Hungary May Delay Adoption of Bill Targeting NGOs and Media
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's lawmakers may delay the adoption of a bill targeting independent civil society and media, which has drawn fierce criticism for its perceived aim of enabling a crackdown on dissent before elections.
Parliament may not adopt the legislation during its current regular session because of the feedback received from lawyers as well as businesses including banks, Mate Kocsis, the head of the ruling party caucus, said in a Facebook video published on Wednesday. The chamber, dominated by Orban's lawmakers, had been scheduled to vote on the bill next week before going on a summer recess after June 15.
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Atlantic
an hour ago
- Atlantic
Fathers Don't Just Protect—They Prepare
My grandfather was born in 1882 in the small Ukrainian town of Zawale, which was part of the vast, multiethnic Austro-Hungarian empire. In 1914, this mega-state, like so many European nations, threw itself into a world war with frenzied enthusiasm. My grandfather later told my father how puzzled he had been to watch thousands of happy young men—really still just boys—boarding trains in Vienna, cheering as they went off to what was almost certainly their death. He did not volunteer, he avoided conscription, and he survived. His son, my father, was born in Vienna in 1927. He was 6 years old when Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany. Austria still had a few years of freedom left, and my grandfather used them well: Because an archive had burned down, several of his family documents had to be reissued. Through skillful manipulation, he managed to turn himself from a Jew into what the Nazis would later classify as a 'half Jew.' And as Germany's annexation of Austria became inevitable, he came up with an especially daring idea: In a court proceeding, he had his wife, my grandmother, declared the illegitimate daughter of the janitor in her parents' building. He bribed witnesses who testified that her mother had had an affair with that janitor. It worked: My grandmother was officially declared the daughter of an Aryan. And as a result, my family survived. This Father's Day, I find myself reflecting not only on paternal love but on paternal foresight—the clarity and focus it takes to see what others might not, to act before the danger has a name. Raising children is always a challenge, but never more so than in times of deep insecurity about what the future will look like. To meet that challenge, it can help to look at the generations that came before. Anne Applebaum: This is what Trump does when his revolution sputters Despite my grandfather's efforts, life for my father quickly changed under the Nazis. In swimming school, two boys nearly drowned him while the lifeguard looked on, grinning. When my father finally emerged, gasping for breath, the lifeguard laughed and said, 'Can't swim, Jew?' Around the same time, the man who lived in the neighboring house began watching my father and his sister with dark, brooding looks. But only after Hitler's army had entered Austria did he begin shouting, each and every time they passed: 'Jewwws!' My father would recount these events with amused detachment. He had already learned as a teenager to recognize the profound absurdity of Nazism—the deep, grotesque nonsense of what Charlie Chaplin and Ernst Lubitsch were turning into dark political comedies at the same time in Hollywood. A few months later, two men came to my grandparents and ordered them to leave their house with their children. They moved into a small apartment, and their home was 'bought'—at a tiny, symbolic price—by the 'Jewww'-shouting neighbor. Corruption is the most corrosive force in a democracy, but in a dictatorship it can save you. Once a month, a Gestapo officer would appear at my grandparents' apartment and take something valuable—a piece of furniture, a porcelain plate, a painting. In return, the file on my grandparents would sink a little lower in the stack on his desk. At my father's school, the boys had to line up, and all those tall enough were asked—in fact, ordered—to volunteer for the SS. My father raised his hand and said, 'Requesting permission to report—I'm one-quarter Jewish!' To which the SS man shouted in disgust, 'Step back!' And so my father was spared from becoming a war criminal in Hitler's service. In almost every situation, having Jewish ancestry was a mortal danger. But in this one instance, it became his salvation. In the final months of the war, my father was arrested after all and spent three months in a concentration camp close to Vienna, constantly at risk of death. But after the war had ended, there was still a striking atmosphere of leniency toward the perpetrators. When he went to the local police station to give a statement about his time in the camp, he was met with scornful dismissiveness. 'It wasn't really that bad, was it?' the officer asked. 'Aren't we exaggerating a little?' It was then that my father decided to move from Austria to Germany, paradoxically—because there, under pressure from the occupying powers, some reckoning with the past was taking place. Austria, meanwhile, had successfully cast itself as the war's first victim. Timothy W. Ryback: Hitler used a bogus crisis of 'public order' to make himself dictator I tell my son, who never met his grandfather (as I never met mine), that my father was obsessed throughout his life with the idea that what had happened once could happen again—not just to Jews, but to anyone. Of course, my son, raised in a seemingly stable world, feels profoundly safe. And that's a good thing. But we are currently living in the United States, a country that for my grandfather was a refuge impossible to reach, but that is currently in the throes of what some serious scholars now describe as an authoritarian power grab. And even in Germany, where we could easily return, a right-wing extremist party is now so strong that it might come in first in the next election. So I think about the responsibility of raising a child in a time when the future is impossible to predict. I think, more and more, of my grandfather, who in 1914 watched people plunge into war hysteria and decided to resist their excitement, and who would later take very unconventional steps—steps that would, after history took a turn for the worse, ensure his family's survival. My grandfather understood the psychology of fanaticism very early; my father understood the stupidity and mediocrity of the people whom the dictatorship empowered, without mistaking them for harmless clowns. Now, as we watch society once again take a dangerous turn—as books are banned, people are sent to foreign prisons without even a court order, and soldiers are deployed against protesters—I wonder what stories my future grandchildren will one day need to remember. Memory is not a picture book; it's a tool. And fatherhood, especially in times like these, is not just about protection. It is about preparation.
Buzz Feed
3 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
25 Wild Things Rich People Do That We've No Idea About
Last week, a question posted on the popular Ask Reddit forum caught my eye. In it, user bryany97 asked, "What's something rich people do that the average person has no idea about?" Here are some of the most interesting answers: "I made friends with a guy who was the captain of one of the yachts of a Russian oligarch." "Not me, but a friend of a friend worked for a crazy-rich family, and the wife had a surrogate for all of her kids. They were genetically hers and her husband's, but she wasn't interested in carrying them." "Kidnapping insurance." "With the exception of maybe a couple celebrity rich people, almost none of them think of themselves as rich; they all hold someone else who is even richer than them up as an example of someone who is actually rich." "With no planning, get in their plane, fly two hours for dinner, maybe spend the night, then fly home." "When their kids go to college, (very) rich people will buy them a condo rather than put them in a dorm. This is especially true in high-population/university-dense locations like Boston or NYC." "Doctors on call. I have several clients worth between 20-50 million and all of them pay a premium price for a doctor on call. Literally any time of the day." "They plan a vacation for tomorrow." "Their homes are owned by trusts and often operated by LLCs. Super easy to do, and it sets up a legal barrier between your property and yourself." "There are restaurants and social clubs hidden in plain sight that the general public has no idea even exist. They don't even advertise themselves. The only way you'd know is if someone with money brought you there (as I was)." "I know a rich person who has a 'Director of Continuity.' Their job is to make sure that every one of the family's homes has the same streaming services, magazine/newspaper subscriptions, food in the fridge, clothes in their closets..." "I knew a family that went on trips to exotic locations several times a year. They all traveled first class on different planes. In case something happened, it wouldn't greatly impact their business holdings." "Weekly deliveries of fresh flowers." "I worked at a place where the CEO sometimes wouldn't show up to the office, so we just chatted with his bodyguard because he had nothing to do. So, yeah, a bodyguard at the office — in case he wants to show up." "I work on Superyachts. I can't name any because of NDAs. This is what happens when the boss wants to go for lunch at their friend's villa:" "With the exception of celebrities, they don't use social media and maintain a strict sense of privacy. Rich people don't use Facebook." "My son's friend's grandfather was very wealthy. His friend said he would often just say 'let's go to Hawaii' (or wherever) and they'd all hop on his private jet and off they'd go for a few days. This guy was an incredible person." "Good friend is very wealthy! (Dot Com money). Anonymously gives his money to 'local non-profits'(NPOs). Some, he volunteers at. He specifically avoids national NPOs so he can see the local impact. Drives a 10-year-old Honda. Lives in a small, old home in Seattle that is impeccably furnished and maintained. I would kill to have his life!" "This may seem small and silly, but it's stuck with me. Someone who was a personal assistant to an ultra-wealthy person described how part of their duties was stocking their boss's personal bathroom, and their boss used a new full-size bar of soap for washing their hands, and then that full-size bar would be discarded." "My buddy had to go to some financial weekend retreat every year as a stipulation of his trust fund." "They run a family office." "I worked at a private aviation firm in college. It was the home base of Victoria's Secret/Express owner Les Wexner." "Replacing sheets constantly. I met someone a few years ago with 'old money' wealth, and hearing some of the things her family had a budget for that was bigger than my family's income was wild." "I saw a rich guy pay for a nice sailboat with $250,000 cash; and that sailboat was in fact 'farm equipment,' if anyone asks." And finally: "Rich people aren't good with money, they hire people who are good with money to manage theirs. They outsource everything." Well, these were wild. If you've ever witnessed some unbelievable things that rich people you know have done (or if you are a wildly rich person yourself), tell me about it down in the comments! Or, if you want, you can share via this anonymous form. Your story may be featured in a future BuzzFeed article! Please note: some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity.
New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Wife of Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman used her body as a ‘shield' to protect daughter during shooting: family
The wife of the wounded Minnesota state senator targeted during an overnight assassination attempt shielded the couple's daughter as the masked gunman opened fire on the family, missing the couple's vital organs by inches, family and reports said. Yvette Hoffman jumped on top of her adult daughter, Hope, while alleged assassin Vance Luther Boetler fired multiple shots at her and State Sen. John Hoffman inside their Minneapolis suburb home early Saturday morning, according to Hoffman's nephew. 'Early this morning, an absolute vile piece of s–t dressed as a cop broke into my aunt and uncle's house and shot him 6 times and my aunt 5 times in a political act of terrorism. My aunt threw herself on her daughter, using her body as a shield to save her life,' Mat Ollig wrote on Facebook. Advertisement One of the bullets narrowly missed the Democratic senator's heart, KARE11 reported. 7 Yvette and Sen. John Hoffman were wounded in a shooting at their Minnesota home on June 14, 2025. Mat Ollig/Facebook Police responded to a 911 call at the residence in Champlin, Minn. just after 2 a.m. and discovered the Hoffmans wounded, rushing them to a hospital where they underwent surgery. Advertisement Ollig revealed his aunt and uncle were out of surgery and in stable condition. Yvette Hoffman was awake and alert in the hospital as of Saturday night, KMSP reported. Hope Hoffman, who is in her 20s, was not hit in the shooting. Bullet holes riddled the front of the Champlin home, the first house he allegedly targeted in his rampage before driving to Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Rep. Melissa Hortman's home in Brooklyn Park. Boelter is accused of fatally shooting Hortman and her husband, Mark, inside their home at around 3:30 a.m. Advertisement 7 The Hoffmans were shot multiple time and underwent surgery. Both are listed as stable. John Hoffman/Facebook 7 Security cameras captured Vance Boelter wanted by the FBI for the shootings. FBI The gunman allegedly posed as a police officer and appeared at the front doorsteps of the Hortman residence and opened fire on the couple, officials announced Rep. Hortman, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene and her husband died at a nearby hospital. Advertisement Brooklyn Park police were notified of the shooting in Champlin and did a check on the Hortmans when they found the masked gunman, wearing a uniform and badge, exiting the home. Officers fired at the gunman, who took cover back inside the home, before he managed to escape. 7 A Champlin police car blocks the road to the Hoffmans' home after the shooting on June 14, 2025. FOX 9 7 The gunman wore a mask and a police uniform and vest during the shootings. FBI Police opened up an urgent search for Boelter, setting up a 3-mile perimeter Saturday morning. A lockdown of homes near the Brooklyn Park shooting was lifted late Saturday, but police urged residents to be alert and not confront any suspicious individuals, and not open doors to solo officers. Boetler's wife, Jenny Boetler, was detained by police for questioning Saturday after being pulled over with several relatives near Onamia, Minn, local KTSP reported. 7 Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman was assassinated alongside her husband at their home in Brooklyn Park, Minn. Melissa Hortman/Facebook Advertisement Boelter was appointed to the non-partisan Workforce Development Council in 2016 by former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. Gov. Tim Walz appointed Boelter to the Workforce Development Board in 2019. His term ran out in 2023. Walz called the shootings on both Hortman and Hoffman a 'politically motivated assassination.' 7 Boelter was appointed to the non-partisan Workforce Development Council in 2016 by former Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. HANDOUT/MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Advertisement Boelter left behind a 'manifesto' listing the names of 70 politicians, including Walz and his Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and a stack of papers stating 'No Kings' in reference to the nationwide anti-Trump protests, according to police. The apparent hit list included abortion providers, clinics and Planned Parenthood, sources told The Post. Both of the Democrats he targeted were pro-choice. Police are weighing whether Boetler held extreme anti-abortion views, the sources said. Hortman was staunchly pro-choice and led the Minnesota House in passing the PRO Act in 2023, which codified the legality of abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. She also boosted funding for abortion clinics and passed protections for providers.
