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Germany

Is Germany's Armed Forces Elite A Far-Right Breeding Ground?

DIE WELT (Germany)

Worldcrunch

BERLIN - The elite of the German Federal Armed Forces are sometimes suspected of being a breeding ground for right-wing radicals. So beginning in 2007, the Defense Ministry decided to take a closer look at the political orientation of future officers.

With the results now in of a study of 2,300 students at both the Hamburg and Munich campuses of the University of the German Federal Armed Forces, the reassuring news is that 70% of those polled held middle-of-the-road political views.

But there is some cause for concern: not only did 4% of the future officers have political views that are considerd far right, but another 13% expressed sympathy for so-called New Right views. According to the intelligence community, the New Right seeks to intellectualize right-wing extremism.

Though perhaps not staggering, the numbers of far-right future army officers in Germany in particular cause consternation because of the country's Nazi past.

Thirty-eight percent said they supported the idea that Germany should be led by a strong elite. Twenty-five percent were for halting foreign immigration. Eleven percent were for limiting the powers of parliament. And 44% were for the “hard and energetic” defense of German interests abroad.

The study also found that only about 30% of the students were actually considering a career in the armed forces. The students were critical of the increasing number of stints abroad, and the money, while some had doubts that being in the armed forces was seen as a “recognized and respected occupation.”

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Migrant Lives

What's Driving More Venezuelans To Migrate To The U.S.

With dimmed hopes of a transition from the economic crisis and repressive regime of Nicolas Maduro, many Venezuelans increasingly see the United States, rather than Latin America, as the place to rebuild a life..

Photo of a family of Migrants from Venezuela crossing the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum​

Migrants from Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum.

Julio Borges

-Analysis-

Migration has too many elements to count. Beyond the matter of leaving your homeland, the process creates a gaping emptiness inside the migrant — and outside, in their lives. If forced upon someone, it can cause psychological and anthropological harm, as it involves the destruction of roots. That's in fact the case of millions of Venezuelans who have left their country without plans for the future or pleasurable intentions.

Their experience is comparable to paddling desperately in shark-infested waters. As many Mexicans will concur, it is one thing to take a plane, and another to pay a coyote to smuggle you to some place 'safe.'

Venezuela's mass emigration of recent years has evolved in time. Initially, it was the middle and upper classes and especially their youth, migrating to escape the socialist regime's socio-political and economic policies. Evidently, they sought countries with better work, study and business opportunities like the United States, Panama or Spain. The process intensified after 2017 when the regime's erosion of democratic structures and unrelenting economic vandalism were harming all Venezuelans.

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