Far-Right Senselessness > Neo Nazis Attack Gay Bar in Kiev; Far-Right Terrorism in Finland

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Two stories from almost a year ago. The first gives us a view of Kiev before the Russian-NATO proxy war. The second shows us what happens when far-left governments are out of control.

Vicious 'Neo Nazi' attack on Kiev 'gay bar'

28 Nov, 2021 09:09

© YouTube / Sergiy Slipchenko

A Kiev bar, frequented by members of LGBT community, has been attacked by a group of masked assailants, believed to be neo-Nazis, who smashed the establishment’s windows and destroyed outdoor seating.

The HvLv bar, located in the central part of Ukraine’s capital, was targeted late on Friday. The venue was set upon by around 20 masked men, some of whom were armed with telescopic batons and pepper spray.

Surveillance footage from the scene circulating online shows the assailants skirmishing with two bouncers, with both parties dousing each other with pepper spray. Heavily outnumbered, the security staff retreated into the bar, leaving the outdoor seating area at the mercy of the attackers.

The angry crowd (the assailants, or the customers?) then proceeded to break windows, as well as destroying outdoor chairs and tables. Some of the assailants tried to force their way into the premises, but staff had managed to lock the doors in time, and some of the patrons also reinforced them, footage from inside shows.

The rampage lasted for about five minutes, with the attackers ultimately retreating after they failed to gain access to the bar itself. During the attack, the masked men shouted homophobic and neo-Nazi slogans, the business claimed in an Instagram post, specifically “Death to the f**gots,” “Let’s get the f**gots,” and “White power.”

Some five minutes after the mob dispersed, a private security company contracted by the establishment arrived at the scene, followed by Kiev police. Later in the day, law enforcement said it had apprehended 12 suspects, and a criminal investigation was launched over “hooliganism.”

While no motive for the attack has been officially announced, the bar's management alleged it had been targeted by neo-Nazis. The venue said it had been harassed by the extreme-right for some three weeks prior to the incident, with purported neo-Nazis repeatedly showing up at the establishment, scribbling offensive graffiti on its walls, and scaring patrons away.

The troubles began earlier this month, following a call for a “crusade” shared on the social media channels of extreme-right groups in Kiev. The proclaimed goal was to battle the drug trade, which is allegedly rampant in multiple nightclubs across the Ukrainian capital, including the HvLv. The bar itself has vehemently denied such allegations.

Of course they did!

It was not immediately clear what group exactly was behind the attack, with no one taking responsibility for the rampage. A sticker of an extreme-right group named ‘Centuria’ has been reportedly recovered at the scene, yet it denied any involvement, claiming it was merely merchandise that anyone could have obtained.

Apparently, no-one was hurt seriously enough to warrant hospitalization, or even EM care.

Finland records first-ever case of suspected far-right terrorism

4 Dec, 2021 07:40

Terrorist suspect poses with machete and gun. © Police of Finland

Five men have been detained for allegedly having planned gun and bomb attacks in what the Finnish police believe is the first case of far-right terrorism in the country’s history.

The members of the group, which operated in the southwestern town of Kankaanpää, were arrested on Tuesday, having been under surveillance for two years. On Friday, the court ruled that they should remain in custody.

The suspects are aged “around 25,” and most of them have a previous criminal record, the police said in a statement. Weapons, ammunition, and fertilizer – which can be used to make explosives – were seized in the raid during which they were detained.

Extremist materials found among the men’s possessions, and other material unearthed in the course of the investigation “reinforce the impression that they have become radicalized and gives reason to suspect them of terrorist offences,” the statement read.

The group appears to have been motivated by “accelerationism” – a white supremacist ideology that rests on the idea that Western governments are irreparably corrupt and seeks to hasten their demise by sowing division and interracial strife. The ideology has been linked to several high-profile shootings in the US as well as to the Christchurch mosque attack in New Zealand in 2019.

The police didn’t reveal the targets the men had planned to attack, but said they had operated independently of any large far-right organization. They are currently being investigated for involvement in terrorism, the illegal possession of firearms, and aggravated theft.

The prosecutors have given the police until March 31 next year to press charges.

Detective Superintendent Toni Sjoblom described the case as “worrying” and urged the Finnish public to help his officers counter the far-right threat.

“If you see clear signs of radicalization in your loved ones, you should react as quickly as possible, for example, by telling the authorities about your concerns,” he said.

Anti-Semitism > Trudeau's disgraceful behaviour in Parliament; Jewish Scientists rake Trudeau over the coals, and so do I

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‘OUTRAGE’: Canadian PM accuses Jewish lawmaker,

descendant of Holocaust survivors, of ‘standing with swastikas’

February 17, 2022

 

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (AP/Charles Krupa)

 

 

Justin (Sunny Ways) Trudeau tells descendant of Holocaust survivors she belongs to a political party that supports Nazism.

By World Israel News Staff

Lawmakers in Canada’s House of Commons lost their cool during a tense parliamentary session on Wednesday during which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a Jewish MP, who is a descendant of Holocaust survivors that she and other members of the Conservative party are guilty of “standing with people who wave swastikas.”

Trudeau’s remark was aimed at MP Melissa Lantsman, the first Jewish woman elected as a Conservative lawmaker in the country.

 

Lantsman had asked Trudeau about his remarks characterizing people participating in mass anti-vaccine mandate protests “as very often misogynistic, racist, women-haters, science-deniers, the fringe.”

By using this language, Lantsman said, Trudeau is “fanning the flames of an unjustified national emergency.” She suggested that he was out of touch with the Canadian public.

In response, Trudeau accused Lantsman’s Conservative party of supporting Nazism.

“Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas, they can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag,” Trudeau said.

He appeared to be referencing a handful out of the tens of thousands of protesters who were seen with Nazi flags.

Trudeau’s comment was immediately met with strong backlash throughout the chamber. Multiple lawmakers shouted at him to apologize.

“I’ve never seen such shameful and dishonorable remarks coming from this prime minister,” said Conservative MP Dane Lloyd. “My great-grandfather flew over 30 missions over Nazi Germany. My great-great-uncle’s body lies at the bottom of the English Channel. There are members of this Conservative caucus who are the descendants of victims of the Holocaust.

“For the prime minister to accuse any colleague in this House of standing with a swastika is shameful. I’m giving the prime minister an opportunity. I’m calling on him to unreservedly apologize for this shameful remark.”

 

Trudeau refused to apologize and left the parliamentary session early.

“I am a strong Jewish woman and a member of this House and a descendant of Holocaust survivors and … it’s never been singled out, and I’ve never been made to feel less,” Lantsman said in a Twitter statement.

“Except for today, when the prime minister accused me of standing with swastikas. I think he owes me an apology. I’d like an apology and I think he owes an apology to all members of this House.”

Jewish Scientists, Doctors Around the World

Issue Justin Trudeau Open Letter Amid Canada Protests

By Mimi Nguyen Ly 

February 19, 2022

A woman waves a flag and cheers on truckers in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa, Canada, on Jan. 30, 2022. (Alex Kent/Getty Images)

A group of 23 Jewish scientists, doctors, and academics issued an open letter on Friday to Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, saying they are “deeply concerned” about how he had been describing protesters in Canada who have been demonstrating against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions since late January.

One of the authors of the letter, Stanford Professor of Biophysics Michael Levitt, who was awarded one-third the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013, shared a copy of the letter on Twitter.

“In recent weeks, we have been following the news about the Freedom Convoy 2022 protests that have taken place in Canada. … We witnessed, with mourning concern, how instead of a constructive dialog with the protesters, you adopted a smear-by-association campaign, portraying the protesters as ‘Nazi sympathizers,’ ‘racist,’ and ‘antisemitic,'” the group said in their letter.

“The last incident was your allegation on February 16 that a Jewish member of the Conservative Party was ‘standing with people who wave Swastikas,'” they added.

Trudeau made the comment in Parliament during Question Period amid debate over a blockade in Ottawa and Trudeau’s declaration of a State of Emergency on Feb. 14. Trudeau is the first prime minister to invoke the Emergencies Act since it became law in 1988.

Melissa Lantsman, a Conservative member of parliament for Thornhill in the House of Commons, told the chamber that Trudeau “fans the flames of an unjustified national emergency” by having described the protesters as “‘very often misogynistic, racist,’ ‘women haters,’ ‘science deniers,’ the ‘fringe.'”

She then asked, “So, Mr. Speaker, when did the Prime Minister lose his way? When did it happen?”

This might be referring to Justin's oft-repeated motto of "sunny ways". Which he seems to have abandoned completely recently.

Trudeau responded, “Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas. They can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag.

“We will choose to stand with Canadians who deserve to be able to get to their jobs, to be able to get their lives back. These illegal protests need to stop and they will.”

He sounds, for all the world, like a frightened little boy. Is that why he fled the city while the truckers were still on their way to Ottawa? Is that why he started immediately to condemn them as being far-right extremists while they had not committed one act of violence?

Funny thing, yesterday, news came from British Columbia of millions of dollars of destruction on a pipeline construction site. The location would infer that it was probably 1st nations' people responsible. There was no word from Trudeau on the incident even though it was far more violent than any of the trucker rallies across the country. 

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which is extremely protective of the far-left Trudeau, makes no mention of the story today. CBC News website even has a column on indigenous affairs, but makes no mention of this one. In fact, I cannot find any national news site that carries this story:

Axe attack, violent vandalism at Coastal GasLink pipeline site

House Speaker Anthony Rota followed up, telling the chamber, ”I just want to remind the honourable members, including the Right Honourable Prime Minister, to use words that are not inflammatory in the House.” However, Trudeau did not withdraw his comment.

Lantsman, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, said on Twitter that Trudeau falsely accused her of standing with a Swastika. “What a disgraceful statement unbecoming of anyone in public office—he owes me an apology,” she wrote.

In the letter on Friday, the Jewish group of scientists, doctors, and academics expressed disapproval of Trudeau’s recent rhetoric.

“We, an apolitical group of Jewish Israeli medical scientists, physicians, researchers, and legal scholars, some of us second or third generation Holocaust survivors, are deeply concerned by your attempt to stigmatise the Freedom Convoy 2022 protesters as Nazi ideology supporters,” they wrote.

“The important fight against antisemitism should not be weaponized and directed at a legitimate civil protest which aims at restoring fundamental liberties, to what used to be, until not long ago, one of the freest countries in the world.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to Trudeau’s office for comment on the letter.

Late on Friday, Trudeau wrote on Twitter, “Illegal blockades and occupations have threatened businesses, endangered jobs, and obstructed communities for three weeks now. This week, to restore public order and protect Canadians as the situation evolves, our government invoked the Emergencies Act.”

“We’ll continue to make sure municipal, provincial, and federal authorities have the resources they need, and do whatever is needed to keep people safe and get the situation under control—and we’ll make sure your rights and freedoms are protected,” he added. “That remains our top priority.”

This is as divisive and hypocritical a statement as I have ever heard. He seems to be saying that he will sacrifice the rights of thousands of truckers and tens of thousands of their supporters without even hearing what they are concerned about, in order to protect the rights of a few dozen businesses on a couple streets in Ottawa.

Protesters have expressed offense at Trudeau’s recent comments that have portrayed them as racist or hateful, The Epoch Times previously reported. Trudeau previously said the protesters are a “fringe minority’ who hold “unacceptable views” and espouse conspiracy theories.

Where did he get that theory from, considering he refused to meet with any of them?

Protesters on Parliament Hill for the most part have been carrying Canadian flags. Some images were circulating on social media that showed Nazi symbols on flags, while other videos on social media showed protesters telling those holding hateful signs to leave.

Some local reports have also stated that people opposed to vaccine mandates have likened Canada’s mandates to the persecution of Jews by the Nazis. 

That, of course, is absurd!

The protest started in late January as a show of defiance. Truckers opposed the Canadian government’s vaccine mandate that started on Jan. 15 for truckers who often cross the United States-Canada border. It has since evolved into a large movement joined by people from across Canada to oppose different COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.

Vehicle convoys came to Ottawa on Jan. 29, and many have stayed in the city, with trucks and other vehicles parked by Parliament Hill. Since then, various protest convoys have been set up in different parts of Canada.

Early on in the protest, Trudeau has said he wouldn’t be meeting with the protesters—he said he wouldn’t go anywhere near demonstrations “that have expressed hateful rhetoric, violence towards fellow citizens, and a disrespect not just of science, but of the front-line health workers.”

Following the invocation of the Emergencies Act, two lead organizers of the Freedom Convoy protest, Chris Barber and Tamara Lich, were arrested in Ottawa on Thursday. Ottawa’s interim police chief warned on the same day that action to remove Freedom Convoy demonstrators was “imminent.”

Ottawa's Police Chief stepped down the day before the arrests started. I would really like to hear from him exactly why he stepped down at that particular time. But, Canada's Trudeau-loving media will never ask him.

Lich, at a press conference on Feb. 14, said that protesters “will remain peaceful” despite the government’s use of the Act.

Despite the arrests, many protesters still remain in Ottawa. In early February, Lich said the protesters won’t be leaving until the government lifts the COVID-19 mandates.

“We’re not coming here to be aggressive or hateful or cause violence,” she told The Epoch Times. “We’re going to be staying in for as long as it takes. We’re not leaving until Canada is free.”

Police have arrested about 170 protesters and appear to be cleaning out the streets of Ottawa. What these people will be charged with is not apparent, although I've heard the word "Nuisance" being thrown around. 

No arrests have been made in the violent British Columbia pipeline destruction case.

I fear that this letter will turn Trudeau against Jewish people. He does not take criticism well, as you have probably already observed. 

Here is Northwood's Proverb which you will find on the sidebar of this blog. I think it is unfortunately appropriate for this occasion:

Humility and Pride

You can tell a humble man that he has a problem with pride and he will agree with you;

but if you tell a proud man that he has a problem with pride, he becomes your enemy.

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European Politics > Another Swiss head-shaker; Energy costs affecting homes and businesses across Europe; And Another Swiss head-shaker

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Swiss to vote on fundamental rights for apes

Citizens in the Basel-Stadt canton will decide whether their fundamental rights

should be extended to non-human primates

(FILE PHOTO) © Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images

On Sunday, residents in the northern Swiss region of Basel-Stadt will take to the polls to decide whether non-human anthropoids should enjoy the same basic rights as their human cousins. 

The vote has been instigated by campaign group Sentience under Switzerland’s direct democracy system after amassing more than 100,000 signatures. 

The country's supreme court gave it the go-ahead after cantonal and city governments claimed the vote would violate federal law.

Sentience, which launched the campaign in 2016, said it was “thrilled at this historic decision,” after the supreme court threw out the regional government’s objections.

Basel-Stadt’s residents will vote on whether to give primates the right to life, as well as the right to “mental and physical integrity.” 

“This will mark the first time worldwide that people can vote on fundamental rights for non-human animals,” the group claims.

The group says that all primates are highly intelligent and experience human-like feelings and emotions, such as pain, grief, and compassion. It adds that they also maintain an active social life.

“Non-human primates have a fundamental interest in their life and physical and mental integrity,” Sentience stated, adding: “However, this is hardly taken into account by the Swiss animal welfare legislation.”

According to Sentience, some 150 primates live in the canton, which borders France and Germany. Some experts have raised objections to the vote. Basel Zoo board member Olivier Pagan noted concerns around euthanasia.

“If the initiative was adopted, the scrutiny of their well-being and safety would no longer be the responsibility of experienced biologists, veterinarians and experienced caregivers, but of a mediator... or even unqualified lawyers,” he told AFP. 

Zoo veterinarian Fabia Wyss concurred, noting that, under the proposals, if she put an animal to sleep, she would be putting herself beyond the law.

Again, the once very sensible Swiss have yielded to the absurd. When there are children being aborted every day, when there are children being sexually abused every day, Switzerland has turned away from such horrors toward the rights of animals. Are there no animal protection laws in Switzerland? 

Perhaps they should bestow voting rights on apes, that would surely improve the chances of far-left lunatics being in control of Switzerland.

High energy prices send Europe’s businesses, homes reeling

By AYSE WIETING and SUZAN FRASER

today

Kazim Iscen, a painter and decorator shows his bill in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, saying he already has fallen behind on his utility costs and would not be able to pay his electricity bill, which came in "two or three times higher" this month. Spiking energy prices are raising utility bills from Poland to the United Kingdom, leaving people struggling to make ends meet and small businesses uncertain about much longer they can stay afloat. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

ISTANBUL (AP) — Mehmet Bogday says his jaw dropped when he saw his electricity bill — it was higher than the rent he pays for his Istanbul restaurant selling traditional Turkish wraps, and more than double what he paid a month ago.

“This is unsustainable,” said Bogday, who owns the Asmali Mescit Durumcusu restaurant. “If it continues this way, we will have to lay off staff. If it continues this way, we won’t be able to make this work. We’ll either downsize, or close and go sit at home.”

Spiking energy prices are raising utility bills from Poland to the United Kingdom, leaving people struggling to make ends meet and small businesses uncertain about how much longer they can stay afloat. In response, governments across Europe are rushing to pass aid to ease the hit as energy prices drive a record rise in inflation.

Nowhere is that squeeze felt more acutely than in Turkey, where inflation has soared to nearly 50% and exorbitant electricity bills are stirring protests and fears about how small businesses, like Bogday’s restaurant, can survive.

Protests over electricity price hikes broke out across Turkey this week, including some where police fired tear gas to disperse crowds. People are posting their electricity bills on social media to show how costs are untenable. Shopkeepers are displaying notices decrying high bills on shop windows, while others have gathered outside electric companies and set their bills on fire.

Like the rest of Europe, electricity generation in Turkey requires energy sources that have surged in price, including natural gas, whose supply is low. A huge drop in the value of Turkey’s currency is driving the price spike in imported gas.

As Europe’s energy demand roared back from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, it ran up against gas reserves sapped by a cold winter last year, a lack of renewable energy generation over the summer and Russia not selling as much gas as usual to Europe.

Utilities are passing the costs along to customers, and people are getting hit twice: with higher bills at home and rising prices from businesses also paying more for energy.

It’s led to a cost-of-living crisis in some places, but especially in Turkey, where households and businesses were already reeling from eye-watering inflation and a currency that lost some 44% of its value last year, eating away savings and making it difficult to buy even basics like food. Authorities then raised electricity tariffs on Jan. 1, spiking prices by 50% for many people and as much as 127% for businesses and high-consumption households.

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party this week joined a torrent of demands to withdraw the price hikes, saying he would not pay his electricity bill until the tariffs are lowered. Kemal Kilicdaroglu also called for reducing taxes on electricity rates.

Faced with mounting criticism, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made changes this month so the price rises kick in when households use more energy, but it’s failed to provide relief. With price hikes threatening to hurt Erdogan ahead of elections next year, his administration has said it’s working on a possible readjustment or other measures to help people.

It’s something that governments through Europe are doing as rising utility costs draw widespread outcry.

In Britain, energy prices are set to go up by a record 54% — some 700 pounds ($940) per year — starting in April. The government says customers will get a discount on their bills to be paid back in small installments over the next few years, and most also will get money off another local tax. In total, the government said most people will get about half of the extra cost shaved off.

Likewise, Italian households are bracing for a record 55% increase in electricity and 42% in gas in coming weeks, energy regulators say.

To draw attention to the issue, mayors plunged the historic city halls of Rome and Florence into darkness Thursday night. The Italian mayors’ association said the government’s response so far has been insufficient to help cities confront hundreds of millions in additional energy costs, making them choose between balancing budgets or cutting services.

Premier Mario Draghi this week said Italy’s government was determined to draw up broad measures soon that will provide relief to families and businesses.

Polish regulators approved energy prices going up by 37% this year, pinching bakeries and other businesses to the point many had to close.

The right-wing government temporarily lowered taxes on electricity, gas, engine fuels, some food staples and fertilizer. That’s expected to cut energy costs for a family of four by some 120 zlotys (26.5 euros) this year. The government also is introducing a bonus to households, ranging from 20 to 1,450 zlotys (4.5 to 320 euros) annually, depending on income.

Businesses say it’s not enough to balance their increased costs.

A majority of left-leaning lawmakers in Denmark agreed Friday to spend 1 billion kroner ($153 million) for a temporary program to help the most affected households cope with high electricity bills. Roughly 320,000 households in Denmark will be eligible for 3,750 kroner ($576).

In Turkey, energy woes are aggravated by the president’s policies. Erdogan has shunned conventional economic thinking and pressured the central bank to lower interest rates despite inflation at a 20-year high, further pushing up prices.

Numan Kurtulmus, a deputy leader of Erdogan’s ruling party, said government support for energy placed “an extraordinary burden” on the treasury, making the price hikes inevitable.

“It has been a heavy bill, we are aware of this,” he said, adding that the government was working to bring down inflation.

Kazim Iscen, a painter and decorator in Ankara, said he already has fallen behind on his utility costs and would not be able to pay his electricity bill, which came in “two or three times higher” this month. “I call on the government to have mercy on us,” he said.

Cengiz Sur, owner of a bar and restaurant in Istanbul, said he has been unplugging refrigerators and heaters and turning off lights after his power bill this month surpassed his rent.

“We’ve forgotten about rent and are now trying to figure out how to deal with our electricity bills,” he said.

Bendevi Palandoken, head of the Turkey Tradesmen and Artisans Confederation, warned that many businesses will shut down unless the price hikes are withdrawn and special tariffs are set help small businesses.

“I think there will be some retreat from the price hikes,” said economist Ozlem Derici Sengul, founder of the Istanbul-based Spinn Consultancy. “I think that to curb the public tension, we may see some action from” government officials.

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Fraser reported from Ankara. Burhan Ozbilici in Ankara; Sylvia Hui in London; Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland; Colleen Barry in Milan; and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain; and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed.

Switzerland rules against swastika ban

Despite pressure from politicians and Jewish groups, Switzerland’s Federal Council

refuses to ban Nazi symbols

FILE PHOTO: White supremacists march through the streets of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, July 18, 1998

© AP Photo / Elaine Thompson

The Federal Council of Switzerland has refused a motion to ban the public display of Nazi symbols, arguing that “prevention is better suited than criminal repression” in curbing the spread of extremism. Jewish activists called the decision “incomprehensible.”

The seven-member board, which serves as Switzerland’s collective head of state, published its decision last week. The council argued that, while “shocking” and “very distressing,” displaying hate symbols in public can “only indirectly affect human dignity and public peace,” Tagblatt reported.

The council said that such images could be illegal if displayed for “propaganda purposes,” a term that can be decided by authorities on a case-by-case basis, but maintained that prevention was the better approach in dealing with most incidents.

It also pointed to Federal Supreme Court case law, which finds it acceptable "that objectionable views are also represented, even if they are untenable for the majority."

The ruling angered the Swiss Federation of Israelite Communities (SIG), which represents Switzerland’s 20,000 or so Jews. “This attitude of the Federal Council is incomprehensible,” read a statement from SIG on Monday, which argued that because “People who give the Hitler salute in public or use a swastika already represent a well-established anti-Semitic ideology … To believe that they could be dissuaded by a prevention program is a massive misjudgment.”

The council’s decision came after it received three separate motions requesting criminal publishment for the display of “Nazi,” “racist,” and “extremist” symbols. The council’s final verdict was not the first of its kind, as it has shot down multiple motions to make the swastika illegal over the last decade. 

Switzerland’s neighbors maintain much tougher policies on Nazi symbols. Germany and Austria prohibit the display of such icons, with offenders in both countries facing fines or prison sentences. France bans the display of Nazi flags, uniforms and insignia in public, along with the symbols of other criminal groups.