#they had a flag at a recent demonstration in berlin | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

newstfionline · 2 years

Text

Monday, October 24, 2022

Fears Over Fate of Democracy Leave Many Voters Frustrated and Resigned (NYT) Seventy-one percent of all voters believe that democracy is at risk, according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, but only 7 percent identified that as the most important problem facing the country. Americans face more immediate concerns: the worst inflation in 40 years, and a perception that crime is surging, if not in their communities then in cities nearby. But another factor is dampening people’s motivation to save America’s representative system of government: Some have already lost faith in its ability to represent them. That democratic erosion has sent many Democrats on a downward spiral of feeling powerless, apathetic and disconnected. Of course, just what is threatening democracy depends on who you talk to. Many Republicans are just as frustrated, convinced that the threat stems from liberal teachers, professors or media personalities who they fear are indoctrinating their children; undocumented immigrants given a path to citizenship; or Democrats widening access to voting so much that they are inviting fraud. Indeed, ask voters exactly what is threatening democracy and the answers are as varied as the individuals who formulate them.

House price slump (Economist) Over the past decade owning a house has meant easy money. Prices rose reliably for years and then went bizarrely ballistic in the pandemic. Yet today house prices are falling in nine rich economies. From Stockholm to Sydney the buying power of borrowers is collapsing. That makes it harder for new buyers to afford homes, depressing demand, and can squeeze the finances of existing owners who, if they are unlucky, may be forced to sell. The world’s worst housing-related financial crisis will be confined to China, whose problems—vast speculative excess, mortgage strikes, people who have pre-paid for flats which have not been built—are, mercifully, contained within its borders. But as an era of low interest rates comes to an end, a home-price crunch is coming—and there is no guarantee of a better housing market at the end of it all.

Iran protests trigger solidarity rallies in US, Europe (AP) Chanting crowds marched in the streets of Berlin, Washington DC and Los Angeles on Saturday in a show of international support for demonstrators facing a violent government crackdown in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of that country’s morality police. On the U.S. National Mall, thousands of women and men of all ages—wearing green, white and red, the colors of the Iran flag—shouted in rhythm. “Be scared. Be scared. We are one in this,” demonstrators yelled, before marching to the White House. “Say her name! Mahsa!” The demonstrations, put together by grassroots organizers from around the United States, drew Iranians from across the Washington D.C. area, with some travelling down from Toronto to join the crowd. In Los Angeles, home to the biggest population of Iranians outside of Iran, a throng of protesters formed a slow-moving procession along blocks of a closed downtown street. They chanted for the fall of Iran’s government and waved hundreds of Iranian flags that turned the horizon into a undulating wave of red, white and green.

Hurricane Roslyn makes landfall in Mexico, avoids resorts (AP) Hurricane Roslyn slammed into a sparsely populated stretch of Mexico’s Pacific coast between the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan Sunday morning and quickly moved inland. By Sunday morning, Roslyn had winds of 90 mph (150 kph), down from its peak of 130 mph. While it missed a direct hit, Roslyn brought heavy rain and high waves to Puerto Vallarta, where ocean surges lashed the beachside promenade. In Tepic, the Nayarit state capital, Roslyn blew down trees and flooded some streets; authorities asked residents to avoid going out Sunday, as crews worked to clear a landslide that had blocked a local highway.

Cocaine is flooding into Europe (Yahoo News) Three weeks ago, in the farmlands of central Spain, police spotted something peculiar: a surveillance drone hovering over a forest. Pushing in, they discovered something never before seen in Spain: an outdoor drug laboratory set up under a tarp where Colombian chemists were extracting cocaine that had been infused into concrete powder, a process that police estimate was funneling 264 pounds of cocaine into the country each week. Last month, Spanish police also seized 1,843 pounds of cocaine and shut down several laboratories and processing centers just outside of Barcelona, and in July they seized six remote-controlled, unmanned submarines fitted with hidden compartments built to transport cocaine to Spain from Africa. On Wednesday, Spain’s national police announced they’d seized another 145 pounds of pure cocaine hidden in industrial rolling machines shipped from Peru. Last year, around 300 tons of cocaine were seized across Europe, but according to Europol deputy spokesperson Claire Georges, the amount being seized is only “a very small part of what is coming in.” These recent busts, largely made possible by advances in tapping criminals’ encrypted phones, underscore a reality that European drug authorities have been warning about: More cocaine than ever is pouring into the continent, where South American chemists, traffickers and local mafias are helping to bring it to market.

Massive strikes hit Ukraine electrical grid (Washington Post) Russia unleashed a “barrage” of missiles across Ukraine early Saturday morning, Ukrainian officials said—targeting the country’s electrical grid and blacking out large areas—while the Kyiv government increased its calls for Western governments to urgently provide antiaircraft systems as a defense against the airstrikes. As Ukrainians braced themselves for the high probability of even more attacks—and prepare for what could be a winter without heating, water and electricity in parts of the country—officials said that they had managed to impede the assault in some places, while in others the rockets “completely” destroyed electrical facilities.

Weapons shortages could mean hard calls for Ukraine’s allies (AP) Weapons shortages across Europe could force hard choices for Ukraine’s allies as they balance their support for Ukraine against the risk that Russia could target them next. For months, the United States and other NATO members have sent billions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment into Ukraine to help it fight back against Russia. But for many of the smaller NATO countries, and even some of the larger ones, the war has strained already-depleted weapons stockpiles. Some allies sent all their reserve Soviet-era weaponry and are now waiting for U.S. replacements. It can be difficult for some European countries to rapidly resupply because they no longer have a strong defense sector to quickly build replacements, with many relying on a dominant American defense industry that has elbowed out some foreign competitors. Now they face a dilemma: Do they keep sending their stocks of weapons to Ukraine and potentially increase their own vulnerability to Russian attack or do they hold back what’s left to protect their homeland, risking the possibility that makes a Russian victory in Ukraine more likely?

Cyprus, a haven for Russian expats, welcomes techies fleeing Ukraine war (Washington Post) On the wide and shallow Larnaca beach, a group of young, pale men huddled over their phones disrupted the otherwise idyllic scene of blissful, tanned British and German tourists lying on the neatly arranged beige loungers. “Yes! He crossed into Kazakhstan,” Ruslan shouted in Russian. His friend had just texted that he escaped Russia after an agonizing three-day wait at the border, where he feared a notice from an enlistment office might derail his plan to avoid the trenches in Ukraine. Since late September, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order to enlist at least 300,000 men to help his flagging invasion of Ukraine has been at the heart of discussions among Russians in the increasing number of emigre communities around the world, many of which have experienced a steep increase in new arrivals, including in Larnaca. As the E.U.’s most easterly member, Cyprus has long been a go-to destination for Russian companies and wealthy individuals due to its relatively easy immigration process, low taxes, and openness to attracting as much foreign business as possible. Its beaches are also a plus. So after the tanks rolled into Ukraine, a significant part of Russia’s highly educated, middle- to upper-class workforce—mostly IT workers—flocked to Cyprus, triggering a new migration wave.

Cash is king for sanctioned Russian, Venezuelan oligarchs (AP) It was a deal that brought together oligarchs from some of America’s top adversaries. “The key is the cash,” the oil broker wrote in a text message, offering a deep discount on Venezuelan crude shipments to an associate who claimed to be fronting for the owner of Russia’s biggest aluminum company. “As soon as you are ready with cash we can work.” The communication was included in a 49-page indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York federal court charging seven individuals with conspiring to purchase sensitive U.S. military technology, smuggle oil and launder tens of millions of dollars on behalf of wealthy Russian businessmen. The frank talk among co-defendants reads like a how-to guide on circumventing U.S. sanctions—complete with Hong Kong shell companies, bulk cash pick ups, phantom oil tankers and the use of cryptocurrency to cloak transactions that are illicit under U.S. law. It also shines a light on how wealthy insiders from Russia and its ally Venezuela, both barred from the western financial system, are making common cause to protect their massive fortunes. As is often the case in clandestine transactions, cash appears to have been king.

China Hangs on Xi’s Every Word. His Silence Also Speaks Volumes. (NYT) As China’s leader, Xi Jinping, laid out his priorities this week for a breakthrough third term in power, officials parsed his words for signs of where the country was headed. What he did not say was as revealing. The omission of two phrases from his key report to a Communist Party congress exposed his anxieties about an increasingly volatile world where Washington is contesting China’s ascent as an authoritarian superpower. For two decades, successive Chinese leaders have declared at the congress that the country was in a “period of important strategic opportunity,” implying that China faced no imminent risk of major conflict and could focus more on economic growth. For even longer, leaders have said that “peace and development remain the themes of the era,” suggesting that whatever may be going wrong in the world, the grand trends were on China’s side. But the two slogans, so unvarying that they rarely drew attention, were not mentioned in Mr. Xi’s report to the congress. Their exclusion, and Mr. Xi’s somber warning of “dangerous storms” on the horizon, indicated that he believed international hazards have worsened, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine in February, several experts said. Mr. Xi, who is nearly assured re-election on Sunday as its general secretary, sees a world made more treacherous by American support for the disputed island of Taiwan, Chinese vulnerability to technology “choke points,” and the plans of Western-led alliances to increase their military presence around Asia.

Resisting Israeli Efforts to Displace Them, Palestinians Move Into Caves (NYT) Faced with expulsion from their villages and the demolition of their homes by Israeli authorities, hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank are trying to stay by reverting to an older form of shelter: living in underground caves. “We have no home to live in and no tent—we have no option but to live in the cave,” said Wadha Ayoub Abu Sabha, 65, a resident of the village of Khirbet al-Fakheit, in a rural area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that the military is planning to seize. The residents of Ms. Abu Sabha’s village and surrounding herding communities have been fighting efforts to displace them from homes where their families have lived for decades. Some have deeds to their land from before the modern establishment of Israel in 1948. But in May, the Israeli Supreme Court approved the expulsion of some 1,200 Palestinians in the villages so the Israeli Army could use the land for a live-fire military training ground. That could set the stage for one of the biggest mass expulsions of Palestinians since 1967, which the United Nations says could amount to a war crime.

#headlines #news

2 notes · View notes

recentlyheardcom · 6 months

Text

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's chancellor and president strongly denounced a rise in antisemitism in Germany in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in separate appearances Sunday that stressed the same idea that it is unacceptable for such hatred to flourish in the nation that perpetrated the Holocaust.In Berlin, thousands of people gathered at a demonstration called to show opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel. People carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the people reported to be missing or held by Hamas as hostages.The protest, organized by a broad alliance of various organizations, comes as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza. The organizers estimated that over 20,000 people took part; police put the number at 10,000.“It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today — in our country of all places,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told those gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. “Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. And every single attack fills me with shame and anger."Earlier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading as the Gaza war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of “never again” must be unbreakable.Assailants threw two Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in Berlin on Wednesday, and police protection has been increased for Jewish institutions. Scholz, who denounced the violence on Wednesday, expanded on his comments at the inauguration of the temple in Dessau, a city in eastern Germany whose synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis 85 years ago.Both Scholz and Steinmeier denounced the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 while also voicing their concern for Palestinian civilians caught up in the conflict. But the thrust of their message was to address the fallout at home.“I am deeply outraged by the way in which antisemitic hatred and inhuman agitation have been breaking out since that fateful October 7, on the internet, in social media around the world, and shamefully also here in Germany,” Scholz said. “Here in Germany, of all places."“That is why our ‘never again’ must be unbreakable,” Scholz said as he gathered with Jewish leaders at the Weill Synagogue, noting that the community has recently grown as it welcomed people from Ukraine.The synagogue is named after German-born composer Kurt Weill, who fled Nazi Germany in 1933, and his father Albert Weill, who was a cantor in Dessau.“This synagogue here in the middle in Dessau says that Jewish life is and remains a part of Germany. It belongs here,” Scholz said. “Germany will do everything to protect and strengthen Jewish life.”Steinmeier also called it a “civic duty” to oppose antisemitism in Germany.Police have increased security for Jewish institutions in Berlin and all over Germany.Israeli flags that were flown after the Oct. 7 attack as a sign of solidarity in front of city halls all over the country have been torn down and burnt. Several building in Berlin where Jews live had the star of David painted on doors and walls.Also Sunday, police officers in Berlin surrounded participants of a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Potsdamer Platz, which had been banned.

0 notes

mcmansionhell · 4 years

Text

Coronagrifting: A Design Phenomenon

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled content to bring you a critical essay on the design world. I promise you that this will also be funny.

This morning, the design website Dezeen tweeted a link to one of its articles, depicting a plexiglass coronavirus shield that could be suspended above dining areas, with the caption “Reader comment: ‘Dezeen, please stop promoting this stupidity.’”

This, of course, filled many design people, including myself, with a kind of malicious glee. The tweet seemed to show that the website’s editorial (or at least social media) staff retained within themselves a scintilla of self-awareness regarding the spread a new kind of virus in its own right: cheap mockups of COVID-related design “solutions” filling the endlessly scrollable feeds of PR-beholden design websites such as Dezeen, ArchDaily, and designboom. I call this phenomenon: Coronagrifting.

I’ll go into detail about what I mean by this, but first, I would like to presenet some (highly condensed) history.

From Paper Architecture to PR-chitecture

Back in the headier days of architecture in the 1960s and 70s, a number of architectural avant gardes (such as Superstudio and Archizoom in Italy and Archigram in the UK) ceased producing, well, buildings, in favor of what critics came to regard as “paper architecture.” This “paper architecture” included everything from sprawling diagrams of megastructures, including cities that “walked” or “never stopped” - to playfully erotic collages involving Chicago’s Marina City. Occasionally, these theoretical and aesthetic explorations were accompanied by real-world productions of “anti-design” furniture that may or may not have involved foam fingers.

Archigram’s Walking City (1964). Source.

Paper architecture, of course, still exists, but its original radical, critical, playful, (and, yes, even erotic) elements were shed when the last of the ultra-modernists were swallowed up by the emerging aesthetic hegemony of Postmodernism (which was much less invested in theoretical and aesthetic futurism) in the early 1980s. What remained were merely images, the production and consumption of which has only increased as the design world shifted away from print and towards the rapidly produced, easily digestible content of the internet and social media.

Architect Bjarke Ingels’s “Oceanix” - a mockup of an ecomodernist, luxury city designed in response to rising sea levels from climate change. The city will never be built, and its critical interrogation amounts only to “city with solar panels that floats bc climate change is Serious” - but it did get Ingels and his firm, BIG, a TED talk and circulation on all of the hottest blogs and websites. Meanwhile, Ingels has been in business talks with the right-wing climate change denialist president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. (Image via designboom)

Design websites are increasingly dominated by text and mockups from the desks of a firm’s public relations departments, facilitating a transition from the paper-architecture-imaginary to what I have begun calling “PR-chitecture.” In short, PR-chitecture is architecture and design content that has been dreamed up from scratch to look good on instagram feeds or, more simply, for clicks. It is only within this substance-less, critically lapsed media landscape that Coronagrifting can prosper.

Coronagrifting: An Evolution

As of this writing, the two greatest offenders of Coronagrifting are Dezeen, which has devoted an entire section of its website to the virus (itself offering twelve pages of content since February alone) and designboom, whose coronavirus tag contains no fewer than 159 articles.

Certainly, a small handful of these stories demonstrate useful solutions to COVID-related problems (such as this one from designboom about a student who created a mask prototype that would allow D/deaf and hard of hearing people to read lips) most of the prototypes and the articles about them are, for a lack of a better word, insipid.

But where, you may ask, did it all start?

One of the easiest (and, therefore, one of the earliest) Coronagrifts involves “new innovative, health-centric designs tackling problems at the intersection of wearables and personal mobility,” which is PR-chitecture speak for “body shields and masks.”

Wearables and Post-ables

The first example came from Chinese architect Sun Dayong, back at the end of February 2020, when the virus was still isolated in China. Dayong submitted to Dezeen a prototype of a full mask and body-shield that “would protect a wearer during a coronavirus outbreak by using UV light to sterilise itself.” The project was titled “Be a Bat Man.” No, I am not making this up.

Screenshot of Dayong’s “Be a Batman” as seen on the Dezeen website.

Soon after, every artist, architect, designer, and sharp-eyed PR rep at firms and companies only tangentially related to design realized that, with the small investment of a Photoshop mockup and some B-minus marketing text, they too could end up on the front page of these websites boasting a large social media following and an air of legitimacy in the field.

By April, companies like Apple and Nike were promising the use of existing facilities for producing or supplying an arms race’s worth of slick-tech face coverings. Starchitecture’s perennial PR-churners like Foster + Partners and Bjarke Ingels were repping “3D-printed face shields”, while other, lesser firms promised wearable vaporware like “grapheme filters,” branded “skincare LED masks for encouraging self-development” and “solar powered bubble shields.”

While the mask Coronagrift continues to this day, the Coronagrifting phenomenon had, by early March, moved to other domains of design.

Consider the barrage of asinine PR fluff that is the “Public Service Announcement” and by Public Service Announcement, I mean “A Designer Has Done Something Cute to Capitalize on Information Meant to Save Lives.”

Some of the earliest offenders include cutesy posters featuring flags in the shape of houses, ostensibly encouraging people to “stay home;” a designer building a pyramid out of pillows ostensibly encouraging people to “stay home”; and Banksy making “lockdown artwork” that involved covering his bathroom in images of rats ostensibly encouraging people to “stay home.”

Lol. Screenshot from Dezeen.

You may be asking, “What’s the harm in all this, really, if it projects a good message?” And the answer is that people are plenty well encouraged to stay home due to the rampant spread of a deadly virus at the urging of the world’s health authorities, and that these tone-deaf art world creeps are using such a crisis for shameless self promotion and the generation of clicks and income, while providing little to no material benefit to those at risk and on the frontlines.

Of course, like the mask coronagrift, the Public Service Announcement coronagrift continues to this very day.

The final iteration of Post-able and Wearable Coronagrifting genres are what I call “Passive Aggressive Social Distancing Initiatives” or PASDIs. Many of the first PASDIs were themselves PSAs and art grifts, my favorite of which being the designboom post titled “social distancing applied to iconic album covers like the beatle’s abbey road.” As you can see, we’re dealing with extremely deep stuff here.

However, an even earlier and, in many ways more prescient and lucrative grift involves “social distancing wearables.” This can easily be summarized by the first example of this phenomenon, published March 19th, 2020 on designboom:

Never wasting a single moment to capitalize on collective despair, all manner of brands have seized on the social distancing wearable trend, which, again, can best be seen in the last example of the phenomenon, published May 22nd, 2020 on designboom:

We truly, truly live in Hell.

Which brings us, of course, to living.

“Architectural Interventions” for a “Post-COVID World”

As soon as it became clear around late March and early April that the coronavirus (and its implications) would be sticking around longer than a few months, the architectural solutions to the problem came pouring in. These, like the virus itself, started at the scale of the individual and have since grown to the scale of the city. (Whether or not they will soon encompass the entire world remains to be seen.)

The architectural Coronagrift began with accessories (like the designboom article about 3D-printed door-openers that enable one to open a door with one’s elbow, and the Dezeen article about a different 3D-printed door-opener that enables one to open a door with one’s elbow) which, in turn, evolved into “work from home” furniture (”Stykka designs cardboard #StayTheF***Home Desk for people working from home during self-isolation”) which, in turn, evolved into pop-up vaporware architecture for first responders (”opposite office proposes to turn berlin's brandenburg airport into COVID-19 'superhospital'”), which, in turn evolved into proposals for entire buildings (”studio prototype designs prefabricated 'vital house' to combat COVID-19″); which, finally, in turn evolved into “urban solutions” aimed at changing the city itself (a great article summarizing and criticizing said urban solutions was recently written by Curbed’s Alissa Walker).

There is something truly chilling about an architecture firm, in order to profit from attention seized by a global pandemic, logging on to their computers, opening photoshop, and drafting up some lazy, ineffectual, unsanitary mockup featuring figures in hazmat suits carrying a dying patient (macabrely set in an unfinished airport construction site) as a real, tangible solution to the problem of overcrowded hospitals; submitting it to their PR desk for copy, and sending it out to blogs and websites for clicks, knowing full well that the sole purpose of doing so consists of the hope that maybe someone with lots of money looking to commission health-related interiors will remember that one time there was a glossy airport hospital rendering on designboom and hire them.

Enough, already.

Frankly, after an endless barrage of cyberpunk mask designs, social distancing burger king crowns, foot-triggered crosswalk beg buttons that completely ignore accessibility concerns such as those of wheelchair users, cutesy “stay home uwu” projects from well-to-do art celebrities (who are certainly not suffering too greatly from the economic ramifications of this pandemic), I, like the reader featured in the Dezeen Tweet at the beginning of this post, have simply had enough of this bullshit.

What’s most astounding to me about all of this (but especially about #brand crap like the burger king crowns) is that it is taken completely seriously by design establishments that, despite being under the purview of PR firms, should frankly know better. I’m sure that Bjarke Ingels and Burger King aren’t nearly as affected by the pandemic as those who have lost money, jobs, stability, homes, and even their lives at the hands of COVID-19 and the criminally inept national and international response to it. On the other hand, I’m sure that architects and designers are hard up for cash at a time when nobody is building and buying anything, and, as a result, many see resulting to PR-chitecture as one of the only solutions to financial problems.

However, I’m also extremely sure that there are interventions that can be made at the social, political, and organizational level, such as campaigning for paid sick leave, organizing against layoffs and for decent severance or an expansion of public assistance, or generally fighting the rapidly accelerating encroachment of work into all aspects of everyday life – that would bring much more good and, dare I say, progress into the world than a cardboard desk captioned with the hashtag #StaytheF***Home.

Hence, I’ve spent most of my Saturday penning this article on my blog, McMansion Hell. I’ve chosen to run this here because I myself have lost work as a freelance writer, and the gutting of publications down to a handful of editors means that, were I to publish this story on another platform, it would have resulted in at least a few more weeks worth of inflatable, wearable, plexiglass-laden Coronagrifting, something my sanity simply can no longer withstand.

So please, Dezeen, designboom, others – I love that you keep daily tabs on what architects and designers are up to, a resource myself and other critics and design writers find invaluable – however, I am begging, begging you to start having some discretion with regards to the proposals submitted to you as “news” or “solutions” by brands and firms, and the cynical, ulterior motives behind them. If you’re looking for a guide on how to screen such content, please scroll up to the beginning of this page.

----

If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to my Patreon, as I didn’t get paid to write it.

#architecture #design #coronavirus #dezeen #designboom #capitalism

5K notes · View notes

orbemnews · 3 years

Link

Russia Raises Heat on Twitter, Google and Facebook in Online Crackdown LONDON — Russia is increasingly pressuring Google, Twitter and Facebook to fall in line with Kremlin internet crackdown orders or risk restrictions inside the country, as more governments around the world challenge the companies’ principles on online freedom. Russia’s internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, recently ramped up its demands for the Silicon Valley companies to remove online content that it deems illegal or restore pro-Kremlin material that had been blocked. The warnings have come at least weekly since services from Facebook, Twitter and Google were used as tools for anti-Kremlin protests in January. If the companies do not comply, the regulator has said, they face fines or access to their products may be throttled. The latest clashes flared up this week, when Roskomnadzor told Google on Monday to block thousands of unspecified pieces of illegal content or it would slow access to the company’s services. On Tuesday, a Russian court fined Google 6 million rubles, or about $81,000, for not taking down another piece of content. On Wednesday, the government ordered Facebook and Twitter to store all data on Russian users within the country by July 1 or face fines. In March, the authorities had made it harder for people to see and send posts on Twitter after the company did not take down content that the government considered illegal. Twitter has since removed roughly 6,000 posts to comply with the orders, according to Roskomnadzor. The regulator has threatened similar penalties against Facebook. Russia’s campaign is part of a wave of actions by governments worldwide to test how far they can go to censor the web to maintain power and stifle dissent. On Monday, the police visited Twitter’s offices in New Delhi in a show of force. No employees were present, but India’s governing party has become increasingly upset with the perception that Twitter has sided with its critics during the coronavirus pandemic. In Myanmar, Poland, Turkey and elsewhere, leaders are also tightening internet controls. In Belarus, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko this week signed a law banning livestreams from unauthorized protests. “All of these policies will have the effect of creating a fractured internet, where people have different access to different content,” said Jillian York, an internet censorship expert with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Berlin. The struggle over online speech in Russia has important ramifications because the internet companies have been seen as shields from government censors. The latest actions are a major shift in the country, where the internet, unlike television, had largely remained open despite President Vladimir V. Putin’s tight grip on society. That has changed as Russians have increasingly used the online platforms to speak out against Mr. Putin and to organize and share information. Russian officials, taking a cue from China’s Great Firewall, have pledged to build a “sovereign internet,” a legal and technical system to block access to certain websites and fence off parts of the Russian internet from the rest of the world. “What is happening in Russia foreshadows an emerging global trend when censorship becomes but one tool in the ultimate battle for writing the rules that major tech platforms have to follow,” said Sergey Sanovich, a Princeton University researcher focused on internet censorship and social media governance. Roskomnadzor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an interview this week with Kommersant, a leading Russian newspaper, Andrey Lipov, the head of Roskomnadzor, said slowing down access to internet services was a way to force the companies to comply with Russian laws and takedown orders. Mr. Lipov said blocking their services altogether was not the goal. Google declined to discuss the situation in Russia and said it received government requests from the around the world, which it discloses in its transparency reports. Facebook also would not discuss Russia, but said it restricted content that violated local laws or its terms of service. “We always strive to preserve voice for the greatest number of people,” a spokeswoman said. Twitter said in a statement that it took down content flagged by the Russian authorities that violated its policies or local laws. “Access to a free and open internet is an essential right for all citizens,” Twitter said. “We remain deeply committed to offering a safe service to account holders around the world — including those in Russia.” Anastasiia Zlobina, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who focuses on Russian internet censorship, said the government crackdown threatened the future of American internet services in the country. A turning point, she said, was when YouTube, Facebook and Twitter were used during protests in support of the opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny after his arrest in January. The demonstrations were the biggest shows of dissent against Mr. Putin in years. “This mobilization was happening online,” Ms. Zlobina said. The Russian government has portrayed the tech industry as part of a foreign campaign to meddle in domestic affairs. The authorities have accused the companies of blocking pro-Kremlin online accounts while boosting the opposition, and said the platforms were also havens for child pornography and drug sales. Twitter became the first major test of Russia’s censorship technology in March when access to its service was slowed down, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. To resolve the conflict, a Twitter executive met at least twice with Russian officials, according to the company and Roskomnadzor. The government, which had threatened to ban Twitter entirely, said the company had eventually complied with 91 percent of its takedown requests. Other internet companies have also been affected. Last month, TikTok, the popular social media platform owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, was fined 2.6 million rubles, or about $35,000, for not removing posts seen as encouraging minors to participate in illegal demonstrations. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment. The fines are small, but larger penalties loom. The Russian government can increase fines to as much as 10 percent of a company’s revenue for repeat offenses, and, perhaps more important, authorities can disrupt their services. Perhaps the biggest target has been Google. YouTube has been a key outlet for government critics such as Mr. Navalny to share information and organize. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Google has employees in Russia. (The company would not say how many.) In addition to this week’s warning, Russia has demanded that Google lift restrictions that limit the availability of some content from state media outlets like Sputnik and Russia Today outside Russia. Russia’s antitrust regulator is also investigating Google over YouTube’s policies for blocking videos. Google is trying to use the courts to fight some actions by the Russian government. Last month, it sued Roskomnadzor to fight an order to remove 12 YouTube videos related to opposition protests. In another case, the company appealed a ruling ordering YouTube to reinstate videos from Tsargrad, a nationalist online TV channel, which Google had taken down over what it said were violations of American sanctions. Joanna Szymanska, a senior program officer for Article 19, an internet freedom group, said Google’s recent lawsuit to fight the YouTube takedown orders would influence what other countries did in the future, even if the company was likely to lose in court. Ms. Szymanska, who is based in Poland, called on the tech companies to be more transparent about what content they were being asked to delete, and what orders they were complying with. “The Russian example will be used elsewhere if it works well,” she said. Adam Satariano reported from London and Oleg Matsnev from Moscow. Anton Troianovski contributed reporting from Moscow. Source link Orbem News #Crackdown #Facebook #Google #heat #Online #raises #Russia #Twitter

0 notes

anarchistnewsdaily · 6 years

Text

News Highlights: March 5 2018 - March 11 2018

In case you didn’t see, hear, or do it yourself these are some events that took place or were reported during the last week.

Smashy

Rennes, France: incendiary sabotage against a construction site in their town for bourges |

“The sound of two Molotov cocktails exploding on the excavators of the site cheers us up, we hope that this little fire warms your heart a bit, as it did for us! It’s for the drop-outs, the dossers, the galley slaves, the excluded, the migrants, and all those who are cold in winter due to lack of dough.“

Berlin, Germany: Cafe Owned by Turkish Fascists Targeted by Young Women’s Revenge Unit Şehid Viyan Soran

“Young Women’s Revenge Unit Şehid Viyan Soran carried out a radical action against a cafe run by Turkish fascists in the Wedding district last night. The cafe walls were spraypainted with the slogans ‘FCK AKP’, ‘Free Afrin’ and ‘Free APO’ (Abdullah Öcalan) and the windows of the cafe displaying Turkish flags were smashed. The action was carried out as revenge for the YPJ fighter Viyan Soran, who was martyred a few days ago in the historic resistance of our era in Afrin.“

Italy,Trento: Bomb against the fascists CasaPound |

“A device exploded outside the premises of Casapound in via Orna Marighetto, Trento. Outside the premises was written “THE ONLY USEFUL VOTE ANTIFASCISM ALWAYS”

West Java, Indonesia: Backhoe Torched during Resistance Against Apartment Development Project in Bandung

“Citizens and solidarity who want to occupy the Backhoe to stop the development process being held by mass organizations. Because of the defeat, mass organizations began to attack people and students with beatings and throwing stones. Dozens of students and residents were seriously injured and had to be rushed to Sariningsih hospital. A backhoe is also burned by a mass of Tamansari solidarity.“

Paris, France: Arson Attack Against a Turkish Agent’s Car by Revenge Team Şehid Avesta Xabûr in Solidarity with Afrin

“The Revenge Team Şehid Avesta Xabûr torched a car belonging to a Turkish agent in Paris to express their anger at the fascist Turkish State and its attacks against the people of Afrin.“

Baden-Württemberg, Germany: Molotov Attack Against a Turkish Fascist Club in Lauffen am Neckar

“In revenge for the attacks by the fascist Turkish State in Afrin, Kurdish youth carried out an action against a club for Turkish fascists in Lauffen am Neckar with Molotov cocktails and stones.”

#Nantes, #France: squatted refugee centre evicted

“Castle of Tertre occupation started towards the end of a students party held at its premises. The students, along with refugees, took over 888 m² of space spread over three floors, in order to house unaccompanied minors. Since then, the occupation met with police harassment, legal action in order to evict it, and attacks from local fascists. In December, despite of ongoing negotiations with the occupants, the university obtained eviction order. Following the police eviction, a mysterious “Commando Nicole” has painted the university headquarters in solidarity with displaced migrants.”

Animal Liberation

'Mega-Colonies' of 1.5 Million Penguins Discovered in Antarctica

“Huge “mega-colonies” of penguins have been discovered near the Antarctic peninsula, hosting more than 1.5 million birds. Researchers say it shows the area is a vital refuge from climate change and human activities and should be protected by a vast new marine wildlife reserve currently under consideration.“

Canada: As Indigenous Hunting is Restricted, Research Shows Mining is Responsible for Caribou Decline | Earth First! Newswire

“It is easy to blame hunters for the decline of a species, but the authors of the report say that when the numbers are added up, traditional subsistence hunting has had a negligible effect on the caribou population. In fact they maintain that there’s good evidence that Indigenous communities historically are very responsible in their harvesting — voluntarily decreasing their take in response to natural fluctuations in caribou numbers in order to preserve the health of the population. But the recent catastrophic drops in caribou population aren’t natural. And the evidence suggests the real culprit is the disruption and degradation of habitat due to road construction and mining exploration and operations. This kind of development has expanded dramatically in the north — at exactly the same time that caribou populations have been collapsing. Despite this, the main response of governments has been to put restrictions on Indigenous hunting — while allowing resource development to accelerate.“

Buffalo Defenders Lock Down to Capture Facility: Stop the Yellowstone Park from Slaughtering Last Wild Buffalo - It's Going Down

“Two members of the Wild Buffalo Defense collective named Cody and Crow descended from the hills onto Yellowstone National Park’s Stevens Creek buffalo trap and using a steel pipe, locked themselves to the bars of the “Silencer,” a hydraulic squeeze shoot that holds buffalo for testing, shipping and slaughter. In freezing temperatures the individuals blocked the buffalo processing facility and prevented the park from shipping wild buffalo to slaughter.”

Yellowstone Bison Slaughter Protesters to Remain in Jail Until at Least Monday | Earth First! Newswire

“The three protesters who were arrested Tuesday for their attempt to block the slaughter of Yellowstone bison will remain in jail at least until a detention hearing next week, a U.S. district judge decided.”

In Battle With Animal Rights Activists, He Sent Letter Filled with White Powder. To Himself | Earth First! Newswire

“It was part of an elaborate plot intended to frame his longtime nemesis, the animal-rights group called Smash HLS. For sending the letters, Block pleaded guilty recently to a federal charge of intentionally conveying false information through the mail. Block sent the letter, and another one to one of his own employees, and then turned around and used them as evidence in a lawsuit seeking a permanent restraining order against the protest group. But FBI agents found Block’s DNA on the seal strip of the letter. At a previously unpublicized hearing in January, Block accepted five years of probation and agreed to pay $14,872 for the cost of the police investigation. He got no prison time.”

Earth Liberation

After Months of Protests, Citizens Bank Ends Their Financing of Dakota Access Pipeline Company

“Activists and organizers with The FANG Collective, the Shame On Citizens campaign and other groups celebrated after learning that Citizens Bank had ended their financing of Energy Transfer Partners (ETP). Citizens Bank faced waves of demonstrations last year over their dealings with ETP and their sister company Sunoco Logistics.”

Scotland: Seaweed Shuts Down Nuclear Reactor Again | Earth First! Newswire

“Roving jellyfish and seaweed have long been unwanted guests at Scotland’s last two nuclear power stations. Now the marine algae have hit again, forcing one of the plants to partially power down despite freezing temperatures pushing up demand for electricity.“

New Anti-Coal Camp set up in Pont Valley, England

“At the entrance to the proposed Banks Group mine outside of Dipton and Leadgate on the outskirts of Newcastle in England, a new camp and occupation was put in place. In half a meter of snow and surrounded by uprooted hawthorne trees cut to make access to the mine, now serving as good source of fuel to the cold activist, a section 6 was placed on all the structures and entrances. Section 6 states that this location is occupied as living premises and court proceeding starting the eviction process have to take place before bailiffs or the police show up to evict.”

Sunrise Movement Blockades Oil Lobbyists' Dinner in Trump Hotel for an Hour | Earth First! Newswire

“The Sunrise Movement successfully slipped past the defenses of Trump Hotel and blocked the entrances to a room where “IPAAaccess” planned to eat dinner while lobbying politicians to do their bidding. All got out safely after an hour-long blockade.IPAAaccess is a lobbying arm of the Independent Petroleum Institute of America, and the purpose of the dinner was to promote fracking.”

Honduran Police Arrest Executive for Helping Plan Murder of Berta Caceres | Earth First! Newswire

“Roberto David Castillo Mejía, executive president of Desarrollos Energéticos Sociedad Anónima (DESA), was detained Friday at the Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport in the Honduran capital as he was trying to flee the country.”

Seneca Nation Rallies To Defend River From Fracking Wastewater | Earth First! Newswire

“In Coudersport Pennsylvania, over 100 members of the Seneca Nation of Indians appeared at a public meeting to oppose a fracking wastewater treatment facility planned for development on the Allegheny River, known by the Seneca as the Ohi:yo’, which means “beautiful waters.”

UK Fracking Backlash: Seven of Eight Plans Rejected in 2018 | Earth First! Newswire

“The application by Ineos to explore for shale gas in South Yorkshire has been rejected by local councillors, bringing the number of planning decisions that have gone against fracking companies this year to seven.”

Climate protectors occupy coal-ship transfer port in #Rotterdam

“Dozens of climate activists from ‘We Stop Coal’ occupied the coal-ship port of the EMO Rotterdam. The participants of the protest state that it is time to break the power of the fossil industry. They say they will not leave until this renewed contract of EMO is made public and destroyed.”

Workplace Organizing

Gig economy strike and the Bologna Riders Union

“Food delivery riders in Bologna working for platforms like Just Eat, Deliveroo, Glovo, Sgnam went on strike for two hours, from 7pm to 9pm on a Friday evening. The strike was organized by the “Riders Union” and had a participation so high that the major platforms were forced to suspend their services, at first on and off and then finally for the entire night shift.”

2 Strikes, 1 Struggle: The Significance of the Communications Workers Strike in West Virginia

“As of 12:01am today, there are now 2 statewide strikes in West Virginia. Even though the negotiations between the Communications Workers of America members and Frontier have been ongoing for 10 months for a new collective bargaining agreement, it seems likely that the statewide strike by public school workers has played a role in the decision to strike (and to strike now).“

Montreal: IWW Action Following Wave of Abusive Firings at Heritage Coffee - It's Going Down

“The Montreal branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (SITT-IWW) started a picket line in front of the distribution centre Heritage Coffee, situated at 5715 chemin Saint-François in Ville Saint-Laurent. This picket line follows the firing of two workers, members of the SITT-IWW, for union organizing.”

Not All Strikes Are Created Equal - It's Going Down

“West Virginia teachers and school service personnel have returned to work. I wasn’t sure if they would accept the settlement and return to the schools today, but I saw the buses on the road on the way to work. The state capital in Charleston was full of energy last night as the masses of workers inside the capital complex cheered the signing of a 5% raise for all state employees and more details about the PEIA “Task Force” were divulged by our coal operator Governor.

Elsewhere yesterday, in Flatwoods, West Virginia, a scab pulled a gun on a Frontier striker. I didn’t see any police at any teachers’ and school workers’ pickets, but they’re definitely there outside Frontier performing their primary function: protecting private property. Whatever the scab would-be gunman did, it was bad enough for the cops to arrest him (and not the striker) – which means it must have been worse than the union’s statement makes it sound.”

Strippers Are Fighting Gentrification & Police Raids in New Orleans - It's Going Down

“This following report from strippers in New Orleans discusses ongoing actions against police raids, criminalization, and gentrification on Bourbon Street.“

A-Infos (en) Bitain, Manchester Solfed Picket Polish Consulate

“Manchester Solidarity Federation held a picket outside the Polish Consulate in Manchester today. Our picket was in solidarity with self-organised Polish postal workers who have been involved in a two year campaign aimed at improving pay and conditions and are being supported by our Polish IWA sister-section the ZSP union.”

A strike against/beyond borders: The march 8 feminist strike in #Spain

“Tens of thousands protested during the day and roving pickets closed roads, public transportation services, shops. Public and private sector workers (teachers, journalists, care workers, cleaners (las kellys) and so on) struck. Originally called by radical labour unions (the CNT, CGT, Solidaridade Obrera, among others), along with hundreds of feminist collectives and other political groups, its extraordinary resonance finally forced spain’s larger labour unions (the CCOO and the UGT) to join, with their membership contributing to a two hour afternoon labour stoppage involving some 6 million people. (El Pais 08/03/2018). Night brought the final act, with massive demonstrations in spain’s cities (over half a million people in Madrid and Barcelona, respectively).“

Antifa

Motor City Meltdown: Alt-Right Event Falters in Detroit as East Lansing Gears up to #StopSpencer - It's Going Down

“But even the road to the conference has been a rocky one. First, Elliot “Mosley,” the former leader of Identity Evropa, and once a part of the brand new Alt-Right super group headed by Spencer, ‘Operation Homeland,’ was discovered by The New York Times to have lied about his military service in Iraq. In response, Mosley was thrown under the bus by Spencer and friends and it remains unclear if he will be involved in the conference and associated activities at all.“

"We're Americans, And We're Fascists": Inside Patriot Front - UNICORN RIOT

“Unicorn Riot has gained access to a large amount of materials from Patriot Front Discord servers, including chat lots and audio recordings of voice meetings. The records of conversations between Patriot Front leaders and members spans months and provides a unique insight into the operations of the self-described “American fascist” organization.”

Entire Community Shuts Down Milo: Scottsdale & Phoenix Don't Want What You're Selling - It's Going Down

“Hello to everyone from the desert of southern so-called Arizona! We are Antifascist Action Phoenix and we’ve come to fill you in our efforts to shut down the first tour date for Milo Yiannopoulos’ new tour in the so-called united states. We put in many hours worth of work and researching; finding his shell companies, his “tactics,” and calling a few promotion companies in the valley. In the end it came down to an entire community effort that eventually got Milo closed out again.“

IGD East Lansing: Michigan Confronts the Alt-Right - It's Going Down

“Hundreds converged in East Lansing to mobilize against Richard Spencer, a leader among Alt-Right, neo-Nazi, fascist, and white nationalist circles.”

Salem, OR: Report Back From 'March 4 Trump' Counter Rally - It's Going Down

“The following submission, is an anonymous report back on an antifascist mobilization in Salem, Oregon, against the ‘March 4 Trump’ rally, which in the past has brought together neo-Nazis, militia members, and Trump supporters.”

Seattle: Gym Members and Community Members Demand "No Tolerance for White Nationalism" - It's Going Down

“Approximately 30 people, a vibrant, mixed crowd of gym members of community supporters ranging in age from 1 to 70 years old, showed up at the gym on a cold February evening. They delivered a demand to management that they implement a clear “No Tolerance for White Nationalism” policy, and flyered other members in order to inform them of the situation. Front desk staff thanked the group for their support for a policy that seems to be widely popular among the workers, and numerous visitors were happy to learn that people were taking action.“

Rebranding Fascism and Refinancing Mortgages: Andrew Murphy Harkins, Portland’s Nazi Banker

“Murphy Harkins is a fascist white supremacist involved with many local fascists and is affiliated with the racist group True Cascadia. When Murphy Harkins first became known to antifascists, he attempted to conceal his racist beliefs and connections. However, by June 2017 he was outwardly organizing with known fascist groups like Identity Evropa and True Cascadia. By August 2017, he was caught on film in Charlottesville, Virginia, attending the neo-Nazi/fascist/Confederate revanchist “Unite The Right” rally, both marching in the racist and anti-Semitic torch procession the night before the rally, and also during the violent day of the rally, when one of Murphy’s racist compatriots took the life of Heather Heyer.”

UK , London : London Antifa shuts down alt-right talk |

“A group of student and anti-fascist activists successfully shut down an ‘alt-right’ talk at King’s College London last night. Demonstrators stormed the stage and reportedly set off smoke bombs and a fire alarm in order to disrupt the event. The venue had to be evacuated.”

Pittsburgh: Alt-Weekly Whitewashes White Power Tattoo Artist - It's Going Down

“Women Ink” profiles 16 women who are challenging the male-dominated tattoo art scene in Pittsburgh. It could ostensibly be a pretty cool article… if it weren’t for the fact the author knowingly and deliberately dedicated a significant portion of the piece to a fucking Nazi.”

Outreach

#Olympia: Coffee Not Cops Responds to Community Police Forum

“We tabled under a sign saying, “coffee not cops” and passed out fliers, snacks and zines. We had some good conversations with people who expressed their distrust in community policing as well as some conversations with people who dismissed any critique of police as unrealistic.“

Other Disruptions

Java, Indonesia: Libertarian Student Federation (FML) Call for Direct Violence Against all forms of Sexual Repression in Indonesia at #WomensMarch2018

“At Women’s March 2018 in Salatiga (a city in Central Java province), the Libertarian Student Federation (FML) called for the direct use of violence against all forms of sexual repression in Indonesia. This is a response to the RKUHP (planned revisions to the Indonesian Criminal Code) which is considered to be detrimental to the women’s group and other marginalized gender groups. In addition, this call is also a response to the rise of ultra-nationalist and Islamic fundamentalists who became the moral police for all sexual activities, as well as a form of autonomy and solidarity with regard to the handling of cases of sexual violence outside the intervention of law and police.”

Melbourne, Australia: Action at the Turkish Consulate on International Women’s Day in Solidarity with Afrin

“As consulate staff cowered behind their security console we unfurled a banner that read ‘Turkey’s War On Afrin Is A War On Women’. We began chanting ‘Down Down Erdogan, Turkey Out of Kurdistan’, ‘Death To AKP, Afrin Women Will Be Free’ and ‘Free APO’ (PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan). A male consulate staff member soon began taking photos of us to try and intimidate us but we continued our action. Eventually a different male consulate staff member opened the inner security door and emerged angrily shouting at us ‘What are you doing here?’ The woman who organized the action told him that we were here on International Women’s Day to protest against the Turkish State’s genocidal invasion of Afrin and its brutal killing and mutilation of women fighters defending Afrin. He then yelled at us that we had to protest outside then promptly locked himself back in the security console. We continued our action, not intimidated in the slightest by his aggressive posturing. Eventually we went downstairs to the front of the building that houses the consulate and unfurled another banner that read ‘Stop The War In Kurdistan’ written in English, Kurdish and Turkish.”

International Women's Day: Solidarity From Olympia to Afrin - It's Going Down

“In honor of International Women’s Day and the ongoing struggle against sexism, patriarchy and oppression around the world, members of Demand Utopia, IWW and other comrades gathered in downtown Olympia, Washington to spread a message of solidarity with the Women’s Revolution in Afrin Canton and the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (Rojava) and their heroic resistance to the recent Turkish invasion.”

Repression & Prisoner Updates

More than 4000 people on fascist demo in #Kandel, #Germany

“Both fascist demos together had up to 4500 participants. The counter demo around 1000. We have no exact numbers. During the demo there were at least 3 fascist attacks against local residents, apparently some people got injured.“

Water Protector Support: Happy American Horse Held Captive By The U.S. Empire

“Happi is currently being held captive by the U.S. Empire around his traditional Lakota homelands (so-called Bismarck, North Dakota). He is in Burleigh / Morton County Detention Center. Any and all funds will be used for his freedom. As a frontline warrior, he took courage during the #NoDAPL struggle by putting his body in front of earth-destroying construction equipment and stood up for the people. Happi continues to inspire with his humble and happy spirit.“

“I can shoot you in a kneecap” – how Belarusian cops intimidate youth for alleged contacting with anarchists | anarchistnews.org

The ABC-Belarus received anonymous information about the intimidation of a young man from Stolin by Brest policemen. The man was threatened with a gun as the cops tried to force him to be a snitch for money.“

In solidarity with Pablo Hasél

“On the day that marks 44 years after the assassination of the anarchist Salvador Puig Antich, at the hands of Franco and the vile garrote, the condemnation of the rapper Pablo Hasél to two years and a day in prison for “promoting terrorism and insulting and calumniating the Crown and the state security services” cannot pass without a response.”

Environmental Racism Case: EPA Rejects Alabama Town's Claim Over Toxic Landfill

“The US Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed a civil rights case brought by residents of a small, overwhelmingly African American town in Alabama who have spent much of the past decade battling a toxic landfill they blame for causing a myriad of physical and mental illnesses.”

Hamilton, ON: The Tower Anarchist Social Centre's Statement on Recent Events - It's Going Down

“The following statement comes from the anarchist social center in so-called Hamilton, The Tower, and addresses their windows being smashed out and their door being kicked in on Sunday night. Locals believe it to be the apparent act of members of the far-Right, angry over a recent march against gentrification.”

Prosecutors Say A Woman Who Went Undercover With An "Anarchist Extremist Group" Will Testify At Inauguration Protest Trials | anarchistnews.org

“In the next round of trials against people charged with rioting during President Donald Trump’s inauguration, federal prosecutors want to put a witness on the stand under an alias who spent two years undercover with “an anarchist extremist group” in New York.”

#Gothenburg: Nazis placed bomb in spite of Swedish Security Service surveillance

“Three Nazis were prosecuted and are later convicted for the bombing. But when we review the preliminary investigation protocols it becomes apparent that the Security Service had several opportunities to stop the bombing.”

#Sweden: The court was not allowed to see important evidence at Nazi trial

“When two Nazis were prosecuted for a bombing against a refugee housing in Gothenburg, the court was not allowed to see important evidence. The Nazis were acquitted in the Court of Appeal.”

South-Africa: Abahlali baseMjondolo are under attack in #Ekukhanyeni

“Abahlali baseMjondolo are once again under attack in eKukhanyeni in Marianridge. Our members decided to go to the eThekwini Municipality’s department in numbers and demanded that they are provided with electricity. When they came back from that protest they found that their houses were being demolished by a private security company. When challenged a white man named Christopher who owns factories in the area claimed that the security company had been hired by the Land Bank. Furthermore, three members of the movement were attacked by men driving in two unmarked vehicles. These comrades were seriously injured and are currently in hospital.

Abahlali decided to blockade a nearby road to show their anger at the government who does not respond to their needs, the actions of the security company and the men in the unmarked vehicles and who ever sent the security company and these men.”

Kurdish Movement: German police raid #Mesopotamia Publishing House in #Neuss

“The raid came after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s visit to Berlin on Tuesday. While the search in the publishing house continues, no details were immediately available regarding the raid. During Turkish Minister’s visit, German police carried out a raid on German leftist groups in solidarity with the Kurds in the city of Erfurt. Police conducted a search in a total of 5 houses and offices.”

Italy: Update on “Scripta Manent” prisoners (03/2018) | anarchistnews.org

”All the defendants who are able to attend the hearings have expressed a desire to see a possible solidarity presence in the courtroom. Marco has attended some of the last hearings, but he doesn’t know whether he will attend or not the next ones, since lately he is attending alone. Anna obtained the permit to attend the hearings of 7th and 8th, therefore we CALL FOR A SOLIDARITY PRESENCE IN COURTROOM to give them a sign of closeness and support. For all we know, Danilo, Alfredo and Anna get their mail regularly. They are fine and in high spirit. Valentina is under house arrest, with all the restrictions, she can meet just few family members. Soon an e-mail address will be available to ask for additional information about the case.”

Police Authorities Banned Kurdish #Newroz Demo in #Hannover, #Germany

“The AKP tries to intimidate the Kurdish population with bans, arrests and massacre against civilians. But also this year hundreds of thousands, or even million of people will take the streets in North-Kurdistan and Western-Turkey, to celebrate Newroz and to show their solidarity with Afrin. That the German government is importing the dirty Turkish policies to Germany and thinks that they can intimidate the Kurdish population and their friends with repression and bans is really dangerous. In this way the German government is participating in the policies of oppression and denial of Kurdish people.“

Campus Arson Attacks Follows Months of Alt-Right Activity - It's Going Down

“Last Saturday, Rob Cantrall, a member of the Proud Boys, was filmed on camera harassing staff members of Revolution Books in Berkeley, California. Cantrall and friends were returning from Sacramento after a right wing rally had fallen through, and decided to stop in Berkeley to take part in routine harassment of the small radical bookstore. In a video which has since gone viral, Cantrall, who is wearing a red MAGA hat is recorded as saying, “We’re going to burn down your store!” “

For further news check out: Anarchist News Daily

For anarchist podcasts, lectures, and audiobooks check out: F Yeah Anarchist Audio

For anarchist videos check out: F Yeah Anarchist Video

Current news sites include: itsgoingdown.org insurrectionnewsworldwide.com earthfirstjournal.org unicornriot.ninja anarchistnews.org contrainfo.espiv.net actforfree.nostate.net libcom.org enoughisenough14.org ainfos.ca/en

#anarchism #news #march 2018 #highlights #h #round up

8 notes · View notes

omgstupendousbouquetbasement · 4 years

Text

Far-Right Extremists Try to Enter German Parliament

Far-right extremists tried to storm the German parliament building Saturday following a protest against the country's pandemic restrictions but were intercepted by police and forcibly removed.

The incident occurred after a daylong demonstration by tens of thousands of people opposed to the wearing of masks and other government measures intended to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Police ordered the protesters to disband halfway through their march around Berlin after participants refused to observe social distancing rules, but a rally near the capital's iconic Brandenburg Gate took place as planned.

Footage of the incident showed hundreds of people, some waving the flag of the German Reich of 1871-1918 and other far-right banners, running toward the Reichstag building and up the stairs.

Police confirmed on Twitter that several people had broken through a cordon in front of Parliament and "entered the staircase of the Reichstag building, but not the building itself."

"Stones and bottles were thrown at our colleagues," police said. "Force had to be used to push them back."

Germany's top security official condemned the incident.

"The Reichstag building is the workplace of our Parliament and therefore the symbolic center of our liberal democracy," Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said in a statement.

"It's unbearable that vandals and extremists should misuse it," he said, calling on authorities to show "zero tolerance."

People gather at the Victory Column as they attend a protest rally in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 29, 2020 against new coronavirus restrictions in Germany. Police in Berlin requested thousands of reinforcements from other parts of Germany.

Earlier, thousands of far-right extremists had thrown bottles and stones at police outside the Russian Embassy. Police detained about 300 people throughout the day.

Berlin's regional government had tried to ban the protests, warning that extremists could use them as a platform and citing anti-mask rallies earlier this month where rules intended to stop the virus from being spread further weren't respected.

Protest organizers successfully appealed the decision Friday, though a court ordered them to ensure social distancing. Failure to enforce that measure prompted Berlin police to dissolve the march while it was still in progress.

During the march, which authorities said drew about 38,000 people, participants expressed their opposition to a wide range of issues, including vaccinations, face masks and the German government in general. Some wore T-shirts promoting the "QAnon" conspiracy theory while others displayed white nationalist slogans and neo-Nazi insignia, though most participants denied having far-right views.

Uwe Bachmann, 57, said he had come from southwestern Germany to protest for free speech and his right not to wear a mask.

"I respect those who are afraid of the virus," said Bachmann, who was wearing a costume and a wig that tried to evoke stereotypical Native American attire. He suggested, without elaborating, that "something else" was behind the pandemic.

Another protester said he wanted Germany's current political system abolished and a return to the constitution of 1871 on the grounds that the country's postwar political system was illegal. Providing only his first name, Karl-Heinz, he had traveled with his sister from their home near the Dutch border to attend the protest and believed that the coronavirus cases being reported in Germany now were "false positives."

Germany has seen an upswing in new cases in recent weeks. The country's disease control agency reported Saturday that Germany had almost 1,500 new infections over the past day.

A protester is held by German riot policemen in front of the Reichstag building, which houses the Bundestag lower house of parliament, at the end of a Berlin demonstration called by far-right and COVID-19 deniers on Aug. 29, 2020.

Germany has been praised for the way it has handled the pandemic, and the country's death toll of some 9,300 people is less than one-fourth the amount of people who have died of COVID-19 in Britain. Opinion polls show overwhelming support for the prevention measures imposed by authorities, such as the requirement to wear masks on public transport, in stores and some public buildings such as libraries and schools.

Along the route were several smaller counter-protests where participants shouted slogans against the far-right's presence at the anti-mask rally.

"I think there's a line and if someone takes to the streets with neo-Nazis then they've crossed that line," said Verena, a counter-protester from Berlin who declined to provide her surname.

Meanwhile, a few hundred people rallied Saturday in eastern Paris to protest new mask rules and other restrictions prompted by rising virus infections around France. Police watched closely but did not intervene.

The protesters had no central organizer but included people in yellow vests who formerly protested economic injustice, others promoting conspiracy theories and those who call themselves "Anti-Masks."

France has not seen an anti-mask movement like some other countries. Masks are now required everywhere in public in Paris as authorities warn that infections are growing exponentially just as schools are set to resume classes.

France registered more than 7,000 new virus infections in a single day Friday, up from several hundred a day in May and June, in part thanks to ramped-up testing. It has the third-highest coronavirus death toll in Europe after Britain and Italy, with over 30,600 dead.

In London, hundreds of people crowded into Trafalgar Square for a "Unite for Freedom" protest against government lockdown restrictions and the wearing of face masks. The Metropolitan Police warned demonstrators that anyone attending a gathering of more than 30 people may be at risk of committing a criminal offense.

from Blogger https://ift.tt/3lxyE35 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes

newstfionline · 4 years

Text

Monday, October 19, 2020

As the Coronavirus Surges, a New Culprit Emerges: Pandemic Fatigue (NYT) When the coronavirus began sweeping around the globe this spring, people from Seattle to Rome to London canceled weddings and vacations, cut off visits with grandparents and hunkered down in their homes for what they thought would be a brief but essential period of isolation. But summer did not extinguish the virus. And with fall has come another dangerous, uncontrolled surge of infections that in parts of the world is the worst of the pandemic so far. The virus has taken different paths as leaders have tried to tamp down the spread with a range of restrictions. Shared, though, is a public weariness and a growing tendency to risk the dangers of the coronavirus, out of desire or necessity: With no end in sight, many people are flocking to bars, family parties, bowling alleys and sporting events much as they did before the virus hit, and others must return to school or work as communities seek to resuscitate economies. And in sharp contrast to the spring, the rituals of hope and unity that helped people endure the first surge of the virus have given way to exhaustion and frustration. Researchers from the World Health Organization estimate that about half of the population is experiencing “pandemic fatigue.” One New Yorker summed it up: “I am so tired of everything. Is it going to be over? I want it to be over.”

Biden and Trump Say They’re Fighting for America’s ‘Soul.’ (NYT) It is a phrase that has been constantly invoked by Democratic and Republican leaders. It has become the clearest symbol of the mood of the country, and what people feel is at stake in November. Everyone, it seems, is fighting for it. “This campaign isn’t just about winning votes. It’s about winning the heart and, yes, the soul of America,” Joseph R. Biden Jr. said in August at the Democratic National Convention, not long after the phrase “battle for the soul of America” appeared at the top of his campaign website, right next to his name. Picking up on this, a recent Trump campaign ad spliced videos of Democrats invoking “the soul” of America, followed by images of clashes between protesters and the police and the words “Save America’s Soul,” with a request to text “SOUL” to make a campaign contribution. That the election has become a referendum on the soul of the nation, suggests that in an increasingly secular country, voting has become a reflection of one’s individual morality—and that the outcome hinges in part on spiritual and philosophical questions that transcend politics: What, exactly, is the soul of the nation? What is the state of it? And what would it mean to save it?

Spanish demonstrators call for prosecution of former king (Reuters) Waving red, purple and yellow republican flags, demonstrators in 24 Spanish cities on Sunday called for the prosecution of the former king Juan Carlos who left Spain embroiled in controversy. The 82-year-old former monarch has been living in the United Arab Emirates since leaving Spain in August to avoid further embarrassing his son, King Felipe VI. While not formally under investigation, Juan Carlos could become a target in two inquiries in Spain and Switzerland into alleged corruption associated with a 6.7-billion-euro (£6.1 billion), high-speed Saudi train contract won by Spanish firms.

Covid-19’s first wave largely missed southern Italy. The second wave is hitting it hard. (Washington Post) When northern Italy became the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring, one urgent concern was that the country’s coronavirus outbreak would quickly spread to the less-prosperous south and overwhelm under-resourced regional health systems. That fear wasn’t realized. A strict nationwide lockdown largely contained the virus in the north and brought the outbreak under control. But now the virus is raging again, through Europe and through Italy, with a spike that is again hitting the north but this time also the south. In Campania, which includes Naples, the daily number of detected new cases is five times larger than March’s peak. Compared with six months ago, there is more space to accommodate critical patients in southern Italy. There are more ventilators. Still, many hospitals in the south remain understaffed and have fewer beds per capita than those in the north. They could reach a breaking point if the number of critical patients soars.

Tens of thousands march in Belarus despite firearms threat (Reuters) Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sunday to demand the resignation of veteran president Alexander Lukashenko, despite a threat by officials to use firearms against protesters. Belarus, a former Soviet republic closely allied with Russia, has been rocked by strikes and weekly street protests since authorities announced that Lukashenko, who has ruled in authoritarian fashion since 1994, had secured re-election on Aug. 9 with 80% of votes. The Interfax news agency put the number of protesters at over 30,000. It said about 50 had been detained by the police, and that the mobile broadband signal had been disrupted in parts of the city. It also said loud noises that sounded like stun grenades had been heard close to the march. A senior police official said last week that officers would reserve the right to use firearms against demonstrators.

Russia shuns tough restrictions even as infections soar (AP) It’s Friday night in Moscow, and popular bars and restaurants in the city center are packed. No one except the staff is wearing a mask or bothers to keep their distance. There is little indication at all that Russia is being swept by a resurgence of coronavirus infections. “I believe that everyone will have the disease eventually,” says Dr. Alexandra Yerofeyeva, an internal medicine specialist at an insurance company, while sipping a cocktail at The Bix bar in Moscow. She adds cheerfully: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” The outbreak in Russia this month is breaking the records set in the spring, when a lockdown to slow the spread of the virus was put in place. But, as governments across Europe move to reimpose restrictions to counter rising cases, authorities in Russia are resisting shutting down businesses again. The spring lockdown hurt the country’s already weakened economy and compounded Russians’ frustration with plummeting incomes and worsening living conditions, driving Putin’s approval rating to a historic low of 59% in April, according to the Levada Center, Russia’s top independent pollster. Analysts say his government doesn’t want to return to those darks days. “They know that people have just come to the end of their tolerance of the lockdown measures that would be hugely unpopular if they got imposed again,” said Judy Twigg, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, specializing in global health.

China Warns U.S. It May Detain Americans in Response to Prosecutions of Chinese Scholars (WSJ) Chinese government officials are warning their American counterparts they may detain U.S. nationals in China in response to the Justice Department’s prosecution of Chinese military-affiliated scholars, according to people familiar with the matter. The Chinese officials have issued the warnings to U.S. government representatives repeatedly and through multiple channels, the people said, including through the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The Chinese message, the people said, has been blunt: The U.S. should drop prosecutions of the Chinese scholars in American courts, or Americans in China might find themselves in violation of Chinese law. China started issuing the warning this summer after the U.S. began arresting a series of Chinese scientists, who were visiting American universities to conduct research, and charged them with concealing from U.S. immigration authorities their active duty statuses with the People’s Liberation Army, the people said. Chinese authorities have on occasion detained foreign nationals in moves seen by their governments as baseless, or in some instances as diplomatic retaliation, a tactic that many in Washington policy circles have referred to as “hostage diplomacy.”

Thailand’s king faces trouble on two continents (Los Angeles Times) The scion of one of the world’s most privileged families, he wrapped himself in the trappings of royalty, wealth and a comfortable hideaway thousands of miles from his subjects. For Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the cocoon has come undone with remarkable speed. Last week in Berlin, the German government faced questions in Parliament over the king’s legal status in Bavaria, where he resides. Then, visiting Thailand this week to mark the fourth anniversary of his father’s death, the king’s family came face-to-face with pro-democracy protesters agitating for limits on his power. The reverence long demanded of Thailand’s monarchy is breaking down in ways big and small. Thais are refusing to stand for the royal anthem in movie theaters, lampooning the king in Facebook groups and openly questioning his immense wealth and spending. The scrutiny he is now facing in Germany is an added nuisance for a 68-year-old king who has long treated his adopted home as a playground. As the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for 70 years, Vajiralongkorn was destined to inherit the throne. But since about 2007 he has spent most of his time in Germany, where the tabloid press has followed his exploits with relish. He was pictured wearing a tight-fitting crop top over an otherwise bare torso while getting on a ski lift, and covered in temporary tattoos during an excursion to a Munich mall.

New Zealand’s Ardern credits virus response for election win (AP) A day after winning a second term in a landside victory, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Sunday she sees the election result as an endorsement of her government’s efforts to stamp out the coronavirus and reboot the economy. In the election, Ardern’s liberal Labour Party got 49% of the vote, crushing the conservative National Party, which got 27%. Ardern said the margin of the victory exceeded their expectations. Asked what she would say to those Americans who may draw inspiration from her win ahead of the U.S. elections, Ardern said she hoped people globally could move past the partisan divisions that elections often accentuate. “That can be damaging for democracy, regardless of the side of the House that you sit on,” she said.

As lockdown eases, Israelis again gather against Netanyahu (AP) Thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, resuming the weekly protest against the Israeli leader after emergency restrictions imposed as part of a coronavirus lockdown were lifted. The protesters gathered in central Jerusalem and marched to Netanyahu’s official residence, holding banners calling on him to go and shouting “Revolution!” Many blew horns and pounded on drums, while others hoisted Israeli flags. Scores of smaller demonstrations were held across the country, and organizers claimed some 260,000 people participated nationwide. The protesters say Netanyahu must resign, calling him unfit to lead the country while he is on trial for corruption charges. They also say he has mishandled the virus crisis, which has sent unemployment soaring. Netanyahu is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes for his role in a series of scandals. He has denied the charges and said he is the victim of a conspiracy by overzealous police and prosecutors and a liberal media.

Uganda’s ‘taxi divas’ rise from COVID-19’s economic gloom (AP) Uganda’s new all-female ride-hailing service is called Diva Taxi. The taxi service, dreamed up by a local woman who lost her logistics job at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, was launched in June and has recruited over 70 drivers. They range from college students to mothers hoping to make good use of their secondhand Toyotas. “It started off as a joke, supported by close friends and family, but eventually the idea picked up,” said company spokeswoman Rebecca Makyeli. “They said, ‘Why not? As ladies, you know we can no longer slay on Instagram on the outside, so why don’t we slay as divas with a cause.’ So we called it Diva Taxi.” It’s uncommon to find women taxi drivers in Uganda, a socially conservative East African country where most women labor on farms or pursue work in the informal sector. Diva Taxi believes countless women are looking for job opportunities at a time of severe economic distress. The Diva Taxi app has been downloaded at least 500 times, and each of the company’s 72 drivers makes an average of 30 rides each week. The company expects to have 2,000 active users by the end of this year, a modest target in a city of over 3 million people where taxis and passenger motorcycles are the main means of transport for the working class. “We love what we are doing and it’s really fun,” said founder Kobusingye, an occasional driver herself. “I can’t wait to partner with every woman out there that’s willing to be part of Diva Taxi.”

Nigerian army plans nationwide exercise as protests rock country (Reuters) The Nigerian army will begin a two-month national exercise, it said on Saturday, while denying the move was part of any security response to recent widespread demonstrations against alleged police brutality. Operation Crocodile Smile would run across the country from Oct. 20 to Dec. 31, the first time the annual exercise, typically concentrated in the Delta region, will be nationwide, army spokesman Sagir Musa said. The move comes just days after the army said it was ready to step in and restore order, but Musa said in a statement that the exercise “has no relationship with any lawful protest under any guise whatsoever”. Nigerians demanding an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit and pressing for reforms and accountability have been rallying across the country. The army had on Wednesday issued a statement warning what it termed “subversive elements and trouble makers” that it was “ready to fully support the civil authority in whatever capacity to maintain law and order and deal with any situation decisively”.

#headlines #news

1 note · View note

armeniaitn · 4 years

Text

As Lukashenka Turns To Geopolitics, The West Faces Learning Curve In Belarus

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/politics/as-lukashenka-turns-to-geopolitics-the-west-faces-learning-curve-in-belarus-51800-24-08-2020/

As Lukashenka Turns To Geopolitics, The West Faces Learning Curve In Belarus

With hundreds of thousands of protesters flooding the streets of Minsk in recent days as Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka put the military on high-alert warning of a foreign-backed plan to oust him, the standoff in Belarus shows no signs of subsiding.

The embattled strongman has been back-footed by the massive, unprecedented demonstrations demanding he resign in the wake of the August 9 presidential election the protesters view as fixed.

And with nowhere else to turn to, he has gone looking to the Kremlin for support.

Lukashenka — in power for more than a quarter-century — has in recent days even accused European Union countries of plotting a “color revolution” to topple him and warned that NATO is massing troops on Belarus’s western border.

The military alliance flatly rejects the charges in what appears an attempt by Lukashenka to elevate his full-blown domestic crisis into a geopolitical one reminiscent of standoffs between Russia and the West across the former Soviet Union.

Despite Lukashenka’s rhetoric, the events in Belarus remain domestically driven.

EU flags and ambitions of Western integration have not been a factor in the demonstrations that have spread across the country, with protesters and opposition figures such as exiled presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya repeating that the protests are motivated by the desire to freely choose a leader and are not part of an anti-Russian or pro-Western movement.

But with poor relations and high suspicions between Moscow and the West, the EU and Russian responses to ongoing developments in Belarus are being shaped — for better or worse — by past experiences in Georgia, Ukraine, and Armenia.

“Everybody knows the Russian playbook after 2014 and is concerned about it, but the West and Russia are being far more careful now than before,” Paul Stronski, a former director for Russia and Central Asia on the U.S. National Security Council who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told RFE/RL. “The protests in Belarus are not geopolitical and the West isn’t looking to change that.”

Walking A Tightrope

European leaders have been quick to express solidarity with the protesters, but the EU has offered a calibrated response to the crisis that suggests the bloc’s leaders are wary of antagonizing the Kremlin to avoid military intervention by Russia on Lukashenka’s behalf.

While eager to defend democratic values, fair elections, and the rule of law, European leaders have hedged their response. EU foreign ministers have called the election results fraudulent, agreed on sanctions, and demanded the release of protesters unlawfully detained, but have not backed the opposition’s call for new elections.

Instead, the bloc has urged dialogue between the government and the opposition to foster a “peaceful transition of power.”

“The tone from the EU suggests a clear acknowledgement of a Russian role in the outcome and that there is still some hope that it’s possible to engage with Russia constructively,” Joerg Forbrig, the director for Central and Eastern Europe at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin, told RFE/RL.

Crisis In Belarus

Read our coverage as Belarusians take to the streets to demand the resignation of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and call for new elections after official results from the August 9 presidential poll gave Lukashenka a landslide victory.

Finding a constructive solution with Russia on the stalemate in Belarus would involve the EU overcoming the lack of trust that cratered relations with Moscow following its 2014 annexation of Crimea and the ensuing war in eastern Ukraine.

But the events in Belarus vary markedly from those in neighboring Ukraine in 2014, which were a direct response to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to abandon European integration and reforms in favor of the Moscow-led Eurasian Union. This led to the EU and Ukraine’s future political orientation becoming a central factor of the protest movement that led to Yanukovych’s departure and Russia’s intervention.

In Belarus, the situation remains different, with the focus on the erosion of rights and opportunities during Lukashenka’s 26-year reign as president.

This has led some commentators, such as former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, to argue that the 2018 revolution in Armenia — where mass demonstrations led to the resignation of longtime President Serzh Sarkisian — is a more instructive example for Belarus.

In an August 18 op-ed, Bildt said Armenia offered the best template for current developments in Belarus, where fresh elections could pave the way for a new government. While Armenian protests pushed out Sarkisian, the new administration led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has retained the country’s pro-Russian policies.

“To ensure a smooth process, Belarus’s external orientation should be kept off the table,” Bildt wrote. “The election and broader struggle must be solely about democracy within the country, and nothing else.”

“Russia doesn’t always intervene if a previous partner loses an election. They can live with power transfers and Armenia is the best recent example of that,” said Forbrig. “Russia is still shaping its approach in Belarus and has shown in the past it can be adaptable.”

Looking For A Toolbox

But unlike Sarkisian in Armenia, Lukashenka shows no signs of leaving office on his own accord and shouted at protesters during a visit to a factory that “there will be no new election until you kill me.”

Despite the nationwide protests against his rule, Lukashenka still appears to enjoy overwhelming support among the military and security services and, unlike in Armenia, the Belarusian authorities had no qualms about using force against their citizens, violently breaking up demonstrations, detaining people in mass, and reportedly torturing protesters.

With Lukashenka making it clear he intends to hang on to power and no clear path towards a political transition on the horizon, the EU has few other policy options than the sanctions and support that it has already offered.

Maryya Sadouskaya-Komlach, a Belarusian journalist and program coordinator at Free Press Unlimited, told RFE/RL that she believes the EU was not making enough use of the preexisting mechanism it already possesses, in particular the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), an organization founded by the bloc to support civil society and political activists. The EED has been notably quiet during the weeks of protest in Belarus, which Sadouskaya-Komlach thinks sends a signal of indifference to the protesters.

Meanwhile, sanctions appear to be the main option in the EU’s toolbox, but with Belarus being sanctioned in some form or another by Europe since 1997 and not having changed course by now, the utility of the sanctions seems limited. “The EU wants to use targeted sanctions as a symbol of its tough actions against Lukashenka, but it is instead a symbol of its policy failure,” Sadouskaya-Komlach said.

A Confused Kremlin

The current situation is also a policy conundrum for the Kremlin.

Regardless of how the current situation ends, Moscow will retain significant influence in Belarus.

The economy relies heavily on Russia, which effectively subsidizes Minsk with low-cost oil and gas shipments and the two countries are well-integrated — a union that the Kremlin is keen to deepen.

Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenka have a famously tense relationship, with the Belarusian president eroding his own standing with the Kremlin by resisting Putin’s push for deeper economic union.

But Lukashenka’s dominance of Belarusian politics creates a quandary for Russia.

Unlike in Ukraine, where the Kremlin has spent decades cultivating pro-Russian politicians, parties, and oligarchs, Belarus has few alternatives for Moscow to support. Similarly, Tsikhanouskaya, who is in exile in Lithuania, and her campaign, which allowed members of Belarus’s traditional Western-funded opposition to dominate the postelection Coordination Council, are viewed with suspicion by Moscow.

“This can’t be a situation like Armenia because Lukashenka won’t give up,” Angela Stent, a former U.S. national intelligence officer on Russia and a professor at Georgetown University, told RFE/RL. “I can’t see him giving up peacefully, let alone negotiating him leaving the country or holding new elections.”

For the time being, Moscow appears to be backing its problematic partner in Minsk as he tries to cling to power.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently warned that the situation in Belarus was a “continuation” of the tug-of-war between Russia and the EU over Ukraine in 2014 and claimed that the thus far very peacefully protesting opposition wants “bloodshed.”

“No one wants a repeat of Ukraine in 2014 and no one wants to do anything that will provoke Russia,” Stentsaid. “There is a very limited toolbox for the West here.”

Read original article here.

#Armenia #Politics

0 notes

phooll123 · 4 years

Text

New top story from Time: #PolishStonewall: LGBTQ Activists Are Rallying Together After Police Violence at Protests in Warsaw

As LGBTQ activist Malgorzata Szutowicz, sits in solitary confinement for a fourth day in the city of Plock, central Poland, hundreds of people across the country are protesting in her name. On Friday, Margo, as she is more commonly known, was placed in pre-trial detention for two months, on charges of assaulting a driver of a truck that displayed an anti-LGBT banner.

The same day, hundreds of people gathered in the capital, Warsaw, to defend her freedom. In doing so, they were risking their own: 48 protestors were detained and many more injured in what experts say was an unprecedented level of police aggression against an LGBTQ demonstration, particularly in a European Union member state.

By Saturday, thousands had gathered in Warsaw to denounce Margo’s arrest and police aggression against LGBTQ people. And although Poland is experiencing a rise in new cases of COVID-19, at least 15 solidarity protests, both big and small, took place on Monday in towns and cities across the Poland, as well as in Budapest and London, New York, Paris and Berlin, with more planned.

While not all activists may agree with Margo’s methods, her prosecution and imprisonment has been widely condemned. “These radical actions are a part of history that has happened in many other countries before,” says Julia Maciocha, chairwoman at the Warsaw-based LGBTQ organization Volunteers of Equality Foundation. In a nod to the Stonewall Uprising of 1969 in New York City, several users on Twitter started posting #PolishStonewall in tweets about the weekend’s events and subsequent solidarity protests.

What’s the state of LGBTQ rights under Polish President Andrzej Duda?

The weekend protests come amid intensifying anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by government officials and state media after the recent re-election of President Andrzej Duda. On Aug. 6, the anti-E.U. populist leader was sworn in for a second five-year term as president on a strong anti-LGBTQ platform, branding LGBTQ rights an “ideology” worse than communism and proposing a “Family Charter,” including a vow to block legislation allowing gay couples to get married or adopt children. The charter also included a ban on “the propogation of LGBTQ ideology in schools and public institutions,” reminiscent of Russia’s notorious ‘gay propaganda law’ in 2013. Such moves pave the way for “verbal and physical attacks against” the LGBTQ community, says Hanna-Gill Piatek, a lawmaker from a pro-E.U. political party, Spring. Adam Bodnar, the Polish Human Rights Commissioner, agrees, saying that “to a great extent, LGBT persons are becoming victims of political life.”

For over a year, the government and religious leaders have used LGBTQ people as a “scapegoat,” says Mirosława Makuchowska, head of the Warsaw-based Stop Homophobia Campaign. The Duda-allied Law and Justice party (PiS), which has led Poland since 2015, has consistently railed against the LGBTQ community, presenting its members as a threat to family values. (Anti-LGBTQ attacks are not considered a hate crime by law in Poland.)

The church in Poland also wields enormous influence over education, law and politics, and about 86% of the population identify as Roman Catholic. Marek Jedraszewski, an archbishop, warned last year that a “rainbow plague” seeks to “control” the population. Since 2019, authorities in one-third of cities across Poland have adopted resolutions declaring themselves “LGBTQ ideology free zones.” In late July, the European Union announced it would not provide funding to six Polish towns that made this declaration.

Rafal Milach—Magnum PhotosProtestors sit in front of police on in Warsaw, Poland Aug. 7, 2020.

What sparked the protests?

On July 14, Margo, who is a member of the LBTQ activist group Stop Bzdurom (Stop Bullshit), was arrested in Warsaw and accused of assaulting the driver of a truck promoting anti-LGBT propaganda and blaring slurs from loudspeakers, as well as of damaging the vehicle on June 27. She was detained overnight and released.

On Aug. 3, police again arrested Margo, along with other activists, for taking part in a campaign that covered monuments in Warsaw with rainbow flags. Authorities accused them of “insulting religious feelings and insulting Warsaw monuments.”

Four days later, on Friday, a court ordered Margo to be placed in pre-trial detention for two months. When the court order came through, she was seeking legal counsel at the headquarters of a local organization, Campaign Against Homophobia. Although Margo gave herself up to the police, they did not arrest her. From the campaign headquarters, Margo and other activists and protesters then headed to Krakowskie Przedmieście, one of the central streets in Warsaw, where the Monument of Christ had been covered with a rainbow flag a week earlier, in response to the E.U.’s announcement that it was blocking funds to the six Polish towns that declared themselves “LGBT-free zones.”

Witnesses say that police officers in an unmarked police car then detained Margo with excessive use of force. “This was the last straw,” says LGBTQ rights activist Zośka Marcinek, who tried to prevent the car from leaving the scene. “Not only the charges and arrest were farcical, not only it was obvious Margot is being targeted as a nonbinary/transgender person, it was also cowardly and brutal,” she says.

What happened at the protests?

Hundreds of protesters were gathered at Krakowskie Przedmieście when Margo was detained at the scene. What started as a peaceful, spontaneous protest soon escalated into violence, as police started removing people violently from the site. Protesters—some just walking by or standing on the side-walk—were pushed against walls and thrown to the ground by police, activists say. Police made a lot of “mistakes” says Bodnar, whose team was able to access the 33 out of the 48 detained protestors on Saturday when all other visitors were barred. Bodnar says some people were wrongly detained—“one person was just observing the protests, another was on a shopping trip.”

Marcinek tells TIME that a uniformed policeman tripped her over, causing her to hit the back of her head on the pavement, before an officer then held her in a chokehold. She was arrested and taken into custody, and says police taunted her with homophobic slurs. Despite suffering from a concussion, she says she was denied medical assistance for around eight hours. Makuchowska, the head of the Warsaw-based Stop Homophobia Campaign, says police pushed her to the ground, leaving her with a bruised back.

On Twitter, Warsaw’s police force said 48 people were detained in connection with insulting a policeman and damage to a police car, and that the police had called for “legal behavior” during the protests. A report by the Polish Commissioner found that many people were interrogated at night with no access to legal aid, food or drink and that several detainees had visible body injuries as a result of police brutality. Piatek says that police blocked lawyers from contacting some detainees for hours. Several left-wing politicians, who intervened at the police stations, were also denied the right to information, she says.

Bodnar says that he wouldn’t compare this situation with previous LGBTQ demonstrations, which were planned Pride events and marches. But he notes an “unequal approach by the police,” referring to the lack of police response to marches led by nationalist groups—even when such marches could be seen as promoting aggression, like burning an LGBTQ flag. In his view, the police’s reaction to demonstrations depends on whether a certain group is “liked by the authorities or not.”

Rafal Milach—Magnum PhotosThe Nicolaus Copernicus monument is decorated with a rainbow flag.

What happens next?

Now, Poland’s LGBTQ community is bracing itself for what’s next. While those detained over the weekend have now been released from custody, activists say many of them will likely end up in court on charges of illegal gathering. In Polish law, this is defined as a riot in which participants jointly commit a violent assault on a person or property — a provision “only used when a crowd is calling for violent actions,” says Bodnar. But the weekend’s events “were not like this,” he says.

Nevertheless, he—like many others—is finding hope in the solidarity the LGBTQ community has received after the weekend’s protests. What made these protests “different” and “impressive,” he says, was the way politicians and lawyers rallied in support. At least eight politicians were present at police stations where protestors were detained, he says, while lawyers volunteered to defend them. “Polish authorities didn’t predict that putting Margo in detention would cause such powerful protests by the LGBTQ community and that those protests would be supported by opposition politicians and pro bono lawyers,” Bodnar says.

As well as solidarity protests, Poland’s LGBTQ community is rallying together to provide legal help and psychological support for the 48 people who have been detained. The Campaign Against Homophobia has been recruiting pro bono legal help for people who have been detained, and an LGBTQ-organized fund for psychological help has raised 20,000 Polish złoty ($5,345).

But what happens next for Margo remains uncertain and she is still waiting to access a lawyer while in solitary confinement. On the outside, Marcinek, the protester, tells TIME that policemen are randomly visiting and searching the homes of others who had been detained during the protests without warning or justification. And the broader future for LGBTQ rights in Poland is unclear. “Living in Poland, you can’t predict the future,” says Maciocha, head of the Volunteers of Equality Foundation.

What activists want now is stronger international solidarity, particularly from European governments. Remy Bonny, a Brussels-based LGBTQ rights activist and researcher who focuses on Central and Eastern Europe, says “we have seen this kind of violence in Russia and Belarus, for example, but not in an E.U. country.” The European Commission should condemn police violence in Poland in the same way it recently denounced the repression of protests in Belarus, he says. Makuchowska says she and other activists are calling on the international community to “help us to immediately release Margo.”

Despite the recent political campaign against LGBTQ people, activists say they feel that support for this community is growing and that more people who were once silent on LGBTQ rights issues are now compelled to speak out on social media or attend solidarity protests. “The community feels stronger in the end,” Makuchowska says. “We are determined to protect ourselves. The feeling is that we are strong.”

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2DzRLJ1 via SEO Services

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2XUE3XQ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

ladystylestores · 4 years

Text

Russia coronavirus: Overworked and mistrusted medical workers risk their lives with little applause