Category Archives: Global Politics

The ADL warned of antisemitic harassment. Then Pittsburgh happened | Cas Mudde | Opinion | The Guardian

Responses to the three attacks have been predictable. Far-right pundits and websites claimed the pipe bombings were a “false flag” operation, continuing to spread bizarre conspiracy theories even after the suspect was arrested. Conservatives pulled out their usual “crazy person” defense, calling attack after attack an “incident”. Trump functioned, as always, as the amplifier-in-chief, initially suggesting a false flag operation with regard to the pipe bomber and calling the Pittsburgh shooter “a maniac”, before using the tragedy to call upon houses of worship to arm themselves and to openly muse about the importance of reinstating the death penalty – nationwide, I assume. Advertisement The media played its usual role, too. Don’t even try to look for the words “terror” or “terrorist”. The suspects are “attackers” or “shooters” and journalists bend over backwards to not “jump to conclusions” on their motives. Instead, they are happily speculating about their mental health, as if that would exclude the possibility of far-right terrorism.

Source: The ADL warned of antisemitic harassment. Then Pittsburgh happened | Cas Mudde | Opinion | The Guardian

Germany′s far-right Reichsbürger movement doubles in two years: government | News | DW | 27.10.2018

Far-right crime scrutinized A wider query by the Greens revealed that, as of October 15, right-wing extremists were responsible for nearly 12,000 politically motivated crimes, out of 19,508 recorded this year. The ministry added that they committed the overwhelming majority of anti-Semitic crimes, 910 out of 1,015, and anti-Islamic crimes, 463 out of 500, recorded so far this year.

Source: Germany′s far-right Reichsbürger movement doubles in two years: government | News | DW | 27.10.2018

From tweets to bombs, suspect’s rage at Trump foes escalated | Reuters – Twitter and Terror…

Two weeks ago, Sayoc threatened a former Democratic congressional spokeswoman on Twitter after her appearance on Fox News. The tweet warned her to “hug your loved ones real close every time you leave” home. The woman, Rochelle Ritchie, reported him to Twitter, but the company found he had not violated any conduct rules.

Source: From tweets to bombs, suspect’s rage at Trump foes escalated | Reuters

Trump Turns Tragedy of Migrant Caravan into Fake Terrorism Threat | La Prensa San Diego

The caravan is still thousands of miles from the U.S. but that hasn’t stopped Trump and his friends from declaring a new threat to the U.S. Without citing any evidence, and in complete contradiction of his own Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Trump this week claimed that ISIS and other terrorist groups have embedded themselves within the caravan, adding that “Middle Easterners” were mixed in among the refugees. No evidence exists to support that claim, and, when pressed for proof of his claims by a reporter, Trump finally admitted “there is no proof of anything”.

Source: Trump Turns Tragedy of Migrant Caravan into Fake Terrorism Threat | La Prensa San Diego

Debunking 5 Viral Images of the Migrant Caravan – The New York Times

Images of injured police officers went viral after being posted to right-wing Facebook groups such as Trump Train, Make America Great Again, and the Diamond and Silk Fan Page. They have also gotten thousands of retweets on Twitter. The caption on one Facebook post read, “Mexican police are being brutalized by members of this caravan as they attempt to FORCE their way into Mexico.” Several Mexican police officers, along with migrants and journalists, have been injured in caravan-related incidents, according to reports citing United States and Mexican officials. But these are old photos unrelated to the caravan. One widely shared photo, of a bloody police officer, was taken in 2012 at a student protest in Mexico, and was on the website of the European Pressphoto Agency.

Explosive Devices Found in Mail Sent to Hillary Clinton and Obama – The New York Times When hate is preached everyday – this is what we get :(

In a statement, the Secret Service said it “has intercepted two suspicious packages addressed to Secret Service protectees,” who were identified as Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama. The device addressed to Mrs. Clinton in Westchester County was found late on Tuesday by a Secret Service employee who screens mail for her, the statement said. The package addressed to Mr. Obama was intercepted by Secret Service personnel in Washington, D.C. early on Wednesday.

Postwar Spain: America’s shameful rapprochement to the Franco dictatorship | In English | EL PAÍS

Intelligence cables to which EL PAÍS has had access show that the United States asked Madrid for discretion regarding plans to quietly normalize relations between both countries

Source: Postwar Spain: America’s shameful rapprochement to the Franco dictatorship | In English | EL PAÍS

Opinion | Let’s Agree Not to Kill One Another – The New York Times

Threatening to kill or rape someone shouldn’t be banal. It should shock everyone who comes across such a threat. And that should go without saying, except that increasingly it doesn’t, not in a world where the president has said that he longed for the days when disruptive protesters were carried away from the scene “on a stretcher.” It’s perversely heartening to see that the apparent murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi seems to have temporarily interrupted business as usual. Such shock and outrage is crucial, because in a world where dissenters are dismembered, there’s no hope for change. The prospect that you’ll be killed for what you say makes discussion essentially impossible. A society in which critics fear death is a society with fewer critics, and hence with fewer chances for change.