The brown panther

On Nov. 4th 2011 the police found two bodies in a burned out caravan shot to death. Shortly after, the investigators arrested a women. However, she wasn’t arrested as a suspect in the case, but for being the last remaining accomplice in a murderous trio.
[PIC]
The terrorist trio called itself the “national socialist underground” (NSU). It had already prepared a videotape, in which the pink panther explained the task of the trio and gloated what had been achieved so far. The police confirmed the claims in its investigations, when a whole weaponry was recovered as proof of ten murder cases. Nine of which where done because of racism. In another a policewoman was killed, allegedly committed to obtain her gun. All undiscovered since the year 2000.
But why did no one recognize earlier? One reason is the large timespan between the events. Another is the distance between the crime scenes. And yet another lies in the different jurisdictions within Germany. There was not the one case but actually many cases, before an unforeseen event (the burning caravan) lifted the veil. Irritated by such incompetence, it was the public outcry that forced officials to explain themselves and their failures. Why was the police monitoring and arresting left activists, while right extremists where growing in numbers, violence and political power?
So far there are 22 “secret” agencies in the Federal Republic of Germany. Since the scandal took its toll, some the agencies are in need for another boss. Just now an independent parliamentary board of enquiry is reassessing the case and bumps into problems wherever it heads. And while they do their job the media follows suit.

• Where members of the NSU informants for one or more of the agencies?
• Did one or more of the agencies know of the NSU but didn’t share their information?
• Is there a right radical undercurrent within one or more agencies, that prevented investigations to flourish?

So far, the answers are less than satisfying. Files are erased, information held back and suddenly mysterious sources emerge, flipping the case 180 degrees. When it was claimed that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution had an informant within the NSU, a sorrow research cleared the agencies name of all claims. However, just after that the Military Counterintelligence Service (it’s actually abbreviated MAD – no joke!) recovered the protocol of an interview, to engage one of the terrorists as an informant and just after that an agent of another agency remembers to have seen one of the names on a list of informants. Most ridiculous however is, that the actual photos from the actual files came to use in TV-crime series and where to be seen by an audience up to 80 mil. people. Where those pictures just accidentally used as a accessory in a film set?

I personally think the violent behaviour of the black blocks and hooligans is a greater threat than right radicals. You can ignore marching and argue against stupidity. However, looking at the NSU, and how fascists and Islamists have started to escalate each other in the recent Mohamed case, that is obviously short sighted.

PS: Sorry for the many “SPIEGEL Online”-articles. There are not enough German news agencies to provide me with English sources, and it doesn't take much brain power to sift through one database. The only other is Tagesschau.de but it has to delete some of it's content after some time so I avoided it.

Parliament vs. mob

© DAPD

When I saw this picture in the news I just saw some protesters making a statement. The banner sais "Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar" - a direct quote from the German constitution of 1945 (Art. 1.1 S.1). It actually is the very first sentence and therefore the most important one, when it reads in English "Human dignity shall be inviolable" (PDF, English).

However, I wondered in disbelieve when I reread the incident in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.). The real story goes like this: When a Nazi-Party (NPD) made public that the new neighbours  in the little village Insel (accidentally German for "island") were convicted sex offenders, the members of the conservative party (CDU) and other citizens found a mob. They protested, harassing the two men and even attacked their home. To control the continuing vigilantism, the police was given special authority. The 400 inhabitants village has become a well secured "island", with CCTV and patrols as well as guards at every street to enter or exit the place.
Since this is continuing, the men and women visible on the photo, certainly have a point, when they refer to the constitution. In this case against vigilantism. Furthermore, these people are not citizens of Insel, but Members of the Saxon-Anhalt Parliament - in other words the representatives of the citizens on state level.
That's so weird, since usually people express their difficulties to the politicians. Since Parliaments are institutions founded by the people, it's a bit like employees telling his boss about how to finance the business, behave on the stock market and lower the wages while rising the workload.

In times, that it is possible that Parliaments protest against their own people, conditions must be very dire.

a Newer Book on Net politics

Although I didn’t read it yet, I am under the impression that the book will have (n)one impact on the discussion. Still Markus Beckedahl states, that his texts would fill the gap of books able to explain net politics and its movement to the elder generation in plain German.

I only recognize that there are already a lot of books trying to inform or guide their readers. However, the Webbed World of Wonders could neither be explained in that way by Lobo, Schirrmacher, Gaycken, Clarke, Kurz or Rieger (to name just a few). They were either too scientific, populist, foreign or wrong – at least from my point of view and (yes!) I read their stuff.

Judging from its table of content, “Die Digitale Gesellschaft” (the digital society) will provide a general overview of the topic. Lucky readers will be provided with an update on their web-world-view. Others might find themselves spending money on another piece of net propaganda. By the way: against their own beliefs, the authors published their book via a well known commercial publisher, who equipped it with DRM. Even though this is understandable from a marketing point of view, it is seen by many commenters at netzpolitic.org as political bigoted.

I will fed my brain with its content once I can squeeze it in my schedule – probably somewhere between policing, politics and public attitudes towards sentencing. Let’s hope it won't be a disappointment.

Closing Criminology in Germany? (bilingual)

English:

The University of Hamburg has one of three civil institutes for criminology in Germany, the "Institut für Kriminologische Sozialforschung" (Institute for Socio-Criminological Research, IKS). It is the only program not based on law-studies and the only sociological degree to be achieved as a non-member of the police force.

Budgets are always problematic, especially for small institutes facing termination by financial cuts. However, the IKS must remain to ensure a critical perspective on criminology and ensure a reflected discourse in Germany. 

Please help to ensure it's survival!
Please sign the Petition!

Deutsch:

Die Universität Hamburg hat eines von insgesamt drei zivilen Instituten für Kriminologie in Deutschland, das "Institut für Kriminologische Sozialforschung" (IKS). Es ist der einzige nicht-juristische Studiengang und der einzige soziologische Abschluss, der als nicht-Mitglied der Polizei erlangt werden kann.
Büdgets sind immer problematisch, besonders für Institute die von Einsparungen aufgefressen werden können. Das IKS muss jedoch dringend bestehen bleiben, da es als einziges eine kritische Perspektive der Kriminologie und einen reflektierten Diskurs in Deutschland gewärleistet.
Bitte helft sein Überleben zu sichern!
Bitte zeichnet die Petition mit!

Links:

IKS Blog: criminologia.de (German only)

UHH IKS: wiso.uni-hamburg.de/professuren/kriminologie/startseite/ (German only)

UHH: uni-hamburg.de (English / German)

Web-Präsenz der AG Kriminologie: kriminologiehamburg.wordpress.com (German only)

Update:

There are also other languages available. Just switch in-between via the button at the top frame saying "Sprache auswählen". Google will then provide a translation.

Habe gerade den SWR-Beitrag zum Thema Cybermobbing gehört. Ziemlich dumm. Warum? Weil Mobbing - genauer: Beleidigen, Verhöhnen, Nötigen, Angreifen, Kränken und Quälen - nicht neu ist, sondern steinalt.
Jede Generation hatte zu jeder Zeit Alpha- und Omega-Akteure, ganz besonders in den Schulklassen, in denen sich die Persönlichkeiten und Sozialstrukturen erst experimental-spielerisch entwickeln. Die Zahlen im Cybermobbing sind - so schätze ich - nicht größer oder kleiner als vorher im realen Leben auch. Sie sind allerdings erstmalig Institutionalisiert und vor allem erstmalig nahezu Lückenlos und qualitativ hochwertig erfasst.
"Cybermobbing" sollte gerade von Pädagogen nicht als Bedrohung, sondern als Segen erachtet werden. Erst durch die allumfassende Protokollierung wird das Phänomen doch erst erfassbar! Die Frage ist, wollen wir das Leid der Omega-Kinder sehen, wollen wir gegen diese Bully-Alpha-Kinder etwas unternehmen und wollen wir dazu wirklich das Internet als Big Brother nutzen?

Done!

I'm done. And it's too late to tell me otherwise.

In the last week, I did hand in my bachelor thesis, de-register at Uni, dissolve my flat, merge its interior with my old playroom and register at my new Uni for a MA.

While we all wait for my graduation (let's hope I'm not too self-confident), you can already read my BA- thesis online (German), or help translate in English, so the rest of the world can read as well.

Best wishes!

Where have you been that day?

Ten years ago, at 9/11, I was on a class trip to Italy. Yes, you read right, I’ve basically been on holyday!

When a day after the attacks one of my classmates ran around, frantically shouting that the WTC was down, no one took it serious. We probably didn’t listen because the guy was a fool.

My classmates and I just asked: “So what? They’re just buildings – okay damn big skyscrapers – but they’ll be rebuild and people will forget.”

I’ve certainly been too naive back than.

Ex post I recognize that people were afraid be the next target. Being Venice in September however, there was no reason to wonder where all the other tourists have been to. Since no one of us knew Italian, we had no access to radio or TV. No one was up to date informed.

At some point however, we had to wait somewhere: Standing around, doing nothing, is a drag for every pubescent guy. Soon my eye caught a glimpse at a newsstand. Papers from all over the world pictured in bright colors the deaths of 3,000 men and women on front page. It was then, that we realized the scale – and still didn’t care. Newspapers were uncool und and sooo last century.

Just like my classmate – who couldn’t convince us, about the importance of that incident – I think that the importance of the USA for the world has promoted the attack: It was not the message that was important for me back than, it was the messenger.

Have I been the fool back then? Am I a fool now?

I now conclude my study of politics. Not because of 9/11, but because phenomena like it change our perception on the world. Today – exactly ten years later – there is a local election going on. I therefore perform the most sanctuary act of democracy, by joining the poll as a voter. And while I put my cross on the sheet, I think about Norway’s way to handle terror.

Where have you been that day?