Europe under strain: political extremism aspects

[davidbfpo]

Although the furore over the massive flow of refugees from Syria and migrants from elsewhere has been reported upon, it is rare to see MSM report on the extreme right (XRW) and their hopes for 2016:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...o-Britain.html

I don't follow Czech politics, but when their President speaks at a XRW rally in Prague last month one must wonder what is happening:

The country’s President Milos Zeman, who is an outspoken critic of Islam, immigration and the EU. Six thousand people turned out in Prague to listen.

[davidbfpo]

This seems like the best place to add this allegation. The report starts with:

Podemos, the leftist party that emerged as the major success story in last month’s indecisive Spanish general election, has been accused of receiving illicit funding from the Iranian government. The party, which campaigned on a platform of combatting corruption and slowing the pace of crippling austerity, is reported to be under investigation by a division of the Spanish police that has previously looked into graft allegations against other political parties.

Link:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a6813006.html


Or if you read Spanish, the original allegation:http://www.elconfidencial.com/espana...ienda_1136490/

[davidbfpo]

An explanation that crosses the continent to find answers and here is an example, one that had slipped past my sight:

Spain, meanwhile, whose voting system was designed after its return to democracy in the 1970s to deliver strong majorities and a stable two-party system, remains without a government nearly three months after it went to the polls on 20 December.

Link:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...es-parliaments

[davidbfpo]

Via John Schindler on Twitter:

Frank Hannig: "From the Stasi to Pegida. As a lawyer with Stasi past helped build Pegida."

He cites a report in German, which is not a language I know and no translation option is offered:https://correctiv.org/blog/2016/04/0...pegida-verein/

I am assuming this ex-Stasi officer may have a Russian affiliation still.

[mirhond]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspect-...in-strasbourg/

PARIS - French police say they are looking for a man who attacked a soldier with a box cutter in the eastern city of Strasbourg.

Local government official Dominique Jane told Europe 1 radio the incident happened in Strasbourg's train station on Saturday evening. Jane said Sunday that the soldiers pushed back the aggressor, who managed to escape, as he was trying to attack one of them. One soldier was slightly injured on a cheek. The man's motives remained unclear. Jane said the attacker spoke in Arabic, but he doesn't know the content and translation of his words.

TWO (2) armed(?) soldiers vs ONE (1) assailant with a box cutter.
Gosh, my second thought was : "Phew, at least they did not surrender"

[davidbfpo]

A "broad brush" commentary by RUSI's Raffaello Pantucci; sub-titled 'Rightwing extremists are a grave danger in themselves, let alone when you factor in their influence on mainstream politics, and on terrorism':https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/28/brexit-europe-far-right-rightwing-extremists-politics-terrorism?

Those who have watched this will not be surprised by:

In the RUSI-led research, a particularly striking finding was that in about 40% of cases of far-right extremists, they were uncovered by chance – the individual managed to blow himself up or was discovered while authorities conducted another investigation. By contrast, around 80% of violent Islamist lone actors were discovered in intelligence-led operations – in other words, the authorities were looking for them.

In the UK the far right find a ready audience IMHO amongst, as the Home Secretary stated today:

There is still one in ten 18-24 year olds in the UK who are unemployed.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37561035

[davidbfpo]

A different way to explain this issue and taking the UK's once very active "far right" group, the English Defence League (EDL) and the author's first-hand research watching them:

...reveals that the participation of grassroots members was driven by the club goods of access to violent conflict, increased self-worth and group solidarity.

(Ends with) To understand the appeal of EDL activism, it is not enough to examine the group’s ideological appeal; the costs and benefits of activism must also be identified.

Link: http://www.radicalisationresearch.or...footsoldiers/?