The Guardian reported today that alt-right clashed with counter-protesters in Charlottesville yesterday evening. There were some eerie 1930s style scenes as members of the alt-right marched in a long column with torches to the University of Virginia campus and reportedly attacked a smaller group of counter-protesters.
The alt-right has gathered to Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville this weekend (1).
The governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, declared state of emergency today and police declared an unlawful assembly alert amid fears of further violent confrontations in Charlottesville (2).
SOURCES:
1) Jason Wilson: "Charlottesville: far-right crowd with torches encircles counter-protest group" The Guardian 12.8.2017
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/12/charlottesville-far-right-crowd-with-torches-encircles-counter-protest-group
2) Jason Wilson and Edward Helmore: "Charlottesville: state of emergency declared amid violence before far-right rally" The Guardian 12.8.2017
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/12/virginia-unite-the-right-rally-protest-violence
INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATIONIST
12 August 2017
10 August 2017
MAP OF ANTI-MIGRANT VIOLENCE, HATRED AND SENTIMENT IN EUROPE
European Network Against Racism (ENAR) maintains an interactive map of anti-migrant violence, hatred and sentiment in Europe.
Link to the map:
http://www.enar-eu.org/Map-of-anti-migrant-violence-hatred-and-sentiment-in-Europe
Link to the map:
http://www.enar-eu.org/Map-of-anti-migrant-violence-hatred-and-sentiment-in-Europe
8 August 2017
STATISTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT DOMESTIC TERRORISM IN USA
The threat of Islamic extremism and terrorism was one of the most important themes during Donald Trump's presidential campaign. After becoming the president, he has banned foreign nationals from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering USA. Several wealthier Muslim-majority countries, where the Trump Organization has business interests, are not on the list. President Trump claimed that
the temporary ban is needed in order to avoid terrorist attacks. Some critics have argued that the ban is just a backdoor way to bar Muslims from entering USA (1).
What seems to have been overlooked is right-wing extremist terrorism.
The Investigative Fund and Reveal have compiled a database of nine years of domestic terrorism incidents in USA (2). The database gives very interesting statistical information about the domestic terrorism in USA.
During January 2008 - end of December 2016 there were 63 Islamist terrorism cases. Vast majority (76 %) of these cases were foiled plots, i.e. no attack actually took place. 48 % of these cases were sting operations. 13 % of Islamist terrorism cases caused fatalities. However, the total number of fatalities was greater.
According to the database, there were nearly twice as many (115) right-wing extremist terrorism incidents. Only 35 % of these cases were foiled plots and only
12 % were sting operations. The right-wing extremist terrorism was often more deadly - nearly 1/3 of these incidents caused fatalities.
Left-wing extremist terrorist incidents were comparatively rare. Only 10.5 % of these cases were sting operations.
Before President Trump signed the ban regarding the six predominantly Muslim countries, he claimed that vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offences since 9/11 came from outside USA. According to
the database, only 13 % of perpetrators or alleged perpetrators were foreign born and only 1 % of them came from the countries that are on Trump's list.
The Department of Homeland Security analysis came to the same conclusion - it stated that citizens of nations named in the ban are "rarely implicated in U.S.-based terrorism." (2)
SOURCES:
1) Samuel Osborne: "Muslim-majority countries where Donald Trump does business not included in travel ban" The Independent 27.6.2017
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-travel-ban-muslim-majority-countries-business-organisation-syria-iran-yemen-islamic-a7810711.html
2) David Neiwert: "Home is where the hate is. Trump’s fixation on demonizing Islam hides true homegrown US terror threat" Reveal 21.6.2017
https://www.revealnews.org/article/home-is-where-the-hate-is/
the temporary ban is needed in order to avoid terrorist attacks. Some critics have argued that the ban is just a backdoor way to bar Muslims from entering USA (1).
What seems to have been overlooked is right-wing extremist terrorism.
The Investigative Fund and Reveal have compiled a database of nine years of domestic terrorism incidents in USA (2). The database gives very interesting statistical information about the domestic terrorism in USA.
DOMESTIC TERRORISM INCIDENTS IN USA
January
2008 – End of December 2016
Type of
domestic
terrorism
|
Number
of incidents
|
Foiled
plots*
(% of
total)
|
Number
of
fatalities
|
Islamic extremist
|
63
|
76 %
|
90
|
Right-wing extremist
|
115
|
35 %
|
79
|
Left-wing extremist**
|
19
|
-
|
7
|
* foiled plots = no
attack took place ** including
ecoterrorism and animal rights
Source of the data: The
Investigative Fund
According to the database, there were nearly twice as many (115) right-wing extremist terrorism incidents. Only 35 % of these cases were foiled plots and only
12 % were sting operations. The right-wing extremist terrorism was often more deadly - nearly 1/3 of these incidents caused fatalities.
Left-wing extremist terrorist incidents were comparatively rare. Only 10.5 % of these cases were sting operations.
Before President Trump signed the ban regarding the six predominantly Muslim countries, he claimed that vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offences since 9/11 came from outside USA. According to
the database, only 13 % of perpetrators or alleged perpetrators were foreign born and only 1 % of them came from the countries that are on Trump's list.
The Department of Homeland Security analysis came to the same conclusion - it stated that citizens of nations named in the ban are "rarely implicated in U.S.-based terrorism." (2)
SOURCES:
1) Samuel Osborne: "Muslim-majority countries where Donald Trump does business not included in travel ban" The Independent 27.6.2017
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-travel-ban-muslim-majority-countries-business-organisation-syria-iran-yemen-islamic-a7810711.html
2) David Neiwert: "Home is where the hate is. Trump’s fixation on demonizing Islam hides true homegrown US terror threat" Reveal 21.6.2017
https://www.revealnews.org/article/home-is-where-the-hate-is/
7 August 2017
LEAKED MEMO REVEALS WHAT SOME MORE EXTREME AMERICAN RIGHT-WINGERS ARE THINKING
I came across some articles about National Security Council official Rich Higgins, who was fired because of a quite controversial memo. In his memo, Higgins described supposed domestic and international threats to Trump's presidency - those threats included "globalists, bankers, ’the deep state’ and Islamists." Higgins also believed that "the Russia story" was an attempt to "sabotage President Trump's nationalist agenda" (1).
The Atlantic published some extracts of the memo (1):
"Through the campaign, candidate Trump tapped into a deep vein of concern among many citizens that America is at risk and slipping away. Globalists and Islamists recognize that for their visions to succeed, America, both as an ideal and as
a national and political identity, must be destroyed. … Islamists ally with cultural Marxists because, as far back as the 1980s, they properly assessed that the left has a strong chance of reducing Western civilization to its benefit."
"Because the left is aligned with Islamist organizations at local, national and international levels, recognition should be given to the fact that they seamlessly interoperate through coordinated synchronized interactive narratives … These attacks narratives are pervasive, full spectrum and institutionalized at all levels. They operate in social media, television, the 24-hour news cycle in all media and are entrenched at the upper levels of the bureaucracies..."
Mr. Higgins has expressed similar extreme views before. In 2016, The Daily Caller published an interview where Mr. Higgins said that "Islamists are weaponizing political correctness." He also claimed that "the left, with enemy-friendly Muslim Brotherhood allies, is able to control the dominant cultural narrative with the media and the government, blinding us (i.e. USA) in the war on terror and impacting how Americans think" (2).
Sources:
1) Rosie Gray: "An NSC Staffer Is Forced Out Over a Controversial Memo"
The Atlantic 2.8.2017
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/a-national-security-council-staffer-is-forced-out-over-a-controversial-memo/535725/
2) Ginni Thomas: "Former DOD Official Warns America Is On The Wrong Track To Fighting War On Terror [VIDEO]" The Daily Caller 2.7.2016
http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/02/former-dod-official-warns-america-is-on-the-wrong-track-to-fighting-war-on-terror-video/
The Atlantic published some extracts of the memo (1):
"Through the campaign, candidate Trump tapped into a deep vein of concern among many citizens that America is at risk and slipping away. Globalists and Islamists recognize that for their visions to succeed, America, both as an ideal and as
a national and political identity, must be destroyed. … Islamists ally with cultural Marxists because, as far back as the 1980s, they properly assessed that the left has a strong chance of reducing Western civilization to its benefit."
"Because the left is aligned with Islamist organizations at local, national and international levels, recognition should be given to the fact that they seamlessly interoperate through coordinated synchronized interactive narratives … These attacks narratives are pervasive, full spectrum and institutionalized at all levels. They operate in social media, television, the 24-hour news cycle in all media and are entrenched at the upper levels of the bureaucracies..."
Mr. Higgins has expressed similar extreme views before. In 2016, The Daily Caller published an interview where Mr. Higgins said that "Islamists are weaponizing political correctness." He also claimed that "the left, with enemy-friendly Muslim Brotherhood allies, is able to control the dominant cultural narrative with the media and the government, blinding us (i.e. USA) in the war on terror and impacting how Americans think" (2).
Sources:
1) Rosie Gray: "An NSC Staffer Is Forced Out Over a Controversial Memo"
The Atlantic 2.8.2017
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/a-national-security-council-staffer-is-forced-out-over-a-controversial-memo/535725/
2) Ginni Thomas: "Former DOD Official Warns America Is On The Wrong Track To Fighting War On Terror [VIDEO]" The Daily Caller 2.7.2016
http://dailycaller.com/2016/07/02/former-dod-official-warns-america-is-on-the-wrong-track-to-fighting-war-on-terror-video/
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