Sunday, September 23, 2007
Naomi Wolf's new book
"The End of America, A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot". The UK Guardian points out how the 10 steps to create a fascist state are happening in the USA.
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy - 9/11
2. Create a gulag - Guantánamo Bay
3. Develop a thug caste -Groups of angry young Republican men, dressed in identical shirts and trousers, menaced poll workers counting the votes in Florida in 2000. And, of course, Department of Homeland Security hired and deployed hundreds of armed private security guards in New Orleans.
4. Set up an internal surveillance system - secret state programme to wiretap citizens' phones, read their emails and follow international financial transactions
5. Harass citizens' groups -American Civil Liberties Union reports that thousands of ordinary American anti-war, environmental and other groups have been infiltrated by agents etc. etc. etc.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release - continuous. America's Transportation Security Administration confirmed that it had a list of targeted passengers ... and they do not take names off.
7. Target key individuals -Bush supporters in state legislatures in several states put pressure on regents at state universities to penalise or fire academics who have been critical of the administration. (Shades of David Bohm)
8. Control the press -Both CBS and the Associated Press in Iraq had staff members seized by the US military and taken to violent prisons; the news organisations were unable to see the evidence against their staffers .. Valerie Palme etc. etc. .. the list never ends.
9. Dissent equals treason -Congress wrongly, foolishly, passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 - the president has the power to call any US citizen an "enemy combatant". And he does so.
10. Suspend the rule of law - For example George Bush with the John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 can now send Michigan's militia to enforce a state of emergency that he has declared in Oregon, over the objections of the state's governor and its citizens.
IMO: I hardly would imagine Iran to be much of a democracy right now, but it actually fails on less points than a republican USA. Can't see the Democrats are likely to improve things much, either, though it might make a little bit of difference. UK is unfortunately still a Thatcher type economy and Thatcher actually approves of Gordon Brown's Thatcherism. Thatcher's methods have led to mob violence, muggings, street crime and local and national Government corruption subsequent to Thatcher being voted out.. Nowhere in the West to hide from dictators now.
1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy - 9/11
2. Create a gulag - Guantánamo Bay
3. Develop a thug caste -Groups of angry young Republican men, dressed in identical shirts and trousers, menaced poll workers counting the votes in Florida in 2000. And, of course, Department of Homeland Security hired and deployed hundreds of armed private security guards in New Orleans.
4. Set up an internal surveillance system - secret state programme to wiretap citizens' phones, read their emails and follow international financial transactions
5. Harass citizens' groups -American Civil Liberties Union reports that thousands of ordinary American anti-war, environmental and other groups have been infiltrated by agents etc. etc. etc.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release - continuous. America's Transportation Security Administration confirmed that it had a list of targeted passengers ... and they do not take names off.
7. Target key individuals -Bush supporters in state legislatures in several states put pressure on regents at state universities to penalise or fire academics who have been critical of the administration. (Shades of David Bohm)
8. Control the press -Both CBS and the Associated Press in Iraq had staff members seized by the US military and taken to violent prisons; the news organisations were unable to see the evidence against their staffers .. Valerie Palme etc. etc. .. the list never ends.
9. Dissent equals treason -Congress wrongly, foolishly, passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 - the president has the power to call any US citizen an "enemy combatant". And he does so.
10. Suspend the rule of law - For example George Bush with the John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 can now send Michigan's militia to enforce a state of emergency that he has declared in Oregon, over the objections of the state's governor and its citizens.
IMO: I hardly would imagine Iran to be much of a democracy right now, but it actually fails on less points than a republican USA. Can't see the Democrats are likely to improve things much, either, though it might make a little bit of difference. UK is unfortunately still a Thatcher type economy and Thatcher actually approves of Gordon Brown's Thatcherism. Thatcher's methods have led to mob violence, muggings, street crime and local and national Government corruption subsequent to Thatcher being voted out.. Nowhere in the West to hide from dictators now.
# posted by uv : 4:06 AM
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