Âu

[Triển]

Nhìn người mà nghĩ đến ta: "We had a little 'Washington' in Berlin"

---

Capitol Hill riots prompt Germany to revisit online hate speech law

When angry Donald Trump supporters turned violent this week, many said it had been triggered mainly by social media hate speech. This has led to fresh calls for more restrictions in Germany too


Supporters of the law say words on social networks often become deeds

Numerous social networks were quick to impose bans on the US president from using their platforms, as his posts were seen to have instigated the violence. For many critics, these restrictions came four years too late.

"I wasn’t surprised [by what happened at Capitol Hill]," German Social Democrat MP Helge Lindh told DW.

"If you constantly lead a debate against democracy, if you constantly have negative speech, hate speech, against the established mechanism of democracy, people will one day think that this kind of democracy is not acceptable, they lose confidence in democracy, and that’s why they react. It’s a stimulus. If you permanently speak in a negative sense about the institutions of democracy one day they will attack these institutions… and they will do it literally."

Lindh believes Germany is also "not doing enough" to rein in hate speech online. He has been at the receiving end of online abuse culminating in threats of physical attacks.

Safeguarding the constitution

In Germany, the law to combat hate speech online was considered to be one of the most important proposals of the current legislature, following racist and anti-semitic attacks in 2019 and 2020.

In June 2020, the Bundestag approved the legislation that would ensure prosecution for those perpetrating hate or provoking it, online.

According to the draft legislation, social networks would be obliged to hand over the data of users who post threats or incite hatred, to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

"We must dry up the breeding ground where this extremism flourishes," Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said at the time.

But data protection and privacy provisions in Germany's Basic Law led to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s reluctance to sign off on the legislation.

The law, which had already been passed by Germany's two parliamentary chambers, was stopped in its tracks because of guidelines issued by the Constitutional Court. At the time, Steinmeier urged for the necessary changes to be "drafted and introduced as soon as possible."

At the heart of the dispute was a requirement for social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to report hate comments to police, who would then be able to access the data, such as the IP address, of the author.

Fresh momentum

Revisions to the legislation are to be debated by the Bundestag in a first reading next week and could be passed at the end of the month to allow Germany's upper house, the Bundesrat, to pass it in early February.

"The attack on Capitol Hill shows us again how powerful social media networks are," CDU parliamentarian Thorsten Frei told the Rheinische Post newspaper. Therefore it was a matter of urgency to enable police to investigate all channels and identify perpetrators.

Online hate speech should have no place in any democracy, warns Helge Lindh. "It's not, as the right-wing populists believe, an expression of democracy, it’s the opposite. It’s against minorities, it’s racist, it’s driven by prejudice. This is the main issue."

What happened in the US capital reminded Lindh of recent events in Berlin: First, far-right protesters stormed up the steps of the Reichstag building in August, following a demonstration against anti-coronavirus measures. Then the Bundestag was penetrated by a handful of far-right extremists in November while parliamentarians were discussing the new Infection Protection Law, expanding government powers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"We had a little 'Washington' in Berlin," Lindh remembers "Some protesters, some extremist people, who had been invited in by the AfD, this right-wing party, came to the Bundestag. That was basically an appetizer for events to come."




















/* src.: https://www.dw.com/en/capitol-hill-r...law/a-56171516
.

[ốc]

Capitol Hill riots prompt Germany to revisit online hate speech law

Trâm chính là "chúa quỷ" của đám Trâm binh đó.

[Triển]

Điều đó là chắc chắn rồi. Xét cho kỹ tội "kích động"
thâm độc hơn tội "bạo động". Những tên bạo động giấy trắng
mực đen bị bỏ bót. Tụi kích động phía sau hậu trường ngồi
mát ăn bát vàng, mở party, thưởng thức màn trình diễn của
các con thiêu thân hi sinh cho chúng, thật là bịnh hoạn:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1347303958679875589

[Triển]

Nhìn người mà nghĩ đến ta: "We had a little 'Washington' in Berlin"

---

Capitol Hill riots prompt Germany to revisit online hate speech law

U.S. Capitol siege a 'wake-up call' for democracies, top EU diplomat says
By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union’s top diplomat said on Sunday that last week’s siege of the U.S. Capitol exposed the dangers of allowing the degradation of democratic values to go unchecked and disinformation to spread on social media.

“What we saw on Wednesday was only the climax of very worrying developments happening globally in recent years. It must be a wake-up call for all democracy advocates,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a blog post.

“Everybody needs to understand that if we accept setbacks after setbacks, even if they seem minor, democracy and its values and institutions can eventually and irreversibly perish,” said Borrell, who speaks on behalf of the 27 EU member states.

President Donald Trump is facing a renewed drive by Democrats to remove him from office after he incited supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, based on the unsubstantiated claim that he lost the Nov. 3 election due to widespread voter fraud.

The resulting assault by rioters left five people dead.

“In case anyone had any doubts, the events in Washington also show that disinformation constitutes a real threat for democracies,” Borrell said. “If some people believe that an election was fraudulent, because their leader has been once and again telling them, they will behave accordingly.”

Borrell called for better regulation on social networks, and said this could not be carried out by the companies themselves.

Twitter permanently cut off Trump’s personal account and access to his nearly 90 million followers late on Friday, citing the risk of further incitement of violence. Trump has repeatedly used Twitter and other platforms to claim the election result was fraudulent and to share other conspiracy theories.

The EU’s executive Commission last month proposed rules to clamp down on fake news on social media. These would force large online platforms to tackle illegal content and intentional manipulation of platforms to influence elections and public health, or face fines up to 6% of global turnover.

Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by John Chalmers and Raissa Kasolowsky

/*src.: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN29F0G9

[Triển]

Phước bất trùng lai
Họa vô đơn chí

---

Paralysed by snowstorm, Spain sends out Covid-19 vaccine and food convoys

FRANCE 24 English

The Spanish government will send convoys carrying the Covid-19 vaccine and food supplies on Sunday to areas cut off by Storm Filomena, which brought the heaviest snowfall in decades across central Spain and killed four people.

[ốc]

Nhờ vậy nhiều người chịu ở nhà khỏi đi lang thang. Chỉ tội người làm ở bịnh viện, vẫn phải đi làm trong lúc tuyết ngập đường xá.

Madrid hospital staff walk for hours to relieve colleagues after snow storm
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...eve-colleagues

With roads blocked and commuter trains cancelled, nursing assistant Raúl Alcojor walked 14km to make it to his shift at a hospital on the outskirts of the city. “Morally I couldn’t stay at home,” he said, citing colleagues that had been working for more than 24 hours.

The trip took him two hours and 28 minutes, complicated by the many fallen trees and snow that at times was 40cm deep. “I told myself, ‘go for it,’” Alcojor told broadcaster Cadena Ser. “If I get there, I’m there. If I don’t make it, I’ll turn around.

Others had the same idea. One nurse shared her story as she made the 20km journey to her hospital on foot while a video posted on social media showed two nurses walking 22km to reach Madrid’s 12 de Octubre hospital.

The story of a medical resident who travelled 17km to get to work – a journey he described as “sheer snow” – prompted praise from the country’s health minister on Sunday.

Mệt hơn đi 5 cây số trong công viên như thầy 5(km).

[Triển]

Mệt hơn đi 5 cây số trong công viên như thầy 5(km).

Thầy Năng Vận Động (NU phong chức) đi đâu có ít vậy, 5 cây là có nửa đường hà. 10 cây.
Nhưng mà đi trong tuyết đi bằng cái này thì nhanh nhứt lại khoẻ re, ta nói vì hoàn cảnh
phải thay đổi mà, yes we change ;-):







Ở "sông Sài-Gòn" nè, ta chèo chớ ai đi bộ.

[Triển]

New U.S. tariffs on French, German aircraft parts, wines to start Tuesday

By Andrea Shalal, David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Monday said it would begin collecting new duties on aircraft parts and other products from France and Germany from Tuesday after failing to resolve a 16-year dispute over aircraft subsidies with the European Union.

In a notice to shippers late on Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the new duties would apply from 12:01 a.m. ET (0501 GMT) on Tuesday as part of the long-running battle over government subsidies to Europe’s Airbus SE and its U.S. rival, Boeing Co.

The notice here follows an announcement by the U.S. Trade Representative's office that it would impose an additional 15% tariff on aircraft parts, including fuselage and wing assemblies, and a 25% duty on certain wines.

Talks between Washington and Brussels to end the battle stalled in the final weeks of the Trump administration, a European source familiar with the matter said. Washington had also pressed to reach a separate solution with Britain, which has a share in Airbus, but has exited the EU.

Brussels said it would seek swift resolution of the issue with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20. The Biden team had no immediate comment on the tariff issue.

Both Washington and Brussels have won cases at the World Trade Organization, the former allowed to impose tariffs on $7.5 billion of EU goods and the latter extra duties on $4 billion of imports from the United States.

Airbus said USTR’s expansion of tariffs to include aircraft components made in France and Germany was “counterproductive” and would wind up harm U.S. workers at its Mobile, Alabama site where it assembles A320 and A220 aircraft.

The measure will hit A320 production which uses components from France and Germany, while the A220 production does not, according to an Airbus spokesman. Airbus delivered more than 40 A320 Family planes from Mobile in 2020, but the number will be lower this year due to the pandemic, a spokesman said.

The initial impact may be muted since aerospace companies generally procure large components such as wings and fuselages well in advance to ensure smooth production flows.

Aircraft were already covered by U.S. tariffs, but the addition of components closed a loophole that had allowed Airbus planes assembled in Mobile to be sold in the United States free of tariffs. Unless the issue is resolved quickly, those aircraft are likely to be uncompetitive in the U.S. market.

Some alcohol from the Airbus-producing nations - France, Germany, Spain and Britain - had already been subject to tariffs, but new varieties are now affected. The French wine exporters’ federation called it a “sledgehammer” blow.

Unlike previous short-notice tariff actions, USTR did not grant any exclusions for products already in transit or “on the water”, said Ben Aneff, president of the US Wine Trade Alliance, calling the decision “deeply unfair.”

Aneff urged U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a letter on Monday to amend the action to exempt goods in transit when the tariffs were announced less than two weeks ago on Dec. 30, noting that ocean transit can take 22 to 40 days.

Aneff said the move would hit many U.S. businesses in the hospitality, restaurant and wine industry with sharply higher costs at a time when they were already being hammered by pandemic-related closures.

Reporting by David Lawder and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Leslie Adler and Christopher Cushing


/* src.: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN29H007

[Triển]

Tẩy chay bơm bi ô.

---

Luxembourg, EU snub Pompeo in final Europe trip, diplomats say

By Robin Emmott, Humeyra Pamuk


BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled his Europe trip at the last minute on Tuesday after Luxembourg’s foreign minister and top European Union officials declined to meet with him, European and U.S. diplomats familiar with the matter said.

The extraordinary snub of the top U.S. diplomat, first reported by Reuters, came days after the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump, an unprecedented attack on American democracy that stunned many world leaders and U.S. allies.

Pompeo, a close ally of Trump, had sought to meet Jean Asselborn in Luxembourg, a small but wealthy NATO ally, before meeting EU leaders and the bloc’s top diplomat in Brussels, three people close to the planning told Reuters.

But the initial plan to go to Luxembourg, which had not been officially announced, was scrapped after officials there showed reluctance to grant Pompeo appointments, a diplomatic source said. The Brussels leg was still on until the last minute.

But the thin itinerary of Pompeo’s final visit to Brussels raised questions about the merit of the trip. There were no meetings on his schedule with EU officials or any public events at NATO. A third diplomatic source said allies were “embarrassed” by Pompeo after the violence in Washington last Wednesday that left five dead.

Trump encouraged his supporters at a rally earlier that day to march on the building that houses the Senate and the House of Representatives while lawmakers were certifying Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s Nov. 3 election victory. The Republican president claims, without evidence, that the election was stolen from him.

Pompeo condemned the violence but made no reference to the role that Trump’s baseless claims played in galvanizing the march on the Capitol.

Appalled by the violence, Luxembourg’s Asselborn had called Trump a “criminal” and a “political pyromaniac” on RTL Radio the next day.

Luxembourg’s foreign ministry confirmed the previously planned stop there was cancelled, but declined to give further details. The EU declined to comment.

The U.S. State Department, in a statement, attributed the cancellation to transition work before Biden takes office on Jan. 20, even if Pompeo had been reluctant until recently to unequivocally recognize Biden’s win. The State Department declined further comment on European officials’ rejection of meetings with Pompeo.

In Brussels, Pompeo was due to have a private dinner with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday evening at Stoltenberg’s private residence, before meeting Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes, whose country is a NATO ally.

One of the sources said the lack of any public events at NATO was another reflection of European officials questioning the point of the trip. It was not immediately clear why Pompeo sought to go to Brussels so near to the end of Trump’s term.

EAGER TO BUILD TIES WITH BIDEN

The cold shoulder was a contrast with Pompeo’s previous visits to Brussels, which is home to NATO and EU headquarters, over the past three years, where he has given keynote speeches on U.S. policy and met the EU’s chief executive, even as Europe balked at Trump’s foreign policy.

In 2018, Pompeo said in Brussels that Trump’s ‘America First’ policy was reshaping the post-World War Two system on the basis of sovereign states, not institutions such as the EU.

EU officials, who say they were exhausted by Trump’s unpredictability, are eager to build fresh ties with Biden.

One source, while explaining why Pompeo chose to remain in Washington, cited his eagerness to roll out planned foreign policy tasks until the end of the term and help keep the continuity of government.

For nearly three years, Pompeo proved a loyal executor of Trump’s unconventional style.

His tenure did not include obvious successes in such long-standing U.S. foreign policy challenges as reining in the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan or containing an increasingly assertive China.

Nevertheless on Jan. 1, Pompeo kicked off a daily Twitter thread, saying the United States was “much safer” today than four years ago thanks to what he saw as the foreign policy accomplishments of the Trump administration.

He said he would showcase the results. “Over the coming days, I’m going to lay out the mission set, the huge wins, personal stories, and a lot more. Just me, Mike,” he said.

The tweets, along with some of his foreign trips, have been largely seen as part of his bid to lay the groundwork for his much-anticipated 2024 run for the Republican nomination for president.

Reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold in Berlin; Editing by Grant McCool and Peter Cooney


/* src.: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...KBN29H2MM?il=0

[Triển]

Thắt ống dẫn.

---

U.S. tells European companies they face sanctions risk on Nord Stream 2 pipeline

By Timothy Gardner, Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department this month told European companies which it suspects are helping to build Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that they face the risk of sanctions as the outgoing Trump administration prepares a final round of punitive measures against the project, two sources said on Tuesday.

“We are trying to inform companies of the risk and urge them to pull out before it’s too late,” a U.S. government source said on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. source said the State Department is expected to issue a report by Thursday or Friday on companies it believes are helping the Russia-to-Germany pipeline. Companies that could be in the report include ones providing insurance, helping to lay the undersea pipeline, or verify the project’s construction equipment, the source said.

The companies could be at risk of U.S. sanctions under existing law if they do not stop work.

Zurich Insurance Group could be listed in the report, the source said. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nord Stream 2 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The $11 billion pipeline, one of Russia’s most important projects in Europe, has sparked tensions between Washington and Moscow.

The Trump administration opposes Nord Stream 2, which would deprive Ukraine of lucrative transit fees, saying it would increase Russia’s economic and political leverage over Europe. The administration has also pushed exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas to Europe, a fuel that competes with pipelined gas from Russia.

The Kremlin says Nord Stream 2, led by state energy company Gazprom, is a commercial project.

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, also says the pipeline is simply commercial. It needs gas as it shuts coal and nuclear plants on environmental and safety concerns.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden opposed the project when he was vice president under Barack Obama. It is uncertain whether he would be willing to compromise on the project after Jan. 20 when he takes over.

Gazprom halted Nord Stream 2 construction for a year after U.S. sanctions in December 2019. But work has resumed as Gazprom hopes to complete the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea to double the existing line’s capacity. The project is 90% completed with only a 62-mile (100-km) stretch in deep waters off Denmark left to complete.

Gazprom’s Western partners in the project are Germany’s Uniper, BASF’s Wintershall Dea, Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell, Austria’s OMV and Engie.

A U.S. based industry source who has seen the State Department communications said European companies, including German ones, received the inquiries from the Trump administration over the past several months, dating back to October, about their activities relating to Nord Stream 2.

The State Department asked the companies in October if they were involved with Nord Stream 2 and whether any work continued after July 15, and the value of any services or support.

On that date, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned investors in Russia’s Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream pipelines they could face sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017.

On Jan. 1, the State Department reached out again with an urgent request, the industry source said, asking to set up a call that weekend with the Bureau of Energy Resources to discuss the details of the companies’ wind down activities.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Timothy Gardner; writing by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Kim Coghill

/* src.: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...KBN29I0CN?il=0