Newsletter VIII 2024
February 18 to 24
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The PDF file "Nuclear Power Accidents" contains a number of other incidents from various areas of the nuclear industry. Some of the incidents were never published through official channels, so this information could only be made available to the public in a roundabout way. The list of incidents in the PDF file is therefore not 100 % identical with "INES and the disturbances in nuclear facilities", but represents an addition.
February 2008 (INES Class.?) NPP Paluel, FRA
February 2008 (INES 0 Class.?) Nuclear factory La Hague, FRA
1. February 2010 (INES Class.?) NPP Vermont Yankee, USA
4. February 2008 (INES 0) NPP Krümmel, GER
5. February 1958 (Broken Arrow) B-47 Tybee Island, USA
6. February 1974 (INES 4-5) Akw Sosnovy Bor, USSR
8. February 2004 (INES 0) NPP Biblis, GER
February 12, 2013 (North Korea's 3th nuclear test) P'unggye-ri, PRK
13. February 1960 (France's 1st atomic bomb test) Reggane, FRA
14. February 1950 (Broken Arrow) Convair B-36 British Columbia, CAN
16. February 2011 (INES 2) NPP Tricastin, FRA
22. February 1977 (INES 4) NPP Jaslovské Bohunice, SVK
28. February 1954 (6 hydrogen bomb tests) Bikini Atoll, USA
We are always looking for up-to-date information. Anyone who can help, please send a message to: nuclear-world@reaktorpleite.de
24. February
Prospects for the German economy:
The calm whining benefits the AfD
Talking about the economy as worse than it is is aimed at giving tax breaks to the rich. And the talk about social cuts is unsettling.
The German economy is languishing and the climate goals are not being achieved either. Nevertheless, the traffic lights stop each other, and the Union has long since said goodbye to constructive proposals. The CDU prefers to pretend that it is not a people's party - but a make-a-wish group in the beer tent. That only benefits the AfD. Even in the analysis, the parties are far apart. The Union and FDP believe that Germany primarily has a “competition problem” and that the “location is in danger”.
However, the numbers don't show that. In 2023, the Federal Republic recorded a whopping export surplus of 4,1 percent of economic output, which corresponds to around 200 billion euros. Germany is very successful on the world market. The whispers about “competitiveness” also have a different purpose: the Liberals and the CDU/CSU want to implement tax cuts for companies. FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner would like to completely abolish the solidarity...
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Media | Press freedom | State power
Freedom of the press threatened:
For or against power?
Wikileaks, FragDenStaat, Correctiv: The state is closing in on freedom. But those who are supposed to defend them often encourage the authoritarian turn.
This week the bad news about fundamental rights in liberal democracy, freedom of the press and freedom of expression is piling up again.
[...] That's why the shortsightedness of many journalists is remarkable. Instead of fighting for the freedoms that we will urgently need in the dark years to come, many are calling for fundamental rights to be restricted.
Even in the taz, a newspaper that was founded out of an impetus critical of authority and that campaigned for freedoms and against state repression, suddenly authoritarian demands can be found: one must “exploit all possibilities under the rule of law” in order to “fear” those who are politically undesirable .
An act of impressive Orwellian mental acrobatics appeared on the opinion page last week: freedom of expression is important, but anti-Semitism is not an opinion. Anti-Semitism is distasteful and dangerous, but so is the demand to use language games to define certain views from the protection of fundamental rights. Who determines what an opinion is? It could be an AfD interior ministry as early as tomorrow.
[...] So what happens next with the fourth estate? In the spirit of Julian Assange, Arne Semsrott and Correctiv, keep an eye on power, especially when it doesn't want to? Or should journalists only write what suits the people in power and the state anyway, and beg the authorities to please, please punish their opponents even more harshly? That's bad. When journalists themselves become claqueurs of the authoritarian turn, they can no longer be relied on to defend democracy.
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Armaments | Mines | ICBL | Handicap International eV
"Dad, are you a murderer?"
How a mine builder became a mine clearer
Vito Alfieri Fontana has been building landmines in his family business for a long time. He ignores the death and mutilation that his products cause. Then a question from his son makes him think - and he completely changes his life.
[...] His son's question as to whether he was a murderer had taken the first deep crack in the armor he had built up. There was also pressure from outside. The mine manufacturers were increasingly targeted by protests. Fontana talks about the countless shoeboxes that were dropped off at his house. There was only one shoe and a note that said: "I don't need this anymore."
[...] On December 14, 1997, the Ottawa Convention was signed, which prohibits the use, storage, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and precisely regulates their destruction. Fontana was present at the September 1997 meetings in Oslo as an advisor to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, founded in 1992 by activist Jody Williams. Williams and the campaign were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. According to the International Campaign, a total of 164 countries have ratified or signed the convention to date. The USA, Russia, China and India are not included.
[...] Despite the Ottawa Agreement, landmines continue to be built and used. According to the Landmine Monitor Report 2022, Russia used at least seven models against Ukraine. When asked how long it will take to clean up the country after the war, Fontana says: 20 years at a cost of 150 million euros annually. Because war destroys in a second, but reconstruction is laborious and slow.
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Arithmetic artist Lindner wants to freeze social benefits
Moratorium on social benefits
Criticism from the SPD and the Greens of Lindner's proposal
Freeze social spending in order to have more money for the Bundeswehr - this proposal from Finance Minister and FDP leader Lindner has met with sharp criticism from the coalition partners SPD and Greens. Social groups call the idea “indecent.”
The coalition is debating whether and how the Bundeswehr can be financed exclusively from the general budget from 2028, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to do. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who is also FDP leader, had suggested freezing social spending at the current level for three years in order to be able to invest more money in defense - and received sharp criticism from the ranks of the coalition partners.
[...] "It is indecent that the finance minister wants to make savings for the poorest and weakest in society," said SoVD board chairwoman Michaela Engelmeier.
[...] The debate is fundamentally wrong, Engelmeier continued. “It is primarily anti-democratic actors who benefit from this.” The head of the association demanded: "Instead of financing armaments at the expense of social benefits, we must strengthen the state's income. We need a reform of the debt brake and higher tax revenue." Engelmeier mentioned an excess profits tax for companies, a reform of the inheritance tax and a wealth tax for the super-rich.
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United States | lobbyist | guilty
US gun lobby:
Former NRA boss found guilty of embezzlement
The former chairman of the US gun lobby NRA, Wayne LaPierre, was convicted by a jury in New York. He faces a fine worth millions.
The long-time head of the influential US gun lobby National Rifle Association (NRA), Wayne LaPierre, has been found guilty of embezzling funds. A jury in New York found LaPierre guilty on Friday of causing $5,4 million (almost five million euros) in damages to the lobbying organization through his misconduct. For “years of corruption and greed,” LaPierre and an associate must pay a total of $6,35 million (5,86 million euros) in fines, according to Attorney General Letitia James.
[...] The influence of the NRA is enormous: the organization can exert considerable pressure on politicians and is an important party donor. Among other things, she supported Republican Donald Trump's presidential election campaign in 2016 with millions of dollars. Attempts to tighten gun laws have repeatedly failed due to resistance from the gun lobby.
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U.S. government | Israel | Gaza
“No reoccupation”
US rejects plans for “safe zone” in Gaza
The USA and Israel do not agree on the question of how the situation in the Gaza Strip should be regulated after the war. Netanyahu is receiving criticism for his plan, according to which the Israeli army should have "unlimited freedom" to operate in the Gaza Strip.
The US government has clearly rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's post-war plan for the Gaza Strip. For the future of the Palestinian territory, the US formulated the principles months ago that it should not be a "base for terrorism", that there should be "no Israeli reoccupation" there and that its territory should "not be reduced", said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken while visiting Argentina.
Blinken also said at a press conference in the capital Buenos Aires that he wanted to hold back from assessing Netanyahu's plan because he had not seen it yet. But with his statements he contradicted the Israeli head of government's plan to establish a "security zone" under the control of the Israeli military within the Gaza Strip. This zone is said to be on the border with Israel...
23. February
France | Electricity price | nuclear power
Electricity price shockwave in France – third major price increase for consumers in a year
Münster - While electricity prices for new contracts in Germany are constantly falling, electricity prices for consumers in France are rising rapidly to new record levels. French nuclear power will also become significantly more expensive in the future.
[...] In February 2023, electricity prices were initially increased by 15 percent, on August 01st by 10 percent and on February 2024 by another 10 percent. That’s an increase of 12 percent within 39 months. But the end has not yet been reached, because the “tax on final electricity consumption (TIFCE)”, which has now been increased to 2,1 cents/kWh, will rise to 2025 cents/kWh in February 3,244.
[...] Nuclear power in France is expected to increase by 2026 percent to 67 cents/kWh from 7
According to a report in the daily newspaper Le Monde, the price of electricity from French nuclear power plants is expected to rise by 2026 percent from 4,2 to 67 cents per kWh from 7.
[...] It cannot be ruled out that the French state will intervene if the nuclear power price falls below the 7 cent/kWh mark and could cover or subsidize the difference to the market price. This would be a classic CFD (Contract for Difference) financing model, not for new ones as in the case of the British Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant under construction, but in this case a subsidy model through the back door for the aging, existing French nuclear fleet.
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Swiss solar manufacturer
What exactly is solar emigrant Meyer Burger up to?
Meyer Burger will stop production in Freiberg in Saxony in March - and is betting everything on a new beginning in the USA. What does that mean in detail?
The Swiss company Meyer Burger announced in mid-January that it would close its module factory in Freiberg in Saxony if the federal government did not decide on a subsidy in the form of a so-called “resilience bonus” and pass it through parliament in legal form. That hasn't happened yet. That's why Meyer Burger announced that it would close its module factory in March. At the same time, the company announced how it plans to finance the expansion of its production in the USA. What does that mean specifically?
[...] Which plant exactly does Meyer Burger want to close?
In Germany, Meyer Burger produces solar cells at its factory in Thalheim, a district of Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt. Around 350 employees work there. Modules are manufactured in Freiberg in Saxony, and development and plant construction are located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, also in Saxony. Around 500 employees work in Freiberg. Production at the factory there, which formerly belonged to Solarworld, is scheduled to stop in March. Meyer Burger has applied for short-time work for its employees. If there is no decision in favor of a subsidy, the plant will close in April. Cell production in Thalheim will continue in order to supply cells to the USA at least until 2025. Meyer Burger wants to put two plants into operation there in 2024. The plant in Thalheim should deliver there at least until capacity there is fully ramped up. The factory in Hohenstein-Ernstthal with around 300 employees is not affected by the closure plans. Meyer Burger boss Gunter Erfurt says that the location is the “technological heart” of the company...
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Start-up 1Komma5° wants to take over module production from Meyer Burger
Europe's solar industry is fighting against cheap competition from China. Manufacturer Meyer Burger therefore wants to relocate its production. Now, according to SPIEGEL information, a German competitor is making a surprising offer.
After Meyer Burger's announcement that it would stop the production of solar modules in Germany in March, a surprising solution is emerging. The Hamburg energy start-up 1Komma5° wants to take over the Swiss manufacturer's module production.
"If Meyer Burger completely gives up production in Saxony, we are ready to at least save module production and secure as many jobs at the site as possible," said 1Komma5° boss Phillip Schröder to SPIEGEL. His company is still interested in strengthening value creation in Europe and, in addition to producing polysilicon for its own production, also having the modules manufactured in Germany.
The Swiss company had announced that it was preparing to close its factory in Freiberg in Saxony. Initially, production will stop in the first half of March. This is expected to result in significant cost savings from April. The closure is scheduled to come into effect at the end of April...
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Constitutional Court | Merzthutjanix
Federal Constitutional Court:
The protection of democracy does not tolerate games
The Union is withdrawing from talks about securing the Constitutional Court, even though its ministers and experts are in favor of it. This is embarrassing and short-sighted.
One of the important statements with which politicians react to the threat to democracy is that of “state political responsibility”. That means: Any lack of seriousness is inappropriate here, party political tactics are out of place. In recent days, Union politicians have also often spoken about state political responsibility when it comes to better protection for the Federal Constitutional Court. Unfortunately, the Union is proving through its actions that it is not living up to this responsibility.
As a reminder: The traffic light coalition announced at the end of January that it wanted to better protect the Federal Constitutional Court from future authoritarian attempts to disempower it by enshrining the basic structure of the Karlsruhe court in the constitution. The Union was needed for this from the start, because a change to the Basic Law can only be made with a two-thirds majority. The CDU and CSU were initially open-minded. But now they don't want to anymore.
Party leader Friedrich Merz already stated during the general debate three weeks ago that he "fundamentally does not see the prospect of" approving changes to the Basic Law today. Now the group leadership, in the person of deputy chairwoman Andrea Lindholz, clearly said no. There is “currently no compelling need” for a change to the Basic Law...
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United States | Disinformation | Republicans
There is a risk of 25 years in prison
Lies about Biden: FBI informant arrested again
An informant reports to the FBI about alleged bribes that are said to have flowed from Ukraine to the later US President Joe Biden and his son. US authorities are certain that the allegations are fabricated and the man will be charged. Now he has been arrested again.
The ex-FBI informant accused of providing false information about US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden has been arrested again, according to his lawyers. Alexander Smirnov, who was initially released on bail, was arrested at a meeting in their office, his lawyers David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld said in a document filed in a Nevada court. The lawyers requested an immediate hearing on Smirnov's release.
[...] The indictment of the former FBI informant is a major setback for opposition Republicans in their efforts to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Biden on corruption charges. Smirnov's statements have so far played a central role in these efforts...
22. February
Sofas | money laundering | Criminal prosecution | Terrorist financing
Frankfurt gets the EU anti-money laundering authority
The banking metropolis of Frankfurt am Main will be the headquarters of the new EU anti-money laundering authority Amla. Finance Minister Lindner had promoted the location - not least because the ECB is also based there.
The European Union's new anti-money laundering authority is to be located in Frankfurt am Main. Representatives of the EU states and the European Parliament voted in the evening in favor of the headquarters of the so-called Amla (Anti-Money Laundering Authority) in the Main metropolis, as the Belgian EU Council Presidency announced.
[...] Fight against financial fraud
The EU Commission proposed a joint anti-money laundering authority in 2021. The Amla is intended to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU. It is intended to directly supervise credit and financial institutions that operate across borders and are considered high risk, including providers of crypto asset services. It should also coordinate and support the national supervisory authorities.
[...] Money laundering is also a problem in Germany
The burden when applying was that money laundering is more widespread in Germany than in many other EU countries. An international expert committee confirmed that Germany had made progress in the summer of 2022, but still sees a need for action. Above all, there is still a lack of effective law enforcement.
Lindner wants to bundle the different competencies within the national fight against money laundering in a new authority with sufficient staff and a modern IT infrastructure. The project still has to be approved by the Bundestag.
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Party ban in a defensive democracy
AfD ban as capitulation:
A spiritual change is needed
Wanting to ban the AfD means politically capitulating to it. Only through good politics and clear communication can it be defeated.
Even the radical French right-wing populist Marine Le Pen distances herself from the AfD. The publications about a secret meeting of right-wing extremists and party representatives at which the deportation of citizens were discussed were too shocking.
Since then, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets every week to demonstrate for an open society, the rule of law and democracy. Because the AfD threatens all of this. More and more people have recognized this and are demanding tough consequences in the fight against right-wing extremism.
A much-discussed measure is to ban the AfD as a political party. What sounds like a simple solution to a major problem turns out to be difficult from a legal perspective and questionable from a political perspective.
Because the hurdles for banning a party are very high – and rightly so. Parties occupy a special, constitutionally normed position in the democratic state; their open competition of opinions is fundamental for an open society...
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Political Ash Wednesday:
A rhetorical lumbering that is no longer up to date
Coarse words are an annual tradition in Lower Bavaria. But it also drives a division that we need less than ever right now, readers say.
[...] In his most recent Ash Wednesday speech, Söder denigrated Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke as the "green Margot Honecker". This unspeakable comparison shows once again that the Bavarian state politician Söder, who wanted to become Chancellor of all Germans in 2021, has not the slightest idea about the reality of life in the former GDR. Söder may be good as a beer tent speaker, but as a statesman who should be familiar with Bavarian and German history, Söder cuts a pathetic figure.
[...] Söder and the CSU should please stop poisoning and thus dividing the population with the constant repetition of their fighting term "ideology". In my opinion, you are partly responsible for the tumult in Biberach. Your actions should serve the common good, not an end in themselves. They should ensure unity and not fuel the fires of arsonists. The ashes on our heads should protect us from hubris.
[...] These increasing insults to honor and denigration by the Bavarian Prime Minister are undermining the foundations of our democratic state. My questions: Shouldn't we all, the critical media in particular, finally give up the attitude of Frisch's Biedermann? Shouldn't the SZ send a stop signal on the first page, perhaps in a crystal-clear comment?
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Spain | Murder | Intelligence
Murder in a residential complex in Spain
Newspaper: Moscow's hitmen killed defector Kuzminov
There is little doubt that Moscow is responsible for the murder of Russian defector Maxim Kuzminov. According to a report, Spanish intelligence circles believe that contract killers were responsible for the crime. If this is confirmed, Madrid wants to “respond robustly”.
According to a report in the newspaper El País, the Russian defector shot in Spain was killed by murderers on behalf of the Kremlin. In all likelihood, these came from abroad and have already left the country, the newspaper wrote, citing Spanish intelligence circles.
Evidence from ntv.de also leads to Moscow. The Russian state news agency TASS published the assassination attempt - with reference to an Italian internet portal that was not even known in Italy. Russia probably wanted the world, and especially its own people, to know about the murder...
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LNG from Russia: Russian liquid gas in the EU
NGOs say that the Kremlin is financing the war against Ukraine by exporting fossil energy to Europe. They are calling for stricter sanctions.
BERLIN taz | German Environmental Aid (DUH) and 280 other NGOs are calling for a stop to the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the EU in an open letter to the G7 states and the European Union. On the two-year anniversary of Russia's attack on Ukraine, the organizations complain that Russia wants to double its military spending in 127 compared to 2024 with $2022 billion from fossil energy exports.
[...] According to the Brussels think tank Bruegel, the EU sourced almost 2024 percent of its LNG from Russia in January 20. Spain, France and Belgium in particular import LNG from there. According to the DUH, over half of them reach the European network.
LNG from Russia also ends up in Germany
Environmental aid suspects that part of the LNG arriving in Belgium is fed into the German grid. Officially, Germany does not import Russian LNG...
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Climate change | LNG terminal | Insurance
Insurers: The accomplices of the fossil fuel industry
German insurance companies are fueling the climate crisis largely unrecognized – despite their sustainability promises. New documents prove: Allianz and subsidiaries of Hannover Re, Talanx and Munich Re insure climate-damaging LNG terminals in the USA.
The Cameron LNG Terminal, Louisiana, is located in the middle of a swampy area. Small lakes border the industrial area on all sides. Liquid natural gas is processed here and loaded onto tankers. Time and time again, the work is done uncleanly. Dangerous gases escape into the atmosphere: benzene, carcinogenic. Pentane, highly flammable. Methane is many times more harmful to the climate than CO₂.
Liquefied natural gas is sent all over the world from the terminal in the southern United States. Also to Europe. But there is another secret connection to Germany. If you look at the list of insurers at the terminal, you will also find German names on it.
These include Allianz, which states sustainability as its corporate goal. It has therefore no longer insured new oil and gas fields since 2023. But fossil infrastructure such as LNG terminals will continue to be supported by the alliance.
[...] Biden steps on the gas brake
Through upstream emissions, natural gas exports are ruining the USA's climate footprint. American President Joe Biden recently recognized this. At the end of January 2024, he put all new permits for LNG terminals in the USA on hold. Projects that are already active can continue to be operated. These include the Cameron LNG terminal, secured by Allianz and subsidiaries of Talanx and Munich Re, among others. However, the expansion of the Cameron LNG terminal could be stopped by the Biden decision.
[...] Insurers as financiers
Allianz not only benefits from fossil fuel projects through its core business – insurance. She also gives money directly and acts as an investor.
It was only in September 2023 that a subsidiary of the company gave a loan of $44 million to a company that wants to build another LNG project in the USA: the Rio Grande LNG. Together with five other insurance companies, Allianz takes on an important role that banks normally play: they lend money to companies so that they can finance the operation and expansion of LNG infrastructure. This means the insurers receive returns.
The company does not want to answer how the investments fit in with Allianz's sustainability goals...
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22. February 1977 (INES 4) NPP Jaslovské Bohunice, SVK
A mechanical failure in the fuel loading of the KS 150 reactor caused severe corrosion and
released radioactivity in the plant area, necessitating a complete shutdown. (Cost approx. US$1965 million)
Wikipedia
On February 22, 1977, the system was seriously damaged while being refilled with fuel rods: During the accident, forgotten residues of the desiccant silica gel in the packaging led to blockages in a fuel element, so that the coolant could not flow through properly and local overheating occurred. The pressure pipe and surrounding technological channels were damaged. Heavy water entered the gas cooling circuit. Due to the rapid rise in temperature, the coating of the fuel rods in the active zone was damaged. When this barrier was eliminated, the primary area was contaminated and then parts of the secondary area were contaminated due to leaks in the steam generators. It was already clear in the first half of 1978 that operations would not be resumed for economic and technical reasons. The federal government decided in 1979 not to restart operations and to shut down the reactor block...
AtomkraftwerkePlag
...The cause of the accident was that "the packaging and moisture absorption material silica gel had not been removed from a fuel element and then blocked the cooling channel." The water vapor released radioactive radiation into the surrounding area. This was just the latest in a long series of incidents at this reactor. According to a statement by the German federal government in 1994, "a large part of the plant and the reactor building was contaminated" due to the accidents. The reactor was shut down forever on the day of the big accident in 1977...
21. February
Lingen becomes a central hydrogen production location - green light for pipeline between Emsland and Ruhr area
[...] The previous Lingen power plant site is developing into a large hydrogen production site as part of the transformation. A hydrogen pipeline will soon run from Lingen in Emsland through western Münsterland, past the Gronau-Epe hydrogen storage site, to the customer centers in the Ruhr area.
Lingen electrolyzer site: RWE and BP are planning large-scale hydrogen production
For the energy supplier RWE, Lingen in Emsland is a power plant location with tradition and a hub for German electricity supply. In addition to two nuclear power plants that have been shut down, Lingen is also home to the Emsland natural gas power plant complex. At this gas site for the medium and peak load range, RWE is already building a hydrogen pilot plant with an output of 14 MW. RWE wants to test a pressure alkaline electrolyzer with a capacity of 10 MW and a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEM) from ITM Power here...
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CO2 converted to rock via Mineralization by bacteria
Research team discovers bacteria that quickly convert CO₂ into rock
A research team finds bacteria that convert CO₂ into rock. They could provide a solution to storing greenhouse gases underground.
Sanford/Florida – In order to counteract climate change, researchers are looking for innovative and new methods to bind CO₂. Storage of carbon dioxide is particularly difficult at room temperature because it is then a gas. America is therefore investing a lot in research into storing greenhouse gases underground in deep caves or rock layers. In this context, a team from the Sanford Underground Research Facility in the USA has now discovered microbes that convert CO₂ gas into rocks.
[...] The researchers are looking for rock layers with specific geochemical properties that dissolve the gas and convert it into a carbonate mineral through so-called “in-situ mineralization”. However, in nature this process takes seven to ten years – too long.
Groundbreaking discovery: Microbes can convert CO₂ into rock
A find in the Sanford Underground Research Facility could now significantly speed up the process. Ten days to be exact. The team was able to isolate naturally occurring microbes that eat carbon dioxide gas and turn it into solid rock. This is called “carbon mineralization”...
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Right-wing extremism | Criminality | Police protection
Crime - Waltershausen:
Interior Minister Maier: Better protect committed people
Erfurt (dpa/th) - According to Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD), anyone who recently organized demonstrations against right-wing extremism or is otherwise involved in Thuringia should be given tools for better protection in the future. “We want to contact exposed people who are now involved in demonstrations or in other ways and address those at risk,” Maier told the German Press Agency. The aim was to show how those affected would behave in the event of threats and what protective measures they could take.
Previously, unknown people had set fire to the house of SPD local politician Michael Müller in Waltershausen (Gotha district).
[...] In one case, concerned people around a person concerned had already contacted the authorities, Maier continued. In some regions, right-wing extremist structures are already so entrenched that they could create a threat backdrop. If there are specific threats, the police can be present with patrol cars and drive around residential buildings. However, Maier also admitted that there are personnel limits: "We cannot offer police protection to everyone in Thuringia. But what we can do is to inform people."...
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Extradition procedure
Former Labor leader Corbyn: “Liberal media failed in Julian Assange case”
The British politician speaks to STANDARD about the Wikileaks revelations and the proceedings against the investigative journalist who is threatened with extradition to the USA
The trial surrounding the question of whether Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be deported from British high-security detention to the USA - or not - has brought British political celebrities onto the scene. Among them is the former leader of the opposition in the House of Commons and ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He sharply criticizes the liberal media: they have failed.
STANDARD: Gabriel Shipton has compared his brother Julian Assange to the slain Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. What do you think of this comparison?
Corbyn: Julian Assange told the truth. He is a hero who stands up for freedom of opinion and the press worldwide.
STANDARD: Why is Assange so persistently pursued by the USA?
Corbyn: The US justice system relies on the Espionage Act of 1917. It is intended to prevent any closer investigation of American activities anywhere in the world. Julian uncovered exactly this. By the way, his revelations concerned not only the USA, but also the British government, the Russians and many others...
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Migration | Attacks | Refugees
Number of registered attacks on refugees doubled in 2023
The police registered almost 2.400 attacks on refugees and refugee accommodation in 2023 - almost twice as many as in the previous year. 219 people were injured.
The number of registered politically motivated attacks on refugees was almost twice as high in 2023 as in the previous year. The police recorded 2.378 such attacks last year, as the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung reports, citing figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 2022 there were 1.248. The left-wing politician Clara Bünger asked for the numbers.
It also said that 313 of the crimes were violent crimes. 219 people were injured. According to the Interior Ministry, the security authorities also registered 2023 crimes against refugee accommodation in 180 - the highest number since 2017...
20. February
PutIn of fear mongers vs. NATO
"Russia is playing on people's fears"
She is on Russia's wanted list - but that doesn't scare Kaja Kallas, the Estonian head of government tells Tagesthemen. She is certain that if the states join forces, Putin can be stopped immediately.
daily topics: How dangerous are Putin and Russia not only for Ukraine, but also for Estonia and Europe?
Kaja kallas: The question is not whether it is dangerous for Estonia, but for NATO, and that depends on how the war in Ukraine ends. If we don't do enough to stop it there, it will continue. With every further step he will become even braver. We should not forget that. There are no first or second class countries in NATO, we are all equal. That's why we should do everything we can to stop it now.
daily topics: The conflict affects NATO, but you are also personally affected: Putin - as the first head of government - put you on the Russian wanted list and issued an arrest warrant against you. Is this a burden or an honor for you?
Callas: Putin is clearly using this as a weapon to spread fear and show that we are not a real country. He blames me for what are actually internal Russian affairs. But we are an independent country. This shows that he has imperialist dreams and thoughts. But yeah, when that was announced, a lot of people told me that it was a Medal of Honor. I must have done something right if the Russians are so mad at me.
daily topics: How do you manage not to be afraid?
Callas: He wants us to be afraid. But that would mean giving him what he wants. That's why we shouldn't be afraid. The only thing that should scare us is fear itself, as Roosevelt said in World War II...
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Renewables | Fossil | Electricity prices | nuclear power
Expert Kemfert in an interview: Operators of nuclear power plants no longer want the energy either
In an interview with FR, economist Claudia Kemfert talks about the delayed departure from fossil fuels and excessively high electricity prices. She is calling for help for the German solar industry.
Ms. Kemfert, the German economy is weak, the federal government only expects growth of 0,2 percent. In addition to lower taxes and a reduction in bureaucracy, business associations are also urgently calling for lower energy prices. What should happen here?
Claudia Kemmert: Energy prices are only high because we have been dependent on fossil natural gas for too long, which also increases electricity prices when gas prices for electricity generation are high. Fossil fuels are driving up energy prices, and we are paying the price of the delayed energy transition. Above all, industry can benefit from the rapid expansion of renewable energies, from energy saving and from the faster transformation away from fossil energy. This is the only thing you should support them with. In addition to reducing bureaucracy, digitalization plays a central role.
[...] Meanwhile, calls for a return to nuclear power are becoming louder. The head of the chemical association VCI, Markus Steilemann, recently called for three to six of the recently decommissioned nuclear power plants to be brought back online in order to generate cheap base-load electricity. The FDP as well as the Union and AfD are also in favor. Not worth considering?
No. Even the nuclear power plant operators no longer want nuclear power. For good reason: the era of nuclear power is over. It is yesterday's technology. Instead of chasing expensive and risky military technologies, we should pave the way for significantly cheaper and low-risk peace technologies, renewable energies...
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Greenland ice sheet | Glacial melt | Gulf Stream | land uplift
Postglacial land uplift
The largest island on earth is rising faster than sea levels are rising
In the past ten years, Greenland has risen by up to 23 centimeters. It's not just the shrinking Greenland ice sheet that's to blame, as a new study shows
Greenland is of great interest for climate research in several ways. If the entire ice sheet on the world's largest island, which is up to three kilometers thick, were to dissolve into water, it would cause sea levels to rise by more than seven meters. This is a process that will of course continue for centuries. According to a fairly recent study, around 2100 percent of the ice could melt by the year 3,3, which would cause sea levels to rise by around 27 centimeters.
Another possible effect that is expected from the entry of melting freshwater into the Arctic Ocean is somewhat closer in time: the probability increases that the Gulf Stream - actually: the Atlantic Overturning Circulation (Amoc) - could tip over and come to a standstill in the next few decades . The dramatic consequence would be a strong cooling of Europe, while it would become even warmer in the southern hemisphere.
[...] The huge island has risen at an impressive rate over the past ten years - in some regions by up to 23 centimeters, as researchers report based on data from the Greenland network of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS)...
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Julian Assange case: Of liars, fraudsters and thieves
Statement on the court proceedings in London regarding the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder to the USA.
If you don't care that your government (and perhaps you out there on the devices) are being monitored with illegal programs by the US secret service or if you even think that's completely right - at least given the obvious crime rate in our parliaments, their (complete ) Monitoring is actually installed once - then you don't even need to look any further.
Joshua Schulte, a former employee of the Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), a CIA division for offensive cyber operations, was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison in New York Federal Court.
Schulte is said to have stolen two billion pages of "top secret" CIA data, which were significantly given such impressive code names as "Brutal Kangaroo", "AngerQuake" or "McNugget", in 2016 and passed them on to WikiLeaks a year later.
[...] What threatens Assange
On February 20th and 21st there will be a two-day hearing on Assange's appeal at the London High Court - the same court where the same pile of powdered wigs will once again display the same borderline legal understanding as last time (see our Assange brochure on my homepage).
If his application for approval of his own appeal process is unsuccessful, Assange's options within the British legal system will be exhausted...
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After protests against the right in Thuringia:
Arson attack on SPD man
The Thuringian SPD man Michael Müller organized a demonstration against the right. Now an arson attack has been carried out. The family was able to save themselves.
BERLIN taz | Michael Müller is still shocked on Tuesday. “This is such a border crossing that people’s lives were put at risk.” He used to travel through Afghanistan without fear. But now he is afraid of sleeping in his own house, the Thuringian SPD local politician from Waltershausen (Gotha district) tells the taz. “This is so frightening.”
On Monday night, around 3.20 a.m., unknown people set Müller's mailbox on fire at his wooden log house. The flames spread to the facade at the entrance area. Photos show how this is charred black. Müller's car was also set on fire and destroyed. According to the police, property damage amounted to 13.000 euros.
[...] Protesters against right-wing extremism had also recently reported threats elsewhere, for example in Grimma or Dippoldiswalde in Saxony. In Thuringia, the arson attack joins a series of other attacks on party politicians, such as the attacks on the SPD offices in Suhl. In Bleicherode, swastikas were also daubed on Monday at the constituency office of the left-wing state parliament president Birgit Pommer...
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Brokdorf NPP | Power storage | Monument
Initiative wants to use Brokdorf NPP as a museum
The nuclear power plant in Brokdorf, Schleswig-Holstein is waiting to be dismantled. But couldn't it also be preserved - as a monument to the atomic age and a place for social movements?
[...] The Brokdorf nuclear power plant is to be dismantled, perhaps a battery storage facility will be added afterwards. There is no permit for dismantling yet. Maintaining and repurposing the power plant is not something that is being discussed. “Brokdorf Akut”, the initiative of Karsten Hinrichsen and others, would like to at least preserve the dome for a museum. As a monument or memorial, depending on how you look at the matter.
Ambiguous opinions among residents
The Brokdorf residents you meet on Dorfstrasse this morning are conflicted about such plans: "That wouldn't be good, it should be a green meadow again," says a resident. Another added: “You can also spend the money on other things.” Another thinks: "There are other memorials from bad times in Germany, and in the end it may always remind you of what you can do better."...
19. February
FDP | Supply Chain | Palm oil
Human rights in palm oil production:
Margarine with off-flavors
A new report shows that palm oil production is endangering people in Central America. Aldi has already blocked a supplier.
BERLIN taz | A harsh verdict: “The waters are in a pitiful condition, often just a brownish broth that I wouldn’t even dip my hands into,” writes Ingrid Heinlein, former judge at the Düsseldorf Regional Labor Court, after a trip to Guatemala in late summer 2023. Her report is in the “Palm Oil Report” from the Christian Initiative Romero (CIR), which appeared on Monday.
[...] The liquid obtained from the fruits of the oil palm is the most used cooking oil in the world. It is usually cheaper to produce than oils and fats from soy, rapeseed, sunflower or olive. The majority of production takes place in Indonesia and Malaysia. However, a lot of goods are delivered to Germany from Guatemala. Cultivation is considered ecologically and socially problematic because plantations displace virgin forests and agriculture by local populations.
[...] A European supply chain law, which forces companies in the EU to take care of human rights and environmental standards in their suppliers, is currently failing due to resistance from the FDP. The Belgian Council Presidency postponed the vote on the directive that had actually been negotiated indefinitely after Germany signaled its abstention due to the quarrels within the coalition and other countries then voted against it...
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Investments in fossil energies
Nuclear waste fund: Secret cornucopia for fossil energies
Nuclear waste foundation invests in oil and gas in violation of its statutes
The Kenfo Foundation, which manages billions of dollars for German nuclear waste storage, boasts of a green investment strategy. The organizations Urgewald and Fossil Free Berlin have critically examined this and come to a different conclusion. Accordingly, Kenfo has invested around 771 million euros in stocks and bonds from 107 fossil fuel companies.
[...] Urgewald and Fossil Free Berlin compared the most recently published Kenfo portfolio with current company databases on the fossil fuel industry. By far the largest share of the 771 million euros invested in this sector is made up of around 723 million investments in 98 oil and gas companies. These include Total Energies, Shell and BP. Kenfo has also invested 50 million euros in 13 coal companies. All of the companies mentioned want to expand their business by developing new oil and gas fields and building pipelines, LNG terminals or gas power plants. The two organizations criticize...
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Russia | Sanctions | war profits
Two years after the attack on Ukraine
What will the sanctions against Russia bring? An analysis of their effect in graphics
The economic punitive measures were intended to force Vladimir Putin to end his war against Ukraine. That obviously didn't work. Is that why the sanctions failed? A classification of important key figures.
Two years of war, two years of sanctions. With almost 19.000 punitive measures imposed, Russia is now the most sanctioned country in the world - and this does not include trade embargoes against individual sectors. But the attacks against Ukraine continue unabated.
The sanctions were actually intended to make it impossible for Russia to continue the war. Two goals should serve this purpose:
- Reduce the Kremlin's war chest: In addition to freezing assets and taking measures against the financial sector, the sanctions should primarily affect energy exports, the most important source of income for the Russian state.
- Inflicting massive damage on Russia's economy: This is how Vladimir Putin should be convinced that his war is exacting too high an economic price.
Why didn't that work? And are the sanctions therefore completely ineffective?...
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Sanctions against Russia, but not on Crude oil and uranium. Oh dear, what hypocrisy...
Crude oil sales to India
Russia is defying sanctions and recording unprecedented revenues
High military spending and Western sanctions are putting a strain on the Kremlin's coffers. At the same time, Moscow records significant revenue. Also thanks to massive crude oil exports to India, which have reached a record.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than two years. While horrendous military spending is putting a strain on the state treasury, the Kremlin has recorded unprecedented income for the past year. Crude oil sales to India are said to have brought in a record $2023 billion for the Kremlin in 37. This emerges from a new analysis by the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which is available to the news channel “CNN”.
The study also concludes that some of India's crude oil was refined and then exported to the United States as oil products worth more than $13 billion. Accordingly, India has increased its purchases of Russian crude oil by more than XNUMX times its pre-war volumes - a flow of payments that ultimately benefits Moscow.
[...] Germany has also imported Russian oil via India in the past. This is suggested by figures from the Federal Statistical Office. Imports of petroleum products from India increased more than twelvefold in the first seven months of last year compared to the same period last year. Their value increased from just 37 million euros in the first seven months of 2022 to 451 million euros from January to July 2023.
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Energy transition | renewable energy | Hydrogen
Energy Technology
Electrification more important than hydrogen?
Which technologies enable the energy transition in Europe
Energy mix: Researchers have investigated how the scarce electricity from renewable energies can be used most sensibly and efficiently. Accordingly, the direct use of “green” electricity is more efficient and suitable for more areas than using the electricity for hydrogen production and eFuels. Both strategies are indispensable for the energy transition in Europe, according to the team. Politicians must use them in the best possible way so that they complement each other well.
The European Union (EU) has set itself the binding goal of being climate neutral by 2050. To this end, the European energy system is already being converted to renewable energy sources. A complete move away from fossil fuels is fundamentally feasible. “Previous studies have shown that our energy system can be converted to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar at low cost and with little environmental impact,” says Felix Schreyer from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
How can renewable energy be used efficiently?
“The next question, however, is how this renewable electricity can be used to replace fossil fuels in the areas of buildings, industry and transport,” said Schreyer. The problem is therefore not only to generate enough renewable energy, but also to store it and use it as efficiently as possible so that the energy transition succeeds quickly and in a timely manner.
One of the most important strategies is direct electrification, i.e. using electricity from renewable energies to drive electric cars and the like. Another approach is the indirect use of electricity for “green” hydrogen or synthetic fuels (eFuels), which are then used, for example, to drive vehicles...
18. February
Sanctions against Moskau`s Wealth
Reaction to Navalny's death
Estonian Prime Minister proposes “unconventional solutions”.
After the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow. One approach could be frozen Russian assets.
In an interview, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called for stronger instruments in the fight against Russia.
[...] Kallas placed a possible focus on Russian assets abroad. "There is one thing that Russia is afraid of, and that is the use of the assets that we have currently frozen." According to Kallas, this money should be used to compensate Ukraine for the destruction of the war. Your country has already drawn up a law on this at the national level.
Wanted in Russia
»It is clear that Russia is causing damage to Ukraine through the war damage it is causing. “So Ukraine has a legitimate claim against Russia,” said Kallas in explanation. »Now we have frozen Russian assets. So Russia has a legitimate claim against us. If we settle these two demands, we can give the money to Ukraine. “So the point is that our taxpayers should not pay for the damage that Russia is causing, but Russia should also pay and be held responsible for its actions.”
Last week, Russia put Kallas on a wanted list for allegedly hostile acts and "desecration of historical memory."
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Once again abyss scarier
A colorful selection of well-founded fears: Humanitarian crisis in Rafah, a ghostly debate about nuclear weapons and algorithms that never forget.
taz: Mr. Küppersbusch, what was bad last week?
Friedrich Küppersbusch: The colorful selection between very well-founded fears.
And what gets better in this one?
Some plan.
According to his own statements, Donald Trump would not protect NATO member states from Russia if they do not meet their payment obligations. Will Americans really re-elect him as president?
Other pimps argue the same way: Get some money, otherwise I can't protect you. The fact that we are starting a ghostly debate about nuclear weapons points to shortcomings in German-French relations. They have some, and since about de Gaulle they have repeatedly proposed their own European defense. Partly outside of NATO. And the fact that we would rather build our own bomb than have a foreign policy independent of the USA is the worse omission. No matter who wins the US election.
[...] The police union wants to ban tractor demonstrations. That's right?
You don't have to ban it, you can eat it. The tax exemption applies to agricultural use of the tractors: on the field and back and forth. Precisely because they then don’t use the infrastructure around it. Any “improper use” – pushing green people, blocking motorways, that kind of thing – must be “immediately reported” to the main customs office. Taxes must then be paid “at least for one month” according to Section 5 Paragraph 2 Sentence 4 KfStG. Interesting sloppiness on the part of the police - writing press releases instead of tickets...
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Grandmas against right for Democracy and tolerance
“Grandmas against the right”: Significant growth also due to demos
The “Grandmas Against the Right” initiative is enjoying significant popularity - also in Lower Saxony. Many new regional groups have been founded, particularly with the demos against right-wing extremism in recent weeks.
The protests against the AfD and right-wing extremism continue. And they are a real motivation booster for the “grandmas against the right”. Currently, more and more regional groups are strengthening and establishing themselves in Lower Saxony, from Leer on the coast to Holzminden in the south. In Hanover, four times as many people came to the meeting of the local “Grandmas Against the Right” group as usual.
[...] The idea for "Grandmas Against the Right" comes from Austria. The protesting grandmas have now become an international phenomenon. There are groups in Switzerland, Italy and Poland and the “RagingGrannies” in the USA.
For democracy - with good humor and humor
One thing is important to the “Grandmas Against the Right”: When they get involved, they stand up for something - and are not simply against it. They fight for democracy and tolerance with good humor and wit. There is definitely a reason why the alliance is currently receiving so much sympathy and support. Most of the “Grandmas Against the Right” have an important reason for taking to the streets: their grandchildren. Grandpas and all age groups who support the free-democratic basic order are also allowed to take part.
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Navalny died in one Penal camp in Charp
Processes planned in advance?
Organization questions official version of Navalny's death
When the news went around the world that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny had died in a Russian prison camp, it was immediately clear to many: it was murder. A Russian human rights group is now putting together some points that suggest planned action.
A Russian human rights group has compiled numerous evidence that corroborates the suspicion that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was murdered in a prison camp in northern Russia. According to a statement from Gulagu.net, a group that focuses on the rights of prisoners in Russia, there are some oddities shortly before and immediately after Navalny's death...
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Middle East overview:
UN Commissioner calls for money for UNRWA, protests against Israel's government
Filippo Grandi demands payments to the controversial Palestinian aid organization. Israel wants to present a plan for after the war. Thousands of Israelis demonstrate. The night
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has demanded that the criticized UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) receive money again. “The sooner decisions are made about continuing or resuming funding, the better for the lives of millions of people,” said the Italian on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The situation is devastating for the people of Gaza.
Israel wants to present a plan for after the war ends
National Security Advisor Zachi Hanegbi has announced Israel's plan for the so-called day after...
| Current news+ | Background knowledge | Top |
Current news+
Alexei Navalny and PutIn of horror clown
Obituary for Alexei Navalny
No Future: On the death of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny
The Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny is dead. The Russian regime shows that it no longer knows any limits when it comes to internal oppression.
It cannot be said with certainty whether there was an order to murder Alexei Navalny on February 16. But it is clear that the Russian government bears responsibility for the circumstances of his death.
When Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 after the poison attack he survived, the regime left no doubt that it would never release him from prison again.
Navalny was punished with solitary confinement and complained of inadequate health care and sleep deprivation. He spent the last weeks of his life in a maximum security prison in the Arctic Circle. It was obvious that the state wanted to destroy Navalny. He did it blatantly to send a message to all his sympathizers: resistance is futile.
If there was still a chance to prevent Russia's march toward dictatorship after 2014, it was probably Navalny's movement.
Navalny's death comes exactly a month before the upcoming presidential elections. In the midst of war, these are intended to demonstrate that the majority of the population continues to support Vladimir Putin. The election results will be fraudulent and genuine opposition candidates will not be allowed to run. And now Navalny has died in prison. The government no longer allows any opposition.
Navalny's fight against corruption
Many leftists in Germany viewed Navalny critically and, whether they realized it or not, often took part in the regime's defamation campaign: Navalny was the fascist, the racist, and also neoliberal and subservient to the West.
In fact, from the end of the noughties onwards, Navalny was active as a racist agitator and allied himself with neo-Nazis. And the liberal populism with which he campaigned against the “crooks and thieves” in the government and their corruption was strictly economically liberal. This was also a reason why the Russian liberal opposition failed to build a large democratic movement at the time.
But there is much to suggest that Navalny could have succeeded in building a democracy movement in later years. Navalny left racism behind, both in his political work and apparently personally – many of his supporters now point out that Navalny campaigned against discrimination against fellow Muslim prisoners while in prison – and increasingly focused on exploiting the wealth of the kleptocratic leadership to scandalize Putin.
Navalny's eternal political concern was the fight against corruption. In a country like Russia, where corruption forms the basis of authoritarian rule over a society with extreme concentration of wealth and social inequality, he raised not only the question of power, but in some ways also the question of sociality. His exposing videos about the grotesque wealth of political rulers reached an audience of millions.
One might think that Navalny's prominence in the West would have offered him some protection. But the time when such calculations still played a role for the Russian rulers is apparently over.
Navalny managed to reach parts of the Russian population outside of metropolitan liberal milieus and the middle class, and he built a nationwide network. This posed a danger to Putin's power, which is based on depoliticization and passivity. During elections, Navalny called for the most promising opposition candidate in each district to be chosen, which usually represented a recommendation for candidates from the Communist Party - the main thing was that the votes did not go to Putin's United Russia party.
War against Ukraine and the West is not in the interests of Russian citizens
And although, for example, he maneuvered around the Crimean issue for years, so that many Ukrainians in particular never fully trusted Navalny and saw him as an incorrigible Russian nationalist, his message since 2014 has been clear: it is not in the interests of Russian citizens to go against Ukraine and the West to wage war.
As is well known, the ruling racket had other plans. But if there was still a chance to stop Russia's march toward dictatorship after 2014, it was probably Navalny's movement. For this reason, leftists in Russia who did not share many of his political goals also supported him.
The absurd proportions that repression in Russia has now reached can be illustrated by individual cases. Like this one, documented by the civil rights organization OVD-Info: On December 1st, around 20 people gathered in a conference room in Moscow to discuss the revolution at the invitation of a small Marxist group.
| Current news+ | Background knowledge | Top |
Background knowledge
The map of the nuclear world
I have no idea what humanity will pay for this madness...
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The “Internal Search”
Alexei Navalny | PutIn | horror clown
February 16, 2024 - Alexei Navalny was brave enough to mock Putin's absurd tyranny
March 29, 2023 - Incomplete sanctions: This is how Putin continues to earn billions
May 13, 2022 - A flood of open letters and press freedom day
March 9, 2022 - Putin's War: What the chances of mass protests are in Russia
November 19, 2021 - Glasgow Dreamboys 3 - News from the horror clowns - Glasgow was yesterday
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The search engine Ecosia is planting trees!
https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Nawalny
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TIME ONLINE
January 17, 2024 - Navalny justifies return to Russia
On January 17, 2021, Navalny returned to Moscow and was immediately arrested. Now he explains his motives and is optimistic about regime change.
On the third anniversary of his arrest, imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny addressed the public with a statement explaining his motives for returning to Russia on January 17, 2021. The text was published this Wednesday on his Telegram and Instagram accounts - as well as on YouTube, where it will be read out by employees of his anti-corruption foundation FBK.
He is repeatedly asked by fellow prisoners and, "carefully" by guards, why he returned to Russia in 2021 after his poisoning with the chemical weapon Novichok, which Russian secret services are said to be behind. The question makes him sad, Navalny wrote, as it testifies to "Russian politics of the past decades, which has instilled cynicism and conspiracy thinking into society to such an extent that people fundamentally do not believe in simple motives." Many would think that he made a deal with "the Kremlin" that the Kremlin didn't keep.
“There are no secrets and conspiracies,” Navalny wrote. "I have a homeland and beliefs. And I don't want to give up either the country or the beliefs." That doesn't mean that only he and other opposition members who are currently in prison stood up for it - many would have to pay a "high price" for their criticism of the government even in freedom, wrote Navalny. "(But) I took part in elections and applied for leadership positions. The demands on me are different."...
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Wikipedia
Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (Russian Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, scientific transliteration Aleksej Anatolʹevič Navalʹnyj; born June 4, 1976 in Butyn, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union; † 16 February 2024 in Charp, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia) was a Russian lawyer, documentary filmmaker, anti-corruption activist, dissident, opposition politician and blogger. In 2020, a life-threatening poison attack was carried out on him. Politically persecuted and imprisoned from 2021, he was sentenced to long prison terms. The Russian prison administration reported his death on February 16, 2024...
Exposing corruption among elites
Navalny worked primarily as a lawyer in legal proceedings, mostly of his own choosing, for embezzlement of state funds by officials and employees under Section 160 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. After 45 of 75 proceedings opened in response to his complaint (as of December 2011), almost 40 billion rubles (almost one billion euros at the time) were transferred to the state treasury. He was a minority shareholder in several state-affiliated or largely state-owned companies. This gave him the right to demand disclosure of the activities of the company's management, although this was often prevented by the company's management in violation of the law. Navalny also often criticized the police, for example in the case of Sergei Magnitsky.
In November 2010, Navalny published confidential Transneft documents. According to Navalny, these were original documents that proved that Transneft's management had embezzled around four billion US dollars...
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YouTube
Keywords: Navalny Putin corruption
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