Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle columnist, gets it perfectly.

Regrettably and most telling the San Francisco 49ers radio broadcast station has deleted the racially offensive clip by announcer Tim Ryan regarding Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson from its website. Figures. Out of Earshot, out of mind.

San Francisco Chronicle 12.5.2019

The San Francisco 49ers have done the politically correct thing by suspending the announcer who made these on the air comments. What impact, if any, the suspension will have on the entire issue of race relations and cultural sensitivity is another matter entirely.

For sure the story will drive coverage of professional football during the next several days.

San Francisco Chronicle 12.4.2019

The 49ers have suspended Tim Ryan, their radio color analyst, over comments he made on a Bay Area sports talk radio show Monday in which he said Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (pictured above), who is black, is exceptional at faking handoffs because of his “dark skin color with a dark football.”

Team officials said in a statement to The Chronicle on Wednesday that they are “disappointed” in Ryan’s comments and are suspending him for the upcoming game.

Jackson gained most of his yards running a zone-read type offense, in which he frequently fakes a handoff to a running back before keeping the ball to run himself.

“He’s really good at that fake, Lamar Jackson, but when you consider his dark skin color with a dark football with a dark uniform, you could not see that thing,” Ryan said on air. “I mean you literally could not see when he was in and out of the mesh point and if you’re a half step slow on him in terms of your vision forget about it, he’s out of the gate.”

Dr. Harry Edwards, a sociologist, longtime civil rights activist and 49ers consultant, listened to the radio clip and was particularly troubled that Ryan’s comments perpetuated the bigotry involving black players and particularly the quarterback position.

“I know Tim and he is not of a maleficent mind relative to these types of issues — but of course that does not mean that he gets or should get a ‘pass’ regarding his comments on Lamar Jackson and assigning ANY dimension of Lamar’s undeniable brilliance at QB to his skin color — a raw and sensitive assessment and assertion not only because it is profoundly obtuse and ignorant on its face and carries implications that I’m certain were not intended, but because skin color has been such a factor in rationalizing denial of Black athletes’ opportunities to play the QB position over most of the NFL’s 100 years of existence,” Edwards wrote in an email to The Chronicle before Ryan was suspended.

“But again, no less damaging than the fact of Tim’s sentiments are their implications. In a game that is so competitive and where ‘winning edges and even slight advantages’ tend to be critically important if not determinant, are we really to believe that White QB’s are at a strategic disadvantage? Should the 2020 NFL player draft select for dark-skinned, athletic QB prospects in search of the next Lamar Jackson? Or maybe this puts a premium on QB’s — irrespective of race — who can play well wearing the right color gloves — gloves that will give them the right hand hue to camouflage the football on handoffs.”

Edwards called the incident a “learning moment” and hoped Ryan would apologize and put the comments behind him.

“And then, let’s move on,” Edwards said. “Jimmy (Garoppolo) and LJ could very well lead their teams into the the NFC and AFC playoffs respectively, and perhaps even the Super Bowl — and the color of the hand that handles the football in contrast to who is simply the better QB will be of absolutely no consequence.”

“We hold Tim to a high standard as a representative of our organization and he must be more thoughtful with his words. Tim has expressed remorse in a public statement and has also done so with us privately,” 49ers officials said. “We know Tim as a man of high integrity and are confident he will grow and learn from this experience.”

In a statement to The Chronicle, Ryan said, “I regret my choice of words in trying to describe the conditions of the game. Lamar Jackson is an MVP-caliber player and I respect him greatly. I want to sincerely apologize to him and anyone else I offended.”

The 49ers said they called the Ravens to “extend our apologies and assure them the matter is not being taken lightly.”

Ryan, known for his baritone voice and enthusiastic broadcasting, is a former defensive lineman who played four seasons for the Bears (1990-93). He worked as a Fox TV analyst covering NFL games for 12 seasons before joining the 49ers as a radio color commentator in 2014.

On Monday, he spent most of the 22-minute segment breaking down Sunday’s game and complimenting the Ravens and Jackson’s play. Speaking from Florida, where the 49ers are staying this week ahead of their game in New Orleans on Sunday, he focused on Jackson at the start and end of the segment.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/article/49ers-suspend-broadcaster-Tim-Ryan-for-saying-14882642.php#photo-18706681

The Russians interfered in the American election in 2016.  

In Germany the Russians political activities are more in line with a true gangster mentality.

Eliminate your enemies in any place by any means necessary.

Given the historical enmity between the two countries it comes as no surprise the Russians have no qualms about committing murder in broad daylight in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten.

During our 2017 and 2018 trips to Berlin we stayed across the street and I would run each morning in the Kleiner Tiergarten.

Deutsche Welle 12.3.2019

The strange, August 25, 2019 midday murder in Berlin drew speculation of Russian involvement from the outset. Germany’s chief prosecutor is now reportedly involved, raising the stakes for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.

Germany’s attorney general is reportedly taking over investigations into the murder of a Chechen asylum-seeker in Berlin amid suspicion of Russian state involvement.

The attorney general, who handles crimes against the German state, is expected to officially announce its handling of the case in the coming days, magazine Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday.

The move would mean there is legitimate evidence that Russia contracted a murder on German soil, putting pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to take a robust stance against Moscow, observers and lawmakers told DW.

Konstantin von Notz, a lawmaker with Germany’s Green party specializing in intelligence services, told DW that if federal prosecutors collect enough evidence to definitively say that the case is a state-sanctioned killing, it would constitute “a scandal that must have consequences.”

“The Cold War is obviously not over, rather there may be intelligence activities like never before,” he said. Germany, however, must know all the details before taking action, he warned.

“It’s not the first murder of its kind, and if you don’t take a hard-line stance against the Russians, it won’t be the last murder,” Gustav Gressel, senior fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) in Berlin, told DW.

The fact that there’s no “smoking gun” in the case makes it trickier to prosecute, ECFR’s Gressel told DW.

Strong connections

The “execution-style” killing of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, 40, in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten in late August drew suspicion of Russian involvement from the outset.

The suspected perpetrator, a 49-year-old Russian national, is believed to have carried out a drive-by shooting on bicycle in broad daylight. Authorities apprehended him shortly thereafter and later found the bicycle, a wig and the weapon used in the murder ditched in the Spree River.

Independent investigations conducted by the research network Bellingcat and others revealed evidence of a foreign state connection, though Russia denied its involvement. The name given on both the perpetrator’s passport and visa application had never been listed in Russian databases, while supposed coworkers in Germany had no recollection of him having ever worked with them.

Tsatieva believes Moscow is responsible for her ex-husband’s murder

Read more: How Russian media are reporting on the murder of a Chechen man in Berlin

Khangoshvili’s ex-wife, Manana Tsatieva, told DW she believes her late husband’s personal history likely motivated the attack. A Georgian veteran of the Second Chechen War from 1999 to 2009, Khangoshvili fought against the Russians as a separatist and reportedly worked thereafter in both Georgia and Ukraine against Russian interests.

He fled to Germany in 2016 after multiple attempts against his life in Georgia, Tsatieva said, but was denied asylum and was scheduled for deportation. She remains convinced Russia is responsible for her ex-husband’s death but is hopeful that German authorities will bring the perpetrator to justice.

“We were warned that this would happen eventually,” she said.

Cold War ‘not over’

On Tuesday, Stephanie Krüger, a spokesperson for Germany’s Justice Ministry, declined to share more information with reporters about the case, saying only that “the attorney general’s office has been in very close communication with investigative authorities in Berlin since the attack.” The attorney general’s office told DW it could not confirm if and when it would take over the case.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-investigate-russia-ties-to-georgian-murdered-in-berlin/a-51516724

Today it is the German military with officers engaging in extremist activity. Yesterday it was the University of Georgia in America.

Give the Germans some credit.  When these neo-Nazis are found, the government takes quick action to discard them from military service and public life.

Under the umbrella of “free speech” this does not happen in America.

Deutsche Welle 1.1.2019

The Bundeswehr is set to suspend an officer in an elite military unit over suspected ties to right-wing extremism. Two fellow soldiers have also been accused of flashing the Hitler salute.

Two men are accused of flashing the Nazi-era Hitler salute at a private party that was hosted by the suspected KSK officer.

A new neo-Nazi scandal has erupted in the German military, this time in its Special Forces Command (KSK), according to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

An officer in the elite military unit is strongly suspected of involvement in the right-wing extremist scene, the paper reported on Sunday.

Read more: Europe’s right-wing extremists try recruiting from police, army

Suspicions arose following a monthslong intelligence operation by the Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD). The officer, who has served several tours of duty in Afghanistan, was being covertly investigated by the service after an informant tipped them off to the man’s activities.

MAD recommended that the officer be removed from the Special Forces Command immediately and barred from serving in the Bundeswehr. He is due to leave his post this week.

Two other soldiers in the Special Forces Command are also on the radar of Bundeswehr investigators for right-wing extremist activities.

One of the soldiers was suspended from duty a few weeks ago and is no longer allowed to wear a uniform, Bild am Sonntag reported. The other soldier is still under investigation.

Military has ‘responsibility’ to remove radicals

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the military is taking the cases “very, very seriously” and vowed tough action against extremists found in its ranks.

“Anyone in the Bundeswehr who appears to be a radical has no place in the Bundeswehr,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said Sunday during a visit to Kosovo.

She added that the Special Forces Command in particular has a “special responsibility to counter any tendency toward radicalism.”

KSK is particularly responsible for rescuing people who have been kidnapped, taken hostage or are facing terrorist threats abroad.

Pressure is mounting on the German military, with numerous soldiers in its ranks accused of right-wing extremism in recent months.

Christof Gramm, the head of MAD, recently reported that they are currently investigating 20 soldiers in the elite unit over suspected links to right-wing extremists.

Concerns over right-wing extremists or neo-Nazis within the ranks of the Bundeswehr heightened after an officer was accused in April 2017 of planning a far-right terror attack that he hoped would be mistaken for Islamist extremism.

https://www.dw.com/en/neo-nazi-scandal-hits-german-elite-military-unit/a-51490089