December 05, 2016
Austrians Say No To The Far-Right; Italians Say No To A Referendum
Ambassador Omar Saif Ghobash of the United Arab Emirates wrote a letter to his son with advice on how to survive an age of extremism and Islamophobia.
After a nail-biting seven months since Austria’s last attempt at a presidential election, the Austrian people elected former Green Party leader Alexander Van der Bellen and, perhaps more importantly, rejected far-right candidate Norbert Hofer. Though the role of President is largely symbolic in Austria’s government, many within the European Union exhaled a sigh of relief that they would not have to welcome an extreme rightwing head of state to the roster. Van der Bellen, who ran as an independent, won by a significant margin this time around. Back in May, he only snagged 50.35% of the vote while Hofer collected 49.65%. This time, Van der Bellen brought in 53.3% compared to Hofer’s 46.6%.
It appears that Hofer lost voters by expressing eagerness to expand the role’s limits – limits which have existed since 1945, thanks to that other famous Austrian. Hofer’s Freedom Party was cheered on by France’s Front National and Germany’s AfD, two far-right parties, and had Hofer won, it would have emboldened Geert Wilders’ own Freedom Party in the Netherlands. With Van der Bellen’s win, Austria has at least stalled the advance of populist forces across Europe. Danke Schön.
Be sure to check out #BlanchedNuts: Our guide to the far-right movements of 2016.
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Just as the Austrians showed us what can be done with our votes, the Sioux showed us what can be done with our protests. After months of protesting, eruptions of violence, international condemnation and accusations of police brutality, the US Army announced that it will not allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. The pipeline will be rerouted so that it will not destroy sacred Sioux sites or threaten the water supply of Native American communities in the area. Or, at least that’s what we hope. We haven’t yet confirmed what the new route actually is. Assistant secretary for civil works Jo-Ellen Darcy said the consideration of alternative routes was underway, with “continuing discussion and exchanges of new information with the Standing Rock Sioux and Dakota Access.”
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Italy’s young and dashing Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has decided to roll the dice, gambling his and his country’s political future, and, unsurprisingly given that it’s 2016, he lost. Renzi had embarked on an ambitious program aiming to reform the calcified Italian state and economy, taking on both the EU bureaucracy and Italian populists. The constitutional referendum was meant to be the capstone of those reforms, streamlining how the Italian state, which has given us such gems like Silvio Berlusconi, functions. Renzi’s referendum was defeated by an overwhelming margin, prompting him to resign in a tearful speech delivered Sunday night. The referendum had been opposed by far-right and far-left populists (with a healthy dose of Russian propaganda) who supported the “no” campaign, not because of the referendum’s merits but just because they hated Renzi. The loss of the referendum, and Renzi’s retirement, will plunge Italy along with the EU into unchartered territory, placing the future of the Euro and even the EU at risk.
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A massive fire destroyed a converted warehouse in Oakland on Friday, killing at least 30 people. Unfortunately, that number is likely to rise. As of Sunday, only about 20% of the building had been searched, authorities said. Known as “Ghost Ship,” the building not only housed many artists and their work, but was an active shelter and support base for Oakland’s transgender community. The art/work space was hosting an electronic dance party when it burst into flames. Firefighters put out the blaze on Saturday, but even then, the building was deemed too unsafe for emergency responders to enter, so finding all of the victims will now be a slow, painful process. Authorities are asking the families of possible victims to preserve DNA information, like hair or toothbrushes, to help them identify the victims.
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Venezuela: You know inflation is bad when it takes a backpack of bills for an average grocery run. Instead of fighting inflation, the Venezuelan government is just accepting that things are bad and issuing new bank notes with bigger denominations (more zeros) making everyone both a millionaire and very poor.
Finland: Mayor Tiina Wilen-Jappinen and two journalists were shot dead by a sniper in the small southeastern town of Imatra. The three women were on a pedestrian area in the nightlife district. A possible suspect is being held in custody but authorities have not commented on possible motives.
You heard that correctly: 10 years of quality service. And we do mean quality, since the fake visas issued were so authentic-looking the operation stayed in business for 10 years. Authorities in Ghana finally busted the fake US embassy that was run by both Ghanaian and Turkish crime rings. Until it was shut down, the sham of an embassy was a small pink building with an American flag outside. Turkish citizens who spoke English posed as consular officers. They even hung a portrait of President Obama inside, which must have been a nice touch.
