The Situation In Germany

Here is also one good analysis:


Germany’s Massive Right-wing Extremist Raid: Is It More Show Than Substance?​

A majority of extremist-related investigations in the last year have been against Islamists, but the latest Reichsbürger case is getting around-the-clock media coverage for a reason​


Germany saw what is perhaps its largest police raid in history, involving 3,000 officers targeting 130 properties across nearly the entire country. With 25 “Reichsbürger” suspects arrested, that amounts to 120 police officers per suspect. It was quite the show of force, and in a sign that the media knew well in advance about the coming arrests, a number of suspects, including German aristocrat Heinrich XIII and former AfD MP Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, were photographed and filmed as they were perp walked out of their homes.

It was a real coup for Germany’s left-wing government and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who has made it her political goal to wipe out the right.

It is worth noting that nobody has been found guilty yet, but of course, even with the notoriously left-wing German media using the incident to whip up fear of the German right, the past may indicate the case could end up being more PR than reality.

The notorious “Nordkreuz” terror group, which was trumpeted by the media in 2017 as a far-right extremist network preparing for “Day X” — or the day when the group would carry out assassinations of left-wing opponents following the collapse of the German government — mostly fizzled out. At the time, politicians, journalists, and various anti-racist organizations jumped on the case, which involved up to 50 people, as an example of Germany’s growing far-right scene.

Ultimately, the Office of the Attorney General halted its investigations into the group, saying they had “no probable cause” to keep going. Like this most recent case involving “Reichsbürger,” the “Nordkreuz” group also contained a variety of individuals with military and police experience.

The supposed ring leader of “Nordkreuz” was only given a suspended sentence of 21 months, as the judge in the case said that nearly every weapon and piece of ammunition he owned was legal, and that although he had made some “unconstitutional” comments in a group chat with other members, there was no evidence he had any active plans to overthrow the government or carry out any terror attacks.

In the end, even if some members of the group “fantasized” about a Day X, there was no indication they had any concrete plans to partake in any direct action. Many in the left dream of a communist overthrow of the German government, or a society based on anarchist collectives, and some of them may even discuss what such a society would look like in various groups scattered across Germany’s cities, but would such discussions constitute an imminent threat to Germany’s democratic order?

The question is always when does fantasy start to cross into the realm of reality.

If the plan was real, it was crazy to begin with​

The details from the current Reichsbürger case remain unclear, as the case has yet to go to trial. However, if Prince Heinrich XIII, who authorities deem the leader of the group, truly planned to imminently storm the Reichstag and seize power, then he and his cohorts are delusional, potentially insane, and acutely unaware of how power actually works. Power is not a capture-the-flag game where you can run into a government building and scream: “Look, now I’m in power!”

Even if the group was planning to storm the Reichstag, which is a claim we should take with a grain of salt until all the facts come to light, there is little possibility of such a “coup” succeeding in the modern era. If the group managed to defy all odds and take control of the Reichstag, the individuals allegedly involved in this case would have been promptly handcuffed and ushered into prison. After all, any successful coup requires a base of power. That means support from the military, a segment of the current elite, or a mass of the country’s populace — with all three being ideal, but the former two prerequisites far more important.

Of course, if the group was procuring illegal weapons and making concrete plans to conduct a coup, then the authorities are no doubt going to take action and are likely justified in conducting searches on the houses of the suspects, but the question will remain how far along were their plans, how many of the weapons were actually illegal, and how concrete these plans actually were.

According to media reports, there are about 25,000 people in Germany who identify with the Reichsbürger movement, a loosely defined movement but one that generally believes that the country’s current government is illegitimate and that the old monarchy was never properly dissolved in a legal manner. While some of them may be doctors, lawyers, former soldiers, and engineers, this does not represent a base of support for ushering in a new government. Many of them would also likely balk at a few members storming the Reichstag and seizing power through violent means.

We can take it a step further. If the Reichbürgers in this case actually managed to take power, all it would take is one negative report from German public broadcaster ARD and the whole Reich citizens government would promptly see an angry Twitter mob perform a reverse coup, this time with the full support of a very woke populace and increasingly woke security service. As the saying goes, China has state-run media, and the West has media-run states. The Reichbürger movement has no media, no backing, and therefore no power.

If Heinrich XIII truly wanted to rule, as the media claims was his plan, then he would have been better off taking out some Facebook ads first, perhaps explaining things a bit beforehand. Did most Germans even know what a Reichsbürger was before this case? Probably not.

Even the Islamists who dream of sharia in Germany, and there is no small number of them, are not looking to “seize power” through their terror attacks. They instead often cite revenge for Western actions in Muslim lands and sometimes sheer hate for what they describe as an atheistic and godless Western culture. For those Muslims serious about overthrowing democracy and ushering in sharia law, they openly say that demographics and time are on their side, and most hold no illusions about a band of Muslims storming government buildings to seize power. In other words, Islamic rule, if it were to ever happen, will come through the humdrum affair of “democracy.”

Fuel for a crackdown on the right

Regardless of the merits of the Reichsbürger case, the latest raid will be used to justify further oppression against the right, including of the Alternative for Germany (AfD). That means more surveillance and even more police raids. Even the notorious left-wing RAF terror group active in the 1970s and 1980s, which committed a number of high-profile murders, never had such a police response as the latest Reichsbürge arrests, but with the AfD rapidly growing in popularity, the public needs a spectacle.

The media also welcomed the distraction from the brutal random murder of a 14-year-old German girl by an Eritrean migrant in Illerkirchberg, which has once again raised questions about mass immigration at the national level and led to the city of Ulm to suspend intake of all refugees.

This is the same media that has also mostly ignored that of the 226 investigations launched by the Federal Public Prosecutor up until June 30 of this year; 131 were targeted at radical Islamists, 68 against foreign extremists, and only nine against right-wing extremists.


However, nothing should contradict the government’s narrative that the right is the “biggest threat,” and if an Islamist was perp walked out of their home in front of the camera for every terror investigation, the evening media would indeed have a very hard time keeping this narrative up.

It is also the same media that has also long disregarded the fact that the right-wing AfD is routinely subjected to assaults, vehicle arson, doxing, and in Germany’s celebrated liberal democracy, threats of an outright ban on the political party. In fact, it’s the most attacked party in all of Germany, according to government data.

The latest Reichsbürger case, regardless of how valid the allegations may turn out to be, is necessary for the left-wing government to shape public opinion of the AfD, which from a political standpoint, is the main target of this investigation, even though it has little do with the case. After all, there are just not enough “right-wing extremists” prepared to use violence to really justify the government’s claim of the right being the biggest threat. That is why the media was informed well in advance of these raids and was ready to record just in time for the evening news.

Coups are very hard in the modern age

On a side note, most revolutions and coups, which were always difficult to pull off, are especially difficult in the modern age and doubly so in Germany where — despite inflation and a souring economy — most people live in relative comfort and a deep fear of anything the media labels extreme right or even right-wing. Most of the coups that do work in the modern era require NGO funding, support from the CIA, Big Tech, and repetitious media messaging, such as the color revolutions seen across Eastern Europe and the Middle East over the last two decades.

Even in the “old days,” coups were rarely successful, and even in cases such as Castro and Che’s communist overthrow of Cuba, they were won against all odds. When Castro and Che’s ship arrived in Cuba with 81 armed revolutionaries, Batista’s army was already waiting for them. Only 19 men survived, including Castro and Che, who escaped into the Sierra Maestra mountain range and waged an extraordinary guerilla warfare campaign that saw them eventually overthrow the entire government.

Even for those who despise the politics of Che and Castro, what they pulled off from a military and propaganda perspective has rightly gone down in the annals of history. Most men would have thrown in the towel after 85 percent of their comrades were killed in the first minutes of the “revolution.”

The fact that Batista knew Castro was coming indicates informers were already in the group, or Western intelligence or Batista’s own agents used other means to know from top to bottom what the group’s plans were. This intelligence leak was before the era of smartphones and internet surveillance.

In contrast, German domestic intelligence is inside encrypted chats, they are inside people’s computers, and they are openly monitoring members of one political party but also a large variety of political groups. For those “planning” a coup, regardless of whether they are on the left, right, or adhere to some other political or religious ideology, the odds have never been more stacked against you.
 
A whole bunch of mainstream media articles about the Reichsbürger movement have appeared. They are sparse on details about the recent arrests but all are sure to draw attention to the fact that the members are considered to be conspiracy theorists and 'COVID deniers', unvaccinated of course. There's also lots of mention of guns and the general idea that what was considered a bit of a joke has now become scary and dangerous.

The BBC even has an interview with 'King Peter'

His real name is Peter Fitzek, and his activities have brought him into frequent conflict with the German law.
Germany doesn't recognise the kingdom or its documents: Mr Fitzek has several convictions for driving without a licence and running his own health insurance programme. He also went to prison for several years for embezzling his citizens' money but the conviction was later quashed.
The regional intelligence service, which has been watching him and his kingdom for nearly two years, told us they regarded it as a threat. They liken it to a cult which exposes people to conspiracy theories and extremist ideology.

Terrifying, right? Nope. The whole thing just stinks. Associating the views of a whole section of German society with a movement the authorities have linked to the Far Right, distrust of government, covid scepticism and, now, support for Russia? All very efficient.
 
The whole thing just stinks.
Ditto, same flavor from RT

Germany reveals number of ‘Citizens of the Reich’​

The extremist right-wing organization behind the recent coup plot is growing fast, the interior minister says

The number of far-right extremists who deny the legitimacy of modern-day Germany has reached 23,000, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday. She called for a comprehensive crackdown on the Reichsbuerger ‘Citizens of the Reich’ movement.

According to Faeser, the Reichsbuerger community, which rejects the country’s current political system and borders, has grown by 2,000 members over the past year. She said that 10% of those in the group are considered to be ready for violence.
On Wednesday, police arrested 25 Reichsbuergers, or self-styled ‘citizens of the Reich’, who are suspected of plotting a coup. The 71-year-old Heinrich XIII, Prince of Reuss and a member of a minor German aristocratic family, was named as the group’s leader.

“We are not dealing with harmless nutcases, but with terrorism suspects, all of whom are now in custody and awaiting trial,” Faeser said, adding that 239 violent acts by Reichsbuergers were recorded last year, and at least 1,050 people had their firearm permits revoked. The minister called for “maximum pressure” on the community and said that the government would “further tighten gun laws.”

In April, German police arrested four people with ties to the Reichsbuerger movement on suspicions of plotting to kidnap Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
 
Local media—such as RBB and DW—have confirmed the incident, reporting that police said a blast was heard around 5:45 a.m. local time at the tourist attraction and parts of the Radisson's facade where the aquarium was located flew onto the streets.

Berlin's traffic agency VIZ reported an "extremely large volume of water" spilling over into the street outside the hotel, according to DW. The Associated Press reported that one million liters of water poured out of the aquarium.

The mass of water coming out of the building forced emergency services to close a major road next to the complex housing the aquarium and the hotel in the center of Berlin.

Media organizations and the German Foreign Office have demanded an explanation over the bans while the EU has threatened sanctions. Elon Musk said the suspensions were due to the tracking of private jets.

The German Foreign Office tweeted screenshots on Friday of the accounts of journalists suspended by Twitter, telling the social media platform that suspending their accounts was unacceptable.

"Press freedom cannot be switched on and off on a whim," the ministry wrote on its official Twitter page. "The journalists below can no longer follow us, comment and criticize. We have a problem with that, @Twitter."

Screenshot 2022-12-16 at 12-32-37 Germany says Twitter journalists ban 'unacceptable' – DW – 1...png
"Arbitrary locking of journalists' accounts is unacceptable," tweeted deputy government spokesperson Wolfgang Buechner, threatening to leave the platform should the policy continue.

Screenshot 2022-12-16 at 12-34-21 Germany says Twitter journalists ban 'unacceptable' – DW – 1...png

Twitter on Thursday suspended the accounts of several journalists who have been covering the company and Elon Musk's takeover.

The move comes a day after the social media platform changed its policies revolving around accounts which tracked private jets, including a jet owned by Musk.

Journalist's whose accounts were suspended include New York Times reporter Ryan Mac, Washington Post reporter Drew Hall, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, Matt Binder of Mashable, The Intercept's Micah Lee and Steve Herman of Voice of America.

The accounts of independent journalists like Aaron Rupar, Tony Webster and Keith Olbermann were also suspended.

A social media company called Mastodon, known to be an alternative to Twitter, was also suspended from Twitter on Thursday.

The platform has not officially explained why it took down the accounts.

EU threatens Twitter with sanctions

The EU, meanwhile, has warned Elon Musk that Twitter could be subject to sanctions under a new media law after the "worrying" suspension of the journalists.

"EU's Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our Media Freedom Act," EU Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova tweeted.

"Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon."

Approved earlier this year, the Digital Services Act (DSA) builds on earlier European media law to regulate illegal content, disinformation, and transparency online. Although service providers have a grace period of until the beginning of 2024 to fully comply, Twitter could still be found in violation of certain statutes.

CNN: "Concerning but not surprising"

A spokesperson for the New York Times said that the suspension is "questionable and unfortunate" and added that they hope "Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action."

CNN in a statement said that "the impulsive and unjustified suspension" is concerning "but not surprising.''

"We have asked Twitter for an explanation, and we will reevaluate our relationship based on that response,'' read the statement.

Sarah Reese Jones, a political analyst and news commentator with PoliticusUSA, said that "Nothing says free speech like suspending journalists who cover you."

Screenshot 2022-12-16 at 12-38-04 Germany says Twitter journalists ban 'unacceptable' – DW – 1...png

Some of the journalists who were suspended had been tweeting about the shutting down of an account named @Elonjet on Wednesday.

The account had more than half a million followers.

Elon Musk had vowed not to pull down @ElonJet

The account named @Elonjet was owned by Jack Sweeney and used publicly available information to track the movement of Musk's jet.

On Wednesday, Musk said that a car in Los Angeles carrying one of his children was followed by a "crazy stalker." He blamed Sweeney's account for the alleged incident.

In a tweet, he said that legal action is now being taken against Sweeney.

Twitter employees file lawsuit amid mass layoffs

After the suspension, Sweeney tweeted from his personal account and said "Well it appears @ElonJet is suspended." Soon his personal account was also taken down.

In January, Musk had offered 20-year-old Sweeney $5000 to shut down the account tracking his jet. Earlier in November, shortly after the billionaire took over Twitter, he pledged to not touch the account even though it was a "direct personal safety risk."

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Twitter changes its media policy

On Wednesday, Musk tweeted that "Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation."

Doxxing refers to revealing someone's identifying information such as home address or phone number which makes them vulnerable to abuse.

After suspending Sweeney's account Twitter updated its media policy. "You may not publish or post other people's private information without their express authorization and permission," it said.

On Thursday morning Musk said that "same doxxing rules apply to "journalists” as to everyone else."

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In another tweet he said "criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not."
jsi,ns/es (AFPE, Reuters, APE)
 

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The German government is set to usher in a 'Law for the support of democracy' (Demokratiefördergesetz) just a week after the spurious plot against the authorities when a couple of elderly people were taken into custody as terror suspects.

I think we can expect this to be a trigger event for tightening measures and laws against any people who have become inconvenient for or defiant against the system.

Yesterday the minister of the interior Nancy Faeser (social democrats) and the minister for family affairs (!) Lisa Paus (greens) were explaining the decision of the cabinet to the press.

"The law is intended to "commit the federal government to the fight against racism, extremism and misanthropy."

So there will be a new law against the freedom of expression with the intention to label everybody a 'right-wing extremist' who openly defies government policies.

Due to the majority situation in parliament this law cannot be stopped by opposition parties, it would require the libertarian FDP party within the 🚦coalition to stop the proceedings or at least water down its content.

The FDP known for its flip-flopping in political affairs could be tempted to play the 'saver of democracy' as it has experienced some disastrous results in state elections recently and is expected to be eliminated from Berlin's state parliament in next February's elections.
 
From reading the above article and also from listening to the current news one gains the general impression that politicians and other kinds of official persons are literally pulling on opposite ends of a rope:

Some want to end the Covid measures as a reaction on what Drosten declared (like official figures from the CDU party), finding it's high time since other states in Europe have put an end to Covid policies already. But others like our minister for health, Karl Lauterbach, and others from the governing parties - especially from the social democratic party - want to keep them up at least until spring.

Also according to above article, meanwhile it's being discussed to cancel flights between Germany and China due to the current wave of "Covid" or whatever it is that's going on over there at the moment. As if a virus of whatsoever could have been put on hold by any of these measures that have been issued while discouraging useful ones like a mass administration of ivermectin, vitamin C and others (in Germany). And as China has been setting a precedent in dealing with Covid in the past and now has lifted its zero Covid policies while even considering to declare Covid-19 as "Corona cold", let's see if similar things are to follow for Germany. "Corona cold" would at least be closer to the truth, imo.
 
Well, I thought this was quite funny - in a horrible way:

"A Christmas tree with real candles" as heating? – New savings tips from Friedrich Merz​


Being extremely rich and living really frugally and energy-efficiently are not mutually exclusive. At least that's what you could conclude from the most recent statements by Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz. The multiple millionaire gives energy-saving tips at Christmas time.

A Christmas tree with real candles as heating?  – New savings tips from Friedrich Merz
Source: www.globallookpress.com © Michael Kappeler / dpa
The CDU chairman Friedrich Merz (Berlin, December 13, 2022)
Are you also having trouble bearing the never-ending cost increases this year? Don't you just sit together shivering at Christmas? Then, among other things, the Springer-Blatt Welt prominently allows some Christian Christmas tips from the Union faction leader Friedrich Merz on how to deal with this situation.
Merz has already drawn malice several times with modest self-assessments. The private jet pilot and until spring 2020 chairman of the supervisory board at Blackrock , the largest asset manager in the world, counted himself among the "upper middle class" with an estimated fortune of over ten million euros. In 2018 he stated: "Today I earn around one million euros gross." According to the taz , he is one of the 19,000 top earners in Germany and is wealthier than 99.95 percent of all German taxpayers. As far as one or the other of the numerous savings tips from politicians this year is concerned, he found little understanding.

But now, according to his own statements, the energy crisis has increased his personal sensitivity to austerity measures. "You become much more attentive in such a situation and of course you also think: Where can you still save energy," said the CDU chairman in an interview with the German Press Agency in Berlin. He added: "I have reduced the room temperature in both my Berlin apartment and our house in Arnsberg and only heat rooms that I actually use."

Merz also pleased the fire brigades, as he was exemplary in his thrifty manner in a particularly Christmassy way. In one of his homes, the house in Sauerland, there was "a Christmas tree with real candles. This alone naturally increases the room temperature," explained Merz.

If Merz was hoping to be unanimously voted the nation's savings icon, judging by user comments on social media, he was wrong.

The rest of the article can be read here:

 
But now, according to his own statements, the energy crisis has increased his personal sensitivity to austerity measures. "You become much more attentive in such a situation and of course you also think: Where can you still save energy," said the CDU chairman in an interview with the German Press Agency in Berlin. He added: "I have reduced the room temperature in both my Berlin apartment and our house in Arnsberg and only heat rooms that I actually use."
This guys sounds absolutely selfless.

Personally, I have taken his advice, and only use my private jet occasionally. And when I use it, I turn the temperature down one degree, to do my part to save the planet...

Oh, and I am paying my staff now with lumps of coal, so they have something that can keep them warm during the cold winter months.

With this, I hope to flatten the curve. (Or is that another issue? Sometimes I forget... sorry.)
 

Migrant-Fueled New Year Mayhem Turns Berlin Into Warzone​

BY TYLER DURDEN
MONDAY, JAN 02, 2023 - 09:40 AM

"In Berlin, police and firefighters responded to 3,943 incidents, with 15 firefighters and 18 police officers injured"

" after young men set fire to barricades, firefighters who arrived to extinguish the fire were attacked by 200 hooded men. "

"In one disturbing scene, a group of men were filmed attacking an ambulance, hurling objects inside the vehicle’s open rear doors."

"Other videos show youths hurling rockets at ambulances as they attempt to drive down Berlin streets."

"The next morning, burned-out buses and automobiles could be seen across Berlin."

Plenty of links and videos in the full article:

 
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