fascism is not an opinion - fascism is a crime!

Problem „mit bestimmten Gesinnungen“ Neuer Ratsherr in Unna verlässt die AfD

Bevor Unnas neuer Rat nach der Kommunalwahl zum ersten Mal zusammentritt, werden Unstimmigkeiten in einer der neuen Fraktionen bekannt: Ratsherr Christof Tuneke erklärt seine Abkehr von der AfD. Ratsherr in spe tritt aus AfD aus Tuneke war am 14. September neben sieben weiteren AfD-Kandidaten in den Rat gewählt worden. Entsprechend ihrem Wahlergebnis von 14,5 Prozent entfallen acht Sitze im künftigen Stadtrat auf die AfD. Direkt gewählte Kandidaten hat die Partei nicht. Nur Bewerber von SPD und CDU konnten in Unna Direktmandate gewinnen. Christof Tuneke erklärte nun am Freitag (10.10.) in einer E-Mail an unsere Redaktion, er sei aus der AfD ausgetreten „aufgrund von Unvereinbarkeiten mit bestimmten Gesinnungen und Ideologien innerhalb der Fraktion in Unna, die sich unmittelbar vor der Wahl gezeigt haben“. Näher erläuterte Tuneke diese Hintergründe nicht. (…) Kurz vor der Kommunalwahl im September hatte der WDR Recherchen zu anderen AfD-Kandidaten im Kreis Unna veröffentlicht, wonach diese rechtsextremen Kreisen nahe stehen sollen. Es ist nicht bekannt, ob der nun aus der AfD ausgetretene Ratsherr Tuneke sich auf die Inhalte dieser WDR-Enthüllungen bezieht, wenn er von „Gesinnungen“ und „Ideologien“ schreibt.

via hellwegeranzeiger: Problem „mit bestimmten Gesinnungen“ Neuer Ratsherr in Unna verlässt die AfD

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Rock legend vows to yank music off Amazon over Jeff Bezos’ support of Trump

Rock legend Neil Young took a swipe at Amazon this week over its support of President Donald Trump’s administration and vowed to yank his music off the e-commerce website. Young wrote on his website that the “time is here.” “FORGET AMAZON. Soon my music will not be there. It is easy to buy local. Support your community. Go to the local store. Don’t go back to the big corporations who have sold out America,” he railed. Young, 79, continued, “We all have to give up something to save America from the Corporate Control Age it is entering. They need you to buy from them. Don’t. They shut down our government[,] your income[,] your safety[,] your family’s health security. Take America Back together, stop buying from the big corporations[,] support local business. Do the right thing. Show who you are.” Elsewhere, he told visitor to forget Whole Foods and Facebook as well. “BEZOS SUPPORTS THIS GOVERNMENT,” wrote Young.

via rawstory: Rock legend vows to yank music off Amazon over Jeff Bezos’ support of Trump

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Latvia orders over 800 Russian citizens to leave by mid-October

The Latvian government has ordered 841 Russian citizens to leave the country by Oct. 13, citing their failure to meet legal requirements, including proof of Latvian language proficiency and passing a national security screening, Politico reported on Oct. 10. Latvia first amended its immigration laws following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. In 2024, the government introduced stricter rules governing the legal stay of Russian nationals. Under the updated regulations, Russian citizens must obtain EU long-term resident status, demonstrate Latvian language proficiency at the A2 level, and pass a national security check by June 30, 2025. Roughly 30,000 Russian nationals were affected by the changes. While most have either complied with the new requirements or left voluntarily — around 2,600 in total — 841 individuals failed to submit the necessary documentation on time. According to Madara Puke, head of public relations at Latvia’s Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA), those who have not met the requirements must leave the country by Oct. 13. Puke told Politico some Russian residents claimed they were unaware of the changes until their access to social benefits was revoked. After the deadline, these individuals will be considered to be residing in Latvia illegally. Their access to public services will be terminated, and those who continue to defy the law may face forced deportation by the Latvian State Border Guard.

via kyivindependet: Latvia orders over 800 Russian citizens to leave by mid-October

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‘We’re fighting for you!’ Podcaster Ben Meiselas on taking on the Maga media – and winning the ratings battle

His channel, MeidasTouch, puts out 15 videos a day exposing Republican failings – and it is getting bigger audiences than Joe Rogan’s. Is this the champion the American left has been waiting for? Ben Meiselas is a very busy man. So busy, he has to break off halfway through our interview to conduct an interview of his own, for his next broadcast. It’s 7am Los Angeles time when we meet via video call, and Meiselas is already well into another 18-hour day of podcasting, planning, interviewing, meetings and more besides. His “pro-democracy” channel MeidasTouch, which he runs with his younger brothers Jordan and Brett, puts out 15 or more videos a day, most of them presented by Meiselas himself. “I was doing another video before this,” he says, “and so by now I’ve already released one video I did last night, which was my 4am, and now I just worked on my 7am – it’ll get released any minute now. And then I’ll have an 8.30, a 10, an 11.30 …” The prolific output is part of the reason The MeidasTouch has become one of the most listened-to podcasts in the US, routinely beating the mighty Joe Rogan in both video and audio, and even overtaking Fox News in YouTube views. Rogan and others in the right-leaning podcast manosphere are thought to have swung the 2024 election in Donald Trump’s favour, prompting much soul-searching on the American left about its media game, and why they need a Joe Rogan of their own; MeidasTouch seems to have stepped in to fill the void. That void extends far beyond just podcasting, in Meiselas’s view. He is appalled at how the US media has reacted since Trump came to power. “It’s a total capitulation,” he says. “They’re either corporate news – like cable news, [which is] just completely both-sides-ing the issues and intentionally ignoring critical, existential things – or they’re just outright state regime media à la North Korea and Russia: Fox News, OAN [One America News], Newsmax … All of these corporations are run by rightwing oligarchs; they are tools to ingratiate themselves with the regime for other benefits and other business interests.” The spectacle of CEOs and podcast bros alike “kissing the ring” at Trump’s inauguration cemented this impression early on. As counter-programming, Meiselas broadcast four hours of cute puppies and kittens, raising funds for the Humane Society.

via guardian: ‘We’re fighting for you!’ Podcaster Ben Meiselas on taking on the Maga media – and winning the ratings battle

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A Devilish Photo of Trump Sparks an Online Firestorm

This marks the second time the president has been snapped appearing to have “devil horns.” A photo of President Donald Trump, which makes him look like he has “devil horns” poking out of his head, is sparking online furor. The image taken at a Thursday Cabinet meeting shows the president sitting in front of an illuminated golden eagle, with its wings creating the illusion that he’s donning a pair of horns. JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images Jim Watson, a photojournalist who formerly worked as a U.S. Navy photographer, captured the image of the president with high-ranking Trump administration officials following the Israel-Hamas peace deal. It started going viral after Keith Edwards, a political strategist, shared it on X. Edwards, who’s interviewed politicians like Gov. Tim Walz and Pete Buttigieg, wrote in the caption, “new picture of trump with devil horns just dropped.” Several people have weighed in on the photograph, which also shows Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sitting on either side of the president.

via daily beast: A Devilish Photo of Trump Sparks an Online Firestorm

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Fake-Videos von Polizeigewalt werden viraler Hit in der “Maga”-Welt

Das Phänomen zeigt die problematische Seite von Tools wie Sora 2 – und die faschistischen Tendenzen einiger Trump-Anhänger. “No queso! No cheese!”, brüllt in einem Video ein Demonstrant wiederholt ins Gesicht eines Exekutivbeamten. Dieser fordert ihn schließlich mit “Back up!” auf, Abstand zu halten. Als der Protestierende dem nicht nachkommt, setzt er schließlich einen grellorangen Spray gegen ihn ein, und der Mann sinkt zu Boden. In einem anderen Clip schreit eine erzürnte Demo-Teilnehmerin immer wieder einen Beamten an: “What’s your name, soldier?” Dieser setzt schließlich auch den Spray ein und entgegnet ihr als Antwort “Dr. Pepper”. Was beide Videos eint, ist nicht nur ein ähnlicher Ablauf, sondern auch dass sie nicht echt sind. Generiert wurden sie mit Sora 2, der neuesten Video-KI von OpenAI, mit welcher der Hersteller auch gleich sein eigenes Netzwerk aufgezogen hat. Doch die Clips bleiben freilich nicht dort. Einige von ihnen drehen ihre Kreise längst auf Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook und X, wo sie mitunter viral gehen. Alleine die beiden genannten Sequenzen verzeichnen auf Instagram Millionen Aufrufe. Und nicht nur das: In den Kreisen von Donald Trumps “Maga”-Bewegung stoßen sie auf Lust an der Polizeigewalt. In einem KI-generierten Video wird einem “No queso! No cheese!” schreienden Demonstranten ein Reizspray ins Gesicht gesprüht. Screenshot/X “I voted for this” Dass die Videos oft mit “Sora”-Wasserzeichen und teilweise auch expliziten Hinweisen in der Beschreibung als KI-Produkt markiert sind, tut dem keinen Abbruch. Viele Kommentatoren scheinen die generierten Aufnahmen für real zu halten. Und sie feiern den Einsatz chemischer Kampfstoffe gegen “linke” Protestierende. Nachzulesen ist das in den Kommentaren. Ein oft anzutreffendes Statement ist “I voted for this”, also das Eingeständnis, dass man 2024 Donald Trump die Stimme gegeben hat, damit dieser nun die exekutiven Muskeln in demokratisch geführten Metropolen spielen lässt.

via standard: Fake-Videos von Polizeigewalt werden viraler Hit in der “Maga”-Welt

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Man jailed for at least 23 years for murdering Syrian boy in Huddersfield

Alfie Franco, 20, stabbed Ahmad Al Ibrahim after taking ‘petty exception’ to teenager brushing past his girlfriend. A man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for murdering a teenage Syrian refugee after he brushed past his girlfriend in Huddersfield town centre. Leeds crown court heard how Alfie Franco, 20, stabbed Ahmad Al Ibrahim, 16, shortly after Ibrahim brushed past Franco’s girlfriend in April. He was found guilty of murder on Thursday. Ahmad, who fled war-torn Homs after being injured in a bombing, had been living in the West Yorkshire town for only a couple of weeks when he crossed paths with Franco, who had been for a jobcentre appointment that day and was going to buy eyelash glue with his girlfriend. Leeds crown court heard that Franco – who had consumed cannabis, cocaine, diazepam, ketamine and codeine – took “some petty exception” to Ahmad “innocuously” walking past his girlfriend in the street. CCTV footage showed Franco saying something to Ahmad, and calling him over after a short verbal altercation. As Ahmad walked over, Franco opened the blade on a flick knife he was carrying in his trousers and drove it into the boy’s neck.

via guardian: Man jailed for at least 23 years for murdering Syrian boy in Huddersfield

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