Conspiracy Theorists QAnon: EBay Says It Will Pull QAnon Merchandise From Its Site -dangers also exist in Europe

Products promoting the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon will no longer be permitted on eBay’s site, the company said on Friday evening, after rioters carrying markers of the group stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

A search on eBay currently reveals about 4,000 products, including hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers tied to QAnon, which, among other theories, asserts that President Trump is being undermined by a cult of Satan worshippers. For instance, there’s a pack of stickers selling for $22 that has a Q emblazoned on the front and is advertised as a way to show support for the president’s failed 2020 re-election bid. Its seller policy prohibits “listings that promote or glorify hatred, violence, or discrimination.”

QAnon has also been operating in Europe under different names and is very active when it comes to controversial issues, in promoting dangerous and radical rightwing and populist solutions to solve a variety of issues.

Read more at: EBay Says It Will Pull QAnon Merchandise From Its Site

US Presidential Elections: Paul Ryan: Poster Boy of Today's Extreme GOP - by Waymon Hudson

The Republican Choice For Its Presidential Team

While many in the media are focusing on the budget and fiscal views of Mitt Romney's pick as vice president for the Republican ticket, Paul Ryan is much more than just "wonky budget guy." In fact, Ryan's extreme social conservatism, which he prefers to hide under his fiscal views, is a perfect example of the state of today's GOP, which has been taken over by far-right ideologues who distract with tax and deficit talk as they seek to march civil rights back to the Dark Ages.

Yes, the Paul Ryan budget is extremely newsworthy for its uneven tax breaks for the richest Americans while gutting social safety nets like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, but Ryan's record on social issues and civil rights, specifically LGBT issues and women's rights, should not be glossed over by the media or by voters as November approaches. Despite the odd praise coming from conservative gay groups like Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud, Paul Ryan's record on LGBT rights is abysmal and far out of step with mainstream Americans.

Like most of the current Republicans in office, Ryan claims to want small federal government and strict constitutional reading... except when it doesn't fit their narrow social agenda. Paul Ryan has voted twice, both in 2004 and 2006, for an amendment to the federal constitution banning marriage between same-sex couples, a position presidential hopeful Mitt Romney also holds. In fact, Ryan bragged about his vote to amend the constitution in 2004 in a press release, saying, "I had hoped that this amendment wouldn't be necessary, but increasingly it appears that laws such as the Defense of Marriage Act will not be sufficient to protect marriage from certain courts that distort state and federal constitutional law."

Read more: Waymon Hudson: Paul Ryan: Poster Boy of Today's Extreme GOP

The Netherlands - Wilders accuses left of demonizing him over Norway shootings

Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam party PVV, has accused left-wing politicians of a witch hunt by trying to implicate him and his ideas in the Norwegian mass shootings of 10 days ago.

In an interview with the right-wing Telegraaf newspaper, Wilders says the left is out to demonize him by trying to connect him to shootings.

Various politicians and commentators have said that Wilders' anti-Islam speeches and his constant referrals to the 'left-wing elite' have helped create the climate in which Anders Breivik acted.

Note EU-Digest: Unfortunately Mr. Wilders and his other right-wing - anti- cultural integration, hate-spewing friends are indirectly to be blamed for the recent killings in Norway.

For more: DutchNews.nl - Wilders accuses left of demonising him over Norway shootings (update)

Norway Killings Shift Debate on Islam in Europe - by NICHOLAS KULISH

Less than a week after the mass killings in Norway, evidence of a shift in the debate over Islam and the radical right in Europe already appeared to be taking hold on a traumatized Continent.

Members of far-right parties in Sweden and Italy were condemned from within their own ranks for blaming the attack on multiculturalism, as expressions of outrage over the deaths crossed the political spectrum. A member of France’s far-right National Front was suspended for praising the attacker.

Lurking in the background is the calculation on all sides that such tragedies can drive shifts in public opinion. The violent actions of a terrorist or homicidal individual can hardly be blamed on nonviolent political parties. But politicians have begun to question inflammatory rhetoric in the debate over immigrants, which has helped fuel the rise of right-leaning politicians across Europe in recent years.

“The biggest challenge is the opportunism of the center and I think this will change now,” said Joschka Fischer, Germany’s former foreign minister and a leading European voice on the left, pointing to the Danish government’s cooperation with the far-right Danish People’s Party, which has pushed through a partial reinstitution of border controls.

Security services across Europe have been re-evaluating their security plans and examining how prepared they would be in the event of a similar plot. In the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg on Wednesday, 140 police officers raided 21 homes as part of an investigation against a right-wing extremist group. The police said the action was not connected to the events in Oslo, but pressure to keep watch over extremists is now constant theme.

For more: Norway Killings Shift Debate on Islam in Europe - NYTimes.com

Norway and the politics of hate

Societies have been changing fast. There is mounting frustration that officials at both European and national level seem not to listen to the views of the voters.

With globalisation, national identity seems to have become more important. The nation state stubbornly remains the focus of most people's identity. And so nationalist parties have made gains in many parts of Europe. There are frequent expressions of concern about the growing influence of these parties. Others say that they provide a useful channel for the feelings of frustration and alienation.

Some of Europe's leaders, from Angela Merkel to David Cameron, have questioned multiculturalism. The danger, of course, is that such statements can encourage extremism. Others say that in Europe the debate needs to be had, openly and transparently about immigration and multiculturalism

For more: BBC News - Norway and the politics of hate

Europe on alert after Norway Right-Wing attacks - by Andrew Ward and Robin Wigglesworth and Quentin Peel

Police around Europe are on increased alert against far-right extremism as the Norwegian charged over terror attacks" man accused of killing 93 people in Norway’s bomb and shooting attack prepares to face charges in an Oslo court on Monday.

Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian, has admitted bombing government buildings in central Oslo on Friday before shooting dead scores of young people at a Labour party summer camp on Utøya, an island outside the capital. Under Norwegian law, he faces a maximum of 21 years in prison if found guilty of what Jens Stoltenberg, prime minister, called Norway’s “national tragedy”.

Across Europe, police authorities increased scrutiny of Killer personifies rise of new far-right">potential far-right threats while Muslim groups in the UK raised security levels amid fear of anti-Islamic activity. Europol, the European police agency based in The Hague, said it was setting up a task force to help investigate non-Islamist threats in Scandinavian countries.

 For more: Europe on alert after Norway attacks - FT.com

The buffalo bullet: US Right Wing extremism - Hate in a Cocoon of Silence - by Charles Blow

For the complete report from The buffalo bullet click on this link

US Right Wing extremism - Hate in a Cocoon of Silence - by Charles Blow

"An April assessment by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis said pointedly: “Lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent right wing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.” Slowly, but steadily, these bigots are slithering from beneath their rocks, armed and deadly. The most recent was an octogenarian-hater named James von Brunn, who, officials said, opened fire this week in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, killing a security guard."

NIS: Netherlands: Geert Wilders Party is Extreme Right Says Study by Leiden University and the Anne Frank Foundation

For the complete report from the NIS Bulletin click on this link

Geert Wilders Party is Extreme Right Says Study by Leiden University and the Anne Frank Foundation

The Party for Freedom (PVV) can be classified as extreme right, the University of Leiden and the Anne Frank foundation conclude. They presented their Racism and Extremism Monitor yesterday. "The problem of 'Islamophobia' has increased substantially in the Netherlands during the past year," the Anne Frank foundation stated. "This is not just a question of the climate of negative opinion concerning Muslims, but also of the rise in violence against this community". The foundation went on to say that "the extreme right-wing landscape in the Netherlands has changed fundamentally in recent years, on the one hand due to a sharp rise in far-right street activism, and on the other hand because of the way the increasingly radical Party for Freedom has manifested itself. The PVV can be classified as extreme right." Head researcher Jaap van Donselaar observed that the PVV is extreme right because of "the positive orientation on that which is indigenous (nationalism) and the strong aversion to that which is foreign (racism)". A court should decide whether the PVV should be banned, he declared.

RNW: Belgium/Netherlands: Right-wing groups launch anti-Islamisation campaign - by Vanessa Mock

For the complete report from Radio Netherlands click on this link

Belgium ?Netherlands: Right-wing groups launch anti-Islamisation campaign - by Vanessa Mock

Far-right groups are calling for a ban on the building of new mosques as part of a new campaign to stop the spread of radical Islam in Europe. Belgium's far-right Vlaams Belang party teamed up with radical groups from Austria and Germany on Thursday to launch a Charter to 'fight the Islamisation of West-European cities'."We are not opposed to freedom of religion but we don't want Muslims to impose their way of life and traditions over here because much of it is not compatible with our way of life," Vlaams Belang's Filip Dewinter told Radio Netherlands Worldwide. "We can't accept head scarves in our schools, forced marriages and the ritual slaughter of animals." Aside from Austria's Freedom Party (FPö), there was a notable absence of other political heavyweights during the press conference in the Flemish city of Antwerp. A spokesman for Italy's Allianza Nazionale said he was unaware of the Charter, though his party too was looking at the issue of the new mosques. Dutch right-wing maverick politician Geert Wilders, who is currently producing a film about the danger of the Koran, also stayed away. But Mr Dewinter seems unruffled by the paltry political support: "This movement may be small today but I am convinced it will grow into something major." News of the Charter was greeted with dismay in Antwerp's Borgerhout, a multi-cultural neighbourhood counting over 90 nationalities. "It's pure provocation," shrugged Said El Fetri, a Moroccan shopkeeper. "I have Belgians, East Europeans, Jews and Muslims coming in and out of my shop, there are no problems with integration here." Standing next to his counter of Halal meat, he added: "I am a Muslim but that doesn't mean that I don't live by the rules of this country." However, another local shopkeeper, Mohammed, was gloomier: "I've lived here for almost 40 years. Me and my children are perfectly integrated but these kinds of campaigns worry me. In ten years' time, it won't be possible for us to live side by side like this anymore."

Note EU-Digest: Even though these kinds of provocative expressions and declarations by populist right wing groups, represented by Wilders, Dewinter and other like minded politicians are deplorable, they are acceptable within Europe's laws related to the freedom of expression. A possible way to combat these right wing movements is initially to call for massive peaceful demonstrations, in every major city of Europe. to support integration and multiculturalism . This, in addition to starting a well coordinated long term campaign of dialog on these issues at schools, universities, religious centers, in the press, and on TV and Radio. Best of all, the voters should make sure that these right-wing politicians are kept from winning in elections, by voting against them. Europe, on the other hand, should not allow any Grand Mufti to threaten Europeans about the risks involved if they allow people like Wilders or DeWinter to use or abuse the European Citizen's right of free speech. In that case we must remind these Muftis that in Europe we have a democratic society, where free speech and womens rights are paramount parts of the system and cover every citizen, including European Muslims.

France24: France's Sarkozy moving closer to far-right leader Le Pen - by Rory Mulholland

For the complete report in France24 click on this link

France's Sarkozy moving closer to far-right leader Le Pen - by Rory Mulholland

The call by a top Sarkozy advisor for the introduction of proportional representation in parliamentary elections was the latest proof that Sarkozy has been "seeking to move closer to the National Front," said the centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou. Proportional representation would make it easier for smaller parties such as Le Pen's National Front to enter parliament, in which under the current first-past-the-post system they fail to get any seats. Sarkozy, who has broken with outgoing President Jacques Chirac's policy of freezing out the National Front, will take pole position in the first round of voting on April 22 and has a good chance of winning the decisive second round two weeks later, opinion polls say.

IHT: Extreme right looms over France - by y Elaine Sciolino

Sarkozy taking a hard turn to the right
For the complete report from the International Herald Tribune click on this link

Extreme right looms over France - by y Elaine Sciolin

Suddenly, France's presidential campaign is seized by a subject long monopolized by the extreme right: how best to be French. The conservative candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, wants to create a ministry of "immigration and national identity" that will require newcomers to embrace the secular values of the republican state. The Socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, wants every French citizen to memorize the national anthem the Marseillaise and keep a French flag in the cupboard for public display on Bastille Day.

The far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen chortles that his rivals in the two main parties have stolen, and therefore validated, his message of "France for the French." Some political commentators have accused Sarkozy of ugly demagoguery reminiscent of the darkest period in modern French history: the collaborationist Vichy government during the Nazi occupation of France.