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Magyarország
2019. XII. 6. Megszavazza a Fidesz-frakció a kulturális finanszírozásról szóló törvénycsomagot. A kormány Gothár szexuális zaklatási ügye és annak eltussolása miatt nyújtja be a javaslatot. November 19-én derült ki, hogy a balliberális kulturális élet egyik központjában, a Katona József Színházban súlyos szexuális visszaélésekre került sor. Az intézmény vezérkara eleinte még az elkövető kilétét, az áldozatok számát és az ügyben indított belső vizsgálat formáját is titkolta. Egy idő után azonban kénytelenek voltak nyilvánosságra hozni Gothár nevét. Az is hamar kiderült, hogy Máté, a színház vezetője az utolsó utáni pillanatokig próbálta eltussolni az ügyet. Az ügy csúcspontjaként fény derült arra is, hogy a Katona vezetése titoktartási szerződést íratott alá az ott dolgozó színészekkel, köztük az áldozatokkal is. Az ügy rámutatott a jelenlegi finanszírozási, működtetési, támogatási rendszer hiányosságaira, a kormány pedig nem tartja megengedhetőnek, hogy az állam csak a finanszírozásban vállaljon felelősséget, a működtetésben nem. Az államnak a mai finanszírozási rendszerben nincs lehetősége arra, hogy egy ilyen ügy után a Katona József színház igazgatóját menessze az állásából, holott ez indokolt lenne. A Gothár-féle zaklatószínházak követelik a pénzt a kormánytól, miközben nem engednek betekintést az ügyeikbe, és akár évekig is eltussolnak bűncselekményeket. A kormány nem fogja csökkenteni a színházak fenntartására szánt összeget, de minden egyes intézményt át fognak világítani, mert nem egyedi esetről van szó, ez kiderült már. A tulajdoni viszonyokat nem fogja megváltoztatni, és ha egy adott önkormányzat az állam szerepvállalása és partnersége nélkül akar színházat fenntartani, továbbra is megteheti, de akkor állnia kell a költségeket. (Forrás: Origo)
2019. XII. 1. Százegy évvel ezelőtt, 1918. december elsején nyilvánította ki önkényesen a hazánk területére befogadott 1228 román küldött, hogy mostantól Erdély nem Magyarországhoz, hanem az úgynevezett Romániához kíván tartozni. A recept egyszerű: telepedj be valahová (akár hívnak, akár nem), ott a nagy jólétben szaporodj el, aztán a kedvező alkalmat (például a befogadó ország háborús kivérzését) kihasználva jelentsd ki, hogy azt a területet átcsapod egy másik államhoz. Mindenféle hamis hízelkedéssel, sűrű hazudozással, kitalált elnyomatás-történettel nyerd el a győztes nagyhatalmak kegyét, akik aztán tálcán át is adják neked az országméretű területet. Ám a ma ünneplő keleti szomszéd jó, ha az eszébe vési: a szeparatizmus kétirányú utca. Bár a magyar politika ezt célként (még) nem hirdetheti, de mi, nem-politikus magyarok igen: túszul ejtett testvéreinkről és ezeréves családi ezüstünkről soha nem mondunk le. (Forrás: PestiSrácok)
Erdély
2012. XII. 2. „Zalmoxis felé vezető útra lépett” ? A román nemzeti ünnep napján, egy trikolórral akasztotta fel magát a dákomán szervezet elnöke. A szászvárosi születésű, 33 éves Damian, a Dákok Völgye egyesület elnöke, a Farkasok Szövetsége nevű pszeudo-történelmi rekonstrukciós fesztivál szervezője Felsővárosvízen élt, a dákok szent helyének tartott Sarmisegetuza közelében, holttestét is itt találták meg. (Forrás: Főtér)
France
December 08 2019 "Who is NATO's enemy? Russia is no longer an enemy." French President Macron this week faces the first major test of his policy of directly engaging with Russia that has disturbed some European allies, as he hosts a summit seeking progress in ending the Ukraine conflict. Joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Macron will bring together Russian President Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky for their first face-to-face meeting at an afternoon summit at the Elysee Palace in Paris tomorrow. Macron's thoughts were summed up in an explosive interview with The Economist last month, when he declared NATO was brain dead and said Europe needed to have a strategic dialogue with Russia. Examining Russia's long-term strategic options under Putin, Macron said in the interview that Russia could not prosper in isolation, would not want to be a "vassal" of China and would eventually have to opt for "a partnership project with Europe". It added to a raft of growing tensions between France and Germany which is a less imposing diplomatic player as Merkel prepares to leave office. Macron notably described ex-KGB agent Putin as a "child of Saint Petersburg", the former Russian capital built by Peter the Great as a window onto the West. (Source: AFP)
December 5, 2019 Paris police fired tear gas at demonstrators today as the Eiffel Tower shut down, France’s high-speed trains came to a standstill and hundreds of thousands marched nationwide in a strike over the government’s plan to overhaul the retirement system. At least 90 people were arrested in Paris by evening. The deeply unpopular Macron is expected to reveal the details of his plan next week. The government has promised not to touch the official retirement age - 62, though lower for certain physically demanding occupations - but the plan will encourage some people to work longer. To Macron, the retirement reform is central to his plan to transform France so it can compete globally in the 21st century. The government argues France’s 42 retirement systems need streamlining. (Source: AP)
Great Britain
10 Dec 2019 Gone with the wind? Rwamirama, 48, from Kampala, Uganda whose deadly farts can kill mosquitoes claims to have been signed up by insect repellent companies probing the secret of his killer gas and boffins have launched a study into the chemical properties of his unique trouser toxin. He says no one in his home village has ever contracted malaria because his powers knock out insects over a six mile radius. If true, that would make his fallout zone larger than that of the atomic bomb which destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. Local barber Yoweri said: "When he is around we all know that mosquitoes will vanish." He dreams of his marketing his gas and added: “Imagine buying a Raid can with my face on it!” (Source: TheSun)
Németország
2019. XII. 6. Vízió Németország erőszakos iszlamizációjáról. 'Ne épüljön új mecset Erfurtban«, ilyen feliratokat ragasztanak a nácik a lámpaoszlopokra a mecsetünk környékén. Dehogynem. A mecset fel fog épülni, aztán egy másik, majd egy újabb és még sok másik. Amíg minden faluban nincs mecset! A nácik biztosan nem állíthatnak meg minket' – üzeni Malik, a Németország keleti részén fekvő Erfurt muszlim polgármester-helyettese a Twitteren. (Forrás: Origo)
Europe
10 December 2019 The United States will send 20,000 troops to Europe next April and May in its biggest military exercises on European soil since the Cold War. U.S. Major General Seguin said the exercises will be centred on Germany. The U.S. Army will test its ability to transport the soldiers across the Atlantic to Belgium and the Netherlands and then move quickly east through Germany into Poland and along NATO's eastern flank. The soldiers will join U.S. personnel stationed across the continent, as well as militaries from 18 NATO allies, to mass around 37,000 troops. (Source: Reuters)
Afghanistan
December 9, 2019 “We are seeing some progress”. Last year, 3,804 Afghan civilians were killed in the war. Whether to withdraw the 13,000 U.S. troops who remain in Afghanistan. Since 2001, more than 775,000 U.S. troops have deployed to Afghanistan, many repeatedly. Of those, 2,300 died there and 20,589 were wounded in action. Since 2001, the Defense Department, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development have spent or appropriated between $934 billion and $978 billion. Those figures do not include money spent by other agencies such as the CIA and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for medical care for wounded veterans. Sopko, the head of the federal agency conducted interviews, byproduct of a project led by Sopko’s agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, known as SIGAR. Previously classified memos about the Afghan war were dictated by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld between 2001 and 2006. Dubbed “snowflakes” by Rumsfeld and his staff, the memos are brief instructions or comments that the Pentagon boss dictated to his underlings, often several times a day. In 2017 the Defense Department began reviewing and releasing the remainder of Rumsfeld’s snowflakes on a rolling basis for National Security Archive. Together, the SIGAR interviews and the Rumsfeld memos pertaining to Afghanistan constitute a secret history of the war and an unsparing appraisal of 18 years of conflict. The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan had a clear, stated objective - to retaliate against al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some U.S. officials wanted to use the war to turn Afghanistan into a democracy. Others wanted to transform Afghan culture and elevate women’s rights. Still others wanted to reshape the regional balance of power among Pakistan, India, Iran and Russia. The United States has allocated more than $133 billion to build up Afghanistan - more than it spent, adjusted for inflation, to revive the whole of Western Europe with the Marshall Plan after World War II. U.S. officials tried to create - from scratch - a democratic government in Kabul modeled after their own in Washington. It was a foreign concept to the Afghans, who were accustomed to tribalism, monarchism, communism and Islamic law. The gusher of aid that Washington spent on Afghanistan also gave rise to historic levels of mass corruption. With judges and police chiefs and bureaucrats extorting bribes, many Afghans soured on democracy and turned to the Taliban to enforce order. In the Lessons Learned interviews, however, U.S. military trainers described the Afghan security forces as incompetent, unmotivated and rife with deserters. They also accused Afghan commanders of pocketing salaries - paid by U.S. taxpayers - for tens of thousands of “ghost soldiers.” More than 60,000 members of Afghan security forces have been killed. A U.S. military officer estimated that one-third of police recruits were “drug addicts or Taliban.” Yet another called them “stealing fools” who looted so much fuel from U.S. bases that they perpetually smelled of gasoline. Afghanistan became the world’s leading source of a growing scourge: opium. The United States has spent about $9 billion to fight the problem over the past 18 years, but Afghan farmers are cultivating more opium poppies than ever. Last year, Afghanistan was responsible for 82 percent of global opium production. A flourishing drug trade - this is the only part of the market that’s working. Afghan poppy farmers were paid by the British to destroy their crops - which only encouraged them to grow more the next season. Later, the U.S. government eradicated poppy fields without compensation - which only infuriated farmers and encouraged them to side with the Taliban. (Source: msn): https://tinyurl.com/w34urqs
See also: SIGAR Lesons Learned: https://tinyurl.com/u62rxg5
China
December 4, 2019 In the name of ‘international scientific cooperation' intellectual property theft from China is costing U.S. corporations $225 [billion] to $600 [billion] a year. The now Western-trained PRC scientists simultaneously support China’s state-owned defense companies to develop quantum military applications. China has exploited federally funded research at American and other Western universities that is now used in cutting-edge quantum technology being integrated into Beijing’s military forces. Quantum technology and computing provide extremely secure communications and electronics that are virtually unbreakable. American research exploited by Chinese scientists included work done at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Colorado and Louisiana State University. In Europe, Heidelberg University, Vienna University, Cambridge University and the University of Geneva were also involved in the Chinese quantum program. Several military applications linked to specific foreign-trained Chinese scientists: a quantum satellite; naval applications for quantum guidance, quantum communications and quantum detection; superconducting quantum devices; and a quantum radar said to be capable of detecting radar-evading stealth aircraft. The quantum radar was unveiled by a Chinese research institute in November 2018. For anti-submarine warfare, China announced it had a quantum magnetometer in 2017. Beijing claims the sensor will be used to measure magnetic fields in the hunt for submarines, potentially eliminating another key U.S. strategic military advantage. Quantum navigation will enhance China’s strategic nuclear missile submarines, allowing them to avoid surfacing prior to a launch. Submarines currently must surface in the process of calibrating missile guidance for targets prior to launch. (Source: TheWashingtonTimes)
Iraq
December 5, 2019 Capitalized on unrest? Iran has used the continuing chaos in Iraq to build up a hidden arsenal of short-range ballistic missiles in Iraq, part of a widening effort to try to intimidate the Middle East and assert its power. Since May, the Trump administration has sent roughly 14,000 additional troops to the region, primarily to staff Navy ships and missile defense systems. (Source: msn)
Japan
06 Dec. 2019 About two percent of participants on average find a spouse at match-making parties. Roughly a quarter of Japanese people between 20 and 49 are single. The norm of single people living with their parents until marriage means there is less immediate pressure to find a partner. They think it's a waste of time to have a relationship with someone who does not meet their conditions and can afford to wait for a better catch, Parasite singles? The difficulty of finding affordable housing adds to the incentive to stay with mum and dad. The country's falling marriage rate is a phenomenon known as "hypergamy". Japanese women tend to seek men with stable employment and education levels higher than them. In addition, many people meet future spouses in the office in workaholic Japan, and there are fewer opportunities as jobs become more precarious. (TheEconomicTimes)
United States
December 8, 2019 The Pentagon chief wants to prioritize the deployment of U.S. forces to the Asia-Pacific region from other areas, including Afghanistan, to confront a growing military competition with China. “What I want to do is reallocate forces” to the Indo-Pacific Command, Defense Secretary Esper said at the Reagan National Defense Forum when asked about cutting troops in Afghanistan. “I’m not just looking at Afghanistan” but “all these places where I can free up troops” to bring them home or “compete with the Chinese, to reassure our allies and to conduct exercises and training.” (Source: BNNBloomberg)
December 6, 2019 Pentagon programs to train foreign nationals are coming under new scrutiny after the man suspected of opening fire at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, killing at least three people and injuring several others, was identified as a member of the Saudi Arabian military. The Department of Defense has 5,181 foreign students from 153 countries in the US for security cooperation related training. There are currently 852 Saudis in the US for Defense Department security cooperation training. (Source: CNN)
December 6, 2019 US flu season arrives early, driven by an unexpected virus. Such viruses can be hard on children and people younger than 50; they put you in bed for a week, including fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Last flu season started off as a mild one but turned out to be the longest in 10 years. It ended with around 49,000 flu-related deaths and 590,000 hospitalizations. (Source: AP)
December 05, 2019 llegal gold mining in Latin America a “direct threat” to U.S. national security. Cornucopia of evils unleashed by illegal mining including human trafficking, corruption, disease, mercury poisoning, drug smuggling, widespread deforestation in the Amazon basin and the enrichment of powerful criminal groups and rogue governments like Maduro’s regime in Venezuela. The metal is used not only by the jewelry industry but also in electronics such as smartphones and tablets. Rubio said 58 percent of imported U.S. gold comes from Latin America. Miami International Airport, the closest U.S. port to Latin America, has long been the nation’s leading gateway of gold. To feed the growing demand for gold, impoverished miners across the Amazon are tearing down jungle in protected areas and using toxic mercury to separate metal from rock. The outlaw miners live in dangerous camps rife with malaria, sexually transmitted infections and other diseases. Women and children are forced into the sex trade to serve them. Illegal gold earns more profit for criminal groups than cocaine. The narcos use their drug money to buy and sell gold, giving them cover as legitimate businessmen. Criminal groups which recognized the benefits; Mexico’s violent Sinaloa cartel, as well as two armed Colombian groups, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), both designated as terrorist groups by the United States. In Colombia, the figure generated by illegal mining is estimated at $2.4 billion. Other precious minerals such as coltan, used in electronics, are also exploited by criminal groups. (Source: MiamiHerald): https://tinyurl.com/v7957l6
Dec 03, 2019 Epstein, who died aged 66, was secretly an Israeli intelligence operative. He ran a blackmail enterprise for the purpose of entrapping powerful individuals and politicians. A shocking "criminal enterprise" (as recently described by the FBI), one with deep business and intelligence ties across a number of countries. New book: 'Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales' by Howard, Cronin, Robertson. (Source: PRNewsWire)
NATO
December 04, 2019 Long focused on Russia, NATO widens gaze towards China. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg noted ahead of the alliance's summit that China was the world's second-largest defense spender, after the United States. "It's not about moving NATO into the South China Sea, but it's about taking into account the fact that China is coming too closer to us," he said, pointing to Chinese activity in the Arctic, Africa and heavy investments in European infrastructure. The United States, in particular, wants European allies to ban equipment from Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei, saying its gear could be used by Beijing for spying. The NATO leaders said in their communique that they were committed to ensuring their countries had secure 5G communications, without mentioning Huawei. Part of the China plan at NATO is based around seven baseline requirements on which NATO allies must assess the risks. These include the risks of consequences of Chinese ownership of communications and NATO plans to restore communications in case of disruption. It also includes ensuring NATO has ownership of strategic weapons and infrastructure and what NATO's maritime posture should be vis-à-vis China. (Source: Reuters)
4 December 2019 At the NATO summit. The new tariff escalations being recommended by U.S. trade representative Lighthizer yesterday include new tariffs on French champagne, wine, cheese, and other products totaling $2.4 billion. 'We're doing their wines and everything else,' Trump said. 'You just can't go around making statements like that against NATO. It's very disrespectful.' Trump also teed off on France's digital services tax which he said is unfair to U.S. tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Twitter. /photos/ (Source: DailyMail): https://tinyurl.com/vjor7ax
December 3, 2019 Trump began his first of two days at the Nato conference by harshly rebuking Macron, once arguably his closest ally among foreign leaders, for recently saying Nato was experiencing “brain death” as a result of diminished US leadership in the alliance under Trump. Macron said he stood by his comments about the health of the Nato alliance. He also firmly expressed his frustration that Trump withdrew hundreds of American troops from Syria in October. The chasm between Trump and Macron was most apparent as they discussed their concerns over Turkey’s plan to purchase an anti-aircraft system from Russia. Macron said there is a disconnect in allowing Turkey to buy an anti-aircraft S-400 missile system from Russia and also be a Nato member. Trump said he is weighing issuing sanctions against Ankara if they move forward with plans to buy the weapons. Ahead of the meeting, President Erdogan said he would oppose a Nato plan to defend the Baltic region if the alliance does not back Turkey over its fight against Kurdish groups it considers terrorists. (Source: TheStraitsTimes)
Marshall Islands
December 6, 2019 Two nations begin negotiations to renew their compact, which is set to expire in 2023. 29 atolls spaced over 750,000 square miles of ocean - the Marshallese are waiting to hear the results of their Nov. 18 general election - a vote that could decide whether the nation maintains its decadeslong alliance with the United States, or turns toward a new potential benefactor: China. The Marshallese who live in the United States were excluded from the last election. In 1986, the Marshall Islands and the United States signed an agreement cementing an alliance. In exchange for $150 million and the right for its citizens to work in the United States without visas, the U.S. secured a military base on Kwajalein Atoll and the right to refuse the military presence of any other nation. The compact absolved the U.S. of any future responsibility related to its nuclear testing program in the Marshalls. The Chinese are targeting many Western allies in the Pacific as part of its Belt and Road initiative, bringing aid and infrastructure investment to struggling nations, in return for allegiance and, in many cases, debt. Today, the U.S. government is the Marshalls’ largest financial contributor, accounting for roughly 36% of the nation’s expenditures. It is also a major employer - Marshallese enlist in the American military at a higher per-capita rate than that of most states, and roughly one-third, or 22,000, of all Marshallese live and work in the U.S. In Rongelap Atoll new research shows higher levels of radiation in the soil than was found near Chernobyl and Fukushima. (Source: TheStarAdvertiser)
New Zealand
9 December 2019 Volcano erupted on New Zealand's White Island at 2.11pm yesterday with 47 people on the island at the time blowing huge plumes of smoke and debris 12,000 ft into the sky. Four helicopters evacuated 39 people in the aftermath before conditions became too dangerous to land. Six people have since died, 30 are being treated, three have been discharged; eight missing presumed dead. Wounded have burns on up to 90 per cent of their bodies and health minister has warned more could die. On the island at the time of the eruption were two Britons, four Germans, 24 Australians, five Kiwis, two Chinese, one Malaysian and nine Americans. In 1914, a small mining community on the island was wiped out after falling rocks weakened by the island's volcanic activity swept through the village. Mining activity was subsequently banned and the island has been uninhabited now for more than a century, but is a hotspot for tourists hoping to get close to an active volcano. White Island is New Zealand's most active volcano and had seen its last major eruption in 2001, with smaller events over the years until now. (Source: TheMail)
Oceania
7 Dec 2019 Like the Dutch, the British and the Japanese in the heyday of their imperial expansion. Trump's America First outlook, by encouraging international disengagement, has created political vacuums that China is filling, not only in the South Pacific but all around the region, from Pakistan to the Philippines. The Solomons’ decision to throw in its lot with China, by accepting large-scale investment and cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan, is further evidence that the US rebalancing act is failing. It is losing the battle for power and influence in the Pacific. While Trump was busy withdrawing from the now defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership, for example, Beijing has been busy building up trade and investment ties through its global Belt & Road Initiative. There has been speculation, meanwhile, that China plans to build a permanent regional military base. Vanuatu was mentioned as one possible location, though this was denied. Now Tulagi in the Solomons is in the frame. Worried about the defensive implications of China’s rise, the US and Australia said last year they would develop a joint naval base on Manus island in Papua New Guinea. The US has urged its regional allies, including Japan, South Korea and Singapore, to up their defence spending. (Source: TheGuardian)
Globalizáció
2019. XII. 1. Új kiáltványt tett közzé Thunberg néhány társával: a fokozódó klíma-harcban most már a 'gyarmatosító, rasszista és patriarchális elnyomó rendszerek felszámolása' a bejelentett cél. Thunberg és társai ezért most két pénteki napon újra utcára vonulnak a világ körül, legközelebb december 6-án, az ENSZ klíma-konferenciája idején. (Forrás: Mandiner)
Space
December 5, 2019 Before its mission ends in 2025, the Parker Solar Probe is on a mission toward the Sun. It wears a thick, custom-made shield to protect its scientific instruments and systems, and tubes with flowing water to cool itself down. Inside, it is a cozy 26 degrees Celsius. The data from the Parker probe show that the solar wind is far more turbulent near the Sun than in our own vicinity. Scientists also found that shifts in the Sun’s magnetic field speed up the particles flowing away from the Sun much faster than any of their models had predicted. The mission is named for Parker, the American astrophysicist who first described the dynamics of solar wind in 1958. (Source: TheAtlantic)
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