An attack on Democracy

I read with interest the following article from MSN news:-

Populist leaders have invoked protests and riots only to crush them with an iron fist, and justify their moves to curb basic rights and freedoms and weaken democratic institutions.

Across the world democracy is under threat. The rise of authoritarian populists have destroyed some of the most fundamental precepts of democracy.

Independent voices have been silenced, journalists gagged or called enemies of the people, and the rights of minorities cruelly violated. 

The right of people to peaceably assemble and petition their governments for redress of grievances has been met with vicious brutality by security forces.

Populist leaders have invoked protests and riots only to crush them with an iron fist, and justify their moves to curb basic rights and freedoms and weaken democratic institutions.

State media has become the mouthpiece of the authoritarian populists.

Where independent media exists, it is demonised as the purveyor of fake news. In this slide towards authoritarianism it has become difficult to defend democracy. We need to watch for the signs of populist leaders orchestrating assaults on democracy, which can be identified in six categories. 

The most blatant is the seizure of executive power. The more subtle indicators are: spreading disinformation, quashing dissent, politicising independent institutions, amassing executive power, delegitimising communities and corrupting elections.

In the US, many of the warning signs have been there. The Department of Justice has been politicised, federal agencies filled with loyalists, those who were disloyal have been purged, there has been retaliation against the critical media, and a foreign government has been coerced into digging dirt on a political opponent.

Hungary, a model of democracy in the 1990s, has gone to even greater extremes since the rise of Victor Orban as prime minister in 2010. 

Orban dismantled democratic institutions that limited executive power. He dominated the electoral commission, weakened the courts and limited press freedom. He suspended parliament and is ruling by decree. Those who Orban said spread false rumours on social media faced jail time.

Turkey, once considered a flowering democracy, has become a country led by a government that is intolerant of dissent. It is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world, and the executive has taken over the largest print and broadcast media agencies and turned them into government mouthpieces.

Those who are considered political opponents have been designated as terrorists and tortured in the tens of thousands. 

The depths of despair in civil society in Turkey is unparalleled. Those even loosely affiliated with perceived government opponents are thrown in prison, vilified, their assets and their families surveilled. 

Freedom is elusive for many in Turkey. Our only hope is that men and women of conscience across the world are speaking up."

The article deals with three countries and I want to make the following comments:- 

The USA

In the USA the attack on democracy started under the Obama administration.  Obama captured the FBI, the CIA and the Justice Department and used the institutions to cover up systematic corruption, the fraudulent spying on political opponents by the FBI and charging of political opponents with fraudulent charges, 

The Democrats are using extremists to make the USA ungovernable and part of their strategy is to undermine the judicial system on State and local level.   The recent "protest movement" accompanied by widespread rioting leading to murder, arson and looting was horrendous.  

The leftist media are inciting people to undermine the USA as a country,   A very serious sign that the populists is trying to take over and destroy the USA with democracy under attack throughout the USA.    

The present attacks on Democracy in the USA is incited by leftists with close links to the Chinese Communist Party - an extremely dangerous situation and a worldwide threat to democracy,   If the Democrats gets control of the USA they would join China in a world wide attack on democracy. 

Hungary

The story about Hungary is in fact an  attack on the Orban Government started because of resistance of Hungary to follow the EU instructions to take in a quota of Muslim migrants walking into EU countries.   Orban closed the border of Hungary and that was the situation unacceptable to the EU,.   

For that reason alone Orban is called a populist - he would have been fine if he accepted the instructions of the EU.   The fact is any Government opposing the leftists is regarded as a populist - so I am afraid Hungary insists on freedom of individual Hungarians and that is too much for the media to take.

Turkey

One wonders whether Turkey really ever was a democracy.   Ataturk tried to cut down the influence of Islam in Turkey and for the past near to 100 years the country was governed by the militarily for years.   When not - the Governments they had was mostly corrupt and as cruel as possibly imaginable.   

The reaction of the desperate inhabitants was to vote in an Islamic Reactionary to try and fight the corruption of the past.  Huge mistake by the people.   One should guard against dishonest politicians, but be careful that you do not fall into traps like Islamic extremism.   

In recent local Government elections the opposition won the mayorships in Istanbul and Ankara - so there is a sign that the country is in the grip of a dictator  meeting resistance from the voters.     .        

Great post Mike but the rioters in the USA are not populists, they are open border globalist/ Marxists wanting a revolution. They hate free democracies that wont bow the Knee to their desired One world government.

They are winning millions of votes for Trump! The populist/ Nationalists oppose the Globalist agenda. They will do all they can to destroy America.

When you have felt 400 years of pain and you realise all you need is a new TV.

Any facts to back up your claim on Hungary?

If the EU is so against closing borders, how come so many states did it during the Corona Virus crisis.

Obran is a populist. A quick search online shows that (i.e the crap he sprouts about Soros for example)

The EU has every right to express concern when a member state enacts potentially indefinite legislation that suspends democratic norms.

Any government opposing the leftists is populist?. You including Angela Merkel in that list. You do realize more EU governments are on the right or center right wing than are on the left wing.

As for Hungary protecting the freedoms individual freedoms you have obviously not see the legislation they have enacted, it allows for rule by decree, suspension of parliament, imprisonment of up to 3 years for those violating quarantine and isolation laws, up to 5 years if done in a group and 8 years if it results in someone death. People posting fake news can also be imprisoned for up to 5 years.

The boneheaded wee stav makes a cameo appearance exemplifying foolishness to an unusual degree.

The open borders globalist rulers of Europe only closed the borders, late in the day it seems, because of the Wuhan virus. For the rest they want open borders and to flood the continent with muslims.

Orban wisely said NO! He puts Hungary first and consequently enjoys a super majority in Parliament.

Antifa is a terrorist organisation and Trump is designating it as such. Open Borders scumbag George Soros is the biggest single donor to BLM having donated 30 million dollars to this terrorist group who is a sister group to Antifa and doesn't give a damn about Black lives as any half informed person would know. These scumbags are in big trouble. Hope to see many arrests in future.

Hey stav you absurd loon have you found any blacks your way to grovel before. You know you want to!

Don't talk BS about Hungary suspending Parliament. With a super majority Orban's party can unsuspend themselves whenever they want.

Ah that's cute Beeno, you still think I would be bothered to respond to any of your posts in a serious manner.

Stav

I went to Hungary twice - once in 1973 when  under a Communist regime - and once in 1993, when it was free for a few years.   The impression I gained was that the Communists was cruel and a total dictatorship,    The 1956 uprising against the Communists left thousands of bullet holes in buildings - which the Communists left as a warning to the people not to rise up again and they were left unattended ever since 1956 because he people want to remember the hell they went through under the Communists.

Soros's father first worked for the Nazi's and afterwards for the Communist regime and Soros himself remained a scoundrel ever since,   He never once criticized the Communists and the way he acted showed that ever since,   Soros was undermining the Governments in Hungary ever since 1990 and under all previous Prime Ministers he was funding anti-government institutions.  It got much worse when Orban became Prime Minister and he had every reason to cut off the money supply to the extreme leftists in Hungary,    Whether you like it or not Soros is still a Communist ideologist and an extreme danger to democracy.

Bearing in mind the history of the country since 1946 I am not surprised by the legislation enacted,   There are still small communist groups in 2020 and they are dangerous when it comes to democracy,   

Insofar as the USA is concerned Soros is funding both the BLM and Antifa - both are closely  linked to the DP and is basically anarchists and communists,   There are chances that if the link in funding is followed up further it may lead to him being kicked out of the USA and that would already enhance democracy.

I gave a breakdown what Obama was up to when he was President and what he did was worse than anything Orban did to date.  Soros was very close to Obama and the latter was a real threat to democracy in the USA - whether you like to or not.   The USA is facing a threat from the left and that is serious threat to the whole concept of democracy worldwide,

"I went to Hungary twice - once in 1973 hen to was under a Communist regime - and once in 1993, when it was free for a few years.   The impression I gained was that the Communists was cruel and a total dictatorship,    The 1956 uprising against the Communists left thousands of bullet holes in buildings - which the Communists left as a warning to the people not to rise up again and they were left unattended ever since 1956 because he people want to remember the hell they went through under the Communists."

That's all fine and everything but what has that got to do with what you posted?

"Soros's father first worked for the Nazi's and afterwards for the Communist regime and Soros himself remained a scoundrel ever since,   He never once criticized the Communists and the way he acted showed that ever since,   Soros was undermining the Governments in Hungary ever since 1990 and under all previous Prime Ministers he was funding anti-government institutions.  It got much worse when Orban became Prime Minister and he had every reason to cut off the money supply to the extreme leftists in Hungary,    Whether you like it or not Soros is still a Communist ideologist and an extreme danger to democracy."

I'm not going to get into this. This is all just alt right conspiracy theories without any evidence to back it up.

"Bearing in mind the history of the country since 1946 I am not surprised by the legislation enacted"

Is that an admission you where not aware of the legislation and that you have gone from saying the Hungarian government is championing peoples freedoms to they are justified in taking away peoples freedoms?

"Insofar as the USA is concerned Soros is funding both the BLM and Antifa - both are closely  linked to the DP and is basically anarchists and communists,   There are chances that if the link in funding is followed up further it may lead to him being kicked out of the USA and that would already enhance democracy."

More right wing conspiracy theories.

"I gave a breakdown what Obama was up to when he was President and what he did was worse than anything Orban did to date.  Soros was very close to Obama and the latter was a real threat to democracy in the USA - whether you like to or not.   The USA is facing a threat from the left and that is serious threat to the whole concept of democracy worldwide"

I don't agree with what you say about Obama, but lets say I did and Obama is guilty of all you say he is, that doesn't give Orban a free hand, two wrongs do not make a right. 

Look Mike, you have always been civil and polite on those forums when talking to me and I appreciate that, your not like Beeno who's completely off the charts when it comes to these things but you are extremely far to the right in your views and have no sense of balance. The greater threat to democracy is from your side.

Yes more blabbering of alt-right conspiracy theory that is trying to undermine Democratic values. 

None of the above are conspiracy theories since they are backed up by proven documentation,   Conspiracy theories are not provable - what I wrote is factually the situation.    

None of the above are conspiracy theories since they are backed up by proven documentation,   Conspiracy theories are not provable - what I wrote is factually the situation.    

None of the above are conspiracy theories since they are backed up by proven documentation,   Conspiracy theories are not provable - what I wrote is factually the situation.    

"Yes more blabbering of alt-right conspiracy theory that is trying to undermine Democratic values"

The Democratic values butning in the streets ATM? Not the right doing that...that's all on the lefties.

Actually the right is totally bottled up in most Western countries. You would never see the right taking to the streets in the USA to the current extent. The right is policed by the press, the left gets a pass. 

The danger to democracy, the danger of mob rule ....al l from the left.

The right wants to maintain the status quo and tweak it....the left wants to rip up the playbook and start all over again. When the majority of citizens are living the most advantaged existence ever enjoyed by man.....why destroy the model for something which has failed everywhere it has been tried?

"When the majority of citizens are living the most advantaged existence ever enjoyed by man.....why destroy the model for something which has failed everywhere it has been tried?"

Because they don't realize how good they have it...they will only once it's gone.

Most every  luxury goods store in New York is empty and boarded up. There may have been a demonstration, but mostly it’s good old fashioned looting.

The fact is that the looting was inevitable and the funding of it was done by Soros.

Unfortunately the refusal by people who ignore history and do not see the danger signs of what happened during the 20th century insofar as Communism and Nazism is concerned is hitting people in the face, yet they refuse to realize the consequences and the first sign that things are on the wrong track is when mob rule is used to undermine governance.

It let to Socialists getting into control of Government and turn the countries into dictatorships.  Both the Socialists in Russia and Germany were left wing dangers - not right wing extremists,  The scoundrels afterwards made Hitler into a right wing demagogue -  he never was.   Both the Communists and Nazis used the same socialist models and both used the public media for propaganda purposes. 

There is more serious dangers to democracy form the left wing than there is from the right wing,   In the case of  Russia the Government was directly responsible for the murder of 52 million people from 1917 to 1953 and in China the estimate was 75 million under Mao alone.  Hitler was responsible for at least  12 million people - without looking at the impact of the war,

Extreme socialism is the root of all evil when it comes to destruction of democracy in any country.   It has happened as recently as 20 years ago in Venezuela and in the last 50 years in Cuba.

Who funded the Communists in Russia in 1917 - Western Capitalists who saw the advantage of having bribed dictators in charge - because they made money out of the ruthless Communist system.   Who is funding what is happening in the World today - the same scoundrels.  

For Democracy the most serious threat in the USA is Soros - whether Stav wants to believe it or not,   He is involved in funding the election expenses of people running for election -  normally people running for Congress as Democratic Socialists and for candidates running for State Attorneys whose aim is not to charge people for crimes they committed - thus destroying the legal system in the USA,   It is a fact that all the so-called Democratic Socialists have a common admiration for Communism and is really the agents undermining democracy in the USA.

For the rest - Obama soiled his name by undermining the most basic principles of Democracy - using the CIA and FBI to spy on American citizens and by fraud and corruption using the judicial system to lay charges against people.   The proof of what happened is not dealt with by the leftist media.                                         

SB

Just a question?   How can the fullest extent of the law applies when the politicians withdraw police from areas where rioting occurred and is now busy with a campaign to demonize the Police?   

The rioters are even favouring the defunding of the Police and the Democrats are fully in favour of the Police being undermined.   There are about 900 000 policemen in the USA,   In such a large force there will be scoundrels - instead of taking action against the   limited number of scoundrels the Democrats are undermining the whole policing system.        

And then you have the Soros funded state attorneys refusing to charge people for crimes they committed,   You must be kidding about "the fullest extent of the law". LMAO     

"I was referring to the alt-right babble, not the real-life riots. (e.g. Bill Gates, Zoro's etc)"

And how exactly does that impede democracy? 

"I was referring to the alt-right babble, not the real-life riots. (e.g. Bill Gates, Zoro's etc)"

And how exactly does that impede democracy? 

"I was referring to the alt-right babble, not the real-life riots. (e.g. Bill Gates, Zoro's etc)"

And how exactly does that impede democracy?