Daily Archives: 23 October 2010

Dropping the Mask of Ecofascism

Great Mises daily article. Here’s my excerpt:

open quoteModern authoritarian movements tend to adopt the strategy of avoiding talking about or even hinting at the coercion they will adopt to deal with those opposed to the supreme rule of the all-powerful state apparatus. They deny that they are fascist movements and instead adopt a slew of fanciful euphemisms for the coercive policies they propose to inflict on their brutalized subjects. You silly fool! They are not robbing people — they are just “asking them to pay their fair share.” They are not micromanaging people’s lives — they are just “looking after their health and welfare.” They are not silencing dissent — they are just “ensuring tolerance” and fighting “hate.” They are not trespassing against private property — they are just “managing the economy.” They are not enslaving people — they are just “encouraging volunteerism.” Didn’t you realize?

Of course, every so often, a modern fascist movement develops such a degree of hubris that it decides to dispense with all the euphemisms and denials and openly display the coercive means underlying its ambitions. . . .

Exhibit A: The “No Pressure” Short Film

. . . .

Exhibit B: The Greenpeace Skinhead-Thug-in-Training Video

. . . .

Exhibit C: The “Planet Slayer” Game

Some more ecofascist propaganda, this time designed directly for young children. The Planet Slayer game features, among other things, a cartoon pig game used to calculate carbon-dioxide emissions. It helpfully informs children when they should die in order to ensure they do not use more than their “fair share” of the planet. Other helpful information for children includes some harsh words against “cultural imperialism” (i.e., the free choice of people in other countries to adopt certain products and practices from Western countries) and this helpful instruction: “Organise and socialise comrades. Together we can save the world!”

eco fascism for children

. . . .close quote

Last U.S. incandescent light bulb factory closed last month

open quoteThe last major GE factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sad exit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas Alva Edison’s innovations in the 1870s.

The remaining 200 workers at the plant here will lose their jobs.

“Now what’re we going to do?” said Toby Savolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, making bulbs now deemed wasteful. close quote (Read more from washingtonpost.com)

Wikileaks — Iraq Revelations

WikiLeaks: At Least 109,000 Killed During Iraq War
open quote“The reports detail 109,032 deaths in Iraq, comprised of 66,081 ‘civilians’; 23,984 ‘enemy’ (those labeled as insurgents); 15,196 ‘host nation’ (Iraqi government forces) and 3,771 ‘friendly’ (coalition forces),” WikiLeaks said in a statement regarding the documents’ release. “The majority of the deaths (66,000, over 60 percent) of these are civilian deaths. That is 31 civilians dying every day during the six-year period.”

The new documents covered 2004 through 2009, WikiLeaks said, with the exception of May 2004 and March 2009. close quote (Read more from abcnews.go.com)

WikiLeaks Iraq files reveal torture
open quoteAl Jazeera’s access to leaked documents reveals secret US military order not to investigate Iraqi torture.close quote (Read more from english.aljazeera.net)