Some interesting and positive news, for a change. Scientists have found microbes that can digest plastics in low temperature, in 15 degrees Celsius. Many found microorganisms can do the same but in higher temperature, in above 30 degrees Celsius. This new discovery could be an important breakthrough in microbial recycling.
Read the full story on The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/may/10/microbes-digest-plastics-low-temperatures-recycling
During recent months there have been a lot of disturbing news about the violent plans and fantasies of the American far right. As the trials regarding the Capitol riot have continued, over 1,000 people have been charged for their participation in the riot on the 6th of January 2021. Nearly 85% of the people who have been facing charges do not have any known connection to extremist groups. (1) 14 members of far-right group Oath Keepers and four members of another far-right group Proud Boys, including their former leader Enrique Tarrio, have been found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other felonies. The Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys were accused of planning an “all-out war” and “violent overthrow” of the US Government. (2, 3, 4, 5) One far-right extremist, who took part in the riot, allegedly wanted to “wipe out” Jewish population in the USA (6). Republican far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said in December last year that if she and Steve Bannon, ex-strategist of former president Trump, had been in charge of organizing the insurrection at the Capitol, the attack “would have been armed” and they would have won (7). During his recent campaign trip, Trump embraced and praised a woman, who is an ardent supporter of Trump and who was jailed because of her participation in the Capitol riot and who believes that the members of Congress who voted to certify Biden’s presidential election should be executed. Trump has said that if he becomes president again, he will issue full pardons and a government apology to the rioters who stormed the Capitol. (8, 9)
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has expressed some controversial comments about the political violence during the Capitol riot. In March, Carlson caused outrage by showing selected security footage from the Capitol during the riot and by trying to portray violent attackers as peaceful protesters and tourists (10). Last week it was reported that Carlson wrote in one text message (11):
“…watching video of people fighting on the street in Washington. A group of Trump guys surrounded an Antifa kid and started pounding the living shit out of him. It was three against one, at least. Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight. Yet suddenly I found myself rooting for the mob against the man, hoping they’d hit him harder, kill him. I really wanted them to hurt the kid. I could taste it. — …somewhere deep in my brain, an alarm went off: this isn’t good for me. I’m becoming something I don’t want to be. The Antifa creep is a human being. Much as I despise what he says and does, much as I’m sure I’d hate him personally if I knew him, I shouldn’t gloat over his suffering. I should be bothered by it. I should remember that somewhere somebody probably loves this kid, and would be crushed if he was killed. If I don’t care about those things, if I reduce people to their politics, how am I better than he is?”
Carlson’s text message about the video he saw reportedly caused panic among Fox’s board and top-level executives, and officials were worried that the contents of Carlson’s messages could become public and prove embarrassing for the network.
According to polls, majority of Americans are worried about political violence. Last November, week after the attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 88% of American adults were “concerned that political divisions have increased the risk of politically motivated violence” in the USA. However, supporters of the two main parties blamed each other: 66% of Democrats blamed the Republican Party for the risk of violence, and 56% of Republicans blamed the Democratic Party. (12)
Several polls have also revealed that some Americans accept political violence. According to a poll that was published in March this year, 27% of Republicans approved the Capitol riot on the 6th of January 2021 and 54% of Republicans thought that the rioters “participated in legitimate political discourse” (13). Last year, University of California published a vast survey that had quite disturbing findings. According to the survey, roughly 20% of American adults believed that political violence is justified at least in some circumstances and 3% believed that political violence is usually or always justified. Around 41% agreed with the idea that “in America, native-born white people are being replaced by immigrants” and roughly the same proportion of the respondents believed that “our American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it”. Over 12% said that they would be willing to “threaten or intimidate a person” and 10% were willing to “injure a person” in the pursuit of their political objectives. Quite shockingly, 7.1% said that they would be willing to kill a person to advance an important political goal. 50.1% of the respondents agreed with the contention that in the next few years there would be another civil war in the USA. (14)
References:
1) “1,000 people have been charged for the Capitol riot. Here’s where their cases stand” NPR 25.3.2023
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/25/1165022885/1000-defendants-january-6-capitol-riot
2) “Six Additional Oath Keepers Members and Affiliates Found Guilty of Charges Related to Capitol Breach” U.S. Department of Justice 21.3.2023
3) “Enrique Tarrio, three other Proud Boys convicted on seditious conspiracy” The Hill 4.5.2023
4) “Oath Keepers called for ‘violent overthrow’ of US government, trial hears” The Guardian 18.11.2022
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/18/oath-keepers-trial-closing-arguments-capitol-attack
5) “Proud Boys were ready for ‘all-out war’ before January 6, prosecutors argue” The Guardian 24.4.2023
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/24/proud-boys-jan-6-attack-trial-closing-arguments
6) “Military Veteran Who Allegedly Wanted To ‘Wipe Out’ Jews Convicted In Capitol Attack” Yahoo! News 7.3.2023
7) “Marjorie Taylor Greene: Capitol attack ‘would’ve been armed’ if I was in charge” The Guardian 12.12.2022
8) “Donald Trump embraces Jan. 6 defendant who wants Mike Pence executed” NBC News 28.4.2023
9) “Trump vows pardons, government apology to Capitol rioters if elected” The Washington Post 1.9.2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/01/trump-jan-6-rioters-pardon/
10) “Fox News’ Tucker Carlson distorts capitol attack footage to push pro-Trump conspiracy theories” Le Monde 8.3.2023
11) “Tucker Carlson text about ‘how white men fight’ alarmed Fox leaders before ouster: report” The Hill 3.5.2023
https://thehill.com/homenews/3985372-tucker-carlson-text-white-men-fox-leaders-before-ouster-report/
12) “Americans express broad concerns about the risk of political violence: POLL” ABC News 4.11.2022
13) “More than a quarter of Republicans approve of Capitol attack, poll shows” The Guardian 16.3.2023
14) “One in five US adults condone ‘justified’ political violence, mega-survey finds” The Guardian 20.7.2022
Mass killings in the USA seem to become an increasingly worrying problem this year. The latest mass killing took place on Friday night in Texas, where an intoxicated man shot five of his neighbors after they had complained about the noise he caused while shooting in his yard. That incident was the 17th mass killing and 174th mass shooting in the USA this year. This may be a record-breaking year for mass killings. There has been a mass killing approximately every 6.5 days, so far. (1)
Americans love guns. According to statistics, USA has by far the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world, 120.5 civilian-owned guns per 100 people. Falkland Islands has the second highest rate, 62.1 guns per 100 people. (2) About 46 % of Americans live in a household that has a gun. During the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 – March 2022) there was a noticeable increase in gun sales. 20 million guns were sold per year during 2020 and 2021 and 18 % of the American households bought a gun since the start of the pandemic. During previous years (2010 – 2019) approximately 13 million guns were sold each year. (3)
Republicans and other hardline right-wingers have defended fiercely the right to own and carry a gun and they show their love for guns. When American talk show host Bill Maher talked about political advertising in the USA, last year, he also showed how politicians like to shoot things – watch, for example, a video of Republican far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene where she shows how she would want to handle “the Democrats’ Socialist agenda.” (4) Republican far-right congresswoman Lauren Boebert insisted on bringing a gun to Capitol in January 2021, soon after the Capitol riots (5). During recent National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbying leadership forum, Republican governor Kristi Noem told to the audience that her two-year-old granddaughter has several guns (6). Republican politicians have proposed more than a dozen bills to remove gun safety laws, cut taxes for gun buyers, and offer special protections for the firearm and ammunition industries (7). 26 states in the USA allow people to carry a concealed gun without a permit and 25 states allow people to carry a gun openly without a permit (8, 9). Incidentally, most of these states are ruled by Republicans.
References:
1) “Texas man fatally shoots five neighbors after noise complaint, sheriff says” The Guardian 29.4.2023
2) “Gun Ownership by Country 2023” World Population Review
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-ownership-by-country
3) “One in Five American Households Purchased a Gun During the Pandemic” NORC 24.3.2022
4) “New Rule: The United States of Dumb-merica” Real Time with Bill Maher 4.6.2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dMOfwUP0F0
5) “Boebert Clashes With Capitol Police After Setting Off Metal Detectors” CPR News 12.1.2021
6) “South Dakota governor says her two-year-old grandchild has several guns” The Guardian 15.4.2023
7) “The GOP’s extreme bills: Repeal gun safety laws” The American Independent 20.3.2023
https://americanindependent.com/gop-extreme-bills-repeal-gun-safety-laws/
8) “Which States Allow The Permitless Carry Of Guns? [Infographic]” Forbes 6.4.2023
9) “Florida becomes 26th state to allow permitless carry of concealed guns” Axios 3.4.2023
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published its State of Global Climate 2022 report today. According to the report, record levels of greenhouse gases have caused “planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere.” The report also shows that the past eight years have been the hottest ever recorded on Earth.
Read the full story on Al Jazeera:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/21/off-the-charts-un-report-highlights-rapid-climate-breakdown
Political expert Marco Carnelos wrote in January that year 2022 will probably be seen as “a watershed, when the world began its tectonic shift from a post-Cold War unipolar order to a still undefined and uncertain multipolar one.” The conflict in Ukraine has led to a situation where “Global West and Global Rest” are “on two different tracks regarding the conflict and other global issues” and the “Western-centric perceptions of world events have been utterly dismissed for the first time.” Carnelos referred to a foreign minister from one of the BRICS countries who said that “the problems of Europe and the US are no longer the problems of the whole world.” Carnelos also pointed out that BRICS – economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has become increasingly popular. Many traditional allies or partners of the USA, for example Saudi Arabia and Turkey, are keen to join BRICS. (1) BRICS will decide this year whether it will admit new members to the bloc (2).
The current BRICS countries have also been talking about their developing cooperation. A little while ago, a delegation from the South Africa’s ruling party ANC visited United Russia Party in order to discuss “recalibration of the global order” (3). Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in January that BRICS countries will discuss creating a common currency at the group’s summit in South Africa in August (4). During his recent visit to China, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the dominance of US dollar in world trade and suggested that developing nations should use alternative currency (5). Brazil and China agreed to boost their economic and other cooperation. The relations between Brazil and China were strained when Brazilian far-right president Bolsonaro was in power (6). Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also visiting Brazil – this and President Lula da Silva’s visit to China are part of diplomatic reset and Lula’s determination to recover Brazil’s international reputation after Bolsonaro’s disastrous presidential term. Lula also wants to take actively part in international politics and he would like Brazil to be involved in peace brokering in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. (7)
References:
1) “US-China: How 2022 saw the old world order start to crumble” Middle East Eye 19.1.2023
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/us-china-old-world-order-crumble-how
2) “BRICS discussing decision on Saudi Arabia, Iran memberships this year” Middle East Monitor 16.2.2023
3) “S.Africa party officials in Russia for talks on new ‘global order'” A News 2.4.2023
4) “Russian FM says BRICS group to consider common currency” Anadolu Agency 25.1.2023
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/russian-fm-says-brics-group-to-consider-common-currency/2797085#
5) “Lula Advocates From China For De-dollarization In World Trade” TeleSUR 13.4.2023
6) “Lula and Xi pledge to boost ties in Beijing meeting” Al Jazeera 14.4.2023
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/14/lula-and-xi-pledge-to-boost-ties-in-beijing-meeting
7) “Lavrov’s Brazil visit highlights Lula’s neutral foreign policy despite US dismay” The Guardian 17.4.2023
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/17/brazil-lula-neutral-foreign-policy-lavrov-visit
Last week, Finland became the latest country to join NATO. However, Finland also became the latest country in Europe where far-right party surged in elections. Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) nearly won the elections and received 20% of the votes. Support of far-right and right-wing populist parties has remained strong in Europe and far-right parties have become part of mainstream politics, so it is possible that Finns Party will be part of the new Finnish government – the former version of the Finns Party was part of Finnish coalition government during years 2015-2017. (1, 2, 3).
Here is a list of support of some far-right parties in European countries. Most of the parties in the list are considered to be far-right parties, for example Belgian party Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang) or Spanish party Vox. Some parties are considered to be hardline right-wing populist and/or nationalist parties bordering on far-right, for example Polish party Law and Justice and Hungarian party Fidesz – these two ruling parties have caused conflict with the European Union because of their breaches of the rule of law in their countries and they have also been trying to unite the hardline nationalist and far-right parties in Europe (7).
Austria Freedom Party of Austria FPÖ 28%
Belgium Flemish Interest / Vlaams Belang 24%
Bulgaria Revival 14%
Croatia Homeland Movement DPMŠ 9%
Cyprus National Popular Front ELAM 7%
Czech Republic Freedom and Direct Democracy SPD 9%
Denmark Denmark Democrats DD 9% Danish People’s Party DF 4%
Estonia Conservative People’s Party of Estonia EKRE 17%
Finland Finns Party PS 20%
France* National Rally RN 20% Reconquest REC 5%
Germany Alternative for Germany AfD 15%
Greece* National Party – Greeks EKE 3.9%
Hungary Fidesz 50% Our Home Movement MH 10%
Italy Brothers of Italy Fdl 29% Lega 9%
Netherlands Party for Freedom PVV 9 % Forum for Democracy FvD 5%
Poland Law and Justice/United Right ZP 36% Confederation Freedom and Independence 9% Kukiz’15 2%
Portugal Enough / Chega 13%
Romania Alliance for the Unity of Romanians AUR 18%
Slovakia Republic REP 9% People’s Party – Our Slovakia L´SNS 2%
Slovenia Slovenian National Party SNS 2%
Spain Vox 15%
Sweden Sweden Democrats SD 18%
(Polling information was taken from Politico’s Poll of Polls or PolitPro* website, some information about the political parties is also from Europe Elects website, 4, 5, 6)
The situation in Europe, and in the West in general, is similar to the 1930’s. The far right has been getting stronger. Last December, after the arrests of the members of the Reichsbürger movement in Germany, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the “biggest threat of terrorism” is posed by far-right and white supremacist groups in the West (8). However, there seem to be two far-right trends that are sometimes intertwined. First of all, support for the older ethno-nationalist, racist and antisemitic far right seems to have increased. Some far-right parties, for example German party Alternative for Germany (AfD), have veered further to the right (9). There are also new openly fascist parties with connections to neo-Nazis, for example Blue-and-Black Movement (Sinimusta Liike) in Finland and National Party – Greeks (EKE) in Greece (10, 11).
The second trend is the Jewish and pro-Israel far right. This trend seems to be particularly strong within the American-Israeli alliance. I will write more about the developments in the American-Israeli alliance separately, but USA and Israel have also been operating actively with the far right in Europe. Professor Cas Mudde wrote in 2021 that there are “at least four major strands of far-right international networks” in which the American conservative movement, including the Republican Party, participates. The first far-right strand is the global Christian right. The second strand is the “national conservativism” movement that was developed by Israeli think-tanker Yoram Hazony. The third strand is the long-standing connection between some Republicans and European far-right parties – this connection is built on “a shared ideological core of nativism, authoritarianism and populism.” The fourth strand is the conservative far-right network in the Spanish-speaking world that has been built by Spanish far-right party Vox. (12) Some American far-right projects in Europe haven’t gone according to plan. Steve Bannon, ex-adviser of former president Trump, tried to bring the European far-right parties to his anti-EU organization The Movement, but he failed. Bannon also failed to establish “academy for the Judeo-Christian West” that was supposed to train right-wing “gladiators” in Italy. (13, 14)
Jewish far right found common ground with the wider Western far right when the Islamophobic counterjihad movement became stronger over 20 years ago. Many key persons in the counterjihad movement have been Jewish, for example American far-right writers Pamela Geller and David Horowitz as well as neoconservative Daniel Pipes and Austrian-Israeli Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld. Egyptian-born Jewish writer Gisèle Littman alias Bat Ye’or started to use the term “Eurabia” and created Islamophobic conspiracy theory that inspired numerous members of the counterjihad movement and other far right, including Anders Breivik who killed over 70 people in Norway in 2011. Some prominent members of the counterjihad movement have also been ardent friends of Israel, for example American far-right blogger Kenneth Sikorski who wrote his blog Tundra Tabloids in Finland and Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders whose Party for Freedom PVV has had quite strong support in the Netherlands. (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
Some Jewish politicians have joined European far-right parties. When The Times of Israel interviewed some of them in 2017, two of their unifying traits were their anti-Muslim attitude and support for Israel. French far-right party National Rally has attracted some politicians who have Jewish roots, for example Louis Aliot and David Rachline, who are currently vice presidents of the party, and Michel Tooris who was interviewed by The Times of Israel. (20, 21) In December 2021, French Jewish far-right media personality and presidential candidate Eric Zemmour decided to establish his own far-right party Reconquest. Reuters reported that the name of the party “evokes the historic period known as the Reconquista, when Christian forces drove Muslim rulers from the Iberian peninsula.” (22) Incidentally, Santiago Abascal, leader of the Spanish far-right party Vox, has used the term “Reconquista” in his political campaigns (23). During the French presidential elections last year, 53% of the voters based in Israel, who were eligible to vote in those elections and voted, voted for Zemmour (24, 25). André Ventura, who is dubbed the “Zemmour” of the Portuguese politics, is the leader of the new far-right party Chega that has gained popularity quite quickly. Ventura announced a little while ago that Chega will organize “far-right world summit” in Portugal next month. (26, 27, 28)
Israel and particularly Benjamin Netanyahu and his party Likud have been developing cooperation with European far-right parties a long time. Likud has invited several European far-right leaders to Israel. One reason for this has been their common opposition of Islamism. Israel has also looked for allies against any criticism against Israel in the European Union. Last month, Israeli foreign minister Cohen asked his Italian counterpart “to work to prevent European involvement in Israel’s domestic matters and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” after the foreign policy chief of the European Union had criticized Israel’s actions. (29, 30) New Israeli far-right coalition government has also sought advice from the Polish government regarding their judicial overhaul (31). Italian far-right government and Israel agreed to deepen their strategic and other cooperation, last month (32). There have also been strong supporters of Israel in the Spanish far-right party Vox. The strategist of Vox, Rafael Bardají, who has also been called “Darth Vader” of the party, has been one of the leading neoconservatives in Spain and long-time supporter of Israel. Last November, Bardají criticized President Biden and American “wokeism” and he believed that Netanyahu would be better and stronger Western leader. (33, 34, 35, 36)
References:
1) “Finland’s centre-right party claims win amid tight election” Euronews 3.4.2023
2) “What the recent wins for far-right parties in Europe could mean for the region” NPR 1.10.2022
3) The first Finns Party in the Finnish coalition government 2015-2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipilä_Cabinet
4) Politico’s Poll of Polls: https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/
5) PolitPro: https://politpro.eu/en
6) Europe Elects: https://europeelects.eu/european-union/
7) “The game is not over: Fidesz, Law and Justice, and far-right cooperation in the EU” European Council on Foreign Relations 27.5.2022
8) “UN chief says ‘biggest terror threat’ is white supremacy in West” Middle East Eye 20.12.2022
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-chief-says-white-supremacy-west-biggest-terror-threat
9) “Far-right AfD chief Jörg Meuthen quits party” EURACTIV 28.1.2022
10) “Openly fascist and racist party has set its sights on parliamentary elections” Helsinki Times 15.12.2022
11) “Greek neo-Nazis seek ‘loopholes’ to run in elections” EURACTIV 6.4.2023
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/greek-neo-nazis-seek-loopholes-to-run-in-elections/
12) “Surprised to see US Republicans cozying up to the European far right? Don’t be” The Guardian 15.10.2021
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/15/us-republicans-european-far-right
13) “Steve Bannon’s effort to export his fiery popularism to Europe is failing” Reuters 2.9.2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-bannon-europe-idUSKBN25T1NZ
14) “Steve Bannon’s right-wing ‘gladiator school’ booted from Italian monastery” Business Insider 8.9.2021
15) Counterjihad in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-jihad
16) Counterjihad in Powerbase: https://powerbase.info/index.php/Counterjihad_movement
17) “The myth of Eurabia: how a far-right conspiracy theory went mainstream” The Guardian 16.8.2019
18) “Controversy at London seminar on antisemitism” Islamophobia Watch 6.12.2012
https://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/controversy-at-london-seminar-on-antisemitism/
19) “Europe’s Most Provocative Far-right Politician Is Looking to Israel for Answers” Haaretz 11.12.2020
20) “Why these 5 European Jews are promoting far-right parties” The Times of Israel 31.3.2017
https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-these-5-european-jews-are-promoting-far-right-parties/
21) National Rally in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rally
22) “Far-right French presidential hopeful promises ‘reconquest’ at rally” Reuters 6.12.2021
23) “El “patinazo” histórico de Vox: Abascal presume de liderar la Reconquista con un casco de otra época” El Español 7.3.2019
24) “L’abstention et Eric Zemmour, gagnants du premier tour parmi les Français d’Israël” The Times of Israel 13.4.2022
25) “Over half of French voters in Israel pick far-right Zemmour for president” The New Arab 12.4.2022
https://www.newarab.com/news/over-half-french-voters-israel-pick-far-right-zemmour
26) “Portugal’s abrasive far-right leader tipped for surprise poll gain” Yahoo! News 28.1.2022
27) “Portugal : les raisons de la percée d’André Ventura, le Zemmour portugais” L’Express 1.2.2022
28) “Portugal party Chega sets far-right world summit with Brazil’s Bolsonaro, Italy’s Salvini” Yahoo! News 7.4.2023
https://sports.yahoo.com/portugal-party-chega-sets-far-194017141.html
29) “Netanyahu’s flirtation with the far right” Le Monde Diplomatique 12.10.2018
https://mondediplo.com/outsidein/netanyahu-s-flirtation-with-the-far-right
30) “FM Cohen accuses EU foreign policy chief of equating Israeli terror victims with terrorists” The Times of Israel 14.3.2023
31) “Polish deputy FM: Israel consulted with us on overhauling judiciary” The Times of Israel 27.3.2023
https://www.timesofisrael.com/polish-deputy-fm-israel-consulted-with-us-on-overhauling-judiciary/
32) “Foreign policy and defence: Italy and Israel deepen strategic ties” Decode 39 13.3.2023
https://decode39.com/6126/foreign-policy-defence-italy-israel-strategic-ties/
33) “Bannon sets his eyes on Spain” European Council on Foreign Relations 24.10.2018
https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_bannon_sets_his_eyes_on_spain/
34) Information about Rafael Bardají: https://octavianreport.com/contributor/rafael-bardaji/
35) “El ‘Darth Vader’ de Vox se queda sin sitio en el nuevo equipo de Abascal” El Plural 23.2.2020
https://www.elplural.com/politica/espana/darth-vader-vox-queda-sitio-equipo-abascal_233825102
36) “Israel: The Last Option for the West” Middle East Forum 3.11.2022
https://www.meforum.org/63771/israel-the-last-option-for-the-west
German far-right Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement has made headlines during recent months. In December last year, German police raided several places across the country and arrested over 20 people, who were planning to overthrow the government and violently storm the German parliament building Reichstag. Couple of members of the plot were arrested in Austria and Italy. The arrested people had strong links to the Reichsbürger movement and the QAnon conspiracy theories. One arrested person was a former MP for the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). (1) In January this year, five Germans were charged with treason over an another alleged far-right plot to overthrow the German government. The beliefs of the group were very similar to the Reichsbürger movement. (2) Last week, a German police officer was shot and wounded during raids in an operation that was related to investigations regarding the Reichsbürger movement (3).
The Reichsbürger movement consists of small groups and individuals who live in different parts of Germany. Members of the movement support various beliefs, for example that modern Germany is not a sovereign state and should therefore not be considered to be a legitimate form of government. Some supporters of the movement believe that the German Empire of 1871 still exists, some others want to bring back Hitler’s Third Reich. Many members of the movement support right-wing, populist, antisemitic and Nazi ideologies. According to German government data, there are about 23,000 members in the Reichsbürger movement and 1,250 of those are part of the right-wing extremist scene. Around 400 members of the movement own weapons and around 2,300 members are considered to be prone to violence. It is also concerning that a significant number of the movement’s members are thought to be current or former soldiers who are highly trained and some of them legally possess firearms. (4)
German journalist Tobias Ginsburg, who has reported on Germany’s far-right scene, considers the Reichsbürger movement to be “extremely dangerous” and he is worried that the movement’s ideology can spread. He also pointed out that you can find similar thinking in the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party. (4) Jörg Meuthen, who was longest-serving leader of the AfD, left the party last year because according to him the party is becoming too far-right. He said, “The heart of the party today beats very far to the right, and at an elevated rate. I do see quite totalitarian echoes here.” (5) German terrorism experts have warned that a combination of the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Europe’s energy crisis has made the situation in the country more worrisome. After the members of the far-right coup plot were arrested, last year, professor Peter Neumann estimated, “We’re going to see more events like this. A well-connected swamp has emerged from the protests against the coronavirus pandemic policies and now this scene has been radicalized.” (6)
References:
1) “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state” The Guardian 7.12.2022
2) “Five charged over second alleged far-right plot against German government” The Guardian 23.1.2023
3) “German officer shot during raids targeting Reichsbürger movement” The Guardian 22.3.2023
4) “The far out, far-right plot that Germany is still trying to unravel” CNN 25.3.2023
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/25/europe/germany-reichsbuerger-movement-explainer-intl/index.html
5) “Far-right AfD chief Jörg Meuthen quits party” EURACTIV 28.1.2022
6) “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown” Politico 8.12.2022
Recently there have been some good and bad news regarding world oceans. At the beginning of this month member states of the United Nations finally agreed on a treaty to protect international waters (1). According to a recent study there is a “growing plastic smog” of more than 170 trillion particles floating in the world’s oceans – there has been a “rapid increase” of plastic particles in the oceans since 2005 (2). A new research stated that rapidly melting ice in the Antarctic “is dramatically slowing down the flow of water through the world’s oceans and could have a disastrous effect on global climate, the marine food chain, and even the stability of ice shelves” (3).
Read the full stories:
1) “High seas treaty: historic deal to protect international waters finally reached at UN” The Guardian 5.3.2023
2) “Study shows ‘a growing plastic smog’ in the ocean of 171 trillion particles” The Hill 9.3.2023
3) “Rapidly melting Antarctic ice could affect oceans ‘for centuries’” Al Jazeera 30.3.2023
The United Nations has adopted a historic resolution that should make it easier to hold polluting countries legally accountable when they fail to tackle the climate emergency. The resolution was co-sponsored by more than 120 countries, including the UK, but not the USA.
Read the full story on The Guardian:
During recent months there have been a lot of worrying news about British police forces. Recent report about the Metropolitan Police stated that it is “broken and rotten, suffering collapsing public trust and is guilty of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia” (1). There have been some disturbing cases where a police officer has used his position to prey on women. Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021 (2). Elite Metropolitan police officer David Garrick carried out 85 serious offences, including 48 rapes, against women over a period of 17 years (3). According to data from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) more than 1,500 police officers have been accused of violent offences against women and girls over a period of six months, between October 2021 and April 2022, but less than 1% of those have been sacked (4). Data from the the Police Federation, the staff association for police officers, revealed that approximately one in 100 police officers in England and Wales faced criminal charges, including for sexual offences, last year. The number of officers facing criminal charges has skyrocketed by 590% since 2012. (5)
References:
1) “Met police found to be institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic” The Guardian 21.3.2023
2) “Police ‘could have saved Sarah Everard,’ says victim – as killer cop Wayne Couzens sentenced for flashing” LBC 6.3.2023
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/wayne-couzens-sentenced-indecent-exposure/
3) “Elite Metropolitan police officer David Carrick revealed as serial rapist” The Guardian 16.1.2023
4) “More than 1,500 UK police officers accused of violence against women in six months” The Guardian 14.3.2023
5) “Revealed: one in 100 police officers in England and Wales faced a criminal charge last year” The Guardian 25.2.2023
IDIS Observer 