Eastern European Politics

Wait, is it true that Orban is pretty much stacking the deck against the immigrants, despite Germany's appeals to just let the refugees travel to Germany, in order to crank out some anti-immigrant propaganda?

Yes, he is. He's generating hate against the migrants in order to distract the populace away from Fidesz' misdeeds. Sources inside the party confirmed it.

Also, I've heard that the Polish undersecretary of foreign affairs (or something like that) defended Orbán's actions. Of Orbán's proclamation that the quota system is an "illusion", this guy said "He's saying out loud what everyone is thinking but no one dares to say out of political correctness."

edited 4th Sep '15 11:14:41 AM by amitakartok

I know it is a fully arbitrary day for Hungary, but September 15, the day Orban seems to have chosen to enforce these rules is Independence Day for many countries in Central America.

History, huh.

What a despicable little shit. Also, I think you're quoting one of the goons of our knockoff president, Szczerski. Importance of that idiot is somewhere between jack and shit, and he's one of those idiot lackeys of the rightard duce who are willing to claim that black is white if that's the party line.

Unfortunately, it is all but certain that Pi S - aforementioned group of not-even-rightists-anymore - will win the elections unless something unquestionably terrible happens that puts the people off...

And considering how badly the current government screwed things up, I doubt even that will be enough.

Which brings me to claims of the current government mentioning the migrants, how Poland is open to have them here. Except... we're not. We really aren't.

It's true that they need immediate help, but we have no refugee camps, no specialized translators and the culture - forever stuck in Catholicism although that slowly shifts - is too diverse to attempt the mixing. Only a handful of people can speak English here... and I doubt many would speak whatever is the primary language of the migrants.

With refugees, one doesn't need mixing, just camps to place them. Most refugees eventually leave when they can find a place for better life.

As for problems with translators and camps and whatnot, you'd have to request the former from the rest of the EU, and you'd have to expend a bit of effort for the latter.

Did I already tell you the story where my schoolmate, now a journalist, took a camera hidden in a wristwatch and got into a refugee camp in Poland posing as a Cuban?

And how, after fessing up, getting released and airing the material depicting routine abuse from the guards and general decrepitude of the place, he was dragged to court and accused of giving false statement to police and border guards (read, posing as a Cuban)? Luckily, the case was thrown out as what he did was journalistic provocation for the greater good, but still, bad taste remained (particularly since judges from the same district court let a neo-nazi vandal go scot-free and claimed that a hackenkreuz was an "ancient Indian symbol of luck". Note, the very specific Nazi swastika.

edited 5th Sep '15 9:42:42 AM by NotSoBadassLongcoat

A German newspaper is calling for Hungary's expulsion from the EU, saying that Orbán is "working nowadays on violating at least half of the articles in EU law every day before breakfast".

Is it one of the credible ones?

German Huffington Post.

Too bad the EU can't invade and depose Orban for blatant violations of international law.

Well, they'd have to rely mostly on Bundeswehr to do it and, uh, that would carry a couple of connotations Germany would rather prefer to forget.

Also, a local travel blogger supposedly reported an incident on the Austria-Italy border involving rioting refugees, a story copied en masse by rightard bullshit machine. Except it's bullshit if you know what to look for. Someone most probably hacked his Facebook account, and repeatedly at that, maybe even locked him out.

Why it's bullshit? Well, the post first and foremost is viewable by everyone, when the guy has everything else limited to friends only. Second, it's not geotagged, and the guy uses geotags extensively, both on FB and Instagram. Those are two most obvious things. Also, the post was edited three times to add more bullshit to it, two hours later. Who the fuck edits their Facebook posts?! Also, no pictures. Seriously, this guy posts a lot of shit on Instagram, you think he wouldn't upload photos of immigrants wreaking havoc? Particularly if he's posting about it on FB?! Finally, he's rich, and last two times he was in Italy, he went there by plane, judging from his Instagram posts. Why would he take a bus this time? Why not a plane or even a train?

edited 5th Sep '15 1:25:52 PM by NotSoBadassLongcoat

I find it kinda annoying that the acts and opinions of a country's leadership are always taken as those of the nation as a whole.

Right. Because violating EU rights by invading a country to stop someone who's violating EU rights would work so well.

And I suspect the Bundeswehr doesn't the capability, or the German people the desire to actually invade anywhere in Europe. Italy doesn't the funds, France is busy elsewhere and Britain neither has the desire or the funds.

@amitakartok: I said nothing of the sort. I said "depose Orban." With the intent of having him tried in the Hague or something. Hasn't he done stuff that should get him Hagued?

I may be a bit of a warmonger, but it seems to me Europe is letting the dude get away with way, way too much because there's no will to impose any kind of sanctions.

edited 5th Sep '15 1:52:16 PM by Ramidel

If Germany (or the rest of the EU) wanted to punish Hungary, they could simply impose sanctions against Bratislava, which considering that Germany alone accounts for approx. 30% of Hungary's export, would hurt them really badly.

Yeah, we could make a deal with Greece, they do the dirty workd and we'll give them a debt cut, Greece has after all more tanks than Germany right now.

Btw. the article in the German Huffington Post mentions the possibility of kicking a country out of the EU, if it is in gross violation of fundamental European values, according to article 7 of the EU-treaty.

You mean Budapest, right? Bratislava hasn't been Hungarian territory since the end of WWI.

And is the current capital of Slovakia.

Funny stuff: ex-PM Gyurcsány (the one who got deposed via vote of no confidence after an Engineered Public Confession, opening the way for Fidesz' rise and becoming Orbán's public-enemy-no.1-of-the-time) illegally crossed the Hungarian-Serbian border to talk with migrants, earning the police's attention.

He's voluntarily giving up diplomatic immunity to be tried, probably to show a middle finger towards Orbán.

Something a bit more serious. The Hungarian minister of homeland defense resigned yesterday.

What happened is that Orbán expressed his dissatisfaction with the fence construction's current state and wanted to speed things up. Hende, who felt that he's been performing his maximum for that Ungrateful Bastard, got so offended that he resigned on the spot, which Orbán immediately accepted and nominated the undersecretary of sports from the Ministry of Human Resources as replacement.

It all happened so quickly that even said replacement found out from the media.

edited 8th Sep '15 12:25:52 PM by amitakartok

Mazovian voivode has overturned the decision mayor of Warsaw made to reject the nationalists' petition to organize an anti-immigrant protest.

All hell's gonna break loose and I'm apparently one of those poor schmucks left footing the damages bill.

Oh fucking joy. You'll never guess what happened.

Some neo-nazi asshole attacked the owner of a falafel joint with tear gas. Despite the fact that the guy lives here long enough to get a citizenship and a passport, is a Christian, and has a fuck-off huge flag of our local football club hanging on the wall. And the football yobs are rightard militia material if not actual neo-nazis.

Also, looking at how Jeremy Corbyn just shook up the Labour party that Tony Blair has all but run into the ground, I'm reconsidering voting on the local failing left. Either Palikot shakes that alliance up enough to come up with a sensible alternative, or someone else does.

Oh. Finally, the prime minister announced that if Civic Platform gets reelected, the old social security and healthcare funds will get canned, the personal income tax will be lowered to a single 10% rate, a minimum hourly wage of 12 PLN (a bit over $3) will be introduced, labor unions will be no longer funded from the employer's budget and from 2017 onwards, the higher VAT rate will be lowered back to 22% as originally planned. Sure, it's shameless vote-baiting, but as long as they strike a blow against the blatantly rightard-backing lazy bastards running the unions (I mean, seriously. The Gdansk Shipyard is in ruin, yet its union leader pockets over 13k PLN monthly for doing jack shit. How's that fair?), and prove that those greedy fucks were pissing away money that could be put to good use elsewhere (which I hardly doubt, actually), it's a jackpot.

edited 13th Sep '15 3:45:51 PM by NotSoBadassLongcoat

Was said fascist asshat at least caught?

In this sick sad country? Shirley, you jest.