#hungary under orban

[contemplatingoutlander]

Trump’s fascist talk is what’s ‘poisoning the blood of our country’

No, Trump isn’t Hitler. But his copycat words lead nowhere good.

Dana Milbank does a great job of explaining why the use of fascist language and symbols in Trump's communications (often followed by denials) is really a way of "dog whistling" to his fascist followers, as well as giving clues to the rest of us about what he plans to do if he has a chance in a second administration. This is a gift🎁link, so you can read the entire article, even if you don't subscribe to The Washington Post. Below are some excerpts from the column:

As you’ve probably heard, Donald Trump has once again raised a führer. The former president’s Truth Social account posted a video posing the question “What happens after Donald Trump wins?” and providing a possible answer: In the background was the phrase “unified Reich.” This follows Trump’s echoing Adolf Hitler in campaign speeches, saying that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” and calling his opponents “vermin.” And that, in turn, followed Trump’s dining at Mar-a-Lago with high-profile antisemite Ye (Kanye West) and white supremacist leader Nick Fuentes, who likened incinerating Jews to baking cookies. Under the three-Reichs-and-you’re-out rule, Trump should be on the bench. Yet he keeps swinging — and this week provided a sobering measure of how numb we have become to his undeniably fascist rhetoric.

Milbank goes on to talk about how Trump will famously post something outrageous and then claim it was an accident.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump tweeted an image that had been used by white supremacists of a Star of David atop a pile of cash. The campaign removed the offending post and Trump said it had been posted by a staffer. He later told a crowd that his aides “shouldn’t have taken it down.” During that same campaign, Trump also tweeted an image of an American flag containing an image of what appeared to be Nazi Waffen-SS soldiers. The campaign removed this post, too, and blamed an intern. The disavowal is part of the game, says Jason Stanley, a Yale philosophy professor who specializes in the rhetoric of fascism. “You do it and then you deny it and it’s just systematic, over and over and over again,” he told me in a phone call. “The people who want to hear it hear it, and it signals the direction you want to go in.” And for those uncomfortable with the extremism, the denial provides “a way of lying to themselves and telling themselves this is not what’s really going on.” But it is. From Nazi Germany to Viktor Orban’s Hungary, Stanley says, people invariably thought the rhetoric of the rising authoritarian was exaggerated and just for dramatic effect. “Historically, people always, always don’t take it seriously,” he said. Perhaps they don’t realize that Trump is deploying the exact same tropes — against migrants, judges, gender nonconforming people, universities, the media, “Marxists” — now being used by autocrats in Russia, India and Hungary. “If you look at what Trump is saying … everywhere in the world the authoritarians are saying that.” And yet we drift, placidly, into autocracy. Okay, Trump is unifying the Reich. But Biden is so old!

I recommend you use the above gift link to read the entire column, which goes on to talk about how Trump and those who are planning his administration have a slew of policies that fit right in with the fascist/ authoritarian playbook.

[mariacallous]

From Taiwan and Finland in January to Croatia and Ghana in December, one of the largest combined electorates in history will vote for new governments in 2024. This should be a cause of celebration and a vindication of the power of the ballot box. Yet this coming year is likely to see one of the starkest erosions of liberal democracy since the end of the Cold War. At their worst, the overall results could end up as a bloodbath or, marginally less bleakly, as a series of setbacks.

At first glance, the stats are impressive. Forty national elections will take place, representing 41 percent of the world’s population and 42 percent of its gross domestic product. Some will be more consequential than others. Some will be more unpredictable than others. (You can strike Russia and Belarus from that list.) One or two may produce uplifting results.

However, in the United States and Europe, the two regions that are the cradles of democracy—or at least, that used to project themselves as such—the year ahead is set to be bracing.

It is no exaggeration to say that the structures established after World War II, and which have underpinned the Western world for eight decades, will be under threat if former U.S. President Donald Trump wins a second term in November. Whereas his first period in the White House might be regarded as a psychodrama, culminating in the paramilitary assault on Congress shortly after his defeat, this time around, his menace will be far more professional and penetrating.

European diplomats in Washington fear a multiplicity of threats—the imposition of blanket tariffs, also known as a trade war; the sacking of thousands of public officials and their replacement with politicized loyalists; and the withdrawal of remaining support for Ukraine and the undermining of NATO. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the return of Trump would be manna from heaven. Expect some form of provocation from the Kremlin in the Baltic states or another state bordering Russia to test the strength of Article 5, the mutual defense clause of the Western alliance.

More broadly, a Trump victory would arguably mark the final dismantling of the credibility of Western liberal democracies. From India to South Africa and from Brazil to Indonesia, countries variously called middle powers, pivot countries, multi-aligned states—or, now less fashionably, the global south—will continue the trend of picking and choosing their alliances, seeing moral equivalence in the competitive bids on offer.

The greatest effect that a Trump return could have would be on Europe, accelerating the onward march of the alt right or far right across the continent. Yet that trend will have gained momentum long before Americans go to the polls. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are looking over their shoulders as the second wave of populism affects the conduct of government.

The wedge issue that is threatening all moderate parties is immigration, just as it did in 2015, when former German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed in more than 1 million refugees from the Middle East in what is now seen as the first wave of Europe’s immigration crisis. This time around, the arguments propagated by the AfD (the far-right Alternative for Germany party), Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France, and similar groups across the continent have permeated the political mainstream.

The past 12 months have seen European Union decision-making constantly undermined by Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Hungary, particularly further support for Ukraine. For the moment, he stands alone, but he is likely to be joined by others, starting with the newly returned Prime Minister Robert Fico in Slovakia. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has struck a tacit deal with Brussels, remaining loyal on supporting Ukraine (against her instincts and previous statements) in return for effectively being given carte blanche in Italy’s domestic politics.

In September, Austria seems almost certain to vote in a coalition of the far right and the conservatives. A country that has (ever since the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1955) prized its neutrality and been keen to ingratiate itself with Moscow has already been uncomfortable giving full-scale support to Kyiv. We can expect that support to soon be scaled back.

One of the few countries with a center-left administration, Portugal, will see it join the pack of the right and far right when snap elections are held in March. The previous incumbent, the Socialist Party’s outgoing Prime Minister Antonio Costa, was forced to quit amid a corruption investigation.

The most explosive moment is likely to occur in June, with the elections to the European Parliament. This reshuffling of the Euro-pack, which happens once every four years, was always seen in the United Kingdom as an opportunity to behave even more frivolously than usual. In 2014, the British electorate, in its inestimable wisdom, put Nigel Farage and his U.K. Independence Party in first place, setting in train a series of events that, two years later, led to the referendum to leave the EU.

Having seen the damage wrought by Brexit, voters in the remaining 27 EU member states are not angling for their countries to go it alone. However, many will use the opportunity to express their antipathy to mainstream politics by opting for a populist alternative. Some might see it as a low-risk option, believing that the European parliament does not count for much.

In so doing, they would be deluding themselves. It is entirely possible that the various forces of the far right could emerge as the single biggest bloc. This might not lead to a change in the composition of the European Commission (the diminished mainstream groupings would still collectively hold a majority), but any such extremist upsurge will change the overall dynamics across Europe.

Far-right parties in charge of governments will see themselves emboldened to pursue ever more radical nativist policies. In countries in where they are junior members of ruling coalitions (such as in Sweden), they will apply further pressure on their more mainstream conservative partners to move in their direction.

Conversely, countries that saw a surprising resurgence of the mainstream in national elections this year are unlikely to see that trend maintained. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s success in staving off the right was achieved only by cutting a deal with Catalan separatists. This led to protests by Spanish nationalists and a situation that is anything but stable.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s victory in Poland was at least as remarkable because the far-right Law and Justice party (PiS) government had used its years in government to try to skew the media and the courts in its direction. Expect PiS gains in June.

The most alarming result of 2023 was the return to prominence, and the verge of power, of Geert Wilders. The Dutch elections provide a how-not-to guide for mainstream politicians. The willingness of the center-right party of the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte to contemplate a coalition with Wilders’s Party for Freedom emboldened many voters who had assumed their vote would be disregarded.

In Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, the so-called firewall established by the main parties to refuse to govern with the AfD is beginning to fray. Already, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is working with them in small municipalities. Friedrich Merz, the CDU leader, has dropped hints that such an option might not be out of the question at the regional level.

If the AfD gains the largest number of seats in the June European Parliament elections (opinion polls currently put it only marginally behind the CDU and ahead of all three parties in Scholz’s so-called traffic light coalition), then the momentum will change rapidly. It could go on to win three of the states in the former communist east—Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg—next autumn. Germany would enter unchartered territory.

These dire predictions could end up being overblown. Mainstream parties in several countries may defy the doom merchants and emerge less badly than forecast. Given recent trends, however, optimism is thin on the ground.

There is one election, however, due to take place in the latter part of 2024 that could produce not just a centrist outcome, but one with a strong majority in its parliament. Britain, the country that left the heart of Europe, the island that until recently was run by a clown, could emerge as the lodestar for modern social democracy. The irony would be lost on no one.

[beardedmrbean]

The president of Hungary has resigned live on television over a decision to pardon a man convicted of covering up a child sexual abuse case.

It was revealed last week President Novak had given clemency to a man jailed for forcing children to retract sexual abuse claims against a director of a state-run children's home.

Protests calling for her to step down had been growing in Hungary.

Ms Novak apologised and said she made "a mistake" in granting the pardon.

Judit Varga, the former minister of justice who approved the pardon, has also resigned from her new role leading the European elections campaign for Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party.

The controversy which led to the resignations came after the names of 25 people pardoned by Ms Novak in April last year, as part of a visit to Hungary by Pope Francis, were made public by Hungarian media last week.

On the list of convicts was the deputy director of a children's home near Budapest, who had been jailed for three years after forcing children to retract claims of abuse against the director of the home.

The director had himself been jailed for eight years over abusing children at the government-run facility.

Hungarian opposition parties and protesters had been demanding her resignation, but Ms Novak's decision to do so was as sudden as it was unexpected.

Ms Novak is a popular figure in Fidesz and a rare female politician in a male-dominated country. She is a key ally of Hungarian Mr Orban and previously worked as his family minister.

In 2022, she became the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial role of Hungarian president.

The case has unleashed an unprecedented political scandal for Hungary's long-serving nationalist government.

In particular, it caused deep embarrassment for Fidesz, which has made traditional family values the cornerstone of its social policy.

Speaking in an address live on television, Ms Novak said she granted the pardon in the belief the convicted man "did not exploit the vulnerability of the children under his oversight".

She apologised to victims who "might have felt that I did not stand up for them".

"I made a mistake, as the pardon and the lack of reasoning were conducive to triggering doubts about the zero tolerance that applies to paedophilia," Ms Novak added.

In addition to the resignation of Ms Novak, another leading female politician from Fidesz has also resigned over the same case.

Judit Varga, who was minister of justice at the time of the pardon, countersigned the clemency decision.

The double resignation of its two most prominent female politicians is a serious setback for Mr Orban and his party, with Ms Varga due to head the Fidesz list in the European elections in June.

[dzthenerd490]

News Post

Palestine

Will the UK’s policy on Israel-Palestine shift under new PM Starmer? | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

US lawmakers advance bill to block new UN rights for Palestine - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East

How Israel has brought the Palestinian Authority to the brink of financial collapse (theconversation.com)

Ukraine

Takeaways from the NATO summit, which was about Ukraine and Biden | AP News

Hungary’s Viktor Orban meets Trump at Mar-a-Lago for ‘peace mission 5.0’ | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

India Russia Ukraine war: India abstains on UNGA resolution demanding Russia immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine - The Economic Times (indiatimes.com)

Sudan

UN-mediated talks eye cease-fires in Sudan – DW – 07/11/2024

South Sudan peace talks face collapse over a new security law as country gears up for first election | AP News

Red Cross warns of obstacles to humanitarian aid delivery in Sudan - Vatican News

[rodaportal]

🔍 Unlocking Europe's Political Shift! 🌍🔐

Hey, deep thinkers! 🤔💡 Ready to understand the surge of conservative politics in Europe? 📈🗳️ Our latest YouTube video, "The Rise of Nationalism: Europe's Right-Wing Political Landscape," delves into the complexities shaping the continent's political future. 🚀✨

Discover the motivations, controversies, and electoral victories that define this political shift. From the transformation of Sweden Democrats to Marine Le Pen's National Rally, Hungary's resilience under Viktor Orban, Geert Wilders' controversies in the Netherlands, to Matteo Salvini's League in Italy—we cover it all!

#nationalism #europe #conservativepolitics

👉 Watch Now: https://youtu.be/uRVUo0hqc5M

[qnewsau]

Couples celebrate in Estonia as same-sex marriage now legal

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/couples-celebrate-in-estonia-as-same-sex-marriage-now-legal/

Couples celebrate in Estonia as same-sex marriage now legal

Same-sex couples in Estonia have cheered the country’s history-making same-sex marriage laws coming into effect on New Year’s Day.

Estonia’s parliament voted to approve the laws in June last year, making it the first Baltic, central European and ex-Soviet country to do so.

January 1 was the first day same-sex couples could submit their marriage applications online, with applications approved at least a month later.

Bride-to-be Marielle Tuum told The Guardian she’s planning to marry her girlfriend Annika in 2024.

“I’m really happy that I can do a proper wedding at home and not elsewhere, that has less meaning,” she said.

“Ten years ago, I didn’t see as many same-sex couples holding hands in public. People are more open now in Estonia.”

‘Finally, we are as equal as other couples’

Estonia has had same-sex civil unions since 2013. Those couples will have the ability to move to a legal marriage if they want.

Baltic Pride’s project manager Keio Soomelt and his husband plan to do so in 2024. Keio says marriage equality is “an important moment” for his country.

“For the LGBT+ community, it is a very important message from the government that says, finally, we are as equal as other couples,” he said.

“[It says] that we are valuable and entitled to the same services and have the same options.”

Under the new laws, same-sex couples can also adopt children for the first time.

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (pictured above) said last year the reform “does not take anything away from anyone but gives something important to many.”

“We join other Nordic nations with this historic decision,” she said.

“I’m proud of my country. We’re building a society where everyone’s rights are respected and people can love freely.”

Latvia votes to approve same-sex civil unions

While same-sex marriage is widespread among western European countries, in eastern and central Europe it’s a very different story.

Countries like Poland and Hungary have targeted LGBTQIA+ communities in recent years.

However, Latvia’s parliament voted in November to allow same-sex couples to establish civil unions.

The move legally recognises Latvian same-sex couples for the first time but falls short of the rights legally married couples get.

Read next:

Shocking map shows a third of Poland declared ‘LGBT-free zone’

People think Dannii Minogue is heading to Eurovision in 2024

Thousands of Hungarians protest Victor Orban’s bigotry at Budapest Pride

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[bopinion]

2023 / 44

Aperçu of the Week:

"The USA is the main perpetrator of all massacres, from Hiroshima to Vietnam to Afghanistan. They must pay the price for their aggression."

(Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon, in a commentary on the Gaza war)

Bad News of the Week:

The Slovak Republic has a new old prime minister. New, because Robert Fico succeeds a center-right government led by the conservative OL'aNO (yes, that's how you spell it) that imploded after early elections. Old, because Fico, as leader of the left-wing nationalist party Smer ("Direction / Slovak Social Democracy"), which he founded, already held the office of Slovakian Prime Minister from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2012 to 2018.

During his first term in office, Slovakia joined the Schengen area and the Eurozone. So surely Fico is a convinced European? Unfortunately, he is not. Even worse for the head of state of a former Soviet satellite state: he is a staunch Russia fan from A to Z. Not to say a Putin groupie. And always has been. During the Caucasus War in 2008 (his first term in office), Fico condemned the "Georgian aggression" and took sides with Russia. During the annexation of Crimea in 2014 (his second term in office), he repeatedly criticized the EU sanctions imposed on Russia and even threatened to veto them.

And now? Even during the Ukraine war (his third term in office), his partisanship is absolutely clear. Even clearer than ever before. Samples from announcements made in recent days: Bratislava will not supply "one more shot of ammunition" to neighboring Ukraine. Ukraine is "one of the most corrupt countries in the world". The planned new EU aid package of no less than 50 billion euros is to be prevented. The money would fall into exactly the wrong hands. After all, the war had already begun in 2014 when "Ukrainian Nazis and fascists began murdering the Russian population in the Donbass". Ouch.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban can be pleased to have found a spiritual twin in Fico. And the much-vaunted EU unity on foreign policy issues is no longer just crumbling, it is slowly collapsing. The planned twelfth round of Russia sanctions is under long-term threat. And not just by Fico's own left-wing populist Smer party. Because its ultra-nationalist coalition partner SNS is linked to the Kremlin party "United Russia" by a friendship treaty. Incidentally, it has this in common with the Austrian FPÖ (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs / Freedom Party of Austria). Elections will be held next year in the country neighboring Hungary and Slovakia. And it looks as if the Freedom Party's Herbert Kickl could win. Well then, good night Europe.

Good News of the Week:

"Poison for Eternity" is the title of a current TV documentary by ARD, the first public broadcaster in Germany. Which is known for its seriousness. So I was surprised by this extreme statement. Poison for eternity. But unfortunately that really seems to be the case. It's about PFAS. That stands for "per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances". And I had never heard of it before. And I would almost have preferred it to stay that way.

There are more than 10,000 different chemicals that are PFAS. They come in solid, liquid and gaseous form. And we all come into contact with them every day: they are found in food packaging and dental floss, for example. In outdoor clothing and car tires. In semiconductor technology and battery production. In other words: everywhere. And the stuff is practically non-degradable by natural means, hence "eternity".

Unfortunately, various health risks that PFAS can cause if it enters the human organism have been known since the 1960s. For example, the reduction of the vaccination response. Or the development of a fetus during pregnancy. Or simply cancer. Extensive research over the last 20 years has shown that PFAS can be detected in the blood of practically every human being on this planet. And so far nothing has happened. Excuse me?

But now - better late than never - Germany and four other EU countries have submitted an application to the responsible chemicals authority to restrict the manufacture, use and marketing of this devilish stuff. The development of alternatives will still take years. And the PFAS already in circulation will remain. But at least no new ones will (hopefully) be added in the near future. Where can I sign?

Personal happy moment of the week:

We met up with a friend for breakfast at the weekend. In a really nice café that we hadn't been to before. My vital breakfast included homemade raspberry jam. On a stroke of genius, I didn't spread it on a wholemeal roll, but ordered a croissant instead. The combination was a dream. Fortunately, the jam was also sold to take away. And I can now enjoy this culinary discovery at home too. Simple pleasures are sometimes the best.

I couldn't care less...

...about the so-called "parliamentary immunity". This is the term used to describe the protection of a political mandate or office holder from prosecution on the basis of their mandate or office. This legal right, which was created in Germany in the middle of the 19th century, was originally intended to protect the legislature from attacks by the then still monarchical executive. That is long gone. However, a certain degree of protection against prosecution still exists.

This is probably what the elected Bavarian AfD politician Daniel Halemba, who was arrested on Monday just hours before the constituent session of the Bavarian state parliament - i.e. shortly before his immunity was due to begin - had hoped. The charge fits perfectly with the far-right tendencies of the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland / Alternative for Germany): "incitement of the people and use of symbols of anti-constitutional organizations". The young man is just 22 years old.

But in other countries, too, the immunity of public officials plays a role in many applying for political office. It is an open secret that Donald Jessica Trump hopes to be re-elected to be protected from the many criminal prosecutions against him. Just like Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu. Both are therefore also - and this is even worse - trying to discredit the neutrality of the judiciary by accusing it of having a partisan political agenda. Because of course you are innocent and merely the victim of a witch hunt.

As I write this...

...I feel very trendy. Because "Goofy" has been voted the German (!) youth word of the year. And - what a surprise - it stands for "in reference to the Walt Disney comic character (for) a clumsy, silly person or behavior". I knew that before today's teenagers were even born. I must be ahead of my time.

Post Scriptum

There are rising attacks on Jews - all over the world. In the Russian autonomous region of Dagestan, for example, a mob stormed the airport earlier this week when a plane from Tel Aviv landed there. In Dagestan, as in most of the North Caucasus regions, almost only ethnic Muslims live. It can therefore be assumed that the attack was based on a misinterpretation of the widespread nonsense "All Jews are against all Muslims". We could, we should know better.

Unfortunately, people in Germany don't know any better. Since the beginning of the Gaza war, anti-Semitic crimes have more than doubled. The classic: Star of David graffiti on supposedly Jewish doors. Under National Socialism, Jewish families' homes and businesses were marked in this way, making them the target of unpunished attacks by whoever. This is reprehensible, oblivious to history, questionable, disgusting. And dangerous. Because it can fuel latent anti-Semitism, which unfortunately exists in this country just as much as latent racism. This is how a silent prejudice can turn into open violence. The majority that likes to remain silent must clearly oppose this. There is no line to cross in Germany that could be redder.

[yarnersan]

The man Viktor Orbán wants to destroy - and whom he might fear the most

This is Pastor Gábor Iványi, the head of the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship, a small, free-thinking Methodist congregation.

This is Viktor Orbán, the increasingly far-right prime minister of Hungary, who's basically managed to steal an entire country in the heart of the European Union - also the great friend and student of many authoritarian or far-right leaders: Erdogan, Xi, Trump and, of course, Putin.

One of the most gripping stories in the fall of democratic Hungary under Orbán in the last 13 years is the duel between these two men. Iványi is the elderly, jovial pastor of a small methodist church. Always on the side of the downtrodden - the Roma, the homeless, the poor, the refugee. He is the living conscience of the country. His congregation may be relatively small, but it operates a network of schools, kindergartens, homeless shelters, senior homes etc around the country, caring for some 20 000 people. (Their activities are completely non-denominational and neutral - they don't require anyone in their schools etc. to pray with them and the clientele has absolutely no money to give to the church.)

Strangely enough, the two men hey started out together - in the late 80's Iványi was the "pastor of the opposition," and as such, the one to christen the first two children of the young, rebellious liberal opposition leader, Viktor Orbán.

In the late 90s Orban went for the more prosperous field of increasingly right-wing populism, generating a fanatical following and polarizing the country, Iványi stayed where he was needed - with the homeless, the Roma, the increasing number of impoverished people - often raising his voice in their protection (eg from the marching neo-nazi paramilitary groups).

Come 2010: Orban wins the elections with 2/3 majority, giving him free reign over the country. He declares that he will cement his government "for the next 20 years", and changes the constitution (which he never said he was planning to). The increasingly undemocratic measures (one of Orbán's first, symbolic acts is to remove the word "republic" from the country's official name) are met with several opposition demonstrations in the first years - and Iványi is a frequent speaker.

One of the many large-scale changes is a new church law - purportedly to get rid of the "many business churches" operating in the country - in reality to cement in a few servilient churches to push propaganda in exchange of the (extremely) generous support of the state.

The law declares that only a small number of churches - named in the law - may remain recognised churches, everything else must become a "religious association" - and not receive the extra subsidies churches were previously entitled to when they operate educational or social welfare institutions - basically killing their budgets. They can also no longer receive the yearly 1% tax donation Hungarians may freely bestow on their church of choice. Iványi is semi-formally told that he should not even dream of getting the status - it is not a right, but a favour granted by the government, and Orbán has vowed to destroy him.

Iványi's church fights the new bill, winning all cases in court, before the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The government laughs in their face - they never get back their church status and the lost subsidies (after the decision of the Constitutional Court Orbán cynically changes the constitution to "correct" the situation). The goal is to simply and slowly let them bleed out - it would cause too much of an uproar to shut the church and its institutions down. Public support is high, but after a while everyone becomes numb - there's only so much the average citizen can keep being enraged about.

The plan almost backfired - in 2023 the church is still standing, Iványi and his staff of more than 1000 people are still there caring for the increasing number of people kicked to the curb by Orbán's kleptocratic regime, so the government has stepped up its game - the Tax Authority has started to pull large amounts of money (hundreds of thousand dollars) from the church's bank account "for their unpaid bills", even though the state rightfully and legally owes the church several millions. They got to the point where some months they cannot pay the staff's salary.

So far the Evangelical Fellowship has managed to stay operational and show that there is another way to live in this divided country, another way to turn towards our fellow men - without fear and hate, to show that a church must not spew nationalist propaganda in exchange of the state's favour, to show that you must not bend your backbone to live in this country. To be the living conscience of the country.

It may not last, though. The attacks have intensified in the last months, Iványi himself is getting older and his health and constitution has suffered from the decade of persecution. This is how he and Orbán look like after 13 years of this regime.

What Iványi and his church needs is help, support (monetary and other) and visibility on the international stage. You can find them here

TL;DR: There's a community in Hungary that is deeply committed to freedom, liberalism, equality and humany dignity, that the autoritarian, alt-right despot (Putin's and Xi's lackey) Orbán wants to destroy - and they are almost at the end of their tether. Help them by donating or just spreading the word.

Some sources: 1 2 3 4

[voskhozhdeniye]

Fascism, which has always been with us, is again ascendant. The far-right politician Giorgia Meloni won enough votes in a coalition with two other far-right parties, to become Italy’s first female prime minister on Sunday.

Meloni got her start in politics as a 15-year-old activist for the youth wing of the Italian Social Movement, founded after the World War II by supporters of Benito Mussolini. She calls EU bureaucrats agents of “nihilistic global elites driven by international finance.” She peddles the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that non-white immigrants are being permitted to enter Western nations as part of a plot to undermine or “replace” the political power and culture of white people.

She has called on the Italian navy to turn back boats with immigrants, which the far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini did in 2018. Her Fratelli d’Italia, Brothers of Italy, party is a close ally of Hungary’s President, Viktor Orban. A European Parliament resolution recently declared that Hungary can no longer be defined as a democracy.

Meloni and Orban are not alone. Sweden Democrats, which took over 20 percent of the vote in Sweden’s general election last week to become the country’s second largest political party, was formed in 1988 from a neo-Nazi group called B.S.S., or Keep Sweden Swedish. It has deep fascist roots. Of the party’s 30 founders, 18 had Nazi affiliations, including several who served in the Waffen SS, according to Tony Gustaffson a historian and former Sweden Democrat member.

France’s Marine Le Pen took over 41 percent of the vote in April against Emmanuel Macron. In Spain, the hard-right Vox party is the third largest party in Spain’s Parliament. The far-right German AfD or Alternative for Germany partytook over 12 percent in federal elections in 2017, making it the third largest party, though it lost a couple percentage points in the 2021 elections.  

The U.S. has its own version of fascism embodied in a Republican party that coalesces in cult-like fashion around Donald Trump, embraces the magical thinking, misogyny, homophobia and white supremacy of the Christian Right and actively subverts the election process.

Economic collapse was indispensable to the Nazis’ rise to power. In the 1928 elections in Germany, the Nazi party received less than 3 percent of the vote. Then came the global financial crash of 1929. By early 1932, 40 percent of the German insured workforce, six million people, were unemployed. That same year, the Nazis became the largest political party in the German parliament.

The Weimar government, tone deaf and hostage to the big industrialists, prioritized paying bank loans and austerity rather than feeding and employing a desperate population. It foolishly imposed severe restrictions on who was eligible for unemployment insurance. Millions of Germans went hungry. Desperation and rage rippled through the population.

Mass rallies, led by a collection of buffoonish Nazis in brown uniforms who would have felt at home at Mar-a-Lago, denounced Jews, Communists, intellectuals, artists and the ruling class, as internal enemies. Hate was their main currency. It sold well. 

The evisceration of democratic procedures and institutions, however, preceded the Nazis’ ascension to power in 1933. The Reichstag, the German Parliament, was as dysfunctional as the U.S. Congress.

The reconfiguration of society under neoliberalism to exclusively benefit the billionaire class, the slashing and privatization of public services, including schools, hospitals and utilities, along with deindustrialization, the profligate pouring of state funds and resources into the war industry, at the expense of the nation’s infrastructure and social services, and the building of the world’s largest prison system and militarization of police, have predictable results.

At the heart of the problem is a loss of faith in traditional forms of government and democratic solutions. Fascism in the 1930s succeeded, as Peter Drucker observed, not because people believed its conspiracy theories and lies but in spite of the fact that they saw through them.

Fascism thrived in the face of “a hostile press, a hostile radio, a hostile cinema, a hostile church, and a hostile government which untiringly pointed out the Nazi lies, the Nazi inconsistency, the unattainability of their promises, and the dangers and folly of their course.” He added, “nobody would have been a Nazi if rational belief in the Nazi promises had been a prerequisite.”

As in the past, these new fascist parties cater to emotional yearnings. They give vent to the feelings of abandonment, worthlessness, despair and alienation. They promise unattainable miracles. They too peddle bizarre conspiracy theories including QAnon. But most of all, they promise vengeance against a ruling class that betrayed the nation.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

What Brazil’s Election Really Says About Global Authoritarianism

It’s at once astonishing and familiar. 

More than 51 million Brazilians voted to re-elect President Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist authoritarian who professes admiration for the military dictatorship that jackbooted the country until 1985. 

He has not won. Odds are he will lose in the second round of voting on Oct. 30 against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who bested him by 6 million votes in the first round. But the chilling prospect remains on the cards: 

Brazilians may yet re-elect as president a man who has shown little patience for democracy; who has embraced the use of torture, and once asserted that the dictatorship should have killed many more Brazilians, including then-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. As a member of Congress in 2016 he dedicated his vote to impeach President Dilma Rousseff to the colonel who ran the unit that tortured her in the 1970s. 

What’s most striking, though, is how unremarkable the story feels in the current political environment. 

Victor Orban’s Hungary, Narendra Modi’s India, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey have all steered decidedly toward “illiberal democracy.” Italy is now governed by the political heirs of Benito Mussolini. Even Sweden’s new governing party has roots in Nazism. The V-Dem Institute estimates that 70% of the world’s population lived last year under some form of autocratic government, compared to 40% a decade before. President Donald Trump failed to get re-elected in 2020, but 74 million Americans voted for him. 

These millions of votes around the world require a closer examination. The idea that the masses of the 21st century suddenly decided to come out of the closet as fascists, reversing the shift toward liberal politics that characterized the second half of the 20th, is not an explanation. It will not help build the new politics the world apparently needs to push back against authoritarianism.

Continue reading.

[mariacallous]

As 400 million Europeans get set to elect 720 EU parliamentarians in June, polls are predicting big gains for right-wing populists. As a result, for the first time since the European Parliament was directly elected in 1979, it is expected to have a solid majority on the right. This will mark a “sharp right turn” for Europe, the European Council of Foreign Affairs (ECFR) recently noted. The consequences for European politics and policy are already coming into view.

The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the left-leaning Socialists and Democrats party (S&D) are again expected to finish in first and second place, although both may lose a handful of seats. The EU’s far-right groups, Identity and Democracy (ID) and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), will improve their tally mainly at the expense of liberals and Greens. According to ECFR, populists are likely to be the top vote-getter in nine countries, including Austria, the Netherlands, France, Hungary, Poland, and Italy. In nine others, including Spain and Germany, they could emerge as strong second or third-place contenders.

ID—which includes the main anti-immigrant and Eurosceptic parties in Germany (Alternative for Deutschland or AfD), France (National Rally), and Italy (the League or Lega)—is likely to become the EU parliament’s third-largest group after elections are held between June 6 and 9. The ECR is led by Georgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister and leader of the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party, and is home to Sweden’s Sweden Democrats and Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS). If authoritarian Hungarian leader Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party, a member of the EPP until a few years ago, joins the ECR as expected, the far-right could claim a quarter of the total seats.

Political machinations already seem to be underway among some establishment parties to create cooperation with this newly powerful bloc. Experts say if the EPP, the strongest conservative party in the EU, welcomes far-right politicians in its fold or co-opts their policies, as it has lately been accused of, the balance of power in Europe will decisively shift to the right and have major implications for not just the EU’s common agenda but may also influence how member states decide critical policies.

“I think in our campaign we will ask the EPP to be pragmatic, to pick the alternative to a center-left majority,” Marco Campomenosi, a Lega politician and the head of the Italian delegation in ID, told Foreign Policy.

Experts say any such shift will have major implications for the EU as a whole, tainting its recent promises to pursue a humane migration policy and to establish rule of law at home that encourages democratic checks and balances. An empowered far-right may also keep coordination on a common defense policy to the bare minimum in the face of a looming threat from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The EU’s flagship Green Deal climate framework, which has set a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, is also at stake, as the populists try to push the EU to erode its commitment to renewable energy development and other climate policies.

Charlie Weimers, a member of the far-right Sweden Democrats that supports Sweden’s minority center-right government, said, his party’s priority is to push for a “Migration Pact 2.0,” with more stringent measures to stop the influx of immigrants than already listed in the new migration pact. “We need to stop asylum,” he told FP over the phone. “We need breathing space to deal with the immigrants already here otherwise we can never catch up.”

Lega’s Campomenosi said, “it’s not about the money” but about the “trouble” immigrants make. (Under the new migration pact an EU member state which refuses to accept an asylum seeker should pay a sum of 20,000 euros to an EU fund.) “If there are too many immigrants they can’t be integrated,” he added.

Three far-right parliamentarians told FP that with bigger numbers in Parliament they will be able to apply more pressure on the EU commissioner to throw out or dilute the green deal.

It “needs to go away,” Joachim Kuhs, the acting head of the AfD delegation in EU which is polling as the second strongest party in Germany, told FP in his office in the parliament. “It should be repealed and replaced,” Weimers added.

The liberal groups say the center-right has strengthened the far-right by co-opting its policies and forming alliances in individual member states.

Pedro Marques, a vice president of the S&D group, said the EPP parties have been “eroding the Cordon Sanitaire,” erected to keep the far-right out of governments and important positions. “The EPP is dancing with the far right,” he added, with grave consequences for the future of the union.

The cordon sanitaire is crumbling in many European nations. In Italy, the far-right is in power, in Sweden the center-right government is backed by the far-right. In Austria, center-right and far-right have been in a coalition, and the latter is polling ahead of all others in the run up to national elections. In France, Marine Le Pen is leading the polls, and in Germany, the conservatives have hinted at future cooperation at a regional level with the far-right AfD.

The legitimization of the far-right isn’t limited to member states. Ursula Von Der Leyen, a member of the EPP and EU commissioner, has alluded to Meloni’s inclusion in her grouping. She said it wasn’t clear which parties will remain in the ECR after the elections and which will leave, and “join EPP.”

Hans Kundnani, writer of a book called Eurowhiteness, said the boundaries between the ID, ECR and the EPP have always been “very fluid.”

“As soon as Meloni indicated she won’t be disruptive in the Eurozone, that she won’t be pro-Russian, centrist pro-European EPP said that’s great, we don’t mind,” Kundnani said. “The center right has no problem with far-right at all, they just have a problem with those who are Eurosceptic.”

Experts say Von Der Leyen has often backed off on key policies to appease the far-right. Just over the last few months as the farmers protested against the provisions of the green deal, the far-right found another issue to mobilize against mainstream parties. During election season, Von Der Leyen quickly conceded and granted several concessions to the agriculture sector that will affect the 2050 net zero target.

The best example of how the EU commissioner validated the far-right’s worldview, Kundnani argued, was when she created a post for an EU commissioner to promote a European way of life.

“The big theme of the European far-right is that the immigrants threaten European civilization,” he said. When Von Der Leyen created the position, she framed “immigration as a threat to the European way of life,” and in doing so legitimized the far-right.

It is unclear if co-opting the far-right’s talking points benefits the center right in keeping their traditional voters from moving towards populists, but there is an emerging consensus that it strengthens the radical right in the longer run. For its part, the far-right has moderated its own positions on many issues to appeal to the voters more to the center. The far-right parties say they are no longer calling for an exit from the EU, but merely to reform it from within. They say they back Ukraine and not Putin.

Many parties on the far-right advocate return of border controls in violation of the EU’s founding principle of free movement of people and goods. Last year, the AfD described the EU as a “failed project,’’ while Sweden Democrats said they had “good reasons to seriously reevaluate our membership in the union.” There is still a lingering suspicion that the rank-and-file members of the far-right parties harbor sympathy for Putin. Last month, Lega’s leader Matteo Salvini deflected when asked if he blamed Putin for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s sudden death.

The parliamentarians of the ID and ECR with whom FP spoke expressly rejected Von Der Leyen’s proposal to appoint a dedicated defense commissioner to improve coordination among member states on matters of defense.

“We say that we want to manage immigration in a humane way, we can do better to manage the borders,” added Marques of the S&D. In response to the far-right’s demand to externalize the screening of asylum seekers, he said it was difficult to find credible partners. “We did this agreement with the Tunisian authorities, but when we tried to go there to check the conditions, to see how European money will be spent, they said we don’t want your agreement anymore. These have to be credible partnerships.”

The center-left S&D party simply dismisses the moderated stances of far-right parties as a charade. They believe the far-right simply wants the benefits of being in the union, not the costs that sometimes come with upholding its values. “They want an EU without the rule of law, without humanity,” Marques said. “That’s not what we built after the Second World War. They want to change the EU into something that it isn’t. Their values are not European.”

[lightdancer1]

Wrapped up the last book:

This book stopped in 2001, so it didn't have to deal with the impolitic reality that the fragile post-Soviet democracy turned into a pro-Russian dictatorship under the misrule of one Viktor Orban. It did, however, cover the entire span of Hungarian history from the migration to Europe and the Battle of Lechfeld, which settled the brief age of Magyars as one of many migrant horse nomadic Asian cultures that rampaged over Europe and marked the transformation of them, like the Estonians and Finns, into a very self-consciously European and Europeanized culture.

The reality of Magyar culture, like that of Finland, Estonia, and the Basques is that they are small islands of non Indo-European culture in a vast sea of Indo-European languages. This in turn has been something that the Hungarians are always very consciously aware of as well, and it accounts in no small part for old model feudal Hungary preserving Latin as the official language of the Hungarian assemblies into the mid-19th Century. Latin was more easily understood by the Indo-European cultures around them than Magyar, which like Finnish looks like a sneeze when written and unlike Finnish tends to sound like one in speech (but not nearly as bad as Welsh in reading or trying to speak Kartuli, f'rex).

This accounts for much of the self-imposed view of Hungarians of their culture, of their successes, and their failures. Until the Treaty of Trianon the kings and magnates of Hungary led a state that would go on to account for over half the territory of the future Habsburg Empire, and some of the kings, like Matthias Corvinus and Isvtan I/Stephen went on to fame, most of them fitting outside Hungary into the generic grey blur of Central and Eastern Europe that isn't Habsburg, German, or Russian.

Hungarians managed to preserve the huge state on paper, even if the institutions became increasingly sclerotic in a kind of inverse mirror of Poland. No Liberum Veto, instead overmighty subjects without whom Hungary could not be governed, but with whom it underwent a time of serfdom matching anything in the broader expanse of Muscovite and Romanov Russia.

Nationalism became the bane of this state as it did the rest of the world and this one more than most, and Trianon is to it what Sevres is to Turkey, the ever-ready excuse that ultimately played a minor role in the rise of Orban and in the willingness of Hungary to join with Hitler.....and the Hungarian view of periodic uprisings on behalf of freedom as it defined it under Kossuth and Imre Nagy in 1956 also co-existed with a pattern of Hungarian freedom ridden down by Cossacks or gunned down by canister fire from Soviet tanks.

This is a part of the modern duality of Hungary, a state consciously aware that most of its neighbors were once peasants farming the fields of Hungarian magnates, and aware of a democratic-bulwark tradition that has seen great heroism producing a string of disasters matching much of the tradition of Poland when the Slzachta finally buried the commonwealth and the peasants took up where their overlords left off.

9/10.

[beardedmrbean]

VILNIUS - Hungary's decision to ease the entry procedure for Russian and Belarusian citizens is splitting the European Union's unity, Speaker of the Lithuanian Semas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen says.

"Hungary's recent actions are certainly a cause of great concern for other EU countries and are dividing unity, and unity in the EU is very important, especially at this time of Russia's brutal war against Ukraine," she told reporters at the Seimas on Wednesday.

"It is really worrying that there seems to be such a separate policy, especially given that Hungary is also currently holding the presidency," she added.

EU countries should react unanimously to Budapest's behavior, the Seimas speaker said.

In July, Hungary announced a new facilitated visa scheme under which citizens of eight countries, including Russia and Belarus, can enter Hungary without security checks or other restrictions.

Budapest claims that many of those entering under this scheme will be building a nuclear power plant.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry told BNS on Tuesday that Lithuania would turn to the European Commission Hungary's decision.

Under EU rules, national governments have the right to decide on legal migration and work permits. Non-EU nationals with EU visas can generally move freely within the Schengen area, which covers 29 countries, including Norway and Switzerland.

In 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus after Russia launched a full-scale war in Ukraine. While they do not ban Russians from traveling to the EU, Russian-based airlines are no longer allowed to fly into the bloc and hundreds of individuals with links to the Kremlin have been blacklisted.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also visited Russia and China soon after Hungary took over the rotating EU presidency.

[dwestfieldblog]

ABOULIA

So, God save the King eh? At 100 million pounds, his cosplay bash was well worth the moolah…indeed, my bosom swelled with pride to read that Take That, Lionel Richie and two of the Muppets were there to aid the celebrations. Nothing but the best for GB. A few houses around here still have massive British flags hanging down from 2nd floor windows, one has a long string of pennants attached down to a broken wall. Nice metaphor. Those against the monarchy were arrested outside the coronation whether or not they had padlocks, rape alarms and superglue with which to protest. Peaceful protest in a democracy? Stay at home and rant quietly lest thy neighbours report thee. Had a chat with a woman up the street about Brexit and patriotism…who said; ‘The Scottish are Scots, the Welsh are Welsh, the Irish are Irish but the English are British’.

Imagine this mentality multiplied on similar themes all over the world, and we get the current Russian war, Sudan, racists, Arab wars, Trump fans, Chinese ‘communists’, fundamentalists etc, etc. THIS group, OUR group are the most important, enslave the others and if they disagree with such inhuman bondage, punish until pliant or just kill them. Behold, the Elite have become as Gods. Robert Anton Wilson said that he had always taken the viewpoint that sure there was an elite running the world…and it was him and his friends. A more optimystic viewpoint to have, good humour is better for the immune system than hatred, says Dave, arf arf.

Very glad to see Finland join NATO in April, Turkey and Hungary continue to hum and haa over Sweden assession as the former are moaning about Kurds and the latter because of the suspension of EU funds, cancelled due to its dodgy practices…Orban is not really a big fan of democracy…the Trump of Eastern Europe, still trying to stay mates with Vlad. As is Erdogan. Massive human rights violations under him ensured Turkey won’t be getting into the Good Guys club (arf) of the EU anytime soon. However, they are both in NATO (Turkey has the second largest army) and should know far better than to kow tow to Putin on any level. Let’s hope the May 14th election will up seat Racip Tayyip. Get him out, peacefully but surely.

An American parent complained that a school history trip featuring Michelangelo’s statue of David was ‘pornographic’ and suddenly the principal is sacked. One parent. Of a 12-year-old. A modest, circumcised stone penis and testicles is offensive? Must have been a ‘christian’. The western world 2023; Art is pornography now. And Kali bless the NRA. People should be aggressively tested for intelligence before they are allowed to have children. Especially in America. How do these ‘adults’ function on this planet? What next, Mona Lisa veiled because of the curve of her breast and suggestive smile? The masses are dumb partly because they pander to the minority of the dumber.

Apparently, the international arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Belova (Children’s Rights Commissioner (sic) for Baldhead) are ‘outrageous and unacceptable’. Invasion, murder and mass kidnap deportations of children for reprogramming are not decent legal reasons? Ok. Foully rotten to see the two Ruscist slapheads Prigozhin and mad Vlad dick measuring over ammunition and dead bodies. And today, the glorious May Day Victory parade in Moscow featured one tank. Not quite Beijing or Pyongyang standards. ‘The world is at a turning point’ said Vlad, still ranting about the ‘nazis’ in Ukraine. That would be the nazis who democratically elected a Jewish actor as their president. Seems likely huh? And again with ‘the West wants to destroy Russia’ rhetoric. No they don’t Vlad, just you and your band of criminals. You are not Russia.

Xi Jinping in Moscow, still slyly giving tacit and very complicit support for the War as they don’t much approve of areas seeking to remain independent of big brother. (Witness also, their keen support for the mass murdering Myanmar junta) Winnie the Pooh, leader for life just like Putin. Tik Tok/tick tock you bastards. At least Xi seems to have chosen his successor…Surely Mad Vlad is not loopy enough to think the appallingly insane Medvedev could take over? Lock them all together in a bunker with one pistol.

Meanwhile the West must utterly excrete (I said excrete not execute) Trump and Boris. Might just be possible (please Shiva) but unlikely the East will ever get shot of (I said shot of not shoot) Putin and Pooh. As said before in other formats by my hand, the West might be decadent liars and killers but those in the East make us look like clones of the Dalai Lama. How will the world ever move forward into love, peace and net zero? AI has the solution…remove the need for any humanity whatsoever. Or improve and evolve them. Now there’s an idea, quick, trap it, regulate it, drive it underground to build in supressed power…

Boris Johnson swore to tell the whole truth about Partygate but did he FK? He needs to be swamped with lawsuit after lawsuit just like his brother in harm Trump. The perfect empty reality tv stars of the West with Megan Markle as their Victim Queen. Risible Sunak goes to school giving a lecture about the importance of Maths, failing to appreciate the bitter irony of his mis handling of his previous job and the billions lost due to foul pandemic deals, cronies and Brexit. And his own extended family getting business deals via policy….

Conservatives Thatcher and Major led the country for 18 years and the government was a brown shower of corruption by its end, leading to a landslide victory by Tony Blair which kept the Labour party in power (don’t count Gordon Brown) for 13 years, also ending in scandal and corruption. This current gang of criminals and morons of the Tory party have now been in power for 13 years. And this country has been irrevocably ruined by them. (Opinion based on stats and business reports.) There is no possible way Labour can shore up the finances, employment, and health care system of this country in a term or two unless some type of V for Vendetta type crackdown (but this time for real) is enforced. So we will be treated to the sight of bullshitter Boris et al ridiculing the new Government as they wade through a swamp of sewage which they will inherit. Much the same way as the Republicans did when Obama took over the massive deficit they had created and for which they then blamed him.

The holy DAO…a decentralised autonomous organisation free of governmental control and hierarchies, sounds good? As usual, depends on the character of the humans involved. Hierarchies always develop according to variations on the food chain and even an equally skilled pack (animal or man) working as a team will allow pragmatic nature to select a top dog. The round table still reserved the biggest chair for the king. Use nationalism, religion, fear, a cocktail of all three. Never fails. Never will. Kill for your country, protect your family and uphold the common values. (But Sir, what if the common values are based on wilful ignorance due to obviously selectively released information and encouraged prejudice? Questions a timid voice from the back of the class.)

Politicians are advised of underling psychology and act accordingly.  The constant daily manipulation of the millions who are seemingly unable to think for themselves, apparently prefer the clearly corrupt to control their reactions for them. Stir the mass, wind them up and watch them go, basing reactions on whipped up emotion rather than actual facts. Country after country, group after group. Still blaming the Bignoses (or, if you are Russian, the Bignoses AND the Nazis, not quite yet understanding their own current actions and words are in no way dissimilar to Nazis.) What are all these poor little racist didums going to do when Soros departs for higher planes? The good Christians will have to get louder about Bill Gates or the dodgy android Zuckerberg. Or Elon…

(Musk says Artificial intelligence is a dangerous thing, while buying into it. ‘Civilisation destruction’ a strong possibility he said, while buying into it. After all, who wants to be left behind in the race to destroy humanity and make money? Loved the beautiful press release from Elon’s people that his spaceship Starship (arf) experienced a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation’. I will call my next mental breakdown that. Unless he has copywritten it already.)

‘If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers’ Thomas Pynchon Gravity’s Rainbow. The West and East will never stop their chosen methods of manipulation, why should they when they work so well? Millions’ noisy addictive focused attention on the dreams of fake lives in fame and glamour and millions more afraid of the totalitarian knock on the door. Almost all avoiding the question of ‘Who are these whorepigs governing us? ‘And ‘Can any among us truly rule fairly when man lacks consistent self-control?’. The instinct to survive turns into greed, More ! is never satisfied, so faster and faster swirling into the void of absolute entropy upon which leaders have tried to enforce control, but have failed (and will continue to do so) because they have spent centuries hollowing the centre.

‘Democracy is indispensable to socialism’. Lenin, hmmm, he also said: ‘It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be rationed’. Easy to say when your boss has all the gulags. ‘A lie told often enough becomes the truth’, and don’t the leaders on all sides just believe that as an immutable fact? Whereas when one repeats a provable fact, it maintains its structural integrity in the face of unbelieving ridicule That said, even E=MC squared is only a pixel in the cosmic landscape. It is the thoughts of ‘God’ which are the sub atomic particles transforming to waves, once observed by the individual which flow through mirrors of ‘neural pathways’ in all dimensions.

This is me sober, just on Alta Rica coffee in the afternoon, listening to The Stargazers Assistant, Mirrors and Tides, Shivers and Voids on headphones. With a crunchy red apple, just before a colossal rain storm. And a day later with Popol Vuh’s  beauty on speakers, trying hard to avoid the crushing aboulia which is now constantly at the door of the heart. Dopamine circuits malfunctioning. When my respect for someone ends, they are Done, never been afraid to cull dead weight and now…it has come round to me. Like best friends, I have given myself many extra undeserved chances but now as Leonard said ‘the evidence accumulates’ and has become overwhelming…Need to do a couple more decent things with a new Will once the overlong and criminal process of inheritance tax is over months from now and then let go.

A lady up my road lost her husband last month to rapid onset dementia; I had met him some weeks before and had a fine thirty-minute conversation on many topics.  He had been a gunner in bombers in the second world war and adored music, but during his last two weeks when his wife brought him tapes to the hospital of Mozart et al, he ordered her ‘Turn that noise off’. I had always thought that however ill I would get in the future, as long as I could hear music, there would be still be joy in life. Never occurred to me how the brain can change its mind so definitively about what was Loved. 

Shivered.

‘I dream of a government that resembles jury service’. Jaz. Damn right. People who want to serve and improve/evolve society. A group only in temporary power for a fixed length of time before being replaced by similar albeit individual minds. Not years of lying greedy scumbags changing laws to suit their needs and handing out contracts to their mates before checking they can actually deliver. The flaws in this idea remain large and revolve around finding humans who are actually steadfast but flexible, rationally intuitive, good hearted without being wishy washy and strong enough to remain incorruptible by vested interests. Hmm, seems verrry likely. So, just allow nuclear war by arseholes or AI to breed humans the right way. A Matrix Terminator future. Or?

Happy springtime rising into summer, stay healthy, be free, realise in glimpses.