Tea and Vitriol

The European Union, at first glance, appears to be a powerful geo-political entity. Composed of most of the "democracies" of the Western European continent, including the economic powerhouse of Germany, it has tried to pose as one of the world's superpowers. Only it isn't. Comprised of frequently quarreling member states, possessed of a complicated and cumbersome constitutional framework that reveals its impotence daily in the European Parliament, its much-touted successes have always been dependent on the military might of the United States to protect it from itself and the threats to it posed by Russia and her allies. NATO was supposed to act as a deterrent to Russian aggression, at which it has failed repeatedly. Despite all of its economic and industrial potential, the European Union really only ranks as a second-rate power, although it has postured as something far greater. Until yesterday. European Union President Ursula von der Leyen surrendered unconditionally...

It's a case of life imitating art! "The Flintstones," an American cartoon series from the 1960's featured an episode titled "The Frogmouth." "The Frogmouth" was a stage play was about an unimportant, obnoxious, abrasive, loudmouth, and the director of the play felt that Fred Flintstone was a natural for the role. Fast forward to the 21st century, to real life in the real world. Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has become "The Frogmouth!" Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of frogmouths in the world of politics, especially among populists. US President Trump and Russia's President Putin are two such examples on the world stage. Along with China's President Xi, they are the three most powerful men in the world. They can afford to be rude, crude, abrasive and aggressive because there is nobody out there powerful enough to stop them or even effectively resist them. And then there's Viktor Orban, whose pretensions ...