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An unknown person fires at paper targets in a propaganda video from The Base. Federal investigators say the video was taken at Luke Lanes compound outside of Rome, Ga.

An unknown person fires at paper targets in a propaganda video from The Base. Federal investigators say the video was taken at Luke Lanes compound outside of Rome, Ga.

And while in recent years Ukraine had discouraged such radical foreigners from entering the country, the government has issued new calls for international volunteers to help turn back the Russian invasion. On Wednesday, the Counter Extremism Project issued a fresh warning that the invasion has sparked online activity from far-right white nationalists and neo-Nazi groups motivated to join the conflict.

Far-right paramilitary groups like the Azov Battalion rose up in response to the 2014 Crimea crisis to fight separatists in eastern Ukraine. The groups white supremacist and antisemitic beliefs were bad press for the Ukrainian government, but they were needed on the front lines, Malet said. As the formal Ukrainian military gained capacity, the government sought to discourage foreign extremists from entering the country and moderate the Azov Battalion by absorbing it into the national guard.

A lot of Russian propaganda has focused on Nazi ties, trying to paint all the volunteers and in Ukraine as Nazis, when again its probably been pretty good mix of it on both sides, Malet said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has used denazification of Ukraine as one of several narratives to justify his attack, beginning last month, on the country. Hans Jakob-Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, a nonpartisan policy group that studies extremist ideologies, said Putins claims are pure propaganda, pointing out that Ukraines centrist president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish.

That is, apparently, a very new kind of Nazi that only a Russian understands how that works, he said This is not a right-wing, extremist-run state.

Foreign fighters joining paramilitary groups like the Azov Battalion see it as an example of how such groups can exploit national distress to maximize their impact on domestic politics. And Ukraine has provided a military training ground for American extremists, in the same way Rhodesia did for an earlier generation.

Since the start of the conflict in Crimea, Jakob-Schindler said the majority of foreign fighters in Ukraine are Russian, with nearly equal numbers fighting for the nationalists and the separatists. Their number includes members of the Russian Imperial Movement, an extreme right-wing paramilitary organization branded as a terrorist organization by the United States and Canada for its alleged role in transnational white supremacist attacks, which has fought on the side of the separatists.

Aside from the Russians, experts estimate to be several hundred westerners with links to right-wing extremist groups have come to the country to fight.

Jakob-Schindler said these fighters are comparable to Islamist extremists who traveled from their home countries to fight in Syria but with less ideological conviction.

All of them saw this as an opportunity to take part in a fight. But not necessarily primarily to fight ... against the Russians or against the Ukrainians, but to get combat experience, he said.

And while some went to Ukraine and stayed there, others have returned to their home countries. These are the actual real problem, because now they are fighting extremists which at least have combat training, he said.

In October 2020, the Ukrainian security service arrested and deported two Americans they said were members of the Atomwaffen Division, a violent neo-Nazi terror organization. The Ukrainian officials said the two men, who were not identified, had come to join the Azov Battalion to gain combat experience which the representatives of the group planned to use in illegal activities.

While Ukrainian officials did not identify the Americans, last year Vice News reported one of them was Burchfield, who claimed in an interview with the news organization that he spent a few months volunteering in Donbass prior to his expulsion.

Another American who traveled to fight with Azov is North Carolina native Craig Lang, who is wanted for questioning in a 2018 double murder in Florida. Lang, an Army veteran, told ABC News in a 2021 interview in Kyiv he was a point for contact for Americans looking to fight against Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. He denied claims that he is a political extremist, but told ABC that there are some foreign extremists in the ranks.

Is there extremism to a small degree? There might be some extremism, yes, he said.

For some, the desire to fight in Ukraine is an aspiration.

William Bilbrough, another Base member who trained at the North Georgia compound near Rome, was fixated on traveling to Ukraine to fight alongside the ultranationalists militia and attempt to recruit others in his organization to accompany him, according to court records.

He never made it. Instead, federal authorities arrested him in January 2020 on charges that he was part of a plot to conduct a mass shooting at a Second Amendment rally in Virginia, a move he and his codefendants reportedly thought would speak a broader conflict.

Prosecutors cited his desire to travel to Ukraine as grounds for holding him in jail without bond.

Bilbrough confirmed that he has friends in Ukraine and that he intended to go there for several months, federal prosecutors wrote.

Also in 2020, Jared Smith, a soldier who had trained at Fort Benning and had connections with a neo-Nazi group, pleaded guilty to distributing bomb-making materials, admitting it was part of a plot to foment violence to overthrow the United States government. In his plea hearing, Smith admitted to communicating over the internet his desire to join a far-right militia in Ukraine.

Experts are concerned that if the conflict in Ukraine drags on even more extremists in America will be influenced by its allure.

Very likely there will be individuals going, especially if this thing settles into some kind of long-term insurgency, Jakob-Schindler said.

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Ukraine seen as training ground for some on far right - The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Austin, TX, 13 hours ago The Republican primary for a Denton County Texas House district will go to a runoff between firearms businessman Ben Bumgarner and Jeff Younger, a Texas father whose custody battle for his son James caught the public eye and inspired several bills in the Texas legislature.

According to unofficial results, Bumgarner led the four-way primary with 29 percent of the vote. Younger took second place with 27 percent.

Bumgarner, who currently serves on the Flower Mound Town Council, lists Second Amendment protections, tax relief, and limited government as his top priorities.

In light of the ongoing legal battle regarding his son, Younger has made a ban on child gender modification a top priority for his campaign.

The mother of his son James, Anne Georgulas, has long said James identifies as a girl named Luna. A court recently awarded Georgulas consent rights over James primary residence, counseling, medical decisions, and schooling. Georgulas may also withhold information from Younger regarding these activities. The lone exception to the order is that medical procedures meant to aid a gender transition for James require consent from both parents.

The judge, 301st Judicial District Court Judge Mary Brown, wrote that Younger had failed to pay child support on time and refused to cooperate with other court orders regarding James counseling.

The custody proceedings prompted several Republican lawmakers, starting with state Rep. Steve Toth (R-Spring), to file bills in the Texas legislature that would have banned gender transition procedures for children. All died for lack of a House vote.

Younger recently appeared at a student event at the University of North Texas that turned chaotic when counter-protesters allegedly began to escalate, leading police to evacuate the event organizer.

The district, Texas House District 63, opened after Rep. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) announced his candidacy for a seat in the Texas Senate.

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Jeff Younger, Ben Bumgarner Head to Runoff in Denton County Texas House Race - The Texan

Waterfront wont change

St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch calls for broader analysis of Albert Whitted Airport | Feb. 18

I question why St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth Welch would even bring up this distraction to his more important agenda items. Playing around with Albert Whitted Airport or Al Lang Field are distractions that could suck all the air out of the room, when there are far more important issues to address.

Changes to St. Petes waterfront park system are provocative and controversial subjects that will further divide our citizens. In the end, the referendum required to make changes would fail, as has happened in the past. Im very disappointed that the mayor has even started these discussions.

Hal Freedman, St. Petersburg

Putin raises threat level | Feb. 28

The Ukrainian government has handed out thousands of rifles to arm its citizens to fight off the Russians. In a similar vein, thank heavens that our Founding Fathers had the foresight to add the Second Amendment to our Constitution. We have the right to bear arms and protect ourselves in situations like these. These are the very rights that many Democrats want to severely restrict or even do away with altogether.

John Spengler, Spring Hill

After verdict, emotions still raw | Feb. 27

I would like to thank Richard Escobar, the defense attorney for Curtis Reeves, who was found not guilty of murder in the movie theater shooting death of Chad Oulson. Why? Because, in my opinion, Escobar concisely encapsulated how many Florida Republican lawmakers function. Whether it is a popcorn-throwing texter, a theory exploring the historical impacts of systemic racism or the use of the word gay, the reality of a threat is irrelevant. Escobar instructs us that most people dont understand the danger someone is perceiving doesnt even have to be actual. As long as the perception of the shooter is that he reasonably feared for his life, the law protects you. Theres a lot of wisdom in this law, referring to Floridas stand-your-ground law. I believe that perceived fears, more often imagined than real, fuel todays Republicans. I guess theyre just fraidy-cats.

Patrick Jennings, St. Petersburg

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Focus on issues other than St. Pete's waterfront | Letters - Tampa Bay Times

One day after an international scientific panel warned that climate change has begun causing irreversible damage to the planet and its forms of life, the Florida House of Representatives refused Tuesday to add clean-energy solutions to its legislative plan to defend the state against climate-induced sea-level rise and flooding.

The House also advanced a net-metering billthat will make rooftop solar more expensive over time, in support of conventional utility companies which trade mostly in oil and gas.

Democrats offered myriad amendments to the bills in support of clean energy, but the GOP majority defeated them.

My concern here is were just recklessly passing a bill on assertions not based on the facts, said Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat, who supported an amendment to HB 741 to study how users of rooftop solar and users of conventional utilities can co-exist. Scores of solar advocates have lobbied against HB 741 this session, arguing it would discourage rooftop installations and put solar businesses in Florida out of work.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations-sanctioned consortium comprising 270 scientists in 67 nations, reported Monday how climate change is damaging human and natural ecosystems across the world some to the point of being unrecoverable. The panels report last August described what is causing the change and warned that humankinds opportunity to stop or even slow the damage is quickly closing.

It is unequivocal that climate change has already disrupted human and natural systems, the report says, in part. To avoid mounting losses, urgent action is required to adapt to climate change. At the same time, it is essential to make rapid, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to keep the maximum number of adaptation options open.

That said, The New York Times reported that members of the (U.S.) Supreme Courts conservative majority on Monday questioned the scope of the Environmental Protection Agencys ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, suggesting that the justices could deal a sharp blow to the Biden administrations efforts to address climate change.

In addition, Climate change was mentioned only in passing and only to buttress the point that an executive agency should not be allowed to tackle so large an issue without express congressional authorization, the Times wrote. A ruling against the E.P.A. would severely cut back on its ability to regulate the energy sector, limiting it to measures like emission controls at individual power plants and, absent legislation, ruling out more ambitious approaches like a cap-and-trade system at a time when experts are issuing increasingly dire warnings about the quickening pace of global warming.

Florida, a peninsula with 1,350 miles of coastlines and millions of acres of low-lying inland regions vulnerable to flooding, is widely considered a Ground Zero for vulnerability to sea-level rise and flooding caused by altered weather patterns, as well as intensifying heat, fires and storms.

Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera, a Miami-Dade County Republican, is sponsoring House Bill 7053, which includes plans to help Florida communities and state highways better survive coastal and inland flooding, such as building at higher elevations, armoring wastewater systems that fail when flooded, and fighting saltwater intrusion into water supplies and structures.

She rebuffed an amendment to her bill that would have put a price tag on those projects into the future as conditions worsen. She also fended off an amendment to require the states new chief resilience officer to identify remedies that address root causes of climate change essentially, halting air pollution including conversion from fossil fuels to clean energy.

Cabrera said her bill calls for practical measures that reflect what we can fix today, what we can fix tomorrow to address the immediate fallout of rising seas and changing weather. She called the proposed amendments, which failed, efforts to politicize the subject.

It doesnt resolve real issues. I refuse to politicize this issue, she said.

Rep. Ben Diamond, a Pinellas Democrat who tried to amend Cabreras bill, said he was disappointed that Cabrera would frame the role of clean energy in the problem of flooding as a political issue. He said the reality of flooding is not a partisan issue, and he noted he even refrained from using the term climate change in his amendment, to avoid triggering Florida conservatives who do not utter those words.

Instead, Diamond said, on behalf of all Floridians, the state should tackle not only the fallout but the causes of worsening flooding, rising heat, and intensifying storms. His home region and other municipalities have tried to implement clean-energy policies to fight climate change locally by reducing use of conventional fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its report Monday and in prior reports, says such actions are urgently needed locally and around the world to fend off catastrophic consequences. Still, the Legislature last session banned local ordinances that exclude conventional fossil fuels oil and gas which dominate Floridas energy grid.

Theres two sides to this problem: Theres protecting our communities and making our communities more resilient to the issues of flooding and sea level rise, but then theres also stopping the causes of those problems in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, in terms of reducing our carbon emissions, Diamond said, asking if the bill does the latter. Cabrera said it does not.

Diamonds amendment would have defined the duties of the new chief resilience office as head of a new Statewide Office of Resilience housed in the governors office to include research and planning on how Florida will mitigate impacts and reduce root causes of flooding and sea-level rise.

This is the very first time we are creating this office in state statute, and we need to provide to this new state officer, who reports to the governor, as to what we are expecting our chief resiliency officer to work on, Diamond said. I think this office has to have a broader charge, members, of what resilience truly means if we want to save our state from the worst effects of climate change.

His second amendment would require the Office of Resilience to quantify future costs of grappling with sea-level rise and flooding.

The costs of this problem for the state of Florida are staggering. Lets get our arms around those costs, Diamond said.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orange County Democrat, backed Diamond, saying Floridians inevitably will be forced to pay the bills for climate-induced damages whether they are prepared for them or not. If we dont solve the climate crisis its going to get more expensive and disastrous, especially for marginalized communities, she said.

Both of Diamonds amendments to HB 7053 were defeated, No one but the sponsor spoke in support of Cabreras bill.

HB 7053 now advances to a final hearing in the House in coming days. A companion bill, Senate Bill 1940, is pending in a vote in the Senate.

House Bill 741 also advanced to a final hearing after a series of Democratic amendments were voted down. A similar net-metering bill, Senate Bill 1024, is advancing in the Senate.

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Flooding in Florida: House plan omits efforts to get to root of water woes - Florida Phoenix

More attention needed on abuse crimes

Something that does not receive enough attention when it comes to those who are victims and survivors of sexual harassment, sexual assault (including rape), domestic violence and abuse, and incest is just how much and profoundly that many of these people suffer emotionally and psychologically for their entire lives.

Sometimes I get the feeling that a lot of people believe that they feel badly about it only for a few days and then somehow get totally over it. In reality, many survivors need extensive therapy for the rest of their lives. Many also have difficulty in ever having a loving, happy and successful long-term romantic relationship because it is so hard for them to trust, believe in and have faith in anyone even though, as some college students have confided in me, Not all men are bad.

As several incest victims and survivors have told me, If you cant trust, believe in and have faith in your own father to love you and protect you, how can you ever trust and believe in any man?

It bothers me that too many people deny, trivialize , minimize, and dismiss just how damaging all of these social problems really are.

Stewart B. Epstein

Rochester, N.Y.

We recently wrote to Senator Toomey asking why he voted against Congressional legislation that would end gerrymandering and outlaw unfair voting restrictions that have sprouted like dandelions across Republican-controlled state houses. Unfortunately, his responses ignored our concerns and contained numerous examples of misinformation and outright lies.

Toomey falsely claimed that voter suppression is absent as evidenced by increased Black voter turnout in recent presidential elections. But his superficial analysis did not explain why only 58.4% of nonwhite citizens voted in 2020 compared to 70.9% of white voters, a 12.5% gap that grew from an 8% gap in 2012. Substantial evidence indicates voter suppression is alive and well in Georgia, Texas and Florida.

Strangely, Toomey never addressed gerrymandering, a glaring example of partisan politics that concentrates selected groups of voters into as few voting districts as possible. Fair-minded citizens want this partisan practice to be abolished so that Alabama and other states cannot create districts resembling Goofy kicking Donald Duck.

Like other Republicans, Toomey denounced Voting Rights legislation as a federal takeover. Apparently, Toomey has not read the Constitution. Madison, Hamilton and other Founders recognized the need to counteract state electoral rules that would subvert the rights of citizens to fair and equal representation in Congress. Article 1, section 4 of the Constitution gives Congress authority to regulate state elections for federal offices.

Kevin Alloway

Port Matilda

On behalf of my family and myself, we want to say thank you to our community and beyond for your love and support. The amount of cards, messages, gifts, meals and prayers have been overwhelmingly wonderful. I dont know if you are aware but by loving and caring for others the way you have, you are actually being the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.

I have to admit that accepting the generosity of everyone has been at times very difficult and humbling. I have a heart to serve. To accept it for myself took me out of my comfort zone. I am beyond grateful to each one of you. I assure you that through your kindness, others will be blessed as well. As soon as I am able, I will be back to volunteering and serving the community I love so much.

I was absolutely amazed by the amount of people who came to the benefit. I want to say a special thanks to Becky Boorum and all those who worked so hard to put it together. So many people and so much love and work went into every detail.

Thank you to the VFW for allowing them to have it in your beautiful space. Thank you Pam Crants for designing the beautiful shirts. Thank you to those who donated cookies, soups, breads and desserts. Thank you to those who shared their gifts of song and to Joe and Christina for making it all sound perfect.

Special thanks to Duffy Inc., Ardagh, Women of Steel and all of those who donated items and baskets. Thank you to The Big Thirty and Pat Warnick for your heartwarming donation. Thank you to my teens as well as my extra kids for always helping and showing support and love every chance you get.

Thank you Port CMA Church for always being our family. You are always a huge help and support to us. Thank you to the First Baptist Church for your love and support as well as many other churches in the area who have sent cards and have been in prayer for us.

We are also so incredibly blessed for our work places. From the beginning we have had the complete support and love from Ardagh and Twin Tier Community Action Head Start. What a gift to work with people who love us the way you do. My preschool class and coworkers wearing my Team Mandy truly meant the world to me.

As always, I want to thank Pam Fischer for capturing one of the most precious moments in my life. You are a joy and a blessing! I love you all and thank God for the blessing each of you are to my life.

Mandy Miles-Rudolph and Family

Port Allegany

Elder abuse laws were supposedly created to prevent seniors from being taken advantage of and abused. However, it seems that law enforcement and our courts tend to ignore them.

A woman, under duress, can be coerced into signing over her paid for home by a conniving son. The woman and her 90-plus mother are mentally abused and treated like crap while law enforcement says there is nothing they can do about it and the courts side with the one breaking the laws, and ignore the laws supposedly protecting the elderly.

The son then takes out a $20,000 loan against the house, supposedly for repairs, but instead buys campers and other items. The mother supposedly gets a lifelong lease in the home that the son coerced her out of and is forced to pay the sons loan off to stay there.

Meanwhile, home is never repaired; the only water she has must be hauled from a spring a few miles away by brothers. Now the sons grandmother died after several years of mental abuse and being called vile names. The mother is abused, called vile names and has to get an apartment because repairs are not done and social security barely pays the bills.

So where is the justice and why should the elderly be forced to put up with this illegal goings on?

Kenneth Lunn

Ridgeway

Wow, how many people in the world would love to have our Second Amendment at this time? Thank God.

Otto Deutschlander

Coudersport

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Letters to the Editor | Letters | tiogapublishing.com - The Wellsboro Gazette