All posts tagged: Farright

Far-Right Greek Politician vandalized ‘Sacrilegious’ Artworks – Atheist Alliance International

Far-Right Greek Politician vandalized ‘Sacrilegious’ Artworks – Atheist Alliance International

Published by skeptic

Greek authorities arrested and then released Nikos Papadopoulos, a far-right MP with the Niki (:Victory) party, after he vandalized artworks in Athens’s National Gallery. Papadopoulos previously said in parliament that one of the Greek paintings was offensive to Orthodox Christianity, the predominant religion in Greece, asserting that it insulted the Virgin Mary and Christ.The Culture Ministry responded that it acts “with the aim of protecting the country’s cultural and artistic heritage in general” and that it “never engages in acts of censorship”. After the attack, Papadopoulos’s lawyer has alleged that the politician was “unlawfully detained and, to heap insult on injury, that “they will take legal action against the National Gallery”!According to Papadopoulos: “I took down four icons, four blasphemous icons, and in two of those … the glass pane broke, nothing else”. He said works at the exhibition “insult the Virgin Mary, St George … the archangels that we in our homes were taught to worship and respect.” Angelos Papadimitriou, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Gallery who was an eyewitness …

Far-right Portugal politician faces luggage-theft charges – POLITICO

Far-right Portugal politician faces luggage-theft charges – POLITICO

Published by Sam

Portuguese politician Miguel Arruda is out of the far-right Chega party after being accused of stealing suitcases from airport luggage carousels in a bizarre case that includes widely aired video footage and charges of AI manipulation. Arruda said he decided to stay in the parliament as an independent MP, leaving Chega, a populist, far-right party that has grown to become Portugal’s third-largest political force.  Police on Tuesday charged Arruda with luggage theft after missing suitcases were allegedly found at his home, several Portuguese news outlets reported. One outlet, Expresso, said police found 17 suitcases in his home. Source link

Far-Right Extremists Are LARPing as Emergency Workers in Los Angeles

Far-Right Extremists Are LARPing as Emergency Workers in Los Angeles

Published by skeptic

Extremists including white supremacists and border livestreamers have descended on Los Angeles in the midst of the wildfires there to gain followers, juice social media engagement, solicit donations and, experts claim, recruit new members, while in some cases LARPing as emergency workers. This past weekend Ryan Sánchez and three other members of his Nationalist Network group set up shop at the entrance to Santa Monica Pier. Sánchez, who was caught on video giving a Nazi salute during last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and his crew had driven overnight from Arizona, where they live. Sánchez, who was a member of the now-defunct white supremacist fight club known as the Rise Above Movement, is an ally of white supremacist Nick Fuentes and is sometimes known by his online moniker “Culture War Criminal.” Sánchez, who did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment, claims on his social media accounts that his group “got much more support than anticipated” and said that all of the donations were given to the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, a building said to …

As the Mastermind of Far-Right ‘Active Clubs’ Goes to Prison, His Violent Movement Goes Global

As the Mastermind of Far-Right ‘Active Clubs’ Goes to Prison, His Violent Movement Goes Global

Published by skeptic

American neo-Nazi Robert Rundo’s six-year “battle with the feds”—a fight that spans two dismissals, three appellate reversals, and an extradition and deportation from at least two countries—concludes today with his sentencing to federal prison for attacking ideological opponents at political rallies across California in 2017. Along with several members of the Rise Above Movement, a fight club-cum-street gang Rundo cofounded with fellow extremist Ben Daley in Southern California during the peak of the alt-right movement, Rundo was convicted on 2018 charges of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Riot Act for training and planning a series of attacks on political opponents at rallies across California and Unite the Right in Virginia the year prior. While Rundo may be locked behind bars for years, the movement he created is running wild around the globe. In the interceding years since his initial arrest, indictment, imprisonment, and flight from the US after his case was initially dismissed in 2019, Rundo helped mastermind an international network of RAM clones known as “Active Clubs.” A transnational alliance of far-right fight clubs …

Far-right Jordan Bardella’s book publisher sues, alleging ad campaign was censored – POLITICO

Far-right Jordan Bardella’s book publisher sues, alleging ad campaign was censored – POLITICO

Published by Sam

Fayard announced it would take legal action on Friday, less than 24 hours before the book goes on sale. In its statement, the publisher claimed that the cover of Bardella’s book “does not contain any political statements,” and that the Mediatransports decision “constitutes a serious infringement of freedom of expression.” Publicis and French rail network SNCF did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. Mediatransports previously said the campaign would have violated its policy of political neutrality, AFP reported. The company added it had been unaware the campaign was for Bardella’s book when the contract with Fayard was signed. Mediatransports’ terms and conditions state that “any advertising message of a political, trade-union or religious nature, or whose text or illustration is contrary to public decency or prejudicial to public order, is prohibited.” In such cases, it reserves the right to refuse or abandon an ongoing ad campaign. In 2020, Mediatransports refused to display ads from Greenpeace that accused political leaders of failing to act on climate change. The dispute between the two sides has …

Why the far-right AfD has been so successful in Germany – video explainer | Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)

Why the far-right AfD has been so successful in Germany – video explainer | Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)

Published by Sam

The far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is riding a populist wave across Europe’s largest economy. According to polls conducted this month, the AfD has become the strongest party in Thuringia, a former state of the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR). In Saxony, another former GDR state, the party finished a very close second behind the CDU. The Guardian’s Berlin correspondent, Deborah Cole, explains how the AfD has risen from its eurosceptic origins to a party that is ‘managing to set the agenda’ in German politics Source link

Why a Liverpool imam reached out to a far-right rally outside his mosque – video | Liverpool

Why a Liverpool imam reached out to a far-right rally outside his mosque – video | Liverpool

Published by skeptic

As violent unrest erupted across the country last week after the killing of three girls in Southport, about 50 people turned up to a far-right rally outside the Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque in nearby Liverpool. Hundreds more turned up to support the mosque, which is the oldest in the country. But the imam Adam Kelwick decided not to stay inside. He and other members of his community stepped out with hot food and crossed the police line, determined to speak to the people on the other side. ‘The reason it’s so important to talk right now is because we see what the other option is,’ says Kelwick, who believes that talking to people, even in extreme circumstances, can help heal divisions Source link

Humanists UK condemns far-right violence

Humanists UK condemns far-right violence

Published by skeptic

The surge in far-right demonstrations and racist violence across our country, targeting Muslims, asylum seekers, and others on account of their ethnicity or identity is contemptible and has no place in an open and democratic society. The violence started after lies were spread online that the perpetrator of murders in Southport was a Muslim asylum seeker. In fact, this was not the case – the accused is a British citizen, born in the UK. But this shouldn’t matter. Nothing justifies the violence that has followed. It is worrying seeing how easily misinformation has spread across social media, and how easily the far right has been able to organise. This reflects both a failure by social media platforms and the state to tackle misinformation and incitement online, and by the state to effectively counter the growth of far-right networks. Urgent action is needed on both fronts. Intimidation and violence directed at asylum seekers on the streets and in their own homes is particularly shocking. Asylum seekers are among the most vulnerable people in our society, often …

How Jordan Bardella became France’s far-right poster boy

How Jordan Bardella became France’s far-right poster boy

Published by Sam

With a charismatic blend of youthful vigour and strategic communication, far-right leader Jordan Bardella has captivated millions on social media, a sign of the “Bardella mania” that has swept through France’s younger demographic. At just 28, Bardella’s ascent to the top of the National Rally party formerly led by Marine Le Pen and Macron’s call for snap legislative elections may well pave the road to the prime minister’s office.  Source link