MEGLOMANIAC POPULIST OPPORTUNIST

Far-left rebel seeking peace with Putin rocks German politics


By AFP
August 29, 2024

Far-left politician Sahra Wagenknecht has caused a stir in Germany by calling for peace negotiations with Russia's Vladimir Putin - Copyright AFP/File JENS SCHLUETER
Léa PERNELLE with Céline LE PRIOUX in Berlin

A radical far-left politician who wants to make peace with Russia’s Vladimir Putin looks set to play a key role in regional elections in the former East Germany on Sunday.

Sahra Wagenknecht, 55, born in communist East Germany to an Iranian father and a German mother, defected from the far-left Die Linke to form her own party, BSW, last year.

Wagenknecht has caused a stir in Germany by calling for negotiations with Putin, an end to the government’s support for Ukraine and a radical crackdown on immigration.

But BSW won an impressive 6.2 percent in June’s European Union elections and looks set to pick up between 15 and 20 percent of the vote on Sunday in Saxony and Thuringia.

At a rally in her hometown of Jena, Wagenknecht spoke passionately about her upbringing in East Germany and “the fear that nuclear bombs could fall here in Europe”.

“Now the fear is back,” she said.

BSW wants to stop weapons deliveries to Ukraine and rejects plans to allow the United States to periodically station long-range missiles in Germany.

Wagenknecht also called for tougher immigration laws, days after a Syrian man allegedly stabbed three people to death in the western city of Solingen.

BSW wants to “reverse” the current government’s immigration policy, she said.

“We cannot welcome the whole world in Germany.”



– Kingmaker? –



Opinion polls for Sunday’s elections have the far-right AfD as the biggest party in Thuringia on around 30 percent, while in Saxony it is running neck-and-neck for first place with the conservative CDU.

The AfD is also leading the polls in a third former East German state, Brandenburg, set to hold an election later in September.

However, the AfD is unlikely to come to power in any of these states, even if it wins, as other parties have ruled out collaborating with it to form a majority.

This could leave the mainstream parties scrambling to form ruling coalitions — and Wagenknecht’s party could end up being the kingmaker.

Speaking to AFP, Wagenknecht said the upcoming elections would be “very important” for her party.

“If we make our entrance into each of these regional parliaments with a score in double figures, we will no longer be seen as just a media phenomenon but as a party destined to change our country’s politics,” she said.

Indeed, the “interesting question” about the regional elections will be “how strong the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance will be in the end”, said Marianne Kneuer, a professor of politics at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden).

“It is possible that BSW could become an important factor in forming a coalition in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony,” said Kneuer, predicting that the new party could also enter the national parliament for the first time next year.



– ‘Completely absurd’ –



Wagenknecht told AFP she accepted that “Putin started a war contrary to international law” but said the “West has its share of responsibility”.

“We could have avoided this conflict if we had taken Russia’s security concerns seriously,” she said.

She rejected allegations of pro-Russian false information being spread by some members of her party, saying it was “shameful to accuse us of that”.

“We are accused of being the voice of Moscow or of representing Russian positions because we are in favour of peace negotiations, which is completely absurd,” she said.

On immigration, Wagenknecht pointed to Denmark’s restrictive policy as an example Germany could follow.

“They have drastically reduced their numbers by signalling to the whole world that there is no hope of staying there if your asylum application is rejected,” she said.

Some have pointed out that BSW’s positions on Ukraine and immigration are broadly similar to those of the AfD, but Wagenknecht has ruled out any kind of collaboration with the far right.

“The AfD has a very radical right-wing faction, especially in the east,” she said.

Her party cannot “go into coalition with people who have an ethnic nationalist ideology.”

At the rally in Jena, 83-year-old retired nurse Margit Hoffmann said “the most important thing for me is peace”.

“German public funds should go on other things, not weap

POSTMODERN FUEDALISM

With Hasina gone in Bangladesh, a rival family tastes power

By AFP
August 30, 2024

Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists gather in front of a poster of Khaleda Zia

, during a rally in Dhaka two days after ex-premier Sheikh Hasina's ouster

 - Copyright AFP -

Arunabh SAIKIA

Two women dominated Bangladeshi politics for decades. One was chased into exile. The other is newly free from custody and too sick to rule, but her heir looks set to take power.

Autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, 76, fled the country by helicopter for neighbouring India this month as huge crowds demanding an end to her rule marched towards her palace.

Hours after the student-led uprising sparked the sudden collapse of her government, her lifelong rival and two-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, 79, was released from house arrest for the first time in years.

Members of Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) endured crackdowns and mass arrests under Hasina, who pointed to her opposition’s cosy relations with Islamists as justification.

A caretaker government has run the country since Hasina’s ouster — but it has to hold new elections eventually, and now that the BNP has emerged from the underground, its members are confident of their prospects.

“People who supported us from behind for a very long time, they are now coming to the front,” Mollik Wasi Tami, a leader of the party’s student wing, told AFP.

Interim leader and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, 84, has said he has no plans to continue in politics after his current role is finished.

The students who led Hasina’s overthrow have no fondness for Zia either, and it remains unclear whether they would support a future BNP government or seek to form their own party.

But whatever they decide, analysts say that when polls are held, the BNP is the force with the cross-country network, the political experience and the drive to win.

“In the next election, whenever it takes place, the BNP has more appeal,” Bangladeshi politics expert and Illinois State University professor Ali Riaz told AFP.

Zia herself is too ill to assume the prime ministership a third time.

She has suffered from numerous chronic health complaints since she was jailed in 2018 after a graft conviction widely seen as politically motivated, whatever the charge’s true merits.

Zia has only appeared in public once since her release, in a pre-recorded video statement to a BNP rally in Dhaka from a hospital bed, during which she appeared sick and frail.

“We need love and peace to rebuild our country,” she told thousands of party faithful at the rally, held two days after Hasina left Bangladesh.

Her supporters are planning to take her abroad for urgent medical care, clearing the way for her eldest son and heir apparent Tarique Rahman to take the reins.

– ‘He will come back’ –

Tarique has led the BNP since his mother’s conviction while in exile in London, where he fled to avoid his own set of graft charges — which his party is now working to quash.

“When the legal problems are solved, he will come back,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary-general, told AFP.

Tarique’s visage already appears alongside that of his mother on the party’s banners and campaign materials, including at the rally held two days after Hasina’s toppling.

The fact that rally happened at all was a remarkable departure from Hasina’s rule.

The BNP’s senior leaders and thousands of activists were jailed late last year ahead of January elections that — absent any genuine political opposition — returned Hasina to power.

– Dynasties forged in blood –

The decades-old contest between Zia and Hasina is a dynastic battle that predates the political career of both women.

Hasina’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Zia’s husband Ziaur Rahman both led the country in the early years after its 1971 liberation war against Pakistan. Both were assassinated.

Both women joined forces in protests that ousted a military dictator in 1990 and then contested elections against each other the following year.

They have alternated in power ever since, with their parties serving as vehicles for their fierce rivalry.

Zia’s first administration in 1991 was hailed for liberalising Bangladesh’s economy, sparking decades of growth.

But her second term from 2001 saw several graft scandals — some implicating Tarique — and Islamist attacks, including one that almost killed Hasina.

– ‘Politics based on religion’ –

Zia was also accused of steering Muslim-majority Bangladesh, and her nominally big tent BNP, away from their secular roots by allying with the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

The partnership gave Hasina cover to persecute both parties by claiming she was fighting extremism — an excuse bolstered by several terror attacks during her time in office.

Retired Dhaka University professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq told AFP that any collaboration between both forces risked antagonising the avowedly secular students who toppled Hasina.

“They are aware that they will be hurt if they do politics based on religion,” he said.

But Alamgir, the BNP’s secretary-general, said the party was open to renewing the alliance if it boosted their chances of forming the next government.

“BNP will definitely look for victory,” he said. “If Jamaat helps, then definitely.”

Op-Ed: Durov case legal issues could change social media forever


ByPaul Wallis
DIGITAL JOURNAL
August 29, 2024

Telegram is hugely popular in former Soviet countries 

- Copyright AFP/File DENIS CHARLET

The extremely serious charges against Telegram founder Pavel Durov cover just about all issues on social media. these issues range from hate speech, to criminal online activity and pedophilia. It’s not a great look. Telegram has a reputation. Telegram is also reputedly used by terrorist groups and propagandists. It’s a long list of negatives.

Telegram, in fact, became the default social media platform as a messaging app for those banned by the original Twitter. It soon had a huge following. In a somewhat unlikely duet, Elon Musk and Russia have come out against Durov’s indictment.

Please note: This article is not about Durov’s guilt or innocence or whether Telegram has broken any laws. The much bigger issues are about how this case can be a massive future global legal precedent.

What’s truly critical about this case is that it can affect all social media platforms covering the many decades-long and ongoing areas of public complaint.

Let’s describe the mess:

Against the background of total public dissatisfaction with social media’s lazy policies in so many areas, this case will get a lot of traction in media and government. Social media in general is considered to have to be dragged screaming into any responses at all.

In fairness, social media reflects this godawful sick, senile, and stupid society in so many ways. “Social media is not a law enforcement agency,” etc. The trouble is that that’s where the whole subject has got stuck. The problems remain unsolved and festering away.

The response is equally inept and inadequate. It doesn’t matter that moderators get PTSD doing their work. Kids get regularly traumatized. It doesn’t matter that people get killed and hurt.

What’s good about it?

Who’s winning this sewer décor competition?

Another complication arises. Intelligence agencies and governments monitor Telegram routinely. The intelligence community may have to pick up its Christmas hamper and go elsewhere.

This is what’s left of the Wild West Internet idea; a place to rant and rave is required for those who never grew out of it. The Wild West didn’t really ever exist. You’re not and have never been immune to a law just because you commit a crime online. It was just that people didn’t enforce the laws.

Meanwhile, the free speech argument has raised its currently battered and highly selective head and it’s not thinking too clearly if at all. Free speech is a right; advocating crimes isn’t. That argument has also been in the blender for a while getting nowhere.

There are practical issues here. If Durov is found guilty, so is Telegram. It won’t stop with a guilty verdict. Telegram may be shut down, and the legal precedents will naturally carry through to other platforms.

If Telegram gets shut down, where do the users go? Another dark net cash cow? Will X have some sort of self-serving libertarian Renaissance and become the new Telegram? …And get charged for the same things?

You can see how open-ended this case is. It won’t and can’t stop with Durov. Social media tends to reshuffle itself.

Governments have another problem with social media. The public anger against the many transgressions of law is real enough. They can’t get away with not enforcing the related laws if they want to stay in power.

Legally, you can procrastinate, sure, but even SCOTUS can’t stop the clock. There are two furious generations who can simply remove the fossils in the way.

The Telegram case can redefine social media with a sledgehammer. About time.

_________________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

Written ByPaul Wallis
Editor-at-Large based in Sydney, Australia

Supreme Court rejects Biden administration's plea to restart student loan debt relief

REFORM SCOTUS ADD 4 MORE WOMEN JUSTICE'S

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Biden administration’s request to continue canceling student debt for millions of borrowers during an appeals process, as more than a dozen Republican-led states challenge its legality. 

File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Biden administration's request to cancel student debt for millions of borrowers during an appeals process, as more than a dozen Republican-led states challenge its legality.

In the brief unsigned order, the court said it "expected that the Court of Appeals will render its decision with appropriate dispatch." The order had no public dissents.
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"The Supreme Court unanimously upheld our court order blocking Kamala Harris and Joe Biden's illegal student loan cancellation scheme," Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey wrote Wednesday in a post on X.

"This is a huge victory for the working Americans who won't have to foot the bill for the Biden-Harris Ivy League bailout," he added.  MOST LOANS ARE FOR PUBLIC COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, IVY LEAGUE HAVE RICH PARENTS

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The Supreme Court order was in response to the Justice Department's emergency appeal after a federal appeals court blocked the program, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, Plan last month. The Biden administration vowed Wednesday to fight on.

"Our administration will continue to aggressively defend the SAVE Plan -- which has helped over 8 million borrowers access lower monthly payments, including 4.5 million borrowers who have had a zero dollar payment each month. And, we won't stop fighting against Republican-elected officials' efforts to raise costs on millions of their own constituents' student loan payments," a White House spokesperson said in response to the order.

In July, the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the request by seven GOP-led states to block further loan forgiveness, stating that the Department of Education had exceeded its authority in setting repayment terms.

The Biden administration then turned to the Supreme Court with an emergency intervention to temporarily lift the order.

"The states fail to justify allowing that extraordinary injunction to continue to harm millions of borrowers while this appeal is litigated," U.S. Solicitor Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in court filings before the justices rejected the request Wednesday that would have allowed the program to continue during appeal.

Under the SAVE Plan, monthly payments and debt would be reduced for certain borrowers at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years. The Education Department already had granted $5.5 billion in relief to 414,000 borrowers before the program was put on hold.

The Education Department estimates it has forgiven $168 billion in debt for more than 4.7 million Americans. It estimates the SAVE plan would cost nearly $156 billion over a decade.

As litigation continues, SAVE Plan borrowers are not required to pay principal or interest as Biden administration lawyers argue that the "extraordinary injunction has scrambled the department's administration of loans for millions of borrowers," creating "widespread confusion and uncertainty."

The White House has repeatedly pushed its program to cancel student debt despite hitting legal roadblocks.

Last summer, the Supreme Court rejected Biden's plan that would have offered up to $20,000 in student loan relief to millions of borrowers. In February, the White House announced a new plan that would have gone into effect July 1. Two federal judges blocked parts of that plan one week earlier.

In Missouri, a judge ruled the administration "lacks the authority" to forgive loans as part of the Income-Contingent Repayment plan and that doing so would "likely harm Missouri" by cutting into administrative fees.

A judge in Kansas blocked parts of the plan in June as both states also filed separate lawsuits. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach accused the Biden administration of illegally bypassing Congress and forcing taxpayers to pay off the student loans of other Americans.
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"Blue-collar Kansas workers who didn't go to college shouldn't have to pay off the student loans of New Yorkers with gender studies degrees," he said.

UH OH, 3E

Massachusetts confirms 2nd human case of eastern equine encephalitis


Health officials in Massachusetts on Thursday confirmed the state's second human case of eastern equine encephalitis. File Photo courtesy of the CDC


Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A second human case of eastern equine encephalitis has been confirmed in Massachusetts, state health officials said days after they announced the state's first patient with the rare disease this year had died.

Massachusetts' second EEE patient was identified Thursday by the state's Department of Public Health as a woman in her 30s.

The department said a horse has also been confirmed to be infected with the disease, making it the state's second EEE sickened equine this year.

The health officials said both the woman and the horse were exposed in Plymouth County and infected prior to the area being aerial sprayed Tuesday night.

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"This evidence of the spread of EEE to a person and a horse in Plymouth County before aerial spraying confirms risk in the area," Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said in a statement.

"We expect that the aerial spraying will help prevent risk for EEE from continuing to escalate in the area, but it does not eliminate it completely."

The infection was made public after the health officials on Tuesday said a New Hampshire man in his 80s had died shortly after testing positive for EEE.

It was the state's first EEE infection since 2014.

According to the health officials, there have been 76 EEE-positive mosquito samples collected so far this year throughout the state, with the first having been announced on July 3.

The quantity of positive samples has led officials to believe that there is an elevated risk of infection this year in New England.

"We are asking people to be consistent about taking steps to prevent mosquito bites," Goldstein said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, EEE is a rare but serious disease that is spread to humans via infected mosquitos.

Most people infected with the disease do not develop symptoms, but for those who do, onset of illness ranges from four to 10 days, the federal health officials said. Infection can result in fever or neurologic disease with the type of illness dependent on the age of the person, among other factors.

The officials said about a third of all who develop severe EEE die, with death usually occurring from two to 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

Antibiotics are not effective against viruses and there is no specific medicine to treat EEE, they said, adding rest, fluids and pain medicines might relieve symptoms with severe disease requiring hospitalization.
The CDC is currently showing four EEE cases confirmed this year as of Tuesday but does not include the second patient from Massachusetts. The other three patients were in New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Feds say Mississippi seafood distributor sold inexpensive fish as more-expensive, locally caught species


Mississippi seafood supplier Quality Poultry & Seafood must pay $1.15 million in fines and forfeiture after pleading guilty to importing frozen fish and selling it as higher priced and locally source fish, such as grouper and snapper.

File Photo by Jim Bryant/UPI|License Photo

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A Mississippi seafood distributor and two managers pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to mislabeling seafood and committing wire fraud in a bait-and-switch scheme.

Federal prosecutors accused Biloxi-based Quality Poultry & Seafood of importing inexpensive frozen seafood and selling it as more expensive seafood of different species that were purported to have been caught locally.

Quality Poultry & Seafood is the largest seafood wholesaler on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and agreed to pay $1 million in forfeitures and a $150,000 fine to settle the federal case against it.

Company sales manager Todd Rosetti and business manager James Gunkel also pleaded guilty to misbranding the imported seafood and enabling the fraud.

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"When imported substitutes are marketed as local domestic seafood, it depresses the value of authentic Gulf Coast seafood, which means honest local fishermen and wholesalers have a harder time making a profit," said Todd Gee, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

"This kind of mislabeling fraud hurts the overall local seafood market and rips off restaurant customers who were paying extra to eat premium local product," Gee said.

Federal prosecutors said the scheme started as early as 2002 and continued nearly until the end of 2019.

Prosecutors said the company and its managers conspired to sell foreign-sourced fish from Africa, South America and India as premium local fish to restaurant customers and to individuals through its retail shop and cafe.

"When sellers purposefully substitute one fish species for another, they deceive consumers and cause potential food safety hazards to be overlooked or misidentified by processors or end users," said Justin Fielder, a special agent in charge with the Food and Drug Administration's criminal investigations unit in Miami.

The seafood wholesaler from December 2013 through November2019 supplied Biloxi-based Mary Mahoney's Old French House restaurant with more than 29 tons of frozen imported fish that the restaurant sold to its customers as higher priced and locally sourced seafood.

The restaurant knowingly sold imported fish, such as perch from Africa, triple tail from Suriname and unicorn filefish from India, as locally caught snapper and grouper, which sell for much higher prices.

Mary Mahoney's co-owner and manager Charles Cvitanovich, 55, in May pleaded guilty to felony information and misbranding seafood bought from Quality Poultry & Seafood in 2018 and 2019.

"QPS and company officials went to great lengths in conspiring with others to perpetuate fraud for more than a decade even after they knew they were under federal investigation," Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said

Kim said the scheme continued for a year while the officials at QPS and Mary Mahoney's knew the federal government was investigating them.

The related cases seemingly corroborates the need for governmental inspections to confirm the sources of all boat-to-plate seafood, especially after a study recently concluded sellers mislabel about 20% of seafood sold in the United States.

KILLER KRIMINAL KAPITALI$M

Listeria outbreak: As deaths rise, repeated health violations linked to Boar's Head facility

FOIA request tallies 69 'noncompliance' records flagged by USDA at Boar's Head facility in Virginia.

By Chris Benson


The listerosis outbreak is growing in infections and deaths, officials report. In response, the CDC recommends heating deli meats sliced at any deli counter to an internal temperature of 165 degrees or until the meat is steaming hot. 

File Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation found scores of health violations by meat company Boar's Head at its Virginia facility that now is at the center of a nationwide deli meat recall linked to multiple deaths across more than a dozen states, according to records.

At least eight deaths have now been reported, adding Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico and South Carolina to the roster of 17 states with known listeria cases tied directly to the Boar's Head outbreak, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Wednesday in an update

Listeriosis is America's third-leading cause of death due to food-borne illnesses. "This is the largest listeriosis outbreak since the 2011 outbreak linked to cantaloupe," according to the CDC.

The outbreak has grown to 57 hospitalizations in now 17 states linked to recalled meat products from Boar's Head's Jarratt, Va., plant. And all 57 had at one point been hospitalized since buying the tainted meat products.

USDA investigators say in a report that along with paperwork errors and leftover meat on equipment, the dozens of violations included mold, mildew and insects repeatedly discovered during inspections.

Records released by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to CBS News via a Freedom of Information Act request revealed no less than 69 records of "noncompliances" flagged by USDA over the past year at Boar's Head's Virginia facility.

It's not clear if the well-known supplier of pre-packaged deli meats will face any legal penalties.

Unopened Boar's Head products genetically tested in multiple states were found contaminated with the bacteria known as Listeria monocytogenes.

Meanwhile, all operations at Boar's Head's Jarrat, Va., plant have been suspended. Company officials are working to disinfect the facility and retrain its current employees, and no meat products will be sent out "until it meets the highest quality and safety standards," according to a company spokesperson.

"As a USDA-inspected food producer, the agency has inspectors in our Jarratt, Virginia plant every day and if at any time inspectors identify something that needs to be addressed, our team does so immediately, as was the case with each and every issue raised by USDA in this report," Boar's Head company spokesperson Elizabeth Ward said.

Initially, a limited recall was issued last month for Boar's Head deli meats that days later expanded to include in the recall all Boar's Head products made in the facility.

The CDC has once more advised U.S. consumers to check for any at all remaining recalled Boar's Head products. Some should carry an October sell-by date labeled with "EST. 12612" or "P-12612" inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.

A spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Public Health says it's likely consumers who were unaware of the recall may have eaten recalled products currently experiencing a prolonged course of illness consistent with how the virus works.

"Unfortunately, an outbreak of Listeria has reached our state, and is potentially the cause of two deaths here," Dr. Linda Bell, the state's epidemiologist, wrote Wednesday in a news release. "We want to ensure South Carolinians are aware of this outbreak and that everyone takes necessary steps to avoid consuming products that could be the source of infection."

It was first reported on July 20 by the CDC that a listeria outbreak tied to sliced deli meats had killed two and hospitalized at least 28 other people across 12 states from roughly May 20 to July 5, with only one reported death at the time in New Jersey and Illinois hundreds of miles away out west.

In its most recent Aug. 8 update, the CDC said 9 new listeria cases by then had been reported with three people dead since the update prior, then bringing the total to 43 cases nationwide but limited at the time to 13 states.

Canada also is grappling with its own listeria outbreak.

Commonly referred to as listeria, it is a serious infection that primarily affects pregnant women, people age 65 or older or who those with a weakened immune systems. People classified in high-risk categories who show symptoms, it is suggested, should seek immediate medical care.

At first, CDC investigators at the time of the breakout found that shoppers afflicted with listeria had all eaten Boar's Head turkey or liverwurst products while some said they ate ham.

At first the CDC did not issue a recall on any of the deli meat, chalking it up to contaminated deli equipment as the likely root of the outbreak.

But days later on July 26, Boar's Head then issued a recall of all liverwurst products made between June 11 and July 17 due to the likelihood of listeria contamination, which expanded a few days later on July 30 to include all other deli meat products produced alongside the liverwurst like ham, bologna and salami.

The first reported cases had seven from New York, six in Maryland and two cases in Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey and Virginia, with one reported in Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Symptoms typically show within two weeks of eating listeria-contaminated food, but may occur as early as a day or be delayed for as long as 10 weeks, according to the CDC.

Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions and diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues. An infection can cause pregnancy complications, including miscarriages, stillbirths and premature delivery.

The CDC recommends heating deli meats sliced at any deli counter to an internal temperature of 165 degrees or until the meat is steaming hot.

Consumers also can protect against listeria by cleaning their refrigerators and any containers or surfaces that might have contacted sliced deli meats.

In February during another unrelated listeria outbreak linked to cheese and yogurt products which killed 2, hospitalized 23, the FDA said that particular outbreak was part of an ongoing outbreak that dated back a decade

"CDC investigated this outbreak in 2017 and 2021," the FDA then noted, but at that time "there was not enough information to identify a specific brand."

Some people with schizophrenia fight stigma on social media

By Susan Kreimer

 Kody Green, 29, of Onalaska, Wis., creates content about schizophrenia on Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, Threads, LinkedIn and Facebook. 

Photo courtesy of Johnson & Johnson and FleishmanHillard

NEW YORK, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- People with schizophrenia have been challenging the ongoing stigma tied to their mental disorder by posting on social media, trying to dispel the myth that they're prone to injuring themselves or others.

The social networks are a tool to promote mental health care for people with this chronic disorder, while disseminating information that helps reduce negative perceptions.

"People will treat me like I am dangerous just because of my illness, even though I have never been violent," said Kody Green, 29, of Onalaska, Wis., who creates content about schizophrenia on Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, Threads, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Yet, "studies show that people with schizophrenia are more likely to be victims of violent crime than the perpetrators," Green said.

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In 2019, he began posting about his diagnosis and experiences, amassing more than 1.5 million followers.

"This has allowed me to become a full-time schizophrenia and mental health advocate and reach millions of people to help them better understand what schizophrenia really looks like, and not how it is portrayed in movies and the media," Green said.

He first experienced hallucinations at age 19 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia two years later.

Hallucinations -- a hallmark of schizophrenia -- are his main symptom. They're false perceptions of objects or events that involve a person's sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, according to the Cleveland Clinic. In short, hallucinations appear real, but are figments of the imagination.

While schizophrenia causes severe symptoms, it's not a death sentence. A person can maintain a full life with early intervention and appropriate treatment, Green said.

Michelle Hammer, 36, of Astoria, N.Y., said she finds it therapeutic to post on Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube when she's experiencing auditory hallucinations due to schizophrenia, diagnosed at age 22. They have plagued her since high school, when an internal voice told her she was dumb.

"It was telling me I was a bad person," said Hammer, who owns a mental health clothing and lifestyle brand called Schizophrenic.NYC and is a member of Fountain House, a New York City-based national mental health nonprofit.

For a few years, the mental health advocate has shared videos, sitting on her living room couch and talking to herself. The posts caused a stir on social media, Hammer said, explaining, "I get all kinds of responses -- everything you could possibly imagine."

While some people thanked Hammer for being open about her illness, others suggested that she seek God's help in delivering her from bondage.

"People, for some reason, think schizophrenia is extremely dangerous. What I try to do is change that perception," she said, adding, "I'm not hurting anyone at all. It's not what you think. There's no violence involved."

Clinicians have become more conscientious in recognizing symptoms earlier in the course of schizophrenia, said Dr. Richard Miller, a staff psychiatrist at Elwyn Adult Behavioral Health in Cranston, R.I.

"However, many cases still go undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or untreated for a variety of reasons, including stigma around the disease that can prevent people from asking for help, and psychosocial and economic factors that can prevent access to care," Miller said.

Connecting with others who experience psychosis can help people with schizophrenia feel less lonely by boosting their support system, which enables them to better manage their illness, said Craig Jones, a psychotherapist and program manager of the Odyssey Clinic, which provides outpatient specialty care at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

Also, "social media can be a powerful tool for increasing awareness of psychosis as long as the information is accurate," Jones said.

"Personal testimonials about living with schizophrenia help others see that people with these experiences want the same things that everyone wants -- to be able to pursue their special relationships and projects as burden-free as possible."

The World Health Organization reports that schizophrenia affects roughly 24 million people globally, or 1 in 300 individuals.

In addition to hallucinations, sufferers can exhibit delusions, disorganized speech, difficulty thinking and lack of motivation, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

The intricate nature of schizophrenia may be at the heart of why people often harbor misconceptions, assuming that it leads to homelessness or living in hospitals, the association notes. In fact, most people with the illness reside with family, in group settings or alone.

Despite the origin of the word "schizophrenia," which means "split mind" in Latin, it doesn't imply split or multiple personality.

Commonly appearing in late adolescence or early adulthood, schizophrenia is slightly more prevalent in males, who tend to display symptoms toward their late teens. Diagnosis in females is likely to peak in the early to mid-20s, said Dr. Katherine Johnson, chair of psychiatry at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill.

"Schizophrenia is a complex illness that affects the way people perceive reality and can influence how they think, feel and act," Johnson said.

She added that the variety of reality disturbances may include auditory or visual hallucinations. Strong internal voices could compel someone to do something, or they may be less obvious, prompting someone to envision shadows that aren't there.

Other misperceptions of reality, such as paranoia, are also common, perhaps persuading someone to feel that another person can read their thoughts, Johnson said.

"Many factors come together to create these symptoms, and it is likely a combination of genetics, biological abnormalities -- specifically around chemical messengers in the brain -- and environmental influences," she said.

However, she noted that hallucinations also can stem from severe depression, bipolar disorder, trauma, substance use, dementia, Parkinson's disease, brain injury or seizures. They're relatively common in children, particularly after traumatic events, and don't automatically signal schizophrenia or another psychotic illness.

With an early and accurate diagnosis, people with schizophrenia can get well on antipsychotic medications, available as pills or long-acting injectables that work steadily over weeks or months and lessen the likelihood of a missed dose, Miller said.

Jones added that stress management techniques, along with individual and group therapy, are also important in managing schizophrenia.

Biden administration announces plans to speed up energy projects

President Joe Biden speaks during the fourth virtual leader-level meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate at the White House on April 20, 2023. The Biden administration announced steps to step up clean energy projects on Thursday.

 File Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI | License Photo


Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Thursday announced new efforts to speed up government infrastructure projects delivering more clean power and jobs.

The Bureau of Land Management said it will roll out a plan to support the expansion of solar energy production by streamlining permitting on public land.

"This action will help expedite reviews of solar projects by steering them to areas with high solar potential and low wildlife and land conflicts," the White House said in a statement. "The Bureau of Land Management will make over 31 million acres of public lands across eleven western states available for solar development, helping to deliver clean power to millions of homes."

The Environmental Protection Agency said it will conditionally approve a new rule allowing for new offsets to create clean air credits in Maricopa County, Ariz., the site of an upcoming semiconductor manufacturing center.

Companies there with diesel-burning vehicles can earn credits by replacing them with electric vehicles to balance out future emissions.

"This will allow the county, which is now a center of semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., to continue to building semiconductor fabs essential to our nation's future and ensure that residents continue to have clean air," the White House said.

The Department of Energy said that environmental review timelines have been cut in half compared to the previous administration and has completed 15% more environmental reviews.

SPACE

FAA grounds SpaceX Falcon 9 after first-stage booster incident

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket returns to Landing Zone 1 after launching the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Sunday, August 4, 2024. The FAA on Wednesday grounded the Falcon 9 rockets after a stage 1 booster crashed into a barge while returning to Earth. 

Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration grounded SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rockets as it investigates why one of its first-stage boosters crashed onto a landing barge in the Atlantic Ocean, bringing a screeching halt to the company's robust launch schedule.

The difficult return of the first-stage booster safely to Earth, which SpaceX had made almost routine over the years, went awry Wednesday morning after separating from the second stage early Wednesday before dawn.

A second SpaceX flight scheduled to liftoff from California was paused after the incident. So was the expected launching of the all-civilian Polaris Dawn. The delay postponed what was expected to be the first civilian spacewalk.

"A return to flight of the Falcon 9 booster rocket is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the anomaly does not affect public safety," the FAA said.

Related 

SpaceX postpones Polaris Dawn launch due to helium leak
SpaceX shows off Dragon capsules for Polaris Dawn flight
SpaceX launches Northrop Grumman mission to ISS

"In addition, SpaceX may need to request and receive approval from the FAA to modify its license that incorporates any corrective actions and meet all other licensing requirements."

No one was hurt in the incident and the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket delivered the satellites into orbit as expected. According to the FAA, SpaceX could be cleared to fly again with an ongoing investigation under certain conditions.

"We are working as hard as we can to thoroughly understand [the] root cause and get corrective actions in place ASAP," SpaceX's Vice President of Falcon Launch Vehicles Jon Edwards, said.

"One thing we do know though is this was purely a recovery issue and posed no threat to the primary mission or public safety."

BIDENOMICS

U.S. second quarter GDP revised up to a 3% annual rate

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday that U.S. second-quarter GDP was revised upward to an annual rate of 3%. The U.S. economy grew more in the second quarter than the originally estimated 2.8%.

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Bureau of Economic Analysis Thursday revised second quarter U.S. real gross domestic product, increasing it from 2.8% to a 3% annual rate.

"The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the 'advance' estimate issued last month," the BEA said in a statement. "In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.8%. The update primarily reflected an upward revision to consumer spending."

The advance estimate reported in July was already higher than the 2.1% expected by Dow Jones economists.

GDP was 1.4% in the first quarter.

"Compared to the first quarter, the acceleration in real GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected an upturn in private inventory investment and an acceleration in consumer spending," the BEA statement added. "These movements were partly offset by a downturn in residential fixed investment."

Current-dollar GDP in the second quarter was up 5.5% at an annual rate.

The price index for gross domestic purchases was up 2.4% for the second quarter, an upward revision of 0.1%.

Current-dollar personal income was also revised. It increased $233.6 billion, a drop of $4 billion from the previous estimate.

Real gross domestic income was up 1.3% in the second quarter, matching first-quarter results. Disposable personal income was up $183 billion, or 3.6%, That's $4 billion less than the previous estimate.

Personal saving was $686.4 billion, a downward revision of $34.1 billion compared with the previous estimate.

Corporate profits increased $46.4 billion compared with $65 billion in the first quarter.

First time unemployment filings fall by 2,000


A "now hiring" sign is displayed in the window of a restaurant in Washington D.C. on August 12, 2010. First-time unemployment benefit filers decreased by 2,000 last year, the Labor Department said. 

File Photo by Alexis Glenn/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- First-time unemployment filings declined last week but Department of Labor daata released Thursday showed they remain at an elevated level.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 24 reached a seasonally adjusted 231,000, down 2,000 from the revised total last week.

The weekly snapshot of those filing for jobless benefits, which gives a glimpse of the workforce stability, is one of the key indicators the Federal Reserve watches in judging the health of the U.S. economy.

The total for first-time unemployment applications for the week before was revised up 1,000 to 233,000, according to the Labor Department. The latest total is 19,000 off the 2024 high of 250,000 filings during the week ending July 27.

The 231,000 filing for unemployment insurance last week still remains well above the 194,000 who filed back in January.

The four-week moving average for first-time applications was 231,500, a fall of 4,750 from the previous week's revised total of 236,250.

The overall number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Aug. 17 was 1.868 million, according to the Labor Department. That is an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised total, which was revised down by 8,000.

The four-week moving average of overall unemployment insurance filings was 1,863,250, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised total.

Read More

Climate change linked to increased risk of salmonella

By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay News


Climate change will increase people's risk of salmonella poisoning from contaminated food, a new study warns. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News

Climate change will increase people's risk of salmonella poisoning from contaminated food, a new study warns.

Increased humidity will make it more likely that leafy greens like lettuce will suffer from bacterial diseases, such as leaf spot, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

In turn, those bacterial diseases can help salmonella survive in leafy greens, increasing the risk of food-borne illness in humans, they said.

"The impact of increased humidity on healthy plants also supported salmonella's survival on plants, which would make climate change a food safety issue," said researcher Jeri Barak, a professor of plant pathology with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Related

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"Controlling plant disease such as bacterial leaf spot of lettuce is also important for food safety," Barak said in a journal news release. "Climate change will increase the risk of foodborne illness from consumption of raw produce."

Salmonella sickens 1.2 million people in the United States every year, researchers said in background notes. Fresh produce is the most common route of infection, as salmonella survives on many crops and persists in soil for extended periods of time.

In lab experiments, researchers varied when leafy greens were exposed to a bacteria that causes leaf spot or the salmonella bacteria.

High humidity enhanced the ability of salmonella to rapidly grow in lettuce, researchers found.

Humidity also promoted leaf spot, which further enhanced salmonella's ability to survive and spread in romaine lettuce, results show.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on salmonella.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

French museum invites naturism exhibit visitors to disrobe

The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, or Mucem, in Marseille, France, is inviting members of the public to visit its Naturist Paradises exhibit in the nude on pre-scheduled dates held once a month. 

Photo by djedj/Pixabay.com


Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A French museum announced members of the public are being invited to view its exhibit on naturism while wearing nothing but a pair of shoes.

Marseille's Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations, or Mucem, said nude patrons are being welcomed to peruse the Naturist Paradises exhibit in the nude on designated dates once a month, during a time the facility would normally be closed.
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The nude museum visits are being organized in partnership with the French Naturist Federation, or FFN.

Naturist Paradises features hundreds of pieces of art from naturist communities, including paintings, sculptures, photographs and films.

"It was only natural for the Mucem, a social museum based in Marseilles, a Mediterranean city around which several major naturist centers have sprung up, to explore this singular and unifying social phenomenon that is naturism, (or rather naturisms, because there are different types)," the museum's website states.

FFN official Eric Stefanut said the museum's nude visitors will still be required to wear shoes inside the exhibit.

"It's to avoid getting splinters," he told The Guardian.

The Naturist Paradises exhibit at the museum runs through Dec. 9. The next nude tour is scheduled for Sept. 3.

4 days after Arizona bank worker died, her body discovered in work cubicle

" It's really heartbreaking and I'm thinking, 'What if I were just sitting there? No one would check on me?"

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Arizona bank employee Denise Prudhomme, 60, died at work and her body wasn't discovered in her work cubicle until four days later.

Police in Tempe, Ariz., said Thursday there was no evidence of foul play.

Police said she scanned into work for her Wells Fargo job on Aug.16. Security at the building found her dead Aug. 20.

Wells Fargo said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague at our Tempe office. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family and loved ones during this difficult time. Counselors, through our Employee Assistance Consulting service, are available to support our employees. We are fully cooperating with the Tempe Police Department in their investigation and will direct all further questions to them."

The investigation into circumstances of her death is ongoing, but it is not yet clear how she could have gone unnoticed for days.

NBC News reported that an anonymous Wells Fargo employee told KPNX that a co-worker found Prudhomme dead at her desk while walking around the building.

Several workers in the building had smelled a foul odor but thought it was bad plumbing.

A worker quoted anonymously told Tempe's 12 News, " It's really heartbreaking and I'm thinking, 'What if I were just sitting there? No one would check on me?"

Wells Fargo workers said the building has around-the-clock security and Prudhomme should have been found sooner.

"That's the scary part," a Wells Fargo employee told 12 News That's the uneasy part. It's negligence in some part."

MARX'S THEORY OF ALIENATION 

Israeli archeologists unearth rare, 2,700-year-old stone seal near Temple Mount

Archeologist Rom Navot of the Israel Antiquities Authority holds a rare black stone seal, approximately 2,700 years old, from the Kingdom of Judah in the First Temple Period, discovered during excavations near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Thursday. 

Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | 

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Israeli antiquities researchers announced Thursday they have unearthed a rare and significant stone seal from the First Temple Period of about 2,700 years ago.

The seal, which bears a name inscribed in paleo-Hebrew script and a winged demon, or "genie" figure, was discovered in the Davidson Archaeological Garden near the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement obtained by UPI.

"The seal, made of black stone, is one of the most beautiful ever discovered in excavations in ancient Jerusalem, and is executed at the highest artistic level," said excavation directors Dr. Yuval Baruch and Navot Rom.

The name inscribed on the stone is Hoshʼayahu, thought to be a senior administrator in the Kingdom of Judah, who likely wore the stone as an amulet around his neck and used it to sign official documents and proclamations.

The figure of the winged man demonstrates the ascendency of the Assyrian Empire over Middle East in the 9th-7th Centuries BCE while conferring onto its bearer the authority of the office, the researchers said.

"It seems that the object was made by a local craftsman -- a Judahite, who produced the amulet at the owner's request," said Israel Antiquities Authority Archaeologist and Assyriologist Filip Vukosavović. "It was prepared at a very high artistic level."

The find is "an extremely rare and unusual discovery," he added. "This is the first time that a winged 'genie' -- a protective magical figure -- has been found in Israeli and regional archaeology."

The figure of a winged man in a distinct Neo-Assyrian style is unique and very rare in the glyphic styles of the late First Temple period, scholars say.

Israeli Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu also hailed the discovery, calling it "spectacular" and noting it demonstrates how even 2,700 years ago Jerusalem had emerged as an international hub for commerce.

"It is impossible not to be moved by such an unmediated and direct encounter with a chapter of our past, a time in which the First Temple stood in all its glory," he said.

Orange lobster returned to the wild after arrival at Long Island store

An ultra-rare orange lobster that arrived in a shipment at a store on New York's Long Island was released back into the Long Island Sound. Photo courtesy of Humane Long Island/Facebook

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- An extremely rare orange lobster that arrived in a shipment at a New York store was released back into the wild by an animal advocacy group.

Humane Long Island said on social media that workers at Southampton Stop & Shop found the orange lobster among the standard brown lobsters that arrived in a recent shipment.

The store offered the crustacean to the Long Island Aquarium, but the facility declined.

The Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation learned about Pinky's situation and contacted Humane Long Island, which reached out to management at Stop & Shop.

The lobster, now named Clementine, underwent rehabilitation under the supervision of a veterinarian before being released back into the Long Island Sound.

Orange coloration is believed to occur in only one out of every 30 million lobsters. Peaches, an orange lobster being studied by researchers at the University of New England, recently hatched a clutch of 100 eggs, and some of the babies share their mother's unusual pigment.

Conspiracy, fake news, crime: 

Why is Telegram controversial?

Thomas Latschan

DW

August 28, 2024

Telegram has been used by all sides in Russia, both pro-and anti-government groups. The arrest of CEO Pavel Durov in Paris has left Russia's opposition worried. But the messaging app is well known for its drawbacks.

Telegram helped enable mass demonstrations in Belarus

Image: Nadzeya Buzhan

Iran 2017-2018: Protests break out in the city of Mashhad — calling out corruption, mismanagement and rising food prices. Within days the protests spread to a dozen other cities and rural communities across the country. The government in Tehran has difficulty getting them under control.

Thailand 2020: Resistance to the military regime of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha grows at universities across the country after being started by an opposition party. The protests quickly pick up steam, eventually leading to a "state of emergency."

Belarus 2020: Presidential elections are slated to take place in a country run for decades by an autocrat. Dictator Alexander Lukashenko's announces he has won reelection in the vote. Months of mass demonstrations ensue.

Telegram has become one of the most popular messaging services in the world

Image: Fabian Sommer/dpa

Anonymous accounts, unlimited chat group sizes

All of these, as well as other protests have one thing in common: They were largely organized on Telegram.

The messaging service has become one of the most popular in the world since it was co-founded by Pavel Durov — who is currently in detention in Paris — in 2013.

More than 900 million people use Telegram, which boasts that it regulates content much less strictly than other messaging services. The app also works when the internet is operating at extremely slow speeds — like when governments attempt to choke usage.

Moreover, chat groups with up to 20,000 participants can be created — allowing for the quick mobilization of very large crowds of people.

The app also promises users an especially high level of anonymity. Though customers need to register a cellphone number when opening an account, they can submit a user name that can be used without allowing other chat group members to see that number. All of these functions make Telegram especially interesting to certain groups.
Fake news, propaganda and extremism

Opposition groups living under authoritarian regimes are not the only ones interested, however. Telegram also became a go-to platform for COVID-19 deniers in 2020.

After Parler — a platform largely favored by rightwing extremists and radical populists spreading far-right content — was temporarily shut down, Telegram became their new platform of preference, with numerous fake news and disinformation campaigns popping up on it.

Telegram also attracts cyber criminals — Pavel Durov is accused, among other things, of allowing organized crime to flourish on his platform, not hindering the distribution of child pornography, and covering up crimes.

Durov's arrest led to a truly strange situation in which the Kremlin — which maintains numerous Telegram channels — is complaining just as loudly as high-ranking Russian opposition leaders. Georgia Alburov, a longtime associate of murdered Russian activist and Kremlin-critic Alexey Navalny, went so far as to say Durov's arrest represented a, "heavy blow to freedom of speech."

Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov has constantly moved his company's headquarters since leaving Russia in 2014

.Image: Robert Schlesinger/picture alliance

Serious security vulnerabilities

Yet the platform is not nearly as secure and anonymous as most users think — quite the opposite.

"You can talk to anyone you want within security circles and every one will tell you that Telegram is desperately lagging behind other platforms when it comes to content confidentiality," says Jürgen Schmidt, who heads the German IT news site heise online.

Unlike messaging services such as WhatsApp or Signal, content on Telegram is not encrypted end-to-end, that is along the entire path between one user's phone and another's.

"Telegram is a little unclear sometimes in communicating that," as Schmidt told DW. "They talk about encrypting all messages but they only mean encrypted on the path between the device and the server. Once they are on the server they are decrypted in plain text form."

'A privacy nightmare'

Although it is in fact possible to change settings to enable end-to-end data encryption, it isn't very easy — it also does not work for every type of chat.

"Principally, that means everything that is written on the app is stored on Telegram's servers, where Durov and his team have full access," said Schmidt, who described the app as a "privacy nightmare" in one of his articles.

It is not known, however, where those servers are actually located — therefore it is also unknown just who has access to the information stored on them. Telegram has not made the location of its servers public.

Propaganda on X - why Musk helps Putin sway your opinion 03:33

One step ahead of the law?

But why is Telegram so popular with so many anti-authoritarian protest movements?

"There's no technical explanation," says Schmidt, who suggests a different motivation: "Unlike most other messaging services, Telegram does not have a US background — where many still think that 'evil' NSA operatives are involved."

Instead, the company is run by a Russian "who also gained credibility by leaving the country in order to avoid pressure from the regime there."
Constantly moving company headquarters

Peculiar as well is the fact that Durov never seems to keep his company in one place for very long. After leaving Russia he first moved Telegram to Berlin, then London and Singapore before settling in Dubai.

"Of course," says tech expert Schmidt, "one can speculate that he is moving to avoid law enforcement. To date, Telegram's Dubai address has been looked on favorably by platform users, giving Durov more credibility because he can no longer be easily pursued by German or US officials."

That, too, says Schmidt, has serious consequences for users. "They have no way to gain recourse with Telegram."

The online platform was designed with that fact in mind. "You could see that positively if you were being targeted by criminal prosecutors for instance, but it would have drawbacks for someone who has fallen prey to online fraudsters."

The IT expert's final call: "Personally, I would cut a wide berth around Telegram when it comes to anything remotely confidential."

Supporters demand release of Telegram boss in France  01:49


This article was translated from German by Jon Shelton