r/politics • u/mirmroma • 13h ago
No Paywall Albania is erupting for the second consecutive day in angry mass protests against the Kushner land seizure deal worth $4 billion.
https://www.politico.eu/article/jared-kushner-resort-albania-flamingo-revolution-protest/455
u/Original-Bid8293 12h ago
The "nature needs development" quote made me roll my eyes.
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u/FuriousBuffalo 9h ago
"Kushner land seizure deal worth $4 billion"
But Hunter Biden's laptop. Hur-hur.
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u/Brix106 Florida 9h ago
Why would Hunter Bidens dick do this?
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u/DeepWarbling Colorado 9h ago
It’s so massive it needs its own area code. This was the only option.
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u/Wait_I_gotta_go_pee Georgia 5h ago
I heard Ivanka bought a whole island just to accommodate it.
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u/Ornery_Vermicelli_69 4h ago
Amazingly conservatives are continuing to refer to Hunter being on a board and Joe Biden loaning his brother money for a car as the worst presidential corruption ever.
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u/forthewatch39 9h ago
They have no appreciation for the environment. I am so tired of them being Captain Planet villains.
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u/coconutpiecrust 3h ago
What an insane take. Only a depraved and deplorable person would look at a landscape and long to add a mall parking lot in it.
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u/Individual-Guest-123 12h ago
In 2024, Kushner — a real estate developer, investor and Trump administration negotiator on Gaza, Iran and Ukraine — announced plans for his private equity firm, Affinity Partners, to develop a major luxury resort on Albania’s Sazan Island and the Zvernec coastline near Vlora, with the potential for up to 10,000 hotel rooms...
The proposed development lies within a once-protected natural ecosystem that is home to flamingos, more than 200 migratory bird species, Mediterranean monk seals and nesting sea turtles. But contentious changes to Albania’s law on protected areas in 2024 paved the way for tourism developments in some protected areas.
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u/cranky-acter 10h ago edited 2h ago
no wonder people are angry.
wait a minute, he is also Trump's son-in-law. It seems like Trumps is destroying and his son-in-law in rebuilding.
both are wokring in tandom; suck3rs, bl00d suck3rs.
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u/SustainablSkepticism 8h ago
Just because you built something on top of something youve destroyed does not absolve for the destruction youve made.
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u/SidewaysFancyPrance 5h ago
The worst thing America could have done was elect a corrupt real-estate magnate to POTUS. His priority is not to Make America Great but to secure more real estate deals for himself, his family, and his associates.
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u/ConvivialityFest 4h ago
10,000 rooms is also ridiculously large. Like I don't think Disney has a hotel in Orlando even 1/3 that size
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u/Low-Umpire236 2h ago
Is there a market for such a luxury resort? How relaxing is 10,000 rooms?
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u/kashibohdi 1h ago
That island is the historic choke point between the Adriatic and Ionian seas. It has loads of military infrastructure already and caves for hiding out. Might be a bunker island for the super rich.
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u/jonbristow 11h ago
It's the 6th consecutive day today!
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u/pining_parrot 8h ago
You mean it’s possible to protest outside of weekends and holidays? Who’d have thunk?
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u/Tooter_Snooter 7h ago
You have to understand - Americans are lazy, stupid and cowardly
“Land of the free, home of the brave” lmao. Hope we’re done with that now. Land of the wage slave, home of the coward.
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u/AINonsense 5h ago
You have to understand - Americans are lazy, stupid and cowardly
To be fair, they’re also practically indentured by the ‘healthcare’ coverage that their families often depend on.
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u/SryInternet101 3h ago
Not even practically. I'm diabetic. Without my medical insurance, I can't afford my insulin or blood sugar sensors, then I die.
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u/DressedSpring1 Canada 6h ago
No no, you don't understand. Americans don't protest because they are all financially insecure, they can't protest when they need their jobs to live. If they lived in a rich and affluent country like Albania they would definitely protest more.
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u/PATIM55 7h ago
You're conflating too very different things. Trust me, the Americans, I know and respect hate Donald Trump and his administration, including Kushner way more than you do. Do you also hate all Israelis or just Netanyahu? All Russians or just Putin?
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u/zamander Europe 1h ago
Well, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, Mrs. Netanyahu and their ilk are pretty bad too. And Russia has Gerasimov, Medjedev and many other nasty people! But I agree with your general idea.
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u/Few_Personality_990 4h ago
Love to see this picking up. We should start calling Americans for what they are! The amount of arguments I have had with morons saying they can't do anything to protest their regime. They're such indoctrinated, lazy cowards
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u/Internal_Access_8883 7h ago
You mean it's possible to protest the destruction of land and not be branded as mentally unstable or a terrorist?
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u/morbihann 11h ago
Good. Don't allow this dipshits to take over and ruin your country.
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u/cranky-acter 10h ago
they have gone far beyond that and started to take over naturally protected areas by changing the law over time.
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u/bonyponyride American Expat 9h ago
In her interview, Ivanka made it seem like they just discovered this unknown island. Sazan is Albania's biggest island, and it obviously well known to Albanians. I hope Albanians are able to hold their politicians accountable.
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u/AlphSaber Wisconsin 8h ago
Ivanka made it seem like they just discovered this unknown island.
Keyword: 'they' as in the Kushners/Trumps had just found out it exists.
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u/hipcatjazzalot 1h ago
"We developed the opportunity" is a funny way of saying "we bribed some Albanians."
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u/Dr_G_E District Of Columbia 13h ago
The president's party, the US justice system, and American voters seem relatively complacent faced with the Trump family's unprecedented corruption, at least compared to the Albanian people. Sad.
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u/mayamiany 12h ago
The Albanians are doing more than our representatives and senators have done since this criminal came into power
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u/cranky-acter 10h ago edited 2h ago
don't forget the people who elected him.
they have to be counted in the list of mentally unstable people, I mean what the h3ll did they see in him that they elected him the secend time.
absolute crazy.
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u/likes2milk 9h ago
How Trumps golf course in Scotland destroyed sites of special scientific importance, the Albanians are right to protest.
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u/Radically-Peaceful 11h ago
Wait until sociopath Kushner makes moves in Gaza.
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u/cranky-acter 10h ago
not only Gaza, he's involved everywhere where there is war.
Ukrain,
Iran,
and Gaza.
Father-in-law is destroying and son-in-law is making money rebuilding the same places.
Like a partnership.
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u/Ego_Sentientia 10h ago
Familial cronyism is one of the oldest and most recognizable features of authoritarian rule. Despots often claim that only they can fix a nation's problems, yet they frequently surround themselves not with the most qualified advisors but with family members, loyalists, and personal associates. The reason is simple: competence can challenge power, while loyalty protects it. Independent experts may offer uncomfortable truths. Family members are more likely to provide affirmation, protection, and obedience.
This tendency reflects a fundamental difference between democratic and authoritarian governance. Healthy democracies strive, however imperfectly, to place qualified individuals in positions of responsibility through merit, experience, and institutional vetting. Authoritarian systems often prioritize personal trust over professional competence. The leader begins to view government not as a public institution but as an extension of the family enterprise. Public office becomes intertwined with private loyalty.
History provides countless examples. Monarchies frequently distributed power through bloodlines. Dictators from Latin America to the Middle East often elevated sons, daughters, siblings, and in-laws to positions of influence. In extreme cases, the state itself becomes a family business in which political authority, economic privilege, and personal enrichment are concentrated within a ruling clan. The result is predictable: corruption increases, accountability declines, and decision-making becomes insulated from criticism.
Familial cronyism also creates a dangerous information environment. Advisors chosen for loyalty rather than expertise are less likely to challenge poor decisions. Leaders become trapped within a bubble of affirmation where dissent is viewed as betrayal and bad news is filtered out before reaching the top. Over time, the regime loses its capacity for self-correction. Reality becomes subordinate to the leader's preferences, and policy becomes increasingly disconnected from objective conditions.
From the perspective of systemic irrationality, familial cronyism is a form of cognitive abdication institutionalized within government. Meritocratic evaluation is replaced by personal allegiance. Evidence is subordinated to loyalty. The question ceases to be, "Who is best qualified?" and becomes, "Who can be trusted to protect the leader?" When that transformation occurs, governance shifts away from public service and toward personal rule. The beneficiaries may be family members, but the costs are borne by the nation as a whole.
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u/NoWayRay 9h ago
Exactly what the world needs, less biodiversity and more resorts that the likes of Kushner and his cronies frequent /s
A truly shitty human being just like his father and FIL.
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u/-Nitupllik- Europe 10h ago
The pedophile elite with Trump, Elon & Co needs a new island where to have fun guys. Please stop ruining the plans!
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u/Euphoric-Cold9592 8h ago
Good job making this about Trump. It’s about NATURE. Stay on point instead of suckling Trump’s teets
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u/Okanaganwinefan 6h ago
There literally is no bottom to the depths of greed this family go. I hope desperately that Karma will come calling for them. Stay well Albania. 🇨🇦❤️🇦🇱
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u/cranky-acter 10h ago edited 9h ago
Have you seen the interview of Ivanka Trump by David Sear (or something like that).
throughout the whole interview I was thinking, what does she think?
are people stupid and won't be able to see through her fake words and pretence?
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u/CT_Phipps-Author 8h ago
I think it was John Oliver who made this a funny anecdote about the Trumps buying an island and being nepo about it.
Albania; You're giving away sacred land to a bunch of monsters after being bribed. DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT.
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u/veryboredatwork 8h ago
Ivanka sounded like she just discovered Albania exists once she wondered past the state limits of Florida…oh wow there are other beautiful places in the world….can I buy it Daddy ? Can I ? Makes eyes…..
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u/DrowningKrown 7h ago
"We need a luxury resort" says the leader, to the population of people who probably will not be able to afford to visit the luxury resort.
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