Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has carried out a government reshuffle unprecedented since the outbreak of the war, with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba being the most notable victim. Ukraine’s situation on the battlefield is becoming increasingly difficult, and many believe the Kursk incursion was a significant mistake, ultimately falling on Zelenskyy’s shoulders. Thus the changes in his government may be part of the Ukrainian president’s efforts to sideline political opponents and silence dissenting voices.
‘For peace, a ceasefire is needed first. Only then can a peace plan be developed to end the conflict. Anyone who does not accept this is not familiar with the science of peacemaking,’ Balázs Orbán wrote in his analysis for Mandiner.
Over the weekend, the Israeli Defense Forces found the bodies of six Israeli hostages killed by the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip town of Rafah. In their initial reports major international media outlets were reluctant to spell out Hamas’s responsibility in their headlines, unsurprisingly for those who have been following the conflict and the media coverage attentively from the beginning of the war. This most recent example highlights the mainstream media’s growing tendency to deny or distort reality when it suits them.
‘Most wishing to migrate to the U.S. are seeking a better life, contrary to the regional violence, corruption, and economic devastation in their home countries. If U.S. and Central American governments are able to institutionalize a ‘Marshall Plan’ as Washington had done for Europe after World War II, then perhaps a workable solution is possible. However, the U.S. needs to take the lead in this, though it would be unable to do so long as members of both Democratic and Republican Parties continue to childishly bicker with one another.’
There are a number of conventional weapons whose appearance in US adversaries’ hands can cause serious damage to American interests all around the world. It is not difficult to imagine the threat of hypersonic anti-ship weapons, barely interceptable by contemporary air defence weaponry, on commercial ships, not only on the Red Sea. Arming let’s say Mexican drug cartels with modern anti-tank equipment could also seriously hamper US efforts to block the flow of drugs into the country.
‘The influence of Mao’s Cultural Revolution can indeed be seen as haunting Western universities today. In some respects, Western universities are now experiencing what Eastern European institutions endured under communism.’
‘It seems to me that Orbán sees his people as having a greater chance of surviving the disintegration of the West by forming ties to China. He might be proven wrong by history. But make no mistake: the dilemma facing Viktor Orbán is a lot like that facing Grand Prince Géza: How to strengthen the position of the small Hungarian nation amid the struggle of powerful states and empires? Géza’s geopolitical decision to baptism his son as a Latin Christian set the course of Hungarian history for a millennium. The stakes may well be as high for Orbán today.’
‘The Democrats, who often accuse Trump of populism, demagoguery, and fascism, are increasingly resorting to demagogic, populist, and fascist tactics themselves by instilling fear and turning Trump into a bogeyman, repeating the tired old tropes about him incessantly (not to mention using other means such as deploying law enforcement and the judiciary for partisan purposes against their political opponent). As posted on Facebook by the GOP, on the night of 19 August alone, the word “Trump” was mentioned 147 times at the DNC meanwhile “inflation” three times, “crime” six times, and “border” only eight times.’
‘Stricter AI regulation is needed precisely because of the military use of the technology. Those opposing the legal regulation of artificial intelligence within the European Union have voiced reasonable arguments, such as the fact that overly strict regulations might harm trade within the European Union and can cause economic backlash. But restrictions connected to LAWS do not have such impacts, and their only purpose is to protect civilians and prevent the detrimental possible effects of unregulated attacks.’
‘Hungarians who are looking for a way through this civilizational crisis should turn for wisdom and inspiration to a medieval poet who also lived through a period of tumultuous change, and who found a way out of the ‘dark wood’ of confusion by rediscovering faith in God, and in the things of eternity. Dante was not a Magyar, but like Magyars, he was European—one of the greatest Europeans who ever lived. He speaks to us today, across a sea of time, soaring above the heads of the bustling crowd of aggressive dwarves, and what his booming voice says is: Return.’
‘Today jihadists camouflage themselves as moderate and assimilated Muslims. In their Janus-face approach, they publicly advocate free enterprise and freedom of speech and of religion, while simultaneously being involved in sharia-based subversion, encouraging hatred, segregation, and violence. Just like Jefferson who confronted the conquering nature of Islam, Western leaders must do the same before the situation truly gets out of hand, as it appears to have happened in the UK.’
‘The essence of the grand strategy for Hungary—and now I will use intellectual language—is connectivity. This means that we will not allow ourselves to be locked into only one of either of the two emerging hemispheres in the world economy. The world economy will not be exclusively Western or Eastern. We have to be in both, in the Western and in the Eastern. This will come with consequences. The first. We will not get involved in the war against the East. We will not join in the formation of a technological bloc opposing the East, and we will not join in the formation of a trade bloc opposing the East.’
‘At times the only way to make the world safe for democracy, as Wilson envisioned, is to assume an amoral position, which may require a courtship of impure partners, even at the risk of tolerating their immoral policies. Yet notwithstanding the apparent Wilsonian recession in the U.S.-led West, and for that matter, the rest of the world, President Wilson’s vision is so heavily rooted in American political culture that its values shall continue to have a global appeal.’
For all the legitimate concerns about a second Trump presidency, Mr. Biden’s feeble governance—or whoever was running the show behind the scenes—and the falsehoods fed to the American public by the Democrats as to his mental and physical incapacities have achieved exactly what President Biden accused Mr. Trump of: weakening democracy.
During the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics drag performers appeared to form a composition similar to the painting The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. The organizers have since claimed the resemblance was an oversight, and not intentional mockery. Meanwhile, just a few days later, Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca was threatened with disqualification if he did not remove an image of Jesus from his board.
‘In today’s culture, one has to explain how the modern existential paradigm does not hold the truth to sustain a prosperous life or society. With radical and individualistic generations being raised, nothing is more effective than to point out how existential nihilism does not bring happiness, meaning or prosperity. Cheap surface moralism should therefore be replaced by a transcendental framework of meaning and purpose.’
Biden’s abrupt exit from the presidential race and anointment of Vice President Kamala Harris as his would-be successor has certainly left world leaders in disarray—not that they were not expecting it, given the obvious lack of both physical stamina and mental acuity of the US president. Regardless, as they continue to grapple with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, an escalation in the Middle East, and a more emphatic China, world leaders are contemplating if there will be a second Trump’s ‘America First’ administration or a continuity of Biden’s ‘America is Back’ through Kamala Harris.
For the fourth consecutive year, the European Commission has published its annual report on the rule of law, which comes with few surprises. In addition to Hungary, Brussels is now concerned about the rule of law in Slovakia and Italy, which is unsurprising given that both Member States have governments prioritizing national interests. Poland, on the other hand, has fallen off the EU’s ‘bad guy’ list since Brussels’ favourite, Donald Tusk, came to power. This year’s report leads to a single conclusion: the Commission views the rule of law as a tool for political and financial blackmail.
After a long time, Europe has the opportunity to take its future into its own hands, restore its long-lost prestige, and promote peace in Ukraine. Instead, Brussels has initiated a childish vendetta against Hungary over Viktor Orbán’s peace mission. Missing such opportunities out of hubris and pettiness demonstrates the utter incompetence of the EU leadership.
Ursula Von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission by 401 MEPs who voted in favour. The conservative groups, that is, the ECR, Patriots for Europe, and Europe of Sovereign Nations voted against, as Von der Leyen and the EPP do not stand for conservative values and ideals any more.
‘An important element of Viktor Orbán’s governance is that he knows Hungarian history and has learned from its mistakes. He does not want to repeat the sins committed by the historic Hungarian state during the 20th century. Hungary’s vision has thus not been blinded by the anti-Zionism of woke ideology, and it is able to recognize that Israel is the bastion of democracy and human rights in the Middle East, while successfully holding on to its religious and national traditions.’
‘The changing demographic in German cities, where traditional characteristics are diminishing, also signifies deep socio-political shifts. Addressing these transformations is crucial, as they pose implications for democratic integrity and the rule of law, transcending partisan narratives.’
‘In his convention speech, Vance challenged the globalist idea that nations are a thing of the past. After telling a powerful story about how seven generations of his family are buried on the side of a Kentucky mountain, Vance said, “That is a homeland. That is our homeland. People will not fight for abstractions, but they will fight for their home.” This should resonate with Hungarians who support Prime Minister Orbán’s fight to protect Hungarian sovereignty and culture from the internationalists of Brussels and Davos.’
An opinion piece by the Washington, D.C.-based magazine The Atlantic is trying to make the case that Donald Trump’s victory in November could bring a ‘Hungary-style autocracy’ to America. Evidently, this is nothing new, just a usual hit piece by the liberal media in the US with the customary distortions, omissions, and half-truths.
‘President Trump’s true character has just been revealed. It turned out that he’s the kind of man who comes under fire, takes a hit, feels the blood—and stands back up, with his fist raised. Obviously, at this point, Biden is no match for him, a President, who lived.’
‘France is organized in a way that prevents a patriotic, nationalist force from taking power. This is the essence of the French system. The media, the judiciary, public servants, business, entertainment, and so on: virtually all layers of society have been taken over by left-leaning representatives since the 1970s to such an extent that a change of direction would inevitably lead to violent clashes, especially given the openly anti-French rhetoric of large parts of NFP supporters. Palestinian flags were more numerous than French ones at many anti-RN protests.’
Vox has broken its regional coalition agreements with the Popular Party (PP) in five regions, something that no other party has ever done in the history of Spanish democracy, as VOX leader Santiago Abascal announced on Thursday.
‘Trump, just as when he raised his arm with a clinched fist letting everyone know after being shot, should go further and publicly state that Biden—so long as he stays in the race—is not an enemy. If he is able to convince his base that the divisions in the U.S. must come to an end, he would be forever remembered as the man who united the United States of America during its most challenging moment in modern era, and only he can accomplish this for his country! God bless America!’
The cordon sanitaire as used by the EP today is not a reasonable political tactic to block parties that are radical beyond reasonable doubt, but a way for the political elite to block the will of the people, hollowing out the very purpose of democratic elections: to determine the political elite of the polis.
There is a lesser-known but in many ways much more influential pillar of the EU’s institutional system than the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council: the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is quietly but steadily building an ever closer union.