Saturday, July 29, 2023

The Grandfather of Modern Neo-Nazism Is Fighting With Satanic Neo-Nazis Now


The ongoing flame war among some of the worst people alive has resulted in the inevitable—calls for murders.

By Mack Lamoureux
VICE
July 28, 2023



JAMES MASON LOOKS AT THE LATEST EDITION OF SIEGE IN ONE
 PHOTO VIA SCREENSHOT

In the latest edition of infighting occurring in the worst corners of the internet, influential neo-Nazi James Mason is going to war with a satanic sect of Nazis who published his book.

Mason, arguably the grandfather of the neo-Nazi accelerationist movement, is particularly at odds with a small satanic cell of the Order of Nine Angles. The Order of Nine Angles, or O9A is a decentralized neo-Nazi Satanic group connected to both acts of violence and horrific pedophilia. Despite how obtuse the O9A is, they have an outsized influence on the far-right.

The cell in particular is a splinter group from a splinter group of the infamous neo-Nazi terror organization Atomwaffen. According to propaganda photos published by this specific cell, they don’t seem to be much larger than three people.

Mason, 71, is best known for a collection of his writings in which he argues for militant action and that the collapse of Western civilization is necessary for the survival of the white race. Written in the 1980s, Mason’s work found a new life over the last decade, becoming massively influential in the far-right, particularly those in the militant accelerationist milieu—which believes they must hasten the fall of society so they can build a white ethnostate from the ashes—like Atomwaffen and The Base. Earlier this year, the small satanic neo-Nazi cell was able to pull together enough money to publish a new copy of Mason’s influential terrorist manifesto—which they called the “666 edition.”

The latest edition, which VICE News has reviewed, has an introduction section where the editor claims to have gotten to personally know Mason and actually helped publish the previous edition. It essentially states Mason has grown meeker than the ideas presented in his work and denounces him.


MACK LAMOUREUX
07.11.23


After becoming aware of the “666” publication, Mason made a video called “Satanic Expose,” where he accused the group of being a front for the FBI (an influential member of the O9A was previously proven to be a federal informant.) The main piece of evidence he presents for his claim is essentially that the 666 Edition was physically too well-made for a neo-Nazi publication.

“We here call it the 'federal edition' because of its high quality, hardback, coded stock, color throughout... most impressive! Not only that, I initially heard this was (a) $100 volume, and I can believe it, but I'm told now they're giving it away,” he says in the video. “Most odd, who has that kind of money? That's why we call it the federal edition. The feds do good work.”

In response to the video, the O9A adherents made a blog post where they called him “the high priest of deceleration James ‘don't do it’ Mason” and complained he was all talk, no terror crimes. This insult, while coming from a group that appears to be pretty small, got to Mason so much that he essentially suggested to his followers they may as well commit murder..

Earlier this week Mason released a video he and his team entitled “Accelerate!” where he addresses the satanic Nazis insults. In it, Mason takes umbrage with the small sect of satanic neo-Naizs and others who have been calling him soft. For over 12 minutes, Mason sits in front of his mantle and rants about these groups.

At one point Mason begins telling the story of his first arrest, which he says came in 1969 in Silver Spring, Maryland after he and his fellow Nazis were caught postering a Jewish store. He said that he got off lightly but times have changed and his followers that do similar actions will likely catch a hate crime charge.

“Today, I think most will know what would happen in a case such as this. A federal hate crime, your life turned upside down,” he says in the video. “Now, this sort of activity is exactly what these types who are calling me a decelerationist are advocating. ‘No,' they say 'no need to go out and kill anyone, just play these stupid and silly games.' I say that if you choose death or prison, then you might as well go all the way with it.”

Josh Fisher-Birch, an analyst with the Counter Extremism Project, told VICE News that this goes along with Mason’s past statements where he accuses those arguing for low level crime of being “feds” repeatedly and “winks at his audience by saying that if one is going to commit an illegal act and risk prison or death, it should ‘count’ and be done in secret.”
 
MACK LAMOUREUX
06.30.23


“It suggests that Mason does not want to be seen as someone who would never advocate violence in any circumstance,” said Fisher-Birch. “It gives Mason an out to avoid responsibility and tries to confer all agency on the hypothetical perpetrator. Mason is, of course, speaking to an audience where certain members do certainly believe in the use of violence.”

For some reason, cuckoo clocks go off at random intervals and interrupt him throughout, making the video of a septuagenarian neo-Nazi ideologue encouraging his followers to kill feel even more bizarre than it already is.

The Empire Never Ended, a podcast that chronicles the ins and outs of the extreme right, recently did an episode on the satanic cell where they tracked its growth. The cell in particular splintered off from the National Socialist Order, a group which itself was formed when Atomwaffen disbanded. They splintered off essentially over adherence to the O9A.

“In the fall of last year, when a beef with James Mason ballooned into yet another realization that National Socialist Order was still full of Nazi Satanists, a big chunk of them, including at least one founding member according to Mason, went off to make the (neo-Nazi cell) and ‘build a community of true evil’ and all that nonsense,” said Fritz McAlinden, one of the show's hosts.

McAlinden added he “can't think of a dumber and more edge-lordy group.” In regards to the statements Mason made, McAlinden said, the elder neo-Nazi is singing “the same old song.”

“He's very weaselly about this,” he said. “This is the classic thing where they all want to be the most evil but none of them want to get in trouble.”

Neo-Nazis and other members of far-right groups tearing themselves apart are nothing new. If you track the movement over decades you’ll see countless examples of bigots going after bigots. Just recently the neo-Nazi Active Clubs had a nationwide online tizzy with the Proud Boys, a far-right street fighting group because a few members were pushed around in Oregon.

It’s something that holds true no matter how bizarre or influential the groups become. They can be an influential neo-Nazi who has inspired murders, or a weird little racist occult group, but they can’t resist the siren song of a flame war.

SEE




German soccer star Özil's tattoo: Who are the Gray Wolves?

Elmas Topcu
07/27/2023
DW

Former Germany midfielder Mesut Özil has made headlines with a picture of him showing a Gray Wolves tattoo. But who are the Turkish ultranationalists and why are they under observation by German authorities?

Former German national team player Mesut Özil has a tattoo with Gray Wolves symbols
Image: Instagram

Fitness coach Alper A. is fond of posting pictures of his clients on Instagram, typically the classic "before and after" shots that showcase his success stories. The most recent one, featuring Mesut Özil, a former Germany national football team star, has caused a stir. The two men stand side-by-side proudly flaunting their toned stomachs after an apparently successful training program.

But it is the tattoo visible on the left side of Özil's chest that is at the center of discussions in Germany, where he was born and raised in a Turkish immigrant family. It shows the silhouette of a howling wolf and three crescent moons — typical symbols of the Turkish ultranationalist group the Gray Wolves, also known as the Idealist Hearths or Ulku Ocaklari.

The animal is an important symbol for Turkish right-wing extremists. In mythology, a gray wolf saved the ancestors of the Turkish peoples from their enemies and helped them ascend as a great power. For many, it therefore represents power. The wolf hand salute also comes from this myth.
The well-known gray wolf salute on display

Three crescents were found on the war flag of the Ottomans. Today, they form the party logo of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which has beenthe largest ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for years.

Gray Wolf ideology


German authorities characterise the group's ideology as nationalist-extremist, anti-Semitic and racist. Their stereotypical enemies include Kurds,Armenians, Jews and Christians, since they believe in the superiority of the Turkish nation. The Gray Wolves committed numerous acts of violence and murders in the past, particularly in the 1970s.

According to Germany's domestic intelligence services, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the aim of the Gray Wolves is to establish a homogeneous state of all Turkic peoples under Turkish leadership — from the Balkans to western China.

The logo of ultranationalist party MHP: three white crescents on a red background
I
There are two main currents within the Gray Wolves: the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Great Unity Party (BBP), the extremism researcher Kemal Bozay finds.

Of the two, the ultranationalist MHP is the original Gray Wolves organization, according to Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Gray Wolves in Europe

Gray Wolves are organized throughout Europe. A regional umbrella organization, the Turkish Confederation in Europe, was founded in the German city of Frankfurt in 2007 to bundle the various European offshoots.

Across Europe, there have been repeated clashes involving Gray Wolves, particularly with Kurds. Austria prohibited Gray Wolves symbols in 2019 and France banned their offshoot in 2020. Late that same year, the German parliament resolved to consider a similar ban. So far, it has not come to fruition.

Security authorities in Germany believe there are some 11,000 Gray Wolves members, around 9,500 of them organized in associations, nationwide.

The association with the largest number of members is the "Türkisch Demokratischen Idealistenvereine in Deutschland" (Turkish Democratic Idealists Associations in Germany), known as ADÜTDF from Turkish-language acronym. It represents the interests of the ultranationalist MHP, Erdogan's ally. With over 7,000 members in Germany, ADÜTDF is the largest known umbrella organization within the Gray Wolves milieu. It is organized into 160 local associations.

The second biggest is ATIB, the "Union der Türkisch-Islamischen Kulturvereine in Europa" (the Union of Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations in Europe). According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it has 1,200 members and is organized into 25 local associations throughout Germany. It was founded in 1987 by a well-known member of the Ülkücü milieu, who is said to have provided the hitman's weapon and wages for the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

The Gray Wolves are also known as the Idealist Hearths (Ulku Ocaklari)


Germany's third umbrella organization is the Federation of World Order in Europe (ANF). Nationwide, it has some 1,200 members in about 15 local chapters, according to German authorities. ANF represents the interests of the Islamic-ultranationalist Great Unity Party (BBP), which is also a member of Erdogan's electoral alliance. Numerous political murders in Turkey have been attributed to the BBP. Its members are also alleged to have been involved in the murder of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul.

This article was originally published in German.

German teachers pushed out for calling out 'far-right' pupils

Burg (Germany) (AFP) – Two teachers have been pressured out of their jobs in a small German town after denouncing the alleged right-wing extremism of their pupils, in a case that sparked a national outcry.

Issued on: 29/07/2023 
One of the teachers said some of their colleagues at the Mina Witkojc school supported them, but others did not 
 Céline LE PRIOUX / AFP

Laura Nickel and Max Teske were working in the high school in Burg, a picturesque town in the eastern state of Brandenburg popular with tourists, when they noticed worrying behaviour among some of their students.

"Right-wing extremism was on full display in the school," Nickel, 34, told AFP. "From Hitler salutes to swastikas drawn on dictionaries and students' lockers, not to mention racist and homophobic language."

"They were really the loudest pupils -- they did not hide," she added.

In April, the teachers sent an anonymous letter to the local press denouncing the behaviour they had witnessed.

The letter's publication led to other schools in eastern Germany reporting similar incidents and renewed soul-searching about the growing appeal of extremism.

The far-right AfD party has climbed to record highs in opinion polls in recent weeks, boosted by discontent with the ruling coalition. It is making most progress in the former communist east.

Many in the east -- known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during communist rule -- still feel they lost out when national reunification happened in 1990.

A study by the University of Leipzig has indicated that democracy is less deep-rooted than in the west, while some miss aspects of authoritarian rule from the GDR era.

After reporting the behaviour, Nickel said the teachers at the Mina Witkojc school found some of their colleagues supported them but others did not, and the school management "was passive".

At the end of the school year, an anonymous letter from some students' parents was sent to the management, demanding the resignation of the two teachers.

Then about 100 stickers with photos of the pair and the words "Piss off to Berlin" were put up all over Burg, and a call to hunt them down even appeared on an Instagram account, but was later taken down.

The pressure became too much for Nickel and Teske, 31, who requested to be transferred.
'Committed teachers'

The decision was applauded by the AfD, with Lena Kotre, a member of the Brandenburg regional parliament, telling AFP the teachers were "cowards" who were "unable to face up to headwinds".

She played down the pupils' Hitler salutes, despite the fact there are photos of them making the gesture, and it is an offence punishable by up to three years in jail in Germany.

"They did not want to glorify the Third Reich but to provoke, like teenagers do when they are going through puberty," she said.

Timo Reinfrank of the anti-racist Amadeu Antonio Foundation said the area around Burg is one of the worst in Germany when it comes to racism and homophobia.

"A mixture of neo-Nazis, hooligans, organised crime and far-right businesses has flourished," he said.

"The police are being intimidated and the courts are being lenient."

The teachers' cause has found some support, with regional education minister Steffen Freiberg condemning the attacks against them.

And efforts are under way to bolster resistance to the far right in Burg, with the town's council chief Tobias Hentschel lamenting the school had "lost two young, committed teachers... who put their finger where it hurts".

Tourism is a major source of income in the spa town, famous for its cucumbers and gherkins and home to a small Slavic-speaking minority, and local officials recognise the catering and hotel sectors rely heavily on foreign workers.

In a video posted on the town's website, six residents -- including the mayor, a man who rents out canoes and a school social worker -- speak out against "all forms of extremism, racism and discrimination".

© 2023 AFP
Germany: AfD to join far-right partners in EU parliament


Alternative for Germany (AfD) delegates at this year's party conference voted to strengthen ties with other far-right parties in the EU


AfD delegates voted to join a far-right coalition with hopes of more EU money and a chance to hollow out Brussels from the inside

Members of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) gathered in the eastern German city of Magdeburg Friday to begin their annual party conference, which will last until Sunday.

The party is currently polling well nationally, between 18% and 22%, as establishment parties struggle with voter resentment. The party's numbers are roughly twice what they were during 2021 federal elections. In Magdeburg, leadership implored members not to let up.

Party co-chair Tino Chrupalla said the numbers reflect a new "harmony" among leadership. "We will carry this harmony into the next election," he said, as he greeted some 600 delegates in attendance.

Chrupalla referenced upcoming state elections in Bavaria and Hesse, and voiced confidence about the broader prospect of growing political popularity, saying, "Next year we can win Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg" — all states in the east of the country where AfD has tended to perform best.



AfD leader Chrupalla: Anyone but the Greens

He told those gathered that the party must prepare itself to govern, and warned, "We shouldn't make the mistake of committing ourselves solely to a coalition with the CDU" — referring to the center-right Christian Democratic Union, which has lurched farther right in an attempt to keep its voters from fleeing to the AfD.

Chrupalla went on to profess a readiness to work with any party willing to pursue "policy in the interest of citizens." He did make one exception, however, vowing not to work with the Green Party, which is currently part of Germany's ruling coalition alongside the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Free Democrats (FDP).

Earlier in the day, DW spoke with AfD deputy co-chair Beatrix von Storch, who suggested voting for the AfD was, "very legitimate … if you're disappointed with all the other parties."

Doubling down on the concept of protest votes being cast by citizens looking to force change, von Storch said, "This is a very strong signal for the government and also for the other opposition parties, the so-called CDU, that they have to think about how to make a different politics for Germany."

"We are not only very strong in the eastern part of Germany, here we are number one in the polls," she said, "but in the whole of Federal Republic of Germany, we are number two."


AfD, looking to dismantle the EU from the inside

Another major topic on the first day of the conference was that of political participation at the EU level.

Despite the desire of some within the euroskeptic party to initiate a "DEXIT" modeled on the ill-fated UK divorce from the EU, party leadership on Friday vowed to increase its work on the European level, something that was overwhelmingly supported by the majority of those present in Magdeburg.

Delegates voted to approve leadership's intention to join the far-right ID Group (Identity and Democracy) in the EU. Individual AfD MEPs are already part of the group, which was created in 2019 and includes right-wing populists from nine EU countries, but by officially joining the ID Group, AfD stands to receive more financing from Brussels.

The AfD plans to initiate its plan by September 15, saying ID represents, "a very good platform to continue to expand networking with AfD's European sister parties." EU financing is proportional to the number of MEPs a given party has seated in Brussels and Strasbourg.

Those within the party who oppose the approach say it threatens both the AfD's independence and its credibility as an anti-EU force. Those in favor say joining the ID Group will allow far-right politicians to battle the EU from within.

The ID group, which says its focus is fighting illegal immigration, currently has 62 members. Led by Marco Zanni of Italy's far-right Lega Party, which has the most members (25), the group includes France's National Rally (RN), Austria's Freedom Party (FPÖ), Belgium's Flemish Interest (VB) and similar far-right parties from the Czech Republic, Denmark and Estonia.

Currently, AfD has nine MEPs but is looking to up that number to around 20.

Long plagued by infighting, AfD Co-Chair Chrupalla (l) said harmony with Co-Chair Weidel helps party popularity
Image: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa/picture-alliance

'Europe, we're coming to save Germany'


Saxony-Anhalt state AfD leader Martin Richard claimed the meeting in Magdeburg would send a clear signal, one that says, "Europe, we're coming to save Germany." Like the ID Group itself, the AfD is calling for a transfer of power back to individual countries, states and municipalities, seeking what it calls a "Europe of fatherlands."

Party Co-Chair Alice Weidel said nations are the "right vessel for democracies," claiming Europe had become bloated and inefficient.

"The country and Europe are leaning to the extreme right," said Left Party Chairman Martin Schirdewan on Friday. "At the same time the extreme right is holding a party conference under the banner of abolishing democracy and being anti-Europe."

Schirdewan said, "strong dissatisfaction with the ruling coalition and Berlin as well as a specifically east German feeling of being treated as second-class citizens are giving the AfD a dangerous boost… the coalition is not keeping its promises and the right is playing on people's frustration."

Making a plea for better social policies and a clear stance against the far right, Schirdewan said, "why the finance minister [Christian Lindner / FDP] would cut programs specifically aimed at fighting right-wing extremism now is incomprehensible."

European Parliament election results: The main countries at a glance

Pro-EU forces took nearly two-thirds of seats in the European Parliament, countering a populist surge in most countries. Nevertheless, euroskeptics fared well in France and Brexit-ridden Britain, among other countries.



Italy: Populist surge continues


Interior Minister Matteo Salvini's far-right League took 33.6% of the vote, a jump from the 17% claimed by the anti-immigration party in 2018 national elections. The results may change the balance of power in the League's fragile coalition with 5-Star, which slumped to 16.6% compared to with 32% in national elections last year. The opposition Democratic Party won 23.5%.Image: AFP/M. Medina


Spain: Traditional parties buck trend and bounce back

Unlike much of the continent, Spain's traditional center-left and center-right parties enjoyed a renaissance. The governing Socialists picked up 33% of the vote. That makes the PSOE the strongest social democrat delegation in the European Parliament. The conservative, pro-EU Popular Party won 20%, while Ciudadanos took 12.2%. The new far-right Vox party took only 6.2%; Podemos barely cracked 10%.


Germany: Main parties suffer losses, Greens surge

Angela Merkel's CDU and its CSU ally won 28% of the vote, down 7 points from 2014. The Social Democrats continued to plunge, dropping 11 points to only 15.6%. The Greens emerged a real winner, doubling their support from the last polls to 20.7%. The euroskeptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 10.6% percent, a notable dip from its 2017 general election performance.


France: Len Pen on top, but most seats to pro-EU parties


Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) claimed first place overall, but RN's 23.5% of the vote represented a slight loss of support compared to 2014. The En Marche-led coalition won 22.5%, closer to Le Pen than polls had predicted. The Republicans and Socialists, France's traditional heavyweights, continued their political collapse, while the Greens jumped to third.


UK: Brexit Party first, Conservatives and Labour punished

Britain emerged from the vote polarized as it tries to leave the EU by October. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party took first place with 31.7%, although the pro-EU Liberal Democrats also enjoyed a surge in support. Both the Conservatives and Labour were hammered, receiving 8.7% and 14%, respectively. The UK's latest batch of MEPs will vacate the European Parliament if the country leaves the EU.


Hungary: Fidesz strong in polls, seeking a group in parliament


Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told supporters that his Fidesz party, which won 13 of Hungary's 21 seats in the EU Parliament, "will cooperate with everyone who wants to stop immigration." Fidesz was suspended from the EPP bloc over the deterioration in the rule of law in Hungary. Orban did not address speculation that Fidesz could join Italy's Matteo Salvini's far-right bloc, the ENF.I


The Netherlands: Socialists win, anti-EU parties lose ground


Frans Timmermans, the center-left Socialist and Democrats (S&D) bloc's top candidate, led his PvdA party to the top spot in the Netherlands with 19% of the vote. He's called for progressive parties in the EU Parliament such as the Liberals, Greens and Socialist to work together. The Netherlands' two right-wing populist parties secured a combined 15% of the vote.Image: picture-alliance/AA/D. Aydemir

Hong Kong court rejects government ban on protest song

A top court in the semi-autonomous territory has turned down an effort to ban the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong." The anthem emerged from the city's widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019.


The song has Cantonese lyrics and urges people to assert their freedom
Image: Kin Cheung/AP/dpa/picture alliance

Hong Kong's High Court on Friday "declined to grant" a government injunction to ban the protest song "Glory to Hong Kong," saying it might undermine freedom of expression.

Demonstrators widely sang and played the anthem during pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Why was there an injunction request?


Authorities had deemed the song seditious after China imposed a national security law to crack down on dissent in the former British territory.

However, Hong Kong officials lodged the injunction bid after the music — which appeared as a top search engine result for the city's anthem — was mistakenly played at several international events, including rugby and ice hockey competitions.

Hong Kong's government has pressured Google to display China's national anthem as the top result in searches for Hong Kong's anthem instead of the song, but without success.

Google said it would only remove the song if the government presented a court order proving it violated local laws.

The government said the lyrics contained a slogan that could constitute a call for secession.

"Glory to Hong Kong" emerged in August 2019 amid massive and sometimes violent democracy demonstrations that saw millions protest to demand political freedoms.

It features Cantonese lyrics that call upon people to "break now the dawn, liberate our Hong Kong; in common breath, revolution of our times."

The injunction would have banned the song from being disseminated or performed "with the intention of inciting others to commit secession or with a seditious intent."


What did the court say?


Judge Anthony Chan said in his ruling that banning "Glory to Hong Kong" would raise serious freedom of expression issues.

"I cannot be satisfied that it is just and convenient to grant the injunction," said Judge Anthony Chan in his ruling. "This application is accordingly dismissed."

"I believe that the intrusion to freedom of expression here, especially to innocent third parties, is what is referred to in public law as 'chilling effects,'" he wrote.

"Whilst I entirely accept that no chilling effect is intended behind the injunction, it is the duty of the Court to keep in mind that there is a whole spectrum of Hong Kong people" with varying degrees of knowledge about the injunction, Chan explained.

A proposed extradition law allowing authorities to send Hong Kong criminal suspects to the mainland for trial sparked the 2019 protests.

The government withdrew that bill, but the protesters widened their demands to urge direct elections for the city's leaders and accountability on the part of police.

In 2020, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law aimed at quelling political dissent.

rc/fb (AFP, AP, Reuters)
ECOCIDE
Blazing cargo ship off Netherlands to be towed, 'likely this weekend'

July 29, 2023
AFP


Preparations were under way to salvage a cargo ship packed with electric vehicles that caught fire off the Dutch coast, officials said Friday, in an operation intended to avert an ecological disaster.

An electric car is suspected of having sparked the deadly blaze and officials said earlier that nearly 500 electric vehicles were aboard, far more than initially reported.

Fire broke out on the Fremantle Highway late Tuesday, killing one member of the all-Indian crew and prompting a massive effort to douse the flames.

"The temperature on board the ship has dropped sharply and the intensity of the fire and smoke development have decreased," said the Rijkswaterstaat, the national water management agency, in a statement at about 11:30 pm (2130 GMT).

"The cargo ship is stable at this time. The ship is also still intact below the waterline and does not tilt."

The agency said it, as well as salvage companies, "have now started preparations for towing the freighter to an area further east", after rescuers were able to board the ship and connect it to a tug.

It added that towing the ship was likely to take around 12 hours, pulling the stricken vessel to a temporary anchorage north of Schiermonnikoog island -- "a better starting position for Rijkswaterstaat, the Coast Guard and the collaborating salvage companies".

The agency added that "no direct consequences" were expected for the surrounding environment, and the Fremantle Highway would eventually be towed to a port, which was yet to be determined.

While the timing would be affected by the weather and the state of the smoke, it was "likely that towing will begin this weekend".

Efforts to extinguish the blaze were halted Thursday to prevent the ship from losing stability due to the volume of water accumulating on board.

Japan-based K Line, the ship's charter company, reported there were 3,783 cars on board the vessel -- far more than an initial estimate of around 3,000.

These were "all brand new/no used cars on board" including 498 "electrical vehicle units", the company told AFP in a statement.

Ship owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha has said there was a "good chance that the fire started with electric cars", but added that the cause still needed to be investigated.

One sailor died after he and 22 others were rescued from the burning ship that had forced some crew members to jump overboard.

The blaze has raised the spectre of an ecological disaster on a nearby chain of islands, which include Terschelling and Ameland, where the fire was first reported.

The ship remained close to Terschelling and Ameland, which are part of an archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands in the Wadden Sea.

The area spanning the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a rich diversity of more than 10,000 aquatic and terrestrial species.

jhe/giv/leg

Burning ship off Dutch coast has more e-cars than thought


A freighter carrying thousands of cars is still burning off the Dutch coast, with a spokesperson for the charter company saying there were close to 500 electric cars on board — far more than the 25 initially reported.


https://p.dw.com/p/4UVDn


The ship was carrying nearly 4,000 cars en route from Germany to Egypt
Image: Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands/AP/picture alliance

A freight ship that caught fire off the Dutch coast and has been burning since, as fire extinguishers try to figure out ways to tackle the incident, has been carrying nearly 500 electric cars, far more than previously reported, the company that chartered the ship said.

Initial reports said that the ship was carrying 25 electric cars.

The Fremantle Highway vessel, which has burning for a fourth day off the Dutch coast, was chartered by Japanese transportation company K Line.

A spokesperson for the company said there were 3,783 vehicles on board, including 498 battery-electric vehicles. The spokesperson declined to comment on the kinds of car brands that were on the ship.

There is no information on whether the cargo ship was carrying cars by Japanese manufacturers.

Burning cargo ship threatens North Sea with major pollution

The Fremantle Highway cargo ship is still burning off the Dutch coast. Rescue workers are trying to prevent it from sinking, a potential environmental disaster. But the firefighting efforts have proven difficult.



A Dutch Coast Guard boat approaches the car carrier cargo ship Fremantle Highway. The ship caught fire early Wednesday morning just under 27 kilometers (16.8 miles) off the coast of the northern Dutch island of Ameland. But containment of the flames on the 200-meter-long ship is slow, and the coast guard expects the freighter to burn for several more days.

Difficult work



Boats with water cannons are cooling the ship from both sides. The fire cannot be extinguished directly at the moment because rescue forces cannot reach it. A Coast Guard aircraft still needs to take pictures from the air and check whether the temperature has dropped. Only then can special forces board the ship.


Ready to fly



Rescue workers at Rotterdam Airport prepare for their mission on the Fremantle Highway. The cargo ship had loaded 3783 automobiles, Kisen Kaisha, a spokesman for Japanese shipping company Kawasaki, said Thursday. Among them, he said, were electric cars whose lithium batteries are complicating the firefighting operations. The Dutch coast guard had previously spoken of just under 3000 automobiles.


Danger to the Wadden Sea



Too much water from the firefighting operations could also cause the ship to capsize. The Coast Guard said on Thursday that the ship was stable for now. Should the Fremantle Highway sink, fuel, oil and, of course, the loaded cars would enter the water, which would threaten the Wadden Sea, the largest tidal flats system in the world, with large-scale pollution.


30-meter jump for crew members



An injured crew member of the Fremantle Highway is brought ashore in Lauwersoog. The 23 crew members had to leave the cargo ship head over heels, several of them jumping from the ship from a height of 30 meters. One crew member died and the rest were brought to safety by helicopter with minor injuries, according to Dutch media.


Environmental disaster feared



The Panama-registered ship had left the German port of Bremerhaven with full fuel tanks. 1,600 tons of heavy fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel could to enter the North Sea. So far, according to the authorities, no oil has spilled out of the burning cargo ship. Environmental protection organizations fear an environmental disaster if the Fremantle Highway sinks.Image: Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands/AP/picture alliance


Safe on land?



A man looks with binoculars in the direction of the burning cargo ship from the island of Ameland. According to the Dutch government, the risk of an oil spill in the Wadden Sea islands is low. Escaping fuel would disperse northwards in the open sea, the responsible Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers said on Thursday.


"Serious danger"

The German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies is supporting the operation. The emergency tugboat Nordic (pictured above) sprayed water onto the Fremantle Highway on Wednesday. On Thursday, the German government offered further help: "Germany will provide anything that can help," said German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke. The unique Wadden Sea National Park is in serious danger, she said.

Electric car battery fires much harder to put out

The Dutch coast guard said Thursday the cause of the fire was unknown, while Dutch media reported that the fire may have been after an electric car battery ignited.

Cars with lithium ion batteries have fewer fires than diesel and gasoline cars, but the situation can be dangerous when the batteries catch fire.

The fires then are hotter because there's a lot more fuel inside an electric car battery because the battery cells are densely packed. It also takes a lot more water to put the fire out.

But pouring too much water to douse the flames is also not a tenable solution because there are fears of the ship sinking and environmental havoc.

The 199-meter Fremantle is still drifting in the sea, about 17 kilometers from the Dutch island of Terschelling.

rm/fb (Reuters, dpa)



Bangladesh major hub for tiger poaching: study

Issued on: 28/07/2023 
A Bengal tiger walks through a forest in Sarankhola, in the southwestern Bagerhat district, in a photo courtesy of the Bangladesh Forest Department 

Dhaka (AFP) – Bangladesh remains a major hub for the poaching of endangered tigers despite government claims of a successful crackdown on pirate groups involved in the trade, according to research published Friday.

The vast Sundarbans mangrove forest straddling India and Bangladesh hosts one of the world's largest populations of Bengal tigers.

Their pelts, bones and flesh are bought by black marketeers as part of a broader illegal wildlife trade valued at an estimated $20 billion globally each year.

Research from big cat conservation group Panthera and the Chinese Academy of Sciences said tiger parts harvested in the Sundarbans have been exported to 15 countries, with India and China being the most common destinations.

"Bangladesh plays a much more significant role in the illicit tiger trade than we previously realized," study co-author Rob Pickles said in a statement.


Pirate groups operating in the Sundarbans found a lucrative trade in tiger poaching before a government crackdown starting in 2016.

At least 117 pirates were shot dead and hundreds more were detained, according to official figures, while many others surrendered as part of a government amnesty.

But Panthera's research, published in the Conservation Science and Practice journal, said that the vacuum created by the crackdown had been filled by more than 30 specialist tiger poaching syndicates and opportunistic poachers.

Traders operated through their own logistics companies and in some cases concealed their activities through licenses for legal wildlife trade, the study added.

The research, based partly on interviews with those involved in the wildlife trade, also found that domestic consumption of tiger parts had increased since the crackdown, owing to Bangladesh's burgeoning economy.

Wealthy local buyers were purchasing medicines using tiger parts "as well as large ornamental items for display such as skulls and skins", the study said.

The findings were disputed by Bangladesh's official Sundarbans conservator Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, who said the crackdown had brought the illicit trade to a standstill.

"We have taken measures to conserve the Bengal tiger population in the Sundarbans," he told AFP.

"No tiger has died from... tiger-human conflict in the past five years. Tiger sightings have increased."

Just 114 Bengal tigers live in Bangladesh's portion of the Sundarbans, according to an official census published in 2019 -- up slightly since a record low four years prior.

An updated population count is due to be published next year.

Poaching is the number one threat to tigers globally, and China is the biggest overall driver of demand, largely for use of their body parts in traditional medicine, according to Panthera.

© 2023 AFP

 

Youth placed in adult prison have their lives cut shorter, study says

Youth placed in adult prison have their lives cut shorter, study says
Cumulative Probability of Dying by Age for Varying Types of Contact With the 
Legal System. The cumulative probability of dying by the corresponding age was
 estimated using the results from the model presented in Table 2. 
Incarcerated <18 y indicates ever spending time in an adult correctional facility 
as a youth. CLS indicates criminal legal system. 
Credit: JAMA Network Open (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.21805

A University of Cincinnati co-authored study found that in the U.S. youth who are incarcerated in adult correctional facilities are at a 33% higher risk for an early death between the ages of 18 and 39. The study, published in JAMA Open Network, also found that formal encounters with the legal system put youth at risk for a shorter lifespan during those same years.

"We've known for a long time that youth who spend time in adult prisons have a wide range of negative health-related outcomes; however, whether such experiences affected  had not yet been tested," says study co-author Joseph Nedelec, an associate professor in UC's School of Criminal Justice.

In what Nedelec calls the first known study of its kind, he and fellow researchers from RTI, a nonprofit research institute, and Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey, analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997.

The study involved a random sample of 8,951 individuals born in the United States between 1984 and 1987, who were first interviewed in 1997. The interviews continued until 2019. A total of 109 participants were incarcerated as youth in adult facilities and 225 participants died during the study period and were between the ages of 18 and 39.

Main finding

According to Nedelec, the main finding of increased risk of death by 33% held fast even after accounting for general risk factors such as health,  and whether the individual died while incarcerated or not.

In most U.S. states, youths can be transferred and sentenced in adult court, resulting in detention in adult jail or prison facilities. Incarceration in juvenile versus adult correctional facilities represents vastly different experiences. Adult facilities are often much larger and place less emphasis on treatment, counseling and education. Incarcerated youths often experience health challenges related to , sexual and reproductive health and mental well-being.

"The adult prison system is not designed for the crucial development years of adolescence," says lead author Ian Silver, Ph.D., a quantitative criminologist at RTI who earned his Ph.D. in criminal justice at UC in 2019. "Within such a system youths may not only engage in risky behaviors, but they may directly experience risk factors associated with the likelihood of early mortality, including increased risk for violent victimization, substance use and disease."

Holding youths in adult prisons "is not only problematic, but it may also be lethal," says UC's Nedelec, adding that youth incarcerated in juvenile facilities did not illustrate the same increased risk of early mortality.

Secondary finding

While being incarcerated in an adult facility as a youth evidenced a high risk for early mortality, the study also found that any formal contact with the legal system was associated with an increased risk of premature death by 18% between 18–39 years of age.

Per the study, formal contact is defined as an arrest, but can also be an arrest and release.

"It appears any formal contact with the legal system as a  increases the risk of early mortality, relative to no contact with the ," says Nedelec.

More information: Ian A. Silver et al, Incarceration of Youths in an Adult Correctional Facility and Risk of Premature Death, JAMA Network Open (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.21805


Journal information: JAMA Network Open 


Provided by University of Cincinnati Study finds high mortality rates of youths previously incarcerated in the juvenile legal system

POPULAR AUTHORITARIANISM
Critics of El Salvador mass trials suspect reelection ploy

Issued on: 29/07/2023 
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele enjoys massive public support for detaining thousands of suspected gangsters in a move that has vastly improved the daily security of ordinary people 
© - / EL SALVADOR'S PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE/AFP/File

San Salvador (AFP) – A new law allowing as many as 900 alleged gang members to be tried at a time in El Salvador, where tens of thousands have been arrested in a crackdown, has alarmed justice experts and rights groups who fear it is a reelection ploy by President Nayib Bukele.

Almost 72,000 people accused of belonging to criminal gangs are imprisoned in El Salvador under a state of emergency that allows arrests without a warrant in what rights groups have described as "arbitrary detention."

Bukele has also built a mega prison -- which he says is the largest in the Americas -- to lock up 40,000 suspected gangsters in harsh conditions also decried by human rights organizations.

Now, collective trials will further violate "the rights to an adequate defense, to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence," Amnesty International Americas director Erika Guevara Rosas told AFP.

Almost 72,000 people accused of belonging to criminal gangs are imprisoned in El Salvador 
© - / EL SALVADOR'S PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE/AFP/File

The measure was approved by a Bukele-friendly Congress Wednesday under the state of emergency in place since March 2022, which critics say has seen innocent people caught in the dragnet.

"We have seen how the legal reforms associated with this repressive measure (the state of emergency) have sought to erode the basic guarantees of the criminal process," said Guevara Rosas.
'Unconstitutional'

Antonio Duran, a judge in the city of Zacatecoluca who is critical of the state of emergency, said the main goal of the mass trials -- for which no starting date has been set -- appeared to be "heavy and rapid sentences."

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele has announced he will seek reelection next year 
© Handout / EL SALVADOR'S PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE/AFP/File

"Mass trials contradict... the (legal) principle of individual responsibility," he told AFP, adding the measure flouted "international standards" of justice.

"This is all part of Bukele's campaign for reelection, which is unconstitutional," the judge said.

Bukele, with a controversial green light from the Constitutional Court, has announced he will run in elections next year despite a constitutional ban on successive presidential terms.

The president, 42, is basking in massive public support due to his "war" on gangs, which has vastly improved security for ordinary citizens of the Central American country.

"The most important thing is the benefit to the population and that is why the measures are taken and why the people support them," sociologist Rene Martinez from the University of El Salvador told AFP.

- 'Killing the rule of law'-

However, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), an NGO for human rights in the Americas, said collective trials would make it "impossible" to guarantee "a fair trial and the right to a defense."
President Nayib Bukele has built a mega prison to lock up 40,000 suspected gangsters in harsh conditions decried by human rights organizations 
© - / EL SALVADOR'S PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE/AFP/File

"This makes us wonder if the government's policy of persecuting the gangs, organized crime, is killing the rule of law and democracy," Marcela Martino, CEJIL deputy director for Central America and Mexico, told AFP.

Miguel Montenegro, executive director of the non-governmental Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, pointed to political expediency for the mass trial move.

It was, he said, "aimed at convincing those who are doubting the government."

The measure also allows for suspects to be held for up to 24 months before being brought to trial or released.

It would mean that innocent people will inevitably end up being tried, and convicted, along with real gangsters, said Samuel Ramirez of the MOVIR movement for victims of rights abuses in El Salvador.

Polls show that nine out of ten Salvadorans support President Nayib Bukele 
© MARVIN RECINOS / AFP/File

Polls show that nine out of ten Salvadorans support Bukele, but there is no consensus on mass trials.

Factory worker Virgilio Gutierrez told AFP in San Salvador he thought the move was a "good" one as individual trials would "take a long time... If they take them case by case they will never finish."

But lottery ticket salesman Juan Mejia was against mass trials as "the law says they must be individualized, one by one."

© 2023 AFP
Brazil Indigenous leaders call for govt to back demarcation of ancestral lands

The leaders of 54 Indigenous communities in Brazil called on Friday for the government to take a concrete stance on the demarcation of their ancestral lands before a key Supreme Court ruling on the issue.


Issued on: 29/07/2023 - 
An aerial view of the Terra Preta Indigenous community, located at the Sustainable Development Reserve Puranga-Conquista, during an expedition organized by the Brazilian ministry of environment to the Lower Rio Negro Mosaic in Amazonas State on July 8, 2023. 
© Michael Dantas, AFP

Text by: NEWS WIRES

The Supreme Court's so-called "trial of the century" could remove the protected status of some Indigenous lands, opening them up to agribusiness and mining.

In an 11-point letter, the Indigenous leaders called on the minister of Indigenous peoples, Sonia Guajajara, to "fulfill her mission to demarcate Indigenous lands".

The law currently only recognizes ancestral territories that were occupied by Indigenous communities at the time Brazil's constitution was promulgated in 1988.

But Indigenous leaders say certain territories were no longer occupied at that point because communities had been expelled from them, particularly during the military dictatorship from the 1960s to the 1980s

The upcoming Supreme Court trial, which was postponed in June, will either validate or invalidate the 1988 cut-off.

In Friday's letter, the Indigenous leaders argued that upholding the cut-off date would jeopardize their survival and lead to thousands of evictions.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's left-wing government has made the issue of ancestral land rights a priority, and signed in April decrees recognizing six new Indigenous territories, authorizing Indigenous peoples to occupy the land and have exclusive use of its resources.

No new reserves had been demarcated under former president Jair Bolsonaro's right-wing government.

Environmentalists say protecting Indigenous reservations is one of the best ways to stop the destruction of the Amazon, a critical resource in the race to curb climate change.

(AFP)