#Brussels Attack

[medullam]

Massive Attack - "Unfinished Sympathy" [Brussels, 1998]

[tsukishimawhore]

My God, a terrorist shot people in Brussels, I'm so scared and the police haven't found him yet! Be careful !!!

[albonium]

.

[ur-mag]

Belgium vs Sweden game abandoned at half time after two Swedish fans shot dead in Brussels attack before Euro 2024 tie | In Trend Today

Belgium vs Sweden game abandoned at half time after two Swedish fans shot dead in Brussels attack before Euro 2024 tie Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[lucy-hp]

My thoughts go to the family of the Swedes victims.

I will never understand these types of senseless attacks.

Brussels will once again rise up stronger.

[skyscribbler]

Dinner out with friends

[kropotkindersurprise]

November 13, 2024 - Antifascists protesting against the visit of French fascist Jordan Bardella clashed with police in the streets of Brussels, Belgium, and attacked the headquarters of Flemish fascist party Vlaams Belang.

[aftgficrec]

favourite fics featuring halloween? (thank you guys for all your work!)

Here are some spooktacular fics for you! You may notice we often point out where a fic has been recced before. If you like the theme or mood of a fic, chances are you will find more like it in the ask where it was featured. -A

previous recs:

Staff Recs Oct 2020 Halloween/Spookiness here

Staff Recs Oct 2021 - Halloween here

Staff Recs Oct 2021 - More Halloween: Costumes, Fluff & Crack here

foxes in a haunted house here

supernatural compilation here

autumnal/spooky fics here

Flavors of Fall by NikNak22 [Rated E, 146194 Words, Complete, 2022]

Previously recced here

…Neil’s not the only one with secrets in this town. Everyone seems to have something they’ve kept hidden in the dark. And as soon as one thread gets pulled, they all seem to come unraveled… Featuring second chances, making mistakes, budding relationships, and as many fall shenanigans as possible – welcome to the smalltown world of Palmetto!

tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: panic attacks, tw: homophobia, tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: self harm, tw: animal abuse

Fang and Stake by darkbluebox [Rated T, 2658 Words, Complete, 2020]

Previously recced here

For most hunters, it would have been a wet dream: his quarry beaten, bleeding, trapped and prone before him. He might as well have been holding a stake on a silver platter. If it had been any other vampire in the world, Andrew wouldn’t have hesitated to drive the splintering chunk of wood through his chest and be done with it. Unfortunately, Neil wasn’t any other vampire.

tw: blood, tw: implied/referenced abuse

swing me your bones by sundowne [Rated T, 3447 Words, Complete, 2022]

Ditched parties, neglected movies, cold cocoa.

Sugar & Spice (and everything... nice?) by Willow_bird [Rated T, 7468 Words, Complete, AFTG Exchange Fall 2020]

Previously recced here

“I��m not going as Tombo.” He’d end up looking like Where’s Waldo if he’d been a short angry bodybuilder and no one wanted that. Renee’s little smile hinted at her having a similar visual. “I think I may have something that would require few changes to what you’re wearing now and would be minimal hassle altogether.” Andrew accompanies Renee to a Halloween party, allowing his best friend to dictate his costume because he really couldn’t be paid to care. Then he gets there, and yeah, his crush is wearing the exact same costume. Feelings happen.

deadly encounters by jeanyvesmoreau [Rated T, 4012 Words, Complete, AFTG Halloween Zine 2022, Locked]

Neil, trying to avoid Halloween celebrations once again, finds his way into the dark corner of a bar. There, he meets Andrew. Or, how Neil Josten discovers vampires are real after hundreds of years he's been alive.

tw: violence, tw: blood

Cryptid Serial Killer Witch Man by attfna [Rated M, 17008 Words, Complete, 2020]

Previously recced here

Just a story about your typical, spooky cryptic and his curious gardener.

tw: scars, tw: explicit sexual content

open season by nomadicdeer (someonestolemycoffee) [Rated G, 2287 Words, Complete, 2017]

Previously recced here

Dan declares open season just before Halloween. Featuring andreil kisses, misuse of brussel sprouts, Matt in lingerie, and more.

5 times realisation struck Neil & 1 time he acted on it by alex_wh0 [Rated T, 7503 Words, Complete, AFTG Fall Exchange 2020]

Previously recced here

"Neil looked across the room at Andrew and felt a surge of affection so intense that it stuck in his throat. He wondered how someone who had rolled out of bed barely an hour ago could have the audacity to make him feel like this." or Five times Neil Josten had a realisation and one time he did something about it.

if you're just tuning in walk into the light by orphan_account [Rated T, 8824 Words, Complete, 2020]

Previously recced here

Andrew runs a small shop in Palmetto with his brother. It's monotonous. He takes care of his plants, makes tinctures, provides minimal customer service, and teases Kevin for his heart eyes over Aaron. It's boring, but it's good. And then Wymack hires someone new, and some things change.

The endless mental math required to simply survive. by melbopo [Rated T, 17400 Words, Complete, 2021]

Free booze and candy at Seth's expense for his frat's Halloween party on Friday? Say no more, Andrew will be there, mandatory costume and all. Perhaps Matt's new Exy loving stray will even occupy Kevin for the whole night so he doesn't give Andrew inane lectures about wasting talent and potential on intramural teams, leaving him to drink his free alcohol in blissful peace. Really, the simple mental math checks out in his favor on this one. ~~~~ (alternative title: Andrew Minyard and his acquaintances [that are actually his friends])

tw: homophobia

aaron's lament by nanatsuyu [Rated T, 9061 Words, Complete, AFTG Fall Exchange 2021, Locked]

Previously recced here

It's the first holiday Katelyn and Aaron have hosted in their own apartment. Katelyn thinks it'll be fun. Aaron thinks there are far too many people in his home.

An Unpleasant Surprise by justdk [Rated T, 3689 Words, Complete, 2018]

Previously recced here

Neil's visit to the haunted house is not fun. At all.

tw: panic attacks

best thing by exactly13percent_OLD (hymbeaux) [Rated M, 4117 Words, Complete, 2019]

Previously recced here

Aaron has 48 hours off. Kevin has a party to attend. They both have unanswered questions.

firsts by exactly13percent_OLD (hymbeaux) [Rated G, 6270 Words, Complete, 2019]

Previously recced here

Andrew and Neil have fostered Clara and Riley for a little over a year. It's their first Halloween. It's taken a while for both kids to become comfortable, and tonight is for them.

Say something, say yes by DeyaAmaya [Rated T, 2851 Words, Complete, 2018]

Previously recced here

'I can't leave. I need to say goodbye to your son. I can't leave like this.' Mary smiles. Andrew feels a shiver down his spine. Her lips don't move, but he can hear her voice clear as a bell. 'You're not saying goodbye to him.'

tw: major character injury

House To Haunt by moonix [Rated M, 65356 Words, Complete, 2023, Locked]

This fic is a choose your own adventure game! Follow Kevin as he explores an abandoned mansion with a Fox companion of your choice. You can discover different parts of the mansion, learn about its previous owners' history, romance Kevin's companion, collect interesting items, solve puzzles, rescue Kevin and his friends from a variety of sticky situations... and then do it all over again! !!Please make sure to read the instructions at the beginning before you start playing!!

Something Out of Nothing by Aquared46 [Rated E, 20831 Words, Complete, AFTG Fall Exchange 2024]

Fox’s Hollow had attracted tourists for decades with its haunted history and Halloween festivals. A resident for many years, Andrew doesn't believe in ghosts or hauntings, but when his workplace is being investigated by ghosthunters, he spends his early hours with a man far more intriguing and haunted than a ghost could ever be.

tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced torture

it's almost halloween by reaching_my_summit [Rated T, 2677 Words, Complete, 2017]

Part 3 of this is something, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 5 here, part 6 here

the Foxes celebrate halloween together at Eden's. someone flirts with Andrew. Neil is not about that.

do you like scary movies? by Ominous, Stjosten [Rated T, 22519 Words, Complete, 2020]

Previously recced here

To say Andrew has never seen the benefit in the make-believe would be a lie. However, he finds less and less use for it as he grows older. He especially fails to see the benefits of anything from the horror genre; he’s made plenty of his own mistakes, has seen more than enough to terrify him in his life. He doesn’t need to rely on jump scares and idiotic protagonists. But when he meets Neil, self-proclaimed horror archivist, he finds that maybe he never gave the genre the credit it was due, and he ends up thanking the dull movies eventually… They lead him to Neil, the realest thing he’s ever known.

pumpkin heads by moonix [Rated T, 4278 Words, Complete, 2023, Locked]

Tonight is the night. Halloween, Andrew and Neil's last night working at the pumpkin patch, and the night Andrew is finally going to ask Kevin out. If only they could find Kevin... (Based on the graphic novel Pumpkin Heads, but you don't need to have read it to understand the fic.)

Andrew Minyard Loves Fall (and will fight anyone who doesn’t) by mareofthesky [Rated G, 11074 Words, Complete, 2022]

Andrew is trying to enjoy his favorite season in peace, but a certain Mystery Man keeps popping up out of nowhere. With a long string of aliases, an infuriating mouth, and striking features, he's managed to catch Andrew's attention in a way that not many can. Andrew can't seem to get the menace out of his head, but he's beginning to think he doesn't want to.

NB: author’s fall spotify playlist here

skylight by djhedy [Rated T, 5560 words, Complete, AFTG Fall Exchange 2020]

Previously recced here

neil moves to a pro team, a new apartment, in a new city, and is held up by his friends. and by a series of mysterious gifts left on his doormat.

What if We Held Hands in our Pyjama Pants by transjorts [Rated T, 9301 Words, Complete, 2021]

A very soft, autumn-themed high school au in which Andrew, Aaron and Nicky are the new kids and Neil accidentally catches feelings.

tw: dysphoria, tw: transphobia, tw: implied/referenced child abuse

Art

aftghalloweenzine cosplay by @foxy-exy

your favorite emotional support sapphics art by @kashjsnsndnan

Renison as Witch and vampire art by @pria-png

adoptive!Bee halloween and happy halloween! art by @deklo

andreil halloween costumes art by @manekkii-art

andreil halloween costumes art by @lunapiq

All family together art by @kurra

the foxes in their costumes art by @jojen-hewitt

Neil and Andrew in Eden’s outfits + Halloween art by @fabulousmisfits

happy halloween, foxes art by @jeannemaybedarc

Put ‘em up and Neil costume comic art by @emry-stars-art

Halloween party… art by @stiigex

Halloween andreil makeup meme art by @jesperandwylansittinginnatree

AngelJean and DevilJeremy art by @blablablabel

[ledesaid]

Four times when Conner finds a father...

Conner is upset, the school has lost hundreds of student records and they ask him to send a copy of his application again, including a copy of his birth certificate. He is not upset about the paperwork, he knows everyone will have to do it, but Megan and the Martian detective are on Mars on personal business and can't help. He asks Red Tornado for a copy and it's a surprise for Conner, a name that proudly appears on the protagonist, only one.

1. Bruce Wayne, it's interesting in retrospect... Conner's never met the man in his life, but the genemorphs showed him what he looked like, but what's a Gotham City billionaire's name elegantly spelled after his father doing on his certificate?

Conner definitely didn't have the urge to go knock on his door and ask what was going on, because he first asked Batman who awkwardly explained that he was a good friend who was willing to help if the situation warranted it... yeah, it was definitely because of that answer that he crossed the country and knocked on his door. The fact that he ended up running across the rooftops of Gotham a couple of months later was a curious and happy ending.

2. Clarence Charles Batson, more than confused by a totally strange name Conner feels the need to use the central computer of Mount Justice and the results disturb him, missing, they don't help him too much... Married archaeologist, two children, lost five years ago... the photo speaks for itself, he's practically Captain Marvel but with a terrible disguise. When he asks about the certificate the captain only manages to smile, begins to tell him an interesting story about a magician and a moral about not following unknown voices to abandoned subway stations. After an afternoon of flying he ends up adding that he shouldn't worry since they have the same chin. Conner doesn't feel the urge to wear tights yet, but he stamps a lightning bolt on his favorite jacket and is learning some magic from his magical father.

3. Lex Luthor, yes, is in front of Conner signing his birth certificate... Conner takes it as soon as he finishes and leaves his office with the same energy and good humor that characterizes him. He is certainly not upset because Clark has just spit in his face that he is not his father, it was not because he tore up the certificate where his name was written, a paper he had not seen before, or because he was not allowed to explain himself... He is upset because I sent him to find the person who sent him to clone. And from there he left, he intended to get the signature of PAUL WESTFIELD, CEO of Cadmus, but he discovered that he had another biological father who he did not hesitate to visit in the heat of the moment... the latter, blessed by the clone's situation and his motivation, did not take long to make it official. Conner never uses the certificate, but keeps it in his room waiting for the day when Clark resumes this one-sided discussion.

4.Guy Gardner, Conner has to ask Robin to hack into him to find out who he is because his information is encoded in the systems. He turns out to be the last Green Lantern to join the Justice League and someone very difficult to locate for a simple chat. A mini alien invasion and an attack in Brussels are necessary for Conner to be able to talk to him. Surprisingly, the Lantern recognizes him and greets him, asking him how he's been doing at school. A totally inappropriate image of the man for those who knew him or read reports about him. He easily manages to clarify that he was present the day they discussed who would sign the paper, he spit out that he knew gang members or imbeciles with more balls to sign for a baby that they weren't even sure if it was theirs. He becomes Conner's favorite superhero when he asks him - Do you want to go hit something boy? - Conner surprisingly does. Guy leaves again for space shortly after, but not before giving him an interspace communicator to keep in touch and a six pack of beer. Conner can't drink, legally and biologically his body can't get drunk, his gift is unbecoming, but the gesture of spoiling a super-powered teenager makes him feel pretty good. Conner ends up keeping them in his room with some appreciation. He gets a lantern tattoo a year later.

..........

(Sorry if I don't understand well, English is not my first language.)

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Beast of Gevaudan

Between 1764 and 1767 a mysterious creature called the Beast ravaged the rural region of Gévaudan, France. About 100 men, women and children reportedly fell victim to La B��te du Gévaudan. While many French at the time presumed the Beast to be a wolf and many modern scholars agree, some have suggested that the Beast may not have been a wolf at all. The first recorded fatal attack of the Beast occurred on June 30, 1764 when a 14-year-old shepherdess, Jeanne Boulet, tended a flock of sheep. Boulet was not the creature’s first victim. As historian Jay M. Smith writes in Monsters of the Gévaudan, about two months prior, a young woman tending cattle was attacked by a creature “like a wolf, yet not a wolf” but escaped because the herd defended her. The attacks continued through the summer and into autumn. On January 12, 1765, the Beast attacked 10-year-old Jacques Portefaix and a group of seven friends ranging from ages eight to 12. However, Portefaix led a counterattack with sticks driving off the creature. The children were rewarded by Louis XV, and Portefaix was given an education paid by the crown. The children’s heroics prompted the court of King Louis XV to send royal hunters to destroy the Beast. There was now a 6,000-livre bounty on the creature’s head. The story of the Beast, meanwhile, was spreading and covered in newspapers from Boston to Brussels, becoming one of history’s first media sensations. The Beast was consistently described by eyewitnesses as something other than a typical wolf. It was as large as a calf or sometimes a horse. Its coat was reddish gray with a long, strong panther-like tail. The head and legs were short-haired and the color of a deer. It had a black stripe on its back and “talons” on its feet. Many drawings of the Beast at the time endow it with lupine characteristics. Witnesses described the Beast as an ambush hunter which stalked its prey and seized it by the throat. The wounds found on the bodies were typically to the head and limbs with the remains of 16 victims reportedly decapitated. The creature prowled in the evenings and in the mornings.

[meteors-lotr]

Fíli in bards house as the orcs attack: We can handle it, hang back if you wish. Óin: Don't you worry laddie, I've had my fair share of tussles. Kíli, delirious out of his mind: Like the mushroom? Fíli: Those are truffles. Kíli: Like the sprout? Bofur: Those are brussels. Kíli: Like the trout? Tauriel: THAT'S A FISH!

[itsallpoliticsstupid]

I've been involved in Politics for a really long time. I'm not even 35 yet and I have already studied and worked in this area for more than half of my life.

A lot of the reason I got into Politics was I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to give something back and serve my country. Not because I'm particularly nationalistic. I'm not a huge fan of most of those in power, and I don't really like the monarchy all that much. It's because I was always taught to do what I can to make the world a better place. And in my role I can do that.

But it's so hard sometimes when I go into work with the knowledge that those who have been elected constantly belittle and demean us just because we are public servants.

Yes, the civil service has massive issues. But widescale fraud is not one of them. People not working 'hard enough' is not one of them. People wanting to spend one day a week at home to work, where they can work in a quieter atmosphere and be more productive, is not one of them.

Because the reality is, as I pointed out in another post, fraud is basically impossible to be involved in whilst being a civil servant. Almost all Western Democracies have strict fraud management and money laundering policies. Every dollar is accounted for. Everything is signed off to a high level. Fraud is not your biggest issue.

Neither is civil servants not working 'hard enough.' I have friends who were in Ukraine and Russia when the war escalated in 2022. Friends who were in Kabul when the Taliban reclaimed Afghanistan. Friends in Yemen, in Syria, in Lebanon, all when regional conflicts started. I have friends who were in Paris during the terrorist attacks, and Brussels. And all these people were just ordinary people, who were caught up in a bad situation. And you know what they did? They didn't run away.

They stayed behind and helped. They helped to support our citizens overseas in getting out of these countries. In finding loved ones when things were chaotic. They didn't shy away from this, even though in many cases it wasn't their job to do it. Because they are good people, who work extremely hard.

Even me, I haven't been in those situations, but I work on one of the most challenging and complex Foreign Policy issues in the world right now. It's hard. It's physically and mentally draining seeing what I see. But I do it because I believe in my work. I enjoy it. I'm good at it. And every day I go in I work damn hard, because I want to make the world a better place.

Even with the tide turning against people like me, I will still fight. I will do what I can to help.

Don't get me wrong. I would much rather be in a situation like somebody like @mishacollins. Have a good platform and uses it to try and educate people on what is going on. It would be far far easier for me. I wouldn't spend every waking moment staring at the news, making sure I was up to date on what was happening in world events; working 70 hours a week and then learning a new language on top of this. But I don't have that, so I do this instead.

I guess my point in all this is, it angers me so much what is happening to my fellow public sector workers in the United States. Of course, some will be your average career civil servants who landed a good job and never left. But there are those like me who just want to make a difference, and this is how they do it.

And now, if they don't align themselves with a philosophy that they don't agree with, they will be forced out.

And that is absolutely disgusting.

I don't expect many people to engage with this post. But I just needed a place to rant, and sometimes this is the only place I really can.

Now, I will enjoy my weekend and come back on Monday fresh and ready to take on the world. I just hope it doesn't fall apart during my limited time to enjoy myself.

[ur-mag]

Belgium vs Sweden game abandoned at half time after two Swedish fans shot dead in Brussels attack before Euro 2024 tie | In Trend Today

Belgium vs Sweden game abandoned at half time after two Swedish fans shot dead in Brussels attack before Euro 2024 tie Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[mariacallous]

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Georgia in the South Caucasus in recent weeks to protest a controversial proposed new law that many fear, if passed, would be the death knell of a once-promising young democracy and drive the country firmly into Moscow’s orbit.

The “foreign agents” law would require organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence.” It is modeled on similar legislation that Russia enacted in 2012 and has used to cast independent media and civic society groups as doing the bidding of foreign governments and to crack down on dissent.

Georgia has been convulsed by bouts of street protests in recent years over the proposed law and other actions by the ruling Georgian Dream party that critics fear could consolidate its power and draw the country closer to neighboring Russia, a deeply unpopular move in the former Soviet nation where an overwhelming majority of the population supports joining the European Union, according to opinion polls.

Georgia was offered long-awaited EU candidate status by the bloc last year, which could be placed in jeopardy if the foreign agents legislation is adopted. In a statement last month, Brussels’s diplomatic service urged the country’s leaders to “adopt and implement reforms that are in line with the stated objective of joining the European Union, as supported by a large majority of Georgia’s citizens.”

On Thursday, Georgia’s ambassador to France resigned in protest over the proposed legislation, becoming the first senior official from the country to do so. “I no longer see my role and resources in this direction: the move towards Europe,” said Gotcha Javakhishvili in a post on social media.

The law was first introduced in February 2023 but was quickly withdrawn in the face of massive street protests in the capital, Tbilisi. It was then reintroduced in April of this year. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is independent of the Georgian Dream, has promised to veto the legislation if passed, but her veto would likely be overridden by the government’s parliamentary majority.

“It seems clear to me, anyway, they have made a decision to go the path of one-party rule, of shutting down basically all checks and balances on executive power, and this Russian law is the last instrument that they need to put in place,” said Ian Kelly, former U.S. ambassador to Georgia.

The protests this time around are markedly different from earlier iterations, though—but not because of the demonstrators or their demands. What makes the latest round of unrest different is the level of violence and intimidation meted out against protesters and civil society as well as the government’s apparent determination to pass the law, which is due for a final reading on May 13, despite the public outcry and condemnation from the European Union and the United States.

Security forces have used water cannons, rubber bullets, and tear gas in a bid to disperse crowds of demonstrators in the capital, Tbilisi, while protesters have reported being violently assaulted by groups of men dressed in black in what they say appear to be premeditated attacks.

In recent days, civil society activists, journalists, and their relatives have reported receiving menacing phone calls from anonymous callers threatening them in Georgian and reciting their home addresses in an apparent bid to intimidate them, said Eka Gigauri, executive director of Transparency International Georgia. Gigauri said she had received dozens of calls from unknown numbers in recent days but declined to answer them.

On Wednesday evening, four government critics, including two members of the United National Movement opposition party, were attacked by unknown assailants outside their homes and in the street. Overnight on Wednesday, posters featuring the faces of prominent civil society activists, journalists, and opposition politicians branding them as enemies of the country and foreign agents were plastered near their homes and offices across the capital.

“What happened during these two days is just an unprecedented level of targeting,” said Eto Buziashvili, a former advisor to the Georgian National Security Council based in Tbilisi.

In 2019, when police used water cannons, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse protesters, it sparked a national outcry and further protests calling for snap elections and the resignation of the interior minister, Giorgi Gakharia.

Now, accusations of more sinister tactics are afoot as the role of the unknown assailants dressed in black has drawn comparisons to pro-government thugs known as titushki who were allegedly paid for by the embattled government of Viktor Yanukovych to cause disruption and attack protesters during the Ukrainian revolution in 2014, Buziashvili said.

After a 2003 uprising known as the Rose Revolution, Georgia embarked on a dizzyingly ambitious reform program under the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili, who was then a darling of Washington’s. He sought to stamp out corruption and put the country on a firmly Western trajectory, tilting it away from Moscow, which fought a short but shocking war with Georgia over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008.

Saakashvili was imprisoned in 2021, accused of abusing power while in office. His supporters see the charges as politically motivated.

The Georgian Dream, established by the eccentric Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, came to power in 2012 promising a less confrontational approach to Moscow while paying lip service to the country’s aspirations to join NATO and the European Union.

Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Moscow in the 1990s, served as prime minister for just over a year, stepping down in 2013, but has widely been viewed as the one still calling the shots behind the scenes as the Georgian Dream has undermined the country’s hard-won democratic gains and poured salt on the relationship with the United States.

“The person who seems to be driving all of this is Bidzina Ivanishvili,” said U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaking about the foreign agents law.

In October, the Georgian government accused the United States Agency for International Development of trying to foment a coup in the country.

The Georgian government’s claims echo similar allegations made by Moscow over the years that have accused Washington of pulling the strings in a series of pro-democracy uprisings in the former Soviet Union known as color revolutions, including in Ukraine.

“I think it’s Russian disinformation. It’s a deliberate effort by Russia to stoke divisions in the country,” said Shaheen, who has a long-standing focus on Georgia.

On April 29, in a rare public address infused with conspiracy theories, Ivanishvili—who formally serves as the party’s honorary chairman—depicted the country as wrestling for its independence against shadowy, unnamed foreign forces, describing Georgia’s nongovernmental organizations as a “pseudo-elite nurtured by a foreign country.”

Although Ivanishvili’s personal wealth is equivalent to roughly a third of the country’s gross domestic product, he is “borrowing from the Orban and Trump playbook, highlighting how the urban elite is running counter to Georgian traditional values,” Kelly said, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

In March, a senior member of the Georgian Dream announced a raft of constitutional amendments cracking down on LGBT rights and banning any public efforts to promote same-sex relationships, echoing Russia’s “gay propaganda” law passed in 2013.

In the April speech, Ivanishvili explicitly referenced parliamentary elections set to be held later this year as a motivation for reintroducing the foreign agents law and the anti-LGBT legislation, noting that it would force civil society to “expend the energy” ahead of the vote, saying it would leave them “weakened” and “exhausted.”

Kelly criticized the Biden administration for not taking more concrete steps to deter Georgian politicians from pursuing the legislation. “Right after April 29, they should have started the first round of imposing costs, and the really easy one is, ‘You’re not welcome to get a visa,’” he said.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller condemned the violence against protesters on Thursday and called for a “full independent and timely investigation,” but Kelly said that such statements don’t go far enough.

“It’s useless. It’s worse than useless,” he said. “I don’t know if they really take us seriously.”