Official KSH numbers In 2023, you could live in Budapest [in NE Hungary] very well: from $1535 /month [$921] well:…
October 1st, 2023
At USD/HUF = 360
Average (not median) net monthly salaries in Hungary, 2023. Highest: Budapest $1286 Lowest: Szabolcs county $754 https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xftp/megy/234/index.html
On top of the arrests at Chicago’s prestigious Art Institute yesterday we had this development in Chicago https://blockclubchicago.org/2024/05/05/chicago-cinco-de-mayo-parade-canceled-due-to-gang-violence-police-say/ . The…
This development here in Chicago of arrests at Chicago’s Art Institute over pro Palestinian demonstrations sort of stunned me. (See…
For all those asking for peace and telling the USA and the EU to give in:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12579365/Close-Putin-ally-Dmitry-Medvedev-declares-Russia-invade-Ukraine-Vladimir-marks-anniversary-illegal-annexation-Ukrainian-territories.html
Top Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev has vowed that Russia will invade more of Ukraine as Moscow on Saturday celebrated the anniversary of its illegal annexation of four Ukrainian territories.
The former Russian President declared that victory will soon be Russia’s, as the nation continues its ‘special military operation’ to completely obliterate the ‘Nazi Kyiv regime’.
Ironically, Putin and co. seem to have taken over the Endsieg complex.
First Wolf last night US Congress’s vote on approving what is called a continuing resolution to keep the US government funded without any aid to Ukraine both military and economic means that Putin’s goal is eventually possible.
The Washington Post ran a good overview of the importance of US aid to Ukraine today
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/04/ukraine-war-us-spending/
Congressional approval of the CR with no funding for Ukraine. Retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton who is a CNN military analyst made it very clear last night that excluding funding for Ukraine is a “disaster” in part because it means no delivery of advanced US aircraft and the munitions flow will be disrupted.
Once it has become politically acceptable to abandon Ukraine with this vote on the CR, it will be easier in the future. Really at this point the Europeans will have tremendously step up their aid to shame Congress, and the Ukrainians will have to make a settlement offer that cedes occupied territory that the Russians will either eject outright or evade. Possibly once it dawns on Congress that Putin wants all of Ukraine under Russian control they might reauthorize military aid to Ukraine at a lower level. The future is not bright for Ukraine right now.
Of course having been a US Army officer in Vietnam in 1972 and then watching the total collapse of South Vietnam on TV in 1975 from West Germany with other US officers who served in Vietnam we were traumatized to be honest.
But once I began to learn of the mass suicides of some of my friends who were officers in the South Vietnamese Army as the communist forces advanced on Saigon I was stunned.
Where I live in Chicago has many refugees from former South Vietnam and a former South Vietnamese Col (who spent 3 years in a reeducation camp) predicted to me the US would abandon Ukraine like we did South Vietnam and more recently Afghanistan. His prediction may prove to be correct.
Istvan, yes, the future doesn’t look too good.
If you combine the Ukraine situation with the strength of the EU right wing (dare I say fascist?) large parts of or the whole EU might become a Russian colony.
Yes, the current news out of Washington D.C. is terrible i.e. leaving $$ for Ukraine out of bill to avoid government shut down. That combined with vote in Slovakia is certainly of great concern. On the other hand, and not in place of above, a bill to fund Ukraine may pass in next 2 weeks and no government has formed -yet- in Slovakia. Given the attacks on Liberal Democracy around the world, we must expect an up and down struggle; however, I still believe that Liberal Democracy, let alone Ukraine will prevail. The alternative is just too terrible for me to accept.I grew up with family who fled and/or survived not only fascist/nazi terror, but communism. I am too old to flee and -of course- where would I go!
A Ukraine funding bill could be filled tomorrow in the Congress, but the Speaker of the US House Kevin McCarthy controls what gets called for a vote.
I am sure he will be counting votes of the Republicans for whatever amount of funding he thinks can pass. I am not sure President Biden’s ask of more than $24 billion will be approved by the House Republicans.
Time will tell what can or cannot get through Congress..
There is already an attempt by some Republicans to tie any additional funding for Ukraine to more money to fortify the border with Mexico which will likely be opposed by some Hispanic and left wing Democrats. Lots of trouble ahead.
Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to mRNA researchers
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research on mRNA. The technology enabled the development of corona vaccines.
Our dear Eva wrote about Katalin in Hungarian Spectrum. She had to leave Hungary to be successful (like many others …) but I’m sure Fidesz will still be really proud of her which they once called “asszonyság” …
Also almost all EU foreign ministers today travelled to Kiev – can you guess who will not come?
Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Péter Szijjártó?
And the Polish one too, he was apparently “sick”.
I still remember Eva’s post. Here is the link in case you missed it and want to read it again:
https://hungarianspectrum.org/2020/11/22/a-typical-hungarian-story-katalin-kariko/
Thanks, I also found it searching for her and HS.
It’s really good – if you just enter HS and some concepts you remember, goggle will tell you the date.
And it’
s a kind of fond memory to again read the discussion.
The Schiffer András who snuggled up to Jobbik some years ago and after his failure snuggled up to Fidesz, probably to get money and power, thought the success of Katalin Karikó was the recognition of the professor as the success of a nation. 😀 what a moron. She left Hungary in 1985 because there is no oxygen to breathe in Hungary.
Mandiner and the other propaganda cheese sheets which have descended to considerable depths with their textual rottenness exhalations thirst for western successes. 😀
Kind of funny:
Hungary seems to attract more people from Germany, mainly AfD, cross thinkers and other haters – migrants, LGBT, you name it.
Magyarnemzet reports and Ungarn Heute translated it into German:
https://ungarnheute.hu/news/unzufriedene-deutsche-wandern-nach-ungarn-aus-97511/
The number of Germans living in Hungary rose by almost 40% in the last 4 years. … Of course if you look at the real numbers you find a growth from around 16 000 to 22 000 – gigantic, isn’t it?
Especially compared to the 200 000 Hungarians who are living in Germany.
Good riddance, AfD and other fascists!
As one could expect, the Hungarian KoolAid appeals to the far-right leaning, Western, male citizen.
So it is now about 3pm eastern standard time in the USA and no News alerts have shown up indicating a funding bill for Ukraine has been filed in Congress.
Apparently Republicans want to merge the Secure the Border Act, that passed the House of Representatives with only Republican votes, which would resume border wall construction, limit asylum eligibility and require migrants seeking asylum to wait in Mexico with funding for Ukraine at as yet an unknown level.
The problem is both House and Senate Democrats are totally opposed to the Secure the Border Act and will not agree to such a bargain. There are also likely disagreements on the horizon for actual funding amount to go to Ukraine.
Biden was somewhat evasive yesterday about how longer munitions and weapon will flow into Ukraine based on prior appropriations will continue. So here we sit for the moment.
A supertanker doesn’t turn as quickly as the media.
Re. Fico and Orbán – Imagine them agreeing on Hungarian dominance in southern Slovakia – That’s impossible.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F7cktOAWQAAmHAz?format=jpg&name=900×900
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F7cktOAWQAAmHAz?format=jpg
19-month military aid to Ukraine (March 2022 through September 2023):
$43.81 billion, or $2.3058 billion/month.
US military budget FY2023 (October 2022 through September 2023): $858 billion or $71.5 billion/month
Support for Ukraine: 3.22% of the defense spending.
Of course it is all more complex than just the proportion of US military spending going to Ukraine Tappanch.
So this morning there is no good news being floated about a bill in Congress to fund Ukraine’s war effort. But because the bill may be tied to Republican sponsored Secure the Border Act that passed the US House of Representatives that seems to be generating some hostility in Mexico to US support for Ukraine.
Yesterday Mexico’s president called U.S. financial aid to Ukraine “irrational.” In a news conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged Washington to send resources to help with the economic development of Latin America and to deal with migration issues instead. See https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-president-slams-us-spending-ukraine-irrational-2023-10-02/.
So far really Black and Hispanics in the US Democratic Party have only grumbled about US aid to Ukraine which has been characterized by a few as a “white war” but voted the party line on every bill.
Overall, 133 senators and representatives today identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Indian or Alaska Native, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Congressional Research Service. They are mostly Democrats so it presents a complex situation.
Financial Times:
Orban will receive 10 billion euros of EU money in November.
The EU has become a breeding vehicle for kleptocratic dictators.
Two Hungarians have now been awarded Nobel prizes this year. Both -as every reader of this blog know- live outside of Hungary. The 2nd fact speaks louder than any of Orbán’s disastrous “laws”and policies. Hungarians increasingly vote with their feet and many of the best have left and/or are preparing to leave.
Comment on the US national debt.
Highest marginal income tax rate (on the richest people)
vs
debt/GDP
1951-1963: highest tax rate= 91% vs 1963 debt/GDP = 48%
1971-1980: highest tax rate= 70% vs 1980: debt/GDP = 32%
2018-????: highest tax rate= 37% vs 2022 debt/GDP = 123%
Algorithm since Reagan’s time, i.e. since 1981:
#1 Cut tax ($X) on the rich.
#2 the debt/GDP naturally increases
#3 cut benefits ($x) for the poor. with x < X
#4 the debt/GDP continues to grow.
Sources:
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-highest-marginal-income-tax-rates
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/national-debt-by-year-compared-to-gdp-and-major-events-3306287
The funding crisis for Ukraine in US Congress became qualitatively more complex by the removal of the US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy last night. President Biden seemed extremely foolish in believing that he could rely on Kevin McCarthy to secure a bill for Ukraine funding.
While formally only a very small group of right wing Republicans instigated Kevin McCarthy‘s removal which was supported by all Democrat members of the House. On the whole Republicans in the US House want to at least see a reduction of US funding to Ukraine.
The Democrats in the House supported the radical faction of Republicans because Kevin McCarthy had authorized the impeachment inquiry of President Biden which is step one in a formal impeachment. Also Kevin McCarthy promoted a deeper look at the President’s son Hunter for tax evasion and gun crimes.
Hunter Biden is now on trial for felony crimes and if convicted could go to prison. Currently the Republicans have no consensus member of the House to replace McCarthy and some of the names of those being floated are opposed to further funding to support Ukraine’s war efforts.
Right now the only member of the Republican Caucus in the US House of Representatives that has indicated he is willing to be Speaker of the House is Rep Jim Jordan who was given an F rating on support for Ukraine by this pro-Ukraine Republican website (https://gopforukraine.com/ukraine-report-card/)
Representative Jordan wrestled for the University of Wisconsin from 1982 – 1986. During that time he was a three-time All-American and a two-time NCAA champion. I competitively wrestled much earlier than Jordan did for the University of North Dakota and never won the NCCA championship. I finished once in third place which was an achievement. We both wrestled in the same weight class of 134 pounds.
One problem for old wrestlers is traumatic brain injuries from being thrown into the mat. I had only one concussion in my college career, I wonder sometimes listening to Jordan praising Trump if he had a few more brain injuries than I did!
It must be a little painful to watch how the Republican meltdown cripples a two party system which depends on a majority on both sides, willing and able to govern reasonably.
Perhaps this crisis will make sensible Republicans realize that the Trump KoolAid circus is a destructive undertaking (for the US, that is).
There is now another candidate for Speaker Rep. Steve Scalise he has voted for military aid to Ukraine in the past but would not commit to do so in the last few days when asked by a reporter.
and who called himself “David Duke without the baggage”
(Duke was the leader of the Ku Klux Klan)
Scalise sounds like quite the type of character the US news-entertainment business loves to feature and type-cast.
I have a strong suspicion, that the way US show business sits on the media, effectively turns politics into commercial drama entertainment production.
EU has “raped” Hungary and Poland with migration decision, says Orban …
Of course, for Orban when he can not impose his opinion he claims the rape. He rapes since 2010 his homeland, artists, Roma, students and teachers, homeless, the poorer society, successful self-employed, EU and Hungarian taxpayers, dissenters, opposition even if they find Orban good, the spirit of free thinking. Rape is one of his instincts.
“Political pornographer” fittingly describes Orbán’s rhetorical skills.
When Orban uses his “rape” from his violent vocabulary he also avoids a coherent explanation of his rejection. “I will be raped if my neighbor is a Syrian” is nothing but pure racism. As if the Arrow Crossers had been raped by the Jews of that time, which excuses any repression against Jews Roma and dissidents. Orbán’s rhetorical skills describe his education.
That’s true!
And he get’s away with it.
We must not forget that the brand of far-right nationalist populism, of which Orbán is an exponent, almost directly has its pedigree from the darkest chapters of the rise in hard nationalism in recent European history.
I think most Western politicians are too afraid to appreciate that, and turn the deaf ear to his ranting.
„… he get’s away with it. …“ But for Hungary, it does matter what the outcome is. Does the opposition have a smart word for it, other than being Catholic and making lots of children?
Well, it doesn’t take much imagination to see that the old ethnic hygiene ideals, after a few revisions, now appear at the top of Hungarian politics again.
Now the third Republican running for the Speaker of the House position Rep. Kevin Hern a righter from Oklahoma. His public position seems to be completely opposed to additional funds going to Ukraine.
It seems very unlikely that the Republicans can come up with anyone not thouroughly pickled in the party quagmire.
That really highlights the democratic crisis in the US.
Putin couldn’t have asked for more.
If a Centrist movement is to emerge among Republicans – Now is the time!
Yes there have been articles arguing for that in the Washington Post, but it has not happened as yet.
A very interesting and disturbing article on the spy programs used on smartphones – remember Pegasus?
Pegasus program from Israel’s NSO group is also widespread. Our forensic research at Amnesty International has found it was used in Poland during the last elections in 2019 and in Spain in connection with the Catalan referendums. In Hungary, it was used to target media and journalists.
https://www.spiegel.de/international/business/interview-with-amnesty-international-security-lab-detective-the-victims-are-completely-transparent-to-the-attacker
The software evesdropping has been a known factor for 2 decades.
If politicians ever agree on stopping the internet monopolies, it would be a major step towards protecting people.
Yes, but is there any info on irs use by the Hun government?
Who was observed, how much money was spent etc …
Since most of the surveillance is carried out by the state, little is known about the extent of it and if a case against the state goes to court,it will not result in a verdict.
This article is rather clear on the subject:
https://balkaninsight.com/2023/09/14/surveillance-states-monitoring-of-journalists-goes-unchecked-in-central-south-east-europe/
This article nicely describes what the rest of the EU thinks about PIS and FIDESZ:
https://verfassungsblog.de/the-dignity-of-the-outvoted/
This Magyar Nemzet article https://magyarnemzet.hu/kulfold/2023/10/a-chicagoi-leszamolasokhoz-hasonlo-bunteny-tortent-a-fovarosban (title in translation “A crime similar to the Chicago showdowns took place in the Austrian capital”) was interesting.
Being at this time sitting in Chicago reading this Orban propaganda about Vienna having an armed street gang problem comparable to ours here in Chicago I have to say these Fidesz ideologues are clueless.
We have in Chicago a very significant number of street gang members and members of what we call street crews that specialize in violent armed robbery and car jackings.
The Chicago Police Department actually publishes gang territory maps yearly, here is the one from 2022 https://chicagopolicedept-my.sharepoint.com/personal/gisteam_chicagopolice_org/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=/personal/gisteam_chicagopolice_org/Documents/Gang PDFs/2022.pdf&parent=/personal/gisteam_chicagopolice_org/Documents/Gang PDFs&ga=1
I can pretty much assure people Vienna has no comparable gang problem.
The street robbery crews in Chicago may use larger gangs or gang factions to sell stolen cars, expensive Apple cell phones, and even designer clothing looted from high end stores by what are called flash mobs overwhelming store security systems and running out with items.
In some cases street crew’s geographically located in larger gang territory may have also pay taxes to the ruling gang. Failure to pay can result in being shot. The same rule can apply to drug dealers.
But the situation in Chicago is nothing in comparison to what is happening in Mexico or in Central America. (See this article for example https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-09-28/murders-disappearances-and-drug-trafficking-the-criminal-nightmare-of-zacatecas-mexico.html?outputType=amp)
Chicagoans have adapted to street crime through avoiding areas of the city and not being out late at night partying. My wife and I have State licenses to carry concealed handguns and unfortunately there are people with past criminal records carrying illegal guns for protection who do not have State licenses due to their criminal records.
More often than not I do not carry a gun nor does my wife. We saw Bob Dylan play Friday night in downtown Chicago and were not armed because concert venues prohibit it and have metal detectors at the doors. I did however have a 44 magnum stashed our car parked near by which was completely legal.
Chicago has probably 59 active street gangs, with more than 2,000 semi-autonomous factions. Police estimate 100,000 gang members are in the city. Some have access to fully automatic rifles like AK 47s or the Colt M16A4 Rifle, but more generally they use semiautomatic handguns.
Several Chicago Police officers have been killed in shoot outs with gang members in the last five years. Chicago police patrol cars have come under fire responding to reports of criminal activity not infrequently, then actual armored personnel carriers with 50 caliber machine guns are brought in and the officers are dressed in full tactical gear.
Does Vienna look like that? I don’t think so.
That’s what you get for reading the Nemzet!
Hungarian media systematicaly avoid the issue of gang violence emitting from ex-Yugoslavia and greater Turkey into the EU.
Austria is a red herring.
The pattern resembles early Mexican/mid-American-fuelled crime in the US, during the 90’s, with drug trafficking at the center.
The recently re-connected Afghan connections add to the economic muscle of the Ex-Yugo/Turkish cartels, but American cocaine is the big motor.
The Washington Post has this statement this morning:
“The deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean was also intended to send a deterrent message to the Lebanese militant and political force, according to a senior administration official who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security calculations.”
So the message is that the US will attack Shia Hezbollah and Palestinian militia forces that are part of that attack any parts of what is now considered Israel? So are we also willing to send in the Marines again too if this battle group proves to be a insufficient deterrent?
Of course the historical memory here in the USA is short relating to President Regan’s intervention in Lebanon that led to a suicide bomber detonating a truck bomb at the building serving as a barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines (Battalion Landing Team – BLT 1/8) of the 2nd Marine Division, killing 220 marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers, making this incident the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. The attack involved a second truck bomb that also killed 58 French military personnel.
I was still a U.S. Army Reserve officer at the time serving at the Rock Island Arsenal located in the Mississippi River between Illinois and Iowa. We implemented increased security including raising bridges, putting troops around the island in full combat gear and having Coast Guard patrol craft armed with 50 caliber machine guns flown in by Huey helicopters. I was essentially activated for several days and of course prohibited from leaving the island. I was once again dressed in full combat gear with a sidearm and carrying an M16 rifle. So my memory of it is pretty good.
An Iranian group erected a monument in a cemetery in Tehran to commemorate the 1983 bombings and its “martyrs” in 2004. Lebanese author Hala Jaber claims that Iran and Syria helped organize the bombing which was run by two Lebanese Shia, but that has never been proven.
The WPO article does not even question where the aircraft carrier strike group’s deployment could potentially lead. A 2009 article in Foreign Policy titled “Lesson Unlearned” argues that the U.S. military intervention in the Lebanese Civil War has been downplayed or ignored in popular history – thus unlearned – and that lessons from Lebanon are “unlearned” seems reflected in the Post article.
The Hungarian Fidesz controlled media is obsessed with evacuating its citizens from Israel and throwing out accusations that US weapons may have been used by Hamas in the attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. (See https://magyarnemzet.hu/kulfold/2023/10/amerikai-fegyverekkel-ontjak-az-izraeliek-veret-izraelpalesztin-haboru)
How perverse is that article really? Probably the most mind blogging aspect of the Hamas attack was the targeting the Tribe of Nova trance music festival, near Kibbutz Reim. It was filled with young Jewish people many whom were so stoned when the attack took place they were passed out still when they were executed by Hamas militia members. At least 260 of the festival goers were killed.
Now the IDF seems preparing a direct ground assault on Gaza which will result in massive casualties. The air assault on Gaza by Israel’s fighter bombers has been ongoing. It is all pretty disturbing to say the least.
The Gerald R. Ford recently starred in a show of Nato power in the north Atlantic and the North Sea/Baltic region, successfully drawing a lot of Russian (paranoid) attention as well as exercising the joint forces of the region.
The symbolic deterrent value of such a unit can’t be overstated, but the true strategic value is maritime. The Nato forces in and around the Mediterrainian have the situation in the Isreal area well covered already, but the prescence of the Ford is ultimately bad news for anyone with sinister intentions.
I think you are correct Michael. The aircraft carrier is there to prevent worse aggression while Israel is busy dealing with Hamas. Of course, the greatest mass murder of Jews since the Shoah has left many of us very traumatized.
It seems Olivér Várhelyi seriously screwed up by announcing a full stop of EU funding for Gaza, before checking with the EU back-country.
He will be grilled for that.
Maybe a slap on the wrist at best. HU will get yet another free pass from the EU/EC.
There seems to be a discussion about the aid for Gaza, we will see what happens. Olivér Várhelyi seems to be an active supporter of the Viktor by making the regime even more unpopular.
Europe struggles to present consistent messaging on Palestinian aid – POLITICO
A useful article about the “free pass”. Maybe we assume things with not enough knowledge.
The legend of the cunningly blackmailing Viktor Orbán – a veto alone does not bring EU money – Reply Online (valaszonline.hu)
But if there is money, the Viktor still knows where to spend it.
Home: If there is EU money, it has its place: the Fradi stadium was covered with solar panels | hvg.hu
It’s my understanding that EU + national support for Palestinians in Gaza and the many camps around Israel, for many eyars has been given to a number of NGOs operating in the areas, not official representatives, because the militias have full control over the palestinian settlements. Even so, some blackmailing happens for the NGOs distributing medicine.
This has been a point of discussion in the EU, for decades.
This is one more time where a clear Hungarian view on current events is missing on the EU-scene.
Ukraine is still a no go it seems, and pending the Slovak (not very Hun-favoured) govt. formation, probably not affected yet.- But what else?
The renewed Israel-Palestine conflict? Does traditional Hungarian anti-semitism and anti-muslimism equate on that issue and what does Erdogan tell Orbán about that? The Erdogan family enterprise stands to make a large fortune on that conflict.
Meanwhile, ammunition for Ukraine flows through Hungary, on several daily flights from Pápa.- What stories might Orbánistan cook up about that?
Ain’t that fantastic?
https://hungarytoday.hu/viktor-orban-could-soon-meet-vladimir-putin/
Next week, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will attend the Belt and Road Forum in China, where he might meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has also accepted an invitation to attend. The Hungarian Prime Minister will be the only EU head of government to attend the forum in Beijing next Wednesday, Politico reports.
Orban is the first only in the world?
The word is out – again!
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-10-17/russias-putin-holds-talks-with-hungarys-orban-in-china