Every month since 2004, the market research institute Ispos has collected some 12,000 discarded cigarette packs from 24 garbage collection points in Germany for analysis. This led to the discovery that the eighth most popular brand of cigarettes in Germany is actually Jin Ling, which is not legally available. $1 billion worth is smuggled in from Eastern Europe each year and is the second most popular brand in Berlin, according to Der Spiegel. Although cigarette consumption has declined in Germany, smuggling has increased, suggesting anti-smoking taxation is shifting consumers to illegal supplies.
Category Archives: Security
German political violence rise
Germany reports they have seen more politically-motivated violence.
A sharp rise in the number of crimes committed by right-wing extremists drove the number of politically motivated offences in Germany to a record high last year, the interior ministry said on Monday.
The number of such offences rose by 11.4 percent to 31,801 – the highest level since the statistics were first collected in 2001. Of the total, 20,422 were linked to right-wing extremists, including violent attacks that killed two people.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble described the figures as “worrying”, and urged people to support the government’s efforts to crack down on extremism and intolerance.
Passau has always been known for being a hotbed of right-wing extremists and the article mentions their police chief was recently attacked.
The German news contrasts with the American DHS report. Aside from the fact that the DHS mentioned a link to veterans returning from war, which set off a lot of “don’t make suggestions about the veterans” criticism, the German report differs in that it suggests a statistical and empirical method to measure and predict threats. The DHS report seemed so speculative and anecdotal, critics clearly found easy pickings. I wonder what they would say about the German findings.
In a related story, the US has added a domestic left-wing extremist to the FBI “Most Wanted” terror suspect list for the first time:
Daniel Andreas San Diego, a 31-year-old computer specialist from Berkeley, Calif., is wanted for the 2003 bombings of two corporate offices in California.
Authorities describe San Diego as an animal rights activist who turned to bomb attacks and say he has tattoo that proclaims, “It only takes a spark.”
The report points out a new reward of $250,000 on the wanted poster is five times greater than other domestic terrorists. Here are some more interesting tidbits:
In the past, he has worked as a computer network specialist and with the operating system LINUX. San Diego wears eyeglasses, is skilled at sailing, and has traveled internationally.
Linux, eyeglasses, sailing and travel? Uh, that’s a familiar profile…
Algae Biofuel Convention
The first international conference on algal energy is taking place in Europe, led by Baltic Sea and California scientists
Algae are among the fastest growing plants in the world, and about 50 percent of their weight is oil that can be used to make biodiesel for cars, trucks, and aircraft, although there are suggestions that different algae are suited to different types of fuel.
Glen Kertz, the president and CEO of Valcent Products outside El Paso in California, has previously said that he can produce about 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre, compared to about 30 gallons per acre from corn or 50 gallons from soybeans.
“Algae is the ultimate in renewable energy,” Kertz told CNN last year.
The conference has been organised by Baltic Sea Solutions and an international scientific team led by Dr. Jonathan Trent, Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Science Lead for the Global Research into Energy and the Environment at NASA.
The ultimate? Why has this taken so long to explore?
Algae tests are not new – the United States Department of Energy looked into the feasibility of algae as a fuel source from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. But the tests were then dropped as oil prices were low, and algae did not seem to be able to compete.
Facebook faces Danish Data Protection Agency
The agency responsible for privacy rights in Denmark questions Facebook:
The Danish Consumer Council has previously attacked Facebook for its policies, but the Data Protectioin Agency declined a request last year to investigate whether Facebook came under Danish legislation.
The agency has now, however, sent a list of questions to Facebook – among other questions asking what is necessary to have a family member who has died removed from the network, as well as what information Facebook shares with third parties.