Functional Definition of Fascism
With the ascendency once again of fascism in the world, it is important to have a clear definition for fascism. The following definition developed by historian Robert Paxton in 2004 is in my opinion the best one I’ve yet come across:
“Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraint, goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.”
The ‘net-zero’ greenwash
As a building energy use professional and ecologist, I have been appalled at the invention and use of the term ‘net-zero’. Here is an article which lays out the problem with it. Read and be informed!
Masters of Neoliberalism, Capital Accumulation, and Globalization Meet
Once again the masters of neoliberalism, capital accumulation, and globalization meet to maintain business as usual. This year they’ll focus on 1) co-opting climate chaos; and, 2) quelling resistance from the baking/drowning/burning/starving peasantry.
Swiss Military Give Schwab 5,000 Troops and ‘No-Fly Zone’ for This Year’s Davos Summit
Capitalism Defiles the Truth
Social media companies bow to capitalist demands, filtering content which clashes with their profiteering. This even if it flies in the face of the truth. I posted an article on LinkedIn published on the National Institute of Health’s website on the use of Ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in poor countries, and it was removed. LinkedIn no doubt removed the post as it clashed with their corporate customer’s carefully orchestrated campaign against Ivermectin in order to further boost their obscene and unconscionable profits from their exclusive intellectual property vaccines which they refuse to share with the world.
We now live in a world of advanced capitalism which increasingly defiles the truth. Whenever mis and dis-information occurs, the old adage ‘follow the money’ will set you free to discover the truth.
COINTELPRO Exposed Golden Anniversary
Today marks the 50th anniversary of when some brave activists broke into FBI offices and shared documents they obtained that described the FBI surveillance program known as COINTELPRO.
Completing the Collapse
We’re living in a perfect storm today when it comes to misinformation, disinformation, and downright ignorance, all of which is accelerating societal collapse. Put the internet together with the effects of neoliberalism upon our educational system, and you have today’s civilization, which is rushing to the precipice.
I recently read an article in the New Yorker about nuclear power, energy supply and use. About how nuclear power is being embraced by so-called environmentalists as a non-polluting energy source. One problem I recognized immediately was the article completely omitted any mention of conservation or efficiency, both of which can offset energy supply. Worse yet, the author made only cursory mention of the nuclear waste storage problem, i.e. failing to talk about the persistence of human-caused radiation and its impacts upon the biological world, much less the ethics around dumping toxic contamination on a future world whose inhabitants have no say. The author, armed with information she no doubt gathered on the internet, decided she knew enough to pen an article on nuclear power. This is frighteningly naive. Actually its worse than that, its downright reckless and irresponsible.
The internet is both a wonderful and horrible resource. I can type in a search term and bring up a breathtaking amount of information. In our fast food, instant gratification society, people are under the impression that by using the internet, you can learn all you need to know in order to make informed decisions. This is a dangerous fallacy. People don’t know what they don’t know. This is especially true when it comes to technology, the pace of which requires ever deepening expertise to grasp and keep up with.
Now more than ever people must question sources of information. Does the author or speaker know what they’re talking about? What are their credentials? Do their arguments make sense? Are they on the payroll of industry or government?
Can ignorance be innocent? Yes. But that is no excuse to not challenge it.
Why is the “…world is failing to grasp the extent of threats posed by biodiversity loss and the climate crisis?” This is no simple question and the answer is complicated. One part of the answer for me comes from a book I read years ago entitled Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. If you haven’t yet read this book, you might want to consider it.
Excerpts from this newly published report: “Environmental deterioration is infinitely more threatening to civilisation than Trumpism or Covid-19…” and “Dealing with the enormity of the problem requires far-reaching changes to global capitalism, education and equality…”
Bolivian electoral commission thwarts election observers
BREAKING 🚨: The Bolivian electoral commission (@TSEBolivia) has failed to grant election observer status to PI delegation – including @jeremycorbyn, @DeputadoFederal, @HeikeHaensel, @SofiaSakorafa, @G_Pisarello, & @_mkonieczny – despite widespread fears of fraud & violence. pic.twitter.com/JLnknvnIOa
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) October 5, 2020
Surveillance program that gathered Americans’ phone data was illegal, court finds
Surveillance program that gathered Americans’ phone data was illegal, court finds was an article headline in the Washington Post of two days ago. This is wonderful news. Governments should have nothing to hide. That is, of course, if they’re not run by kleptomaniacs and sociopaths and that, my dear, is a whole other problem…
Seven years ago, as the news declared I was being charged as a criminal for speaking the truth, I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSA’s activities as unlawful and in the same ruling credit me for exposing them.
And yet that day has arrived. https://t.co/FRdG2zUA4U
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 2, 2020