Viewing Theocracy

ADDED 01/16/2019

When the Nazis were beaten, ‘never again’ was the cry. But here we are again

FROM 01/15/2019 | iNews

BY Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Among the agitating gilets jaunes in Paris were known anti-Semites. One banner described President Emmanuel Macron as a “whore of the Jews”. Others abused the Jewish billionaires, the Rothschilds. Ukip now has official links with those with similar views. Among them is Paul Joseph Watson, an editor of Infowars, a website that promulgates Jewish conspiracy theories. […]

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ADDED 01/14/2019

Authoritarians, THE ANGLE, and Evangelism Apps

FROM 01/13/2019 | Patheos

BY Captain Cassidy

Hi and welcome to our new series on authoritarians! Last time we met up, we explored the fear that drives people into authoritarian personalities and groups. This time, we examine the main tool authoritarians use to soothe that fear: obedience. We’ll dive into a new breed of mobile apps that take advantage of authoritarians’ need for rules […]

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ADDED 01/14/2019

‘America First’ and the Origin of the Modern Jewish Conspiracy

FROM 01/09/2019 | Religion Dispatches

BY Eric C. Miller

Historian Paul Hanebrink discusses the origin and uses of the Judeo-Bolshevik myth as a grand conspiracy that inspired the Holocaust and how crucial parts of it survived under the umbrella of “Judeo-Christian civilization.” Among other concerning changes, the Donald Trump era has played host to a rise in white supremacy, anti-Semitism, and increasing incidences of […]

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ADDED 01/14/2019

Five Forces Driving the Rise of Fascism in 2019

FROM 01/13/2019 | Truthout

BY Michael I. Niman

The New Year’s Day inauguration of avowed authoritarian strongman Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil signaled an ominous start to 2019. Brazil, as the fifth-largest country by landmass (larger than the Australian continent), the sixth-largest by population (larger than Russia) and the ninth-largest economy (larger than Canada), represents global fascism’s biggest gain in recent history. The rise […]

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ADDED 01/14/2019

Authoritarians, Fear, and the Culture Wars

FROM 01/10/2019 | Patheos

BY CAPTAIN CASSIDY

Today, we begin a new series of posts centering on authoritarian personalities. This concept is absolutely crucial to understanding those worst-of-the-worst Christians: culture warriors. To start us off, I’ll define these terms so we can begin exploring the two subtypes involved here, examine what motivates them, and then start looking at why authoritarians are like that. NOTE: […]

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ADDED 01/10/2019

Secular democracy in peril

FROM 01/04/2019 | The Hindu

BY Mohammed Ayoob

India is literally at the crossroads with the very future of its secular democracy at stake. With five important State Assembly elections in various stages of completion and the general election around the corner, the political temperature is at boiling point. Competitive Hindutva has become the name of the game, with the ostensibly secular Congress party trying […]

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ADDED 01/10/2019

Serbia erupts in nationwide protests after assassination attempts prompt fears of fascist resurgence

FROM 01/09/2019 | Boing Boing

BY Boing Boing

Mass protests have wracked Serbia after critics of nationalist strongman president Aleksandar Vučić were attacked in a series of failed assassination attempts, compounding Vučić’s own human rights abuses and indifference to popular will. Among those who were attacked are Serbian Left president Borko Stefanović and two Serbian Left party activists, who was beaten with iron […]

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ADDED 01/09/2019

Authoritarian Regimes Pay Millions to K Street Lobbyists

FROM 01/09/2019 | Bloomberg Government

BY Megan R. Wilson

Countries on human rights abuse list tap DC spinmeisters More than 60 firms represented counties with lowest ratings (Bloomberg Government) — Saudi Arabia and other countries with records of human rights abuses spend tens of millions of dollars every year to put their best faces forward in Washington. They hire lobbying firms whose rosters include former […]

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ADDED 01/03/2019

Fascism is thriving again in Italy – and finding its home on the terraces

FROM 12/29/2018 | The Guardian

BY Tobias Jones

The kind of racist abuse aimed at Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly is commonplace in Italian football – and points to a wider malaise. This week has shown, once again, that Italian football has a deep-seated problem with racism and fascism. At the Boxing Day game at the San Siro stadium in Milan, the black Napoli defender Kalidou […]

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ADDED 12/29/2018

Rising populism threatens LGBTQ in West and around the world

FROM  | Globe and Mail

BY JOHN IBBITSON

In Poland two months ago, more than 200 schools planning to hold a “Rainbow Friday” to promote tolerance for sexual minorities had to cancel the event, under orders from the increasingly authoritarian government’s Minister of Education. In the United States, as part of the Trump administration’s attack on transgender rights, the Department of Health and […]

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ADDED 12/29/2018

Indonesia’s president turns tough

FROM 12/24/2018 | UCA News

BY KEITH LOVEARD

Joko Widodo was welcomed as a fresh breeze when he stood for election as president of Indonesia in 2014. A stranger to the elites that had long dominated politics, he became a media darling by talking to ordinary people in the street, in what quickly became known as blusukan, roaming around.Now, facing re-election next April, questions are […]

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ADDED 12/19/2018

THE UNDERLYING PSYCHOLOGY OF POLITICAL RADICALISM

FROM  | Pacific Standard

BY TOM JACOBS

New research finds radicals are less able to recognize when they’re wrong, even in a task having nothing to do with politics. Radicalization is surely one of the scariest words of the 21st century. After the 9/11 attacks, much effort was devoted to discovering how terrorist organizations convince people to die for their religion. More recently, angry demands […]

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