Reflectii

An outgoing Social Democrat lawmaker has been sworn in as the German parliament’s new commissioner for Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr. Eva Högl said “attitudes” must change.

The trend we witness in world politics is away from the initial forms of globalization and toward a reassertion of the nation-state as one of the two key players in international economic and business relations, the other player being transnational businesses.

President Donald Trump‘s tweet that he would designate the group Antifa as a domestic terrorism organization is drawing criticism as unconstitutional and risking the diversion of resources from known terrorism threats.

On Sunday afternoon, President Donald Trump tweeted that, “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.” The declaration, via social media, comes on the heels of Attorney General William Barr blaming the violence from the protests that have erupted across the country in response to the murder of George Floyd on “far-left extremist groups.”

Bottom Line Up Front

Recent discussion about white supremacy extremist groups has focused on the Russian Imperial Movement, but the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) deserves closer scrutiny for its transnational linkages and global aspirations.
Atomwaffen members maintain links to Canada, Germany, Ukraine, Estonia, and elsewhere.
Atomwaffen has cultivated linkages to other white supremacy extremist groups abroad, including the Sonnenkrieg Division, the Feuerkrieg Division, a German chapter labeled AWD Deutschland, and the Antipodean Resistance based in Australia. 
It is critical to counter the transnational growth of Atomwaffen before it is able to metastasize into a full-scale movement abroad, where it could draw upon an anonymous globalized network to organize and conduct terror attacks. 

Bottom Line Up Front

Conspiracy theories may be having a unifying effect as white supremacists, QAnon adherents, and antigovernment groups each see COVID-19 as a once in a lifetime opportunity to forcefully oppose societal norms. 
Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have had a steady presence over mainstream social media platforms and in the deep recesses of the internet.
5G and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories have been used to incite violence during the coronavirus pandemic.
The expansion and normalization of conspiracy theories is happening as trust in mainstream media diminishes – a toxic combination that represents a threat to U.S. national security.

Bottom Line Up Front:

In both Syria and Libya, Russia has relied on a combination of mercenaries, weapons sales to proxies and clients, and an aggressive disinformation campaign to grow its influence.

German federal prosecutors said Wednesday they were investigating an alleged member of the Daesh terrorist group suspected of a series of acid and arson attacks on Turkish-owned shops and a mosque and of planning killings with a gun and explosives.

A Norwegian man charged with murder and terrorism in the killing of his stepsister and the storming of an Oslo mosque should get the maximum 21 years in prison, a prosecutor said Wednesday on the final day of the trial.

Emigration has long afflicted the countries of the Balkans. But many of those who leave know they will return in death.

Once a month, Atdhe Gashi makes the short trip east from his home in the Kosovo capital, Pristina/Prishtine, to the hilltop village of Mramor where he was born 53 years ago.