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More from @Alex_Verbeek

Alexander Verbeek 🌍

@Alex_Verbeek

Sep 16

(1/9)
This week, Donald Trump promised to begin mass deportations with Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio.

He added this would be "the largest deportation in the history of our country."

A thread 🧵 with a historical perspective:

#news #history #opinion #politics

(2/9)
His followers wouldn't understand such an announcement without Trump having carefully prepared the ground for supporting such a policy.
Just days earlier, he had said to tens of millions of Americans watching the presidential debate that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were abducting and eating pets. This inflammatory rhetoric didn't emerge in a vacuum; it was the culmination of a campaign of misinformation and fear-mongering that had started last month when neo-Nazis created the tensions Trump has been exploiting and advancing.
One of the leaders of the "Blood Tribe" organization said Jews should be blamed for the influx of migrants in Springfield that had been taken over by "degenerate third worlders". As Heather Cox Richardson reported, the "Patriot Front" then protested against "the mass influx of unassimilable Haitian migrants" on September 1. Meanwhile, Trump's running mate, JD Vance, reposted a post from a private Facebook group about Haitian immigrants butchering a neighbor's cat for food.

(3/9)
Within a month, the activities of some obscure neo-Nazis in Ohio and a debunked racist claim on a private Facebook group made it to a presidential debate and then to a campaign promise to start mass deportations of Haitians in Springfield.
Trump is to blame for fanning the flames of racism. The result so far is schools, businesses, City Hall, and hospitals in Springfield closed or in lockdown due to bomb threats. The ultimate price is regaining Senate control for the MAGA Republicans and a second presidency for Trump.
Authoritarian regimes have consistently used a similar sinister strategy like Trump is using today to consolidate power: exploiting cultural differences to create divisions in societies. History has shown that even established democracies are not immune to such divisive rhetoric.
Lessons of history
As a European, I grew up in a society that warned at school against falling for baseless conspiracy theories and the kind of propaganda used by authoritarian regimes to dehumanize targeted groups; we were taught to learn from the lessons of history. So, when Katie Sibley, a history professor at St. Joseph's University, pointed out in a recent interview that the language used against Haitians in Springfield echoes antisemitic blood libel myths dating back to the Middle Ages, this was a familiar historical parallel for me. These myths, which accused Jewish people of ritualistic sacrifice of Christian children, were later weaponized by Nazi propagandists to devastating effect.

Read 9 tweets

Alexander Verbeek 🌍

@Alex_Verbeek

Dec 25, 2022

🌎

1/10. This is a Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis.

One of the over 2,400 Mantis species.

This starts a thread with some great mantis videos.

Stay tuned.

➡️ RT

#insects #nature #wildlife #mantis #NaturePhotography #science #photography #videos

🌎

2/10. Mantises, like many nature related subjects, is something you can read about in The Planet newsletter.

Subscribe to The Planet and start your day with stories about the beauty of nature, or threats like climate change.

➡️ Subscribe 🙏

🧵
theplanet.substack.com

🌎

3/10. If you see an insect with a triangular head, bulging eyes, sitting upright with arms folded like in prayer, it is likely a ‘praying’ mantis.

Here is an example. It is not praying, but eating a bumblebee.

#bees #mantises #insectphotography

Read 10 tweets

Alexander Verbeek 🌍

@Alex_Verbeek

Nov 18, 2022

@SuntoryGlobal

(1/5) The aims of #COP27 this year are especially important as the world faces enormous challenges like climate change, energy, water, and biodiversity loss. @SuntoryGlobal is committed to contributing to a better, cleaner, and more sustainable planet. #SuntoryPartner

@SuntoryGlobal

(2/3) By the end of 2022, @SuntoryGlobal is aiming to switch to 100% purchased renewable electricity in all of their directly-owned manufacturing sites and R&D facilities in Japan, the Americas and Europe. Learn more: bit.ly/3UEj8DQ #COP27 #environment #SuntoryPartner

@SuntoryGlobal

(3/5) .@SuntoryGlobal is also aiming to use 100% sustainable PET bottles made of recycled or plant-based materials by 2030 globally, and actively work and collaborate with stakeholders for a circular economy. #COP27 #climatecrisis #oceans #environment #Suntory #SuntoryPartner

Read 5 tweets

Alexander Verbeek 🌍

@Alex_Verbeek

Oct 5, 2022

🌳

(1) I love forests for their beauty, the peace and calm I feel when I walk on forest trails, and their role in preserving biodiversity and the climate.

Today, I was reminded twice how diverse other people's attitudes toward natural forests may be.

Start of a thread 🧵

🌳

(2) First, according to a BBC Panorama investigation, I learned that a firm that has received six billion pounds in green energy subsidies from UK taxpayers is cutting down forests that are essential to the Canadian ecology.

🧵 #forests #nature
theplanet.substack.com/p/protect-the-…

🌳

(3) Reporters concluded that millions of tons of imported wood pellets, classified as renewable energy, are burned at Drax's largest power plant in Britain. However, part of the wood came from Canada's old-growth forests, which took thousands of years to develop.

🧵 #trees

Read 20 tweets

Alexander Verbeek 🌍

@Alex_Verbeek

Sep 29, 2022

🌪

(1) Today's story was the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian in Florida. It is one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike Florida, and in the coming days, we will learn more about the damage and victims.

🧵 Beginning of a thread
#HurricaneIan

🌪

(2) Expect lots of shocking photos and heartbreaking videos on social media that will remind us of the power of nature, specifically when boosted by the additional energy we have trapped in the system.

🧵 #IanHurricane #Hurricane_Ian

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(3) Man-made climate change has raised sea levels and warmed the oceans, which fueled Ian to a hurricane that, at a certain point, was just two mph shy of a Category 5.

🧵 #climatecrisis #Ian #Hurricane

Read 13 tweets

Alexander Verbeek 🌍

@Alex_Verbeek

Sep 28, 2022

@growingwisdom

🌪

(1) Storm surge of #HuricaneaIan is seen pushing into #Naples, FL

Thread 🧵

#Ian via @growingwisdom

@NBCDFWWeather

(2)

Heavy flooding in Naples

#Ian #Florida #Hurricane via @NBCDFWWeather

🌪

(3) Overnight, Hurricane Ian gained strength. It is now a monster storm in Category 4, and at 155 mph, it gets very close to a Category 5 hurricane.

➡️ theplanet.substack.com/p/hurricane-ia…

#Ian #HurricaneIan #climate #weather #Florida #Tampa #news