Random International Posts

[LFC]

GAG! That is all.

Since last December, more than 9,000 airline passengers who took a coronavirus rapid test as they flew out of Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, Indonesia, may have been tested by having previously used cotton swabs jammed into their noses.

Medan police arrested four workers and a local manager of the major pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma, which was working in conjunction with the airport to help perform the tests. The Medan-based Kimia Farma employees were allegedly washing and repacking cotton swabs for the tests while pocketing up to 1.8 billion rupiah (~$125,000), local police said.

[LFC]

The FBI orchestrated a massive international sting. With all the people and all the nations involved how they hell did they ever keep a lid on this for something like two years? The arrests took place over two days. I suspect information was held VERY closely until the last minute.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation created a company that sold encrypted devices to hundreds of organized crime syndicates, resulting in 800 arrests in 16 countries, law-enforcement authorities announced today. The FBI and agencies in other countries intercepted 27 million messages over 18 months before making the arrests in recent days, and more arrests are planned.

The FBI teamed up with Australian Federal Police to target drug trafficking and money laundering. They "strategically developed and covertly operated an encrypted device company, called ANOM, which grew to service more than 12,000 encrypted devices to over 300 criminal syndicates operating in more than 100 countries, including Italian organized crime, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and international drug trafficking organizations," Europol said today.

Distribution of the devices began in October 2018. The cellphones sold by the FBI-run company were "procured on the black market" and "performed a single function hidden behind a calculator app: sending encrypted messages and photos," The New York Times wrote today. The cellphones were "stripped of all normal functions," with the faux calculator being the only working app. Once users entered a code, they could use the app to send messages that they thought were protected by end-to-end encryption.

"For years, organized crime figures around the globe relied on the devices to orchestrate international drug shipments, coordinate the trafficking of arms and explosives, and discuss contract killings, law enforcement officials said," the Times wrote. "Users trusted the devices' security so much that they often laid out their plans not in code, but in plain language."

Unbeknownst to users, messages were routed to an FBI-owned server and decrypted with a master key controlled by the FBI.

Here are more details on the operation from Europol's announcement:

The goal of the new platform was to target global organized crime, drug trafficking, and money laundering organizations, regardless of where they operated, and offer an encrypted device with features sought by the organized crime networks, such as remote wipe and duress passwords, to persuade criminal networks to pivot to the device.

The FBI and the 16 other countries of the international coalition, supported by Europol and in coordination with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, then exploited the intelligence from the 27 million messages obtained and reviewed them over 18 months while Anom's criminal users discussed their criminal activities.

This culminated in a "series of large-scale law enforcement actions [that] were executed over the past days across 16 countries resulting in more than 700 house searches, more than 800 arrests and the seizure of over 8 tons of cocaine, 22 tons of cannabis and cannabis resin, 2 tons of synthetic drugs (amphetamine and methamphetamine), 6 tons of synthetic drugs precursors, 250 firearms, 55 luxury vehicles and over $48 million in various worldwide currencies and cryptocurrencies," Europol wrote. "Countless spin-off operations will be carried out in the weeks to come."

[LFC]

"Havana Syndrome" is still going on. I suspect Putin is behind this.

There’s been a fresh wave of American officials suffering from possible symptoms of creepy directed-energy attacks. According to NBC News, as many as 200 Americans have now reported suffering from symptoms consistent with what is now known as “Havana syndrome,” with around half of those cases involving CIA officers and their families. The mysterious neurological symptoms were first experienced by U.S. diplomats in Cuba, hence the name, and some scientists believe they could be intentionally caused by microwave pulse weapons. NBC News reports that there has been a spike in cases in recent weeks, with one unnamed person briefed on the incidents commenting: “It is global—but there seems to be an awful lot going on in Europe.” One official was reportedly removed from their post in Germany in recent months after suffering from the symptoms, and multiple Americans, including one baby, are said to have suffered from the symptoms in Kyrgyzstan.

[LFC]

Awesome. An excellent system to track ships all over the world, important in collision avoidance and emergency response, is being f***ed with.

On September 17 last year, the largest ship in the UK's Royal Navy, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, steamed majestically towards the Irish Sea. The 283-meter-long fleet flagship was flanked by an escort of destroyers and smaller ships from the UK, Dutch, and Belgian navies. The six vessels moving in close formation would have made an awe-inspiring spectacle—if they had actually been there.

In fact, satellite imagery of their supposed locations shows nothing but deep blue sea, and news reports suggest the warships were actually scattered in distant ports at the time. The Queen Elizabeth and its flotilla were previously unreported victims of a disturbing trend: warships having their positions—and even entire voyages—faked using the automatic identification system, a wireless radio technology designed to prevent collisions at sea.

According to analysis conducted by conservation technology nonprofit SkyTruth and Global Fishing Watch, over 100 warships from at least 14 European countries, Russia, and the US appear to have had their locations faked, sometimes for days at a time, since August 2020. Some of these tracks show the warships approaching foreign naval bases or intruding into disputed waters, activities that could escalate tension in hot spots like the Black Sea and the Baltic. Only a few of these fake tracks have previously been reported, and all share characteristics that suggest a common perpetrator.

[LFC]

McChrystal: ‘Impossible to Argue’ War on Terror Was Worth It

[LFC]

Belarus has Europe by the oil taps. The only force that would push against it might be Russia who really doesn't want to see their oil revenues dry up but instead they seem to be backing the dictator, possibly just to flex their oil muscle. With this kind of instability is it any wonder that many European nations are pushing harder than us towards renewables? It doesn't take many threats of winter blackmail to make energy independence a high priority goal.

A day after the European Union paved the way for fresh sanctions against Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko lobbed a new threat at the bloc, threatening to shut down Russian natural gas flowing into Europe.

The increasingly rogue leader made the comments Thursday after the EU accused him of waging a “hybrid attack” by encouraging thousands of migrants to cross into Europe at the Polish border.

“We are heating Europe. They are still threatening us that they will close the border. And if we shut off natural gas there?” state news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying. “Therefore, I would recommend that the Polish leadership, Lithuanians, and other headless people think before speaking.”

Cutting the vital supply of Russian gas just as Europe braces for winter amid skyrocketing prices in the volatile European natural-gas market is seen as a dangerous threat, judging by the initial reaction from EU sources.

The EU on Wednesday threatened sanctions on a number of airlines, including Russian carrier Aeroflot, for transporting migrants to the Polish border with the promise they could cross into Europe. This week, Russian warplanes were spotted performing a joint mission over Belarus airspace to underscore the Kremlin’s support for Lukashenko. The Kremlin released video of the maneuvers by two long-range Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 supersonic strike bombers, which they said were practicing “issues of interaction with ground control points” with armed forces of Belarus.

[AnBr]

A full transition to renewables completely rewrites global politics. It is a shame that our government is too full of knuckle draggers to see the huge advantages and opportunities that await us. GOP delenda est.

[LFC]

Another indication that the fascism isn't just marching goose stepping forward in America. The already autocratic countries are punishing the press.

More journalists are behind bars for their work globally than ever before, with repressive regimes from Asia to Europe leading an unprecedented crackdown on press freedoms, the media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has warned in a new report.

A staggering 488 journalists and media workers, including 60 women, are currently in prison -- the highest number since the RSF's first annual report in 1995. The group found that an additional 65 journalists are being held hostage.

RSF said the "exceptional surge" in arbitrary detentions was the work of dictatorial regimes in three countries: Myanmar, where the military overthrew the government in a coup in February, Belarus, which has seen a stifling of opposition voices since the disputed re-election of longtime President Alexander Lukashenko in August, and China, which has been tightening its grip on Hong Kong since promulgating a national security law there in 2020.

"It is a reflection of the reinforcement of dictatorial power worldwide, an accumulation of crises, and the lack of any scruples on the part of these regimes," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

"It may also be the result of new geopolitical power relationships in which authoritarian regimes are not being subjected to enough pressure to curb their crackdowns," Deloire added.

[LFC]

The center-right is dead in a number of nations, not just the U.S. They can either move left, move right, or fade into political irrelevance. There appears to be no coming back as a force in their own right.

Many anti-Trump Republicans long for the day when they can retake their party and expel the populist deviations from orthodoxy that vex them so. Evidence from around the world shows this is a pipe dream.
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The same fissures in the old conservative coalition that plague the GOP appear in virtually every other modern democracy. Nationalist and populist parties have grown dramatically in the past decade, often gaining near parity with incumbent center-right parties. Urban and suburban moderate voters, meanwhile, have often swung to classically liberal or green parties that are comfortable aligning with left-wing governments.

We can see this clearly in European polls and recent election results. Scandinavian polls show national populist parties obtaining between 11 and 19 percent of the vote. EKRE, Estonia’s populist incarnation, now leads that nation’s polls with 22 percent, while the Flemish separatist and anti-immigrant Vlaams Belang leads Belgian surveys. National populist parties in Austria and Spain are polling in the high-teens, and a trio of nationalist parties garnered nearly a quarter of Dutch voters in recent surveys. No center-right coalition can emerge without these parties’ involvement.

Center-right parties that reject that option must invariably form governments with centrists or even their traditional center-left opponents. The incoming four-party Dutch government will include Democrats 66, a center-left party. This means the new coalition agreement includes substantial spending increases for education and climate change, leading ING bank to declare it was “a farewell to Dutch frugality.” Austria’s conservatives govern with the Greens, resulting in a budget with tax cuts for business and working-class voters balanced by increases in carbon taxes to battle climate change. These parties, like many in the moderate and business wings of the GOP, would prefer to swing to the center economically rather than swing right on cultural issues to placate populists.

That choice may seem unpalatable to many, but a failure to choose between the options is impossible. Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union tried to do that in the country’s recent election, choosing a lackluster centrist, Armin Laschet, as its candidate for chancellor rather than swinging right to recapture conservatives attracted to the populist Alternative for Germany, known by its German initials AfD. The CDU crashed to its worst-ever showing, winning only 24 percent. Moderate former CDU voters moved to the Greens or the classical liberal Free Democrats, each of which gained votes, while conservatives either stuck with AfD or supported one of three right-wing populist parties that did not get enough votes to enter parliament. The new German government is a coalition between the Social Democrats, Greens and the FDP, while the CDU has belatedly selected Laschet’s prior opponent, conservative Friedrich Merz, as its new leader.

[Bact PhD]

Dec 23, 2021 18:01:29 GMT LFC said:

The center-right is dead in a number of nations, not just the U.S. They can either move left, move right, or fade into political irrelevance. There appears to be no coming back as a force in their own right.

Many anti-Trump Republicans long for the day when they can retake their party and expel the populist deviations from orthodoxy that vex them so. Evidence from around the world shows this is a pipe dream.
Opinions to start the day, in your inbox. Sign up.

The same fissures in the old conservative coalition that plague the GOP appear in virtually every other modern democracy. Nationalist and populist parties have grown dramatically in the past decade, often gaining near parity with incumbent center-right parties. Urban and suburban moderate voters, meanwhile, have often swung to classically liberal or green parties that are comfortable aligning with left-wing governments.

We can see this clearly in European polls and recent election results. Scandinavian polls show national populist parties obtaining between 11 and 19 percent of the vote. EKRE, Estonia’s populist incarnation, now leads that nation’s polls with 22 percent, while the Flemish separatist and anti-immigrant Vlaams Belang leads Belgian surveys. National populist parties in Austria and Spain are polling in the high-teens, and a trio of nationalist parties garnered nearly a quarter of Dutch voters in recent surveys. No center-right coalition can emerge without these parties’ involvement.

Center-right parties that reject that option must invariably form governments with centrists or even their traditional center-left opponents. The incoming four-party Dutch government will include Democrats 66, a center-left party. This means the new coalition agreement includes substantial spending increases for education and climate change, leading ING bank to declare it was “a farewell to Dutch frugality.” Austria’s conservatives govern with the Greens, resulting in a budget with tax cuts for business and working-class voters balanced by increases in carbon taxes to battle climate change. These parties, like many in the moderate and business wings of the GOP, would prefer to swing to the center economically rather than swing right on cultural issues to placate populists.

That choice may seem unpalatable to many, but a failure to choose between the options is impossible. Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union tried to do that in the country’s recent election, choosing a lackluster centrist, Armin Laschet, as its candidate for chancellor rather than swinging right to recapture conservatives attracted to the populist Alternative for Germany, known by its German initials AfD. The CDU crashed to its worst-ever showing, winning only 24 percent. Moderate former CDU voters moved to the Greens or the classical liberal Free Democrats, each of which gained votes, while conservatives either stuck with AfD or supported one of three right-wing populist parties that did not get enough votes to enter parliament. The new German government is a coalition between the Social Democrats, Greens and the FDP, while the CDU has belatedly selected Laschet’s prior opponent, conservative Friedrich Merz, as its new leader.

Saw that Atlantic piece. Sad, but true…at least within the lifetimes of most of us regulars. Perhaps somewhere about the time our children hit the vicinity of “traditional retirement age” there will be some sort of realignment.

[LFC]

The IOC ends up with another black eye. Russia? Well, we just expect it at this point though they're hardly alone (*cough* Armstrong *cough, cough*) in their cheating.

The young Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva did indeed test positive for a banned heart drug, it was confirmed Friday.

But—in news that prompted a wave of sympathy for the 15-year-old skating sensation—it emerged that her doping sample sat in a Swedish laboratory for six weeks and was only finally analyzed the day after she led Russia to victory in the team event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

That revelation makes a mockery of IOC claims to be tackling doping properly, and calls into question the decision to let Russian athletes compete at the Olympics despite proven state-sponsored doping. And it led to a warning from the head of the U.S. anti-doping agency that U.S. prosecutors might directly target Russian individuals involved in the skater’s case if they are not held to account.

According to a detailed statement this morning from the International Testing Agency (ITA), Valieva was subject to a doping control on Dec. 25 during the Russian figure skating championships in St Petersburg.

A fortnight later she won gold on her European Championships debut in Estonia, earning herself a spot on the Russian Olympic team. The Dec. 25 sample, which had been sent to an internationally accredited laboratory in Stockholm, had still not been tested.

On Monday, Valieva became the first woman to land quad jumps in Olympic competition as she led the Russians to team gold in the opening event in Beijing with a performance that marked her out as the sport's brightest new star.

Next day, however, as the Russians prepared to collect their gold medals, news finally reached Beijing she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, which is usually used to treat angina but can be used to improve blood flow and boost endurance.

According to the timeline given by the ITA, Talieva was provisionally suspended by the Russian anti-doping agency that same day. The suspension was lifted on appeal on Wednesday by a Russian disciplinary panel, allowing her to resume training in Beijing yesterday.

Now that decision is itself being challenged by the International Olympic Committee, which is appealing at the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport for her to be barred from next week’s individual figure skating competition. The Russians could have their team medal stripped from them and it handed to their American rivals—although they insist it was won fairly.

Confirmation of the failed drugs test comes as a huge blow for the IOC, which was much criticized for allowing Russian athletes to compete at last year’s Tokyo Summer Games and in Beijing despite Russia itself being banned from international events because of systematic doping.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 11, 2022 21:22:20 GMT LFC said:

The IOC ends up with another black eye. Russia? Well, we just expect it at this point though they're hardly alone (*cough* Armstrong *cough, cough*) in their cheating.

The young Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva did indeed test positive for a banned heart drug, it was confirmed Friday.

But—in news that prompted a wave of sympathy for the 15-year-old skating sensation—it emerged that her doping sample sat in a Swedish laboratory for six weeks and was only finally analyzed the day after she led Russia to victory in the team event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

That revelation makes a mockery of IOC claims to be tackling doping properly, and calls into question the decision to let Russian athletes compete at the Olympics despite proven state-sponsored doping. And it led to a warning from the head of the U.S. anti-doping agency that U.S. prosecutors might directly target Russian individuals involved in the skater’s case if they are not held to account.

According to a detailed statement this morning from the International Testing Agency (ITA), Valieva was subject to a doping control on Dec. 25 during the Russian figure skating championships in St Petersburg.

A fortnight later she won gold on her European Championships debut in Estonia, earning herself a spot on the Russian Olympic team. The Dec. 25 sample, which had been sent to an internationally accredited laboratory in Stockholm, had still not been tested.

On Monday, Valieva became the first woman to land quad jumps in Olympic competition as she led the Russians to team gold in the opening event in Beijing with a performance that marked her out as the sport's brightest new star.

Next day, however, as the Russians prepared to collect their gold medals, news finally reached Beijing she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, which is usually used to treat angina but can be used to improve blood flow and boost endurance.

According to the timeline given by the ITA, Talieva was provisionally suspended by the Russian anti-doping agency that same day. The suspension was lifted on appeal on Wednesday by a Russian disciplinary panel, allowing her to resume training in Beijing yesterday.

Now that decision is itself being challenged by the International Olympic Committee, which is appealing at the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport for her to be barred from next week’s individual figure skating competition. The Russians could have their team medal stripped from them and it handed to their American rivals—although they insist it was won fairly.

Confirmation of the failed drugs test comes as a huge blow for the IOC, which was much criticized for allowing Russian athletes to compete at last year’s Tokyo Summer Games and in Beijing despite Russia itself being banned from international events because of systematic doping.

That girl had beautiful technique. She doesn't need umpteen quads to be a fantastic skater. The skating world, like the female gymnastics world has a lot to answer for.

[LFC]

Feb 11, 2022 22:14:53 GMT goldenvalley said:

That girl had beautiful technique. She doesn't need umpteen quads to be a fantastic skater. The skating world, like the female gymnastics world has a lot to answer for.

Sounds like the doping was for stamina rather than muscle.

[AnBr]

That was my impression, too.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 11, 2022 23:57:30 GMT LFC said:

Feb 11, 2022 22:14:53 GMT goldenvalley said:

That girl had beautiful technique. She doesn't need umpteen quads to be a fantastic skater. The skating world, like the female gymnastics world has a lot to answer for.

Sounds like the doping was for stamina rather than muscle.

Those quads take a lot of energy.  I learned from my daughter's choreography that you have to build in some breathing space between the complex moves; you can't string too many of them consecutively because you get tired too quickly.  

[LFC]

International arms sales are down for FY 2021. Trump made increasing them a priority. My guess is that the military-industrial complex is none too happen with Biden.

The direct military sales by U.S. companies fell 17% to $103 billion in fiscal 2021 from $124 billion in fiscal 2020, while sales arranged through the U.S. government fell 31% to $34.8 billion in 2021 from $50.8 billion the prior year, the State Department said.

This link from that piece shows that Trump was a serious salesman for weaponry because, after all, what could go wrong? It's not like we'd go into a country (*cough* Iraq) and have our troops killed with weapons we sold to another country (*cough* Iran). From 2018:

In a telephone call with the emir of Kuwait in January, U.S. President Donald Trump pressed the Gulf monarch to move forward on a $10 billion fighter jet deal that had been stalled for more than a year.

Trump was acting on behalf of Boeing Co BA.N, America's second-largest defense contractor, which had become frustrated that a long-delayed sale critical to its military aircraft division was going nowhere, several people familiar with the matter said.

With this Oval Office intervention, the details of which have not been previously reported, Trump did something unusual for a U.S. president – he personally helped to close a major arms deal. In private phone calls and public appearances with world leaders, Trump has gone further than any of his predecessors to act as a salesman for the U.S. defense industry, analysts said.

Trump’s personal role underscores his determination to make the United States, already dominant in the global weapons trade, an even bigger arms merchant to the world, U.S. officials say, despite concerns from human rights and arms control advocates.

Those efforts will be bolstered by the full weight of the U.S. government when Trump’s administration rolls out a new “Buy American” initiative this week aimed at allowing more countries to buy more and even bigger weapons. It will loosen U.S. export rules on equipment ranging from fighter jets and drones to warships and artillery, the officials said.

Reuters has learned that the initiative - which industry sources said will be announced on Thursday - will provide guidelines that could allow more countries to be granted faster deal approvals, possibly trimming back to months what has often taken years to finalize.

The strategy will call for members of Trump’s cabinet to sometimes act as “closers” to help seal major arms deals, according to people familiar with the matter. More top government officials will also be sent to promote U.S. weapons at international air shows and arms bazaars.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 18, 2022 15:14:04 GMT LFC said:

This link from that piece shows that Trump was a serious salesman for weaponry because, after all, what could go wrong? It's not like we'd go into a country (*cough* Iraq) and have our troops killed with weapons we sold to another country (*cough* Iran). 

Trump is a salesman.  This is something he understands and so he did it.  I doubt he cares what he sold...condos, steaks, fighters...all the same thing to him.

[LFC]

This is from two years ago but man, what a story.

For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret.

The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and software.

or more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret.

The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and software.

The decades-long arrangement, among the most closely guarded secrets of the Cold War, is laid bare in a classified, comprehensive CIA history of the operation obtained by The Washington Post and ZDF, a German public broadcaster, in a joint reporting project.

The account identifies the CIA officers who ran the program and the company executives entrusted to execute it. It traces the origin of the venture as well as the internal conflicts that nearly derailed it. It describes how the United States and its allies exploited other nations’ gullibility for years, taking their money and stealing their secrets.

The operation, known first by the code name “Thesaurus” and later “Rubicon,” ranks among the most audacious in CIA history.

[LFC]

The fascists made some gains recently.

During the past week, Vladimir Putin’s armed forces suffered serious setbacks in their unprovoked attack on Ukraine. However, during the same period, Putin made significant gains in his broader campaign against Western democracies.

While Russia’s army was forced to withdraw from its failed attempt to surround and capture Kyiv, and as global outrage grew over reports of serial Russian atrocities across Ukraine—in Hungary and Serbia, politicians with close ties to Putin won resounding election victories.

Meanwhile, in France, a right-wing political leader (who has received Russian funding) showed surprising strength in the polls, and seemed likely to emerge from Sunday’s elections as one of two candidates heading into a run-off for that country’s presidency.

These are bad results for Europe and for NATO. What is more, they are part of a global trend that suggests the forces of illiberalism and ethnonationalism, the signatures of the movement Putin has promoted throughout the two decades in the Kremlin, are making steady gains.

[pnwguy]

Apr 6, 2022 21:16:39 GMT LFC said:

The fascists made some gains recently.

During the past week, Vladimir Putin’s armed forces suffered serious setbacks in their unprovoked attack on Ukraine. However, during the same period, Putin made significant gains in his broader campaign against Western democracies.

While Russia’s army was forced to withdraw from its failed attempt to surround and capture Kyiv, and as global outrage grew over reports of serial Russian atrocities across Ukraine—in Hungary and Serbia, politicians with close ties to Putin won resounding election victories.

Meanwhile, in France, a right-wing political leader (who has received Russian funding) showed surprising strength in the polls, and seemed likely to emerge from Sunday’s elections as one of two candidates heading into a run-off for that country’s presidency.

These are bad results for Europe and for NATO. What is more, they are part of a global trend that suggests the forces of illiberalism and ethnonationalism, the signatures of the movement Putin has promoted throughout the two decades in the Kremlin, are making steady gains.

The Murdochs of the world have poisoned the well of civility and integrity throughout the planet.

[LFC]

Apr 7, 2022 0:36:33 GMT pnwguy said:

Apr 6, 2022 21:16:39 GMT LFC said:

The fascists made some gains recently.

The Murdochs of the world have poisoned the well of civility and integrity throughout the planet.

Blind, mindless rage is much easier to sell than contentment and competence.

[LFC]

Fascist Marine LePen actually has a shot at leading France.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen vowed Thursday to issue fines to Muslims who wear headscarves in public, as candidates made a final push for votes three days ahead of an election seen as increasingly close.

President Emmanuel Macron built what seemed an unassailable lead ahead of the first round of polls Sunday but Le Pen has eroded the margin and feels she has a real chance of winning the run-off on April 24.

With France's traditional right- and left-wing parties facing electoral disaster, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is on course to come third and he still believes he can sneak into a run-off.

Speaking to RTL radio, Le Pen explained how her pledge to ban the headscarf in all public spaces would be implemented, saying it would be enforced by police in the same way as seatbelt-wearing in cars.

"People will be given a fine in the same way that it is illegal to not wear your seat belt. It seems to me that the police are very much able to enforce this measure," she said.

Le Pen has said she will use referendums to try to avoid constitutional challenges to many of her proposed laws on the basis that they are discriminatory and an infringement on personal freedoms.

Previous legislation in France banning obvious religious symbols in schools or full-face coverings in public was allowed on the basis that it applied to all citizens and in specific settings.

[goldenvalley]

A right wing Koran burning sparks protests and counter protests in Sweden.  Things got messy.

The spark for the uproar was Danish-Swedish extremist Rasmus Paludan, who in 2017 established the Danish far-right Stram Kurs, or Hard Line, movement, which trumpets an anti-immigrant and anti-Islam agenda.

On Thursday and Friday, the party live-streamed video of Paludan burning the Koran in various Swedish cities.
Protests broke out Thursday in Linkoping and Norrkoping ahead of Paludan’s first rally. Police at the time condemned the “riots,” saying in a statement that they were there “to ensure that people can use their constitutionally protected rights to demonstrate and express their opinion.”

During demonstrations Friday, protesters and counterprotesters clashed in the central city of Orebro. On Saturday, clashes occurred in the southern city of Malmo. Swedish police described the situation as a “messy night” with many “disturbances in the forms of fire and attacks on the police,” as well as molotov cocktails and stone-throwing. Vehicles, including a city bus, were set on fire.

In a statement, police said their aim was to maintain the “constitutionally protected freedom of expression and assembly” of the licensed assembly and counterprotesters.

On Sunday, Paludan posted on social media that he would cancel demonstrations in Norrkoping and Linkoping because police had shown that they were “incapable” of protecting themselves and Paludan.

No mention of Antifa...guess that's only an American concept.

[pnwguy]

Apr 18, 2022 16:16:38 GMT goldenvalley said:

A right wing Koran burning sparks protests and counter protests in Sweden.  Things got messy.

The spark for the uproar was Danish-Swedish extremist Rasmus Paludan, who in 2017 established the Danish far-right Stram Kurs, or Hard Line, movement, which trumpets an anti-immigrant and anti-Islam agenda.

On Thursday and Friday, the party live-streamed video of Paludan burning the Koran in various Swedish cities.
Protests broke out Thursday in Linkoping and Norrkoping ahead of Paludan’s first rally. Police at the time condemned the “riots,” saying in a statement that they were there “to ensure that people can use their constitutionally protected rights to demonstrate and express their opinion.”

During demonstrations Friday, protesters and counterprotesters clashed in the central city of Orebro. On Saturday, clashes occurred in the southern city of Malmo. Swedish police described the situation as a “messy night” with many “disturbances in the forms of fire and attacks on the police,” as well as molotov cocktails and stone-throwing. Vehicles, including a city bus, were set on fire.

In a statement, police said their aim was to maintain the “constitutionally protected freedom of expression and assembly” of the licensed assembly and counterprotesters.

On Sunday, Paludan posted on social media that he would cancel demonstrations in Norrkoping and Linkoping because police had shown that they were “incapable” of protecting themselves and Paludan.

No mention of Antifa...guess that's only an American concept

Isn't Sweden a Socialist Paradise? Why would Antifa protest there, when they want to destroy America and make it like Sweden? 

[goldenvalley]

Apr 18, 2022 17:50:10 GMT pnwguy said:

Apr 18, 2022 16:16:38 GMT goldenvalley said:

A right wing Koran burning sparks protests and counter protests in Sweden.  Things got messy.
No mention of Antifa...guess that's only an American concept

Isn't Sweden a Socialist Paradise? Why would Antifa protest there, when they want to destroy America and make it like Sweden? 

I thought the right wing changed its mind about Sweden when Sweden tried the "herd immunity" route to COVID without shutting down anything.  Didn't hear about socialism then.