Viewing Oligarchy

ADDED 08/10/2018

The Rise of Hindu Fascism with Activist Shehla Rashid

FROM 02/22/2018 | TruthDig

BY Chris Hedges

In a recent episode of “On Contact,” host Chris Hedges and activist Shehla Rashid Shora discuss Hindutva fascism in India and draw parallels to the current situation in the United States. “Caste slavery is fascism,” says Rashid Shora, the face of the student movement in India, in conversation with the Truthdig columnist. “It is not […]

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ADDED 08/07/2018

Post-Communist Russia Is Not the Soviet Union

FROM 08/07/2018 | Real Clear Politics

BY Daniel J. Mahoney

The time has arrived for some moderation and clarity in thinking about contemporary Russia and its relationship to the Western world.  Ronald Reagan was not wrong in the 1980s to call the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” Its death in 1991 was a welcome victory for liberty, peace, and political civilization. But post-communist Russia is […]

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ADDED 08/06/2018

Authoritarianism expert warns GOP candidates may use claims of Russian hacking to avoid conceding lost seats in midterms

FROM 08/04/2018 | Raw Story

BY TOM BOGGIONI

Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday morning, authoritarian expert Sarah Kendzior expressed worry about the upcoming midterm elections, casting doubt of election security at the polls as the Russians continue their hacking attempts. Speaking with AM Joy host Joy Reid, Kenzior explained hacking is “still directly focused on Democrats.” “People are not worried enough,” she explained. […]

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ADDED 07/31/2018

Israel’s drift to authoritarianism: An illiberal ‘Jewish democracy’ embraces the populist nationalist model

FROM 07/30/2018 | Mondoweiss

BY Jamil Khader

Two important events happened towards the end of the third week of July in Israel: The ethnocratic settler-colonial state of Israel passed its new Jewish nation state law, which has been in the making for over two years now, and Hungary’s anti-Semitic Prime Minister Viktor Orban made a two-day visit to Israel. Despite the international uproar over the […]

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ADDED 07/30/2018

Orbán sees shift to illiberal Christian democracy in 2019 European vote

FROM 07/29/2018 | Euractiv

BY EURACTIV.com with Reuters and AFP

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Saturday (28 July) that European parliament elections next year could bring about a shift toward illiberal “Christian democracy” in the European Union that would end the era of multiculturalism. In an annual speech to ethnic Hungarians in Băile Tușnad in neighbouring Romania, Orbán portrayed the 2019 European parliamentary […]

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ADDED 07/29/2018

Democracy’s decline

FROM 07/28/2018 | Winnipeg Free Press

BY Matt Henderson

The horrific authoritarian and fascist regimes of the 20th century might seem like a distant memory to some, as are the prophetic works by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. But, according to famed educational philosopher and pedagogue Henry Giroux, neo-fascism in the form of Trumpism has reared its ugly head in 2018. In American Nightmare: Facing […]

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ADDED 07/26/2018

Bernie Sanders and Progressive Democrats Demand Lula’s Release

FROM 07/26/2018 | BrasilWire

BY Brian Mier

In a letter addressed to Brazilian Ambassador Sergio Silva do Amaral dated July 26th, a group of 29 US lawmakers, including Bernie Sanders and Congressional Black Caucus members Bobby Rush, Keith Ellison and Maxine Waters, demand that the Brazilian Government release the political prisoner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been held in solitary […]

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ADDED 07/25/2018

HOW CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM BEGETS POLITICAL CONSERVATISM

FROM 07/25/2018 | Pacific Standard

BY Tom Jacobs

New research finds that fused identity apparently produces a predisposition toward authoritarianism. To outsiders, it may be difficult to comprehend the continued strong support for Donald Trump among self-described religious patriots. Policies like separating immigrant children from their parents, and housing some of those kids in cages, don’t exactly align with Christian teachings. And ideas like punishing National Football League players […]

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ADDED 07/21/2018

Steve Bannon plans foundation to fuel far right in Europe

FROM 07/21/2018 | The Guardian

BY Jamie Doward

Former White House chief adviser says he wants to rival to George Soros’s influence. Steve Bannon has announced plans to establish a foundation in Europe that he hopes will fuel the spread of rightwing populism across the continent. Donald Trump’s former chief advisor in the White House told the Daily Beast that he wanted to offer […]

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ADDED 07/21/2018

Authoritarians used to be scared of social media, now they rule it

FROM 07/21/2018 | Boing Boing

BY CORY DOCTOROW

A new report from the Institute For the Future on “state-sponsored trolling” documents the rise and rise of government-backed troll armies who terrorize journalists and opposition figures with seemingly endless waves of individuals who bombard their targets with vile vitriol, from racial slurs to rape threats. The report traces the origin of the phenomenon to a series […]

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ADDED 07/21/2018

Authoritarian aggression and group-based dominance distinguished Trump supporters from other Republicans in 2016

FROM 07/21/2018 | PsyPost

BY ERIC W. DOLAN

Results from four scientific surveys indicate that supporters of Donald Trump in 2016 were more likely than supporters of other Republican candidates to exhibit signs of authoritarian aggression and endorse group-based dominance. The research was published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. “Trump’s success in the early primary season was surprising to many people, […]

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ADDED 07/20/2018

Europe’s Fascists Are Back. But They Never Really Died.

FROM 07/20/2018 | Daily Beast

BY CLIVE IRVING

Spain’s prime minister wants to exorcise the spirit of Franco. But the spirit of the dictators is not that easy to eradicate. Take a look at Germany and, more worryingly, Italy. There’s enough of the whiff of fascism in the air without having to worry about the ghosts of its principal twentieth century practitioners. Or […]

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