And troubling things are happening in Germany
German authorities have investigated hundreds of internet users over comments they made on a Facebook video posted by the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The massive probe, spanning over 250 investigations, was launched in response to the live streaming of a migrant protest by the Bavarian-wing of the AfD party in 2017, German media disclosed on Saturday. Some 97 people were fined and three others were to face incitement charges in the court, the weekly Der Spiegel reported.
The massive police investigation is apparently meant as a warning to anonymous internet users critical of the country’s migrant policy. “No one can hide behind a screen, not even with pseudonyms or made-up names,” Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann warned…
While authorities frantically search social media for traces of hate speech, the ISIS fighters are freely returning to Germany without any serious fear of prosecution for their heinous war crimes…
Europe has no tradition of free speech, and its hate speech laws suppress speech. But Europe is sitting on a powder keg of rage because of its policies towards the so-called “migrants.” The rise of nationalist anti-migrant parties is worrying those in charge right now.
It’s a mess, and getting worse.
More and more censorship from Big Tech is likely to afflict the U.S. as well; the brilliant Michael Rectenwald (formerly of NYU) will be publishing, next month, a new book entitled The Google Archipelago: The Digital Gulag and the Simulation of Freedom.
Europe hides crimes committed those from the ME by identifying them as “youths” and “Asians” and by self-censoring in their news media.
And then they punish those who are disturbed by the crimes and implicit aiding and abetting by their own governments.
This will not end well.
Anybody in Europe that is not a fan of the social democrats, the greens, the socialists or communists is automatically branded far-right, a Nazi.
We see that here in the USA; the left’s favorite Nazi is Trump and anyone that supports him is also a Nazi.
The media there is probably worse than it is here in the USA; i.e; the media here is the propaganda arm of the demokrat party and in Europe, it’s the propaganda arm of the left.
In case anyone has not noticed, it is the LEFT in Europe that is instituting anti-free-speech laws and here in the USA, it is also the left that is defining for all Americans what constitutes “allowable” speech.
Recall that Hitler and his bunch were socialists; they hated capitalism (as did Mussolini, the “father” of fascism).
The left in Europe – and here – is dominated by the wealthy elites whose policy prescriptions do not affect them because of their economic, political and social standing; they have no skin in the game (other than, perhaps, losing an election in which case they can retire to their estates living off handsome pensions).
In Europe they really are in spirit and practice the direct descendants of the Kings, Queens, Dukes, Earls, Barons etc. And here in the USA, it’s the same, minus the titles.
“No one can hide behind a screen, not even with pseudonyms or made-up names,” — Neo’s quoted link
I finished reading “Chaos Monkeys” by Antonio Martinez. A very odd and unusual “memoir” about working in silicon valley. It does provide some information about the inner workings at Facebook, but not a huge amount. While there are details, they are less than precise.
One of the tech advertising features that Martinez helped promote, but was implemented by a different Facebook team, was called “the merger of IDs” or “ID unification.”
The idea is that most people access the web through multiple devices; work computer, smart phone, and home computers. If someone watches an ad on one device but purchases that advertised product on a different device, they previously could not verify if that ad generated a purchase. Now they can. Because Facebook and others know who you are regardless of which device you are using.
He also hinted at describing what happens when someone clicks on that “Like” button at the bottom of Neo’s post, but then he never did, or I missed it.
His description of desktop/laptop web browsers suggest that those platforms have been thoroughly mined by advertisers and data miners for a long time (more than a decade). Those pools of web cookies are data rich and minable by almost everyone, unless you block third party cookies. They may have found a way around blocking as well though.
I used to think the laws in Europe outlawing expressions of Holocaust denial were merely a mistake by the well-meaning. Holocaust denial is disgusting and stupid, but the laws against free expression ban much more than Jew-hating. They make it impossible for people to criticize other ideas with which they disagree; specifically, they make reasoned criticism of Islam nearly impossible. Now anyone criticizing the German government’s immigration policy is being driven underground. Do they want revolution and violence? They’re doing what they can to encourage extremists of both pro-Islam and anti-Islam varieties.
They seem to think that suppressing unpleasant speech will also suppress the unpleasant sentiments that led to that speech.
It doesn’t. It never does. The sentiments get expressed differently… and people forget that unpleasant speech is the best way of expressing unpleasant ideas.
As the saying goes: liberty is defended using four boxes — the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the bullet box. Please use them in that order. (And if one of them is made unavailable, use of the others becomes necessary.)
With all due respect, the Allied occupation of Germany banned the swastika, Mein Kampf and the Nazi party in 1945 – which is thoroughly understandable. The occupation formally lasted until 1955. The new government of West Germany codified a ban on Nazi symbols, language, and propaganda in 1949, with American troops looking over its shoulder – which, again, is thoroughly understandable. West Germany does not ban these things because Europe lacks a freedom of speech tradition; Germany bans these things because America wanted it that way. I was tired of the argument twenty years ago and it has not aged well since.
Poor Germans, they are so oppressed by the Amis (and the French and the British). Cry me a river. What is the excuse now? Trump made them do it?
Well, even if the outlawing of Nazi symbols and literature were American ideas, what justifies the extension of the restrictions to criticism of anything the government declares out of bounds?
John Tyler,
It is not so much the titled elites who dominate Germany; It is the Greens and the media who propagate their absurd environmentalism and holier than thou human rights issues. That is why nuclear power is almost dead (although it is bought from France when the wind isn’t blowing) and why jihadists aren’t talked about. No one criticized the Nordstream pipeline even though it put Eastern European countries at the mercy of Russia. And now some want Israeli products to be labeled if they come from settlements. Organic products (even clothing) are pushed everywhere.
Another powerful group is business. That is why they are doing all they can to get the Iran deal up and running again. They were the first group to visit Iran after the deal was signed to set up deals with the Iranians.
For average Germans, it is not so much that they listen to the elites; it is that they listen to their media. BTW, everything reported about the US comes from people who read the NYT and WaPo and watch CNN.
Since 1870 – still totalitarian after all these years.
“It is not so much the titled elites who dominate Germany; It is the Greens and the media who propagate their absurd environmentalism and holier than thou human rights issues.” expat
That resonates with me, today’s Germans growing up with Germany’s history, first with it’s colonialism in Africa, followed by WWI’s “German subhuman “Huns” followed by Hitler and his Nazi’s fascination with ovens and the “final solution” has to be incredibly guilt provoking. The German’s “holier than thou [obsession with] human rights issues” is virtue signaling writ large.
I perceive a subconscious belief on the German left that only cultural suicide can atone for their ancestral sins…
You can take the girl out of East Germany but you can’t take East Germany out of the girl.
According to David Cole, even *before* the Nazis came to power, the German state had what we would call “hate speech” laws … and, much as the current German regime’s enforcement of its anti-free speech laws is making the situation worse, and bringing into being the very conditions the laws are allegedly meant to prevent, the Weimar proto-“hate speech” laws played a significant role in bringing about the Nazi rise to power.
The damage from Hitler was overcome within a few decades. Merkel’s mess will last much longer, and stands to destroy Germany as we know it.
The left wing is losing its moral authority regarding immigration. Too many people in Europe are tiring of the elites dismissing their reasonable concerns about the problems caused by lack of integration. In France, Even Muslims Have Had It With Radical Muslims
To cite a JFK quote that is seen a lot these day–
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
John F. Kennedy
In his book, “Paved With Good Intentions”,Jared Taylor made a point about suppressing such news. You can’t actually suppress all of it and people will know. Wnen, thinking what they know is pretty bad, they discover the government is trying to hide it, they conclude it must be catastrophic. Possibly worse than it really is.
Meet the new Germany, same as the old Germany.
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/08/germany-muslim-desk-clerk-at-berlin-tegel-airport-hurls-anti-semitic-insults-in-english-and-arabic-at-passenger
Radical islam is a deadly, contagious virus. Its adherents know only one thing: death. That is their religion. Moderate muslims exit, but for the most part are impotent to bring islam to into the 16th century. This will not end well.
The progress of anti-nativist sentiment and actions is a clear concern, and the transnational leaders who force it are wary of the people noticing the collateral damage at both ends of the bridge and throughout.
expat — No one criticized the Nordstream pipeline even though it put Eastern European countries at the mercy of Russia.
One person did criticize Nord Stream 2, though, fellow by the name of Donald Trump, if you recall.
Getting the krauts riled up, with no way to express themselves without getting arrested, is a very, very bad idea.
“Radical islam is a deadly, contagious virus.” parker
“There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.” Turkey’s Erdogan
There are moderate practitioners of Islam. But ‘radicalism’ is inherent to Islam. Nor can that ‘radicalism’ be expunged, revised or reformed.
Certainly. But with all due respect, please cite where Neo’s comment on Europe’s lack of a tradition of free speech, referred to Nazi writings or symbols.