https://assets.telex.hu/images/20240904/1725468038-temp-kIbPMD_hero-full:xl@2x.jpg This chateau cum park was recently renovated from 3.2 billion forints (1.7 billion came from European taxpayers, 1.5 billion…
July 15, 2024
Trump’s Iwo Jima.
The ruling party is going to re-gerrymander the electoral districts before the end of the year. https://24.hu/belfold/2024/09/05/egyeni-valasztokeruletek-korzethatarok-pc
One more school shooting incident in the US. A moment to ponder whether disarming the American public space is relevant…
By "strangely foreign", I mean that the Danish/Baltic borders separate it (liguistically and culturally) from continental German culture. By "strangely…
Fortunately, Germany has had a stable development toward democracy, after the war. A state of open discussion is in force…
I wonder if one can just forget how close death was. And then continue like nothing happened.
That may ultimately depend on the quality of the grey matter between the ears.
Brutus was successful.
“Not that I loved Caesar less,
but that I loved Rome more.
Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves,
than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?”
(Shakespeare Act III)
But there can be deeper developments in society
that cannot be stopped by individual acts.
The Roman Republic did become a monarchy (after a long civil war).
A monarchy with lots of crazy emperors.
Comparing former President Trump getting part of his ear shot off to the Battle of Iwo Jima is not humorous despite the iconic visual imagery appearing in our media for both events.
The Japanese losses were just staggering, between 17,845–18,375 Japanese soldiers were killed. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner alive, some of whom were captured only because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled.
The US Marines had 6,821 killed in action and 19,217 wounded, many very severely so becoming permanently disabled. Not far from where I am writing now was Chicago’s Marine hospital where some of the most disabled of these Marines were sent for long term rehabilitation.
I am sure most Hungarians would not find reasonable what Hungary’s Second Army endured at the Battle of Stalingrad comparable to Trump’s ear wound, the one audience member shot dead, with two others significantly wounded. Below is a photo of Chicago’s Marine Hospital now torn down.
#1
Of course I know the toll of the Iwo Jima campaign.
I meant bitter irony here.
The posture is similar and but Trump’s was fake.
Trump was born rich, thanks to his dad, and he has never served in the army.
#2
Judge “loose” Cannon & the majority of the current US Supreme Court are on the way to create a Hungarian-style feudal kleptocracy, which is devoid of meritocracy.
If they interpret the Constitution as it was regarded 200 years ago.
then blacks and Indians are not allowed to own weapons.
Blacks were 60% “people” and Indians 0%.
Even “whites” should be allowed to “carry” only those :”arms” which were available 200 years ago.
I am watching several US & other channels simultaneously,
thanks to a guy in Guernsey:
vidgrid.tk.gg
The irony was well beyond me.
Trump’s newly picked vice president, J D Vance, is Peter Thiele’s protegé.
Vance will represent the extremist wing of the Republican party – he is anti-abortionist, did not accept the result of the 2020 presidential election, etc.
Vance is also against helping Ukraine against Russia.
Yes, many Republicans in Central Wisconsin at would cut all military assistance to Ukraine immediately. It’s a very common opinion up here.
There is really no Ukrainian population of significance up here, Slovak’s and Scandinavians families that migrated before WWI and old American families that moved west in the 1800s.
Chicago is totally different we even have a large Ukrainian Cathedral in the central area of Chicago. Chicago’s massive Polish community is also very supportive of Ukraine.
Vance’s wife “was a law clerk between 2014–15 for then-Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh and between 2017-2018 for Chief Justice John Roberts.”
Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” Is well beyond the comprehension of Trump, it merits reading. Trump admits to not reading books.
I devoured the book in a short period of time, I can in the context of Hungary only compare the situation of Vance to some cousins of mine in well outside of Esztergom related to me through my grandmother’s family who are essentially peasants in the far reaches of Komárom Esztergom County.
We will never know of course, but one idiot with a rifle may have changed the fate of democracy in the US. It may be the most effective earshot of history.
I approached this from the opposite direction.
Reagan was shot in 1981 to gain the attention of a woman.
Suppose the 20-year old amateur would-be assassin acted for political reasons, not for a woman.
The race had already been going against Biden. Crooks thought he could change the course of events by murdering Trump. That is why I wrote earlier that an individual action does not necessarily change the direction of a country.
Brutus (and others) successfully murdered Julius Caesar and they hoped they could save the Republic (“Senate and the People”).
They were wrong.
Americans know Trump well enough by now. It seems that half of them want a crazy emperor to rule over them.
The current majority of the Supreme Court seconds to this by elevating the President to an Absolutist King.
The weight of the former Confederate states has increased significantly because of the demographic changes.
The majority in those sates want a reverse civil war. They want to put an end to meritocracy.
I hope you are right.
The Trump rallies will be visited more, the media will pay more attention as they did in 2016 when his craziness was live on all media. And the orange man is a media specialist. Propaganda works by repetition. And let’s be honest, how can a person like him be a candidate for one of the biggest parties in the US? Do I trust the US electors? No, after 2016 with Brexit and Trump, four times the Viktor, the new Dutch government, the emergency break in France, and other results, I am not amazed by anything concerning election results.
I hope so much you are right.
Public media spreads fake video about Donald Trump’s assassin – Litmus (lakmusz.hu)
I hope I am wrong and the US will not sink into the morass of autocracy.
In Europe, it took many centuries of step-by-step, very gradual evolution to progress towards democracy.
The ancient Greek word “democracy” has always been alien outside Europe and the European populated countries like US.
If the US sinks, the whole world sinks.
I hope I am NOT right.
I agree with you, misread your comment
The USA based on the ideas coming out of our Constitutional Convention of 1787 is far from being a democracy. There were only 55 delegates to that Convention and they largely represented the interests of wealthy elites.
Many upper-class Americans complained that state constitutions were too democratic and, as a result, legislators were more concerned with maintaining popular approval than doing what was best for the nation from the perspective of the elites.
The most pressing problems was the way state legislatures responded to calls for economic relief. Many people were unable to pay taxes and debts due to a post-war economic depression that was exacerbated by a scarcity of gold and silver coins. States responded by issuing paper currency, which often depreciated in value, and by making it easier to defer tax and debt payments.
So they essentially created a Republican system where popular voting was contained by the electoral college system.
The delegates to the Convention voted to let Congress appoint the President, but there remained concerns that this would make the executive branch subservient to the legislature. On July 17, the Convention returned to the topic. Direct election by the people was defeated by a nine to one vote. A delegate named Luther Martin then proposed an amended version of James Wilson’s idea for an electoral college and that system with minor amendments still exists.
May 19, 2024
Vance said that the “U.S “could learn from” some decisions made by authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, including controversial policies related to dealing with dissidents at universities.
“On the university principle, the idea that taxpayers should have some influence in how their money is spent at these universities, it’s a totally reasonable thing, and I do think that he’s made some smart decisions there that we could learn from in the United States,” Vance said Sunday on “Face the Nation.”
The Ohio Republican has previously praised Orbán’s approach to state universities in Hungary, saying his way could be the model for eliminating what he views as a left-wing bias at American universities.
Orbán, who is revered in some hardline conservative circles, seized control of state universities, a move that critics say has extended his government’s right-wing influence.”
watch the 9-minute interview:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jd-vance-viktor-orban-smart-decisions-face-the-nation/
If Trump & Vance let Russia and China take over Ukraine & Europe.
then Isolationism will make America small again.
They say MAGA, but they do MASA.
Vance is a very popular pick among Republicans in Central Wisconsin where we have our second home.
Just prior to the attempted assassination of Trump he was polling ahead of Biden 48% to 45% so I suspect he will be leading more now.
Biden’s coming down with Covid yesterday will not help because Biden again stopped all campaigning, Wisconsin is considered a critical “battleground state” in this election based on the electoral college system.
Wisconsin has 10 electors in our so called Electoral College. That number is determined from the state’s eight members in the House of Representatives and two members in the Senate. Wisconsin, like 47 other states, goes by the winner-takes-all system. So the winner of the state’s popular vote receives all the state’s Electoral College votes. The party of the winner determines whose electors cast their votes in the college.
The local Republicans up here are implying that the US Secret Service could have arrested the shooter well before the shot was fired. Essentially it was a deep state plot to kill Trump.
The Democrats up in Central Wisconsin are deeply demoralized and not actively campaigning for Biden, many want him replaced but not with VP Harris.
One elected delegate to the DNC from Central Wisconsin stated that having a racially mixed candidate married to a Jew is not an optimal replacement for Biden up here.
Biden will easily take Illinois, where I am a legal resident, unless he withdraws or dies. It’s simply frightening the very real possibility of Trump winning and I am trying my best to pay no attention to the Republican National Convention being held in Wisconsin for strategic reasons related to the electoral college vote that actually determines who will be President.
Fidesz is waiting for Trump to become president – and end the war:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/16/trump-has-detailed-and-well-founded-plans-to-end-ukraine-war-says-orban
In their minds it’s easy od course – Ukraine just has to give in, give Russia more land and get rid of Zelensky’s rebime, mak room for a Russian vassall.
At last the other EU members know what this means and Orbán is becoming even more isolated in the EU.
Political speaches nowadays:
“Ron Johnson’s apparent speech mishap was an apt metaphor for the GOP’s inability to set a new tone: Instead of appealing to national unity, the senator from Wisconsin accused Democratic policies of being a “clear and present danger” to the country. Afterward, he blamed the teleprompter operator for not loading the new, more pacific speech he said he had intended to give.”
From the Alantic.
And a new book on the dangers for democracy by Anne Applebaum:
Autocracy Inc
Of course Orbán is mentioned too
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jul/17/autocracy-inc-by-anne-applebaum-review-the-devil-you-know
I have a great idea:
Why not send all Fideszniks on long rides on Budapest’s M3?
Former mayor István Tarlós claimed that A/C would be unnecessary on the nice trains (re)built in Russia because they run 25 meters underground. And the weight of the A/C would be much too high …They would spend nice days at 40 – 45 degrees – really comfortable.
https://dailynewshungary.com/trains-on-busiest-budapest-metro-line-hot/
Doesn’t sound so good for Orbanistan:
Almost 500 of the 631 members of the EU parliament voted for condemning Orbán’s visit to Putin.
So the next time Fidesz asks for more money from the EU …
She made it after having strong wotds on O and the other Putin lovers:
Ursula von der Leyen, a centre-right German politician, has won a European parliament vote to stay on as president of the European Commission for a second five-year term.
401 MEPs voted in favour, 284 against and 15 abstained. So around 30 members were not there or didn’t vote …
In Hungary this would count as a two thirds majority probably.
Here’s a running report:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/jul/18/europe-live-ursula-von-der-leyen-faces-crunch-vote-european-commission-president#top-of-blog
Sorry, of course it should be : 20 were not voting.
Orban’s letter to Charles Michel about his trips around the world (July 12, 2024)
https://miniszterelnok.hu/en/report-of-prime-minister-viktor-orban-to-charles-michel-president-of-the-european-council/
Ursula von Leyen’s trilingual speech (July 18)
“Two weeks ago, an EU Prime Minister went to Moscow. This so-called peace mission was nothing but an appeasement mission. Only two days later, Putin’s jets aimed their missiles at a children’s hospital and maternity ward in Kyiv.”
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/ov/statement_24_3871/STATEMENT_24_3871_OV.pdf
Illegal immigration statistics from the south.
US, first half of each year
Biden:
2024: 1,036,341
2023: 1,070,475
2022: 1,228,213 <—– Biden peak
2021: 901,216
Trump:
2020: 181,124 (pandemic)
2019: 596,435 <—- Trump peak
2018: 272,213
2017: 140,147
Obama:
2016: 267,654
2015: 219,490
2014: 329,449 <—- Obama peak
US vs Europe
Illegal immigration statistics from the south
2024 (first half): US= 1,036,341 vs EU= 75,325
Full years:
2023: US= 2,541,963 vs EU= 270,180
2022: US= 2,579,026 vs EU= 160,070
2021: US= 2,035,585 vs EU= 123,540
2020: US= 547,777 vs EU= 95,666
2019: US= 921,812 vs EU= 123,663
2018: US= 593,693 vs EU= 141,472
2017: US= 341,519 vs EU= 185,139
2016: US= 601,804 vs EU= 373,652
2015: US= 481,694 vs EU= 1,032,408
2014: US= 555,207 vs EU= 225,455
Orban’s gross salary / average Hungarian gross salary = 6300/645.5 = 9.77,
Trump’s gross salary/ average US gross salary = 400/59.428 = 6.73.
In the EU,
primes minister’s or president’s gross salary / average gross salary
#1 Hungary = 9.8
#2 Slovakia = 7.6
#3 Czechia = 6.1
[…]
#25 Denmark = 2.7
#26 Croatia = 2.5
#27 Malta = 2.3
https://atlatszo.hu/adat/2024/07/19/az-eu-s-kormanyfok-kozul-orban-fizetese-a-legmagasabb-az-atlagberhez-kepest/
If we look at the net salaries, Orban’s ratio is even higher compared to the other primes ministers’ or presents’ thanks to the 15% “flat tax” in Hungary introduced by him.
In the US, there is tax on tips.
“Tip income is taxable and must be reported”
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tip-income-is-taxable-and-must-be-reported
In Hungary, there is not.
But Prime Minister Orban does not know this.
He promises to abolish the “tax on tips” if there is “peace”, i.e.
Russia defeats Ukraine.
“A béke költségvetése már a fiókban van. Fontos intézkedések várhatók. Például nem lesz adó a borravalón. Már csak béke kell hozzá!”
https://www.facebook.com/orbanviktor/posts/pfbid0W1Lbs3Png3bfPDyJDnp3Zksb557YtDFknZBuG3QorrhJo3Ni7Ug9BhjAmxQ5Kyepl
Hungarians are not amused by Orban’s error.
Read the comments.
Actually, Orban plagiarized this idea from Trump’s July 18 acceptance speech:
“At the center of our plan for economic relief are mass tax cuts […] It’s called no tax on tips. No tax on tips.
I got that by having dinner recently in Nevada where we’re leading by about 14 points.”
Trump praised Orban last night.
“Hungary, strong country.Run by a very powerful, tough leader.
He’s a tough guy. The press doesn’t like him because he’s tough.”
etc.
Full transcript of Trump’s 90 minute self-congratulatory speech:
https://www.scrible.com/app/pdf-viewer/#docUid=72IO0C0LH006036034S3G9BS0848IG82
July 20:
Trump just praised Orban again in his Michigan speech.
‘Strong Orban said that peace will be restored if I am reelected’
Those bad, bad Ukrainians! How dare they stop Russian oil to Orbán and Fico?
https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-fuel-crisis-ukraine-sanctions-russian-oil-imports-lukoil-central-europe/
Just because of Hungary’s opposition to weapons deliveries to Ukraine and Kyiv’s accession to the EU?
Well Biden no doubt is having a difficult time with Covid right now, so he is apparently not capable of doing an address to the nation on TV until Friday about his decision to stop running for the presidency. But really that is based on guessing because he never gave a date in his short written statement.
Biden’s July 8 letter: No way
https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2024/07/President-Biden-Letter-to-Congressional-Democrats-7.8.pdf
Biden’s July 21 letter: Well, I will stand down after all.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTB11JnW8AAhCDP?format=png
“I will speak to the nation later this week”
The signature is similar…
Well he obviously did both, but even I as a governmental lobbyist of course had an electronic signature prior to my retirement 6 years ago that was not easily distinguishable from my original one. It was encrypted even then. I was actually required by Illinois State law to submit my electronic signature to be a registered lobbyist.
There are now about 5 software programs for encrypted signatures that are considered legal by federal standards. I use Adobe Sign.
Since retirement I only occasionally use it. I also use Chat GPT to draft legal contracts and documents that save a lot of money in legal fees.
Of course you are required to have an ongoing subscription to use such software which is a racket too. They are updating the software constantly.
Well he is on tonight so we shall see how he is doing, he looked much better than when he went into Covid isolation on video shown on US Tv.
Not a particular ly strong performance by Biden tonight. A Presidential historian, yes here there are some of those types, was quoted in the media saying: “ “There’s been a feeling that Joe Biden has disappeared from the scene and everybody is doing a eulogy for him.” Which is a fair assessment I think.
Orban established the notion of secretive “private equity funds” in Hungary in 2016.
Orban and his oligarchs park some of the stolen public money in these funds, free of taxation and free of scrutiny.
February 2023: 124 funds
July 2024: 170 funds
valaszonline.hu analyzed the scarce data about 41 of these funds.
They contain at least $4 billion (1452 billion forint):
#1 Orban’s plumber (a.k.a Meszaros): 17 funds containing 770 billion forint;
#2 Orban’s son-in-law (a.k.a Tiborcz): 12 funds containing 487 billion forint;
#3 National Bank chairman (a.k.a Matolcsi): 8 funds containing 116 billion forint;
#4 one of the friends (a.k.a Szijj): 4 funds containing 79 billion forint.
https://www.valaszonline.hu/2024/07/23/1452-milliard-magantokealapok-meszaros-tiborcz-matolcsy-szijj/
https://www.valaszonline.hu/2023/02/27/magantokealapok-ner-magyar-fejlesztesi-bank-meszaros-tiborcz-kozpenz/
“The [European] Commission calls on HUNGARY to correctly transpose into national law the Anti-Money Laundering Directive.”
“the Hungarian legal framework does also not ensure the completeness of the National Beneficial Ownership Register by not including in its scope private equity funds.”
“The Commission is therefore sending the additional letter of formal notice to Hungary, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission.”
Infringement decisions, July 25, 2024
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_24_3228
My question: why did it take 8 years for the Commission to discover that the Hungarian “private equity funds” are money laundering vehicles?
Fidesz whining is almost funny!
Right now they are bitterly complaining that they got no leaders in the committees of the European parliament.
https://telex.hu/english/2024/07/23/no-top-positions-for-fidesz-pfe-in-ep-committees-while-magyar-and-two-tisza-meps-elected-as-vice-chairs
But if you look at the situation in the Hun parliament in Budapest …
The number of convicted foreign people smugglers that were summarily released from Hungarian jails:
May 2023: 808
July 2024: 2,297
Number of people in Hungarian jails:
December 31, 2023: 17,939
https://hvg.hu/360/20240724_embercsempeszek-elengedese-bortonok-zsufoltsag-bvop-okosborton-adatvedelem
Net salary of full time employees in Hungary in May 2024:
Average: 1113 euro (433612 forint)
Median: 896 euro (80.5%*average)
https://www.ksh.hu/stadat_files/mun/hu/mun0202.html
https://www.ksh.hu/gyorstajekoztatok/ker/ker2405.html
https://www.ksh.hu/stadat?lang=hu&theme=mun
Russian workers of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant (and Russian spies) can come without restrictions to Hungary (therefore to Europe) from July 8, 2024.
See
tappanch (July 9, 2024 10:11)
and
https://forbes.hu/tarsadalom/orosz-belarusz-vendegmunkas-magyarorszag-racz-andras/
A state secret came to light after 3 months:
Hungary received a one-billion euro loan from China on April 19, 2024, which has to be repaid in 3 years.
The interest to be paid to China is still secret.
https://www.portfolio.hu/gazdasag/20240725/kiderult-szep-csendben-gigaosszegu-devizahitelt-vett-fel-kinatol-a-magyar-allam-700357
Gross debt of the Hungarian central government
In trillions (10^12) of forints; June 30 of each year
2024: 54.87080, up 14.49% y/y, up 90.17% in 5 years
2023: 47.92754
2022: 44.28024
2021: 37.41529
2020: 31.85325
2019: 28.85402
https://akk.hu/statisztika/allamadossag-finanszirozas
2024.03.31: 54.31614
2024.04.30: 54.13571
Since the debt did not grow in April, the Chinese loan
must have been excluded from the official debt number.
The number of children born in Hungary hit an all-time low in June.
June of
2021: 7722
2022: 8155
2023: 7257
2024: 6040
https://www.ksh.hu/stadat_files/nep/hu/nep0064.html
Yearly live births:
1970: 151,819
1980: 148,673
1990: 125.679
2001: 97,047
2006: 99,871
2011: 88,049
2016: 93.063
2021: 93,039
2022: 88,491
2023: 85,225
https://www.ksh.hu/stadat_files/nep/hu/nep0001.html
Orban’s speech in Bálványos, Transylvania, Romania
(Bálványos = place of idol worship)
Ukraine will not become a member of the NATO or the EU.
North Korea, China, Iran and even India support Russia against Ukraine.
Turkey is neutral.
The US (i.e. Trump) will abandon Ukraine.
Trump and his vice president will rule the US for 12 years.
The EU should disband as a political organization.
Asia will become the center of the world.
Orban plans to introduce additional support for the ethnic Hungarians in the neighboring countries (Romania, Serbia, etc)
[We know from other sources that he will extend the voting rights to these ethnic Hungarians who have never lived in Hungary, do not pay taxes in Hungary, but vote 96% for Orban’s party.
About 10% of the seats of the Hungarian Parliament will be pre-allocated to Orban’s party this way]
https://24.hu/belfold/2024/07/27/orban-viktor-tusvanyos-2024-tusnadfurdoi-beszed/
This big Fidesz summer conference is actually no longer held in Bálványos (part of Torja), but in Tusnádfürdő [Băile Tuşnad].
https://www.tusvanyos.ro/
An Orban idol worshipper:
US Ambassador Pressman’s reaction to Orban’s speech:
https://x.com/USAmbHungary/status/1817193587596992607
“fresh from his meeting with Putin, Prime Minister Orbán also peddled Kremlin conspiracy theories about the United States. Hardly what we expect from an Ally.”
The Guardian also reports on O’s speech – crazy!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/27/hungarys-pm-viktor-orban-warns-eu-on-path-to-self-destruction
USD millionaires in the world
(data by the Swiss bank UBS)
USA: 21.951 million adults,
China: 6.013
UK: 3.062
France: 2.868
Japan: 2.828
Germany: 2.821
Canada: 1.991
Australia: 1.936
Italy: 1.338
South Korea: 1.296
Netherlands: 1.232
Spain: 1.181
Switzerland: 1.054
India: 0.869
Taiwan: 0.789
Hong Kong: 0.629
[…]
Hungary: 0.025 million adults.
page 30
https://www.ubs.com/content/dam/assets/wm/global/insights/doc/global-wealth-report.pdf
——————–
Dollar millionaires (1.5% of the adult world population)
own 47.5% of the wealth of the population of the Earth.
page 23.
——————-
Median wealth per adult in 2023:
Luxembourg $372 thousand,
Australia: $262
Belgium: 256
[…]
France: $141 thousand
[…]
USA: $112 thousand
page 18.
The Russian army is making slow, but steady progress to occupy the entire Donietsk and Zaporozhie provinces.
They are only 10 km from Orikhiv, Pokrovsk and gradually surround Chasic Yar.
They have also reached New York (near Toretsk) from the south.
Median gross salaries
Austrians / Hungarians in Hungary = FOUR (4.01)
Hungarians in Austria / Hungarians in Hungary = THREE (2.94)
https://g7.hu/adat/20240729/ennyit-keresnek-az-ausztriaban-dolgozo-magyarok/
Countries that recognized the fraudulent election result in Venezuela, i.e. Maduro’s continued rule:
China,
North Korea,
Russia,
Syria,
Bolivia,
Honduras,
Nicaragua,
Cuba.
Iran,
Qatar,
Azerbaijan,
Serbia,
Belarus,
Madagascar,
Guinea-Bissau,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Dominica (as opposed to the Dominican Republic)
also joined the list of countries recognizing Maduro’s continued rule.
China – Russia – N Korea – Iran – Qatar: “the axis of evil”
Syria, Nicaragua, Cuba, Serbia, Belarus: servants of the axis.
The idea that it was even remotely possible that elections in Venezuela would be anything near fair was absurd. Now it’s very possible that the CIA will try to instigate yet another military coup.
I have little doubt it would fail and the idea of a direct Panama style invasion linked to regime change is very unlikely. I participated in what the US military codenamed Operation Just Cause, concluded in late January 1990 with the capture of Noriega who was a CIA asset gone rogue.
If Trump gets elected he is so primitive that he might try and pull off yet another coup that likely would be a fiasco.
Our invasion of Panama created a stable money laundering haven that allows the US intelligence to monitor this money laundering, probably even including some of the money amassed by Fidesz and Orban. Basically the Panama Papers are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. verified all of that.
The term “banana republic” also applies to oil and coaine based economies in southern America.
The colonial legacy speaks as loudly as it does in Africa, and the north-western semi post-colonial powers try their best to cynically maintain superiority. But “the chickens come home to roost”.
Trump is a full-blooded charlatan, pure and simple, and anything he is involved in causes major damage controlling efforts by the people who are assigned to clean up after his shit-shows
I doubt if he ever comes near a position of pushing foreign-policy buttons again..
Fidesz wants Serbia to join the EU but f course evrybody in Brussels thinks:
One Orbanistan blackmailing the EU is enough!
Just the way the Serbs treat thei Albanian minority:
https://www.dw.com/en/passivation-how-serbia-is-eroding-the-rights-of-ethnic-albanians/a-69638770
Both Serbia and Albania have very resilient Mafia families. Both groups are deeply involved in the illegal drug trade, human trafficking, and weapons trade. Hungarian border guards have taken bribes from both nation’s Mafia operations. (See https://balkaninsight.com/2024/02/29/hungary-mixed-feelings-on-both-sides/, https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/4048-serbia-29-police-officers-arrested-in-bribery-case-at-hungary-border, https://xpatloop.com/channels/2022/04/hungarian-border-guards-detained-for-bribery.html, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1350623988667887&set=a.154151698315128, it’s a very old story)
The funny part is the Trump supporters over here think Orban’s border control is a model to be emulated.
Of course it’s nothing compared to the Cartel operations on the US Mexico border.
My wife and I during the winter frequently rented houses south of Tucson Arizona. The Mexican border town of Sásabe, Sonora became a ghost town as gunfights between criminal factions forced residents, to leave their homes, to flee to Arizona.
We could hear the automatic gun fire from the hacienda we were renting. We did not understand what was going on until we talked with a US border patrol officer who told us about the shootouts in Sásabe.. We now rent only inside of Tucson now that has better policing. (See https://www.azfamily.com/2023/12/30/residents-slowly-returning-arizona-mexico-border-town-that-was-center-gang-war/) Of course when near the Mexico border both my wife and I carry semiautomatic handguns in holsters which is actually legal in Arizona. It is also spectacularly beautiful down there during the winter, it’s impossible in the summer with temperatures for weeks at a time in the 43 to 45 C range with incredible sun intensity.
Only two companies are allowed to build power-generating wind mills in Hungary (near Győr).
Company #1 (Orban’s son-in-law) = 71.8% (499 MW)
Company #2 = 28.2 % (196 MW)
https://www.portfolio.hu/gazdasag/20240730/kiderult-hol-epul-meg-a-gigantikus-magyarorszagi-szeleromupark-701487
#1 HU
Orban raised the salaries of his ministers in an overnight decree, by 26%.
(no decision of Parliament is needed for this)
https://24.hu/belfold/2024/07/31/miniszteri-fizetesek-2024/
The new salary is 6.362 million forint/month = $195,755 a year, gross.
Orban introduced the flat tax rate, which is 15%
This gives a net salary of 195754*0.85 = $166,390.
#2 US
Let us compare this with the net salaries of the US secretaries (ministers).
gross salary 246,400 – standard deduction 14,600 = 231,800
total tax = (44725-11000)*0.12+(95375-44725)*0.22+(182100-95375)*0.24+(231250-182100)*0.32+(231800-231250)*0.35 = 51,925
Effective tax rate for a US secretary = 51925/246400= 21.07%
(with standard deduction. I am sure s/he itemizes, so the her/his actual tax rate is much lower. But s/he has to add state and local taxes)
So the estimated net salary of a US secretary is $194,475.
#3
A Hungarian minister earns 166390/194475= 85.56% of an American secretary.
Hungarian GDP / US GDP = 212.39/27360.94 = 0.78%
Associated Press has a scathing article on Orbán and Hungary – they call it an Orwellian State
https://apnews.com/article/hungary-media-democracy-orban-magyar-european-parliament-f6315d7cc252f210c360863de403054e