Wednesday, January 22, 2025
The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/europe/british-government-wants-to-censor-legal-but-harmful-speech-in-wake-of-riots/

Europe

British government wants to censor “legal but harmful” speech in wake of riots

Published 10 August 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Keir Starmer's government opens the door to arbitrary mass censorship.
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The British government is considering revising the Online Safety Act to force social media companies to censor even perfectly legal content if it is deemed “harmful”.

The totalitarian measures are motivated by the violent riots that swept the country last week, with the government claiming that “misinformation” online is to blame for much of the violence.

Officially, the law, passed in October but not due to come into force until 2024, was created to allow the government to fine social media companies up to 10% of their global revenue if they fail to identify illegal content such as child pornography, incitement to violence or “hate speech” on their platforms.

However, the proposed changes indicate that the UK government also wants to be able to punish companies for allowing “legal but harmful” content – such as alleged disinformation.

The newly elected Labour government, like its Liberal-Conservative predecessors, has previously argued that Britons’ right to freedom of expression online must be respected and said it wanted to strike a balance between this and censorship.

Now, however, cabinet minister Nick Thomas Symonds is open to “make changes if necessary” and promises to review the legal framework.

Migrant murdered little girls

Sadiq Khan, the Muslim mayor of London, also advocates restricting the freedom of expression of Britons and says the law needs to be changed and made much broader.

– I think what the government should do very quickly is check if it is fit for purpose. I think it’s not fit for purpose, he says.

After an African migrant murdered three British girls in a bloody stabbing spree, protests against “multiculturalism” and mass immigration soon spread by the thousands across Britain – and in many places quickly degenerated into violent riots and civil unrest.

At the same time, immigrant groups have armed themselves and organized into large gangs that take to the streets to fight and vandalize.

The two groups have clashed with each other and with the police on several occasions, to the point where there has been talk of the beginning of a civil war.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/europe/discussions-on-banning-the-afd-could-begin-next-week/

Europe

Discussions on banning the AfD could begin next week

Published today 7:58
– By Editorial Staff
Last election, the AfD became the largest party among Germans under 30.
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A group of 113 members of the German parliament is planning to table a motion to ban the nationalist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), reports Die Zeit. The motion could be discussed in the Bundestag as early as next week.

The parliamentary group, which is mainly made up of members of the Greens, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU), argues that the AfD’s agenda violates the German constitution and poses a threat to the country’s democratic order.

The motion was tabled in November and aims to initiate an injunction process against the AfD in the Federal Constitutional Court. Founded in 2013, the party currently enjoys around 20% support, putting it ahead of the SPD (16%) but behind the CDU (31%). The party was already classified as a “suspected” extremist organization by the German security services in 2021 due to its opposition to the current policy of population exchange.

CDU member Marco Wanderwitz, one of the initiators of the motion, calls for swift action against Alternative for Germany, citing the party’s alleged “further radicalization”. The group argues that AfD has questioned the human dignity and rights of migrants and LGBT people, and that there are therefore good reasons to ban the party.

Wanting a referendum on EU membership

Despite the AfD’s growing popularity – a December poll showed its leader Alice Weidel leading the polls to become the next chancellor – all established parties have ruled out any form of cooperation with the party, making it difficult for them to have real political influence.

Weidel, who was recently nominated as the AfD’s first candidate for chancellor, has pledged, among other things, to resume operation of the sabotaged Nord Stream gas pipelines, implement a much tougher immigration policy, launch comprehensive deportation programs and abolish “green” climate and energy initiatives if the party wins the election.

The AfD has also proposed a referendum on leaving the EU and the eurozone, and criticized Germany’s extensive military support for Ukraine and its membership of the US-led NATO military alliance.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/swedish-nato-force-deployed-in-latvia/

Europe

Swedish NATO force deployed in Latvia

Sweden-NATO-relationship

Published 20 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish NATO soldiers land in Riga.
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This weekend, around 550 Swedish soldiers arrived in Latvia’s capital Riga to join NATO’s multinational brigade and reinforce the US-led military alliance’s border with Russia.

– Many of us have worked hard and long for this, and now we are finally here, says Battalion Commander and Lieutenant Colonel Henrik Rosdahl, commenting on Sweden’s first ground deployment as a NATO country.

The brigade is one of eight being built up to be stationed along NATO’s eastern border, with the official aim of “contributing to the Alliance’s deterrence and defense and ensuring stability in the region”.

The Swedish contribution to the initiative consists of the 71st battalion, which will be deployed by the Southern Skåne Regiment P 7.

– I feel a great sense of pride in the task of contributing to collective defense together with our allies. It is a historic day, but at the same time our new normal, says Henrik Rosdahl.

Rotating with Denmark

“The Swedish battalion’s mission in Latvia will last for about six months… After the six months, the Swedish force will rotate home and be replaced by a Danish force in the next six months. In one year, the next Swedish force will arrive in Latvia – again deployed by the Southern Skåne Regiment”, the Swedish Armed Forces wrote in a press release.

Canadian Colonel Cédric Aspirault is leading the international brigade and says the Swedes are “a valuable addition to our combat-ready force”.

– Each nation involved contributes directly to the success of the brigade, demonstrating a united alliance and a will to keep the peace, it said.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/eu-official-we-can-invalidate-the-election-in-germany-if-necessary/

Europe

EU official: We can invalidate the election in Germany – “if necessary”

Totalitarianism

Published 14 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Thierry Breton flags that Brussels could annul the German elections - “if necessary”.
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Former EU commissioner Thierry Breton explains that the EU could annul the upcoming elections in Germany in case of suspicion of foreign influence.

– We did it in Romania and, if necessary, we will have to do it in Germany as well, he said.

The statement was made in an interview on the French news program Apolline Matin, focusing on Elon Musk’s platform X (formerly Twitter) and its potential role in the German elections.

Breton, former Commissioner for the Internal Market from 2019 to 2024, referred to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a law established in 2022 and whose purpose is nominally stated as protecting democracy by regulating digital platforms, fighting disinformation and preventing foreign influence on elections. He stressed that it was his staff who wrote the law, and that the EU is now “equipped” to apply it if necessary.

The law was recently used as a basis to investigate TikTok in the context of Romania’s presidential election, which was annulled following allegations of foreign interference. In recent days, large-scale demonstrations have broken out in Bucharest, with thousands of people protesting against the EU’s actions.

Germany’s elections, to be held next month, have already sparked discussions about the AfD’s success and Elon Musk’s open support for the party via X.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/large-protests-after-annulled-presidential-election-romanians-have-chosen-their-president/

Europe

Large protests after annulled presidential election: “Romanians have chosen their president”

Published 14 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Photos from the protests in Bucharest.
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In recent days, large-scale demonstrations have taken place in the Romanian capital Bucharest and other major cities.

The protests, which gathered more than 100,000 participants in Bucharest, target the incumbent President Klaus Iohannis and the current government, which the demonstrators consider illegitimate.

The demonstrations began after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election, in which Călin Georgescu won with 22.95% of the vote. A second round was to have been held on December 8, 2024 between Georgescu and reformist leader Elena Lasconi, but this was stopped by the court’s decision.

– We are more than a 100,000 Bucharest. Iohannis has to leave, shouted one of the protesters, adding: This usurper of a president, who has elected an illegitimate government, has to leave urgently!

Protesters demand that Călin Georgescu, who won the first round of the presidential elections, be recognized as the legitimate leader of the country.

– Romanians have chosen their president. We have to resume urgently round two of the elections and let the people decide who must lead Romania!

The court’s decision was motivated by suspicions of foreign influence, particularly via social media, which allegedly benefited Georgescu’s campaign. This has been met with strong condemnation from both Georgescu and Lasconi, who say the decision is a threat to democracy.

Parallel protests in Serbia

Meanwhile, demonstrations have taken place in Serbia, where discontent over the government’s handling of a collapsed train station in Novi Sad has led to widespread protests. Some protesters have shown symbolic solidarity with their Romanian neighbors by waving Romanian flags and tearing up EU flags, underlining a regional frustration with political abuse of power.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com