The international pressure is clearly making Israel step up their timetable in Rafah, and they seized the crossing to stop that flow of aid, that was holding southern Gaza back from descending further into famine as rapidly as northern Gaza is.
They are going to try to “solve” this before the international community increases pressure, or moves to actual meaningful interventions.
And in the meantime, we’re seeing the US vote to defund a humanitarian organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)), that also helps the population prove they are indigenous to Filasteen and have a right to own land there, and land that is currently colonized as well. Because they house this info, Western governments probably see it as a threat to the legitimacy of the occupation and want to erase it from history.
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Click here to see the summaryThe UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Tomoya Obokata, said he was disturbed by the BBC’s evidence, which includes undercover filming in Egyptian jasmine fields during last year’s picking season. Once the jasmine has been picked and weighed, it is transferred via collection points to one of several local factories which extract oil from the flowers - the main three being A Fakhry and Co, Hashem Brothers and Machalico. Lawyer Sarah Dadush, founder of the Responsible Contracting Project, which seeks to improve human rights in global supply chains, said the BBC’s investigation “reveals… that those systems aren’t working”. Givaudan, the fragrance house which makes Lancôme Idôle L’Intense, described our investigation as “deeply alarming”, adding “it’s incumbent upon us all to continue taking action to remove the risk of child labour entirely”. L’Oréal said it was “actively committed to respecting the most protective internationally recognised human rights standards”, adding that it “never request[s] Fragrance Houses to go lower than the market price for ingredients at the expense of farmers. We recognise the complex socio-economic environment surrounding the local jasmine supply chain, and we are taking action to gain better transparency and to work toward improving the livelihoods of sourcing communities.” — Saved 88% of original text.
Not an EU citizen but is there any way for you guys to jist like, kick them out? I only ever hear about people wondering why they were let in to begin with
EDIT: damn I’m learning a lot about euro politics from these replies. Thanks guys!
They can’t get kicked out but their voting rights in the councils could be suspended. That would require unanimous approval by all other member states.
In the past, Hungary under Orbán and Poland under Morawiecki had some kind of pact to protect each other from such a suspension. With Tusk now the Polish prime minister, that’s no longer the case, but there’s some fear that Slovakia’s Fico could shield Orbán instead.
See the other reply about why the EU can’t act. I’d just like to add context on the “why were they let in” front.
Hungary joined the EU in 2004. The country was more democratic back then. There were even some hopes of joining the Euro zone. Then the government of the time cocked up (basically their words), and Fidesz/Orbán, who were part of the anti-communist wave in 1989, gained a supermajority in 2010 and gradually rewrote the constitution and electoral system. Slowly eroded all the systems, took control of all the media, etc.
Not sure when they became Russia-friendly/controlled, but Hungary has been less democratic since 2010 and that’s where the problems stem from. I genuinely wonder how much of it all was a Russian plot from the start and how much was opportunistic.
In addition to the other comments, the EU is considering to alter its decision-making process and implementing a majority vote (at the moment every single counrty must agree to a decision). That could significantly reduce the risks brought by countries like Hungary and Slovakia.
Hungary is not unique, Orban is just very loud. There are several countries in the EU where getting an Orban voted in is a real danger & it just happened in Slovakia as well.
This is the equivalent of kicking the US out of everything if they voted Trump…
This chart would be more readable if the corruption perception index were explained by having the polarity of the scale labeled. I.e. is green “corrupt” or not?
By following the source link, it looks like green = “clean” and gray = “corrupt”.
It’s just insane how it’s never enough even for huge countries. It’s an entirely cultural thing.
In Europe, you have many small countries in cooperation, and none of them think to deny other countries. Russia and China are huge, and have so much. But it’s systematically and culturally different, with a specific type of people and apparatus in control.
You look from a small country to these behemoths, and it’s just insane that they would even feel a want or need to expand like that, at the cost of so much.
Armchair geopolitics explanation: it’s a culture/societal difference between a thousand year old monarchy and a federalist state that lost 2 world wars on their own land. Not to mention the federalist state had a “communist” power structure in control of about half of their lands for half a century while the other half birthed a regional free trade juggernaut. Meanwhile, the monarchy has a landed elite class/aristocracy that persists to this day.
What I’m getting at is that the wealth in the UK could be much more heavily tied up in individual fortunes and estates than the wealth in Germany. That kind of wealth seems easier to “protect” by offshoring (and/or the UK has evolved to prefer/rely on it).
In contrast, I expect the wealth in Germany to be more tied up in corporations, stocks, etc. This in turn would lend itself to corporate forms of tax evasion that can happen domestically.
Part of it could also be that Germany is exporting a lot of goods, so the wealth is accumulated in Germany but the profits are realized abroad, lending itself to the tax evasion. This situation is probably a result of what you described.
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Click here to see the summaryLeading the ascent is Nay Myo Zin, a former army captain who, after 12 years in the military, defected to the resistance.With his dark green camouflage jacket draped over one shoulder, he has the air of a performer about to take the stage. Just listen for five minutes, 10 minutes.” Somewhat surprisingly, the barrage stops.He tells them of the 4,000 soldiers who surrendered to the opposition in northern Shan State, and the recent insurgent drone attacks on military buildings in the country’s capital Nay Pyi Taw. You have time today to decide whether to switch to the people’s side.”There’s silence from the military camp below.Nay Myo Zin urges them to abandon Min Aung Hlaing, the general in charge of the ruling junta.“All your lives will surely be spared. Cut off from the resupply of men and food, they stand their ground, firm in their belief that it is the military’s right - its destiny - to rule the country.The ideological gulf between both sides is unbridgeable.The carrot and stick approach continues for another 30 minutes or so, before the resistance fighters withdraw. The same youth who heard tales of failed revolutions and who have decided now is their time.After half a century of military rule, Myanmar enjoyed a brief experiment with democracy starting in 2015 under Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy.For many young people those years, though not without deep problems, marked an all-too-short golden age of freedom. It meant armed revolutionaries’ ammunition was depleted - and they no longer were able mount an attack on the outpost.The day before we arrived, army war planes had bombed the hilltop overlooking Hpasang, killing three of the young fighters we had met earlier, and injuring 10. — Saved 88% of original text.
I accidentally misclicked this article and reported it as spam while I was trying to report some prescription drug spam. Hopefully it's not adversely affected. I wish there was an Undo on that action.
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Click here to see the summaryMr. Xi has branded this effort the “Fengqiao experience for a new era.” The Beijing suburb in the propaganda video, Zhangjiawan, was recently recognized in state media as a national exemplar of the approach. “Fengqiao” refers to a town where, during the Mao era, the party encouraged residents to “re-educate” purported political enemies, through so-called struggle sessions where people were publicly insulted and humiliated until they admitted crimes such as writing anti-communist poetry. When people began to chafe at the restrictions — culminating in nationwide protests in 2022 — the granular approach proved its utility in another way, as the police used facial recognition cameras and informants to track down participants. Near a billboard depicting a smiling Mr. Xi, a meat seller named Wang Li said that neighborhood officials often inspected for fire hazards like loose electrical wires, or reminded residents to go for health checkups. By January, 98 percent of the roughly 1,700 households had agreed to relocate, thanks to village representatives who had visited homes more than 1,600 times, according to a social media post by the local government touting how the Fengqiao experience had “taken root.” A fried chicken vendor in Zhangjiawan, who gave only her surname, Ma, said she had not made enough money to pay her rent for three months, in part because constantly patrolling officers prohibited her from setting up her cart on the sidewalk. — Saved 90% of original text.
sounds like another attempt at distracting from Ukraine.
Ukraine will win if “the west” supports it. It could have done so easily if Nato mobilized it’s industry.
Russia will not attack Gotland, Sweden is in nato, I’d be signing a death treaty, but it will larp and parade to distract from Ukraine as hard as it can.
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