I know this is bad..couldn't resist..
Posted on 02/11/2005 8:49:34 PM PST by NormsRevenge
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's government Friday proposed new laws to combat far-right demonstrations, timed to include a planned May march in Berlin on the 60th anniversary of the Nazi surrender in World War II.
Also Friday, police sealed off part of downtown Munich for an annual security conference, bracing for thousands of anti-war protesters and an expected appearance by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The proposals for laws against the rightist gatherings came in response to a rising neo-Nazi threat and would target anyone who glorifies or plays down Nazi crimes, said Interior Minister Otto Schily, Germany's top law enforcement official.
"We have observed a revival of the far right for some time and with great concern, and we have to get clarity on what legislative options we have to combat it," Schily told a news conference.
Recent far-right gatherings "match ever more strongly the . . . imprint of the historic marches of the Nazi regime," he said.
The government will submit the new law to parliament next week so it can be passed in time to prevent the far-right march May 8.
German leaders have been sparked into action because the National Democratic Party, which won 9 percent of the vote in a state election last fall, plans to demonstrate near Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate and the site of a new national Holocaust memorial.
The new measures would tighten German laws on public assemblies near sites that recall the Nazi era, such as memorials and former concentration camps, and allow state governments to ban demonstrations that can be expected to disparage Nazi victims.
The far-right party - known by its German initials NPD - provoked renewed outrage last month when its 12 lawmakers walked out of Saxony's state parliament before a moment of silence to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, prompting politicians to call for an outright ban.
The security conference will also draw top government officials from Russia, Egypt, Iran and Germany. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and U.N. chief Kofi Annan also were scheduled to address the prestigious weekend gathering, which defense experts and policy-makers traditionally use for frank exchanges in an informal atmosphere.
Likely topics this year include North Korea's announcement that it has nuclear weapons, Iran's nuclear ambitions and NATO's efforts to expand its role in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Security for the 240 participants was tight as Bavarian authorities braced for an estimated 5,000 protesters Saturday. About 4,000 police were called out, barriers blocked car and streetcar traffic around the conference hotel and snipers manned surrounding rooftops.
German President Horst Koehler opened the conference Friday evening by underlining the link between security and development, urging rich countries to boost development aid.
"Without security there can be no economic development," he told delegates at a private dinner, according to a text released by his office. "But experience also shows that sustained poverty among wide swathes of the population can threaten a country's stability."
Rumsfeld had said he couldn't make the conference, but his spokesman said Thursday he would likely be able to come in an announcement that came shortly after German prosecutors declined to investigate him on war crimes allegations related to the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. The complaint was filed in Germany by a group of New York lawyers.
---
AP writer David Rising in Munich contributed to this report.
Talk about trying to put out a fire with gasoline... I don't see good things ahead for Germany in the near future.
This is going to blow up in their face again.
I know this is bad..couldn't resist..
Actually, that would be a far-left rally, but liberals have turned a socialist group into right-wingers by repeating the lie enough.
Regards,
TS
I've always been troubled by the comparison of skinheads and Nazis to conservatism
Yes, in much the same way as the Left ignores the millions of jews and others who Stalin murdered.
It just shows the weakness of their positions. I always chuckle at people who seriously make Nazi comparisons whether it be Bush or Clinton.
What do they mean when they say far-right? They're hardly what I would consider the far-right (i.e. those who believe in no or almost no centralized government) They label anyone who doesn't tow the socialist line (i.e. Victimhood uber alles) as far right wing extremist. It's tiresome
I suspect it's more accurate to portray these people as a group of adolescents that hate Jews and have too much much time on their hands. Got to wonder how many muslims were in the crowd?
Our country is full of the itnernationalistic ones so they spout the lie.
sounds socialist to me
Lets add this up.
1. They changed the entire social welfare/unemployment system in January. People got automatic check for $1500 to $2000, yet the guy might own a luxery car, a 2500 sq house, $100k in stocks in the bank, and simply refuse to work. The new policy is that they will pay your rent totally separate (no luxery villas or houses to be allowed, and they will move you if necessary). And your check for the month...won't be more than $500 for basic essentials. Forget the car, the car insurance, gas ($5 a gallon), and Xmas gifts for the kids. Either you work or you waste away.
2. Thousands upon thousands of Germans in the past 45 days have been signing up for unemployment help. So the real unemployment has finally becoming apparent...well over 12 percent, and may hit 16 percent in the end. Those who sat there for years...can't find a decent job because employers are laughing at some guy who sat in his house for 8 years and wants $2k a month for pay.
3. Companies, because of the huge tax mess in Germany...are moving out to Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, etc. They make everything cheaper...why build locally? So the cheaper jobs that ought to be there...aren't. Thanks to the German government and its tax mess.
4. Dissatisfaction, especially amongst the unemployed and low-income folks is rampaint. At least a quarter of all adult Germans simply don't trust the current politicans or the agenda. They barely survive...they watch their neighbors who did work hard and built up nice houses...and go off on vacations to Greece...and they simply aren't happy. The nationalists socialists folks merely have to stand up and put up an agenda for better jobs and better pay...and they get 10 percent of the national vote easily.
5. What does the current German government do? Nothing. They can't improve anything without more taxation. They cut anything because the political mafia of all of these benifits will whine and complain. They can't cut the TV tax because the state network will label them in the news as "bad or incompetent" politicans. They can't creat new jobs because there is no excess funding to do so. They can't create new business interests because companies can function in a tax-corrupt society.
6. Finally, this circle goes back to history. When Germans were so disenchanted after WW1...after all of the terrible economic screw-ups of the government...the only choice was the NAZI party. History is in the making...its a circle, and they really haven't learned a thing. They must repeat again. This time though...it won't be the jews who are the scapegoats...it'll be the Muslims. The mosques will burn. The Muslims will be cornered and put on trains to leave Germany. The media will cover it nicely the first week or two...but the hooligans will start to beat up news teams on the streets and ensure they are fearful of going out to film whatever is happening.
Sad in a way...but it is like a opera...and the fat lady must sing...then so be it. The US will be ready to close the curtain on the fat lady one more time...if necessary. Germans can only defeat themselves in the end. We've proven that fact.
National Socialist German Workers Party
sounds socialist to me
---
japan's "liberal democrat party" is the party of japan's far right conservatives. its just a name.
I don't know if you are always right but you're right here.
Germany went down this path before. In the late 20's, Hitler was forbidden from speaking in public. So, he'd hold rallies, show up and sit on the dais, while his underlings spoke. The German Left then thought Hitler hypnotized the people, when he offered them a way out of their problems.
That's the problem today in Germany. The Left has no way out of Germany's problems, the Leftwing Government is incapable of reforming the economy to allow Germans to grow their economy. Unemployment is over 10% nationally and 25% and over in the East, where the Rightwing (socialists who are nationalists and not self-haters) and where they've garnered enough votes to get into the Sachsen state legislature.
And I wonder if they'll do this: The proposals for laws against the lefttist gatherings came in response to a rising neo-Commie threat and would target anyone who glorifies or plays down Communist crimes, said Interior Minister Otto Schily, Germany's top law enforcement official.
Actually, the PDS is in the national legislature and receives 20%+ of the vote in the east. Why aren't Commies a threat too? Only the non-selfhating Germans are a threat. This is what 40 years of anti-German propaganda has produced in Germany, a sick society on a downward spiral.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.