#counter radicalization

[terrorismvictimsday]

Building resilience of communities to prevent radicalization to terrorism.

Member States have the primary responsibility for countering terrorist acts, including in building resilience of communities against radicalization to terrorism. The Security Council recognizes that acts of terrorism are most effectively prevented and countered through a comprehensive approach that includes actors from all sectors of society.

The objective of the open meeting is to convene a broad range of experts to discuss experiences, identify the latest trends, and share best practices on building community resilience to prevent and counter radicalization to terrorism. The open meeting will also provide an opportunity to strengthen collaboration with all relevant United Nations bodies and stakeholders in line with Council resolution 2617 (2021).

In addition, the open meeting will help to foster understanding of the issues and challenges posed by the use of use of new and emerging technologies, including AI, for terrorist purposes, as well as explore ways to build resilience to terrorism through the use of these technologies.

Watch the Open meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee - Building resilience of communities to prevent radicalization to terrorism.

[zarla-s]

I was cleaning up some broken links on my old silly Pokemon fansite, the Neglected Pokemon Lovers Unite (NPLU), and I realized that it has now been open for 25 years. TWENTY. FIVE. YEARS. That is an ASTONISHING amount of time for a site to stay open! Even if the last substantial update was like back in 2009 lol. The world around it has changed so much, but I think it's still valuable as a time capsule of a certain time on the internet. I wrote up a new essay about it on the site and did some general clean-up here and there.

Anyway to that end, since so much of the fic and art there is so old, I decided to compare Radic's oldest form to his newest! Radic was always a human boy but I just couldn't draw humans at the time so I made him a furry lol. Eventually I figured it out.

I also thought it'd be a neat challenge to mimic my own style back when it was really wonky and bad. And it was! It was kind of fun actually. I don't have too many shots of Radic from back then (it was hard to get art on the internet in the late 90's-early 00's), but I do have a few - hugging Kitsune, two old kiribans if you want to compare. I had a lot more old shots of Parasects though to reference unsurprisingly, they were very triangular lol. I think I did a pretty good job of matching what my art used to look like. I had a clear see-through Gameboy back in the day if you can't tell what Radic is holding lol.

("Isn't Radic the faceless avatar of your gamer self as depicted in Handplates-" yes, but Pokemon!Radic is the only one that actually became his own character, all the rest are shells)

If you do go poking around the NPLU, please keep in mind that almost everything there is very old and most of the fic and art is pretty bad (and shockingly violent). Plz do not judge me! My younger self was a cringey weeb but she was trying very hard. :<

[patreon]

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Boy, 12, is referred to counter-extremist Prevent officers by his own school after declaring there 'are only two genders' and 'I'm gay not queer'

By: Alex Ward

Published: Jun 29, 2024

Boy also made a video in which he stated 'there's no such thing as non-binary'

School made referral to Prevent amid fears he could be radicalised by far-Right 

He was accused of unhealthy interest in weapons as he owns a toy crossbow

A 12-year-old schoolboy has been investigated by counter-extremism officers after he declared there 'are only two genders'.

The child made a video, posted online, in which he also stated: 'There's no such thing as non-binary'.

And in response to school bullies who mistakenly believed he supported transgender ideology, he said: '[I'm] gay not queer.'

Originally a homophobic slur, trans activists claim the word 'queer' now describes people who don't adhere to ideas of sex or gender.

But the school told the boy's mother they would refer him to Prevent, the Home Office programme that attempts to stop people becoming terrorists, amid fears he could be at risk of being radicalised by the far-right.

The Mail is aware of the boy's identity but has agreed not to disclose it, and has also viewed the social media posts.

The boy's mother was visited by Prevent and Northumbria Police officers this week, in a meeting she described as 'an interrogation'.

Officers listed a string of allegations to illustrate the boy was at risk of radicalisation.

The boy's mother said: 'We think that he was targeted as the children believe gay people agree with trans ideology.

'He made a video which I uploaded to YouTube where he said there 'are only two genders' and 'I'm gay not queer'.

'The school phoned up and were incensed by it. They said that they would refer him to Prevent for that video.

'They said that he was at risk of radicalisation - not that he had been, but was a risk when he gets to 13 and is entitled to his own social media accounts.

'There was a risk he would fall in with Far Right groups.'

She said counter terror officers - who visited the family home - raised concerns over the fact that her son, who is Jewish, harboured extremist views on account of his response when asked if there were any groups that shouldn't exist. 

She said her son responded that 'Hamas (the Gaza-based terror group) should be wiped out'.

Further fears were raised over comments he made to school bullies, stating he wanted to 'exterminate' them. 

He is said to have made the remark in relation to appalling racist slurs from classmates.

In a letter to the school in South Tyneside - seen by the Mail - his mother detailed how he was subjected to vile verbal abuse and Nazi salutes.

Prevent officers also suggested the boy had an unhealthy interest in weapons on account of another online video - again uploaded by his mother - which showed him demonstrating a toy crossbow bought from English Heritage, she said.

English Heritage describes the 'best seller' item as 'completely harmless but lots of fun'.

The mother said the school and Prevent officers were guilty of double standards, claiming anti-Semitic incidents at the school were not dealt with in the same way.

She said: 'We sat down with the Prevent officers and there was an interrogation - they had an attitude of 'we'll ask the questions'.

'We were asked if we monitored his social media and what songs he listens to.

'They said there was a whole series of things he had been accused of.'

The police response was criticised by free speech campaigners who rebuked officers for 'wilfully missing the target'.

Harry Miller, chief exec of Fair Cop, said: 'His views on gender are as far away from terrorism that it's possible to be. 

'They are views that are held by the majority of people in Britain and don't even get into the foothills of terrorism.

'You couldn't call it criminality, let alone terrorism. There is a difference between bad behaviour and terrorism.

'This is another instance of the police wilfully missing the target because hunting down school children is easier than confronting actual terrorists.

'Fair Cop will continue to stand between these idiots and the public until they stop behaving like the woke, cowardly Stasi they have become.

'The Home Office needs to get a grip. Sack every complicit Chief Constable.'

Kate Barker, chief exec of LGB Alliance, said: 'If it's a sign of radicalisation to say you don't like being called 'queer' then according to our research, 94 per cent of LGB people can expect a knock on the door from counter-terrorism officers.

'We applaud this young boy for standing up for his beliefs, and we condemn the teachers and police who think it's wrong to abhor this horrible slur.'

The Prevent strategy was introduced by the Government in 2011 as part of a bid to tackle terrorism through early intervention.

According to the latest Home Office data there were 6,817 referrals to Prevent in the year ending 31 March, 2023 - the figure was up 6.4 per cent on the previous year.

A joint statement from Northumbria Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North East read: 'We are unable to discuss individual cases, or identify anyone who may or may not be the subject of a Prevent referral.

'All referrals are treated in the strictest confidence and will always prioritise the safety and welfare of those concerned.

'Prevent is a multi-agency approach to safeguarding and supporting those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention. 

'It seeks to protect young and vulnerable people against all forms of extremist activity, regardless of ideology.'

South Tyneside Council declined to comment.

==

Apparently, there's so few burglaries and murders that police have nothing better to do than harass children expressing completely true, mainstream and reasonable positions, and treat them as extremists deserving of counter-terrorism intervention.

Nineteen Eighty-Four was not supposed to be an instruction manual.

[traumatizedbymay2016]

If I could Thanos snap a single time, I think I might use it to teach all the "But she supports Israel! :(" crowd what the Overton Window is and how we shift it left.

[hexjulia]

can't really put into words how cute this thing my bird does is where she runs to my shoulder from something slightly above it, and instead of flying just lets herself drop like a big potato. She just trusts she'll land the way she means to. Birds are full of air and weigh next to nothing so it doesn't hurt but you never feel her weight more than when she does that little potato drop. It's so adorable. Plop.

[craftlands]

just saw one of ms newbabel's lines for the first time. okay. so blue epoch knew EXACTLY what audience they were going for with her entire everything, huh

[orc-apologist]

So let me preface this by saying that intersectionality completely correctly observes the way different forms of oppression overlap. There is no arguing against this.

Where intersectionality ends up doing more harm than good is when it begins to pit the varying identities and endless configurations against each other by saying that we have different interests and that we all have varying degrees of privilege. This train of thought completely mishandles the word 'privilege'. Not being oppressed in regards to one category is not a privilege. That is the standard.

Framing it as a privilege leads to hostilities. The idea that a black gay person and a white gay person are in any way opposed to each other because the latter experiences the "privilege" of not being oppressed in terms of race. This is also what leads to terfism, who believe that as biologically male trans women experience privilege over cis women and thus cannot be part of feminism, because they have benefited from the patriarchy. That's obviously stupid.

Taking the basic observations of intersectionality too far leads to the oppressed splitting each other along lines of falsely perceived privileges or lack thereof.

It also almost completely ignores the unifying factor behind all forms of oppression, which is class. The people who face oppression in its most severe form are always the members of the working class. Seeing class as "just another" form of oppression is wrong. It is the epicenter of oppression, the one factor that unites all the oppressed.

The ruling class, the bourgeois now and the nobility and church in the past, are a minority. To remain in power, they must split the other classes - the petty bourgeoisie, the peasants, and the proletariat. Categories appear to do so. Natural phenomena of phenotypes, sexes, genders, sexualities, disabilities and so on are used to divide the non-ruling classes and turn their members against each other.

To define our movements along these lines and not along the line of class is to play into their hands.

[rustchild]

.

[blackkewpie]

not to expound upon the political implications of fandom every chance i get but noel gruber is revolutionary gay representation because he wants to be fucked up and evil and it is so disheartening to see transformative works where they act like his wants and personality are character flaws. roadblocks in the way of the most conventional and milquetoast gay romance story ever put to word document. which isn’t terrible but the fact of the matter is noel gruber exists to say not every gay person wants to be normal or wants to have a normal easy heteroimitative life. marlene dietrich was a bisexual woman who endured mountains of hardship on every level and did important things and made important art. jean genet was a writer and activist who lived on the fringes of society doing survival sex work for most of his youth. liberace was never *out* out and was torn apart relentlessly by tabloids about his life. these are the people he canonically admires, he wants to be a starving artist and live a fantastic, queer, risky life that offends and challenges the mainstream. not because he is too naive to want a normal quiet life, but because he was raised in the bosom of the most banal, sterile, conservative small town existence he could have possibly been in and knows for a fact he wants the complete opposite. queer assimilation to the heteronormative standards of life has been a powerful tool in our survival, yes, but the point of that is to survive to make a world where that isn’t necessary anymore. the ease straight white cis abled society offers is one that exists at the expense of those who do not fit it. that is why the girl is fucked up. in a perfect world she shouldn’t have to be any other way.

[terrorismvictimsday]

Open meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee - Building resilience of communities to prevent radicalization to terrorism.

The objective of the open meeting is to convene a broad range of experts to discuss experiences, identify the latest trends, and share best practices on building community resilience to prevent and counter radicalization to terrorism. The open meeting will also provide an opportunity to strengthen collaboration with all relevant United Nations bodies and stakeholders in line with Council resolution 2617 (2021).

In addition, the open meeting will help to foster understanding of the issues and challenges posed by the use of use of new and emerging technologies, including AI, for terrorist purposes, as well as explore ways to build resilience to terrorism through the use of these technologies.

Related Sites and Documents

Concept Note Agenda

Watch the Open meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee - Building resilience of communities to prevent radicalization to terrorism.

[revoltinglesbians]

>professor talking about lgbt oppression

>talking about how heternormativity harms everyone

>heternormativity makes us believe those on the outside are unhappy

>This harms people who don't want to have children

>says he hates children :(

[lactoseintolerentswag]

Thinking about my coworker who grew up on the street I live on now and incidentally knows my grandma who's technically not related but we kept her and apparently immediately clocked me from coworker's vague description

[suswous]

Looking both at current events and historical conflicts, it really seems like it’s human instinct to collectively blame an entire group of people from wrongs committed on their behalf or by other people from that group.

[artemisiafem]

every so often i try to consume content by trans activists (usually TIMs, because they’re the ones i always hear about from my irl friends), because while i consumed a lot of it when i was younger, i didn’t have the experiences/knowledge then that i do now so it’s interesting to look back with a more critical eye. i also think it’s healthy to consume content by people with different views than you both so you actually know what the other side is talking about, and also because who knows, maybe your mind would be changed.

(as a side note, my life would be so much easier if i could go back to agreeing with TRAs, in that i wouldn’t be feeling like i was risking social ostracisation for my views. but i wouldn’t trade the feelings i have about uplifting women and improving our situation as a class for any kind of material ease in my life, to be honest.)

but anyway. having watched a few videos now… it’s so telling that they never really engage with radical feminist or gender critical analysis. they just present the worst possible misinterpretations of it. i saw one video where the creator implied that terfs disliking people being referred to by their reproductive organs (ie, “people with uteruses”) rather than as women was because… we don’t think women are people? it’s so ridiculously bad faith. maybe if you have to entirely misrepresent someone’s argument to get people to disagree with it, their argument might actually be more persuasive than you want to believe - but i’m yet to see a TRA actually provide any thorough rebuttal of radical feminism, it’s all just strawman arguments and ad hominem attacks.

and like, it doesn’t even work on a rhetorical level, in high school debate we were always told to engage with the best possible version of our opponent’s argument rather than the worst possible version because that’s how you strengthen your own position. i bring this up just to highlight how basic it is lol

also, it’s very telling as well that so many of their “jokes” are just about being more sexually appealing than the women they’re trying (and failing) to critique. but sure, they don’t objectify women at all.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

... you have a lot of terrible misunderstandings about dinosaurs and the mass extinction

nonavian dinosaurs weren't lizards, at all. lizards are uniquely adapted reptiles that diverged from other reptiles about 260 million years ago. dinosaurs are in a completely separate group. dinosaurs are also in the group that can be roughly described as "birds and their relatives", because birds evolved from dinosaurs (and, thus, are living dinosaurs). most, if not all, dinosaurs were warm blooded, and were very cold resistant, and bird like. and oxygen has got nothing to do with it (in fact, the idea that more oxygen = bigger animals has been debunked pretty thoroughly multiple times).

like, you keep calling them lizards. I cannot stress enough how wrong that is. please stop dealing me psychic damage.

so the Spouse and I like to have a lot of verbal discussions about the universe where the asteroid didn't hit. mainly spec evo stuff. what would evolve into what, that kind of thing. we know we're not alone in that.

we maintain that humans evolved alongside some pretty terrifying mammalian megafauna, so why not dinosaurian? so what would a realistic sapient ape in a dinosaur world be?

it's taken some thinking, but:

wookies.

we'd be wookies.

no need to leave the trees, the grass would be very unsafe if it evolved the same

no need to leave the trees, we remain furry

we could build tree houses and other structures, in the trees, to stay out of the range of predators

that's. just wookies. that's just the wookies.

[enfinizatics]

dear americans,

as a polish queer woman and human rights activist, i know exactly how you're feeling right now and what to expect from these elections. i lived through the 2015-2023 regime of pis, a right-wing populist party that divided families in the same way trump did. i’ve experienced the rise of fascism in poland, the influence of far-right parties like konfederacja, and their “santa’s little helpers”—ordo iuris, an ultra-conservative catholic organization (banned in many countries, mind you) that helped enforce a near-total abortion ban and runs anti-queer campaigns in public spaces. i supported the black protests in 2016 as a middle schooler when they first tried to ban abortion. as an adult, i actively participated in the 2020 women’s strike, running from police tear gas daily after they finally passed the ban. i supported friends who faced charges.

i’ve lived through intense homophobia in poland as a queer teen and adult. i survived the first pride march in my hometown, where far-right extremists threw stones and glass at us. i endured the anti-queer propaganda spread by the ruling party in state-owned media. i survived the “rainbow night,” poland’s own stonewall moment in summer 2020, when police arrested around 50 queer activists following the arrest of margo, a nonbinary activist. i survived the "lgbt-free zones," the targeted violence, the slurs from strangers on the street, and the protests i held against queerphobia. it was hard as fuck, but i survived.

but just because i survived, it doesn’t mean others did. many women died because of the abortion ban—marta, justyna, izabela, dorota, joanna, maria, and many others who didn’t survive pis’s draconian anti-abortion laws. milo, kacper, michał, zuzia (she was 12), wiktor, and other queer and trans kids and young adults took their own lives because of the relentless queerphobia.

despite all of this, our experience in poland can serve as a guide now. here are some tips for staying safe and how we, polish queers and women, organized under the regime:

safety first, always. if you know someone who’s had an abortion, no you don’t. if you know someone is trans, no you don’t. if you know people who help with safe abortions, no you don’t—at least not until you know it’s 100% safe to share. if you are queer or have had an abortion, only share this with people you trust fully. most importantly, not everyone has to be an activist just because they’re part of a minority. if it feels unsafe to share that you're queer, trans, etc., then don’t. it doesn’t make you any less queer.

use secure, encrypted messaging like signal for conversations on potentially risky topics, such as queerness, abortion, organizing counter-actions, protests—anything that might be used against you.

stay anonymous online. if you want to research or report something without surveillance, do not use regular internet. get a vpn (mullvad is affordable and reliable), download the tor browser (for both onion and standard links), and if you plan to whistleblow, consider using a riseup email account.

organize and build networks. community is everything now. support each other, foster independence, because your government won’t have your back. set up collectives, grassroots movements. create lists of trusted professionals—lawyers, doctors, etc.—who can offer support.

to lawyers and doctors: please consider pro-bono work. this is what got us through poland’s hardest times. your work will be needed now more than ever.

for protests or risky actions: always write a pro-bono lawyer’s number on your arm with a permanent marker.

get to know the anarchist black cross federation and other resources on safety culture: "Starting an anarchist black cross group: A guide"; Still We Rise - A resource pack for transgender and non-gender conforming people in prison; Safe OUTside the system by the Audre Lorde Project;

for safe abortion info or involvement: get familiar with womenhelpwomen.

stay radical, stay strong, stay informed: The Anarchist Library

if i forgot to (or didn't) include something, don't hesitate to reblog this post with other resources.