#Danube Institute

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A pricey trip for a group of Conservative MPs sponsored by an interest group and a Hungarian think-tank could soon come under the microscope by the House of Commons ethics committee.

NDP ethics critic Matthew Green served notice Monday that he will introduce a motion for the committee to take a closer look at a trip to London last June sponsored by Canadians for Affordable Energy and the Danube Institute. The trip, billed as an opportunity to discuss energy policy, included thousands of dollars in flights, hotels and ground transportation as well as a dinner at the Guinea Grill in London's Mayfair district with $600 bottles of champagne that rung in at an estimated $6,262.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Katherine Stewart at TNR (08.10.2023):

Earlier this year, nearly 1,000 supporters of “National Conservatism” gathered at the semicircular auditorium of the Emmanuel Centre, an elegant London meeting hall a couple of blocks south of Westminster Abbey, to hear from a range of scholars, commentators, politicians, and public servants. NatCon conferences, as they are often called, have been held in Italy, Belgium, and Florida and are broadly associated with what is increasingly called the “New Right.” In London, speakers denounced “woke politics,” blamed immigration for the rising cost of housing, and said modern ills could be solved with more religion and more (nonimmigrant) babies. The break room was lined with booths from organizations such as the Viktor Orbán–affiliated Danube Institute, the U.K.-based conservative think tank the Bow Group, the Heritage Foundation, and the legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, which is headquartered in Arizona but has expanded to include offices in nearly a half-dozen European cities. When I attended NatCon London in May, I heard a number of American accents in the crowd, and I was not surprised to see Michael Anton, a former national security official in the Trump administration and a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank, on the lineup. These days, Anton and other key representatives of the Claremont Institute seem to be everywhere: onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC); at the epicenter of Ron DeSantis’s “war on woke”; and on speed-dial with GOP allies including Josh Hawley, J.D. Vance, and Donald Trump.

Most of us are familiar with the theocrats of the religious right and the anti-government extremists, groups that overlap a bit but remain distinct. The Claremont Institute folks aren’t quite either of those things, and yet they’re both and more. In embodying a kind of nihilistic yearning to destroy modernity, they have become an indispensable part of right-wing America’s evolution toward authoritarianism. Extremism of the right-wing variety has always figured on the sidelines of American culture, and it has enjoyed a renaissance with the rise of social media. But Claremont represents something new in modern American politics: a group of people, not internet conspiracy freaks but credentialed and influential leaders, who are openly contemptuous of democracy. And they stand a reasonable chance of being seated at the highest levels of government—at the right hand of a President Trump or a President DeSantis, for example.

[...]

Founded in 1979 in the city of Claremont, California (but not associated in an official way with any of the five colleges there), the Claremont Institute provided enthusiastic support for Donald Trump in 2016. Individuals associated with Claremont now fund and help run the National Conservativism gatherings; Claremont Institute chairman and funder Thomas D. Klingenstein also funds the Edmund Burke Foundation, which has held those National Conservatism conferences across the globe. Claremont is deeply involved in DeSantis’s effort to remake Florida’s state universities in the model of Hillsdale College—a private, right-wing, conservative Christian academy in Michigan whose president, Larry Arnn, happens to be one of the institute’s founders and former presidents. Claremont honored DeSantis at an annual gala with its 2021 “Statesmanship Award,” and the governor returned the favor by organizing a discussion with a “brain trust” that included figures associated with the Claremont Institute. If either Trump or DeSantis becomes president in 2024, Claremont and its associates are likely to be integral to the “brain trust” of the new administration. Indeed, some of them are certain to become appointees in the administrative state that they wish (or so they say) to destroy.

The Claremont Institute in the Trump era has become a clearinghouse for far-right and fascistic ideas.  

[zerogate]

I am sure that many readers can relate if I say that learning about Byzantium feels like discovering the sunken civilization of Atlantis. You can read a thousand books about the “Middle Ages”, even do a Ph.D. in “Medieval Studies” (as I did), and hardly ever hear about Byzantium. And then, one day, when you thought you knew your basics about the turn of the first millennium AD, you read something like this:

At the turn of the first millennium the empire of New Rome was the oldest and most dynamic state in the world and comprised the most civilized portions of the Christian world. Its borders, long defended by native frontier troops, were being expanded by the most disciplined and technologically advanced army of its time. The unity of Byzantine society was grounded in the equality of Roman law and a deep sense of a common and ancient Roman identity; cemented by the efficiency of a complex bureaucracy; nourished and strengthened by the institutions and principles of the Christian Church; sublimated by Greek rhetoric; and confirmed by the passage of ten centuries. At the end of the reign of Basileios II (976-1025), the longest in Roman history, its territory included Asia Minor and Armenia, the Balkan peninsula south of the Danube, and the southern regions of both Italy and the Crimea. Serbia, Croatia, Georgia, and some Arab emirates in Syria and Mesopotamia had accepted a dependent status.

[...]

Byzantine revisionism starts by putting Constantinople back on the map. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was by far the largest city in the Christian world. According to Runciman, its population reached one million in the twelfth century, counting the suburbs. Its wealth deeply impressed all newcomers. In the twelfth-century French roman Partonopeu de Blois, Constantinople is the name of Paradise, a city of gold, ivory and precious stones. Robert de Clari, who was among the crusaders who sacked it in 1204, marveled: “Since the creation of this world, such great wealth had neither been seen nor conquered.” Up to that point, Constantinople was the greatest international trade center, linking China, India, Arabia, Europe and Africa.

Constantinople must also be restored to its proper place in the timeline. Anthony Kaldellis writes:

Byzantine civilization began when there were still some people who could read and write in Egyptian hieroglyphics; the oracle of Delphi and the Olympic games were still in existence; and the main god of worship in the east was Zeus. When Byzantium ended, the world had cannons and printing presses, and some people who witnessed the fall of Constantinople in 1453 lived to hear about Columbus’s journey to the New World. Chronologically, Byzantium spans the entire arc from antiquity to the early modern period, and its story is intertwined with that of all the major players in world history on this side of the Indus river.

-- Laurent Guyénot, Byzantine Revisionism Unlocks World History

[mariacallous]

As Project 2025 becomes more and more of a detriment to Donald Trump’s campaign, the fingerprints of people close to the Orbán-government are becoming increasingly apparent. Recently, the project’s training videos for internal use were leaked, featuring several people cooperating with the Hungarian PM’s political network.

Since replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris’s campaign positioned Project 2025, the roadmap created by a potential second Donald Trump presidency as a central issue of this year’s presidential election. Most recently, the Heritage Foundation’s project was bought up extensively during the August Democratic convention.

One speaker, Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow even brought a giant copy of the 900-page document, calling it the playbook of Trump’s prospective term and comparing its content to a dictator’s policies.

Trump for his part has been ambiguous about his relationship with the project. While reportedly endorsing it earlier, he denounced the project after it was targeted by the Democrats, claiming he knows nothing about it and doesn’t know who is behind them, while calling some of its content „ridiculous and abysmal”. In truth, many of Project 2025’s authors are former members of Trump’s administration.

Trump also did not help his case by appointing J.D. Vance as his running mate, a man close to Heritage Foundation’s president Kevin Roberts. Vance also attempted to distance himself from the project and claimed that he and Roberts were merely personal friends. In the Heritage Foundation, these denouncments led to the resignation of Project 2025 director Paul Dans.

A shift to illiberalism

Among other goals, Project 2025 envisions a massive purge of federal civil servants, replacing them with political appointees ready to further the agenda of „the next conservative administration”, removing many of the checks and balances that limit the executive branch’s power. Critics compared the roadmap to the strategies employed by autocratic leaders often praised by Trump, such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.

Orbán’s political network likely had direct influence on Project 2025: Heritage Foundation and many of Project 2025’s authors have a history of working with organizations funded and controlled by the Hungarian government.

Originally a proponent of Reaganite Neoconservatism, the Heritage Foundation in recent years has become influenced by Trump’s brand of populism, and shifted towards isolationist foreign policy, especially when it comes to responding to the actions of Putin’s Russia. This transformation was finalized with Kevin Roberts becoming the think-tank’s president in 2021.

Roberts saw Orbán’s „illiberal state” as an example to follow. In 2022, Orbán welcomed Roberts in Budapest, and Heritage signed a cooperation agreement with the Danube Institute. The so-called educational institute is a branch of the Lajos Batthyány Foundation, a lobbying and network-building organization funded directly by Orbán’s government.

In December 2023, the Heritage Foundation hosted an international conference where people affiliated with the Orbán government (including officials of the Hungarian Embassy in Washington) lobbied US Congressmen to vote against the Biden administration’s planned military aid to Ukraine.

A direct influence of Orbán allies

More recently the investigative organization ProPublica published hours of training videos, made for internal use by the Heritage Foundation, instructing would-be political appointees in furthering the aims of Project 2025. Several of the people appearing in these videos have previously worked with the Danube Institute or other similar pro-Orbán organizations.

In one of the training videos, Spencer Chretien, co-director of Project 2025, offers advice regarding political appointees. He says that in a new conservative administration „loyalty and ideology are more important than professional experience”.

Chretien was previously involved in building ties between the Heritage Foundation and Hungary. In May 2024, the (Hungarian) Center for Fundamental Rights – another state-funded organisation that exists mainly to praise Orbán’s government – hosted representatives from the Heritage Foundation, including Chretien.

In this event entitled “We Win, They Lose – America’s Choice”, Chretien presented Project 2025.

The project was also showcased in Hungary at another event in February 2024, this time organized by the Danube Institute. There, the Heritage Foundation was represented by Troup Hemenway, Senior Advisor to the Foundation and Co-Director of Staff Placement for the 2025 project.

In another leaked educational video, Roger Severino, a former Trump administration official, spoke about the role of political appointees in the legislature.

Severino last visited Hungary last year: according to Mathias Corvinus Collegium, he was invited by the entire Heritage management team to Budapest for a discussion on education, including Severino and Heritage President Kevin Roberts.

Mathias Corvinus Collegium is a private educational institute which received vast sums of public funds and was transformed into a trainig ground for young pro-Orbán elites.

In the video titled “Presidential Transitions”, Ed Corrigan and Rick Dearborn discuss how to apply for a political appointment during a presidential transition. Dearborn was Deputy White House Chief of Staff in the Trump administration, Corrigan was a member of Trump’s transition team and is currently President and CEO of the Conservative Partnership Institute.

In January 2023, the Center for Fundamental Rights hosted a joint event with the Conservative Partnership Institute in Washington, D.C. In February 2024, the Liszt Institute, part of the Hungarian Department of Culture and Innovation, hosted a joint event with the Conservative Partnership Institute in Washington, D.C. At this event, Ed Corrigan presented a book written by Balázs Orbán, a member of Viktor Orbán’s cabinet, together with the politician.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Project 2025 :: blueprint for a second Trump term of office]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

July 4, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUL 05, 2024

Monday, July 1, was a busy day. That morning the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Donald J. Trump v. United States that gives the president absolute immunity for committing crimes while engaging in official acts. On the same day, Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon began a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress at a low-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. Before he began serving his sentence, he swore he would “be more powerful in prison than I am now.” 

“On July 2, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, went onto Bannon’s webcast War Room to hearten Bannon’s right-wing followers after Bannon’s incarceration. Former representative Dave Brat (R-VA) was sitting in for Bannon and conducted the interview.  

“[W]e are going to win,” Roberts told them. “We're in the process of taking this country back…. We ought to be really encouraged by what happened yesterday. And in spite of all of the injustice, which, of course, friends and audience of this show, of our friend Steve know, we are going to prevail.”

“That Supreme Court ruling yesterday on immunity is vital, and it's vital for a lot of reasons,” Roberts said, adding that the nation needs a strong leader because “the radical left…has taken over our institutions.” “[W]e are in the process of the second American Revolution,” he said, “which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

Roberts took over the presidency of the Heritage Foundation in 2021, and he shifted it from a conservative think tank to an organization devoted to “institutionalizing Trumpism.” Central to that project for Roberts has been working to bring the policies of Hungary’s president Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, to the United States. 

In 2023, Roberts brought the Heritage Foundation into a formal partnership with Hungary’s Danube Institute, a think tank overseen by a foundation that is directly funded by the Hungarian government; as journalist Casey Michel reported, it is, “for all intents and purposes, a state-funded front for pushing pro-Orbán rhetoric.” The Danube Institute has given grants to far-right figures in the U.S., and, Michel noted in March, “we have no idea how much funding may be flowing directly from Orbán’s regime to the Heritage Foundation.” Roberts has called modern Hungary “not just a model for conservative statecraft but the model.”

Orbán has been open about his determination to overthrow the concept of western democracy and replace it with what he has, on different occasions, called “illiberal democracy” or “Christian democracy.” He wants to replace the multiculturalism at the heart of democracy with Christian culture, stop the immigration that he believes undermines Hungarian culture, and reject “adaptable family models” in favor of “the Christian family model.” He is moving Hungary away from the stabilizing international systems supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

No matter what he calls it, Orbán’s model is not democracy at all. As soon as he retook office in 2010, he began to establish control over the media, cracking down on those critical of his far-right political party, Fidesz, and rewarding those who toed the party line. In 2012 his supporters rewrote the country’s constitution to strengthen his hand, and extreme gerrymandering gave his party more power while changes to election rules benefited his campaigns. Increasingly, he used the power of the state to concentrate wealth among his cronies, and he reworked the country’s judicial system and civil service system to stack it with his loyalists, who attacked immigrants, women, and the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. While Hungary still holds elections, state control of the media and the apparatus of voting means that it is impossible for the people of Hungary to remove him from power.

Trump supporters have long admired Orbán’s nationalism and centering of Christianity, while the fact that Hungary continues to have elections enables them to pretend that the country remains a democracy.

The tight cooperation between Heritage and Orbán illuminates Project 2025, the blueprint for a new kind of government dictated by Trump or a Trump-like figure. In January 2024, Roberts told Lulu Garcia-Navarro of the New York Times that Project 2025 was designed to jump-start a right-wing takeover of the government. “[T]he Trump administration, with the best of intentions, simply got a slow start,” Roberts said. “And Heritage and our allies in Project 2025 believe that must never be repeated.”

Project 2025 stands on four principles that it says the country must embrace: the U.S. must “[r]estore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children”; “[d]ismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people”; “[d]efend our nation’s sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats”; and “[s]ecure our God-given individual rights to live freely—what our Constitution calls ‘the Blessings of Liberty.’”

In almost 1,000 pages, the document explains what these policies mean for ordinary Americans. Restoring the family and protecting children means using “government power…to restore the American family.” That, the document says, means eliminating any words associated with sexual orientation or gender identity, gender, abortion, reproductive health, or reproductive rights from any government rule, regulation, or law. Any reference to transgenderism is “pornography” and must be banned. 

The overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the right to abortion must be gratefully celebrated, the document says, but the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision accomplishing that end “is just the beginning.” 

Dismantling the administrative state starts from the premise that “people are policy.” Frustrated because nonpartisan civil employees thwarted much of Trump’s agenda in his first term, the authors of Project 2025 call for firing much of the current government workforce—about 2 million people work for the U.S. government—and replacing it with loyalists who will carry out a right-wing president’s demands. 

The plan asserts “the existential need” for an authoritarian leader to dismantle the current government that regulates business, provides a social safety net, and protects civil rights. Instead of the government Americans have built since 1933, the plan says the national government must “decentralize and privatize as much as possible” and leave “the great majority of domestic activities to state, local, and private governance.”

It attacks “America’s largest corporations, its public institutions, and its popular culture,” for their embrace of international organizations like the United Nations and the European Union and for their willingness to work with other countries. It calls for abandoning all of those partnerships and alliances. 

Also on July 1, Orbán took over the rotating presidency of the European Union. He will be operating for six months in that position under a slogan taken from Trump and adapted to Europe: “Make Europe Great Again.” The day before taking that office, Orbán announced that his political party was forming a new alliance with far-right parties in Austria and the Czech Republic in order to launch a “new era of European politics.”

Tomorrow, Orbán will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin. On July 2, Orbán met with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, where he urged Zelensky to accept a “ceasefire.” In the U.S., Trump’s team has suggested that, if reelected, Trump will call for an immediate ceasefire and will negotiate with Putin over how much of Ukraine Putin can keep while also rejecting Ukraine for NATO membership and scaling back U.S. commitment to NATO. 

“I would expect a very quick end to the conflict,” Kevin Roberts said. Putin says he supports Trump’s plan. 

Roberts’s “second American revolution,” which would destroy American democracy in an echo of a small-time dictator like Orbán and align our country with authoritarian leaders, seems a lot less patriotic than the first American Revolution. 

For my part, I will stand with the words written 248 years ago today, saying that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Rivers in Europe Burst Their Banks

A slow-moving storm triggered days of intense rainfall across central and eastern Europe in September 2024. The deluge submerged entire neighborhoods and forced tens of thousands to evacuate flooded towns and cities.

Between September 11 and 18, a low-pressure storm system battered parts of Austria, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (Czechia) with torrential rainfall. The storm formed when a wave of cold Arctic air plunged into southern Europe and met with warm, moist air from the Mediterranean. The low-pressure system became cut off from the prevailing jet stream (known as a cut-off low), allowing it to linger in the region for several days.

Named Storm Boris by the UK Met Office, the system hit hardest in the Czech Republic and Austria, which in one week saw up to three times the amount of rainfall typical for the entire month of September, according to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. In eastern Austria, near Vienna, 215 millimeters (8.5 inches) of rain fell during that week. All of this rainfall, however, had consequences beyond the hardest-hit areas.

On September 18, water levels along the Oder River in southeastern Poland surpassed the highest alert category set by the country’s institute of meteorology. The river originates in the Oder Mountains in the Czech Republic and runs north through Poland to Germany. Water overtopped the banks of the river near Wrocław and flooded the surrounding farmland, visible in the image second image above , acquired on September 20, 2024. The top image shows the same region on September 4, before the storm. Both images were acquired by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 and are false color to emphasize the presence of water (dark blue).

The Danube River overtopped its banks in Slovakia, sending floodwaters into the capital, Bratislava. The false-color image below, acquired by the OLI-2 on Landsat 9, shows inundated areas along the Danube on September 21. According to news reports, the relentless rain forced dozens of people from their homes.

In Poland’s mountain town of Stronie Slaskie, near the border with the Czech Republic, a dam burst and caused deadly flooding. As of September 20, flooding across central and eastern Europe and into Italy has contributed to the displacement of over 25,000 people, according to the European Union.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Emily Cassidy.

[blueiscoool]

'Princely' Tomb of A Hun Warrior Unearthed in Romania

The remains of a "princely" tomb, possibly from a Hunnic warrior, have been found during motorway construction in Romania.

Workers building a new highway in Romania have unearthed the treasure-laden tomb of a wealthy warrior and his horse. The tomb dates to the fifth century A.D., when the region was controlled by a people known as the Huns.

The tomb is filled with more than 100 artifacts, including weapons, gold-covered objects and pieces of gold jewelry inlaid with gemstones, Silviu Ene(opens in new tab) of the Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archeology in Bucharest, Romania.

Ene is the lead archaeologist investigating the tomb, which was discovered late last year during the construction of a motorway near the town of Mizil in the southeast of Romania, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) from the Black Sea.

Four separate archaeological sites were unearthed during the road construction, and the wealthy warrior's tomb — which the researchers described as "princely" — was just a part of the most complex site, Ene said.

"This tomb is of major importance because, in addition to the rich inventory, it was discovered at a site along with 900 other archaeological features — [such as] pits, dwellings, and tombs," he said in an email.

Invading Huns

The ethnicity of the Mizil warrior still isn't known, but the rich grave goods suggest that he belonged to the ruling class in the region's Hunnic period, or "migration era," when it was controlled by the Huns, Ene and his colleagues told the news outlet Hungary Posts English(opens in new tab).

The Huns were nomadic horsemen who originated in Central Asia. During the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. they invaded and occupied the far east of Europe, while displacing other peoples — such as the Vandals and the Goths — from their lands, causing them to migrate west.

The Huns were a particular problem for the Byzantine (or Eastern) Roman Empire, which until that time had controlled much of the lands west of the Black Sea — a region that now includes Romania.

But the Romans lost the region to the Huns, who went on to invade the Western Roman province of Gaul (modern France and western Germany) and even to attack Rome under their leader Attila the Hun, before losing their territory in Europe to a mixed force of Goths and other Germanic former vassals at the Battle of Nedao — a site now in Croatia — in A.D. 454.

Princely tomb

The latest archaeological finds at the Mizil tomb included an iron sword in a gilded  scabbard, a dagger, bundles of iron arrowheads and decorated braces of bone that were once fitted to a wooden bow, Ene said.

The dagger is especially ornate, with a gold-covered hilt inlaid with gemstones, he noted.

Archaeologists also unearthed the remains of a gilded saddle, a bronze cauldron, several decorated "sconces" — fittings to hold candles on a wall — and pieces of gold jewelry, he said.

The tomb held the warrior's complete skeleton, and his face seems to have been covered with a gold mask, the remains of which were also unearthed. However, only a leg and the head of his horse have been unearthed so far, Ene said.

The archaeologists told Hungary Posts English that the styles of the newfound objects suggest they are from about the fifth century A.D., when most of Europe north of the Danube River was under the control of the Huns.

The excavation of the tomb had to be completed in bad weather and sometimes with flashlights so that the motorway project could go ahead.

The archaeological investigation is now about "half finished," Ene said. Over the next few months, the bones and artifacts will be cleaned, investigated and put on public display, while the site of the tomb itself will be built over by the motorway project.

By Tom Metcalfe.

[unilifeabroadcareersolution]

Study in Romania

Romania is an open invitation for business students, international and foreign affairs students, and the next generation of global economic market experts. Romania, once ruled by an oppressive government, is fresh out of the gate, and as a new member of the European Union, it is finally enticing foreign investors. Romania is a beautiful country with a diverse population that has a rich academic history. Romania, with its fantastic natural landscapes, fusion of European cultures, and mediaeval castles, is widely regarded as the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. Universities in Romania can provide international students with a one-of-a-kind educational experience. Romanian higher education and living expenses are among the lowest in the European Union.

Life in Romania

Romania is home to over 19.6 million people and is located at the crossroads of Central, Southeastern, and Eastern Europe. It is bordered by five countries: Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, and Moldova. Its coastline runs along the Black Sea, and the Danube River, Europe’s second-longest river, ends in Romania’s Danube Delta. The Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united to form the country in 1859. Romania has had a turbulent history since then, but it has been a democracy since the 1989 Revolution. It joined the European Union in 2007 and is classified as a developing country.

Benefits of Study in Romania

High Education System

The Romanian higher education system is now a model of excellence. Every year, thousands of students from all over the world come to Romania to study and discover a unique blend of tradition and modernity. Furthermore, international students have the opportunity to study at a variety of institutions (universities, colleges, etc.).

Cost of Study

Tuition fees range from 14,000 RON (3,000 EUR) to 30,000 RON (6,300 EUR) per academic year, depending on the programme and institution. Depending on the study domain or your citizenship, some programmes may even be less expensive than others.

Scholarships

The Romanian government provides generous student grants, including full fee waivers. These are frequently awarded before you begin your degree, but it is common practise in Romana for universities to cover the following year’s fees for the top-performing students in each year group.

UniLife Abroad Services

Guides in choosing the right University or College.

Help to select the right study programs based on the candidate’s academic profile and career interest.

Help students with admission to the College or University as per their decisions.

Help to prepare the complete application for Student Visas.

Helps with the extensions of the Study Permit.

Help to find a job while studying or after completing the study.

Help to prepare the application package for Multiple Entry Visa.

Help students with Permanent Residency.

Contact us : 8428440444 , 8428999090

Mail id : anagha@unilifeabroad.com

[zvetenze]

Savić Farmhouse

Neštin, Vojvodina

Neštin is a small village on the southern bank of the Danube in Vojvodina. The Savić house was constructed in the 18th century during the Austrian control of this area. The house is constructed of 'naboj' (rammed earth bricks) covered with a plaster, a wooden porch and a thatched roof. The house also has a 'podrum' (cellar), where food and casks were stored, that is entered from the end facade that faces the street. The house has been protected by the Provincial Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Vojvodina since 1968, with major restoration in the 1990's, and now functions as a museum. (photo 1991)

[sanctamater]

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍.

— BASICS! ♡

NAME: claire PRONOUNS: they/them/theirs ZODIAC SIGN: aries, insane edition TAKEN OR SINGLE: wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?

— THREE FACTS! ♡

i am a weird little bilingual canadian but not the useful sort - i grew up speaking a really weird dialect of german that isn't really spoken any more. it's the danube swabian dialect and is a whole mishmash of things. i'm currently enrolled in a goethe institute to get a hang of standardized german as aside from speaking it with my family i am completely illiterate in my second language and would like to be able to speak, read, and write in the language when i go visit my cousins in germany.

i once accidentally climbed half a mountain and only stopped when we hit the snow line and realised we were WOEFULLY underprepared to hike a mountain pass. in our defence the park's maps were not the best and signage left. a lot to be desired... and it was unseasonably cool that year. we also almost hit a moose driving back from winnipeg to southern ontario in one go. would not recommend. we almost saw jesus.

erm... i make historical clothing in my spare time. not right now tho bc my flat is too small to house my fabric, machine, and dress form. :( i also collect antique textiles and have a decent collection! most of what i collect is from 1901 - 1922. :)

— EXPERIENCE! ♡

PLATFORMS USED: youtube. proboards. do not ask me how we roleplayed on youtube. it is a long and convoluted story. but that is life.

PLOTTING / WINGING IT / MEMES:  i have a hard time with plotting because i have no braincells at any given moment.... i like seeing where things go but having slightly set beats in the plotline we hit at some points or having a vague idea of a timeline. but i like things growing on their own. as for memes.... lmao. i'm so sorry to everyone still waiting on a meme reply. it will happen. eventually. i swear.

— MUSE PREFERENCE! ♡

GENDER: doesn't matter. i gravitate towards more feminine muses but i had a really fun time writing media who i interpreted to be genderfluid and writing them as a more masculine character and figure was amazingly fun.

MULTI OR SINGLE MUSE: i am not strong enough for a multi muse. god i wish i was. i have tried.

LEAST FAVOURITE FACECLAIM(S): i am so sorry everyone but i do not like natalie do.rmer.

— FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡

FLUFF: depends? it's all about the dynamic and the characters - i wouldn't call it fluff so much as i would call it domesticity. small things, intimate things that are... mundane. i like doing that. i like writing that with amelia since she yearns for it but doesn't often get that intimacy and normalcy.

ANGST: i love angst so much.... i love it. i love inner turmoil, i love conflict, i love crying, i love yelling, i love screaming, crying - and with amelia it's just delicious (but also oh my god so tiring i do love angst with her but also I WANT HER TO REST) given her own flaws and the way she interacts with others. i love forcing her to come to terms with things and others in her life. it's just. so...... mwah.

SMUT:  i love smut but only on discord. i will be sacrilegious and horny on main in a fade to black here tho LMAO. but in all serious i don't mind writing it and i think it is a very interesting way to explore compatibility for muses, further their relationships, change dynamics, and to just have fun and be silly lmao.

[worldestate-homes]

💎 Where is the Best Place to Buy Property in Serbia: Belgrade, Novi Sad, or Niš? 💎 When choosing a city to buy property in Serbia, it’s important to consider different aspects: infrastructure, housing prices, and opportunities for work and life. Let's look at the three most popular cities — Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš — and compare them by key parameters. 1️⃣ Belgrade: The Capital and Business Hub Advantages: - Economic Center: Belgrade is the largest city in Serbia with a well-developed economy and business activity. It hosts the headquarters of major companies, making it attractive to investors and entrepreneurs. - Developed Infrastructure: Belgrade offers international schools, universities, shopping centers, restaurants, cultural venues, and a robust transportation system. - Dynamic Real Estate Market: The capital provides a wide variety of housing — from apartments in modern residential complexes to units in historic buildings. Disadvantages: - High Prices: Property prices in Belgrade are significantly higher than in other Serbian cities, especially in central areas. - Congestion: As the largest metropolis in the country, Belgrade can suffer from traffic and environmental challenges. 2️⃣ Novi Sad: The Cultural and Educational Center Advantages: - Cultural Capital: The city is renowned for the Exit Festival, numerous museums, theaters, and educational institutions. It’s a popular choice for young people and students. - Affordable Housing: Real estate prices in Novi Sad are lower than in Belgrade, while the city offers a high quality of life. - Comfortable Living: Novi Sad is located on the banks of the Danube, with good environmental conditions and a more relaxed pace of life compared to Belgrade. Disadvantages: - Limited Business Opportunities: Although the city is growing, it offers fewer job opportunities and business prospects than Belgrade. 3️⃣ Niš: The Southern Gem of Serbia Advantages: - Low Prices: Niš has the most affordable property prices among the three cities, making it appealing to those looking for more budget-friendly options. - Historical Value: Niš is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with rich cultural and historical landmarks that attract tourists and history enthusiasts. - Developing Infrastructure: The city is undergoing modernization, attracting new residents and investors. Disadvantages: - Fewer Career Opportunities: Compared to Belgrade and Novi Sad, Niš offers fewer jobs and a less developed business infrastructure. Conclusion: - For investment and business, Belgrade is the best choice. It’s the center of business activity with high property prices but also great rental potential. - For a comfortable life and cultural atmosphere, Novi Sad is ideal. It’s a city with a pleasant environment and moderate housing prices. - For budget-conscious buyers, Niš is the best option, offering the lowest property prices and significant historical and cultural heritage. Each city offers unique advantages, so the choice depends on your priorities and goals!

[notiziariofinanziario]

L’invito di Meloni e il selfie della premier con Novák

Dagli Usa Novák ha pubblicato un selfie abbracciata alla Meloni e a Musk. Costretta a uscire dalla scena politica ungherese, Novák ha appena lanciato una «no profit globale contro il collasso demografico». Del resto già dieci anni fa, da sottosegretaria alla Famiglia del governo Orbán, si recava al Cremlino per eventi sulla «famiglia numerosa». E c’era sempre lei al World Congress of Families assieme all’attuale presidente della Camera Lorenzo Fontana. O lo scorso settembre, sullo stesso palco con Meloni, al summit demografico di Budapest. Una fitta rete di connessioni che tiene insieme, tra gli altri e tuttora, destra meloniana e orbaniana. Con la sottile differenza che dopo lo scandalo di febbraio ormai neppure il mentore politico della ex presidente, e cioè Orbán, ha osato esibirsi alla sua opinione pubblica in selfie con lei, a differenza di quanto ha fatto martedì Meloni. L’incontro di Novák con la premier e con Musk viene da lei presentato con questa didascalia: «Elon, Giorgia, solo i bambini possono salvare il mondo». Paradossale se si pensa che è proprio uno scandalo pedofilia ad averla costretta, a febbraio, a dimettersi. NOVÁK E LE CONNESSIONI  Finché è rimasta sulla ribalta della politica – prima da sottosegretaria e da ministra della Famiglia dei governi Orbán, poi nel 2022 promossa a presidente – Novák ha svolto anzitutto due ruoli: quello di campionessa orbaniana della «famiglia tradizionale» e di coltivare relazioni politiche. In un documento ufficiale del 2014 Novák ringrazia per l’invito a un evento sulla famiglia al Cremlino un tale Igor Beloborodov, a sua volta connesso a Konstantin Malofeev, l’oligarca noto per aver sostenuto formazioni politiche europee sovraniste (anche in Italia) e perché finanzia la macchina di guerra di Putin in Ucraina. Quel viaggio a Mosca è stato pagato con soldi russi. Novák è rimasta nel network del World Congress of Families: non solo ha partecipato agli eventi, ma li ha anche organizzati; il summit del 2017 è stato da lei apparecchiato a Budapest. Nel 2019, quando il raduno si è svolto a Verona, si è trovata fianco a fianco con Fontana, l’attuale presidente della Camera. Il leghista con il quale Novák ha mantenuto rapporti stretti: durante i dibattiti legati alla Conferenza sul futuro dell’Europa, i due pontificavano assieme sulla «famiglia tradizionale». Quando, eletta presidente, lei doveva ancora entrare ufficialmente nell'esercizio delle sue funzioni, era di stanza al Danube Institute – come raccontato su Domani ad aprile 2022 – un think tank orbaniano che, come l’Mcc, fa da punto di incontro tra destra orbaniana e meloniana. Figure come Francesco Giubilei (ex consigliere di Sangiuliano) e think tank come Nazione futura hanno legami assidui con quel mondo (Giubilei è appena rientrato da Budapest) e conoscono bene Novák stessa. SCANDALI E SELFIE È grazie a queste relazioni sotto traccia che i rapporti tra Meloni e Orbán non si sono mai interrotti, nonostante subito dopo l’attacco russo in Ucraina la premier evitasse i selfie con l’autocrate. Proprio Novák ha facilitato anche il riavvicinamento pubblico tra i due leader, invitando Meloni al summit demografico di Budapest dello scorso settembre e dando loro così il pretesto per un bilaterale. La politica ungherese ha accompagnato Orbán nei viaggi romani, compresa la capatina a Roma ad agosto 2022 per poter esibire un incontro con papa Francesco. E così come Orbán ha sempre scommesso per primo su Trump, così un anno fa, da presidente, Novák si è fatta fotografare con Elon Musk mentre visitava una fabbrica Tesla in Texas e discuteva «di crisi demografica». Poi lo scossone il 2 febbraio di quest’anno: il portale 444 rivela che nell’aprile 2023, contestualmente con la visita del papa a Budapest, la allora presidente ha concesso la grazia presidenziale a Endre Kónya, vicedirettore dell’orfanotrofio di Bicske, il quale ha cercato di coprire abusi pedofili, arrivando a forzare i bimbi a prestare falsa testimonianza. Le pressioni per graziare Kónya, che proviene da una famiglia potente nella chiesa calvinista, sono arrivate da ambienti della chiesa riformata (uno su tutti, Zoltán Balog) vicini al premier e in relazione stretta con la allora presidente. Di fronte alle rivelazioni, Orbán non ha preso le difese di Novák, che ha dovuto dimettersi. Da allora, ha avuto ben poco da esibire, se non un titolo onorifico assegnatole da un’università della Corea del Sud. Poi a settembre l’annuncio: «Sono ceo e cofondatrice di X·Y Worldwide, che offre soluzioni contro il crollo delle nascite». Ma la vera, grande occasione di riabilitazione pubblica è stata offerta da Meloni. Per usare le parole di Novák: «Congratulazioni, Giorgia!» Read the full article

[warningsine]

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/floods-southwest-poland-kill-one-force-evacuations-2024-09-15/

JESENIK, Czech Republic/WARSAW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The death toll from flooding in central Europe rose to eight on Sunday as thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in the Czech Republic following days of torrential rain that caused rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region.

A low-pressure system named Boris has triggered downpours from Austria to Romania, leading to some of the worst flooding in nearly three decades in hard-hit areas in the Czech Republic and Poland.

More rain and strong winds are forecast until at least Monday, though the rain eased on Sunday in Romania, which bore the brunt of flooding a day earlier.

Thousands of homes have been damaged over the weekend, bridges swept away and at least 250,000 households - mainly in the Czech Republic - were affected by power cuts.

One person drowned in southwestern Poland on Sunday, a firefighter taking part in rescue efforts was killed in Austria and two more people were killed in Romania, where the floods claimed four lives on Saturday.

In Lower Austria, the province surrounding Vienna where government officials said the firefighter had died, authorities declared the area a disaster zone and warned against non-essential travel.

A bridge collapsed in the historic Polish town of Glucholazy near the Czech border and local officials ordered evacuations early on Sunday. Local media said another bridge collapsed in the mountain town of Stronie Slaskie, where a dam burst, according to the Polish weather institute.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who visited nearby flooded areas, said on the X platform the government would announce a state of disaster and seek European Union aid.

'UNDER WATER'

In the neighbouring Czech Republic, police said they were searching for three people who were in a car that plunged into the river Staric on Saturday near Lipova-lazne, a village about 235 km (146 miles) east of the capital, Prague. Rainfall in the area has reached about 500 mm (19.7 inches) since Wednesday.

Reuters footage showed flood waters gushing through Lipova-lazne and neighbouring Jesenik, damaging some houses and carrying debris.

"We don't know what will be next," said Mirek Burianek, a resident of Jesenik. "The internet network isn't working, telephones don't work ... We are waiting for who will show up (to help)."

Lipova-lazne resident Pavel Bily told Reuters the floods were even worse than those seen in 1997. "My house is under water, and I don't know if I will even return to it," he said.

Residents in some flooded areas were bracing for conditions to deteriorate.

"When it rains (in the nearby mountains), it will arrive here in five or six hours," said Ferdinand Gampl, an 84-year-old resident of the village of Visnova, 138 km (86 miles) north of Prague.

Emergency services used a helicopter to evacuate people stranded in the Lipova-lazne district. Overall, more than 10,000 people had been evacuated in the country, the head of the fire service told Czech television.

In the Hungarian capital, Budapest, officials raised forecasts for the river Danube to rise in the second half of this week to more than 8.5 metres (27.9 feet), nearing a record of 8.91 metres (29.2 feet) in 2013.

As the rain eased in Romania, workers sought to restore power supplies to some 11,000 homes and clean-up efforts started as residents surveyed the damage.

"Everything I have is destroyed," said Victoria Salceanu in the eastern village of Slobozia Conachi.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

"We are all in this together. It is so important right now, as truth is being assaulted not just in this country, but all over the world. Let us dig into the truth. Let us be fierce and dangerous about the truth. Let us find in that truth the strength to demand that truth from our government."

[Native author Louise Erdrich]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

Heather Cox Richardson

March 17, 2024 (Sunday)

On Friday, journalist Casey Michel, who specializes in the study of kleptocracy, pointed out that reporters had missed an important meeting last week. Michel noted that while reporters covered Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s visit to former president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, they paid far less attention to the visit Orbán paid to the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Heritage Foundation on Friday, March 8. There, Orbán spoke privately to an audience that included the president of the organization, Kevin Roberts, and, according to a state media printout, “renowned U.S. right-wing politicians, analysts and public personalities.”

Michel noted that it was “nothing short of shocking” that Orbán declined to meet with administration officials and instead went to Washington, D.C., to meet with a right-wing think tank. With Roberts’s appointment as head of Heritage in 2021, the conservative organization swung to the position that its role is “institutionalizing Trumpism.”

Roberts has been vocal about his admiration for Orbán, tweeting in 2022 that it was an honor to meet him. At last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Orbán boasted that Hungary is “the place where we didn’t just talk about defeating the progressives and liberals and causing a conservative Christian political turn, but we actually did it.” In January, Roberts told Lulu Garcia-Navarro of the New York Times that Orbán’s statement was “all true” and “should be celebrated.” In a different interview, Garcia-Navarro noted, Roberts had called modern Hungary “not just a [italic] model for conservative statecraft but the [italic] model.”

Last year, Michel notes, Heritage joined the Hungarian Danube Institute in a formal partnership. The Hungarian think tank is overseen by a foundation that is directly funded by the Hungarian government; as Michel says, it is, “for all intents and purposes, a state-funded front for pushing pro-Orbán rhetoric.” The Danube Institute has given grants to far-right figures in the U.S., and, Michel notes, “we have no idea how much funding may be flowing directly from Orbán’s regime to the Heritage Foundation.”

The tight cooperation between Heritage and Orbán illuminates Project 2025, the plan Heritage has led, along with dozens of other right-wing organizations, to map out a future right-wing presidency. In Hungary, Orbán has undermined democracy, gutting the civil service and filling it with loyalists; attacking immigrants, women, and the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals; taking over businesses for friends and family, and moving the country away from the rules-based international order supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In the January interview, Roberts told Garcia-Navarro that Project 2025 was designed to jump-start a right-wing takeover of the government. “[T]he Trump administration, with the best of intentions, simply got a slow start,” Roberts said. “And Heritage and our allies in Project 2025 believe that must never be repeated.”

Project 2025 stands on four principles that it says the country must embrace. In their vision, the U.S. must “[r]estore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children”; “[d]ismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people”; “[d]efend our nation’s sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats”; and “[s]ecure our God-given individual rights to live freely—what our Constitution calls ‘the Blessings of Liberty.’”

In almost 1,000 pages, the document explains what these policies mean for ordinary Americans. Restoring the family and protecting children means making “family authority, formation, and cohesion” a top priority and using “government power…to restore the American family.” That, the document says, means eliminating any words associated with sexual orientation or gender identity, gender, abortion, reproductive health, or reproductive rights from any government rule, regulation, or law. Any reference to transgenderism is “pornography” and must be banned.

The overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the right to abortion must be gratefully celebrated, but the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision accomplishing that end “is just the beginning.”

Dismantling the administrative state in this document starts from the premise that “people are policy.” Frustrated because nonpartisan civil employees thwarted much of Trump’s agenda in his first term, the authors of Project 2025 call for firing much of the current government workforce—about 2 million people work for the U.S. government—and replacing it with loyalists who will carry out a right-wing president’s demands.

On Friday, journalist Daniel Miller noted that purging the civil service is a hallmark of dictators, whose loyalists then take over media, education, courts, and the military. In a powerful essay today, scholar of authoritarianism Timothy Snyder explained that with the government firmly in the hands of a dictator’s loyalists, “things like water or schools or Social Security checks” depend on your declaration of loyalty, and there is no recourse. “You cannot escape to the bar or the bowling alley, since everything you say is monitored,” and “[e]ven courageous people restrain themselves to protect their children.”

Defending our nation’s sovereignty means ending the rules-based international order hammered out in the years after World War II. This includes organizations like the United Nations and NATO and agreements like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provide an international set of rules and forums for countries to work out their differences without going to war and which offer a system of principles for those abused within countries to assert their rights.

Heritage and Orbán have stood firmly against aid to Ukraine in its struggle to fight off Russian aggression.

Securing “our God-given individual rights to live freely,” hints at religious rule but ultimately focuses on standing against “government control of the economy.” The idea that regulation of business and taxes hampered economic liberty was actually one of the founding ideas of Heritage in the 1980s.

In the U.S. that ideology has since 1981 moved as much as $50 trillion from the bottom 90% to the top 1%.

And, as that concentration of wealth and power among a small group of people reveals, the real plan behind Project 2025 is the rule of a small minority of extremists over the vast majority of Americans.

The plan asserts “the existential need for aggressive use of the vast powers of the executive branch”—that is, it calls for a very powerful leader—to dismantle the current government that regulates business, provides a social safety net, and protects civil rights. Instead of the government Americans have built since 1933, the plan says the national government must “decentralize and privatize as much as possible” and leave “the great majority of domestic activities to state, local, and private governance.”

We have in front of us examples of what such governance means. Because state legislatures control who can vote and how the state’s districts are carved up, Republican-dominated state legislatures have taken absolute control of a number of states. There they have banned abortion without exceptions and defined a fertilized human egg as a person; discriminated against LGBTQ+ people and immigrants, banned books, attacked public education, and gutted business regulation, including child labor laws. They have also attacked voting rights.

Project 2025 presents an apocalyptic vision of a United States whose dark problems can be fixed only by a minority assuming power under a strongman and imposing their values on the rest of the country. And yet they assert that it is their opponents who do “not believe that all men are created equal—they think they are special. They certainly don’t think all people have an unalienable right to pursue the good life. They think only they themselves have such a right along with a moral responsibility to make decisions for everyone else.”

In 1776 the Founders were quite clear about the relationship between rights and government, and their vision was quite different than that of the authors of Project 2025. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” they wrote.

They continued, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,” and that those governments were not legitimate unless they derived power “from the consent of the governed.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON