The same applies to EU, where China exercises moderate, but effective, political influence through diplomacy. For instance, against official protests…
April 15, 2024 (early evening)
There has been a lot of PRC investment here in the USA for years. The recent decision to force the…
On media freedom in the EU, especially Hungary: This is especially true in Hungary, where the media have long been…
While Orbán holds Hungary in a state of suspended disbelief, he continues to speak on the country's behalf. Lies unchallenged.
All it takes, is a signature. China take's care of everything, including financing. The recipient state pays. In the end,…
The police in Brussels, stopped Viktors’ right wing conference due to “the possibility of public disorder”
Brussels police move to shut down Farage and Orbán’s right-wing jamboree – POLITICO
The Hungarian presidency of the EU is coming, and the regime prepares with a lot of cation and money.
“All that matters to Viktor Orbán now is to preserve what he looted” (nepszava.hu)
I don’t know if this is a chance or a danger for the EU.
The AFD in Germany seems to fall in popularity, the worst polls since June 2023.
Maybe in the end the German AFD voters start to recognize what criminals and traitors they are.
POLITICO Poll of Polls — German polls, trends and election news for Germany – POLITICO
Impressing pictures of the Hungarian Holocaust.
Not for weak nerves.
“Dad saw the huge smoke, the station’s inscription: Auschwitz, and he just said, ‘We’re lost.'” (szabadeuropa.hu)
The Brussels story is all pver the media, everybody is laughing at Farage, Orbán etc.
The big questions for me are:
Will the extreme right really get the votes they expect/hope for?
20% wouldn’t be a problem, but 30%?
Right now rhere are 2 groups on the right, could they unite?
And the most important one is:
Will the imho also right wing (ok, call them conservative) group EPP cooperate with those right wing/populist Putin friends?
That would be an ugly sitation …
https://hungarytoday.hu/conservatives-meet-in-brussels-amid-drama-and-intimidation/
Populist Fidesz media are whining about Brussels, the rules and laws so I have one simple question:
Why don’t you leave the EU?
Of course the answer is:
We’re in it only for the money!!!
If only it was that simple!
You have to take some relevant circumstances into account:
A Hungarian civil society without organisation for direct voicing in public debate and parliamentary legislation. That allows Fidesz to “play Fandango” and “French Clown” on behalf of the voters and state, without any consequenses what so ever.
Appearently, the Hungarian public can live with that.
The other circumstance is the general tolerance of corruption. The EU-money probably makes people feel relieved of equivalent added economic abuse.
The Hugarian silence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is interesting. Is the Russian silence a guideline for Hungary?
Hungary is in the Eurpean media again!
https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/ausland/id_100389910/viktor-orban-fordert-machtwechsel-in-bruessel.html
If you want this news on O1G`s latest rants in English:
https://apnews.com/article/orban-hungary-eu-elections-
“We must occupy Brussels, push aside the Brussels bureaucrats and take matters into our own hands,” he said to applause.
Of course he also damned immigrants and LGBT-propaganda, the EU helping Ukraine and so on – all behind closed doors, no critical media were allowed …
No comment necessary.
“We must occupy Brussels, push aside the Brussels bureaucrats and take matters into our own hands,” he said to applause.
https://apnews.com/article/orban-hungary-eu-elections-c06a7625d8d4f8d5d4f550caf9a34178
Ukraine bill passed Congress yesterday.
yes no present didn’t vote
Republican 101 112 1 4
Democratic 210 0 0 3
Text of the bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8035/text
Today in the Washington Post one day after the vote a columnist, Max Boot, called for additional aid to Ukraine really to achieve an eventual victory over Putin. I suspect Biden being an old time politician certainly will not want to write additional checks to the US armaments industry before the November elections.
Trump obviously isn’t saying a word about the Ukraine funding bill passing. It was a big defeat for him, but a majority of Republicans remained opposed to any additional funding for Ukraine. But a significant number defied Trump who started softening his stance in the last few days.
Trump also is getting some bad press for falling asleep at his own trial after nicknaming Biden sleepy Joe. Add to this a rather mentally ill man setting himself on fire in front of the Court House claiming Biden and Trump are both part of a plot against US democracy.
Biden may or may not want to donate, but the US weapons industy profit’s by the donations, and all the jobs they create. That’s not entirely without importance.
But of course, the Trump circus has success, in making Biden look like a President who can’t get legislation which a majority of voters support, through Congress and Senate. There is some election-propaganda value in that.
The level of dysfunctionality in the Republican Party must be very welcome in China and Russia, even Iran and Co.
A typical Fidesz story:
A report on the love between German FdP-politician Dr Gerhard Papke and Fidesz. He seems to admire the Fidesz anti-LGBT “family policy”and other aspects like anti-migration, anti-Islam etc.
https://hungarytoday.hu/gerhard-papke-interview-hungarian-conservatism-seen-as-threat-to-left-green-hegemony/
What they don’t tell you is that he’s been out pf politics since 2017 and the Liberal FdP might throw him out unless he leaves by himself.
In 2019 he became presidemt of the “Germam Hungarian Society”, another extreme right wing gang …
Now why does that remind me of Fidesz and the EPP?
But wait, Donald Trump’s wife Melania hosted a closed-door fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago not long ago for the Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative LGBT advocacy group. That was revealed in a Washington Post article https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashion/2024/04/22/melania-trump-fashion/ . Oh my what is Fidesz to do!
Melania Trump is a Slovenian Catholic, but it is unclear if she attends mass at any parish. It is clear that in violation of Catholic rules her and Donald Trump’s son Baron was baptized in an Episcopal church in Palm Beach, Fla. a violation of doctrine.
Melania and Donald were also married in same Episcopal Church and there is no indication the so called rules were followed.
Those Catholic rules are you have to obtain permission to marry a non-Catholic baptized Christian, the following conditions must be fulfilled according to the Church: (1) You declare that you are prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the faith; (2) you make a sincere promise to do all in your power so that all offspring are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church; (3) the other party is to be informed at an appropriate time about the promises which you are to make, in such a way that it is certain that he or she is truly aware of the promise and your obligation; and (4) both parties are to be instructed about the purposes and essential properties of marriage which neither of the contracting parties is to exclude. (Catholic marriage counseling for which there is an expected donation.)
By the way I married my wife Judy in a Methodist Church on the Seneca reservation in New York, where she is an enrolled tribal member as are both of our daughters.
I actually asked my Hungarian Catholic priest in Chicago if I could still take communion because of my transgression. He said sure the Church forgives you. That was reassuring.
Since Melania and Donald formally met with the Pope I suspect her transgressions may also have been forgiven.
As I am not part of any Catholic denomination or doctrine, there is no way I can relate to whatever religious implicatons the Trumps’ public behavior may generate.
I have only one question:
How much santimony and pretense of faith, amid brazen breeches of all the basic values of the Catholic faith can the Church contain without selling out?
Poll for the June European election:
Fidesz: 25%,
MiHazank 6%, sum of these 2 parties: 31%
Jobbik: 1%
LMP: 2%
2-tailed dogs: 5%
Momentum: 5%
Peter Magyar: 11%
DK: 18%, sum of these 4 parties: 39%
undecided and others: 27%
The origin of Peter Magyar’s 11% support :
6.5% previously undecided and others,
4.0% opposition,
0.5% Fidesz+MiHazank.
https://24.hu/belfold/2024/04/22/ep-valasztas-2024-kampany-felmeres-kutatas-zavecz-fidesz-magyar-peter-dk-parbeszed-mszp/
Tappanch, thanks!
Could you calculate and tell us what this would mean for Hungary’s representation in the European Parliament?
Promising numbers!
How Hungarian “Jungle Drums” convert to votes, will be interesting.
Fascistic – or fantastic?
Extreme right wing “leaders” from all over the world will meet this weekend at the CPAC conference in Budapest.
Don’t know whether I should laugh or cry – just looking at the guest list …
https://hungarytoday.hu/former-polish-prime-minister-to-address-the-third-cpac-budapest/
I know it is insulting to Asterix the Gaul, but the Viktor thinks he is like Asterix.
Viktor Orbán: While the whole of Europe has been flooded with a progressive liberal ocean, a conservative island remains here (nepszava.hu)
Maybe he hopes to steal Brussel’s cruiser and head out for Atlantis.
CPACK started in Budapest!
An illustrious group of right wingers was greeted first by some priests (and rabbis …) and then???
The German representative is Hans Georg Maaßen, former president of the German secret service (Verfassungsschutz) who was thrown out of the CDU even.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Georg_Maa%C3%9Fen
A nice example of the ***expletive deleted*** meeting there.
Have fun!
The public display of Trump’s “dirty underwear” is a source of entertainment for all who oppose him.
But also a good source of information about the elite political scene in the US.
Obviously, a lot of pervertion has found its way into the, supposedly, model Democracy.
And the beat goes on …
How should we call the partcipants of the CPAC congress happening right now in Budapest?
link doesn’t work so please look yourself at hungarytoday …
And now for the good news
:After several AfD members were found to work for Russia and/or China the expected percentage of votes for the EP elections went down to 15%.
It doesn’t seem hard to find a fitting label for the people you mention. How about
“Western League For Demolition of Democracy”.
“in mid-December, the European Commission unlocked €10.2 billion (about 5.3% of 2023 GDP) in cohesion funds after a positive assessment of judicial reform in Hungary. A further €2.3 billion was unfrozen in February 2024 following the approval of two thematic enabling conditions. Recently, Hungary has also received a positive endorsement of €920 million (0.5% of GDP) in pre-financing under the REPowerEU chapter, of which 20% has been disbursed in pre-financing.
The European Parliament’s legal committee has initiated a legal procedure against the European Commission for unlocking the €10.2 billion in EU funds for Hungary in December 2023, arguing that it was provided as a quid-pro-quo for Hungary’s tacit acquiescence to a large EU package to Ukraine. Nevertheless, we consider a reintroduced suspension of approved EU funds, or a clawback of disbursed funds, to be unlikely. In any case, the associated legal process is expected to be lengthy.”
S&P, April 26, 2024
https://disclosure.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3159343
Ursula, Ursula, you much loved enemy:
Government mandate:
Lidl in Hungary had to offer pork lard as a substitute for extra virgin olive oil.
(The Bertolli extra virgin olive oil was not available due to “delivery problems”.)
Orban’s son-in-law has secretly obtained another piece of public land, a former children’s hospital and its large garden in the Buda hills.
Journalists were able to figure this out from a government database.
The Orban regime’s answer: the database is no longer available to the public.
https://www.valaszonline.hu/2024/04/18/svabhegy-tiborcz-ingatlanfejlesztes-belakiraly-martonhegy/
https://valodihirek.hu/2024/04/24/lazar-janos-epitesi-es-kozlekedesi-miniszterium-tiborcz-istvan-svabhegyl
From July 1, Hungarian (i.e. European) green cards are again for sale for a 250,000 euro loan to the Hungarian National Bank.
https://www.szabadeuropa.hu/a/letelepedesi-kotveny-helyett-ingatlanvasarlas-ujabb-aranyvizum-osztogatasra-keszul-a-kormany/32889383.html
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
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
It looks as if China is gaining economic power and influence on politics in Hungary/Balkan, exactly as they have done in South East and Central Africa.
All it takes, is a signature.
China take’s care of everything, including financing. The recipient state pays.
In the end, a lot more expensive than any EU loan, and China determines transit-rates, work force make up etc.
But of course, the responsible politicians aren’t the ones who pay.
But they have voters who, in the end, have to take the bill.
While Orbán holds Hungary in a state of suspended disbelief, he continues to speak on the country’s behalf. Lies unchallenged.
There has been a lot of PRC investment here in the USA for years. The recent decision to force the Chinese owner of TikTok to divest from its U.S. operations is a rare development over here.
China has more foreign currency reserves than it can invest profitably.. So it’s money is everywhere.
The same applies to EU, where China exercises moderate, but effective, political influence through diplomacy. For instance, against official protests over non-transparency regarding forced labour and the persecution of religious minorities.
Also, visits and communication with Taiwan, strain diplomatic relaions considerably
As a result, EU criticism of increasingly undemocratic conditions in China and their direct support of the Russian war effort, is very meek.
On media freedom in the EU, especially Hungary:
This is especially true in Hungary, where the
media have long been under the control of a
few powerful people or their companies with
ties to the ruling Fidesz party and Prime Min-
ister Viktor Orbán. No significant changes to
the market occurred in 2023, and it continues
to be characterised by a large number of state-
funded media (with revenue from state adver-
tising expenditures) that show absolute loyalty
to the government. The lack of fair market
competition also helps solidify ownership
concentration: state advertisers favour media
loyal to the government, depriving independ-
ent media of an important revenue stream
and ensuring that they remain economically
vulnerable.
Liberties Media Freedom Report 2024