#ukraine was the only one bringing it big this year!!!!!

[endiness]

for people who actually care about basing their opinion off of all of the information instead of, idk, none or clickbaity article headlines... here is what tomasz baginski said in his interview when it comes to changing things from the books:

There is also the question of the recipient’s sensitivity. I often point this out to others [in the production team], such as how they simplify politics in the plot. We, Poles, see various political events differently because of our history and experiences. We see more nuances. Especially in the context of what is happening beyond our eastern border. We can recognize this gray area where various influences and powers flow. It is more understandable and transparent to us. For example, that this person is good and this one is bad, but also a little good, and here it’s rather gray and we understand why this good hero does some unpleasant things. We catch it in three seconds. I had the same perceptual block when I presented Hardkor 44 [a never-made variation on the Warsaw Uprising] abroad years ago and tried to explain: there was an uprising against Germany, but the Russians were across the river, and on the German side there were also soldiers from Hungary or Ukraine. For Americans, it was completely incomprehensible, too complicated, because they grew up in a different historical context, where everything was arranged: America is always good, the rest are the bad guys. And there are no complications. When a series is made for a huge mass of viewers, with different experiences, from different parts of the world, and a large part of them are Americans, these simplifications not only make sense, they are necessary. It’s painful for us, and for me too, but the higher level of nuance and complexity will have a smaller range, it won’t reach people. Sometimes it may go too far, but we have to make these decisions and accept them.

and here is the thing he said about tiktok in an interview over a year ago when talking about s2 because for some reason we're bringing this up:

BAGINSKI: I see the fastening of the processes Jacek Dukaj wrote about in his book – "Po piśmie" ("After the script"). We resign from cause-and-effect chains, from the linear narration. This book-like narration. When it comes to shows, the younger the public is, the logic of the plot is less significant.

INTERVIEWER: What is significant, then?

BAGINSKI: Just pure emotions. A bare emotional mix. Those people grow up on TikTok, Youtube, they jump from a video to video...

INTERVIEWER: You're talking to such person.

BAGINSKI: So, it's time to be serious: Dear children, what you do to yourself makes you less resilient for longer content, for long and complicated chains of cause an effect.

INTERVIEWER: You're talking about something else that's hidden between your words. What you mean is that you don't know how to make a show kids'd like to watch.

BAGINSKI: Generally, I try to know what people react to and like to watch. Long and complex narratives will remain, it'll be like a classic shelf in a bookstore. People will still read that, it will be popular at some point. But the edge of the mass audience is moving a bit into the a less linear narration, less cohesive one. I think it's inevitable. As reading is not natural for the human brain.

INTERVIEWER: Yep, you gotta learn it, it's hard.

BAGINSKI: Oh, in this sense, yes. You need a lot of effort to learn to recognise all these symbols. You probably don't remember that. If you're a genius, you read when you're 3. It's some big effort for your brain, moreover, it's not natural. The things we receive with our heads... There's nothing literary there. We have to learn literature. Learn to receive it and write it. It's like mathematics, a lot of abstract symbols you have to learn to recognise. People who understand it will remain, the people who work on narration, they have to work on texts. But, more and more people won't need it. Why write if I can record or say it? Why write if I can receive emotions in a different way. It's a controversial thesis. When Dukaj published it, there was a lot of arguments like: "But I still read! My friends, too!" However, we talk about trends in a scale.

INTERVIEWER: Yeah, it's not about you or your friend.

BAGINSKI: We talk about global trends. The success of TikTok wouldn't be possible without that. It's happening. It's just easier to watch and click, watch another one, than read a book and follow all those twists and plots. We'll see how it goes. I think The Witcher is safe for now, there are still a few more years... Maybe it's because of the generation.

in either case, it’s pretty obvious he’s not blaming ~*~the fans~*~ for the changes the show made to the books but talking about how american/western media is made and younger audiences who grew up on social media in general.

[tomorrowusa]

Britain has been developing a laser air defense system called DragonFire. Originally it hadn't been scheduled for deployment until 2027 but the war in Ukraine may offer the UK an opportunity to test its capabilities by seeing how well DragonFire takes out Russian drones fired at Ukraine.

The DragonFire weapon, which is expected to be in service by 2027 at the latest, can hit a target the size of a £1 coin from a kilometre away. Reforms aimed at speeding up procurement mean that DragonFire will now be operational five years earlier than planned. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps travelled down to the Porton Down military research base in Salisbury in an attempt to speed development up even further "in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands on it". "I've come down to speed up the production of the DragonFire laser system because I think given that there's two big conflicts on, one sea-based, one in Europe, this could have huge ramifications to have a weapon capable particularly of taking down drones," Mr Shapps told journalists. "And so what I want to do is speed up what would usually be a very lengthy development procurement process, possibly up to ten years, based on my conversations this morning, to a much shorter timeframe to get it deployed, potentially on ships, incoming drones, and potentially on land. "Again, incoming drones, but it doesn't take much imagination see how that could be helpful in Ukraine for example." Laser-directed energy weapons can strike at the speed of light, using an intense light beam to cut through their target. They are a lower-cost alternative to using missiles to strike down drones, costing only about £10 per shot.

You can't argue with cheap, fast, and accurate. Ukrainians are quick learners, highly motivated, and amazing innovators. DragonFire and Ukraine would be a great match.

The new procurement model, which comes into effect this week, is aimed at speeding up the process of getting cutting-edge developments in military capability like DragonFire out on to the field. "It's designed to not wait until we have this at 99.9% perfection before it goes into the field, but get it to sort of 70% and then get it out there and then... develop it from there," Mr Shapps said. Asked whether the system might be ready earlier than 2027, he said: "Because I'm here, I've taken the opportunity to arrange additional conversations with colleagues about whether we could speed it up even faster, very much using the integrated procurement model of saying there's a war on - let's say that it didn't have to be 100% perfect in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands on it, can we do any better - but 2027 is still the date as of this moment. "But of course I'll look to see what we can do to speed up."

Ukraine may be the equivalent of a beta tester for DragonFire. Experience in Ukraine would be used for improvements to the weapons system.

So far, laser defense systems are being developed particularly in connection with naval uses. Here's a vid from late 2021 which outlines the potential uses for and challenges to use of such systems.

It makes me grin to recall that the High Valyrian word for DragonFire is Dracarys.

[because-its-eurovision]

Even though I've been watching for years I still don't understand all the ins and outs of the running order (I only know that being in the first half of the final is bad?) but I'm looking forward to hearing you talk about it and learning more 😌

How to get the best out of Eurovision running order 101 👩‍🏫

Rule of thumb: the later, the better. Especially if you try to win. Nobody has ever won Eurovision performing second.

Allocation draw for the semi-finals is held in January, Big-5 countries draw their half for the final during the opening ceremony, and semi-final qualifiers draw their halfs for the grand final at the press conferences after their semi. Producers then decide the running order and it is accepted by EBU. The only exception is the host country, which draws their place in the running order randomly during the EBU meeting in March. Try to be lucky.

In semi-final the second half has better qualification rate than the first half. Second and third place have the worst qualification rates.

To avoid performing second place, try not to be annoying and/or from these countries: Estonia (2013 & 2021) Latvia (2014 & 2022), Israel (2014 & 2022), Ireland (2015 & 2019), Poland (2016 & 2017), Romania (2018 & 2022), Albania (2019 & 2021).

Usually a maximum of five songs qualify from the first half, the only exception so far being the first semi of 2018 with six qualifiers from the first half. The usual split is 3/7, 4/6 or 5/5.

Hope that you get to perform last. But if your song is an uptempo, performed on the last spot of the semi-final and you qualify, be prepared to open the grand final (Belgium 2016, Israel 2017, Ukraine 2018, Czech Republic 2022).

Hope for a place right before or right after a commercial break. If you want to ensure a spot after a break, bring a big prop that needs extra time to get ready on stage (United Kingdom 2017, Ireland 2021, Australia 2022).

The producers give the favorites best places in the running order, usually as late as possible in their half. You can try to influence that by betting for your own country so it gets high up in the odds (Malta 2021).

If there are many favorites or frontrunners, they are not placed back-to-back. Being the one entry sandwiched between two favorites is not great so try to avoid that (Cyprus 2015, Denmark 2017, United Kingdom 2019).

The running order isn’t everything. Of the last ten winners, five came from the first half and five from the second half. Eight times out of ten, the winning song was performed earlier than the one that placed second. Most important thing is to have a great song, all the rest follows.

[darii-thegreat]

fuck, can you just stop comparing ukraine to palestine? it's two different countries with two completely different situations. you can't compare tragedies and fight over who killed more people and who is worse

just stop. my friends died because of russia and they still do. every day lots of people die, just because russia wants to bring ussr back. it's not that ussr was even that good. it killed, starved and raped lots of people (my family included).

it's like comparing ww1 and ww2. why don't we just say that in every conflict germany is the guilty one? it started 2 world wars! you say it doesn't work that way?

well, supporting ukraine and palestine works the same. war in ukraine has been going on for 9 years now. a big part of my family has lived on occupied territory since 2014. it's no joke. crimea is not on the verge of natural collapse, but you will ignore it, because "we support peace not war"

well fuck you then. my people are killed and my country is destroyed. my little brother is afraid of dying. he's 11. you don't understand the fear of a missile hitting neighbour's house, and the first thought is "thank god, it's not me".

it's terrifying. you want to support palestine? go on. stop bringing up ukraine. ukrainians are shouting because we have wanted help since 2014, but help started to come only when russia started full-scale WAR and not even hiding anymore.

talk, scream, post, do something for palestine and its people, if you want to. by comparing you're not making it better. you want people to talk about palestine and not ukraine?

start with yourself. but don't compare my country's war to any other.

every conflict is different. educate yourself and talk about things you think are important.

and fuck off if you don't want to support ukraine. you can just shut up.

[justacynicalromantic]

"Enemies comes here saying they want to "free" us, but they only steal our land for themselves"

The song, amazingly (actually, no, not surprising at all), is more than ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.

"Through steppes" - Ukrainian folk song written during its war for Independence from the Russian Yoke, after the Russian Tsardom Empire fell in the early 20th century.

Hey! Through steppes, through dark ravines,

Iron regiments are marching forth.

Let all the brave men join us!

We will become knights, oh young ones!

We don't want to fight for another's cause,

We don't want to fight as hired soldiers -

We all live only for our Ukraine,

Only for her, we would give our necks.

Enemies comes here saying they want to "free" us,

But they only steal our land for themselves.

Well, they will have land - where their graves are going to be,

Upon them, our freedom will be blossoming!

Fly, our song! Fly far under the blue skies!

Sing to the hearts of all Ukrainians!

Let our freedom always be with us!

Let the end come to all the enemy plans!

That war would turn out a failure.

Much like Ichkeria 80 years later would, Ukraine, fighting alone, lost and was occupied by Russian army, instilling a loyal puppet government and occupying Ukraine for another 80 years - until the Soviet Union, an economic and military failure by then, collapsed in on itself, which let Ukraine - and other states Russia had captured - to declare its independence again in 1991.

It is important to understand that it was never a design of the Russian elites - it was never what they wanted, they simply had no choice and no power at that time to stop the other nations from freeing themselves.

But as soon as they were able, they went on to "collecting" the lands they lost.

First, Ichkeria - a weaker state a still weak after the Soviet collapse Russia could handle back then. Russians burned and bombed its capital to the ground, mass killing many civilians and completely occupying the territory now known as Chechnya.

Then, a try at Moldova (part of Moldova's lands are now occupied by Russian mercenary army).

Then, a try at Georgia (part of Georgia lands are now occupied by Russian mercenary army).

In 2014 a try at Ukraine (part of our territory - my home region actually - had been and is now occupied by Russian mercenary army, but after the full invasion of 2022, Russian regular army is also stationed there now🙄).

Now, in 2022 a full invasion of Ukraine.

What you knew of Russia is a lie.

A propaganda they fed you.

Russia always was and is a colonialistic empire.

It has subjugated and erased nations for centuries.

Have you never wondered HOW EXACTLY IT HAS GOTTEN THIS BIG A TERRITORY?????

The total number of nationalities and ethnicities in Russia is probably bigger than the number of minorities in the US.

THOSE ARE ALL THEIR LANDS.

Moreover, they all mostly still live on them (i.e. it's not like a united country where all nationalities mingle completely).

Yes, there are also white people there in those lands - many of them ethnical Ukrainians actually who already forgot their ancestry. And you know why? BECAUSE THEY WERE DISPLACED THERE!!!!

Russians, after occupying a territory, did this thing to hold power there - they forcibly took those who resisted and forcibly SENT THEM TO LABOR CAMPS they instilled in a far off land of Asian ethnicities (like, half of the world far off lands) - which they captured earlier. On the other hand, they encouraged their own white Russian settlers to come to this European beautiful warm country Ukraine and settle in the homes of displaced Ukrainians🤷🏻

They did send Russians also to those cold northern Asian and Middle-East lands - convicts, prisoners, dissidents, etc. - all those who the regime deemed as unsavory and broken - that the only their worth, as the regime thought, was to serve in a labor camp to "bring culture and language" to "uneducated savages" who lived there (those be the Asian many ethnicities whose lands they captured) - direct quote there. I still see and hear MODERN Russians calling people of those ethnicities "ungrateful" if they say anything bad about Russia - because apparently "Russia brought them up from the dirt - gave them culture, education, taught them to read and write"🙄🙄🙄🤦🤦🤦 (this is so funny actually - because many of those lands are descendants of the Mongol Empire - which was prosperous and powerful when Moscow didn't even exist yet🤣 And when Moscow did exist - it existed as a small, weak, rural 'dutchy' which paid tributes to the great Mongol Empire. It's like saying that Saxons (no offense to Saxons but still, Saxons were awesome but Roman Empire was awesome-r) brought culture and language and education to Italians, because many Italians can speak English now)

All in all, Russia had many "funny" ways of managing the population.

[queerasaurus-rexx]

terfs: why do you always bring race into it?

also terfs:

we bring up race because yall are racist

there are 'developing' countries in the west. (developing is a contentious term in terms of politics but in the absence of an agreed upon alternative, herein we shall continue to use it)

the fact that your first thought of countries that are developing are two countries (africa is a continent, not a country, and 28 countries therein have actually banned female genital mutilation but please tell me how much you really care about it -) heavily colonized by the west and a big reason why they've struggled to regain their footing after decades of conflict is because of direct intervention from the west. you chose two extremely well known examples of countries having issues with women, but if most women in developing countries really are radfems, how come you can't think of any more?

there are developing countries in the west! argentina, chile, dominican republic, ukraine.

i must ask, then why you chose afghanistan, iran and 'africa' (again - not a country)?

is it, perhaps, your rampant islamophobia? your unchecked anti-blackness?

but sure, jan, we're the problem.

(and not to say that trans people have it worse in extremely conservative countries, but they definitely don't have it any easier. this article, published last year, talks about how dangerous it is to be queer under the taliban. again, this is not to say one side has it worse, only to say that terfs act like trans people aren't being threatened and this refutes that idea.)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Matt Wuerker, Politico

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 30, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

OCT 31, 2023

After three weeks without a speaker, the House today tackled one of the key items on its agenda: providing additional funding for Israel and Ukraine. Immediately, the majority under Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) made it clear that they have every intention of pushing their extremist agenda. Despite pressure from Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), they have split funding for Israel away from the funding for Ukraine and funding for humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza that President Biden has requested.

They have gone further, though, to push the far right’s agenda. The House Republicans’ $14.3 billion aid package for Israel claims that it will “offset” that spending by taking $14.3 billion from funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) passed by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act. But this “offset” is nothing of the sort: funding the IRS brings in significantly more than it costs. For each dollar spent auditing the top 1% of U.S. earners, the IRS brought in $3.18; for each dollar spent auditing the top 0.1%, it brought in $6.29.

In September the IRS noted that it recovered $38 million in delinquent taxes from 175 high-income taxpayers within a few months and would be increasing that effort. A 2021 study showed that people whose income is in the top 1% of earners fail to report more than 20% of their earnings to the IRS. 

The House measure, providing aid for Israel only if Democrats agree to set aside Ukraine and Gaza and permit rich people to cheat on their taxes, will set up a fight with the Senate. 

Tonight, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement saying the Republicans’ politicization of our national security interests is a “nonstarter. Demanding offsets for meeting core national security needs of the United States—like supporting Israel and defending Ukraine from atrocities and Russian imperialism—would be a break with the normal, bipartisan process and could have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead.”

She noted that there is strong bipartisan agreement that it is in our national security interest to stop the suffering of innocent people in Gaza, “help Ukraine defend its sovereignty against appalling crimes being committed by Russian forces against thousands of innocent civilians,” and invest more in border security. 

“Threatening to undermine American national security unless House Republicans can help the wealthy and big corporations cheat on their taxes—which would increase the deficit—is the definition of backwards,” she said.

The chaos among the Republicans and the emergence of a Christian nationalist as their choice to lead the House seem to have drawn increased attention to the successes of the president. 

Today, for example, the United Auto Workers announced a tentative deal with General Motors, marking the third such agreement in the union’s six-week strike against GM, Ford, and Stellantis. The agreements include a 25% raise in base wages over 4.5 years, after years in which workers’ pay did not keep up with inflation. The agreements will also protect workers against the conversion to electric vehicles, helping unionized workers to make the transition to a green economy, and reopen certain closed plants.

As Jeanne Whalen noted in the Washington Post, this agreement comes after United Parcel Service (UPS) workers this summer won their strongest contract in decades and 75,000 striking Kaiser healthcare workers won strong wage increases. 

Biden was the first president to join a picket line when he stood with the UAW. Today, he said: “Today's historic agreement is yet another piece of good economic news showing something I have always believed: Worker power…is critical to building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up…. We’re finally beginning to build an economy that works for working people, for the middle class, for the entire…country, including the companies.  

“Because when we do that, the poor have a ladder up, the middle class does well, and the wealthy still do very well. We all do well.”

As Michael Tomasky put it in The New Republic, “We have a president who takes seriously the fundamental economic fact of American life of the last 40 years, which is that trillions of dollars of wealth have been transferred from the lower and middle classes to the top 1 percent, and even to the top 0.1 percent. Moreover, it’s rivetingly clear that he thinks that it’s long past time to get that river flowing in the other direction.”

In The Bulwark, Jill Lawrence wrote that Biden has a “surprising focus on the future” as he “moves to meet U.S. challenges that former President Donald Trump largely ignored, failed at, or made worse.” She noted Biden’s achievement of infrastructure legislation after Trump failed, and contrasted Biden’s successful CHIPS and Science Act with the trade war of the Trump years, which cost as many as 245,000 jobs and so badly hurt midwestern farmers that 90% of the proceeds from Trump’s tariffs went to bail them out.

Biden also has looked forward by pushing and securing the Inflation Reduction Act, which invests in a transition to a green economy.

But Lawrence’s focus was primarily on today’s sweeping executive order on artificial intelligence, an order Politico called “the most significant single effort to impose national order on a technology that has shocked many people with its rapid growth.” The administration has been working to establish responsible AI practices, recognizing the need to address discriminatory algorithms, data privacy violations, and deep fakes.

Today, Biden signed an executive order requiring companies to share safety information about their systems before allowing them to be used, in order to make sure they don’t pose a safety or a national security risk. It orders the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to secure critical infrastructure. It will require AI-generated content to bear a watermark that clearly labels it. It will protect personal data, and Biden promised he would ask Congress for legislation to pass bipartisan legislation to stop technology companies from collecting the personal data of children and teenagers, to ban advertising directed at children, and to limit companies’ collection of personal data in general.  

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology think tank, applauded the order, saying its guidelines set “a clear course for the United States…. With this EO, the United States is demonstrating it takes AI oversight seriously.”

Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the two-day AI Safety Summit meeting in the United Kingdom on November 1–2 as the European Union closes in on laws about artificial intelligence that would enable the E.U. to shut down services that harm society. The E.U. has been ahead of the U.S. in its regulation of the internet: in August 2023 its Digital Services Act went into effect, requiring users to agree to the use of their personal data for targeted advertising and requiring digital platforms to police the disinformation on their platforms. Most of the companies it regulates are based in the United States.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[theygender]

I have a very frustrated idea in my brain and I just finished forming the thought after a little bit of time. When the Ukraine-Russia conflict kicked off, there was this solemn "idk how to enjoy life without being guilty cuz people are dying in Ukraine rn" and Ukraine has obviously deserved that care and concern and empathy. But when it comes to Palestine-Israel I'm seeing people who care and have that empathy but God damnit if a lot of what I'm seeing isn't just tearing each other down for supporting the wrong side and I know the conflict is very different than the Russia Ukraine conflict but I also saw that "do you care about the dying children or is it complicated when it's middle eastern children " and I was like yea tbh. Ukraine got so much empathy without questioning or fighting online because uh not that Ukraine is a majority white place but it partly is that and cuz it's Europe. God forbid something happen to Europe suddenly people are a lot sweeter and kinder.

Yeah I've definitely seen the same thing :(

A big part of it I think is, like you said, Ukraine is in Europe. Another part of it at least in the US is that our culture is already primed to see Russia as bad due to years of propaganda, so people were much quicker to want to stand up for a country that was being invaded by Russia. While it's great that Ukraine is getting the support, it feels like the widespread support for Ukraine is more bc of some automatic reaction of "Russia -> Communism/Red Scare/Cold War -> Enemies of the US" than any actual concern for human rights or preventing colonialism

On the other hand, when it comes to Palestine, the US is already primed to support Israel bc of years of propaganda on behalf of 1) our government who wants to use Israel as its own personal military base and 2) Christians who believe that we need to support Israel in order to bring about the rapture. So it's very difficult to try to get people to think past that programming and realize that the people they've been primed to think of as the good guys are committing a literal genocide and that's BAD

And it just gets even worse when you factor in the construct of whiteness. Like you said, with Ukraine being a European nation they're given the privilege of being considered majority white™ in the eyes of US Americans and, consciously or not, that makes people in our white supremacist society more sympathetic to them. Palestine, on the other hand, is a Middle Eastern country and our society has been primed through racist propaganda to view Middle Eastern people (especially those who are Muslim) as bad™. And although Israel is also obviously in the Middle East, it seems like the sympathetic propaganda here has paradoxically primed US Americans to view all Israelis as white. It probably doesn't help that "Middle Eastern" as a distinct racial category is still a relatively new idea here, only becoming popularized after the 9/11 attacks—the US census still legally categorizes all ethnicities we would consider Middle Eastern as white. We're probably witnessing the same type of shifting of the definition of "white" that occurred in the early days of the US with the changing goal lines that determined which European immigrants got to be seen as white and which got oppressed. Just like back then, the answer is always going to be the one that better serves to uphold white supremacy

So yeah, I definitely see where you're coming from. Ukraine gets public sympathy and support from the West as a whole but Palestine gets next to nothing, and the reasons seem to be entirely tied up in white supremacy. People really do think "it's complicated" when the kids being killed are Middle Eastern

[lageografiademicamino]

How should voting system be changed in Eurovision?

So..... Community is buzzing about the results of the Grand Final and especially the voting system. I find it unlikely EBU wouldn’t change the system in somehow considering how huge is the people’s reaction and they did drop the juries from semifinals last year so... Anyhow here are some options. 

1. JURIES ARE DROPPED FROM EUROVISION ENTIRELY 

France 2023. 

I don’t think this will happen. First of all, there are too many delegations and countries that benefit from the jurers. Second, it wouldn’t change the problem. Last year folks were crying why Juries didn’t stop Ukraine winning with sympathy televotes. People don’t always know the best and we do make decisions based on politics etc soo.. Every year we’re not happy with either side of voting system but I do believe we need both sides to continue in the contest. 

2. JURIES PERCENTAGE WILL BE DROPPED 

Currently jurers hold 50% of the votes in the final (semifinals it’s only televote). In some national finals their percentage is less and people votes have more impact. If this scenario did happen, would it be 30%? 40%? 45%? 

Ukraine 2023. 

3. JURERS WILL BE INCREASED TO ADD DIVERSITY OF THE VOTES 

Currently there are 5 jurers / country. Would adding more people bring diversity of giving the points? Because they often are surprisingly aligned on their big favourites. They should be musical professionals or media professionals experticed in music industry and they’re not allowed to talk about the acts to each other or have any connection to the delegations, artists etc. 

4. BRINGING IN 3RD VOTES (TELESCOPIC)

Georgia 2023. 

Sanremo and Benidorm Fest use Telescopic votes. I think they have 15-25% impact to the final points. This might help to smoothe the biggest differences between audience and the jurers or make the final decision in some cases perhaps. 

5. KEEPING JURERS BUT MAKING JURY SHOW PERFORMANCES PUBLIC 

Currently only the audience that bought the tickets to Jury shows and press sees the actual Jury show. Would it be better to add visibility here by publishing the performances later on Youtube? 

Armenia 2023. 

6. KEEPING JURERS AND CHANGING CRITERIA 

So the current criteria being: 

Vocal capacity of the artist(s)

Performance on stage

Composition and originality of the song

Overall impression of the act

Every year the entries outside of pop genre seem to be receiving less Jury love. Jurers should represent different genres and parts of the industry though to appreciate rock, rap entries for example. I wonder is the singing overly hyped in the criteria and should there be different guidelines for it because you can’t judge pop song singing and rock song singing in the same way. 

7. KEEPING JURERS BUT MAKING THEM VOTE ALL THE ACTS 

Croatia 2023. 

Again to make the jury votes more even and less in favour for the big favourites only, would it help if they’d judge ALL the entries? Having limitations on how many 12 points etc you can give of course. This would also solve the zero points dilemma. 

8. KEEPING JURIES BUT CHANGING TELEVOTING TO VOTE 3 ACTS WITH THE SAME PRICE 

In Junior Eurovision public must choose 3 different acts I believe. Not sure how this would work but it would help diving the points instead of people voting for their one and only favourite. In years like these when we have such a strong televote favourites like Finland and Sweden, they tend to suck all the votes and there isn’t much left to anyone else. We saw the televote scores being quite small even for songs that were loved (Austria, Moldova, Czechia etc)

Portugal 2023. 

9. KEEPING THE JURIES BUT CHANGING TELEVOTING FOR FREE

They do this in Melodiefestivalen I think. They’ve built up an app just for voting where voting is free. Again people wouldn’t just vote for the number 1 favourite but several acts and this would also perhaps prevent the unpleasent zero points situations. 

What are your thoughts on the voting system in Eurovision and how would you change it? 

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

President Zelenskyy published a second Christmas address

Many Orthodox Ukrainians are celebrating on January 6/7.

Dear people!

My sincere congratulations to millions of Ukrainian families who gather together today to spend Christmas Eve and meet the first star. It announces the birth of Christ.

This is a holiday of harmony and family unity. And together we are all a big Ukrainian family. And no matter where we are now - at home, at work, in a trench, on the road, in Ukraine or abroad - our family is united as never before. In its courage, steadfastness, mutual respect and mutual assistance.

United in its belief in a single victory.

We are bringing it closer together. Every day. Together we stand for each other, side by side. Every day. We protect our land, our culture, our traditions, our faith. As our ancestors Cossacks did - defenders of faith and the Church of Christ. And as it was done by all their descendants and successors of the traditions of our army and our people.

Our ancestors believed that on Christmas Eve the souls of deceased relatives descend from heaven. As it is sung, to see those who were left on earth. Today the spirits of our ancestors help us every day. To fight those who came to our land. We live in special times. And all our holidays are special. And we have to break some of our traditions to protect our traditions.

On holidays, you cannot wear dark or old, worn clothes so that trouble does not come to your home. But trouble came to our home on February 24, 2022, so since then we are not in white clothes and we are fighting against black forces.

Guests should be treated with special friendliness and care. Guests, not occupiers. It is forbidden to clean and take out the garbage from the house on a holy day, but we’ve been fighting against devils and taking out the garbage from our house for more than 300 days in a row. It is forbidden to sew and knit, but we weave camouflage nets and sew bulletproof vests, overcoming evil. Our ancestors did not go hunting these days, but we fight so that we do not become prey and defeat the beast.

God sees it. The world sees it. "Carol of the Bells", written to the music of Mykola Leontovych, is sung in more than 150 variations. Ukrainian "Shchedryk" brings Christmas spirit to the whole planet. The spirit of hope, goodness and miracle. This year, this spirit is brought to the world not only by our music, but also by Ukrainian courage, indomitability and invincibility. Our ancestors believed that heavens open on Christmas night. And if at this time you ask the higher powers about your dream, it will certainly come true.

Today we all have one dream. May harmony come to every family, welfare to every home, victory to the Ukrainian land, and with it – peace and prosperity for thousands of years.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a delicious kutia!

Take care of yourself, take care of your families, take care of our Ukraine!

Christ is being Born! Glorify Him!

[learningnewways]

I'm Off On Another Big Adventure

Well, here I am once again in the San Francisco Airport. Although rather than having a flight cancelled on the tarmac and being stuck here for a few days on my way home to Nelson, I’m just passing through on my way to Amsterdam to begin my next adventure.

What is she doing this time?! That’s what most of you are probably wondering. The short answer is that I’m spending around a month in Europe, volunteering with an organisation who takes aid from Amsterdam to the border of Poland/Ukraine, then brings back refugees. My dad has been there for a few months, so I’ll be joining him for a few trips, while also doing a bit of travel by myself, meeting up with my friend Antonia in Germany and travelling together to Switzerland. After my time in The Netherlands, I will be heading back to The Gambia, where I will stay for the remainder of the year, all going to plan.

In The Gambia, I am going back to the same organisation where I was last year, although things will look quite different this time. Last time I was there, the local lady M who runs the organisation was overseas for a month, so I was left to hold down the fort. Not ideal when I’d only been there for a month when she left! Whereas this time she will be there the whole time, as well as the couple who started the organisation, who were only there for a few weeks last time. I’m looking forward to working alongside M, learning from her and encouraging her.

But what’s really underneath this adventure? Why am I really going back? Well, those are questions I have been struggling to answer in short sentences to curious people who ask... Basically ever since I got back to New Zealand, I’ve been struggling to find my place. I don’t fit in back home anymore and I don’t know if I want to. My heart feels too broken for the hurting and vulnerable in this world, just to sit back in my nice comfortable life back home and do nothing. Of course there are people back home who still need practical help and desperately need to meet Jesus. But it feels like there are already lots of cool organisations and ministries doing great things for the Kingdom in New Zealand, whereas there are not so many in places like The Gambia. 

Recently I put on a screening of the new film Sound Of Freedom to fundraise for victims I will be working with in The Gambia. The film was incredible and was a great reminder of why I’m going away to do what I do, and definitely opened the eyes of many others as to what’s happening in our often cruel world. One of the lines the main character says when questioned about why he is sacrificing so much to rescue a girl he has never met is, “What would you do if it was your daughter?” I’m not a parent, but I definitely feel a sense of responsibility to my fellow humans, particularly women and children who are put in these horrific situations. If it was me, I’d want someone to fight for me, to see me, to love me, to rescue me.

Part of me knows that it’s not my responsibility to save the lost, that I’m not their saviour and I’m certainly not God. But another part of me knows that as a Christian, it actually is my responsibility to care for those in need. 1 John 3:16-18 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Or as Brooke Fraser sings, “Now that I have seen, I am responsible, faith without deeds is dead.” 

There are children in the government shelter I used to visit every week in The Gambia who will forever pull on my heart strings. I remember their little faces so nervous the first few times I visited, staying in the corner of their cots not wanting to come near me. But within a few visits, they would all smile and throw their hands in the air wanting me to touch them, to pick them up, to snuggle them and play with them. These kids have no family other than each other, and even then, they’re all in survival mode. These kids need people to love them and see them. They are some of the most vulnerable people in The Gambia who need protecting fiercely.

I have met girls who have been trafficked for sex, taken against their will or coerced into travelling to a new country under false pretences of work, just to be forced to have sex with or be raped by, a horrendous number of customers a day. How can I sit back and do nothing about it? Surely I ought to lay down my life, the comfortable life I’ve dreamed of and have been lucky enough to have, for the sake of my brothers and sisters?

Maybe that’s one of the biggest areas I have questions in and I wrestle with, going around and around in circles… I have my own desires of what I want for my life, a lot of which are not necessarily bad things. Yet when I read the Bible, I see more verses about dying to self than living for the desires of my own heart. That perhaps as we lay down what we want for ourselves and our lives, and as we align our hearts with God’s, that our desires become like His? So perhaps if your desire is to be a mother or father, to have a family, and His desire is to put the fatherless in families, then perhaps fostering or adoption might cross our minds as we draw closer to Him?

I guess a lot of the struggle with dying to our flesh and laying down our desires is that it comes back to trust. Do we trust that God truly has the best in store for us? That He knows what is beneficial for us in the long run, even if it hurts? Do we trust that His plan for our lives will be better than the one we’ve dreamed up? And let’s be real, His plan is unlikely to involve butterflies and rainbows, but rather grief and struggle. I want to believe that God has the best for me, but it’s hard to actually follow through on that sometimes. How can the best thing for me right now be to go back to The Gambia? To a place that was so difficult to live in? A place where I suffered? I don’t know… All I know is that I’m trying my best to be obedient to His leading and guiding, trusting He will use me in the ways He wants to, whether I like it or not.

So why am I really going back to The Gambia? Because I feel like that is where God wants me right now, and regardless of if that’s where I want to be or not, I’d rather follow Him than say no to His call. A quote by Jim Elliot I was given in a letter recently says, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” I’m still getting my head around the quote, but I guess it can feel really difficult and heartbreaking to give up so much from my life back home, yet all of those things I cannot “keep” compared to God of eternity.

So as I journey again into the unknown, feel free to follow along and join the wrestle! If you’ve read my blogs before, you’ll know I dig deep.

[jerseydeanne]

EX German Intelligence Chief Maassen claims contrary to what the German media says: "Ukraine is not a bastion of human rights, of freedom, peace and Western values". He called on German leadership to answer why they are exposing the country to the Danger of a Nuclear conflict. ——— Trump has been saying it all this time! Biden’s son Hunter was sitting on the board of one of the most corrupt energy companies in Europe and making millions and millions. The guy never had a job in the US. (1)

(2) Using drugs and chasing prostitutes are the only life style Hunter Biden ever lived. What exactly did he do in Ukraine? Selling access to his father office. The Biden family is a criminal enterprise. They were looking for Russian collusion for 4 years. The only Russian agent Trump ever met was Hillary Clinton. (2)

Hey Anon!

So, I went looking and you have to go through leftist commie google suggested sites to get one that you might like on the 2nd or third pages. Politico and Atlantic have labeled this guy far from right.

“From my point of view, when we deliver weapons, not helmets, not bandages, it means that we are automatically running the risk of becoming a party to a war,” Maassen argued.

He's not wrong. It's precisely what's going to happen and is. Boy, are these people dumb!

Don't poke the bear!

Ukraine is as corrupt as it comes! Many are enslaved, and girls are being exported as prostitutes against their will. You can buy babies there and get a girl to be a surrogate (Harriet and Peg) allegedly, of course.

Russia is a superpower with Nukes, and they aren't afraid to use them.

Hunter Biden working for the Big Guy and 🐷loisi son, Wait, isn't Kerry involved? They have these useless idiots making bank for the corrupt US politicians. What do you think is happening now? We sent them billions!

"We are now a warring party on Ukraine’s side. Let that sink in: We are a warring party. Against Russia."

Shh, what about the Obama/Biden bioweapons lab? The one where we keep telling other countries you shouldn't do. Weapons of mass destruction. Crimes against humanity-type experiments. Wake up!

comment: "An American “aircraft carrier with approximately 80 million natives” living aboard." Well finally somebody has the balls and brains to speak up. This has been America's dirty little secret. They have other people die, face injures and suffer for America's wars. While Americans sit safely with no worries in front of their TV enjoying the wars. And when they get tired, they turn off the TV and snuggle comfortable to bed - no deaths , no destruction and no interruptions whatsoever."

Comment: Finally a European official speaking perfect sense and the truth, which has been in very short supply in the west in recent months. Good on this German official for stating publicly what we already know. If I had enough money I would have moved to either New Zealand or Australia at beginning of February with the crazy statements coming from western officials especially lunatic insane low IQ British officials like Liz Truss . Because of the threat of Nuclear conflict in Europe and the insanity that is in the West. My cousin who is Australian citizen went back to Melbourne in Dec last year after 14 years in London she got out of UK just in time. I wish I could have joined her move back to Melbourne. I hate living in the UK its become a crazy unsafe place where you be a target now of nuclear strike thanks to crazy Brits warmongering against Russia.

Whatever they said the Republicans did, they did it themselves. They deflected their crimes onto others.

It's all part of Klaus, the Nazi Schwab's way of bringing in the great reset.

Thank you for your ask.

Love, JD 😜💋

[wack-ashimself]

Top things I have LOVED about 2022:

-the world cup is being used as a stage to bring down complete fabrications, garbage traditions, and exploitation. It's not so much about the sport, but the platform. -Israel is being shamed, worldwide. YES!!! -More people in THIS YEAR ALONE have considered the safety of vaccines more than all the other years combined (IMO). -Nobody is dropping Epstein's island. They are trying to censor it, but they can't. -Rich people have shown they are not intelligent, but ruthless. The ruthless rich. -So many people in Asia, surrounding areas, the middle east, island nations, etc are standing up against their clearly corrupt governments. Some for the first time in a long time. -Ukraine is seen as a money laundering scheme, and the audit of our military only validates that with billions missing... -Wall street and the federal reserve trust is at an all time low. -Big businesses are more being seen as exploiters than innovators (and with unpaid wages being one of the highest thefts EVERY YEAR, we can see why). -Possible starting one of the largest pro union movements in decades, but, one of the largest strikes in all of american history (dock workers, truckers, and trains combined, and they will RULE this country till they get their FAIR and JUST demands). -This is basically happening everywhere! Not just north america, europe, etc, but EVERYWHERE. Few countries right now have legit control over their civilians. Public distrust in government, banking, war, and big businesses is teetering on complete failure on some levels.

It's the end of the world as we know it (and thank fucking god. This place is terrible, has always been terrible, and I can't believe how many fucking generations were too scared or thick to do anything real about it).

[sweetness-doesnt-touch-my-face]

I'm trying to think of a way to put this while still sounding like a rational adult. I know I'm not alone in this. I know there's a reason why suicides tend to rise during the holidays. Christmas is my favorite holiday. There's something magical about a month that can typically bring most people together. The consensus that we're all human, and we all deserve at least one day of the year that guarantees happiness.

However, that simply isn't a reality for a lot of us.

I'm not celebrating Christmas this year. It's not by choice. My family has never been completely well off. We do struggle financially. So this year was no surprise, but it's still a sad one nonetheless. We can only afford to buy each other one present. I'm not buying anything for myself. We will not have that great feast around the table. We most likely will not even put up a tree let alone decorate our home.

And it sucks. Christmas was the highlight of my childhood. Up until a decade ago, I still had that child-like giddiness of cannot waiting. Counting down the days with utmost glee. Now I dread it. I already suffer from seasonal depression, even during the summer. I hate that I can't count on one good day. This year was a colossal failure for me.

There will be no spirited morale or season of joy. I hate that I can't spoil my family. I hate that we can't go all out like we used to. My grandmother is now entering her nineties and I can't stand that the last one with her will probably be dismal. I can't help any of this. The only thing that makes me the tiniest bit happy is giving presents to others. I adore the gesture.

As I write all this, I'm acutely aware of the fact that the people of Ukraine will probably have a worse time than just about all of us. People won't have houses to decorate. They won't be able to share a big hearty meal. They probably don't even allow themselves to think about buying presents. And lastly, there will likely be fewer loved ones to sit with.

Winter is coming. Most don't have electricity let alone heating. Soldiers need appropriate clothing. The very least the country deserves is to have the means to look after themselves. If god truly existed, my only wish this christmas would be for the war to end. That Ukraine gets restored to its former glory. That there's more love in their hearts than sorrow.

That people can LIVE.

If donating to help those who desperately need it is something you'd consider. I highly implore you to do just that. You can reliably donate via this link to any preferred cause. If you need double the incentive, there's a great Ukrainian-based online store called Saint Javelin. Their merchandise and apparel are simply the best. All the proceeds go towards the recovery and war efforts of Ukraine. You won't regret it.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for whatever you may choose to do. Not everyone will have a happy christmas, myself included. But if we can take care of each other and try to make someone else's life a little brighter.

I believe that's what christmas is truly about.

https://u24.gov.ua/

https://www.saintjavelin.com/pages/winter-is-coming

[mariacallous]

Foreign Policy Situation Report: The midterm madness edition

By Robbie Gramer and Jack Detsch

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s SitRep! Robbie and Jack here, recovering from a long week of watching the U.S. midterm elections. If you’re reading this, please send us coffee urgently (for Robbie only, Jack is off the sauce).

Alright, here’s what’s on tap for the day: How the midterms will shape U.S. national security, Biden and Xi plan to meet in Bali, and the U.S. military reveals the Russian death toll in Ukraine.

Midterm Madness

Well, midterm season is (mostly) over, meaning it’s time for the time-honored traditions of the party that underperformed angrily recriminating itself and pundits churning out hot takes about how the midterms will shape the presidential election in two years.

We at SitRep have a little tradition of our own, which involves frantically calling a bunch of congressional sources and political junkies to sort out what impact the midterms will have on U.S. foreign policy. Here are our top five takeaways, before we know with 100 percent certainty which parties will control Congress.

1. No big jolts on Ukraine policy, but… There has been plenty of buzz about how the midterm results could shake up the massive amounts of military and economic aid that Washington is delivering to Ukraine, with some of the most vocal MAGA acolytes in the Republican Party calling for a halt to aid and some recent polls showing public opinion shifting in their favor. The consensus from people we’ve spoken to is that it’s not going to happen. There’s still significant bipartisan support across the House and Senate to keep up the aid, and that’s not changing.

One caveat we’ve heard, though: The slimmer the Republican majority is, the tougher time pro-Ukraine Republicans will have keeping their party in line. If the Republicans take the House with just a slim majority, it will give outsized power to the fringe elements of the party (as U.S. President Joe Biden himself learned the hard way with a 50-50 Senate time and again).

2. Investigations, subpoenas, impeachments, oh my. House Republicans are champing at the bit to launch investigations into what they see as Biden’s mishandling of foreign-policy issues such as Afghanistan and the U.S.-Mexico border. In the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul plans to use his likely soon-to-be role as chairman to expand the investigation into Biden’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.

Some Republicans also say they’re preparing impeachment trials against Biden’s homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, over increased crossings at the U.S. southern border. (It’s not something that would ever get through the Senate, but it would shine a new spotlight on the situation at the border.)

3. Shutdowns. What better way to showcase to the world how dysfunctional Washington is than with government shutdowns? The last shutdown at the end of 2018 lasted over a month, over an impasse between former President Donald Trump and Democrats on Trump’s policy toward Mexico and ill-fated plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The next one could be just around the corner if Republicans take control of the House, as they seem poised to do.

The military and critical national security apparatuses keep running in the event of a shutdown but are still hobbled by an overall shutdown in federal government operations, including the Defense and State departments and other national security agencies.

A big issue for the Republicans that could trigger a shutdown is what they see as runaway federal spending and the alarming scale of the national deficit (though they didn’t bring up the national deficit during the Trump administration, funnily enough). Biden reduced the federal deficit by $1.4 trillion but added $400 billion in new debt with a nationwide student loan forgiveness plan.

4. Big wins and losses. Here’s some news in key races for the foreign-policy wonks: Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and centrist Democrat in Virginia with heavyweight national security credentials, narrowly won her reelection bid in what was seen as a bellwether race for how the Democrats would do nationally. Tom Malinowski, a New Jersey Democrat and former State Department official who played an outsized role on foreign policy and human rights issues in Congress, lost his reelection (even after ziplining into his wedding to the sound of violins playing the Indiana Jones theme song this summer). Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, the vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee and a vocal critic of the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding strategy, lost her race to Navy veteran and Republican challenger Jen Kiggans.

On the Senate side, Indiana Republican Todd Young cruised to reelection. Young, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is a leading voice in the Senate on some top foreign-policy issues, including strategic arms control talks and curbing presidential war powers.

5. We don’t know what we don’t know. On the 2024 buzz that has already started, just remember two things: First, two years is a really long time. And second, the pundit class is really, really bad at predicting a presidential race two years out (though it confidently forgets this fact every cycle).

After the 2014 midterms, all the seasoned pols in Washington agreed that Jeb Bush and Chris Christie were the clear-cut front-runners for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, and well…we all know how that turned out. Right after the 2018 midterms, Democratic pundits were confident that Amy Klobuchar and Sherrod Brown were going to be the front-runners in 2020.

Yes, Trump is still a major political force in the Republican Party even if his brand took a beating on Tuesday. But let’s not pretend to know with certainty what these midterms mean for the next presidential race.

Let’s Get Personnel

Roya Rahmani, a former Afghan ambassador to the United States, is joining the Albright Stonebridge Group, as is former Mexican Deputy Foreign Secretary Julián Ventura.

Linda Robinson is joining the Council on Foreign Relations as a senior fellow for women and foreign policy, coming from the Rand Corp.

On the Button 

What should be high on your radar, if it isn’t already.

Xi’s just not that into you. Biden is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, the White House confirmed on Thursday, despite rising tensions between the two countries and Xi’s recent criticism of U.S. foreign policy.

It’s hard to say what’s specifically on the agenda for their meeting, given the quintessentially vague gobbledygook press release language from the White House: “The Leaders will discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between the United States and [China], responsibly manage competition, and work together where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community. The two Leaders will also discuss a range of regional and global issues.” OK then, regional and global issues it is.

Anyway, relations between the two countries have gotten even rockier than usual since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to Taiwan in August, a visit that incensed China and caused some headaches back in Washington.

The cost of war. The top U.S. military officer, Gen. Mark Milley, said on Wednesday that about 200,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers had been killed or wounded in the eight months since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, the highest estimates offered by a Western official so far. Milley, speaking in New York, added that about 40,000 civilians had been killed in the fighting.

The estimates come as the United States has reportedly tried to push Ukraine further toward the negotiation table in recent weeks, despite Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson city, one of the crown jewels of its military campaign.

Le strategerié. French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled France’s new national defense strategy on Wednesday, which will see French troops maintain a wide presence in sub-Saharan Africa and see Paris embark on a new plan to combat fake news and disinformation, as Russia has used the presence of Wagner Group mercenaries to force governments in Africa to adopt more pro-Kremlin positions.

Macron also called on France to maintain a “credible” and modern nuclear deterrent to deter Russia. France is the only nuclear power in the European Union.

Put On Your Radar

Friday, Nov. 11: Biden takes off to North Africa and Asia for a five-day trip, starting in Egypt for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, before traveling to Cambodia and Indonesia to attend ASEAN and G-20 meetings.

Monday, Nov. 14: King Charles III of Britain turns 74.

Quote of the Week

“Before the next election, you might want to find a better way to poll anyone under the age of 30 since they would rather pick up a pinless grenade than a call from an unknown number.”

—NBC News senior reporter Ben Collins on one hypothesis for why Democrats outperformed poll numbers in the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday.

FP’s Most Read This Week

• The Cult of Modi by Ramachandra Guha

• 6 Wrong Lessons for Taiwan From the War in Ukraine by Franz-Stefan Gady

• The U.N. (as We Know It) Won’t Survive Russia’s War in Ukraine by James Traub

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Reaping, meet sowing. A top U.K. employer and leading proponent of Brexit, Simon Wolfson, is now complaining that he can’t get enough foreign workers because of, well, Brexit. Huh.

Should’ve used a Reuben instead. This headline from Virginia’s ABC 8News says it all: “Nuclear engineer, wife who tried to sell Navy secrets in peanut butter sandwich sentenced for espionage.”

That’s it for this week.

For more from Foreign Policy, subscribe here or sign up for our other newsletters. You can find older editions of Situation Report here.

[bopinion]

2022 / 49

Aperçu of the Week:

"A democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch."

(Benjamin Franklin)

Bad News of the Week:

Usually Santa Claus brings gifts on December 6 - at least for the children who deserve it. This year, Ukrainian children, of all people, are out of luck. The European Union had pledged 18 billion euros for the coming year - independent of military aid - so that the Ukrainian civilian state would remain capable of acting. So that, for example, kindergartens and schools can continue to operate and a bit of normality can be maintained.

But now Hungary has blocked precisely this aid at the meeting of EU finance ministers: Hungarian Finance Minister Mihaly Varga vetoed the decision, which, like so many others, requires unanimity. Surely this was no coincidence, as the same meeting was also supposed to be about freezing financial aid to Hungary for not implementing rule-of-law reforms and fighting corruption the way it needs to. This decision was postponed - so the veto was simply blackmail.

Good thing the EU doesn't want to be blackmailed. "There must be no discount here for opportunism," said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner in response. The 26 other EU states now want to seek an agreement to provide the money for Ukraine by another route.

Bad thing that this is likely to be difficult. Precisely because of the unanimity principle. With the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the precursor of the EU, the European Economic Community, was founded. By only 6 countries. Who were very much in agreement about the common goals. Today there are 27 countries, not really all of which can be counted as a community of values.

The result is a cumbersome apparatus that has largely failed to adapt its processes and structures to the changing situation. The smallest country, Malta, has a population of just 320,000. And yet, in principle, it has the same voting weight as, for example, Germany - which, with over 83 million, represents 260 (!) times as many inhabitants. One can find that unfair. Just as California can find it unfair that with 69 times the population it sends just as many senators to Washington as Wyoming.

The protection of minorities is fundamentally a high good. If you want to apply that in this context. In almost all democracies, the principle of equality (Latin "ius respicit aequitatem": "The law respects equality") is a principle of constitutional law. One man, one vote. If this is not applied - for reasons that are certainly just as good - there would at least need to be ways and means of preventing abuse of the disproportionate weight of votes. But these do not exist. And that is why little Hungary can paralyze big Europe.

Good News of the Week:

Crazy people are everywhere. Conspiracy theories, too. But sometimes not even my great imagination is enough to explain to me what ideas one can come up with. Take the so-called "Reichsbürger" ("Citizens of the empire") for example. In principle, they claim that the Federal Republic of Germany does not exist. Because they deduce from absurd interpretations of the constitution, papers of the four occupying powers after World War II or the 2-plus-4 treaties on German reunification that this country was never properly founded. So the German Reich would continue to exist, be occupied and subjugated by a private law organization.

This leads them to deny the state any legitimacy to represent its citizens. And, in fact, they place themselves above the law - after all, the constitutional state is "not responsible" for them, so to speak. But only they themselves. Unfortunately, this leads not only to harmless craziness such as hoisting the imperial flag over their homes, but also to actual danger for state institutions. In the week just ended, it came to light that a frighteningly large group of these Reich citizens had actually planned the violent overthrow of the government. In other words, terrorism.

Among the leaders are such illustrious personages as a prince, a Corona-denying doctor, a top chef or a judge and former members of the parliament of the AfD - there the name "Alternative for Germany" gets a whole new meaning. Particularly frightening, however, are various former police officers and even elite soldiers. In other words, the armed arm of the movement. Last Wednesday thus saw the largest anti-terrorism operation in the history of the Federal Republic to date: some 3,000 officers from the federal and state governments were and are on the job, conducting raids in 11 states, collecting evidence and executing arrest warrants.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses around 50 men and women of having formed a terrorist organization with the aim of eliminating the constitutional order of the Federal Republic of Germany and establishing a state modeled on the German Reich of 1871. Among other things, the group planned to storm the Reichstag building (Germanys Capitol Hill), to bring about civil war-like conditions by attacking the power supply, to kidnap federal ministers and to depose the federal government. For the moment of the "seizure of power", people had apparently already been selected for important ministerial posts.

What started out as "self-administrators" and spread with lateral thinkers grew into a terror cell with an estimated 23,000 members of whom one in 10 is prone to violence. Fortunately, the potential danger was not dismissed as the harmless crankiness of aluhut wearers, but was correctly assessed, observed and analyzed in detail, and ultimately comprehensively and effectively suppressed. The rule of law, which is according to them not supposed to exist, thus functioned solidly. And it has protected its citizens and officials against danger from within.

Personal happy moment of the week:

We have just returned from the Christmas market. In the snowy parc of Rottach-Egern on the shores of Lake Tegernsee in the midst of the foothills of the Alps. A breathtaking and romantic scenery. With good friends and all the children. With fireplaces and a live brass band. But above all with culinary delights to eat and drink. All in all, for me, the most beautiful combination of this season.

I couldn't care less...

...that many South Koreans will soon be officially younger. The parliament in Seoul passed legislation on Friday to abolish the "traditional method of calculating age." According to the so-called "Korean age," a baby is already one year old at birth. And on every January 1 - rather than on his or her birthday - one year is added. As a result of the abolition, many South Koreans will soon be formally - "in line with international standards" - one or even two years younger. After all, I've always been bad at math. But apparently I had understood a few basic principles earlier than Korean traditionalists.

As I write this...

...snow is falling for the first time this season. And it really does: neighbors shovel garages free, children build snow castles, the bushes in the garden have 20 cm thick white caps on. Very nice. But for us, stupidly, also annoying. Because we won't have a car with winter tires until almost two weeks from now. Therefore, my wife was shopping today on foot and with a backpack, I will ride my bike at -11 degrees celsius to the train station tomorrow morning and next week we will rent a winterized car for a big combined errand trip. Everything has a price.

Post Scriptum:

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner was arrested entering Russia for cannabis oil, which is legal in her home country, and sentenced to nine years in prison. Russian arms dealer Viktor But earned the nickname "Merchant of Death" as well as 25 years in prison in the U.S. for illegal weapon traffic in troubled areas. Due to a deal that even involved Joe Biden, both are now free - after a prisoner exchange at Abu Dhabi airport. Looking at these two calibers, I realize who the real winner of this deal is. Hint: not a Democrat.