No longer active on X. Read my free newsletter: internationalaffairsfornorma… Or find me here: linktr.ee/andrewstroehlein
Brussels
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- Followers 114,113
- Likes 97,827
If being asked to wear a mask in some places during a global pandemic is really the greatest "oppression" you've ever faced in your life, you seriously do not know how charmed a life you've had.
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When I tell people children are being slaughtered, and they want to know which children before moving into outrage mode or justification mode - that mentality, that conditional humanity, is exactly the problem.
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Everything about this is wonderful... nitter.app/dwnews/status/10621175…
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The wombat we all need right now. (turn the sound on & enjoy the munching)
Andrew Stroehlein
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If you say:
“Using torture is fine, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
“Killing civilians is acceptable, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
“Bombing schools, hospitals & press is OK, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
Then you’d probably make a pretty good terrorist
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I’m not gay.
I’m not Muslim.
I’m not a senior.
I’m not Hungarian.
I’m not trans.
I’m not black.
I’m not a refugee.
I don’t have a disability.
I’m not a woman.
I’m not homeless.
But if I don’t defend everyone’s rights, how can I expect anyone to defend mine?
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Two decades ago, I asked Russian investigative journalist & human rights defender Anna Politkovskaya how she could keep doing what she did. For her reporting on abuses by Russian forces in the 2nd Chechen War, the military detained & beat her & subjected her to mock execution. 1/
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The road to authoritarianism:
1) degrade free media;
2) neuter civil society;
3) undermine rule of law;
And do all this "for the people"
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🇪🇺 Dear EU Citizens,
🇬🇧 Dear UK Citizens,
🇺🇸 Dear US Citizens,
🇦🇺 Dear Australian Citizens,
Do you want a longer pandemic?
No, of course not.
But your governments, by blocking wider production of vaccines globally, are prolonging the pandemic.
hrw.org/news/2021/03/04/rein…
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If you say:
“Using torture is fine, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
“Killing civilians is acceptable, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
“Bombing hospitals is allowed, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
Then you’d probably make a pretty good terrorist.
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People want to believe that only monsters commit mass abuses & atrocities. But it’s actually ordinary people, “just doing their jobs” and “just following orders”, who make horrors happen.
Photos of Auschwitz personnel, 1944. rarehistoricalphotos.com/lau…
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🇬🇷 The Greek government is breaking the law.
🇪🇺 The EU is going along with it.
🤔 Why?
🧵 Thread...
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"If you think nationalism is a welcome breath of fresh air, think again: It is the road to war." - Frans Timmermans bit.ly/2ksL1Ok
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Poland's president has said that LGBT people are not human beings.
The opposition showed they disagree... 🏳️🌈
nyti.ms/3inbbzz
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Nazi horror didn’t start with genocide.
It started with words...
...with the dehumanizing of minority groups...
...and the mainstream acceptance of that dehumanization.
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New DNA evidence says Marcellus Williams is innocent. The US state of Missouri will execute him tonight anyway. bit.ly/2imKK2z
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Genocides do not begin with mass murder.
That's where they end up.
Genocides & other mass atrocity crimes begin with words - specifically, with powerful people dehumanizing a powerless minority.
Once they are seen as less than human, anything is possible, even mass murder.
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Now it’s porn that causes school shootings in the US? Er... I think we have porn in Europe too, and yet, no weekly school shootings... #ItsTheGunsStupid edition.cnn.com/2018/05/29/p…
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Genocides do not begin with mass murder. That's where they end up.
Genocides & other mass atrocity crimes begin with words - specifically, with powerful people dehumanizing a minority.
Once they are seen as less than human, anything is possible, even mass murder.
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Fellow English speakers: if you don’t say “the France” or “the Germany”, please stop saying, “the Ukraine”. Thanks.
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Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. Wait, why are you attacking them in the streets?
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When a politician says something he knows is a lie, he is announcing his contempt for the general public.
He’s saying he considers you so stupid that you’ll believe the lie.
Cruz knows full well the Paris Agreement is not about Paris. He just thinks his followers are idiots.
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If you only care about war crimes when your enemies commit them, then you don't really care about war crimes.
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A judge in Brazil has refused to let an 11-year-old rape victim have an abortion — and ordered the girl to be detained to prevent her from trying to get one.
This is the kind of rights-abusing madness the US can look forward to...
nypost.com/2022/06/21/brazil…
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Bartho Boer
“Oops, I locked my keys in the apartment” is a mistake.
“Sorry, I forgot our anniversary” is a huge mistake.
Murdering a journalist in your consulate and hacking him to pieces with a bone saw is neither. It’s a brutal crime showing the horror at the core of the Saudi regime
New: Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir on Jamal Khashoggi: “Mistakes happen. We acknowledge that this was a huge mistake." Per @JoshNBCNews
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People frustrated with the negative sides of Twitter sometimes ask me what they can do about it. Here's a thread with some ideas.
Whether you have 100 followers or a million, you can do something to help… 📢
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Europe has:
✅ video games
✅ movies
✅ music
✅ people with mental health conditions
✅ schools
✅ unarmed teachers
Europe doesn’t have:
❌ weekly school shootings
#ItsTheGunsStupid
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ISIS will hate this. Far-right extremists will hate this. Everyone else should applaud.
The father of the youngest victim of the Barcelona attacks embraces an imam in an emotional show of unity bbc.in/2wdBkK4
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A few months ago, Farage warned refugees would grope women but now when Trump does it, it's just "alpha male" normal bit.ly/2d45nZv
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Чай з варэннем
The endless stream of books and films that present those who supported and took part in atrocities as one-dimensional beasts, as simply monsters, sheds no light on how atrocities emerge. It offers no insight on how to prevent future atrocities.
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Catalonia: Our detailed investigation into 3 cases found that national police & Civil Guard used excessive force hrw.org/news/2017/10/12/spai…
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If Trump proceeds with his plan to pump Syrian oil for US benefit, it would be the war crime of pillage under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Trump, with Erdogan next to him, on Syria: "We are keeping the oil. We have the oil. The oil is secure. We left troops behind only for the oil."
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Think only the "good guys" would use an iPhone back door? hrw.org/news/2016/02/18/disp…
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If you’re storming a parliament with people wearing “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirts, you know what side you’re on...
These are the faces of hatred and extremism.
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We have to fight against dehumanization whenever we see it, even when - especially when - it seems to be coming from ordinary people in the mainstream.
We have to defend everyone's fundamental rights as our own.
Otherwise, we start down that road to infinite disaster.
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The problem with "the will of the people"...
Imagine you’re in a group of ten people and 6 of them decide to kill you…
Democracy doesn't work without respect for fundamental human rights.
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Once a minority group is seen as less than human, anything can be done to them. Discrimination seems "natural" - they are less than human so human rights do not apply.
In time, even mass murder is "acceptable" or "necessary".
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And “it can’t happen here” is a dangerous delusion.
Nazis were made, not born.
I understand why people want to believe otherwise. Who wants to think such potential exists in everyone? In ourselves?
But we ignore the truth, hiding it with "monster" narratives, at our peril.
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The Holocaust did not begin with killing; it began with words.
#HolocaustMemorialDay
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Nazi horror didn’t start with Auschwitz.
It started with words...
...with the dehumanizing of minority groups.
Once they were seen as less than human, anything could be done to them.
If you’re waiting for another Auschwitz before you speak up, you’re leaving it too late.
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I don’t believe that human rights defenders like Politkovskaya have any desire to become martyrs.
They feel taken over by the gravity of the issue and become possessed by the historical importance of what they do.
4/
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When an educated, influential person tweets something he knows is a lie, he is announcing his contempt for the general public. He’s saying he considers you so stupid that you’ll believe the lie.
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Genocides do not begin with mass murder. That's where they end up.
Genocides & other mass atrocity crimes begin with words - specifically, with powerful people dehumanizing a minority.
Once they are seen as less than human, anything is possible, even mass murder.
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As the world marks #Auschwitz75, let's remember that the Holocaust did not appear out of thin air.
It was built on hatred for "the other," politically weaponized by those seeking ever more power.
All politicians today say #NeverAgain, but some are walking down that same path.
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Nazi horror didn’t start with genocide.
It started with words...
...with the dehumanizing of minority groups.
Once they were seen as less than human, anything could be done to them.
If you’re waiting for genocide to start before you speak up, you’re leaving it too late.
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If you only care about human rights abuses when your enemies commit them, then you probably don't really care about human rights abuses.
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New BBC boss warns comedians not to joke about the government & its signature policy of brexit, and not to mock the Tories or Trump...
A chilling move to politicise entertainment shows and put them in the service of the ruling party.
telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/08…
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We have the same video games and movies in Europe. We don’t have school shootings every week like they do in the gun-flooded US. #ItsTheGunsStupid
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41% of Americans don’t know what Auschwitz was. Among those aged 18 to 34, it's two thirds. "Never knew" is replacing "never again"... bit.ly/2qqpLgZ
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Politkovskaya was poisoned on a plane in 2004.
She survived the poisoning.
But she was shot dead outside her apartment on this day in 2006.
3/
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How can a prime minister not understand that “but they started it” is not a legitimate justification for committing atrocities?
The ICC Chief Prosecutor's proposal to issue an arrest warrant for the representatives of a democratically elected government together with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organisation is appalling and completely unacceptable.
We must not forget that it was Hamas that attacked Israel in October and killed, injured and kidnapped thousands of innocent people. It was this completely unprovoked terrorist attack that led to the current war in Gaza and the suffering of civilians in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.
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“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” Last FB post of Heather Heyer, killed in #Charlottesville nydn.us/2hUNmoe
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We see dissidents’ bravery and vision as inspiring, but also incomprehensible. We struggle to understand what makes them choose such a dangerous path in life.
But that’s just it: We see it as a brave choice.
They don’t see any choice at all.
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If you only care about war crimes when one side commits them, then you don't really care about war crimes, do you?
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We have a major new report on Russia’s war crimes of forcibly transferring Ukrainians to Russia - report coming out on 1 September.
Journalists can DM me for an embargoed copy.
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Genocides do not begin with mass murder. That's where they end up.
Genocides & other mass atrocity crimes begin with words - specifically, with powerful people dehumanizing a powerless minority.
Once they are seen as less than human, anything is possible, even mass murder.
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Today is the anniversary of Kristallnacht... And thus also the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism.
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To stop mass atrocity crimes from happening, we have to understand this as a problem of human potential, not a problem of monsters.
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“How can you go on with your investigations? Surely you know the military’s intimidation is not just for show, and that they may actually kill you next time, no?”
“Of course,” she replied.
She saw no choice: The crimes had to be exposed, and she was in a position to do it. 2/
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I’m not gay.
I’m not Muslim.
I’m not a senior.
I’m not Czech.
I’m not trans.
I’m not black.
I’m not a refugee.
I don’t have a disability.
I’m not a woman.
I’m not homeless.
But if I don’t defend everyone’s rights, how can I expect anyone to defend mine?
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That was quick. And good. Well done.
And it proves that all the EU’s past excuses for not acting humanely towards refugees from other recent wars were just bunk. Let them never again say, “It can’t be done”. It clearly can.
EU announces it has agreed unanimously amongst all member countries to take in Ukrainian refugees fir up to 3 years without asking them to first apply for asylum. Just been announced following a meeting of EU Interior ministers
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Dear America,
Less "shining city on a hill" rhetoric, please...
Less "beacon of democracy" chest-thumping...
Less "greatest country on Earth" nonsense...
How about we try some humility?
At least until the country can have peaceful transitions of power again.
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Perhaps if those warnings had been heeded, tens of thousands of people would still be alive. Ten million people would not have had to flee their home. The world would not now be talking about Armageddon...
7/
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When neo-Nazis and other white supremacists on Twitter say it's unfair to call them neo-Nazis and white supremacists, even when the evidence is right there in their bio and tweets... Such gaslighting attempts remind me of this clip.
Link to original: schleckysilberstein.com/2019…
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The president of Poland says #LGBT people are not human beings...
His supporters chant their approval...
Vile. Dangerous.
"They try to convince us that #LGTB-s are human beings. But it is just an ideology" - said Polish president @AndrzejDuda during a rally in Brzeg.
Two weeks before the presidential election Duda, who is down in the polls, uses homophobic rhetoric to mobilize his supporters
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I can't help but think also that her murder was a warning - one of many warnings that were ignored or glossed over by the outside world.
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I’m not gay.
I’m not Muslim.
I’m not a senior.
I’m not Hungarian.
I’m not trans.
I’m not black.
I’m not a refugee.
I don’t have a disability.
I’m not a woman.
I’m not homeless.
But if I don’t defend everyone’s rights, how can I expect anyone to defend mine?
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Arguments that haven't worked for 5 years but people keep making...
"He'll calm down & act normal soon."
"He has to accept reality."
"GOP leaders will abandon him."
"His supporters will see through him."
"He won't get away with it."
"GOP leaders ought to be ashamed."
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Genocides do not begin with mass murder. That's where they end up.
Genocides & other mass atrocity crimes begin with words - specifically, with powerful people dehumanizing a powerless minority.
Once they are seen as less than human, anything is possible, even mass murder.
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Republican leaders aren't stupid. They knew that:
- lying repeatedly about voter fraud would enrage people;
- calling media "the enemy of the people" would lead to attacks on journalists;
- telling people to march on the Capitol would lead to exactly that.
They knew.
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If you only care about human rights abuses when your enemies commit them, then you don't really care about human rights abuses.
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El Salvador rape victim jailed for 30 yrs for stillbirth - convicted of homicide under extreme anti-abortion law
bit.ly/2uR5DnZ
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If you say:
“Using torture is fine, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
“Killing civilians is acceptable, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
“Bombing hospitals is allowed, because we’re fighting terrorists.”
Then you’d probably make a pretty good terrorist.
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"Never again" does not mean, "don't say anything until there's a new Holocaust."
That's leaving it far too late.
"Never again" means, speak out - loudly - when you see evidence of things heading in that direction.
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Nikki Haley's actions will also be judged harshly by history, since she helped Trump undermine human rights worldwide when she served as his ambassador to the UN.
hrw.org/news/2018/10/10/us-a…
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley says President Trump's actions since the 2020 election "will be judged harshly by history" cnn.it/2K1H9ps
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Um... why did you ask a notorious, hate-mongering racist for her opinion of Markle? Were you unable to Google "Hopkins", or were you desperately seeking outrage clicks on this?
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On #HolocaustMemorialDay let's remember that the Holocaust did not appear out of thin air.
It was built on hatred of "the other," politically weaponized by those seeking ever more power.
All politicians today say #NeverAgain, but some are walking down that same path.
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Oh look, another billionaire behind the "people's revolts" of Brexit & Trump... theguardian.com/politics/201…
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I’m not gay.
I’m not Muslim.
I’m not a senior.
I’m not Polish.
I’m not trans.
I’m not black.
I’m not a refugee.
I don’t have a disability.
I’m not a woman.
I’m not homeless.
But if I don’t defend everyone’s rights, how can I expect anyone to defend mine?
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Another lie. This one's a whopper. Research says the exact opposite. More importantly, torture is illegal & immoral. #resist
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NowThis Impact
