó became a pastor in the Reformed Church in Cleveland Ohio (which was the heart of the American Hungarian religious community both from the Reformed Church and the Catholic Church) later a FBI agent, and did work for the CIA.
This passage of the article was most interesting to me: “The job, of course, required the family to move to the capital, Washington. His wife, Margit, started working at the National Security Agency (NSA) as an analyst. He gradually moved up the ranks, retiring as a code breaker in 1973.”
Sziártó being fluent in Hungarian also interviewed Hungarian refugees from 1956 to verify I suspect they were not communist agents sneaking in.
The article in Telex about Sziártó does not place him in the proper context of the furious anti-communism that was also often irrational too and was prevalent in our community in the USA. As I have explained in the past my own career in the US Army was driven by my own anti-communist upbringing. My own daughter still is an officer in the US Army reserves. There are many children and grandchildren from Eastern European anti-communist families in the US military to this day.
The Telex article mentions that Sziártó was a member of the Hungarian Freedom Fighters Federation, but does not mention that there were some members of that Federation who were former Arrow Cross members that entered the USA after WWII using what are called the rat lines. Other former likely Arrow Cross members came in after 1956 and were probably interviewed and vetted by Sziártó since he was one of the few Hungarian speakers doing that work for the FBI.
Some of the documents relating to the admission of Arrow Cross members who may have also been members of the Hungarian gendarmes that helped round up Jews to be sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau have been declassified and I posted links to them years ago on Eva’s site. Did Sziártó help them get in or did he just miss them since his focus was apparently on keeping communists out of the USA, that remains unknown?
It’s getting even crazier:
Orbán compared the EU’s activities re Ukraine to Hitler starting his war.
German media eg don’t know whether to laugh or …
https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/viktor-orban-vergleicht-eu-projekt-mit-hitlers-machtplaenen-a-210d58a0-eeea-44b0-a500-dcecbb4e5d23
Now we’re waiting for the reaction of the EU’s politicians …
Orban urgently needs a psychiatrist “Hitler dreamed of European unity” says Orban. Ergo, Orban may also dream of Hitler’s Europe. Fits well to the Hothyum Hungarikum, Observer has also once claimed that Great Hungary was a precursor / model of democracy in Europe. 🙂
„A miniszterelnök arról beszélt, a nemzeti szuverenitás és a birodalmi gondolat közötti egyensúly fenntartásához hazájukat és Európát egyaránt szerető, toleráns és erős, „olyan pannon-féle” vezetők kellenek. „Ez ma ritka, mint a fehér holló. Helyette intolerancia, gyengeség, szívtelenség”.“ 🙂 Orban is “intolerance, weakness, callousness”. Nobody in free Europe wants Orban and this is Kickel.
Hungarian reality and what some people in the EU have to say about it:
The National University of Public Service is a higher education institution under close government control. Under the law, the person ultimately responsible for decisions related to the maintenance, administration and management of the NUPS is “the political director of the Prime Minister”
Majtényi, Balázs, Mink, Júlia; Körtvélyesi, Zsolt: Betrayal: The EU Fundamental Rights Agency’s Unexpected Support for Authoritarianism in Hungary, VerfBlog, 2023/5/10, https://verfassungsblog.de/betrayal/, DOI: 10.17176/20230511-061714-0.
The FRA has been chaired by a certain Michael O’Flaherty he is a Catholic priest but since 1992 laicized. The Irish government successfully lobbied for him to be elected as a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights. CSU could also be the FRA. They made the goat the gardener.
Finally!
Zelenskiy is coming to Germany. After visiting the Pope he’ll be in Berlin tomorrow.
And Putin will visit Budapest, his friends Szijjarto etc?
We’re waiting …
Regarding the War in Ukraine –
Troop movements suggest a few changes from the deadlocked situation of the winter.
Ukrainian forces try to confuse Russia about their offensive moves, while the Russians dig down and prepare, while lining up masses of antiquated pieces.
Given the higher mobility and accuracy of (by now) present Ukrainian artillery, Russia looks at steepening casualty rates, without direct answers in the field – this amounts to a dependence on air supremacy – Donations of “modern” aircrafts to Ukraine is the next step. Old but fully functional F-15 and F-16 fighters, with their tried and tested tested accuracy and updated armament, will swarm the skies over Ukraine before august.
Let’s see?
That is a terrible scenario, war overrules any sensible solution to a conflict .
Several sources report serious health issues keeping Lukashenko out of touch with media.
Is this the final phase of a European dictator?
I hope you follow this, István Chicago, as you were so specifically keen on Lukaschenko’s “roll of the dice” supremacy.
Of course the US Washington Post today revealed from its trove of leaked CIA documents that President Zelensky had formulated plan to attack the Russian pipeline to Hungary.
Here is the passage: “ In a meeting in mid-February with Deputy Prime Minister Yuliya Svrydenko, Zelensky suggested Ukraine “blow up” the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline that provides oil to Hungary. “Zelenskyy highlighted that … Ukraine should just blow up the pipeline and destroy likely Hungarian [Prime Minister] Viktor Orban’s industry, which is based heavily on Russian oil,” the document says. In detailing the conversation, intelligence officials concede that Zelensky was “expressing rage toward Hungary and therefore could be making hyperbolic, meaningless threats,” a qualification that does not accompany the other accounts of Zelensky suggesting bold military action. Though Hungary is nominally part of the Western alliance, Orban is widely considered Europe’s most Kremlin-friendly leader.”
Of course the plot to destroy on Hir Tv today as evidence of Ukrainian hatred of Hungary and totally supports all of Orban’s claims against Ukraine.
Well, since Orbán’s thoughts and whims materialize into news stories and even laws anyway, a propaganda war with Ukraine would be a good way of stirring up some exitement and incite public fear of attacks from theoretical enemies.
A discussion of whether Nato would actually be able to protect Hungary against hostile activity from Ukraine and its friends, probably shows up soon.
Meanwhile in Hungary:
Around 4500 /stores closed over the last 12 months, more will follow.
Food has become almost 50% more expensive – people are consuming/buying less. Or do they go shopping outside Hungary?
Domestic sales of food and drinks dropped almost 20%.
https://dailynewshungary.com/a-shockingly-high-number-of-shops-had-to-shut-down-in-hungary/
Spas and beaches will be much more expensive – would you as a family pay 10 000 Forint or more for a day at the beach or a visit to a hot spa? Plus expensive food and drinks of course.
And now from the Guardian (Wapo has also reported on this?):
Zelenskiy had discussed occupying Russian villages to gain leverage over Moscow, bombing a pipeline that transfers Russian oil to Hungary,
Yes the occupation of some Russian territory was also in the Post article. The Post generally doesn’t provide large sections of these leaked documents, mostly summaries, interpretations, and analysis.
Since these particular documents are marked top secret and include CIA reports on internal Ukrainian discussions involving Zelensky it seems the Post is being somewhat careful in what it is revealing.
Interestingly the Putin controlled media has been silent about the W Post articles on Zelensky’s advocating for direct attacks on Russia itself.
Hungary wants to get in the way of new EU sanctions. The reason is Hungary’s largest bank OTP is on a Ukrainian list of supporters of the Russian war of aggression, that the Russian OTP bank is one of the leading banks in the Russian financial services market even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. By continuing the Russian entity’s financial operations, the OTP Group clearly demonstrates support for terrorism. There is plenty of steam in the boiler.