Italy passes measures to allow anti-abortion activists to enter abortion clinics | Italy | The Guardian – (Me: Fascists rise in Italy coming after women…)

Source: Italy passes measures to allow anti-abortion activists to enter abortion clinics | Italy | The Guardian

Belgian mayor orders halt to NatCon conference attended by Braverman | Belgium | The Guardian

Authorities in Brussels have ordered the closure of a radical right conference that was addressed by British politicians including Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman.

The order banning the National Conservatism conference from taking place on Tuesday was issued “to guarantee public safety”, according to Emir Kir, the mayor of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode district in Brussels.

Braverman, who has sought to cultivate a following on the right in Britain and beyond since she was sacked last year as home secretary, took to the stage after police had arrived to execute the order to shut the event down.

She delivered a speech in which she claimed that the UK could leave the European convention on human rights (ECHR), scorning Rishi Sunak’s recent suggestions that he would be willing to exit from it if it prevented him from implementing his policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda.

“It’s therefore no surprise that recent noises in this direction from the prime minister are being dismissed by the public as inauthentic.”

After her speech, she told Sky News that the “thought police, instructed by the mayor of Brussels” had sought to undermine free speech and debate.

Nigel Farage speaks to the media outside the conference venue. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters

Police entered the building after they were invited in by organisers just as Farage was finishing on stage, before then leaving again and preventing others from coming in.

Organisers told those at the event that the closure of the event would be “gradual” and that they intended to find a new venue for Wednesday. However, they later said on X they were legally challenging the order.

Farage took the stage to tell those gathered that the owner was coming under pressure from the mayor and that the food for the event had not arrived. “This is what we are up against. We are up against an evil ideology. We are up against a new form of communism.” Farage said as he gave a keynote address.

The venue was the conference’s third after others had cancelled bookings. An upmarket venue, Concert Noble, near the European Commission and European parliament pulled the plug on Friday after protests from anti-fascist activists.

Source: Belgian mayor orders halt to NatCon conference attended by Braverman | Belgium | The Guardian

Hiltzik: The debate over student debt relief reemerges – Los Angeles Times – Column: Are Republicans who got pandemic debt relief hypocrites for complaining about student debt relief? Yes

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called President Biden’s student debt relief plan “completely unfair” but had her $183,500 pandemic relief debt completely forgiven. (Associated Press)

Source: Hiltzik: The debate over student debt relief reemerges – Los Angeles Times

Verified pro-Nazi X accounts flourish under Elon Musk – NBCNews

Photo illustration/collage of Elon Musk and various tweets detailing X's violent speech policy

Elon Musk’s X is a thriving hub for Nazi support and propaganda, with paid subscribers sharing speeches by Adolf Hitler or content praising his genocidal regime.

NBC News found that at least 150 paid “Premium” subscriber X accounts and thousands of unpaid accounts have posted or amplified pro-Nazi content on X in recent months, often in apparent violation of X’s rules. The paid accounts posting the content all consistently posted antisemitic or pro-Nazi material. Examples included praise of Nazi soldiers, sharing of Nazi symbols and denials of the Holocaust.

The pro-Nazi content is not confined to the fringes of the platform. During one seven-day period in March, seven of the most widely shared pro-Nazi posts on X accrued 4.5 million views in total. One post with 1.9 million views promoted a false and long-debunked conspiracy theory that 6 million Jews did not die in the Holocaust. More than 5,300 verified and unverified accounts reshared that post, and other popular posts were reshared hundreds of times apiece.

X’s policies ban glorifying violence — a broad prohibition that X has sometimes used to take down pro-Nazi content and accounts. The rules also ban “praising violent entities” and say the platform will apply labels to hate imagery like swastikas. But NBC News found that X does not appear to be enforcing those policies consistently.

The findings are the latest evidence of a flourishing Nazi network on X under Musk’s ownership. Previous investigations by news organizations and anti-hate watchdogs have documented many examples of antisemitism, white supremacy and support for Nazism on X.

Source: Verified pro-Nazi X accounts flourish under Elon Musk

Renaissance Blossom: FOTD Apr 16

Blossom
Blossom

As with my latest Fan Of… post (see link 👇), I’m exploring some DALL-E AI preset styles for my edits.

I thought I’d try a Renaissance-style edit for today’s Blossom shot. It came out really well, so for the second, I simply got the AI to add a Renaissance-style frame. I’ve included a wee history on the Renaissance Period after the images below.

Source: Renaissance Blossom: FOTD Apr 16