https://missivesfromsamsara.com/categories/news/ en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 18:51:59 -0700 https://missivesfromsamsara.com/2026/04/12/good-riddance-to-viktor-orban.html Sun, 12 Apr 2026 18:51:59 -0700 http://missivesfromsamsara.micro.blog/2026/04/12/good-riddance-to-viktor-orban.html <p>Good news today out of Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has gone down in electoral defeat after 16 years in power. A couple of important points include:</p> <ol> <li> <p>Both Putin and Trump wanted Orban to win. Therefore, his loss is a triple win for democracy.</p> </li> <li> <p>Ukraine also wins, as Orban&rsquo;s government did not support Ukraine&rsquo;s brave fight to defend itself from Russian aggression.</p> </li> <li> <p>Orban&rsquo;s governent, despite the fact that Hungary is in the EU, is more closely aligned with Putin&rsquo;s authoritarianism. They&rsquo;ve been allowing Russian spies carte blanche in the country and have been caught making phone calls to Russian authorities and providing inside information about EU thinking.</p> </li> <li> <p>The New York Times reports tonight that the turn out was approximately 77%, the highest since Hungary gained its freedom after the collapse of the Soviet Union.</p> </li> </ol> <p>This video by independent journalist Caolan Robertson is worth a look.</p> <style> :root { --yt-aspect-ratio-16-9: 56.25%; --yt-bg-black: #000; --yt-play-button-bg: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.8); --yt-play-button-bg-hover: rgba(255, 0, 0, 1); --yt-play-button-icon: #fff; --yt-overlay-bg: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); --yt-overlay-text: #fff; --yt-focus-outline: #e53935; --yt-play-button-width: 68px; --yt-play-button-height: 48px; --yt-play-button-border-radius: 12px; --yt-focus-outline-width: 3px; --yt-focus-outline-offset: 4px; --yt-transition-duration: 0.2s; --yt-transition-timing: ease-in-out; } .video-wrapper { position: relative; display: block; width: 100%; padding: 0; padding-bottom: var(--yt-aspect-ratio-16-9); margin: 0; height: 0; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; background-color: var(--yt-bg-black); cursor: pointer; outline: none; border: none; color: inherit; font: inherit; text-align: inherit; appearance: none; -webkit-appearance: none; } .video-wrapper[data-is-loaded="true"] { cursor: auto; } .video-wrapper:focus-visible { outline: var(--yt-focus-outline-width) solid var(--yt-focus-outline); outline-offset: var(--yt-focus-outline-offset); } .video-thumbnail { position: absolute; top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0; margin: auto; max-width: 100%; max-height: 100%; width: auto; height: auto; object-fit: contain; object-position: center; background-color: var(--yt-bg-black); z-index: 1; transition: opacity var(--yt-transition-duration) var(--yt-transition-timing); } .video-wrapper:hover .video-thumbnail { opacity: 0.9; } .video-overlay { position: absolute; bottom: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; background: var(--yt-overlay-bg); color: var(--yt-overlay-text); text-align: center; font-size: 0.85em; padding: 0.5em 1em; z-index: 2; pointer-events: auto; } .video-play-button { position: absolute; top: 50%; left: 50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); width: var(--yt-play-button-width); height: var(--yt-play-button-height); background-color: var(--yt-play-button-bg); border-radius: var(--yt-play-button-border-radius); z-index: 3; pointer-events: none; transition: all var(--yt-transition-duration) var(--yt-transition-timing); } .video-wrapper:hover .video-play-button { background-color: var(--yt-play-button-bg-hover); transform: translate(-50%, -50%) scale(1.1); } .video-wrapper:active .video-play-button { transform: translate(-50%, -50%) scale(1.05); } .video-play-button::before { content: ''; position: absolute; left: 26px; top: 14px; width: 0; height: 0; border-left: 18px solid var(--yt-play-button-icon); border-top: 12px solid transparent; border-bottom: 12px solid transparent; } .video-wrapper iframe { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: none; z-index: 4; } .video-noscript { display: block; max-width: 100%; background-color: var(--yt-bg-black); color: inherit; text-align: center; padding: 0; margin-top: 0.5em; } .video-noscript img { display: block; width: 100%; height: auto; } .video-noscript a { display: inline-block; padding: 0.75em 1em; color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } .yt-text-link { display: none; } </style> <script> (function(){ 'use strict'; const CONSTANTS = { VIDEO_ID_LENGTH: 11, MAX_INPUT_LENGTH: 2048, VIDEO_ID_PATTERN: /^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]{11}$/, PLAYLIST_PREFIXES: /^(PL|OL|UU|LL|FL)/i, ALLOWED_URL_CHARS: /^[a-zA-Z0-9_\-?=&#:/.]+$/, TIME_FORMATS: { HOURS: 3600, MINUTES: 60, SECONDS: 1 }, YOUTUBE_NOCOOKIE_DOMAIN: 'https://www.youtube-nocookie.com', YOUTUBE_IMG_DOMAIN: 'https://img.youtube.com', EMBED_PARAMS: 'autoplay=1&mute=1' }; function validateInput(input, maxLength = CONSTANTS.MAX_INPUT_LENGTH) { if (!input || typeof input !== 'string') return ''; const trimmed = input.trim(); if (trimmed.length > maxLength) { console.warn(`Input exceeds maximum length of ${maxLength}`); return ''; } if (!CONSTANTS.ALLOWED_URL_CHARS.test(trimmed)) { console.warn('Input contains invalid characters'); return ''; } return trimmed; } function parseStartValue(value) { if (!value) return 0; if (/^\d+$/.test(value)) { const parsed = parseInt(value, 10); return isNaN(parsed) ? 0 : Math.max(0, parsed); } let total = 0; let matched = false; const regex = /(\d+)(h|m|s)/gi; let match; while ((match = regex.exec(value)) !== null) { matched = true; const num = parseInt(match[1], 10); if (isNaN(num)) continue; const unit = match[2].toLowerCase(); if (unit === 'h') total += num * CONSTANTS.TIME_FORMATS.HOURS; else if (unit === 'm') total += num * CONSTANTS.TIME_FORMATS.MINUTES; else if (unit === 's') total += num * CONSTANTS.TIME_FORMATS.SECONDS; } return matched ? 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Please check the video ID.</div>'; return; } // Create iframe const iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.setAttribute('allowfullscreen', ''); iframe.setAttribute('loading', 'lazy'); iframe.setAttribute('allow', 'accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture'); iframe.setAttribute('title', title ? `YouTube video player: ${title}` : 'YouTube video player'); iframe.src = embedUrl; const replacement = document.createElement('div'); replacement.className = wrapper.className; replacement.dataset.listenersAdded = 'true'; replacement.dataset.isLoaded = 'true'; replacement.appendChild(iframe); wrapper.replaceWith(replacement); } function enhanceEmbeds() { const wrappers = document.querySelectorAll('.video-wrapper'); wrappers.forEach(wrapper => { if (wrapper.dataset.listenersAdded === 'true') return; wrapper.dataset.listenersAdded = 'true'; const rawVideoId = wrapper.dataset.videoId || ''; const rawThumbUrl = wrapper.dataset.thumb || ''; const videoTitle = wrapper.dataset.videoTitle || ''; const kind = parseId(rawVideoId); const safeThumb = validateThumbnailUrl(rawThumbUrl); const thumbnail = wrapper.querySelector('.video-thumbnail'); setupThumbnail(thumbnail, kind, safeThumb); const loadHandler = () => loadEmbed(wrapper, kind, videoTitle); wrapper.addEventListener('click', loadHandler); const overlay = wrapper.querySelector('.video-overlay'); if (overlay) overlay.addEventListener('click', loadHandler); if (thumbnail) thumbnail.addEventListener('click', loadHandler); wrapper.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => { if (e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === ' ') { e.preventDefault(); loadHandler(); } }); }); } enhanceEmbeds(); if (document.readyState === 'loading') { document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', enhanceEmbeds); } })(); </script><p class="yt-text-link"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiayCdysN04">YouTube Video</a> </p><button type="button" class="video-wrapper" aria-label="Play YouTube video" data-video-id="HiayCdysN04" data-thumb="" ><img class="video-thumbnail" src="data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%27http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%27%20viewBox=%270%200%201280%20720%27%3E%3Crect%20width=%27100%25%25%27%20height=%27100%25%25%27%20fill=%27%23000%27/%3E%3C/svg%3E" alt="YouTube Thumbnail" loading="lazy" decoding="async"><div class="video-play-button"></div> </button><noscript> <div class="video-noscript"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/HiayCdysN04/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="YouTube Thumbnail"><p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiayCdysN04" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube Video</a> </p></div> </noscript>