Bens Latkovskis / Autori

The second Trump impeachment procedure has begun in the US Senate. From the point of view of political consequences, it is as meaningless as the first, because the final outcome of this measure is already clear - the parties will be appalled by the "terrible Trump" or "another falsification" and will vote according to their political position. The probability that Democrats could get 67 votes in the Senate for the impeachment to take effect is zero.

The National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) has started to straighten up the Latvian television broadcasting space. From February 15, it is forbidden to retransmit and distribute the program Rossija RTR in the territory of Latvia for a year. The decision was made because four significant violations of the law were identified, related to incitement to hatred, incitement to violence and provocation of military conflict.

Roberts Zīle, Member of the European Parliament, on Twitter: Today, the President (who has found someone to blame for her failures in any of her posts (see Spiegel)) has also managed to find the scapegoat for the EU-wide vaccine fiasco - her right hand - Valdis Dombrovskis. No comments.

I would like to start this article with a little explanation. Sometimes, in articles about events in Russia, readers leave comments expressing dissatisfaction - why you are writing about Russia, don't we have enough problems on our own. You probably want to divert public attention away from domestic failures with this Russian theme.

Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony, contrary to the anxiety it had previously fueled, took place in a relatively peaceful, solemn and, I must say, well-directed atmosphere. The new president himself gave a pretty good speech, promising to be the president of all Americans and to do everything to unite the nation. We can only wish him success, but looking at what is happening in the United States, there is little confidence that he will be able to curb the extreme poles of the political wings (especially the left) and find a central common denominator in the near future.

It's not only infectious diseases that are contagious, but also bad political practices. Especially if these practices prove to be effective in achieving certain goals.

The return of Russia's main opposition leader Alexei Navalny to his homeland on a Pobeda plane from Berlin on Sunday turned into an exciting thriller in which it was not clear until the last moment how it would all end. But unlike TV series, it was not filled with actors who can go to the hotel bar to relax after filming after the episode, but with real people who were taken to a solitary confinement cell after being detained at the airport. Although everything ended on Sunday as most observers predicted - with the arrest of Navalny - in reality only one episode had ended in the confrontation between Navalny and Putin. The rest is still ahead.

Following the events of January 6 in Washington, the positions of US President Donald Trump have become so weak that only the lazy ones can't be bothered to kick the injured wolf. Trump opponents use this opportunity with intoxicating enthusiasm. They can be understood because politics is not a greenhouse of tolerance and empathy, where enthusiasts of "forgiveness and turning the other cheek" gather. Rather, politics is a jungle where the throat is quickly ripped out to anyone who has shown weakness and stumbled. To paraphrase the title of the Oscar-winning Coen brothers' film - no place in politics for kind men.

Saruna ar Saeimas deputātu Didzi Šmitu par jauno Gobzema partiju un plašāku alternatīvu esošajam politiskajam piedāvājumam.

Everything flows, everything changes, only our homeland remains still. This is what comes to mind when observing the ratings of Latvian institutions in the SKDS annual survey. For ten years now, the public trust of various institutions has remained unchanged.

The decision of the social network Twitter to permanently ban the use of this platform for Donald Trump has provoked a wide-ranging discussion about the limits of freedom of expression and its meaning in today's world. While some are horrified that the US president has been "muzzled", others welcome the move as "it's been a long time coming."

Sworn advocate Aldis Alliks has actively expressed his opinions on various portals and social networks about the judgment the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia adopted on November 12, 2020, in case no. 2019-33-01. Given that this judgment has been publicly commented on by a few Latvian lawyers and in most cases, it has been relatively one-sided, I invited Aldis Alliks to a conversation.

Zvērināts advokāts Aldis Alliks dažādos portālos un sociālajos tīklos ir aktīvi izteicies par Latvijas Republikas Satversmes tiesas 2020. gada 12. novembrī pieņemto spriedumu lietā Nr. 2019-33-01. Ņemot vērā, ka šo spriedumu publiski ir komentējuši maz Latvijas juristu un vairumā gadījumu tas noticis samērā vienpusīgi, aicināju uz sarunu juristu Aldi Alliku.

After the Hawaii electorate as the last state voted for Joe Biden on Monday, the total gave him 306 votes (against the 232 for Donald Trump), it can be said that the US presidential election has reached the finish line. All that remains is that on January 6 this vote will be approved by the US Congress, and on January 20, the inauguration of the 46th US President will take place. That’s it - game over.

On Thursday evening, after long and tense talks between EU leaders, a compromise was finally reached on the EU's seven-year budget of EUR 1.8 trillion, including the Recovery Fund (official name - Next Generation EU, NGEU) of EUR 750 billion.

On Wednesday, the head of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) René Fasel responded to a letter from MEPs requesting the transfer of the 2021 World Hockey Championship from Belarus to another location. Fasel's response states: “We are closely watching the situation. Our goal is to hold the tournament in Belarus, we want to do it for the fans who deserve it, and we should not allow ourselves to be under pressure from politics and do not want to be hostages of political games."

The world, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, is slowly returning to its usual rhythm, and emotions on the football field hit a higher wave than in politics and even medicine. The scandal in Paris, where the UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was suspended due to racist remarks by the referees, is now a central event in world news.

If Europe was not so preoccupied with the problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of the difficult relationship between the EU and Poland, Hungary would most likely dominate the headlines. This issue has become particularly acute since Poland and Hungary vetoed the EU budget on 16 November.

In recent weeks, a new star has appeared on Latvia's political sky - the President of the Constitutional Court (CC) Sanita Osipova, whom some particularly enthusiastic left-wing liberal apostles already see as Latvia's next president.

Saruna ar Saeimas deputātu Didzi Šmitu.

Last Saturday, the world quietly and modestly celebrated the 200th anniversary of Friedrich Engels. The younger generation does not know this person at all, and when walking along Stabu Street in Riga, they do not even realise that for half a century the street bore the name of this German thinker. But it should be known, because the ideology, which the world once became acquainted with thanks to Engels, is becoming popular again.

Although the proceedings over the results of the US presidential election on November 3 are still ongoing and are likely to continue for a long time to come, it is now clear that everything is largely over - on January 20, the United States will have a new 46th President, Joe Biden.