alanjjohnstone
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Quote:Between 2013 and 2017, researchers from the Jena Institute and the London Institute for Strategic Dialogue examined more than 10,000 pieces of Islamist and right-wing extremist Facebook content, as well as more than one million German Twitter contributions. An analysis of found right-wing extremists and Islamists share fundamental similarities. The racism of the far-right and religious beliefs of the Islamists result in similar viewpoints.The mobilization and radicalization strategies of the two groups were similar, but anti-Muslim contributions, by comparison, were "more radical and more widespread." Islamism and right-wing extremism meet ideologically in anti-Semitism, in conspiracy myths and in the goal of homogeneous societies, the study found. The respective beliefs are therefore racist in the right wing and religiously founded among the Islamists. It found the two groups relied on eacho ther to foster the sense of an enemy and to give credibility to their extremist narratives."Extreme rights and Islamists reject freedom, pluralism, and liberalism," said study author Maik Fielitz.
https://www.dw.com/en/study-right-wing-extremism-and-islamism-reinforce-each-other/a-44467597
"we can see that the US workers were in solidarity with all the workers of the world, and they knew that they did not have anything in common with the capitalist class"This was perhaps true of the IWW but not of the American worker in general and not of the SPA in particular.Eugene Debs had to come out strongly against the anti-immigrant sentiments stirring in his Party. It is a quote i often use“If Socialism, international, revolutionary Socialism, does not stand staunchly, unflinchingly, and uncompromisingly for the working class and for the exploited and oppressed masses of all lands, then it stands for none and its claim is a false pretense and its profession a delusion and a snare. Let those desert us who will because we refuse to shut the international door in the faces of their own brethren; we will be none the weaker but all the stronger for their going, for they evidently have no clear conception of the international solidarity, are wholly lacking in the revolutionary spirit, and have no proper place in the Socialist movement” Eugene Debs, 1910But even he himself in his younger days s a union leader absorbed the anti-foreigner of his workers.Eugene Debs inherited the prevailing prejudices of the American worker and reflected the Know-Nothing Party of the time. He attacked the immigration agents as representatives of capital – “enemies of American workingmen” who wished to “chinaize the county” and he openly welcomed legislation that permitted the authorities to return “to their despot cursed home” the “victims” of these agent’s efforts. Debs found the Italian’s even less desirable than the Chinese. “The Dago” he claimed “works for small pay, and lives far more like a savage or a wild beast, than the Chinese,” This Italian “fattens on garbage” and cares little for civilization, and therefore, “able to underbid an American workingman” Only in this way can the Italian appear industrious and Debs warned that Italy “has millions of them to spare and they are coming” Jews fared little better. When it was announced that the London Board of Guardians had instated a program to transfer Russian-Jewish immigrants to the United States, Debs claimed that that this would increase the already increasing hostility towards immigrants. Identifying these immigrants as “criminals and paupers” Debs bemoaned the fact that most were able to “take up a permanent residence” and strongly asserted that “it was possible to end the infamous business” Debs views on negroes at no time ran counter to the ARU members anti-black feelings. Reporting that a new Texas law required separate coaches for black and white Deb’s stated “There might come a time when in the South whites and blacks will be on terms of social equality, till then it were better to fight separately” Debs supported without any record of dissent the Brotherhoods attempts to rid the railroad of black firemen and the anti-black clause in the Fireman’s constitution. Fortunately, experience taught Debs to change his ideas and defend the rights of minorities such as the blacks in America. as early as 1903 Debs takes a vehement stand against racism, even replying to an anonymous letter in the Internationa Socialist Review ending with, "For myself, I want no advantage over my fellow man and if he is weaker than I, all the more is it my duty to help him. Nor shall my door or my heart be ever closed against any human being on account of the color of his skin."
No-body mentionings Posadismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_International_Posadist
Quote:Posadas was the author of a number of works with an unconventional slant; he tried to create a synthesis of Trotskyism and Ufology. His most prominent thesis from this perspective was Flying saucers, the process of matter and energy, science, the revolutionary and working-class struggle and the socialist future of mankind (1968). Posadists believed that extra-terrestrials visiting earth in flying saucers must come from a socially and scientifically advanced civilisation to master inter-planetary travel and that the working-class should welcome the alien invaders as their liberatorsAn informative video of Chris Hedges interviewing Norman Finkelstein on the history and current developments of Gaza.https://www.truthdig.com/videos/chris-hedges-and-norman-finkelstein-on-the-future-of-gaza-video/
Pat, another interview with Chomsky on Trumphttps://www.alternet.org/noam-chomsky-fascism-showmanship-and-democrats-hypocrisy-trump-era
Quote:"Like it or not, Trump is doing quite well. He has the support of 83 percent of Republicans, which is without precedent apart from rare moments. Whatever their feelings may be, Republicans dare not cross him openly. His general support in the low 40s is not far from the norm, about the same as Obama’s going into his first midterm. He is lavishing gifts on the business world and the wealthy, the authentic constituency of the Republicans (with the Democrat leadership not far behind). He has thrown enough crumbs to keep the Evangelicals happy and has struck the right chords for racist/white supremacy elements. And he has, so far, managed to convince coal miners and steel workers that he is one of them. In fact, his support among union members has increased to 51 percent.Is "national leftism" the same as "left nationalism" for, as used by myself, the latter is a criticism of those left-wingers who supported separatism in Scotland rather than unity of workers.I note in the article the criticism of "globalization left" is that it seems to be restricted to Europe, a bit wider than the constituent soveriegn states of the EU but we have witnessed Fortress Europe as an expression of European nationalism.The conflict between pro- and anti- has long roots within the workers' movement and it ebbs and flows and it is simplistic to argue as the author does that: "…Large scale immigration by diverse ethnic communities unwilling or unable to adapt the customs of the host country (which is often the case in Europe today, where the host country may be despised for past sins), weakens the ability of society to organize and resist the dictates of financial capital. The newcomers may not only destabilize the situation of already accepted immigrant populations, they can introduce unexpected antagonisms and conflicts. In both France and Germany, groups of Eritrean migrants have come to blows with Afghan migrants, and other prejudices and vendettas lurk, not to mention dangerous elements of religious fanaticism…."For sure in the present politico-economic climate tensions are high but that is not to say they will not alter with changing circumstances.
In the UK and the US we very rarely hear from Hamas directly so this interview may be helpful to understand the situationhttp://www.dw.com/en/hamas-official-on-gaza-bloodshed-not-expected-to-be-like-this/a-44319377My linking to it does not mean i am endorsing his comments but we should be aware of its content.I note that the Western-approved and supported Palestinian Authority are accused of more human rights violations than Hamas. The Independent Commission for Human Rights in Palestine (ICHR) received 205 complaints of torture and ill-treatment by PA security forces and 193 such complaints against Hamas security forces as of October 31, 2017. While the article cites Hamas violation of 35 press freedom violations, a quick google and i found that the PA violation figure was 119http://www.madacenter.org/images/text_editor/annualrepE2017(1).pdfOf course, Israel's violations surrpass both Palestinian organisations substantially – 376 incidents
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/06/19/fallacy-israels-human-shields-claims-gazaIsrael justifies its violent attacks by continuously accusing Hamas of using human shields. By accusing Hamas of deploying human shields, Israel hopes to shift the blame from the hunter to the prey, since, according to international law, the party responsible for the death of human shields is not the one killing them but the one using them.
Trump is not an anomaly or an aberration. And if a case is to be made why we should be on the streets on the 13 July this insightful article gives the reasonshttp://www.ipsnews.net/2018/06/trump-stay-change-world/
Quote:Trump has not lost one of his battles. He has changed the political discourse worldwide, established new standards of ethics in politics, a new meaning of democracy, and his electoral basis has not been shrinking at all. His critics are the media (which a large majority of Americans dislike), the elite (which is hated) and professionals (who are considered to be profiting at the expense of the lower section of the middle class).There is now a strong divide with the rural world, the de-industrialised parts of the United States, miners with their mine closed, etc. In addition, white Americans feel increasingly threatened by immigrants, minorities, corporations and industries which have been using the government to their advantage. At every election their number shrinks by two percent. Let us not forget that Trump was elected by the vote of the majority of white woman, in a country which is the bedrock of feminism.Trump, therefore, has an easy and captive electorate, made up of strong believers. Unprecedented inequalities have become normal and accepted. The populists in power, like Viktor Orban in Hungary or Matteo Salvini in Italy (as well those not in power, like Le Pen) all consider Trump and Vladimir Putin as their points of references. Such alliances are new, and they will become very dangerous. He has removed from his cabinet all the representatives of finance and industry he had put in on his arrival (in order to be accepted by the establishment) and replaced them with right-wing hawks.Aside from his narcissism, what moves Trump are not values but money. Trump is not unpredictable. All that he has done, he announced during his electoral campaign. Trump believes he is accountable to no one. He exceeded 3,000 untrue or misleading statements in his first 466 days – on average, 6.5 untruths a day. Nobody cares. Very few are able to judge. When a president of United States announces that he is abandoning the treaty with Iran, because they are the main financier of ISIS and Al Qaida, the lack of public reaction is a good measure of the total ignorance of most Americans. This ignorance helps Trump win Republican voters, no matter what.He does not tolerate any criticism or dissent, as his staff well knows. The result is that he is surrounded by yes men and women.Considering all he has done in less than two years against the existing order leads us to consider that the real danger is that he will be re-elected, and leave office only in 2024. By then, the changes in ethics and style will have become really irreversible. Democracy, can be a perfect tool for the legitimacy of a dictator. This is what is happening in the various Russias, Turkeys, Hungarys or Polands. A strongman wins the elections, then starts to make changes to the constitution in order to have more power. The next step is to place cronies in institutional positions, reduce the independence of the judiciary, control the media, and so on. That is then followed by acting in name of the majority, against minorities. This is not new in history. Hitler and Mussolini were at first elected, and today many “men of providence” are lining up.Gonen Segev, former energy and infrastructure minister of Israel and ex-drug smuggler who “was recruited and acted as an agent on behalf of Iranian intelligence” has been arrested and charged with spying after being extradited to Israel from Equatorial Guineahttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/18/israel-indicts-former-cabinet-minister-gonen-segev-iran-spying-charges
Trump vows no U-Turn and says Germany's policy is a disasterhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/18/donald-trump-attacks-angela-merkel-saying-her-coalition-is-rockinghttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/18/donald-trump-us-migrant-camp-border-separation Credit where credit is due and socialists sometimes have to acknowledge the personal integrity of some capitalist politicians and i think Angela Merkel has stood by her principles more than most (for sure she has wavered at times on the issue of the difference between refugees and economic migrants) and has placed her position on the line against the populist sentiment rather than pandering to prejudice.
Migrant children caged in a warehouse – no blankets, no toys, no books no playing. It was no wonder that taking photographs or talking to the kids was forbiddenhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/17/separation-border-children-cages-south-texas-warehouse-holding-facility
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44498484Trump is to impose 25% tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese goods, accusing Beijing of intellectual copyright theft.Tariffs that affect more than 800 products worth $34bn in annual trade are due to come into effect on 6 July.The White House said it would consult on tariffs on the other $16bn of products, and would apply these later.China retaliated, saying it will impose an additional 25% tariff on 659 US goods worth $50bn.The US had earlier warned that it will impose even more tariffs should China retaliate.
