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
March 1, 2024
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…
Government mandate: Lidl in Hungary had to offer pork lard as a substitute for extra virgin olive oil. (The Bertolli…
The National Economy Minister of Hungary permitted the employment of 65,000 guest workers from:
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgyzia, Georgia;
Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia;
Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil,
Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mongolia.
https://hvg.hu/gazdasag/20240301_vendegmunkas_Nemzetgazdasagi_Miniszterium_Kulgazdasagi_es_Kulugyminiszterium_Nagy_Marton_Magyar_Kozlony_gazdasag
Bakers from Sri Lanka are not welcome in Hungary…
Here is a good movie about the Transylvanian case, where the ethnic Hungarians of Ditró expelled the Sri Lankan bakers. The Romanian director was actually nice to the Hungarians because he placed the events in a fictional multi-ethnic (Romanian, Hungarian, German) village. So in the movie the ethnic Romanians are racist too. But Ditró is almost 100% ethnic Hungarian.
https://videa.hu/videok/film-animacio/r-m-n-9CBT9MnKRzRptTNW
Mayor of Ditró in 2022:
‘Orban is as popular in Szekely land as Horthy was after the Vienna dictat (of 1940).[…] They regarded Horthy and now Orban as semi-gods. Orban said we had to defend the country from the migrants, and nobody questioned his words.’
https://transtelex.ro/best-of/2022/06/06/cristian-mungiu-r-m-n-ditroi-bemutato
“They regarded Horthy and now Orban as semi-gods.” I believe that Orban could accept God among himself as a leader, I’m just not sure. Probably the term demigod would be an insult to Orban.
Hungary needs guest workers, but they are not welcome. Orban wants the citizens’ money, but they are not welcome. 🙂 Full employment and yet no money, the Minister of Nationalsozialist Economy is already a failure.
As I remarked on February 26, the new, Orban-appointed president of Hungary lied about his father’s past.
His father, Laszlo Sulyok was actually the leader of the “Hungarian National Socialist Party” in Fejer country in 1944. One of the national leaders of that party was Laszlo Baky, who was the chief organizer of the Holocaust in the Hungarian countryside.
His father did hide in 1945, and was not sentenced to death or even prison after the war.
https://24.hu/belfold/2024/03/01/sulyok-tamas-apja-karsai-laszlo-tortenesz/
Laszlo Sulyok’s article, published on June 17, 1944 – 2 days after the deportation of the Jews of Fejer county to Auschwitz was finished:
https://images.hvg.hu/image.aspx?id=59d3311b-53a9-4b2a-9f39-54a7a14dd97d&view=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
Historian Glatz mentioned Sulyok’s 1944 article
in
“HÓMAN BÁLINT ÉS A NEMZETISZOCIALISTÁK ÖSSZEÜTKÖZÉSE SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁROTT 1944-BEN”
page 193
https://real.mtak.hu/34722/1/1970_Glatz_Homan_Balint_es_a_nemzetiszocialistak_osszeutkozese_1944_ben._u.pdf
Have a look at this:
https://hungarytoday.hu/there-is-a-risk-of-a-very-homogenized-world-warns-prof-adam-candeub/
Adam Candeub is a former Trump associate with very strange ideas:
https://americarenewing.com/
You know, I think the Fidesz faithfull could make their political life a lot better if they would accept that trusting a strongman leader and his inner circle, doesn’t necessarily meet all their needs.
They should embrace gay porn for the sake of all their closeted family members and use their right to have a say on the propaganda being forwarded on their behalf.
After all, the home-scene is of some importance and they do have a vote about public matters in Hungary.
Prof. Adam Candeub’s ideas as expressed in the Hungary today article are interesting in that most Trump supporters up in northern Wisconsin (Clark county) that we have our second home at are militantly opposed to US troops even being stationed in Europe at all.
Yesterday we drove back to Chicago and saw Trump 2024 signs appearing in most of rural Wisconsin and Biden signs really in towns 5,000 or larger.
Even though most Trump supporters praise our soldiers for their service for the most part they are opposed to NATO.
Even in far northern Wisconsin there are undocumented Hispanics working illegally for many Trump supporting farmers.
The town where our 2nd home is located now has a Hispanic presence in it. Some of the larger meat packing plants are almost exclusively using undocumented workers and occasionally they are raided by immigration officers deporting 5 or 10 of them. But the working conditions are so notoriously poor really only illegal workers will take these jobs (see https://www.wqow.com/news/abbyland-foods-faces-17-serious-violations-over-277k-in-fines-with-worker-safety-issues/article_6eb18d5a-ece0-50d2-83cf-1735509cb78a.html, on arrests see https://www.wsaw.com/content/news/Citing-fear-dozens-of-Hispanic-workers-stay-home-after-central-WI-immigration-arrests-494254631.html )
The arrests at these meat plants are ongoing since 2018 but are no longer considered news and not covered locally,, but more undocumented workers are brought I to replace them immediately.
“[the larger meat packing plants] the working conditions are so notoriously poor really only illegal workers will take these jobs”
–are these “notoriously poor working conditions” fulfilling requirements of laws and regulations?
–are these “notoriously poor working conditions” regularly checked by responsible authorities? [regularly like raids by immigration officers]
–if both questions are answered with NO, how do you decide which and where you buy meat?
PS: before HU joined the EU on products was specified in which factory they were produced, I liked that very much and used that info during my shopping.
Now in the EU this info seems not required, and on most products is specified only in which country produced and which company is selling [so not producing!] it.
I think this actual situation is best for the sellers [and for the bigger the better!] and worse for the producers and consumers, imho it should be the other way around!
The detailed information about origin and processing of consumer food products in the EU is, beyond the EU regulation (a simple letter and number code in a round “stamp” coniguration), a matter of national policy.
For instance, a frozen fish product in a Scandinavian, German or Dutch supermarket, must be labeled with additional information about where it was caught and where it was processed.The same applies to meat products.
Exporters may add a national symbol on the packaging, indicating a wholesome, national product.
If food-transparency is of low priority in a given EU country, the lack of extra labeling will reflect that.
This polling data on Biden’s age and cognitive competency to be President is deadly potentially for his reelection effort see https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/us/politics/biden-age-trump-poll.html
The world recognizes the shortcomings of the ultimate US leadership candidates..
The big question remains: How will the Americans deal with it?
I simply do not understand why the Democrats have not lined up (at least a potential) substitute for Biden. Are the party leaders so stupid?
Surely they must have a backup plan, even if it is top secret? Or are people so afraid of Trump that they choose an apparently senile old man just because he has beaten him once before, even if they know deep down that he won’t be capable of serving for another 4 years?
Part of the problem for the Democrats is VP Harris. She would be the heir apparent and is considered unelectable by most polling data.
So if President Biden was not the candidate there would be a race war inside the Democratic Party, Kamala Harris would without question accuse Democrats opposing her for being the party’s Presidential candidate of being racist.
Biden even if questionably mentally competent could pretend to be functional by sticking to the script and avoiding extemporaneous statements where is limits are most obvious.
So far Biden has been in complete denial of his own decline. President Regan in his second term was largely mentally incompetent but as an actor knew how to follow a script.
President Roosevelt prior to his death was also probably not competent to be President either.
This polling data https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/03/biden-polling-2024-campaign-00144625 puts Trump in front by a few points in every poll which is scary.
Having just returned from our northern Wisconsin home to Chicago it was obvious that the many Trump supporters up there (which vote 68% for Trump) are looking forward to imposing authoritarian policies in the USA. They are actually giddy up there.
The US Supreme Court keeps Trump in the Colorado (and other) ballots.
This is so ridiculous on the part of the “traditionalist” majority:
Look at the 1860 election.
Lincoln was barred from running in most Southern states:
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, N Carolina, Tennessee, Texas.
The main candidate of the future secessionists was not allowed to run in
New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island.
The farmers are going to protest. Not against the regime but to get the regime to do their duties. They complain among other things about the unpredictability of the subsidies they should receive, The regime seems to pay some, some not, some full, some 20% without system. I guess the system is that the land of the ones who don’t get money is of interest for some NER elite. But that is just an assumption. Since years the regime did nothing to keep the land of the country in good condition, no water management is visible, dangerous waste depots all over the country. And still, the farmers are not against the regime. The fear seems to be so deep, that a real protest will result in personal disadvantages.
Nagy a felháborodás a Tamási magánosítása miatt, az iskolánál megforduló szülők 90 százaléka nem akar fenntartóváltást (nepszava.hu)
Another thing was written in der Spiegel, that refugees from Ukraine who also have a Hungarian pass are in trouble about the money they received from the state, because as EU citizen one has no right to receive money.
Investigation launched in Germany over social assistance to Hungarian dual citizens | 24.hu
Victoria Nuland, third-highest ranking US diplomat and critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and consistent enemy of Orban is retiring (from @AP) https://apnews.com/article/b06cfb9ca517f1a7f2e10ee7520e3086
She will be remembered by many as Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland.
This polling data released a very short while ago also finds Trump ascending see https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/05/us/elections/times-siena-poll-registered-voter-crosstabs.html
It is deeply disturbing to be honest.
The data translate to a rising curve for Trump and a (at best) steady if not dropping, curve for Biden.The crossing point will be crucial for the US, and if it arrives early, the Democrats will have to work hard on avoiding a complete party meltdown.
The Republicans have an advantage, as their major meltdown happened in 2016, when they surrendered to the wave of support for Trump and all the chaos (disguised as politics) in his wake (disinformation and lies not counted)
Europe has a lot more experience with this kind of political dysfunction, something the likes of Orbán and others hope to profit by and try hard to convert to votes, but many people here still know the importance of not over-reacting, or tilting.
The rise of old-school nationalism is a surprise to me, but then perhaps not, really. After all, we are only human and only few of us have been where survival was a matter of being able to work together – as one – differences aside.
Trump speaks about “many millions” of illegal immigrants – That sounds like complete nonsense, in our day and age.
Who and where are they?
If we use this data set https://immigration.procon.org/us-undocumented-immigrant-population-estimates/
the current number is 11.5 million. So Trump is not wrong.
But we honestly don’t know historically how many undocumented workers there were in the USA historically.
We know that an estimated 4.6 million Mexicans entered the country legally through the Bracero Program between 1942 and 1964, and states like California soon became dependent on bracero workers. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers crossed the border without permission and found jobs on the farms of employers willing to flout the law.
It gets more complex for example prior to the US entry into WWI. When my grandfather and great uncle arrived at the port of New Orleans 1907, no passports or visas were needed to enter the United States. In fact, no papers were required at all. This was a paperless period. All you had to do was verbally give information to the official when you boarded ship in Europe and that information was the only information used when they arrived.
I have the original hand written records from their entry into the USA (at New Orleans) and they were both listed as clerical workers fluent in German and Hungarian. They when went to St Louis to work for a relative and from there up to Chicago to help build a railway line with other Eastern European migrants, including to their disgust Jews.
Based on copies of letters they received over the years from family in Hungary, (written in script) my father and I both determined the two intrepid brothers went AWOL from the Austro-Hungarian Army.
They left on a ship from an Italian port paying for their tickets who knows how. They both technically I guess were legal aliens really only because the concept of legal vs illegal migrants did not exist then.
Prior to emigration they both served in the kaiserlich-königliche Landwehr or k.k. Landwehr in the Balkans chasing various bandits (more likely nationalists that needed to be terminated) under the command of German speaking officers.
Compared to Europe, the US seems to have big difficulities about agreeing on the legality of registered immigrants vs. spontaneus border crossers.
How they are sent to other places in the US should be a trafficking offence, addressed by the recieving state, or what?
At any rate, the containment and the unclear definition of the questionable arrivals is the single biggest issue that fuels the far right nationalists in the US..
Fidesz continues with its blackmailing:
Now they say they will not accept Mr Rutte (Netherlands) as the new NATO leader!
Maybe it’s high time they went – from EU and NATO, but
We’re still in it for the money!
Orbán/Fidesz are completely pickled in the Russian propaganda machine.
Any action from their side serves one purpose only – to serve the Russian agenda.
New species!
“they also eat dog food, cat food, feces, and household refuse.”
“Its toxic skin can kill many animals, both wild and domesticated, and cane toads are particularly dangerous to dogs.”
“Butofenin, one of the chemicals excreted by the cane toad, is classified as a schedule 9 drug under Australian law, alongside heroin and LSD“
There were two, not-publicized Chinese police stations in Budapest in the last few years
Orban government made a new agreement in February.
Chinese policemen will be in the streets of Hungary to check on the Chinese
guest workers and tourists.
https://telex.hu/belfold/2024/03/06/kinai-rendorok-magyarorszagon-belugyminiszterium
Oppression is Hungarian culture – that was already the case in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Funnily enough, Hungarian “luminaries” claim that the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was a forerunner of democracy and even of the EU. Then came fascism, then communism, then a 20-year break and then fascism again. No matter what you call it, the desire for oppression was always the idea of further development.
“… Almost unnoticed by the European public, Hungary has concluded a new agreement with Beijing. There are many indications that it could enable China’s security forces to extend their surveillance to the EU. In addition to controlling its citizens, Beijing is pursuing a second goal …”
The fact that laws are being passed at the same time on Orban’s sovereignty is only stringent. Of course it is claimed to be for Hungary. 🙂
Interesting background info here:
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/02/28/chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-is-bringing-new-risks-to-europe
Hungary is considered a “kiss kapu” into the EU not only for the Chines but also for the Russians – and of course for all oligarchs who are willing to spend some money here.
“News” from Orban’s family business that is also known as Hungary and as the first place the culture of families. 😀
“Huge fines by Hungary’s State Audit Office are hindering opposition parties’ campaigns. By law, Office head László Windisch must comply with strict conflict of interest rules – turns out he’s former Fidesz justice minister & MP @JuditVarga_EU ‘s boyfriend.”
By now, evrerubody knows how “legal Democracy” has been converted to “Constitutional Dictatorship” in Hungary.
If oppositon means business, they must find other ways to make themselves hearrd.
What opposition? A white Catholic with lots of children or a billionaire with lost proof of his education who was still poor under communism and later admitted that he only lied once. Or Eva who never mentioned Orban’s primitive system of to kick to the bottom … because she simply didn’t understand it. Or Dr. Prof. Canada who can’t describe the Hungarian system in a few sentences because he uses it himself. You think Hungary just needs another chatterbox … there are plenty of them.
OECD Economic Surveys: Hungary – march 2024
https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-economic-surveys-hungary-2024_795451e5-en#page1
https://telex.hu/gazdasag/2024/03/07/oecd-jelentes-magyarorszag-gazdasagpolitika-egyenlotlenseg-nyugdijrendszer
The movie The_Zone_of_Interest about the “leader” commandant Höss of Auschwitz and his family has wo many prizes and might get some Oscars too.
An important part of this is that Hösse got another job while his wife and children stayed in their castle near the KZ and then he was ordered back to mange the killing of the 700 000 Jews that Hungary sent to Auschwitz …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Zone_of_Interest_(film)
You find a lot of information about this “Operation Höss here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Hungary#Mass_transports
Almost funny …
CPAC is active again, they’ll meet in Budaoest in April.
Fidesz and Spanish right wing Vox and Dutch fascist Wilders – the list could go on. There’s a report on this and on the perfect relationship between Trump and Orbán here:
https://hungarytoday.hu/the-washington-times-the-world-needs-a-trump-and-orban-alliance/
Now if you just glance at this you might think of the New York Times and Washington Post, world-leading newspapers.
But no – it’s the Washington Times which like the New York Post is extreme right wing, MAGA etc …
It seems that Fidesz is hoping for
1) Trump to become president again
2) the extreme right wing parties to become so strong in the EU parlialent elections that Their support for Putin will “end” the war in Ukraine.
I just hope this won’t happen – even if there are enough crazies in the USA people in the EU must understand what the right wing wants to do.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/07/viktor-orban-to-visit-donald-trump-in-florida-hungary
It’s been the writing on the far right wall, for several years, by now.
Orbán’s scavenging, monitor lizard stance depends on general far right progress, over time, in order to achieve full success.
It could happen, one day..
While monitor lizards do “scavenge” for things like birds eggs, (the goannas we have around our place would get into cat food) and sometimes road kill and other carrion; they are carnivores that mostly hunt live prey which they mostly swallow whole. Stop besmirching our goannas! 🙂
The cane toad image above is a way more suitable .
February budget deficits, by year:
https://www.portfolio.hu/gazdasag/20240308/elkepeszto-hianyadat-erkezett-ket-honap-utan-fejre-allt-a-koltsegvetes-673761
EU has transferred 1.22 billion euros to the Hungarian government (10% of the released 12.2 billion “cohesion” funds) since mid December.
https://www.portfolio.hu/unios-forrasok/20240308/brusszel-kifizet-egy-30-milliard-forintos-szamlat-magyarorszagnak-673791
https://countryeconomy.com/deficit/hungary
Budget deficits, 2023
Italy 7.2%
US 6.3%
Japan 5.2%
France: 4.9%
Germany & Austria: 2.2%
Switzerland: 0.7%
Surplus:
Norway
Denmark
Australia
The “February” Revolution in Russia started with a women’s march on March 8
(= February 23 [old style=Julian calendar]), 1917.
“La Liberté guidant le peuple” par Delacroix (1830)
Who did Orbán talk with in Florida (???) before meeting Donald Trump?
Former Trump adivisor convicted (and pardoned by Trump) criminal Steve Bannon …
We discussed him on Eva’s blog – I cant’t eat as much as I want to throw up …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon
Orban talked to Bannon at the Hungarian embassy in Washington DC yesterday.
https://twitter.com/zoltanspox/status/1765791026344579085/photo/1
The Italian connection:
https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-italy-benjamin-harnwell-steve-bannon-academy-for-the-judeo-christian-west/
President Tamás Sulyok talked a lot about the Great Hungarian Nation and the glorious fundamental law (constitution) that he’ll follow.
What he didn’t mention:
This law has been changed by Fidesz already about 50 times and laws generally are not so important in Hungary – we rule by decrees!
That speech is kind of funny but also sad.
dailynewshungary.com https://dailynewshungary.com/new-hungarian-president-serving-country-nation-is-greatest-honour/
Rather OT but also funny in a way:
What kind of horrible colur is that shade of green on the uniforms that the soldiers are wearing?
It looks kind of dirty to me …
… as a Hungarian dramaturge wrote in an open letter they wallow in their own filth.
And here the US loonies, remember when Steve Bannon worked for Breitbart?
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/03/10/exclusive-hungarian-trump-presidency-ensure-new-world-order-global-peace-stability/
Let’s see and wait how long he’ll last…
A scathing article on how Orbán and Trump admire each other:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/12/trump-viktor-orban-reelection
Is there a chance to get rid of these two as “leaders”???
If Orbán is to succeed in using Nato for advancing his (and Fico’s)
Erdogan-inspired strategy (remember that Erdogan and his family hold major stakes in Turkey’s defence industry), he needs to have Trump’s support, in case he is elected again.
Remember the myghti lidur in the summer of 2018 met a far-right Belgium group ?
Video of meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv2wSaqyyx8
Wel that young, ambitious, but less myghti lidur, together with several party members [Schild & Vrienden], today was sentenced in court for racism, nazi sympathoies, illegal weapon trade,etc.
Van Langenhove was “passionate about Nazi ideas that cause a lot of suffering. He wants to undermine society… he violated the racism and negationism law… and the weapons law (he sold pepper spray)”
OV’s fan received an effective prison sentence of 1 year, suspended prison sentence of 10 months and several fines [total ca.50,000 Euro]. Furthermore deprived of his civil rights for 10 years, so he cannot be elected or hold political office during that period.
More details [after translating from Dutch/Flemish to your preferred language] at https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/03/12/liveblog-vonnis-schild-en-vrienden/
and note that the mygthi lidur has met more potential “behind prison bars” nominees, even one also running for something else… like… potus…
As an American of Hungarian ancestry living in the USA it is disturbing on many levels that Orban paid homage to Trump. But what has happened with President Biden over his claim about Orban openly and publicly supporting imposition of a dictatorship is also confusing the situation.
It is unclear if Biden was referencing the famous illiberalism speech of Orban or what. But clearly Péter Szijjártó seized on what President Biden said being fully aware Orban said no such thing explicitly and created a diplomatic crisis by calling Biden effectively a lair.
Apparently Ambassador Pressman added fuel to the fire by stating to Deputy Minister Levente Magyar something about Hungary’s deteriorating democracy. Which is true and has been for years even before Pressman was appointed as ambassador.
Really the actual situation inside Hungary is being characterized by some Democratic Party activists here in the USA as comparable to the German Nazis dictatorship. When I say it’s a bad situation for Hungarian democracy but it’s still a some way from being a Nazis dictatorship, I have been accused of being a covert Orban agent, in comments on line, from people who can’t find Hungary on a blank map of Europe.
Biden is going for Trump’s throat now and holding very little back. The Democratic Party faithful here in the USA are now in full offensive mode against Trump and Orban is in the firing lane. The Democrats have decided to not play the civility game any more.
“The Democrats have decided to not play the civility game any more.”
About @^!%*#& time.
Well when some of the harshness now coming out of Democrats is now hitting Trump’s followers in mass as being Putin agents we have a problem over here. Having a second home in an area of Wisconsin that is solidly pro-Trump I know Trump supporters who are confused old anti communists..
They are a mess and really know very little of the world beyond our borders.
Panic has set in among some in the Democrat party that Trump could win in particular because President Biden often appears decrepit and confused yet can deliver a teleprompter based speech.
Biden’s base among younger politically progressive voters is also threatened because of Biden’s relationship with Israel.
Biden’s comments about Orban in Philadelphia were extemporaneous, which is where he gets often in trouble.
I historically was a Republican as were most military officers and broke with the party when Trump took it over. But I also was raised as a child under a completely corrupt Democratic Party rule in the city of Chicago, with literally dozens of elected Democrats jailed. So to be honest I am no friend of Democratic Party insiders who are now aggressively urging Biden on for a political war to the knife’s edge (kés élét) as my grandfather used to say when I was a boy.
The questions American voters really should be discussing up to the vote, should not relate to the past times.
Too much has canged since then, but if it’s relevant to discuss what kind of system people would prefer to live in, and whether isolationalism or cooperation is the better situation for the country, a qualified decision might be made.
Since there are only two (very old) candidates of very much opposite types to choose from, there’s little or no point in basing the choice on appearrence and demeanor.
You seem to ignore what language your old friends are using. They have chosen a candidate who is a raper, seems to be a fraud, and an insurrectionist among other crimes.
The language and tactics your old friends use against Biden and his family are just disgusting.
Just write down where Biden is lying in his speeches. I would like some facts instead of complaints about the style.
What you write is just distracting, and of course being a snowflake as a republican. You complain about democrats from the past. Imagine what history will tell about republicans from the present. Imagine if your old friends win, what disaster this would be for your country. And I completely agree with the reaction of Phil S Stine.
Since you do not seem to follow what is going on in Hungary, but rather want to play on a “higher” level playing with world politics and semantics you do not seem to recognize how close the Hungarian regime is to the third Reich regime.
The Republican Party has fragmented and a part of Trump’s support comes from Democrats.
In the United States, Obama–Trump voters, sometimes referred to as Trump Democrats or Obama Republicans, are people who voted for Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama in the 2008 or 2012 presidential elections (or both), but later voted for Republican Party nominee Donald Trump in 2016 or 2020 (or both). Data shows that in 2016, these voters comprised roughly 13% of Trump voters. They stayed loyal to Trump in 2020.
With out question those former Democrats put Trump over the top in 2016 and made the election very close in 2020.
Always blaming democrats isn’t it? Must be in your genes.This is what one calls deflection.
Just one question; which party’s candidate is a criminal, raper, fraud, fascist, a liar, who does not except election results?
Several times in the last year, I heard complaints from the MAGA party. With every vote, for a new speaker of the house, the snowflakes complained that no democrat voted for the next MAGA candidate.
And every person who votes for the orange man is an idiot.
The other thing, in the SOTU Biden read from a teleprompter. Would you advise to speak free?? But you seem to ride the same horse as a lot of news outlets do. Talking about age, but not about the achievements of the Biden government,
If you don’t like those, then criticize the ones you do not like. No problem with that. The funny thing is though, that the MAGAS are bragging in their districts about achievements they voted against.
That you have a problem in the US, sounds like an understatement of some magnitude. It’s been going on for very long, by now.
The Trump-Orbán alliance has, for at least ten years, bombarded national media with straight Kremlin narratives.
The purpose of causing confusion and disillusion has been served 100%, by their respective organisations, and in Hungary and the US, converted to a public opinion chaos/breakdown.
I don’t hold much hope for Hungary, but at least, the US still has a potential for divorcing over that fundamental abuse of confidence and fidelity, essential to a functioning and healthy democracy.
Perhaps a democratic union between Canada and the Non-Trump American states could form – A North American EU of sorts. That would balance things well.
The fact that Orban is living a dictatorship is widely known worldwide. That you pour oil on the fire by calling it that is downright ridiculous to me, maybe other readers see it differently. Is this one of your usual games like I am Rino or selling obvious propaganda here as an alleged documentary, e.g. a la Horthy’s private life without sources? The tough criticism of the person Selensky and his politics and the great silence on Trump Orban Putin is particularly striking … Personally, I don’t care, I don’t fall for it …
… one more thing, the rejection of the Catholic sect that has been abusing children and women for centuries can also be condemned if you are a devout Christian. The fact that wolfi rigeros rejects the Catholics does not excuse the abuse – so much to your comment
to that.
Back to Hungary:
I just looked at several Fidesz-controlled “news” sites – they really live in an alternate world!
For them Hungary is the center of freedom – unless of course you’re not christian, you’re gay or whatever.
And the media are totally free – as long as they report what the Hun government tells them.
The list could go on …
If you have time enough just have a look at Hungarytoday or Dailynewshungary – but beware, you might die from laughing.
True Magyar Nemzet and Hir Tv present an alternative reality, but it is accepted by the true believers in Fidesz apparently.
It is not really possible to answer all these comments in the narrower posting space so I am doing a new thread. As to my voting as a Republican in presidential elections up to 2016.
I have admitted this always, even in my earliest posts on Eva’s Spectrum site. The majority of former US commissioned military officers were Republicans going back to the election of Eisenhower. It is questionable for a commissioned officer still in active service to state their political preferences openly and I never did so while in the service.
In 2016 that all changed and most former officers I have contact with stopped being active Republicans. Many simply did not vote in either 2016 or 2020.
As to the current situation of Hungarian parliamentary democracy it is as we all know is rigged in favor of Fidesz. But that does not turn Hungary into a fascist nation state or the equivalent of Putin’s Russia which now is the Democratic Party propaganda line.
I think essentially Bálint Magyar ‘s characterization of Hungary as a Mafia State is correct and as he and his colleagues describe it is vast and has roots everywhere. A similar reality existed in Chicago of my childhood where the corrupt Irish dominated Democrats had hegemony and my own grandfather a Democrat city commissioner under a Central European Mayor was purged by the new Irish American administration.
It’s obvious that Orban is restricting the political freedom of the opposition and threatening some with criminal prosecution but has yet not carried out most such threats. Even in the completely Fidesz dominated city of Esztergom where a relative of one of Hungary’s most wealthy oligarchs Ádám Hernádi is now Mayor there are opposition members of the 14 member city council. On Komárom-Esztergom County Assembly of the 15 members 6 belong to opposition parties. I have a relative who is on that body and I have attended a meeting of that assembly where the opposition actually stopped one project with several Fidesz members abstaining on the vote.
Really the picture painted by President Biden of Hungary is one of a full dictatorship. Biden also totally avoids any analysis of role fear of direct involvement Hungary in the war in Ukraine played in the 3 April 2022 victory of Orban. See in particular Kim Lane Scheppele, “How Hungary’s Orbán Turned the Ukraine War to His Own Advantage and Set an Example for Other Right-Wing Leaders,” American Prospect, 30 March 2022.
The Democrats here avoid the reality that the joint opposition’s support for Ukraine in its struggle against the Russian invasion played a critical role in how the joint opposition was crushed in the last Orban victory.
Trump if anything learned a lesson from Orban how to utilize the war in Ukraine for electoral success.
The way I see it, the main democracy-inhibting behavior among voters for both Trump and Orbán, is self-censorship and bullying.
That’s probably a predictable reaction in a forum where any disagreement with the leader has obvious negative consequences.
The same conflict focused, bullying culture completely dominates political discussions in social media.
Biden’s rhetoric about Hungary could (isolated to the Democratic party) be interpreted as an escalation or even aggressive, but compared to the stuff coming from the likes of Trump and Orbán, it’s obiously very benign and closer to reality.
I seem to remember a somewhat similar sharpening of attitude by Hubert Humphrey (who was otherwise known to be a civilized debater) during his campaign against Nixon, prior to the 1968 election.
Well unfortunately I voted for Nixon as a college US Army cadet. His super aggressive tactics to try and force a peace deal in Vietnam came close to getting me killed as a young officer.
I was in Germany in 1975 when the final collapse of the ARVN took place and the communists took control. I was devastated watching the collapse on television as were other officers with me in West Germany who had served in Vietnam.
Since four years we are under an emergency, first because of COVID, now because of the war next door.
We are governed by decrees, no parliament needed. Who do you think signs all these decrees?? Indeed, it is the Viktor.
As every fascist, the Viktor needs enemies. The homeland, is attacked. Do we have examples of this? Enough i think. Also fascists think that the pure blood of their nation is under attack. Do we find examples from this in Hungary? I think so, from outside the migrants, and from inside the homosexual, lesbian, transsexual are connected by law to pedophiles. Roma are also a nice target to discriminate.
His talking about a strong Hungarian army to defend the homeland, because on NATO partners one can not rely. Institutions are destroyed and replaced by loyal organisations. See the universities as an example. Why do you think this guy is not a fascist? That is all what Biden said. He didn’t say Hungary is a fascist state.
He is using the old strategies of the churches; go as far as you can suppressing the people, and if it seems you did too much take one step back. But never let go the ultimate goal, to rule alone in ultimate power. And in our fascist’s case, all the churches are helping him, because he promised them possessions.
Pressmans speech today.
Pressman nagykövet eddigi legkeményebb beszédében azt ígérte, az Egyesült Államok „cselekedni fog” (444.hu)
Speech by Ambassador Pressman on the 25th Anniversary of Hungary’s accession to NATO (usembassy.gov)
The English Guardian reports on the speech and says it clearly – Hungary can be considered an outsider in NATO/EU and (almost…) an ally of Putin.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/14/us-ambassador-hungary-unhinged-anti-american-messaging-orban
This article just appeared in the Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/14/us-hungary-relationship-orban-ambassador-pressman/
I agree with much of what Pressman has said about Orban’s rule, especially about Homophobia. Pressman really made no comment about Biden’s claim that Orban publicly argued for a dictatorship in Hungary.
Not too much OT:
Istvan, what do your relatives in Esztergom think and say about the Fidesz rule there, Mayor Hernadi eg.
We live in the neighborhood and our friendly neighbours tell us stories about the horrible corruption there.
About your comment on the Nixon presidency – Are we to understand that you support Orbán’s Ukrainian surrender policy, or do you mean something else?
Why should Pressman address Biden’s comments, when he presents a very obvious case for calling out Orbán’s disloyalty and autonomy?
The license plate issue is extremely symbolic.
I remember how, in Western Germany, US personnel were issued special oval plates, instantly recognizable from the standard rectangular and square plates. That made it easy for the German traffic police to identify American traffic-sinners.
Are you sure?
As I remember (maybe later) they got licence plates like German cars – just the county (Kreis) ID was imaginary. So you could identify tem only if you knew all German county’s names or at least the abbreviations used.
I don’t know for how long the system was enforced. It was probably temporary.
I first saw the oval plates in the mid-sixties, because before that time US military personnel imported their (very big) private cars directly from home, keeping the original American license plates. As import restrictions lightened, during the late sixties and German car production scaled up, the oval plates became fewer, and the last time I saw one, was in the mid-seventies, on a VW camper.
Since nationalists use the argument that everything is far too complicated when something doesn’t suit them, I’ll use an extremely simple definition that anyone can read on Wiki even if one lives in a bubble.
„… but it’s still a some way from being a Nazis dictatorship …“ 😀 No – National Socialism is a radically anti-Semitic, racist, ultra-nationalist, völkisch, social Darwinist, anti-communist, anti-democratic and anti-pluralist ideology. It has its roots in the völkisch movement that developed around the beginning of the 1880s in the German Empire and in Austria-Hungary. From 1919, after the First World War, it became an independent political movement in German-speaking countries. If you exclude the description “anti-Semitic”, it fits very well with Hungarian politics.
Obviously Hitler’s control over people’s daily lives was much higher than Orban seems interested in, maybe because there is no money to be made in that aspect of Nazism.
So far Orban is allowing certain levels of public dissent in Hungary, that were not allowed in Nazi Germany after the Reichstag fire for sure but were being violently suppressed before the fire too. Orban seems not interested in going that far. Not because he is nice but because he doesn’t have to do so to maintain his power now.
Unlike Hitler, Orbán isn’t a product of war, nor has he ever had a mitiant, revolutionary opponent, as Hitler’s outfit had. There isn’t a basis for comparison.
A loud, but toothless, opposition more than suits Orbán’s suit-and-tie clad needs, for documenting “freedom”.
But the uniformed mob leaders he assosiates with, show a different image.
“Obviously Hitler’s control over people’s daily lives was much higher than Orban seems interested in, maybe because there is no money to be made in that aspect of Nazism.” Obviously? Why obviously, that’s nonsense.
The imaginary enemies of Germany were those who spoke out publicly against National Socialism, gays and “inferior” life, as well as the old enemies of the Catholic Church, the Jews, and we have exactly the same thing in Hungary today. Some old Nazis today claim that making money was the decisive point of the regime and not hatred because they earned billions by taking money from others.
Exactly the same motive was used against the Jews in the Middle Ages, especially by the Catholic Church. Laws were made to take the property of the Jews. You can read about how simple and calculated this is in many historical novels whose authors reveal the rackets in the epilogue, e.g. in The Pillars of the Earth.
The beneficiaries were the powerful (mayors etc.), those who ruled like Orban (street thugs) today. By the way, the word fascism was invented later, so there are “luminaries” (Hungarian Dr. Prof.’s) who claim it was something completely different back then. 🙂 I was able to read this in the comments section of Eva’s blog …
The control of the Orban system now extends into the bedrooms of Hungarians. If you want some breadcrumbs or want to be “in” then you have to inseminate your wife and or kiss a Fidesz ass. In our village, which is in Hungary and not in America, there are several examples of Fidesz activists handing out money in the name of Fidesz. For example, an alcoholic who hasn’t worked for 45 years and whose electricity and water have been cut off now receives a “handsome” pension of 140,000 Ft from Fidesz, as much as others who have worked all their lives, and this is also because otherwise the village will have to support this stinker if they don’t want to see him die in public.
There is a difference between Hitler and Orban, that is brutality if it serves your Hungarian national pride.
Ok I will debate this issue of the nature of the Orban state no further.
You have not put forward any arguments as to why Orbanistan is a democracy, nor have you discussed it with anyone. The fact that you now don’t want to make any claims about your beloved Orban from the propaganda here helps your reputation rather than Hungary.
You never debated it
So Pressman’s speech is now available in full at https://hu.usembassy.gov/news-speech-by-ambassador-pressman-on-the-25th-anniversary-of-hungarys-accession-to-nato/
The interesting thing about Magyar Nemzet’s review of his speech was its obsessive discussion of the license plate issue relating to US Air Force personnel stationed in Hungary that Pressman raised really as a metaphor for the deteriorating relations between Hungary and the USA. Here is a link to the Magyar Nemzet article https://magyarnemzet.hu/belfold/2024/03/ismet-magyarorszagot-tamadja-david-pressman.
Overall Pressman made no claims similar to what President Biden said in Philadelphia about Orban publicly supporting a dictatorship over democracy. I thought Pressman’s comments about the situation of freedom of the press were also objectively true.
Really Biden just attacked Orban, Pressman built a case as to what aspects of democracy were deteriorating in Hungary. Because President Biden spoke extemporaneously about Orban’s visit to Trump it was not well put together like Pressman’s speech was. President Biden is clearly having trouble with things like that now, Trump makes up stuff constantly.
Pressman put precise wording on the rest of the European Nato members’ beef with Orbán’s Hungary.
He bowled a powerrful pitch directly at the European pro-Ukraine and anti-Putin forum, potentially yielding a politcal home run.
It will have consequenses for Orbán’s standing in Europe – Just wait and see!
If you ask me, that’s a clever move by Biden.
I already posted Pressman’s speech hours ago.
And this insinuating that Biden said that the Viktor is close to be a dictator without preparation or thoughts when you yourself write the old man is just able to read a text from a teleprompter contradicts itself.
Pressman himself stated, when asked, that what Biden said in the SOTU is the official opinion of the government of the US.
And obviously the Viktor’s control about peoples daily live is much higher than Hitler had to put things in perspective.
In my earlier post I wrote some reasons why the Viktor is a fascist. And he is.