In a european democracy, things are pretty clear: Influence from Russia and China is forbidden. Influence from the USA, Germany, France is permitted. There are countless examples.
Indeed. Well-established parties created an aggressive media campaign against CG over these last two weeks. The problem was that even today, the odds were clearly for CG. So they had no choice but to take this last solution, an anti-democratic decision. Undeclared money should not be more important than people's votes.
Care to name a few examples? Also, USA, Germany and France are allies to Romania as part of either NATO or the EU.
Russia has invaded Ukraine, our neighbor and we have a pretty good reason to stay far away from them, not to mention some historical bad blood with many tons of gold we gave them for safe-keeping in WW2 that they never returned, or the crimes the red army did while retreating through Romania at the end of WW2.
It is a good thing to stick with your allies and not side with potential enemies. We've been warring in Europe for centuries and we've managed to stop and get along, but Russia is still at it for some reason.
When people pretend to be confused about why Russia wouldn't want Ukraine in NATO, or why Putin would be under immense pressure to defend the Russians in the east, it's not because they intend to have a good faith discussion.
Centuries of war are irrelevant. Talk about this one. And start in 2014, or even before if you're in the mood.
> why Putin would be under immense pressure to defend the Russians in the east
This has approximately as much credibility as trying to argue that Hitler was defending German citizens in Poland and France. Much like Germany with its concentration camps and Gestapo was a very dangerous place at the time for any German (and other people), Russia in 2024 is one of the most dangerous places for any Russian (and other people). Freedom indices place Russia near the end of global ranking[1]. The mere act of writing and performing an anti-war poem can get you raped by police and sentenced to years in a horrible penal colony[2], where poor conditions and lack of medical care slowly kill you[3]. If you insist on pursuing the "defense" narrative in either case, most people will rightfully label you severely misinformed, malicious, or braindead.
How about the simple fact that banning TikTok is even thought about but banning all US Social media is not? That is definitely picking sides and anti-democratic. I agree TikTok can cause problems, but no more than Facebook etc. Ban all or ban none.
