International Relations

https://youtu.be/mRJEJnrEX5U?si=UZ-FV-iIfjkVc6zj

US weapons systems are now being seen as a liability.

As I predicted,  the US is becoming increasingly isolated and that will, in my most humble of opinions,  see the end of US hegemony in a very short time.

Trump's blundering is doing the world a favour,  but it's a great pity he's killing so many people whilst doing so.

https://youtu.be/Bz3S4kTlsJ8?si=Camro43RYSb_Gt5l

War is far more important than looking after people.

Peace Prize time?

HU (Euronews):

US Vice President Vance to visit Hungary days before key election

"US Vice President JD Vance will travel to Budapest on Tuesday and Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, days before a pivotal 12 April election in which Orbán faces his strongest opposition challenge in years. US Vice President JD Vance will visit Hungary on Tuesday and Wednesday, during the final week of campaigning ahead of the country's general election, the White House has announced."

As if Shady Vance visiting Hungary will be any help whatsoever  for OV.    It'll block up the town again with closures at the airport and streets in the city. I would have thought it would increase support for the opposition given Trump's Iran debacle.

Also from The Economist (behind paywall):

"....On a related note, Mr Trump’s endorsement, in the person of J.D. Vance, who is due to visit Hungary just before the election, does not seem to be helping Mr Orban. The world’s most famous right-wing populist is increasingly associated with war, pricey petrol and corruption. In Australia and Canada, his interference around election time has unintentionally helped the candidates he dislikes. Whether this year will see the populist tide start to ebb remains to be seen. But outfits such as Nigel Farage’s party in Britain, Reform UK, and the Alternative for Germany find it awkward to be MAGA-affiliated. Centrists should take advantage.

Meanwhile, Hungary’s future hangs in the balance. If the opposition wins a big majority, it will be harder for Mr Orban to deny or subvert the result. Even if he is ousted, he could still cause trouble. He has set up institutions, such as foundations running universities and media outlets, that will remain under the control of his friends. Any new government will struggle to unravel Orbanism’s tentacular grip over Hungary. (Poland, where a moderate government is tackling a similar problem, offers lessons.) The first step for Hungary, however, is the most crucial: defeating Viktor."

I don't agree with The Economist entirely on the latter paragraph.  MP will have to dismantle these institutional arrangements.  And I doubt OV and cronies can do anything from Dubai.  It is normal in Hungary for all the tentacles to be chopped off when the government changes - I've seen it happen in real time when I worked in government here.  Loyalists to OV will not find themselves continuing in their jobs.   And it is certain OV's relatives and friends without stashes in Dubai will be having holidays at government expense while the mafia like web is being exposed - the public will demand it.  I say all that in knowledge that MP is  Fidesz-lite.   But MP will almost immediately unblock the veto at the EU for Ukraine's loan. Fico in Slovakia will be left utterly isolated on that one.

HU:
US Vice President Vance to visit Hungary days before key election

"US Vice President JD Vance will travel to Budapest on Tuesday and Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, days before a pivotal 12 April election - @fluffy2560

I see it this way:

The EU is messing around, so a dude working for the free and fairly elected governemnt is no issue as it might balance out the EU's attempts to destabilise the elected government.

How to open the strait of Hormuz:

Publicly tell the US to go do one

Ignore US threats and goading

Sail through safely.

There's lots of talk about pressuring Iran to open it, but all you really need to do is oppose Trump's illegal war.

The Trump war, the latest in a string of US wars all over the world, has to be the last one. As soon as this is over, all use of the Dollar outside trade with the US must stop, and US oil should be last on the shopping list.

The world must move to renewable energy as quickly as possible.

The environment is clearly a concern,  but removing the US threat to the world is the priority.

The news is full of stories about a US F15 being shot down over Iran. The story is confirmed, and probably demoralising for US pilots, but the bigger story is how losing one jet is rattling the US.

It's a pity the Iranians didn't get the refuelling tanker that supplied fuel to the rescue helicopters - That would have been a very useful hit, and a solid blow to the invasion forces' morale.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0e53x475qjo

Marmalade will have to be renamed to suit the traitorous UK government's bowing down to EU lawmakers. It seems Marmalade doesn't work for German linguistics,  so the name has to change.

This is a small thing, but it demonstrates why the UK is better avoiding the EU, and why the referendum ignoring Labour government should be banned from ever holding office again.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/02/dated-b … -2008.html

The spot price for current physical cargoes of Brent crude oil soared Thursday to $141.36, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, according to S&P Global, which tracks the data.

The US/Israel attacks on Iran are really hurting the rest of the world.

The high oil price is exasperating as it's caused by yet another ill thought out US war.

However, the French have shown the world that the best way around this is to give the US the bird, and make sure Iran knows that France refuses to support Trump's illegal war.

Every other country should follow France's lead.

It seems an A10 was shot down as it covered rescue operations for the downed F15. The BBC is reporting that one of the helicopters was also hit, and crew members injured.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national … dy-george/

Is the US about to do something even more stupid than starting the war with Iran?

Hegseth is sacking senior military leaders and replacing them with fools.

This could just be personally clashes, but it's equally possible these experienced senior officers were refusing to enter into even more foolhardy actions that Trump wants.

Are we going to see a partial ground invasion of Iran, possibly Kharg Island in an attempt to steal the oil?

Trump has said he wants it, and the people most likely to stop the attack have been sacked.

The US caused the oil shockwave, but China is helping to mitigate Trump's mess

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/c … ackers-say

China is using its reserves to alleviate US war damage to Asian countries.

US:

The president's spiritual adviser Paula White-Cain compared him to Jesus during an Easter lunch at the White House Wednesday afternoon. The Morning Joe panel discusses the 'grotesque' moment and uses it as a launching pad for a discussion on Holy Week.

WTF? Trump is Jesus?  What is going on?  Hard to fathom those lunatics are actually in charge of a country.

Maybe biblical "history" repeats itself - one could hope is that Trump gets his comeuppance in some parallel way, i.e.  vengeance by the "system".   And unlike Jesus, he's not coming back from that.

HU:

After 16 years in power, could Viktor Orban finally be unseated?

""All they stand for is anger, hatred, and destruction," roared a hoarse Viktor Orban. The Hungarian prime minister was speaking at a mass election rally in Györ in western Hungary on 27 March, referring to opposition protesters who chanted "Filthy Fidesz" during his speech. For just a moment, his carefully cultivated image as the voice of calm navigating his country through stormy seas was shattered. His bad-tempered outburst showed a different side of a man used to cracking jokes and charming even his critics."

Nick Thorpe - long time Budapest BBC correspondent - discusses what might happen. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd7y1n3jyjo

Orban, Europe's longest serving democratically elected leader, is working to win another election. His opponent has the benefit of an EU funded propaganda machine that paints the elected leader as an undemocratic dictator that is trying to be unfairly elected again.

As you might not be aware (as some here don't seem to be), dictators don't tend to hold free and fair elections. The very fact there is an election negates the propagandist's argument, and the opposition being funded by foreign powers strongly suggests true democracy is on the line in Hungary.

Throw in the EU deliberately withholding funds unless the people elect the EU's choice, and you have a reasonable argument that suggests Hungary's opposition is traitorous in so much they are working for the EU's agenda instead of forwarding their own country's needs.

Orban, 61, is in his fourth consecutive term as prime minister. In that time, he and his allies have dismantled democratic checks and balances, taken control of the country's media, civil society and universities, and consolidated power in himself and his Fidesz party. The dismantling of Hungary's democracy is a point of fascination for political scientists around the world — including those advising the Trump administration.

Hungary Under Viktor Orbán: A Domino in The Global Fall of Democracy

Orban, 61, is in his fourth consecutive term as prime minister. In that time, he and his allies have dismantled democratic checks and balances, taken control of the country's media, civil society and universities, and consolidated power in himself and his Fidesz party. The dismantling of Hungary's democracy is a point of fascination for political scientists around the world — including those advising the Trump administration.Hungary Under Viktor Orbán: A Domino in The Global Fall of Democracy - @SimCityAT

Pretty much covers it.  It's an electoral autocracy.  A week today and we'll see what's happening but there's a media blackout the day before.  Results won't be fully known until Monday 13 April.  No-one is expecting a landslide but we are expecting a significant drop in OV's popularity.   

BTW, Fidesz has shifted up to controversial AI generated images and themes now saying it's all about HU ending up in Ukraine's war at the behest of the EU.  There's no basis for that kind of rhetoric.