Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed speaks against a ban on first cousin marriage in the Commons. pic.twitter.com/zTdQJpu76m

— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) December 10, 2024

Labour have REFUSED to support a bill to ban first-cousin marriage in the UK, brought forward by Conservative MP Ric Holden.

Shocking. This practice has no place in British society. pic.twitter.com/LMcCd5wklS

— Emily Hewertson 🇬🇧 (@emilyhewertson) December 10, 2024

Germany has been conquered.

Muslims storm through the Christmas market in Essen shouting the Islamic war cry, Allahu Akbar!

They have no regard, no restraint, no fear. They know Europe has surrendered.

Imagine if Germans marched like that through a Ramadan fast-breaking. It… pic.twitter.com/SX6u10WMWR

— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) December 10, 2024

This will not end well.

Georgian parliament to go ahead with their presidential election today, and the current president has vowed to remain in her home office, and is an election-denier.

🇬🇪⚡- Zourabichvili: "I am here and I am not going anywhere.“

BREAKING: Salome Zourabichvili, President of Georgia, rejects tomorrow's Presidential elections and refuses to step down if voted out.

Zourabichvili: "The presidential elections scheduled for tomorrow planned by the… pic.twitter.com/oYOWadU22y

— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) December 13, 2024

Romanian police drive out TikTok influencers ahead of the next round of voting, hoping to convince voters to choose more wisely.

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Georgescu, who openly embraced pro-Russian stances during his campaign, officially declared zero campaign expenses. However, intelligence documents revealed that TikTok influencers played a central role in a covert, multi-million-euro effort to amplify his messaging. Authorities believe the campaign is connected to Russian "hybrid attacks" that targeted Romania's electoral process during the election.

Last week, the European Commission ordered TikTok to preserve data linked to potential risks during the Romanian elections and upcoming EU elections, amid concerns of foreign interference and disinformation.
Analysts say the disinformation campaign in Romania resembles what happened in Moldova during presidential election and a referendum on EU accession, when a Russia-linked operation used a similar strategy to try to sway voters toward a pro-Moscow candidate.

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It's all pretty comical, really. More:

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There are whole decades when nothing happens and then days when Romanian elections happen. The last few weeks in Romania have been tumultuous even by 2020s standards: after the first round of presidential elections on November 24 was won by Clin Georgescu, a far-right, Vladimir Putincurious independent who seemingly came out of nowhere, the parliamentary elections on December 1 saw (another) far-right party, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), come in second place. The result: to force all mainstream parties into negotiations for a "government of national unity." More than ever, Romanian society has become polarized between the "sovereigntist" camp (including AUR) rallying behind Georgescu, and the pro-Western bulk of the political establishment and civil society. In effect, it's a battle between the nationalist right and the neoliberal right.

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Surprisingly, both Georgescu and the pro-Western candidate who had made it into the second round, Elena Lasconi from the neoliberal Save Romania Union (USR), criticized the decision. So did Donald Trump Jr, who deplored this "[George] Soros/Marxist attempt at rigging the outcome and denying the will of the people." This compelled both candidates to write to his dad and argue their case, like schoolchildren in front of the headmaster. Lasconi ostensibly the candidate defending democracy, the rule of law, and all the rest started by praising Trump "for the great things you have done, and will continue to do, to put America first and for your continuous fight for the American people." Georgescuwent as far as suggesting that this is in fact a plot to drag NATO into the war in Ukraine and thereby block Trump's investiture in January. His characterization of Trump echoed the old Wallachian delegations kowtowing to the sultan: "They want to stop the Peace-Maker Donald Trump from keeping world peace."

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I've never followed Romanian politics at all, but that article (from msn?) is pretty fascinating. Much more at the link.

And Germany is headed to a snap election in a couple months after Scholz loses the confidence vote.

https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-scholz-loses-confidence-vote/live-71063891

Quote:

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz's minority coalition government has lost a confidence vote, paving the way for new elections in February.
Some 394 lawmakers cast their votes against the government, with 207 voting in favor.
Another 116 abstained, leaving Scholz far short of the majority of 367 needed to win.
The confidence vote came after the Free Democrats (FDP) left the coalition government with Scholz's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens following disputes over the budget.

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LOL, what?

This revelation could potentially undermine the basis for annulling the election results, as it suggests internal political maneuvering rather than external meddling was at play, shifting the narrative around the election's cancellation HotNews.

— Tena Ray (@R3llyWh0cean) December 21, 2024

I don't think many Romanians are convinced the elections warranted cancellation because of "russian TikTok videos" at this point. Curious what follow on steps happen here. Martial law for a year or two to make sure the EU/Nato is in charge?