16 NEWS Best articles: International
THEWEEK19 February 2022Save the
koala,before
it’s too late
TheSydneyMorningHeraldIt’s badenoughthattheGreat BarrierReefisin such peril–now, we’rein dangerof losingthekoala
too,says Nick O’Malley. The Australiangovernmentrecentlylisted theonce-thrivingmarsupialas
anendangeredspeciesacrossmost oftheeastcoast,followingasharp declinein numbers. Inthelate
19thand early20thcentury,someeightmillion koalaswerekilledfor fur;inrecent years,they have
suffered fromland-clearingand climatechang e. Theeucalyptustrees theyrelyonfor habitation and
foodare vanishing,forcingmore andmorekoalasto groundlevelwherethey’re hitbycars,exposed
topredators,orcansimplydie ofthirst.Manymorearedyingin worseningforest fires. Alas,all
thisisentirely“inkeepingwith ourstewardship ofthis continent anditscreaturessinceEuropean
settlement.Australiahastheworst recordof mammalianextinctiononEarth,andtherateofhabitat
loss and extinctionsisacceleratingrather thanslowing.”Andwhilethe fateofthe reefistiedto
globalCO 2 emissions,thefutureofthekoalarests “entirelyin ourown hands”.It’snottoolateto
savetheanimals–butonlyif weactrightnow.We don’twant
Germany’s
anti-vaxers
DerNordschleswiger
(Aabenraa)Denmarkis“notaplayground”forGermananti-vaxers, says Cornelius vonTiedemann. Ourswas
the first EUnationto liftalmost allCovidrestrictionslast month,thegovernmentdeclaringthatit is
no longera“sociallycriticaldisease”.Themoveapparentlypleased libertarians and“contrarians” in
GermanywhoshunCovid protocolsand “fundamentallyrejectstaterestrictions”.Now,they’re said
tobe queuinguptosettleinthe Danish regionofNord-Schleswig,overtheborderfromGermany.
Estateagents,schoolsand localauthoritiesallreport sharprises inthenumberstryingto move here.
Great–we’re alwayshappyto welcome newcomers. Butthese so-called“lateral thinkers” oughtto
knowwhatthey’re letting themselvesin for. Denmark wasable to liftcurbs onlybecause people
followedthemin thefirstplace, not least by gettingjabbed.Evenwhen we disagree,we“appreciate
solidarity”and understand we’reacommunity. Indeed,Denmark’s neverbeen alibertarianfantasy-
land. We have centralised data retention, big fines fortraffic violations, “enormously high taxes”
and Google Street Viewpeering onto every street corner. If that’s aproblem, “turnaround before
the border” –because once you crossit, “number-plate scannersare lurking everywhere”.It’s tempting to complainabout intrusive state surveillance,especially whenit’scarried outbyUS
securityagencies, says Vitor Rainho–butthere aretimes when we shouldbegrateful.Lastweek,
it emergedthat Portuguesepolice had, at thelastminute, foiled plans by an 18-year old student
to massacre hisclassmates –thankstoFBI agents monitoring the darkweb.The agents saw him
watchingvideos of school massacres, andfound himinchat roomsbragging aboutplans to attack
fellow students at theUniversity of Lisbon. Amanhunt waslaunched.The information wassketchy,
but by cross-referencing dataonsocial media,the police wereable to identifyasuspectand raid his
home. There they foundasmallarsenalof knives andmachetes,acrossbow andincendiarydevices,
along withdetailed plansfor an attack. The student seemstohavehad no religious or political
motive, andinthe absence of linksto radical groupsin Portugal, he was underthe police radar. It’s
unlikely, then,thatwe’ll hear manypeople griping about a“violationofprivacy”this time. The case
showshowmuch we owetopeople monitoring the internet forpotentialterrorist activity –inthe US
and elsewhere.Withoutthe benefit of theireyes and ears, terrorists couldbemakingour lives “hell”.Sometimes,it
makessenseto
violateprivacy
Jornal-I
(Lisbon)AUSTRALIA
DENMARK
PORTUGAL
MostCanadianswereshockedand
saddenedbythe assault ontheUS
Capitolon 6Januarylast year,said
Kevin Lynchand PaulDeeganin the
Toronto Star.Wecomfortedourselves,
however, withtheknowledgethat such
events could“neverhappen”in our
country, where “peace, orderandgood
government”prevail.Yet forthepast
twoweeks,ithasbeenour owncapital,
Ottawa,thathasbeen“undersiege”
bya“rag-taggroup ofoccupiers”.
It beganwhenaso-called“Freedom
Convoy”oftruckersarrived inlate
Januarytoprotest againsttherule that
alltruckdriverscrossingCanada’s
bordersmustbevaccinated.Butithasgrown intoaprotest
against allCovid publichealth measures. “Anti-government
zealots”,right-wingextremistsandthousands oftruckershave
blocked streets with18-wheelers,blared theirhornsat allhours,
bulliedjournalistsand harassed mask-wearers.Thisweek, PM
Justin Trudeaudeclaredastate ofemergency,afterthe protests
spreadto VancouverandToronto, andshowedlittlesignof
dissipating.Canadiansare atthemercy ofa“mob”.“Everyoneshould calm thehelldown,” said TerryGlavinin the
NationalPost(Toronto).Yes,there’sbeen some“hooliganism”
in Ottawa,andit’s “appalling” that swastikasand confederateflags havebeenspotted.Buttheidea
thatallthese protestersare dangerous
far-rightlunatics isan overheated
fantasy.Mostarepeaceful,and polls
show thatnearlyhalfof vaccinated
Canadianssympathisewiththeir
gripes. Nowonder,said KarysRhea
inNewsweek (New York).Canada’s
Covid responsehasbeencharacterised
by astonishing“government
overreach”: witnesstheextraordinary
admission byits PublicHealth Agency
in December thatit secretlytracked
datafrom33million devices monitor-
ing people’smovements inlockdowns.
I’mnot surprisedpeople are angry.Theprotesters’libertarian messagehasresonatedfarbeyond
Canada’sborders,said CatherinePorterinThe New York
Times.Therehavebeencopycatdemonstrations fromFranceto
NewZealand; UStruckers want tostage aconvoyoftheirown.
Funding has flowed infrom abroad,particularlytheUS. These
protests were clearly“madeinAmerica”,saidAndrewCohen in
theMontreal Gazette.T heir chants(“Freedom!”, “Don’ttread
on me!”),their outrageandtheir scepticism all comefromthe
US “messianic Right”.We have seenduringtheTrumpyears
where thiswill lead.Alas,it seemsthat astheUS“descendsinto
chaos,thefar-rightwantstotakedownCanadatoo”.AreCanadiansat themercyof a“mob”?Ottawaundersiege:thetruckers’revolt