BEWARE! Dangerous solar storm to hit Earth tomorrow

Story by HT Tech • Yesterday 

The Sun is confusing everyone. Just yesterday, we had an off-chance of a minor solar storm possibility due to fast-moving solar winds that were approaching the Earth. And today, as many as five different sunspots and two filaments of magnetism have emerged on the Earth-facing disk side of the Sun. This is the most active the Sun has been in months and it is directed entirely at our planet. If any explosion sets off, it would mean a massive burst of magnetic waves hitting our planet and causing all kinds of destruction. While we monitor that, a solar flare burst from the Sun's active region and it is headed for the Earth. Now, a dangerous solar storm is set to strike our planet tomorrow, December 8. How may it affect us? Read on.

According to a report by Interesting Engineering, a set of solar flares went off on the surface of the Sun and the coronal mass ejection (CME) escaping from the Sun is set to hit the Earth tomorrow. While the early prediction suggests that the solar storm can be of G1-class intensity, it will only be able to confirm this once the storm strikes our planet.

Solar storm to hit the Earth tomorrow

While G1-class solar storms are typically not the strongest, they can still cause a significant amount of problems. They are capable of causing disruption in radio waves, even a blackout. This can also impact GPS systems. As a result, flight timings can be delayed and ship transportation can be affected.

But with a number of active sunspots ready to explode, there is a chance of a G5-class solar storm. It can have disastrous consequences for Earth. The strongest solar storms can damage satellites, impact mobile networks and internet connectivity as well as cause power grid failure. Although humans will not be directly impacted by the radiation, due to disruptions to emergency services and power outages at places of high importance, it can still cause a high number of deaths.

The tech that monitors the Sun

Among many satellites and telescopes observing the Sun currently, one is the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The SDO carries a full suite of instruments to observe the Sun and has been doing so since 2010. It uses three very crucial instruments to collect data from various solar activities. They include Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) which takes high-resolution measurements of the longitudinal and vector magnetic field over the entire visible solar disk, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) which measures the Sun's extreme ultraviolet irradiance and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) which provides continuous full-disk observations of the solar chromosphere and corona in seven extreme ultraviolet (EUV) channels.

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Earth has been hit by an ‘unusual, intense blast of energy’ from nearby galaxy that could change our understanding of the universe

IT ALREADY HAS

Story by Andrew Griffin • 

Low-Res_Unknown.png.png© Aaron M. Geller/Northwestern/CIERA and IT Research Computing Services

Earth has been hit by an intense, unusual blast of light that could change our understanding of the universe, scientists have said.

Late last year, scientists spotted a 50-second-long blast of energy coming towards Earth, known as a gamma-ray burst or GRB, which are the most powerful explosions in the universe. Immediately, researchers started looking for the afterglow that such blasts leave behind, with that visible light being useful to find where the blast has come from.

Repeated signals coming to earth from another galaxy, scientists say

Duration 0:58  View on Watch

But those researchers instead found something else entirely: that the blast appeared to have come from a kilonova. Those rare events only happen when a neutron star merges with another very compact object – either another neutron star or a black hole.

The study challenges our understanding of where such long-lasting GRBs come from. But it could also provide an exciting way to answer other questions about the universe, such as where its heaviest elements come from, which still remains a mystery.

And the galaxy from which the GRB came from is also strange. It is young and still forming stars – the opposite of the only other known nearby galaxy that has played host to such an event.

“This event looks unlike anything else we have seen before from a long gamma-ray burst,” said Jillian Rastinejad, from Northwestern University, who led the study. “Its gamma rays resemble those of bursts produced by the collapse of massive stars.

Given that all other confirmed neutron star mergers we have observed have been accompanied by bursts lasting less than two seconds, we had every reason to expect this 50-second GRB was created by the collapse of a massive star. This event represents an exciting paradigm shift for gamma-ray burst astronomy.”

A paper describing the findings, ‘A kilonova following a long-duration gamma-ray burst at 350 Mpc’, is published in the journal Nature today.

The blast was first spotted in December 2021, by Nasa’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Since then, researchers have been looking to categorise the explosion, and understand where it might have come from.

Among other findings, they showed that the one event produced heavy elements that amounted to roughly 1,000 times the mass of our Earth. That suggests that kilonovae are the main place that gold is produced in the universe.

And because the galaxy from which the GRB came from is relatively nearby, scientists were able to get an unusually good look at it. What’s more, that could help explain other gamma-ray bursts that do not seem to fit with our understanding of where they come from.

“This was a remarkable GRB,” said Benjamin Gompertz. “We don’t expect mergers to last more than about two seconds. Somehow, this one powered a jet for almost a full minute. It’s possible the behaviour could be explained by a long-lasting neutron star, but we can’t rule out that what we saw was a neutron star being ripped apart by a black hole.

“Studying more of these events will help us determine which is the right answer and the detailed information we gained from GRB 211211A will be invaluable for this interpretation.”

And scientists hope that the switch-on of the James Webb Space Telescope will get an even better view of kilonovae. That telescope is able to capture images of distant astronomical objects, and “sniff” their atmosphere, allowing it to see exactly what elements are present through a process known as spectroscopy.

“Unfortunately, even the best ground-based telescopes are not sensitive enough to perform spectroscopy,” Rastinejad said. “With the JWST, we could have obtained a spectrum of the kilonova. Those spectral lines provide direct evidence that you have detected the heaviest elements.”

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YANKEE POLLUTION IN CANADIAN WATERS

Coast Guard identifies oil spill south of Prince Rupert


Oil is leaking again from the sunken United States Army Transport (USAT) Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski vessel in Grenville Channel, about 100 kilometres south of Prince Rupert, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) stated on Dec. 1.

Guardians noticed a “small amount” of oil on the water near the wreck site this September and October, the coast guard stated. They completed an assessment of the site and found three leaks releasing slow but consistent drops of oil into the marine environment.

The CCG is working with Gitga’at and Gitxaala First Nations who have created an Emergency Coordination Centre with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) along side the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to address the spill, a social media post stated.

The wreck is in a difficult location on the edge of a rocky shelf with challenging currents, tides and weather patterns. The ship itself is also badly deteriorating in some areas. These factors create a safety risk to the coast guard that they must consider in their plans to respond to the incident, a spokesperson wrote.

“While the current amount of marine pollution upwelling from the shipwreck is minimal, it is possible the amount could increase. The Canadian Coast Guard is taking action now to assess and contain the immediate threats posed by the wreck to prevent long-term damage to the environment.”

The Zalinski ran aground and sunk in Grenville Channel in 1946 while travelling from Seattle to Alaska. The vessel lies upside down in 27 metres of water and has had multiple small oil leaks.

In 2013 the CCG led an operation with Gitga’at First Nation to remove 40,000 litres of heavy oil and 319,000 litres of oily water, a spokesperson for the coast guard stated. However, during this removal mission, they found a number of fuel tanks had collapsed and therefore, they could not pump oil out at the time.

“Since 2013, the Canadian Coast Guard has been working in partnership with the Gitga’at and Gitxaala First Nations, keeping a close eye on the wreck and area.”

The leak this fall was just the latest in a series of spills. In 2015, they removed 3,300 litres of oil and three years later, in 2018, they removed 300 litres of oil.

Kaitlyn Bailey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Rupert Northern View

GREEN BANKING

Pressure building on suppliers to reduce emissions: BMO Climate Institute

TORONTO — Small and medium-sized businesses should start thinking about building climate plans into their operations to stay competitive, said the head of the BMO Climate Institute.



Susan McGeachie said large companies are increasingly looking at the emissions profile of their suppliers, providing both risks and opportunities for smaller players.

“It's always been on the radar, but in the last two years, it's really taken hold that the majority of their emissions are in their value chains.”

Her comments come as the institute released a survey Wednesday of more than 600 leaders of small and medium businesses in Canada and the U.S. that found 69 per cent of respondents expect climate change to disrupt operations over the next five years, while only 24 per cent of Canadian business have a plan to address it.

The survey, the first of a planned annual tally, is meant to establish a baseline to track progress as well as prompt businesses to consider how they plan to respond to the climate change challenges ahead, said McGeachie.

She said large companies are generally not yet cutting out suppliers over their level of climate action, but the trend is moving toward higher expectations.

For now a big part of the effort is just on getting better data, so that companies understand their emissions profile. Establishing a new measurement system can be costly but there are automated efforts in the works, said McGeachie.

Some corporations are also prepared to help suppliers reduce emissions by co-investing in new technology, she said.

“Big companies are actually looking strategically about the solutions that they can invest in, and how do they collaborate and work with partners.”

The survey of small and medium businesses found that 21 per cent said investor expectations influenced their decision to adopt a climate change policy, but most Canadian businesses ranked labour shortages and supply chain challenges as bigger concerns.

Only nine per cent of respondents in Canada said they feel supported by the government in their efforts to develop a climate plan.

BMO says small and medium enterprises account for about 98 of all businesses in Canada and employ about 70 per cent of the workforce.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.

Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press

‘Indict me too’: Will Cryptome’s call to be charged kill the case against WikiLeaks’ Assange?

Opinion by James C. Goodale, opinion contributor • 

Last week John Young, founder of Cryptome an American website, asked the Justice Department to indict his company for publishing some of the leaks for which WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange also has been indicted. Cryptome, Young asserts, published these leaks before Assange did.

There is no question that the Cryptome assertions are accurate, since they are fully documented and unchallenged in the opinion written by the United Kingdom court with respect to the extradition of Assange from Britain to the United States. Indeed, Young testified under oath in Assange’s U.K. case to this effect.

Since Cryptome published the leaks before Assange did, Assange should have no liability for such publication, many First Amendment lawyers believe. If so, this cuts the heart out of the government’s case against Assange, which is beginning to look like a piece of Swiss cheese because it has so many holes in it.

Young, an idiosyncratic architect in his late 70s with major architectural commissions to his credit, also teaches at Columbia University, from which he graduated. In the early 1990s he was among the first to scan classified materials on the internet, of which he had become an early user in connection with his architectural practice. Think of him as a brilliant, successful, highly educated, anti-war, anti-establishment activist.

It will be recalled that Army private Chelsea Manning leaked to Wikileaks classified materials consisting of diplomatic cables and Iraq-Afghanistan war logs — information from confidential sources involving the conduct of the war in those two countries. It also included a classified U.S. military video — now widely known as the “Collateral Murder” video — of two Reuters reporters being gunned down by a U.S. helicopter, an obvious war crime.

Assange published the war logs portion and the “Collateral Murder” tape. He then asked a range of U.S., British, French, German and Spanish media sites — The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El Pais — to be his partner in the publication of the diplomatic cables.

Assange spent months scrubbing these cables of sources. But before he could publish with his partners, Cryptome published his whole file.

It turned out that two Guardian journalists mistakenly published on the internet the code for Assange’s private material which disclosed sources and which he was using his best efforts to scrub. Cryptome noted the publication of Assange’s secret code, used it to open Assange’s website, and published information which Assange did not intend to publish, including his sources. Assange, furious that he had been scooped, then published himself with his sources identified.

This in turn means that Assange may not have liability under the U.S. Espionage Act for publication of the cables but only for publication of the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs. Even so, the U.S. government has a major problem in prosecuting Assange for the war logs because it was unable to prove in the case of Chelsea Manning that such publication caused any damage to anybody.

The government, no doubt realizing that it has severe weaknesses in its espionage case, bookended its indictment with hacking violations which might keep the case against Assange alive should the Espionage Act charges be eliminated.

Only one of the hacking violations was “tried” in the U.K. extradition case, and the U.S. government had a difficult time, in my estimation, proving its case.

Yet another hacking violation against Assange is based in part on dubious testimony from a convicted criminal who was jailed after the indictment, casting doubt on these hacking violations. In short, one wonders whether the hacking violations are merely a smoke screen to jail Assange by any means possible.

When Assange published the full version of the diplomatic cables, his publishing partners (The Guardian et al.) were angry with him since they “made a deal” with him that he would not publish sources. They wrote an angry letter to him which they made public; they did not know at the time, however, that Cryptome was the real culprit.

Last week, the New York Times and the other papers issued a statement backing Assange to let the public know they still support him and urge the Biden administration to drop the espionage case against him. This statement effectively cleared the air with respect to their relationship with Assange.

Assange’s case is on appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court and will be heard sometime next month. Assange also has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which could issue an injunction against his extradition.

It should be remembered that this case was brought by the Trump administration’s Justice Department, not by the Biden administration. Earlier, the Obama administration decided not to bring the case because it would set a precedent for suing those who publish classified information, such as The New York Times.

Despite what Cryptome says, the company really does not want to be indicted. It does, however, wish to attract attention to the illogic of the indictment of Assange. Cryptome’s Young said in an interview that “it is unfair to indict Assange” and not himself.

The whole case has a bad odor about it, inherited from the Trump administration. I have not asserted here, for example, the Trump-era CIA attempt to kidnap or kill Assange and the wiretap of his conversations with his lawyers, although I have written previously in The Hill about these events.

There is no reason Attorney General Merrick Garland should be stuck with an ill-advised case brought by the Trump administration. He would be well off getting rid of this one as soon as possible.

James C. Goodale is the former general counsel and vice chairman of The New York Times and the author of “Fighting for the Press: The Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

Trudeau says 120 countries are ready to agree to 30 by 30 framework at COP15

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he believes at least 120 countries are ready to sign on to a COP15 nature summit target to protect nearly one-third of land and marine coastlines by 2030.



But he acknowledges the negotiations with some of the five biggest countries in the world pose a diplomatic and political challenge.

China is officially the host of this conference but because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions there, the event is being held Montreal.

That gives Canada more influence in the negotiations, and Trudeau says it's allowed Canada to push for more than China was seeking.

He also says Canada made it clear to both China and the UN that if the conference was in Montreal it would be under local rules, with tolerance for protest and divergent opinions.

Trudeau says Russia, which is home to one-fifth of the world's forested land, is already proving to be a disruptive presence at COP15 — but Canada and other countries are determined not to let Russia prevent a successful deal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Developed countries called on to provide meaningful financial support at COP15

MONTREAL — Hard talks on hard targets for saving the world's biodiversity began Wednesday at an international conference in Montreal, with calls for rich nations to pony up to save functioning ecosystems where most of them exist — in poor nations.


Developed countries called on to provide meaningful financial support at COP15© Provided by The Canadian Press

"We need developed countries to provide meaningful financial support for the countries of the global south as custodians of the world’s natural wealth following centuries of exploitation and loss," said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the COP15 conference began.

Delegates from more than 190 countries will try over the next two weeks to thrash out what they call a framework for preserving biodiversity with timed, measurable targets.

Prominent among them is a proposal that nearly a third of Earth's land and water should be protected by 2030. Advocates say more than 100 countries support the idea, but the draft text on conservation targets still has more brackets in it than agreed wording.

"We've made some progress," said Stephen Woodley of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a high-profile group of governments and civil society organizations advising conference delegates. "It's tough sledding."

But funding — known in COP-speak as "mobilization of resources" — is considered just as central to success.

The rationale is simple. Most remaining biodiversity is in the developing nations of the global south, while most of the money — much of which has been generated at the expense of that biodiversity — is in the rich countries of the north.

That's where the simplicity ends.

"It is one of the tricky issues of this process," said Eddy Perez of Climate Action Network Canada.

Estimates of the possible tab vary wildly.

Perez said a group of African countries is looking for about $100 billion a year. The International Union for Conservation of Nature — an influential group of scientists and non-governmental organizations — says the figure should be twice that.

"The total need is very difficult to assess," said Florian Titze of the World Wildlife Fund. "The only thing they have in common is it's in the hundreds of billions."

Related video: UN Biodiversity Conference kicks-off in Montreal (WION)
Duration 3:20
View on Watch





Negotiators haven't even agreed on how the tab should be tallied.

There's money for biodiversity from governments, spent both internationally and domestically. There's money from private finance that does the same.

And there's funding from public and private sources that works against it. The UN says in 2019 major investment banks provided an estimated $2.6 trillion to sectors that governments and scientists agree are driving ecosystem destruction.

On Tuesday, Canada announced it would earmark an additional $350 million for biodiversity projects in developing countries. On Wednesday, the European Union sounded skeptical about upping its contribution from its pledge of $7 billion by 2025.

Hugo-Maria Schally, the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment, told the conference that the current amounts being discussed are "not realistic."

Dollar amounts aren't even the whole story.

"It is capacity building," said Perez. "It is technology transfer.

"It can't just be a number issue."

As well, mobilization of resources must be accompanied by disclosure standards, so both investors and voters can assess how their money is being used.

"That is one of the important elements of reform of the financial system," Titze said. "We don't even have the data that tells us, for example, how a financial institution is contributing to the destruction of nature."

Both he and Perez agree that talks on the financial side of preserving biodiversity aren't as advanced as those on conservation areas.

The conservation side has a defined target. Finance has a 10-point plan signed on to by a scant 16 countries.

But one can't move forward without the other, said Titze.

"If we're not setting the right ambition for the (conservation) measures that need to be taken, it's almost impossible to set the level of ambition in finance. One side of the room is waiting for the other."

Titze said one thing is certain.

"Now is the time to make progress."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2020.

— By Bob Weber in Edmonton and Jacob Serebrin in Montreal

The Canadian Press

CANADA'S WORST FEMICIDE

'It's heartbreaking': NAIT vigil remembers Polytechnique Montreal victims

Story by Hamdi Issawi • Yesterday 

A circle of 14 empty chairs served as a poignant reminder of the women killed in a mass shooting at Polytechnique Montréal 33 years ago, and the need to end misogyny.


To mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology installed 14 chairs on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, to remember the murdered victims of a mass shooting at Polytechnique Montreal in 1989.© Provided by Edmonton Journal

The installation appeared at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s Feltham Centre in Edmonton to honour the 14 women who died in the massacre. On Dec. 6, 1989, a man motivated by a hatred of feminists shot and killed them, and injured 13 other people at the facility.

Tanya Fir, the Alberta government’s parliamentary secretary for the status of women, spoke at a noon vigil near the installation, where she recalled struggling to comprehend the senseless act of violence, being a junior high school student at the time.

“As I look over at those 14 empty chairs, I feel grief and anger, but also resolve,” Fir said. “Grief for the lives lost and all the family members and friends whose lives were forever changed on that day, anger that such an act of discrimination and hatred ever occurred, but resolve to do something about it.”

The vigil for those women coincides with the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, observed annually on Dec. 6 to remember the victims of gender-based violence.

About 50 people attended the service, although more, namely students, watched the event unfold overhead from behind the second-floor railing.

A few people wandered through the installation before and after the speakers delivered their remarks to peruse framed biographies of the victims and accompanying photos resting on the chairs.

Some of the seats were furnished with clothing and accessories, such as a red sweater, purple backpack and engineering textbooks. Most of the women killed in the Polytechnique Montréal shooting were engineering students.

Carrie Vos, program controller for Women Building Futures, tried to imagine the effects those women would have had on engineering, possibly as role models that would have attracted other women to a field where they are underrepresented. Her organization helps women find careers that pay more than just a living wage.

‘We still have so far to go’

“We will never know the true extent of this loss,” said Vos, a keynote speaker at the vigil. “But it’s important that we continue to work toward gender parity in engineering trades and technology. Everyone should have the opportunity to choose a career without being discouraged or restrained by others due to their gender.”

Felicia Ricard, a social worker in Edmonton who focuses on gender-based violence as well as missing and murdered women, found the remembrance both powerful and painful.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said standing next to one of the empty seats. “It’s been 33 years since this happened, and we’ve come a long way, but we still have so far to go.”

In 2017, there were 350,457 victims of police-reported violent crime in Canada (968 per 100,000 population), 53 per cent of whom were female, Statistics Canada reported in 2018. Among those reported acts of violence, 50 per cent were physical assault offences, 29 per cent were sexual offences, and 21 per cent were other violent offences, the agency reported.

However, a 2021 Statistics Canada report based on general social survey results found that the rate of violent victimization was nearly twice as high among women (106 incidents per 1,000 women) than men (59 incidents per 1,000 men) in 2019.

The vigil ended with a moment of silence and a reading of the victims’ names: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz.

— With files from The Canadian Press

hissawi@postmedia.com

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for EMOTIONAL PLAGUE 

REAL CONSPIRACIES ARE RIGHT WING

Meet aristocrat behind bizarre German coup attempt

Story by Brad Hunter • Toronto Sun

COUP LEADER? Heinrich XIII, Prince of Reuss, the alleged German coup attempt leader. REUTERS© Provided by Toronto Sun

Heinrich XIII, Prince of Reuss — as he calls himself — is a conspiracy-loving aristocrat who wants to bring back the monarchy to Germany.

Cops say the 71-year-old is behind the bizarre far-right plot to overthrow the German government in a coup.

On Wednesday, German investigators arrested 25 people belonging to a terrorist network called the “Reichsbürger” or “Citizens of the Reich.” Members reject the modern German state and have called for a return to a monarchy which was torpedoed by Germany’s defeat in the First World War.

Heinrich XIII, Prince of Reuss, is the ringleader, police have alleged.

According to reports, the aristocrat is an actual descendent of the House of Reuss, the family that ruled huge swaths of Germany for hundreds of years.


Cops say the plotters wanted to restore the German monarchy, abolished in 1918. Kaiser Wilhelm was the last monarch. PUBLIC SPHERE

However, relatives of the “Prince” said he is a “confused old man” and a “conspiracy nut.” But members of the Reichsbürger are said to worship him.

He is said to have one son, Heinrich XXVIII, with Iranian-born wife Susan Doukht Jalali. She asks to be addressed by the name Princess Susan Reuss.

Born in 1951, he inherited a fortune from the family dynasty that was said to have been established in the 12th century. All of the male sons have been named Heinrich in tribute to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI.

All was well until the German revolution of 1918 after the empire’s collapse. That’s when his great-grandfather — Heinrich (again) XXVII — was forced to abdicate at gunpoint and the family’s vast holdings were absorbed into the German state.


A policeman stands behind a car of the forensic experts during a raid on December 7, 2022 in Berlin that is part of nationwide early morning raids against members of a far-right “terror group” suspected of planning an attack.© TOBIAS SCHWARZ

While the family kept much of its wealth and numerous castles and palaces, their power was profoundly diminished.

Apparently, the dissolution of Germany’s monarchy has long been a bee in the bonnet of Heinrich XIII.

He delivered a keynote address at a Worldwebforum event in Zurich in 2019 and for 15 minutes railed against Germany’s lack of a monarchy and his family’s loss of influence.

“[People who liver under his ancestor’s rule] lived happy lives because the administrative structures were straightforward and transparent,” he claimed.

“When things aren’t going well … who are you supposed to turn to today? Your parliamentarian? Local, federal, EU-level? Good luck!”

But other family members are said to be aghast and spokesman Heinrich XIV said Heinrich XIII was disillusioned and a “confused old man who now gets caught up in conspiracy theory misconceptions.”

German detectives said Heinrich XIII was the movement’s ideological standard-bearer and Herr Moneybanks.

The goal was to overthrow the German government and replace it with a monarchy. They alleged Heinrich XIII had also been in contact with Russian officials to create the new order.

Of course, the new German leader was slated to be Heinrich XIII. Russian diplomats have denied any involvement or links to the aspiring kaiser.

Dozens detained in Germany on suspected plot to overthrow government: Prosecutor

Thousands of police officers have carried out a series of raids across much of Germany on Wednesday morning against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state by force, according to the Attorney General at the Federal Court of Justice in Germany.

Federal prosecutors said some 3,000 officers conducted searches at 130 sites in 11 of Germany's 16 states against adherents of the so-called Reich Citizens movement.

Prosecutors said 25 German citizens were detained on suspicion of "membership in a terrorist organization" and that the group, which was not identified in their statement announcing the raids, is alleged to have believed in a "conglomerate of conspiracy theories consisting of narratives from the so-called Reich Citizens as well as Q-Anon ideology," according to a statement by prosecutors.

Many had military training and some of those arrested include former soldiers.


Police secures the area after 25 suspected members and supporters of a far-right terrorist group were detained during raids across Germany, in Frankfurt, Germany December 7, 2022.© Tilman Blasshofer/Reuters

The arrests were made at various locations in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Thuringia. At least two arrests were made outside of Germany's borders -- one in the Kitzbühel region of Austria and the other in Perugia in Italy.

Searches were also conducted in a number of other federal states including Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

"The accused belong to a terrorist organization founded by the end of November 2021 at the latest, which has set itself the goal of overcoming the existing state order in Germany and replacing it with its own form of government, which has already been developed in outline," federal prosecutors said in a statement following the raids. "The members of the association are aware that this project can only be realized through the use of military means and violence against state representatives. This also includes committing homicides. The accused are united by a deep rejection of the state institutions and the free democratic basic order of the Federal Republic of Germany."

The rise of violent hard-right groups in Germany, including white supremacist and neo-Nazi factions, was detected years before law enforcement in the U.S. was willing to acknowledge the problem existed in America. In the final years of the Merkel government -- and prior to the pandemic -- some German intelligence officials were actively pushing Berlin to be more outspoken and aggressive in calling out the issue for fear that silence was allowing it to fester as the mainstream German population continued to believe it was a problem buried in the past.

With the rise of Q-Anon, the violent far-right and the re-energized militia movement in the U.S., other fringe groups in Europe and America started feeding off each other’s energy and online growth. The movements now, in many ways, mirror each other and cross-pollenate.

Authorities are expected to hold a press conference later today detailing the massive operation.

ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

'More to do' on systemic barriers facing Muslim charities, Trudeau acknowledges


OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledges there is "significantly more to do" on the systemic barriers that confront Muslim charities amid concerns from a federal watchdog that his review of the issue also faces roadblocks.

In a statement last month, taxpayers' ombudsperson François Boileau said his office was having trouble obtaining information needed from the Canada Revenue Agency to conduct his review.

Following her participation in a national summit last year on Islamophobia, Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier asked the ombudsperson to conduct a systemic review of the concerns of certain Muslim charities about their treatment by the revenue agency.

Lebouthillier asked the watchdog to pay particular attention to concerns about the selection of files for audit purposes by the Review and Analysis Division of the revenue agency's charities directorate.

A 2021 report by the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group said the division works with national security agencies to carry out these audits, with little accountability or independent review.

Asked about the ombudsperson's difficulties today, Trudeau says there is significantly more to do on the overall issue, adding the government will look at what next steps can be taken to ensure accountability and openness.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Letters: Pierre Poilievre is wrong. We should legalize, not crack down on, illicit drugs

Story by National Post • 

A reader takes issue with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's get-tough-on-drugs stance, saying enforcing drug laws is a waste of police resources and a futile endeavour.

‘For a few, altering their mood in order to live is a self-coping necessity’

Re: Poilievre shows how to save people from the ravages of addiction, Jamil Jivani, Nov. 24

Jamil Jivani argues convincingly, at least hypothetically, that lived experience should be the foundation of conservative policies to fix social ills rather than left-right ideology. But when he cites Pierre Poilievre’s recent anti-drug video — in which the Conservative leader advocated ending safe-supply programs for addicts, blocking the drugs flowing into Canada and increasing penalties for pushers — then Jivani loses credibility. In fact, Poilievre’s policy is merely repeating the punitive prohibitions that were the basis of the American-led war on drugs that failed miserably.

The demanding human condition is such that for a few, altering their mood in order to live is a self-coping necessity. For these individuals drug use isn’t a lifestyle choice but part of their being alive. Scolding them for lacking moral attributes will not work. Moreover, misspending fortunes on law enforcement to deprive addicts of drugs is a waste of money — which would have been better spent targeting violent crimes — without social benefits.

Instead of prohibition, realism should be the policy driver to fix Canada’s social ills with regard to illegal drugs. Canada legalized marijuana ahead of many other western democracies and we are not worse off as a result. Portugal legalized all drugs and so far has produced better overall outcomes in lives and money saved. Unfortunately, with Poilievre’s retreat into past anti-drug policies, the Conservatives are positioned politically on the wrong side of history.

Tony D’Andrea, Toronto