fascism is not an opinion - fascism is a crime!

Elon Musk Assumes New X Identity Linked to White Supremacists

The world’s richest man changed his name on X to Kekius Maximus, and his profile picture to Pepe the Frog in a gladiator costume. The days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve can be a disorienting time for many. Including, apparently, the world’s richest man. In between sharing photos of furry animals, bragging about the size of his rocket and dunking on the very concept of taxation, Elon Musk took a moment to change his username and profile picture on the social media platform X to an alt-right meme beloved by white-supremacist trolls. Musk’s new moniker, Kekius Maximus, is a meme that combines Pepe the Frog with the Maximus character from the movie Gladiator. The alt-right has embraced Pepe as the “protector god” of a satirical religion dedicated to chaos and anti-political correctness, according to research by the Southern Poverty Law Center (a group despised by Musk and others.) By using something as farcical as a frog deity meme, right-wing trolls can spread their ideas without having to address the “vicious core of white male nationalism they embrace,” according to the SPLC. As with all things Musk, it’s not clear whether his new alter ego is just a way to troll anyone who disagrees with him or whether there’s the potential for self-enrichment. On Monday, MAGA’s civil war over H-1B visas reignited a debate about whether Musk has a burner account on X that he uses to post fawning interactions with his official account—a practice known as “sock-puppeting.” For the past year, the Adrian Dittmann account has offered such a passionate defense of Musk—and used such a similar rhetorical style—that users have wondered if they are one and the same. That speculation came to a head during the H-1B visa debate, as internet sleuths dug back into Dittmann’s old posts for clues. Musk’s new Kekius Maximus identity could just be a way to troll users who are convinced Musk has a burner account, with the added benefit of offending anyone who knows that Pepe is associated with SPLC-designated hate groups.

via daily beast: Elon Musk Assumes New X Identity Linked to White Supremacists

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Ten dead after car plows into crowd at New Orleans New Year’s Day celebration: 30 more injured in chaotic scene – #terror

A truck was driven into a crowd in New Orleans before the driver started firing a weapon, according to reports. Ten people are dead after a car slammed into a crowd in New Orleans’ popular Bourbon Street during New Year’s Day celebrations. At least 30 more are hurt, officials say. Witness accounts recalled a speeding truck crashing into a crowd before the driver got out and started firing a weapon, with police returning fire, CBS reported. The incident occured around 3:15 a.m. local time. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has described it as a “horrific act of violence” and urged “all near the scene to avoid the area”. NOLA Ready, the department responsible for emergency preparedness in New Orleans, said responders were attending a “mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street.” It confirmed the casualty toll.

via independent: Ten dead after car plows into crowd at New Orleans New Year’s Day celebration: 30 more injured in chaotic scene

siehe auch: Driver who killed 10 in New Orleans attack was ‘hell-bent on creating carnage’, police say. (…) “This is not a terrorist event,” she says. This contradicts the mayor, who earlier described it as such. There are “improvised explosive devices” found on scene, and they are working to find out if they are “viable” devices. She stresses that the public should stay away from the area, “until we can figure out what is going on”. Driver was ‘hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage he did’ published at 13:50 13:50 The superintendent says the FBI will be taking over the investigation into the incident in New Orleans. The superintendent says, despite over 300 officers being present last night, the perpetrator was “intentional” and went around barricades. She adds the individual was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage he did”; Zehn Tote bei Anschlag Täter von New Orleans hatte IS-Flagge im Auto. Der Mann, der mit seinem Fahrzeug in New Orleans mindestens zehn Menschen getötet hat, hatte nach Angaben des FBI eine Flagge der Terrororganisation IS bei sich. Die US-Bundespolizei hat den Anschlag als „Terrorakt“ eingestuft. Der Angreifer starb bei einem Schusswechsel mit der Polizei. Im Zentrum von New Orleans war am frühen Neujahrsmorgen ein Pick-Up-Truck in eine Menschenmenge gefahren. Nach offiziellen Angaben wurden dabei mindestens 10 Menschen getötet und 35 verletzt. Der Polizei zufolge fuhr der Mann mit voller Absicht und sehr schnell durch die Bourbon Street in dem beliebten Ausgehviertel „French Quarter“, wo zahlreiche Menschen den Jahreswechsel feierten. Danach habe der Täter um sich geschossen und dabei auch zwei Polizisten verletzt. Bei dem Schusswechsel wurde der Täter getötet. Nach Angaben der Behörden war es ein 42-jähriger Mann arabischer Herkunft aus Texas. Medien berichten, dass er Militärkleidung getragen habe. Am Tatort wurde demnach auch mindestens ein mutmaßlicher Sprengsatz gefunden; ISIS Flag Carrying Army Vet Accused of Mowing Down 15 in New Orleans. Law enforcement sources have identified the suspect as a 42 year-old Texas resident. The truck driver who plowed into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, according to a news release from the FBI. The suspect—who was shot dead by police after the terror attack that killed 15 people and injured more than 30—was first named by New Orleans newspaper The Times-Picayune. (The death toll was originally given by New Orleans city officials as 10, but grew on Wednesday afternoon.) Jabbar, an American citizen, is understood to have served for 10 years in the U.S. military and worked as a realtor in Texas.

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Wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs – Gericht bestätigt Trump-Verurteilung

2023 ist der künftige US-Präsident wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs der US-Autorin Caroll zu einer Millionenentschädigung verurteilt worden. Trump ging in Berufung – doch ein US-Bundesgericht hat das Urteil nun bestätigt. Ein US-Bundesgericht hat ein Zivilurteil gegen den künftigen US-Präsidenten Donald Trump wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs bestätigt. Das geht aus einem veröffentlichten Gerichtsdokument hervor.Eine New Yorker Geschworenenjury hatte es vergangenes Jahr als erwiesen angesehen, dass Trump die US-Autorin E. Jean Carroll 1996 in einem New Yorker Nobelkaufhaus angegriffen, sexuell missbraucht und später verleumdet hatte. Er wurde zu einer Entschädigung in Höhe von fünf Millionen Dollar verurteilt. Trump reichte daraufhin einen Berufungsantrag ein. (…) Das Bundesgericht in New York wies den Berufungsantrag Trumps, der am 20. Januar seine zweite Amtszeit als US-Präsident antritt, nun zurück. Zur Begründung hieß es, dass der 78-Jährige nicht habe beweisen können, dass das Bezirksgericht bei der Urteilsfindung einen Fehler gemacht habe. Auch seien seine Rechte nicht so beeinträchtigt worden, dass ein neues Verfahren gerechtfertigt wäre.Das Gericht wertete auch den Einsatz von Zeugenaussagen von Frauen, die Trump ebenfalls sexuelle Übergriffe vorwarfen, in dem Zivilverfahren als gerechtfertigt – ebenso wie die Nutzung einer alten Tonaufnahme, in der sich Trump anzüglich und herabwürdigend über Frauen äußerte und darüber, dass man Frauen auch an ihren Genitalien anfassen könne, wenn man es wolle und ein Star sei wie er. All das belege ein Muster seines Verhaltens.

via tagesschau: Wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs Gericht bestätigt Trump-Verurteilung

siehe auch: Trump Loses Appeal of Carroll’s $5 Million Award in Sex-Abuse Case The president-elect had asked a court to overturn the defamation judgment against him in the case, which centered on E. Jean Carroll’s account of a sexual attack in a dressing room. President-elect Donald J. Trump on Monday failed to overturn a $5 million judgment that he sexually abused the writer E. Jean Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and later defamed her. Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued to a federal appeals panel that a lower court in Manhattan had erred by allowing two women to testify in the Carroll trial that he had also sexually assaulted them. The lawyers also argued that the court should not have allowed Ms. Carroll’s lawyers to play the recording of the “Access Hollywood” conversation in which Mr. Trump bragged in vulgar terms about grabbing women by the genitals. The appeals court rejected Mr. Trump’s request for a new trial in the case, which produced the smaller of two defamation judgments against him. “Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings,” the opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said

A three-judge panel has upheld the ruling that awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million from President-elect Donald Trump. Two days prior, Trump shared a meme saying she should go to jail.

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2024-12-30T15:56:17.405Z
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Mann nach Zerstörungsfahrt mit Bagger im Main-Tauber-Kreis von Polizei erschossen

In Grünsfeld kam es zu einer “mutmaßlichen Amokfahrt”, so die Polizei. Ein Mann hat mit einem Bagger Menschen verletzt und Fahrzeuge beschädigt. In Grünsfeld (Main-Tauber-Kreis) hat ein Mann am Dienstag gegen 13 Uhr auf dem Gelände einer Baufirma einen Bagger bestiegen und ist nach Tauberbischofsheim gefahren. Auf seiner Fahrt hat er laut Polizei drei Polizisten leicht verletzt. Der Fahrer sei am Ende durch eine Schussabgabe gestoppt worden. Er sei reanimiert worden, aber noch vor Ort gestorben. Das bestätigte eine Polizeisprecherin der “Deutschen Presse-Agentur”. Die Polizisten seien lediglich leicht verletzt worden, teilte die Polizei mit. Zuvor hatte eine Sprecherin von einer schwer verletzten Beamtin berichtet. Die Beamtin sei bei dem Vorfall eingeklemmt worden und sei nun dienstunfähig. Sie habe aber zwischenzeitlich das Krankenhaus verlassen können. (…) Bei dem Mann handelt es sich um einen 38-jährigen Deutschen. Das teilte die Polizei am Dienstagabend mit. Die Polizei schrieb auf X kurz nach der Tat von einer “mutmaßlichen Amokfahrt”.

via swr: Mann nach Zerstörungsfahrt mit Bagger im Main-Tauber-Kreis von Polizei erschossen

siehe auch: Nach Zerstörungsfahrt mit Bagger: Polizei erschießt Mann. Die Fahrt dauerte laut Polizeiangaben mehr als 50 Minuten – eine knappe Stunde, in der sich Szenen wie aus einem Actionfilm im Main-Tauber-Kreis abspielen. Ein Mann bringt am Silvesternachmittag einen Bagger in seine Gewalt, zerstört damit Gebäude und Fahrzeuge, liefert sich kilometerweit eine Verfolgungsjagd mit der Polizei. Drei Beamte werden dabei verletzt. Schließlich schießt die Polizei auf den Baggerfahrer. Der Mann stirbt noch vor Ort.

Ein Typ dreht am letzten Tag des Jahres im Main-Taunus-Kreis mit einem gestohlenen Bagger durch. www.t-online.de/nachrichten/…

— Lars Wienand (@larswienand.bsky.social) 2024-12-31T16:02:36.486Z
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Windsor man’s statements to police about joining neo-Nazi group are admissible as evidence, judge rules – #terror #awd #AtomwaffenDivision

Seth Bertrand, 21, was recorded speaking to an undercover RCMP officer. A Windsor man’s recorded conversations with RCMP about trying to join a neo-Nazi group will be used against him in his trial on a charge of terrorism. A Superior Court judge ruled on Monday that things Seth Bertrand said to an undercover officer, and things he said to an officer after his arrest, are admissible as evidence. “The circumstances by which the statement was (obtained) was not oppressive,” said Justice Maria Carroccia. Windsor man applied to terror group during class on school computer, court hears Lawyer in terror trial argues RCMP interview violated his client’s rights Bertrand, 21, is facing a terrorism charge in relation to what RCMP allege were attempts to connect with a far-right hate group called the Atomwaffen Division — also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front. Inspired by the writings of avowed U.S. neo-Nazi James Mason, the group promotes armed violence for white nationalist aims. Canada listed the Atomwaffen Division as a terrorist entity in 2021. RCMP allege that Bertrand submitted an online application in which he “offered his skills and commitment to do things” for the group.

via cbc: Windsor man’s statements to police about joining neo-Nazi group are admissible as evidence, judge rules

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The Most Powerful Man in America is a Nazi Sympathizer

Elon Musk is just the latest billionaire to exert tremendous influence over U.S. politics. When he says he supports Neo-Nazis, take him at his word. If there was any doubt about the power and influence of Elon Musk as we head into Trump’s second term, it was decisively erased this past week. The world’s richest man singlehandedly hijacked the negotiations for the spending bill that Congress passed last week in order to narrowly avoid a government shutdown. He used his wealth and his vast digital influence as a bludgeon against an entire political party and did so successfully. He threatened to use his immense wealth to fund primary challengers against anyone who voted to pass a bipartisan funding bill that wasn’t to his liking. In doing so, Musk successfully coerced them into removing a heap of important medical-related funding and other provisions.  The version of the bill endorsed by Musk excised more than $190 million worth of funding for childhood cancer research, as well funding for research into premature labor, treatments for sickle cell anemia, and early detection of breast and cervical cancers. It also eliminated provisions allowing for low-income kids who receive funds through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to access complex care across state lines. Beyond that, Sam Stein of the Bulwark reports: “The initial compromise bill included language to ensure that providers of internet service to rural areas weren’t ripping off customers, to protect consumers from hidden hotel fees, to secure semiconductor supply chains, to restrict U.S. outbound investment in China, even to prohibit deepfake pornography. All those were all gone in the successor bill.” With a few tweets, many of which contained outright false information about what was in the bipartisan bill, Musk was able to bend America’s lawmakers to his will. By spending more than $250 million to help Donald Trump win the 2024 election, he had already managed to purchase for himself an advisory role in the incoming administration as a leader of the newly christened “Department of Government Efficiency” (aka DOGE). By virtue of Musk’s unprecedented ability and willingness to spend money to influence the political landscape, he is now arguably more powerful than any single person in government, potentially including the incoming president himself.  With this in mind, we should probably talk about the fact that the most powerful man in the world is also an overt Nazi sympathizer. On Dec. 20, Musk posted that “Only the AfD can save Germany,” referencing the neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany party that has been inching upwards in the polls in recent months.

via currentaffairs: The Most Powerful Man in America is a Nazi Sympathizer

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Far right and far out: Extremists have a long history in Southern California

It’s a white supremacist group calling itself RAM — a swaggering, belligerent acronym for the Rise Again Movement that to all appearances is a cluster of melanin–obsessed men dedicated to the brand of brutish mayhem that white supremacists amp up for. A man who co-founded RAM in Southern California just wound up in court, where he pleaded guilty to conspiring to riot, having attended a Huntington Beach rally in March 2016 where he and others of his ilk “pursued and assaulted” people, including one protester he tackled and punched multiple times. (…) RAM is the latest dot connected on a long, zigzag line that courses up and down the state, from border north to border south. L.A.’s early Confederate sympathies were never extinguished by the Union victory. With the Klan revival in the American South and Midwest in the 1920s, California rode the wave, too. The state had about 200,000 members in the mid-1920s. Locally, a thousand white hoods bloomed, in beach cities, in Inglewood — where KKKsters put up “Caucasian-only” signs around town — and in Orange County, in Anaheim especially, where Klansmen briefly held a majority of city council seats before their recall by mortified voters and civic leaders. In the same city almost a century later, in February 2016, modern-day KKK members staging a “white lives matter” rally brawled with counterprotesters. At least one of them was stabbed with a flagpole topped by an American eagle. There’s a pattern to these white supremacist groups. They rise, fragment, submerge, reconstitute, reemerge, sometimes with different names, different uniforms, but the same cast, and same sentiments. So let’s start off with Southern California’s most notorious white-race crusader — a title some of the new crowd looks to be trying to win for themselves. A Venn diagram of the “career” of Tom Metzger, on-and-off-again Klansman, would be a tangle of overlaps and crossovers.

via latimes: Far right and far out: Extremists have a long history in Southern California

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