>> Jamei Glazov explains

>> http://www.wnd.com/

> His real name is Yuri Glazov, born in the Soviet Union and raised a
> communist.
> Writing for a fiction factory rag that nobody but nutters pay any
> attention to.

> The rightists seem to love getting their ideas from foreigners like
> Glazov, Rev.
> Moon and Rupert Murdoch.

> What a big surprise.

> NeoCon Bush in context with other favorite regimes of the right:

> Let's see, genocide in Iraq, Christianity in our public institutions,
> secret prisons, torture, domestic surveillance of American citizens,
> and now, persecution of science. This should be clear to everyone now:

> For the purpose of this perspective, consider the following regimes:
> Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Franco's Spain, Salazar's Portugal,
> Papadopoulos's Greece, Pinochet's Chile, and Suharto's Indonesia.
> To be sure, they constitute a mixed bag of national identities,
> cultures, developmental levels, and history. But they all
> followed the fascist or protofascist model in obtaining, expanding,
> and maintaining power. Further, all these regimes have been overthrown
> so a more or less complete picture of their basic characteristics and
> abuses is possible.

> Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that
> link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of
> power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in
> some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level
> of similarity.

> 1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the
> prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins,
> the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the
> regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always
> obvious.
> Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were
> common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled
> with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

> 2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves
> viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the
> objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the
> population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by
> marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was
> egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

> 3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most
> significant common thread among these regimes was the use of
> scapegoating as a means to divert the people's attention from other
> problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in
> controlled directions. The methods of choice---relentless propaganda
> and disinformation---were usually effective. Often the regimes would
> incite "spontaneous" acts against the target scapegoats, usually
> communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities,
> traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists,
> homosexuals, and "terrorists." Active opponents of these regimes were
> inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

> 4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always
> identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure
> that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was
> allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The
> military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever
> possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and
> increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

> 5. Rampant sexism. Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and
> the national culture were male-dominated, these regimes inevitably
> viewed women as second-class citizens. They were adamantly anti-abortion
> and also homophobic. These attitudes were usually codified in
> Draconian laws that enjoyed strong support by the orthodox religion of
> the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

> 6. A controlled mass media. Under some of the regimes, the mass media
> were under strict direct control and could be relied upon never to stray
> from the party line. Other regimes exercised more subtle power to ensure
> media orthodoxy. Methods included the control of licensing and access to
> resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats.
> The leaders of the mass media were often politically compatible with the
> power elite. The result was usually success in keeping the general public
> unaware of the regimes' excesses.

> 7. Obsession with national security. Inevitably, a national security
> apparatus was under direct control of the ruling elite. It was usually
> an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any
> constraints. Its actions were justified under the rubric of protecting
> "national security," and questioning its activities was portrayed as
> unpatriotic or even treasonous.

> 8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. Unlike communist regimes,
> the fascist and protofascist regimes were never proclaimed as godless
> by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attached themselves
> to the predominant religion of the country and chose to portray
> themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the
> ruling elite's behavior was incompatible with the precepts of the
> religion was generally swept under the rug.
> Propaganda kept up the illusion that the ruling elites were defenders
> of the faith and opponents of the "godless." A perception was
> manufactured that opposing the power elite was tantamount to an
> attack on religion.

> 9. Power of corporations protected. Although the personal life of
> ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large
> corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The
> ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure
> military production (in developed states), but also as an additional
> means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often
> pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of
> interests, especially in the repression of "have-not" citizens.

> 10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was
> seen as the one power center that could challenge the political
> hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was
> inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass,
> viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes,
> being poor was considered akin to a vice.

> 11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. Intellectuals
> and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them
> were anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom were
> considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal.

> Universities were tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty
> harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent were
> strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and
> literature should serve the national interest or they had no right
> to exist.

> 12. Obsession with crime and punishment. Most of these regimes
> maintained Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison
> populations. The police were often glorified and had almost unchecked
> power, leading to rampant abuse. "Normal" and political crime were often
> merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against
> political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or
> "traitors" was often promoted among the population as an excuse for
> more police power.

> 13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Those in business circles and
> close to the power elite often used their position to enrich themselves.
> This corruption worked both ways; the power elite would receive
> financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn would
> gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite
> were in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well:
> for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security
> apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption was
> largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

> 14. Fraudulent elections. Elections in the form of plebiscites or public
> opinion polls were usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates
> were held, they would usually be perverted by the power elite to get the
> desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the
> election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters,
> destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning
> to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

> Does any of this ring alarm bells?  It should.

> If not already committed, the above has been demonstrated to be desirable
> by America's Neocon right.