Category Archives: Fascism

Germany: AfD′s ′white men′ Advent calendar sparks controversy and ridicule | Germany| News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW | 11.12.2018

Germany’s right-wing populists said they sought to celebrate the contributions of white men, who faced “rampant discrimination” in society. The calendar was promoted with the hashtag “yes to white men” on Twitter.

Source: Germany: AfD′s ′white men′ Advent calendar sparks controversy and ridicule | Germany| News and in-depth reporting from Berlin and beyond | DW | 11.12.2018

We all fell for Facebook’s utopianism, but the mask is at last being torn away | Jamie Bartlett | Opinion | The Guardian

Will anything change? Surveys show that people are suspicious of social media platforms – but keep on sharing and clicking regardless. And, yes, there are some good things about Facebook too. But resentful users do not make for a sound business model, and I suspect the coming years will see competitor platforms that promise greater privacy, built on a different approach to the “free, for data” cul-de-sac we’re trapped in. True, network effects are hard to overcome – everyone is on Facebook because everyone else is on Facebook – but the ghost of the once dominant MySpace haunts every tech CEO. One thing I’m sure of, however, is that nothing will change Zuckerberg’s mind. When the next scandal breaks, as it surely will, he’ll apologise, and then talk about connectivity – no matter how disconnected it is from reality.

Source: We all fell for Facebook’s utopianism, but the mask is at last being torn away | Jamie Bartlett | Opinion | The Guardian

Zuckerberg must end far right’s fundraising on Facebook – Tom Watson | Technology | The Guardian

The deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, has demanded that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg never again allows far-right activists to fundraise on the network, criticising him for having a “contempt for social responsibility”. A Guardian investigation on Friday found that a hidden global network of US thinktanks, rightwing Australians and Russian trolls were providing financial, political and moral support to Tommy Robinson, who has more than 1 million followers on Facebook – his main social network after Twitter suspended him for claiming “Islam promotes killing people” in March.

Source: Zuckerberg must end far right’s fundraising on Facebook – Tom Watson | Technology | The Guardian

How US billionaires are fuelling the hard-right cause in Britain | George Monbiot | Opinion | The Guardian

he Kochs’ chief political lieutenant, Richard Fink, developed what he called a three-stage model of social change. Universities would produce “the intellectual raw materials”. Thinktanks would transform them into “a more practical or usable form”. Then “citizen activist” groups would “press for the implementation of policy change”. To these ends the Kochs set up bodies in all three categories themselves, such as the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the Cato Institute and the “citizens’ group” Americans for Prosperity. But for the most part they funded existing organisations that met their criteria. They have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a network of academic departments, thinktanks, journals and movements. And they appear to have been remarkably successful. As researchers at Harvard and Columbia universities have found, Americans for Prosperity alone now rivals the Republican party in terms of size, staffing and organisational capacity. It has pulled “the Republican party to the far right on economic, tax and regulatory issues”. It was crucial to the success of the Tea Party movement, the ousting of Democrats from Congress, and the staffing of Trump’s tra

Source: How US billionaires are fuelling the hard-right cause in Britain | George Monbiot | Opinion | The Guardian

Revealed: the hidden global network behind Tommy Robinson | UK news | The Guardian

A separate study of about 600 Twitter accounts, believed to be directly tied to the Russian government or closely aligned with its propaganda, found significant numbers had tweeted prolifically in Robinson’s defence.

Source: Revealed: the hidden global network behind Tommy Robinson | UK news | The Guardian

John Kelly interviewed by Mueller’s team and expected to quit – report | US news | The Guardian – “Building their own wall and circling the wagons for last stand”

Chief of staff answered questions related to potential obstruction of justice, CNN reported, and is not on speaking terms with Trump

Source: John Kelly interviewed by Mueller’s team and expected to quit – report | US news | The Guardian

California fires: Zinke blames devastation on ‘radical environmentalists’ – Los Angeles Times Bigger POS than his boss

“It’s not time for finger-pointing,” Zinke said. “We know the problem. It’s been years of neglect, and in many cases it’s been these radical environmentalists that want nature to take its course. …You know what? This is on them.”

Source: California fires: Zinke blames devastation on ‘radical environmentalists’ – Los Angeles Times

Anti-Semitism never goes away, but it really flares up with a truth-attacking nationalist in the White House – Los Angeles Times

The Pittsburgh attack shows that efforts to undermine public confidence in journalism can encourage people who are dangerously antiSemitic.

Source: Anti-Semitism never goes away, but it really flares up with a truth-attacking nationalist in the White House – Los Angeles Times