mintpressnews--2020-10-05--Reporters Claim Facebook is Censoring Information on Julian Assange Case

Craig Murray , the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan and longtime confidant of Julian Assange , has been fastidiously reporting on the Australian publisher ’ s extradition hearing to the United States .
Yet few people have been reading it .
This , according to Murray , is because of a deliberate decision by online media giants to downplay or suppress discussion of the case .
On his blog , Murray wrote that he usually receives around 50 percent of his readers from Twitter and 40 percent from Facebook links , but that has dropped to 3 percent and 9 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ While the February hearings sent around 200,000 readers to his site daily , now that figure is only 3,000 .
Asked about the situation by former New York Times reporter Chris Hedges , Murray explained that “ 90 % of my traffic has just been cut off by what seems to be a general algorithm command of some kind to downplay Assange , ” he added .
“ I think it is as simple as that.
” There has been considerable public interest in the court proceedings , but very little mainstream attention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , British authorities have made it inordinately difficult to cover the case , allowing only a small handful of journalists into the Old Bailey court system , where they can watch a live television link up but can not bring in recording devices .
An online stream can only be watched if one registers and signs in between exactly 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. , and if they suffer even a momentary lapse in wifi connection , they are shut out of the session .
The court system has also blocked human rights groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proceedings .
Still , considering the implications for the future of journalism , the lack of coverage might surprise some .
The New York Times , the flagship outlet of American print media ( and a Wikileaks partner ) printed only two articles on the subject and has not mentioned Assange in over two weeks .
Its broadcast journalism equivalent CNN , meanwhile , has not touched the issue at all .
Online media creators have , for many years , lived with the threat of algorithmic suppression or demonetization of content on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cuts all advertising on videos on the Syrian Civil War , fracking , or other topics on which advertisers might not wish to promote scrutiny .
Even airsoft and paintball enthusiasts have learned not to use words like “ shoot ” and “ gun ” in their titles , lest the platform demonetizes their content .
Perhaps more alarmingly , however , Silicon Valley tech giants are becoming increasingly closely intertwined with the state department , to the point where it is often difficult to tell where one ends , and another begins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the twentieth century…technology and cyber-security companies [ like Google ] will be to the twenty-first , ” wrote Google executives Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen in their book , “ The New Digital Age : Reshaping the Future of People , Nations and Business.
” For example , Facebook is now in a close partnership with the Atlantic Council , who essentially decides for them what content to promote in people ’ s news feeds and what content is discarded as fake news , misinformation , or low quality .
The problem is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cutout , and a government-funded organization whose board of directors is a who ’ s who of deep state officials , including virtually every living ex-C.I.A .
director , Bush-era cabinet members like Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell , and military generals like Wesley Clark and David Petraeus .
Thus , an organization like this deciding what the world sees on their screens is barely one step removed from total government control of the flow of information .
The U.S. government also frequently directly interferes with content appearing on prominent social media .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would remove all comments or posts in praise of recently-slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani from all its platforms .
This was done to comply with the Trump administration ’ s designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ( which Soleimani led ) as a terrorist organization .
The problem is that Soleimani was Iran ’ s most popular political figure , with an over 80 percent approval rating , and that Instagram is used by around one-third of the entire Iranian population .
Thus , Iranians speaking in their local language were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their country folk because of a decision by Donald Trump .
The Middle East is a particularly contentious area of the world .
Yet when news broke that the British Army ’ s online psychological operations brigade had managed to become a senior Twitter executive , responsible for Middle Eastern content , media largely ignored it , raising even more questions .
Algorithm changes have also hammered independent alternative media outlets — often precisely the ones most likely to cover the Assange case — drastically reducing their search engine traffic flow .
Former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honorary director of the Atlantic Council ) recently admitted that Assange is being prosecuted as a warning to journalists .
“ All you can do is hope that you can ultimately take action against those that were involved in revealing that information so you can send a message to others not to do the same thing , ” he told a German documentary crew .
While the message is being heard loud and clear by journalists , the public is far less aware that anything is going on , thanks , in part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case .
Judge Vanessa Baraitser is scheduled to pronounce judgment on the media “ trial of the century ” on January 4 , after the U.S. presidential election .
Murray will doubtless be there .
But will anyone read what he has to say ?
Feature photo | Stella Moris , partner of Julian Assange gives a statement outside the Old Bailey in London , Oct. 1 , 2020 , as the Assange extradition hearing to the US ended , with a result expected later in the year .
Kirsty Wigglesworth | @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan and longtime confidant of Julian Assange, has been fastidiously reporting on the Australian publisher’s extradition hearing to the United States. Yet few people have been reading it. This, according to Murray, is because of a deliberate decision by online media giants to downplay or suppress discussion of the case. On his blog, Murray wrote that he usually receives around 50 percent of his readers from Twitter and 40 percent from Facebook links, but that has dropped to 3 percent and 9 percent, respectively during the hearing. While the February hearings sent around 200,000 readers to his site daily, now that figure is only 3,000.
To be plain that is very much less than my normal daily traffic from them just in ordinary times. It is the insidious nature of this censorship that is especially sinister – people believe they have successfully shared my articles on Twitter and Facebook, while those corporations hide from them that in fact it went into nobody’s timeline,” he added.
Asked about the situation by former New York Times reporter Chris Hedges, Murray explained that
Anybody who is at all radical or takes any view of anything that is outwith the official establishment view gets used to occasional shadow banning, but I have never seen anything on this scale before.”
“90% of my traffic has just been cut off by what seems to be a general algorithm command of some kind to downplay Assange,” he added. “I think it is as simple as that.”
There has been considerable public interest in the court proceedings, but very little mainstream attention given to them. To be fair, British authorities have made it inordinately difficult to cover the case, allowing only a small handful of journalists into the Old Bailey court system, where they can watch a live television link up but cannot bring in recording devices. An online stream can only be watched if one registers and signs in between exactly 9:30 and 9:40 a.m., and if they suffer even a momentary lapse in wifi connection, they are shut out of the session. The court system has also blocked human rights groups, including Amnesty International, from monitoring proceedings.
Still, considering the implications for the future of journalism, the lack of coverage might surprise some. The New York Times, the flagship outlet of American print media (and a Wikileaks partner) printed only two articles on the subject and has not mentioned Assange in over two weeks. Its broadcast journalism equivalent CNN, meanwhile, has not touched the issue at all.
Online media creators have, for many years, lived with the threat of algorithmic suppression or demonetization of content on sensitive or controversial issues. YouTube regularly cuts all advertising on videos on the Syrian Civil War, fracking, or other topics on which advertisers might not wish to promote scrutiny. Even airsoft and paintball enthusiasts have learned not to use words like “shoot” and “gun” in their titles, lest the platform demonetizes their content.
Perhaps more alarmingly, however, Silicon Valley tech giants are becoming increasingly closely intertwined with the state department, to the point where it is often difficult to tell where one ends, and another begins. “What Lockheed Martin was to the twentieth century…technology and cyber-security companies [like Google] will be to the twenty-first,” wrote Google executives Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen in their book, “The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business.” For example, Facebook is now in a close partnership with the Atlantic Council, who essentially decides for them what content to promote in people’s news feeds and what content is discarded as fake news, misinformation, or low quality. The problem is that the Atlantic Council is a NATO cutout, and a government-funded organization whose board of directors is a who’s who of deep state officials, including virtually every living ex-C.I.A. director, Bush-era cabinet members like Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, and military generals like Wesley Clark and David Petraeus. Thus, an organization like this deciding what the world sees on their screens is barely one step removed from total government control of the flow of information.
The U.S. government also frequently directly interferes with content appearing on prominent social media. Earlier this year, Facebook announced that it would remove all comments or posts in praise of recently-slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani from all its platforms. This was done to comply with the Trump administration’s designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (which Soleimani led) as a terrorist organization. The problem is that Soleimani was Iran’s most popular political figure, with an over 80 percent approval rating, and that Instagram is used by around one-third of the entire Iranian population. Thus, Iranians speaking in their local language were barred from sharing a majority opinion with their country folk because of a decision by Donald Trump.
The Middle East is a particularly contentious area of the world. Yet when news broke that the British Army’s online psychological operations brigade had managed to become a senior Twitter executive, responsible for Middle Eastern content, media largely ignored it, raising even more questions. Algorithm changes have also hammered independent alternative media outlets — often precisely the ones most likely to cover the Assange case — drastically reducing their search engine traffic flow.
Former C.I.A. chief Leon Panetta (an honorary director of the Atlantic Council) recently admitted that Assange is being prosecuted as a warning to journalists. “All you can do is hope that you can ultimately take action against those that were involved in revealing that information so you can send a message to others not to do the same thing,” he told a German documentary crew. While the message is being heard loud and clear by journalists, the public is far less aware that anything is going on, thanks, in part, to online suppression of news about the case. Judge Vanessa Baraitser is scheduled to pronounce judgment on the media “trial of the century” on January 4, after the U.S. presidential election. Murray will doubtless be there. But will anyone read what he has to say?
Feature photo | Stella Moris, partner of Julian Assange gives a statement outside the Old Bailey in London, Oct. 1, 2020, as the Assange extradition hearing to the US ended, with a result expected later in the year. Kirsty Wigglesworth | AP<
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-10-05--Chris Hedges: Trump’s Barrett Nomination Another Step Toward Christian Fascism

Princeton , New Jersey ( Scheerpost ) — The Christian Right is content to have the focus on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett revolve around her opposition to abortion and membership in People of Praise , a far-right Catholic cult that practices “ speaking in tongues.
” What it does not want examined is her abject subservience to corporate power , her hostility to workers , civil liberties , unions and environmental regulations .
And since the Democratic Party is beholden to the same donor class as the Republican Party , and since the media long ago substituted the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ominous threat Barrett ’ s appointment to the court represents is going unmentioned .
All fascist and totalitarian movements paper over their squalid belief systems with the veneer of morality .
They mouth pieties about restoring law and order , right and wrong , the sanctity of life , civic and family virtues , patriotism and tradition to mask their dismantling of the open society and silencing and persecution of those who oppose them .
This is the real game being played by Christian fascists , which since the early 1970s have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corporate donations to take power .
Donald Trump , who has no ideology , has allowed the Christian Right to fill his ideological void .
He is the useful idiot .
And the Christian Right , awash in money from corporations that know their real political intent , will mobilize in this election to use any tool , no matter how devious , from right-wing armed militias to the invalidation of ballots , to block Joe Biden and Democratic candidates from assuming office .
The road to despotism is always paved with righteousness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communism as it was for German fascism .
And it is true in the United States .
Capitalism , driven by the twin obsessions of maximizing profit and reducing the cost of production by slashing worker ’ s rights and wages , is antithetical to the Christian Gospel , as well as the Enlightenment ethic defined by Immanuel Kant .
But capitalism , in the hands of the Christian fascists , has become sacralized in the form of the Prosperity Gospel , the belief that Jesus came to minister to our material needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Prosperity Gospel delights the corporations that have carried out the slow-motion corporate coup .
This is why large corporations such as Tyson Foods , which places Christian Right chaplains in its plants , Purdue , Wal-Mart , and Sam ’ s Warehouse , along with many other corporations , pour money into the movement and its institutions such as Liberty University and Patrick Henry Law School .
This is why corporations have given millions to groups such as the Judicial Crisis Network and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to campaign for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Barrett has ruled consistently in favor of corporations to cheat gig workers out of overtime , green light fossil fuel extraction and pollution and strip consumers of protection from corporate fraud .
The watchdog group Accountable.US found that as a circuit court judge , Barrett “ faced at least 55 cases in which citizens took on corporate entities in front of her court and 76 % of the time she sided with the corporations.
” Her version of Catholicism is at odds with most of the positions championed by Pope Francis and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights , voting rights , immigrant ’ s rights , health care and environmental protections .
The Pope calls on the downtrodden to change the world economic order and denounces what he terms a “ new colonialism ” imposed by “ the anonymous influence of mammon : corporations , loan agencies , certain ‘ free trade ’ treaties , and the imposition of measures of ‘ austerity ’ which always tighten the belt of workers and the poor.
” He speaks of the “ sacred rights ” of labor , lodging and land @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money is “ the dung of the devil ” and castigates industrial nations for exploiting the raw materials and labor of the developing world .
“ This system is by now intolerable : farm workers find it intolerable ; laborers find it intolerable ; communities find it intolerable ; peoples find it intolerable .
The earth itself – our sister , Mother Earth , as Saint Francis would say – also finds it intolerable.
” Pope Francis has repeatedly warned that time is running out to save the planet from perhaps irreversible harm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not be afraid to say it : we want change , real change , structural change , ” the pope has stated , decrying a system that “ has imposed the mentality of profit at any price , with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature.
” “ This system is by now intolerable : farm workers find it intolerable ; laborers find it intolerable ; communities find it intolerable ; peoples find it intolerable .
The earth itself – our sister , Mother Earth , as Saint Francis would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said .
Barrett ’ s religiosity , like that of other Christian fascists , is in the service of almost everything the pope condemns .
These corporations don ’ t give a damn about abortion , gun rights or the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman .
But like the German industrialists who backed the Nazi Party , they know that the Christian Right will give an ideological veneer to ruthless corporate tyranny .
These corporations view the Christian fascists the same way the German industrialists viewed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aware that the Christian fascists will trash what is left of our anemic democracy and the natural ecosystem .
But they also know they will make huge profits in the process and the rights of workers and citizens will be ruthlessly suppressed .
If you are poor , if you lack proper medical care , if you are paid substandard wages , if you are trapped in the lower class , if you are a victim of police violence , this is because , according to this ideology , you are not a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In this belief system you deserve what you get .
There is nothing wrong , these homegrown fascists preach , with the structures or systems of power .
It is the mantra of self-help that made gurus like Oprah and Tony Robbins rich dressed up as the voice of God .
“ The best propaganda is that which , as it were , works invisibly , penetrates the whole of life without the public having any knowledge of the propagandistic initiative.
” The Christian fascists , allied with organization such as The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court justices – Gorsuch and Kavanaugh – as well as nearly 200 other judges with lifetime appointments to lower federal courts during the Trump administration .
They claim to be strict “ originalists.
” Originalists argue that the meaning of the constitutional text is fixed and immune to interpretation .
Originalists denounce jurists that argue that the Constitutional law should respond to changing circumstances and values .
The Originalists already have five Federalist Society Supreme Court justices .
Barrett would be the sixth ( two of whom , Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Joe Biden ) .
The legal calculus for the Christian Right no longer revolves around the concept of universal human rights but around the tenants of “ Bible-believing Christians ” who supposedly authored the Constitution .
Huge segments of the population are stripped of moral worth and legal protection .
This process is incremental and often unseen .
As the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels understood : “ The best propaganda is that which , as it were , works invisibly , penetrates the whole of life without the public having any knowledge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who was dismissed from his post as a professor of Romance languages at the University of Dresden in 1935 because of his Jewish ancestry , astutely noted how at first the Nazis “ changed the values , the frequency of words , [ and ] made them into common property , words that had previously been used by individuals or tiny troupes .
They confiscated words for the party , saturated words and phrases and sentence forms with their poison .
They made language serve their terrible system .
They conquered words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tools [ Werebemittle ] , at once the most public and most secret.
” And , Klemperer noted , as the redefinition of old concepts took place the public was oblivious .
These Christian fascists understand the deep sickness that infects American society .
They know how to exploit the moral and physical decay , as well as the despair it causes , to lure its followers towards their brand of tyranny .
They are not wrong when they lambast the cruelty , corruption , emptiness and hypocrisy of the ruling elites , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not wrong when they mock cultural relativism , the idea that good and evil , right and wrong , truth and untruth , do not exist .
It is part of the sad irony that the Christian Right effectively exploits this cultural relativism to seize power .
The failure of the liberal Christian Church to denounce the Christian Right as heretics , in the name of tolerance and cultural relativism , has given the Christian fascists religious legitimacy .
At the same time , the Christian Right seeks to delegitimize the liberal church @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is unwise to tolerate the intolerant .
The Christian fascists , like all fascist movements , creates its own truth .
It discredits verifiable fact , science , law and rationality .
It promises a new , glorious world of moral renewal and prosperity .
It promises a creator who will carry out miracles for believers and for America .
It calls on followers to abandon the world of cause and effect and replace it with a world of magic .
The reality-based world , as in all totalitarian movements , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implanted Christian fascists in senior positions of government , including Mike Pence to the vice presidency , Mike Pompeo to secretary of state , Betsy DeVos to secretary of education , Ben Carson to secretary of housing and urban development , William Barr to attorney general , Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and the televangelist Paula White to his Faith and Opportunities Initiative .
Trump gave the Christian Right veto and appointment power over key positions in government , especially in the federal courts .
Almost all of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Federalist Society and the Christian Right .
Many of the extremists who make up the judicial appointees have been rated as unqualified by the American Bar Association , the country ’ s largest nonpartisan coalition of lawyers .
Trump has embraced the Islamophobia of the Christian Right to ban Muslim immigrants and roll back civil rights legislation .
He has made war on reproductive rights by restricting abortion and defunding Planned Parenthood .
He has degraded LGBTQ rights .
He allocated federal money to Christian charter schools .
He has ripped down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revoking the Johnson Amendment , which prohibits churches , which are tax-exempt , from endorsing political candidates .
His Christian Right appointees , including Pence , DeVos and Pompeo , regularly use biblical strictures to justify an array of policy decisions including environmental deregulation , war , tax cuts and the replacement of public schools with charter schools , an action that permits the transfer of federal education funds to private “ Christian ” schools .
The Christian fascists are not finished .
Brick by brick they are building a Christian fascist state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wall .
They will do this with or without Trump .
Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times , where he served as the Middle East Bureau Chief and Balkan Bureau Chief for the paper .
He previously worked overseas for The Dallas Morning News , The Christian Science Monitor , and NPR .
He is the host of the Emmy Award-nominated RT America show On Contact .

Princeton, New Jersey (Scheerpost) — The Christian Right is content to have the focus on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett revolve around her opposition to abortion and membership in People of Praise, a far-right Catholic cult that practices “speaking in tongues.” What it does not want examined is her abject subservience to corporate power, her hostility to workers, civil liberties, unions and environmental regulations. And since the Democratic Party is beholden to the same donor class as the Republican Party, and since the media long ago substituted the culture wars for politics, the most ominous threat Barrett’s appointment to the court represents is going unmentioned.
All fascist and totalitarian movements paper over their squalid belief systems with the veneer of morality. They mouth pieties about restoring law and order, right and wrong, the sanctity of life, civic and family virtues, patriotism and tradition to mask their dismantling of the open society and silencing and persecution of those who oppose them. This is the real game being played by Christian fascists, which since the early 1970s have been building institutions with tens of millions in corporate donations to take power. Donald Trump, who has no ideology, has allowed the Christian Right to fill his ideological void. He is the useful idiot. And the Christian Right, awash in money from corporations that know their real political intent, will mobilize in this election to use any tool, no matter how devious, from right-wing armed militias to the invalidation of ballots, to block Joe Biden and Democratic candidates from assuming office. The road to despotism is always paved with righteousness. This was as true for Soviet communism as it was for German fascism. And it is true in the United States.
Capitalism, driven by the twin obsessions of maximizing profit and reducing the cost of production by slashing worker’s rights and wages, is antithetical to the Christian Gospel, as well as the Enlightenment ethic defined by Immanuel Kant. But capitalism, in the hands of the Christian fascists, has become sacralized in the form of the Prosperity Gospel, the belief that Jesus came to minister to our material needs, blessing believers with wealth and power. The Prosperity Gospel delights the corporations that have carried out the slow-motion corporate coup. This is why large corporations such as Tyson Foods, which places Christian Right chaplains in its plants, Purdue, Wal-Mart, and Sam’s Warehouse, along with many other corporations, pour money into the movement and its institutions such as Liberty University and Patrick Henry Law School. This is why corporations have given millions to groups such as the Judicial Crisis Network and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to campaign for Barrett’s appointment to the court. Barrett has ruled consistently in favor of corporations to cheat gig workers out of overtime, green light fossil fuel extraction and pollution and strip consumers of protection from corporate fraud. The watchdog group Accountable.US found that as a circuit court judge, Barrett “faced at least 55 cases in which citizens took on corporate entities in front of her court and 76% of the time she sided with the corporations.”
Her version of Catholicism is at odds with most of the positions championed by Pope Francis and traditional Catholic teaching on women’s rights, voting rights, immigrant’s rights, health care and environmental protections. The Pope calls on the downtrodden to change the world economic order and denounces what he terms a “new colonialism” imposed by “the anonymous influence of mammon: corporations, loan agencies, certain ‘free trade’ treaties, and the imposition of measures of ‘austerity’ which always tighten the belt of workers and the poor.” He speaks of the “sacred rights” of labor, lodging and land. He says the unfettered pursuit of money is “the dung of the devil” and castigates industrial nations for exploiting the raw materials and labor of the developing world.
“This system is by now intolerable: farm workers find it intolerable; laborers find it intolerable; communities find it intolerable; peoples find it intolerable. The earth itself – our sister, Mother Earth, as Saint Francis would say – also finds it intolerable.”
Pope Francis
Pope Francis has repeatedly warned that time is running out to save the planet from perhaps irreversible harm to the ecosystem. “Let us not be afraid to say it: we want change, real change, structural change,” the pope has stated, decrying a system that “has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature.”
“This system is by now intolerable: farm workers find it intolerable; laborers find it intolerable; communities find it intolerable; peoples find it intolerable. The earth itself – our sister, Mother Earth, as Saint Francis would say – also finds it intolerable,” he said.
Barrett’s religiosity, like that of other Christian fascists, is in the service of almost everything the pope condemns.
These corporations don’t give a damn about abortion, gun rights or the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. But like the German industrialists who backed the Nazi Party, they know that the Christian Right will give an ideological veneer to ruthless corporate tyranny. These corporations view the Christian fascists the same way the German industrialists viewed the Nazis, as buffoons. They are aware that the Christian fascists will trash what is left of our anemic democracy and the natural ecosystem. But they also know they will make huge profits in the process and the rights of workers and citizens will be ruthlessly suppressed.
If you are poor, if you lack proper medical care, if you are paid substandard wages, if you are trapped in the lower class, if you are a victim of police violence, this is because, according to this ideology, you are not a good Christian and not blessed by God. In this belief system you deserve what you get. There is nothing wrong, these homegrown fascists preach, with the structures or systems of power. It is the mantra of self-help that made gurus like Oprah and Tony Robbins rich dressed up as the voice of God.
“The best propaganda is that which, as it were, works invisibly, penetrates the whole of life without the public having any knowledge of the propagandistic initiative.”
Joseph Goebbels
The Christian fascists, allied with organization such as The Federalist Society, have appointed two Supreme Court justices – Gorsuch and Kavanaugh – as well as nearly 200 other judges with lifetime appointments to lower federal courts during the Trump administration. They claim to be strict “originalists.” Originalists argue that the meaning of the constitutional text is fixed and immune to interpretation. Originalists denounce jurists that argue that the Constitutional law should respond to changing circumstances and values. The Originalists already have five Federalist Society Supreme Court justices. Barrett would be the sixth (two of whom, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, were supported in the nomination process by Joe Biden).
The legal calculus for the Christian Right no longer revolves around the concept of universal human rights but around the tenants of “Bible-believing Christians” who supposedly authored the Constitution. Huge segments of the population are stripped of moral worth and legal protection. This process is incremental and often unseen. As the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels understood: “The best propaganda is that which, as it were, works invisibly, penetrates the whole of life without the public having any knowledge of the propagandistic initiative.”
Victor Klemperer, who was dismissed from his post as a professor of Romance languages at the University of Dresden in 1935 because of his Jewish ancestry, astutely noted how at first the Nazis “changed the values, the frequency of words, [and] made them into common property, words that had previously been used by individuals or tiny troupes. They confiscated words for the party, saturated words and phrases and sentence forms with their poison. They made language serve their terrible system. They conquered words and made them into their strongest advertising tools [Werebemittle], at once the most public and most secret.” And, Klemperer noted, as the redefinition of old concepts took place the public was oblivious.
These Christian fascists understand the deep sickness that infects American society. They know how to exploit the moral and physical decay, as well as the despair it causes, to lure its followers towards their brand of tyranny. They are not wrong when they lambast the cruelty, corruption, emptiness and hypocrisy of the ruling elites, especially the liberal elites. They are not wrong when they mock cultural relativism, the idea that good and evil, right and wrong, truth and untruth, do not exist. It is part of the sad irony that the Christian Right effectively exploits this cultural relativism to seize power. The failure of the liberal Christian Church to denounce the Christian Right as heretics, in the name of tolerance and cultural relativism, has given the Christian fascists religious legitimacy. At the same time, the Christian Right seeks to delegitimize the liberal church as apostates. History has shown that it is unwise to tolerate the intolerant.
The Christian fascists, like all fascist movements, creates its own truth. It discredits verifiable fact, science, law and rationality. It promises a new, glorious world of moral renewal and prosperity. It promises a creator who will carry out miracles for believers and for America. It calls on followers to abandon the world of cause and effect and replace it with a world of magic. The reality-based world, as in all totalitarian movements, is snuffed out.
The Trump administration has implanted Christian fascists in senior positions of government, including Mike Pence to the vice presidency, Mike Pompeo to secretary of state, Betsy DeVos to secretary of education, Ben Carson to secretary of housing and urban development, William Barr to attorney general, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and the televangelist Paula White to his Faith and Opportunities Initiative. Trump gave the Christian Right veto and appointment power over key positions in government, especially in the federal courts. Almost all of the judges he has appointed were selected by the Federalist Society and the Christian Right. Many of the extremists who make up the judicial appointees have been rated as unqualified by the American Bar Association, the country’s largest nonpartisan coalition of lawyers.
Trump has embraced the Islamophobia of the Christian Right to ban Muslim immigrants and roll back civil rights legislation. He has made war on reproductive rights by restricting abortion and defunding Planned Parenthood. He has degraded LGBTQ rights. He allocated federal money to Christian charter schools. He has ripped down the firewall between church and state by revoking the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits churches, which are tax-exempt, from endorsing political candidates. His Christian Right appointees, including Pence, DeVos and Pompeo, regularly use biblical strictures to justify an array of policy decisions including environmental deregulation, war, tax cuts and the replacement of public schools with charter schools, an action that permits the transfer of federal education funds to private “Christian” schools.
The Christian fascists are not finished. Brick by brick they are building a Christian fascist state. Barrett fills one more hole in the wall. They will do this with or without Trump.
Feature photo | Art by Mr. Fish, original to Scheerpost
Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times, where he served as the Middle East Bureau Chief and Balkan Bureau Chief for the paper. He previously worked overseas for The Dallas Morning News, The Christian Science Monitor, and NPR. He is the host of the Emmy Award-nominated RT America show On Contact.


mintpressnews--2020-10-05--UK Court Decision on Venezuela Gold Deals Blow to Regime Change Efforts

A United Kingdom court has handed the Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro a major win today , overturning a previous ruling from a lower court that legitimized the British government ’ s decision to freeze Venezuelan government gold reserves held in the Bank of England .
The English Court of Appeal ruled that the Conservative administration of Boris Johnson ’ s position that Juan Guaidó is the country ’ s legitimate ruler was far from equivocal , potentially paving the way for some $ 1.95 billion of the Central Bank of Venezuela ’ s gold to be accessed .
Following @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July , the U.K. government took the extraordinary step of derecognizing President Maduro in favor of the self-declared Guaidó , despite the fact that for nearly six months , he had not even been a member of his Popular Will party , let alone its leader .
The move was labeled “ highway robbery ” by supporters of the Venezuelan government .
A nearly unheard of politician before his ascension to the role of head of the Venezuelan National Assembly ( a post given out on a yearly rotational basis among all parties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Guaidó shocked the country by using his appointment to unilaterally declare himself president of the country .
He then led a series of coup attempts throughout 2019 and 2020 , the last of which involved paying Trump-linked American mercenaries to shoot their way into the presidential palace .
However , the plan ended in complete disaster , with the Americans subsequently sentenced to 20 years of prison time .
Guaidó based his claim to power on Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution , which allows a president to be removed if he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ permanently unavailable to serve ” for whatever reason .
Maduro , however , had clearly not left his post .
Regardless , if he had , Article 233 states that the vice-president would take charge until a new election by universal suffrage was held .
Guaidó ’ s party was not even registered to stand in elections , having boycotted them the year previously under U.S. orders .
The Trump administration had attempted to organize a total boycott from opposition parties , thereby undermining the process ’ legitimacy , even threatening to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Despite the partial boycott , turnout was relatively high .
A larger percentage of the total electorate still cast their ballot for Maduro than Americans did for Trump in 2016 or Obama in 2012 .
The U.S. government is currently trying the same tactic in the upcoming December elections to the National Assembly , the State Department releasing a memo in September declaring that all opposition parties taking place were considered “ puppet parties ” participating in an “ electoral charade , ” and would therefore be sanctioned .
The United Kingdom and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a years-long economic and political campaign to oust Maduro from power , hitting the country with sanctions and attacking it politically .
When Maduro attempted to use the impounded gold to buy humanitarian aid from the United Nations to deal with the coronavirus pandemic , the Johnson administration blocked it .
Meanwhile , American sanctions , declared illegal by the U.N. , have been responsible for over 100,000 Venezuelans ’ death .
The U.S. government is also continually provoking Venezuela militarily .
Last week , it sent a warship — the U.S.S .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , just 16 nautical miles from Venezuela ’ s coast .
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino described the action as “ erratic and childish , ” implying Trump was attempting to foment an “ October Surprise ” conflict to boost his reelection chances .
The U.S. has also funded and supported Guaidó throughout his coup attempts , grooming him since he was a student leader .
Recently , they have been channeling money confiscated from the Venezuelan government to Guaidó so that he can personally pay every healthcare worker a huge stipend .
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the opposition has had little success shaking their image as elitists interested only in returning Venezuela to its former status as a U.S. client state .
Guaidó is presented in Western media as a breath of fresh air and a break with that tradition .
However , as the privately-educated son of an international airline pilot , and somebody who attended George Washington University ( an impossible task for those who do not come from the elite ) , he has had little success persuading his countryfolk to get behind his vision for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that 3 percent of Venezuelans recognize him as president .
Despite this , he has received virtually unanimous support in Washington and London .
However , there is no doubt that today ’ s court ruling is a loss for him and a win for Maduro .
Feature photo | Self-declared Venezuelan President Juan Guiado meets with UK PM Boris Jonson in London in January , 2020 .
Photo | Public Release Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

A United Kingdom court has handed the Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro a major win today, overturning a previous ruling from a lower court that legitimized the British government’s decision to freeze Venezuelan government gold reserves held in the Bank of England. The English Court of Appeal ruled that the Conservative administration of Boris Johnson’s position that Juan Guaidó is the country’s legitimate ruler was far from equivocal, potentially paving the way for some $1.95 billion of the Central Bank of Venezuela’s gold to be accessed.
Following President Trump’s lead, in July, the U.K. government took the extraordinary step of derecognizing President Maduro in favor of the self-declared Guaidó, despite the fact that for nearly six months, he had not even been a member of his Popular Will party, let alone its leader. The move was labeled “highway robbery” by supporters of the Venezuelan government.
A nearly unheard of politician before his ascension to the role of head of the Venezuelan National Assembly (a post given out on a yearly rotational basis among all parties in the institution) in January 2019, Guaidó shocked the country by using his appointment to unilaterally declare himself president of the country. He then led a series of coup attempts throughout 2019 and 2020, the last of which involved paying Trump-linked American mercenaries to shoot their way into the presidential palace. However, the plan ended in complete disaster, with the Americans subsequently sentenced to 20 years of prison time.
Guaidó based his claim to power on Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution, which allows a president to be removed if he “abandons his position” or becomes “permanently unavailable to serve” for whatever reason. Maduro, however, had clearly not left his post. Regardless, if he had, Article 233 states that the vice-president would take charge until a new election by universal suffrage was held. Guaidó’s party was not even registered to stand in elections, having boycotted them the year previously under U.S. orders. The Trump administration had attempted to organize a total boycott from opposition parties, thereby undermining the process’ legitimacy, even threatening to sanction opposition presidential candidate Henri Falcón. Despite the partial boycott, turnout was relatively high. A larger percentage of the total electorate still cast their ballot for Maduro than Americans did for Trump in 2016 or Obama in 2012. The U.S. government is currently trying the same tactic in the upcoming December elections to the National Assembly, the State Department releasing a memo in September declaring that all opposition parties taking place were considered “puppet parties” participating in an “electoral charade,” and would therefore be sanctioned.
The United Kingdom and the United States have been leaders in a years-long economic and political campaign to oust Maduro from power, hitting the country with sanctions and attacking it politically. When Maduro attempted to use the impounded gold to buy humanitarian aid from the United Nations to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the Johnson administration blocked it. Meanwhile, American sanctions, declared illegal by the U.N., have been responsible for over 100,000 Venezuelans’ death. The U.S. government is also continually provoking Venezuela militarily. Last week, it sent a warship — the U.S.S. William P. Lawrence — into the Caribbean, just 16 nautical miles from Venezuela’s coast. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino described the action as “erratic and childish,” implying Trump was attempting to foment an “October Surprise” conflict to boost his reelection chances.
The U.S. has also funded and supported Guaidó throughout his coup attempts, grooming him since he was a student leader. Recently, they have been channeling money confiscated from the Venezuelan government to Guaidó so that he can personally pay every healthcare worker a huge stipend.
While the Maduro administration is very unpopular, the opposition has had little success shaking their image as elitists interested only in returning Venezuela to its former status as a U.S. client state. Guaidó is presented in Western media as a breath of fresh air and a break with that tradition. However, as the privately-educated son of an international airline pilot, and somebody who attended George Washington University (an impossible task for those who do not come from the elite), he has had little success persuading his countryfolk to get behind his vision for the country. A recent poll found that 3 percent of Venezuelans recognize him as president. Despite this, he has received virtually unanimous support in Washington and London. However, there is no doubt that today’s court ruling is a loss for him and a win for Maduro.
Feature photo | Self-declared Venezuelan President Juan Guiado meets with UK PM Boris Jonson in London in January, 2020. Photo | Public Release
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-10-06--Abraham Accord: Experts Warn Trump Peace Deal a Precursor to War with Iran

On paper at least , last month ’ s U.S.-sponsored agreements between Israel , the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were all about peace .
But behind the headlines , a darker , much more worrying picture of regional alliances , weapons deals , destabilization campaigns , and messianic prophecies emerge .
The Abraham Accord , as it is known , is likely to expand the power of Gulf dictatorships and increase the number of devastating high-tech weapons in the Middle East , fueling further instability and bloodshed , a welcome prospect for neoconservative hawks and religious zealots who see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of the world .
Above all , the deal can be seen as an attempt to present a united front against Iran for any potential future war — a conflict that would likely make Iraq and Afghanistan look mild by comparison .
But across corporate media , the accord was almost universally hailed as a “ peace deal ” — and a potentially massive breakthrough .
The Wall Street Journal ’ s editorial board presented Trump as a master dealmaker , breaking the mold of “ failed conventional wisdom ” on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he deserved far more praise from the media for his breakthrough , suggesting he was not getting it because of their anti-Trump bias .
Yet even MSNBC , not a network known for praising the president , found it difficult to find an angle that did not paint him as a great peacemaker .
Trump has subsequently been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and is among the favorites to win it , according to bookmakers .
While it is Trump gaining the plaudits , in reality , the man organizing operations is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spent his entire adult life organizing for zionist groups and making contacts with the Israeli right , his family ’ s charitable organization has donated thousands to the IDF and to illegal Jewish-only settlements .
Kushner has been leaning heavily on Saudi Arabia to join the new alliance , promising them state of the art new weaponry and a host of economic benefits .
A cult-like hero in much of Israel , he has time and again shown his disgust for Palestinian life , claiming they have “ done nothing right in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ perfect track record of missing opportunities , ” presenting his so-called “ Deal of the Century ” was an opportunity for them to finally stop playing the victim .
Many on the religious right in Israel talk of Kushner in almost reverential tones , seeing him as completing a divine mission .
Trump campaigned on a platform of “ draining the swamp ” — i.e .
removing the corrupt warhawks from the White House .
Yet he has surrounded himself with many of the Bush-era “ crazies ” and “ even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michael Flynn and John Bolton , who was considered too much of a loose cannon for Bush to handle .
Kushner has been “ the neocons ’ backdoor ” back into the White House , where , not with their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan , Iran has become the number one target .
The Abraham Accord appears to have been deeply unpopular with the people of the UAE and Bahrain , who risked serious consequences by protesting the decision on social media .
Nevertheless , their governments justified it by claiming they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Jordan Valley as it announced it would in the summer .
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later made clear that the plans were merely now “ delayed ” and that they remain on the table .
Yet a number of experts who spoke to MintPress questioned the entire framing of the Abraham Accord as a peace deal , claiming instead that this was far less about peace than about war , particularly with Iran .
Phyllis Bennis , Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and author @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Primer , ” which is now in its seventh edition , said of the deal : For such a “ peace deal , ” negotiations certainly seemed to revolve quite heavily around weapons transfers .
Much of the accord focussed on American plans to sell the UAE and Bahrain high tech armaments , including the costly Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters , Boeing ’ s EA-18G Growler jets , and General Atomics ’ MQ-9 Reaper drones , previously off-limits to anyone in the region except the Israelis .
Thus , it is difficult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s most war-torn region with even more advanced weaponry , especially to nations currently involved in the bombing campaigns against Yemen , will secure peace .
“ The UAE and Bahrain are key customers for the U.S. arms trade , ” Bennis explained , Almost immediately after the accord was announced , the head of Mossad , Yossi Cohen , traveled to the UAE to meet with Emirati security officials to discuss “ cooperation in the fields of security , ” as well as regional issues , Al-Jazeera reported .
Thus , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ontario , and author of “ The Wrong Story : Palestine , Israel and the Media , ” argued , “ peace deal ” is a misleading framing of what looks more like the beginnings of a military alliance .
“ In the language of countries with egregious human rights records like Israel and the UAE , ‘ security ’ is a euphemism for violent repression , ” he added .
From being a key ally of the United States under the Shah , since the 1979 revolution , Iran has become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The U.S. is currently waging an all-out economic war against Tehran , hoping to foment an anti-government movement .
U.S. sanctions have decimated the value of the Iranian rial and sent the prices of consumer goods soaring .
Personal savings have been wiped out and lives have been stunted .
Many have lost out on opportunities to study abroad or even get married due to economic pressure .
More seriously , the U.S. has also made it extremely difficult to import life-saving medicines , leading to countless deaths .
“ The sanctions deliberately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Seyed Mohammad Marandi , Professor of English Literature at the University of Tehran told MintPress .
“ They are designed to kill hospital patients and to create poverty .
They have had partial success.
” Iran was one of the first countries to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year , and the U.S. government worked hard to dissuade all nations from selling or even giving the Islamic Republic face masks , medicine , or other equipment .
In the end , the World Health Organization stepped in and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a major reason the Trump administration has decided to leave the organization .
In 2018 , Bolton promised the Iranian exile group the Mujahedeen Khalq ( MEK ) that they would soon rule over Iran , essentially guaranteeing regime change for the country of 82 million people .
In January of this year , Trump decided to assassinate public figure and statesman Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad while he was attending regional peace talks .
Trump donors like Sheldon Adelson want the president to go further and drop a nuclear bomb on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal itself , the Trump administration has recently used Iran ’ s non-compliance with the same treaty as a reason to trigger even harsher “ snapback ” sanctions against Tehran .
For Bennis , the Israel-UAE-Bahrain deal was less about peace , and more about setting up a united front in a possible coming war with the Iranians , noting that Trump ’ s central foreign policy goal for the Middle East is “ to build up Israel as the centerpiece of an anti-Iran coalition .
That has been underway for years now… @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the U.S.-backed anti-Iran coalition across the region.
” While media aimed at a more mass market hid this fact , elite , insider journals were more frank .
Foreign Policy , for example , wrote that the Abraham Accord has made Trump ’ s , “ Maximum pressure ’ policy of economic asphyxiation against Tehran more effective and painful than his predecessor ’ s sanctions campaign.
” What are the consequences for Iran under this new partnership ?
Shupak warned that those wishing for peace in the region should treat the deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tiny island of only 1.5 million people , Bahrain is nonetheless an important strategic state in the Middle East .
The nation is home to the United States Fifth Fleet , its primary base for the entire West Asian-Middle East region .
The base has proven vital over the decades as a launchpad for American invasions of neighboring states and continues to serve a role as a base of operations for the U.S .
Both Bahrain and the UAE are also partners in the Saudi-led coalition ’ s aggression in Yemen , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical and water facilities over 200 times since the war began in 2015 .
The United Nations has called the country “ the world ’ s worst humanitarian crisis , ” estimating that 14 million people — over half its population — are at risk of famine , and 20.5 million need help accessing drinkable water .
The Abraham Accord is sure to increase the amount of high-tech weaponry available to both Bahrain and the UAE , which will immediately be used in their Yemen campaign .
The destabilization of the country has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a “ famine of biblical proportions ” if nothing is done about it .
The UAE and Bahrain have continued to justify their involvement in the conflict on the basis of the Houthi militias ’ alleged ties to Iran , claiming they need to support the legitimate government as a bulwark against Iranian domination of the region .
“ The UAE is one of the central protagonists in the cataclysmic war of aggression against Yemen—alongside key partners such as Saudi Arabia , the U.S. , U.K. , and Canada—so there is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these killing machines on the impoverished Yemeni population that it has already done so much to devastate , ” said Shupak .
“ Likewise , increased intelligence sharing between Israel and the UAE could entail Israel helping the UAE having more , and possibly more advanced , information that it can use to maim and kill Yemenis.
” Notable by their absence at the negotiations was any Palestinian representation , and according to Shupak , the deal actually lifts international pressure on Israel with regards to Palestine , exactly the opposite of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , Israel did not formally relinquish its claim to the fertile Jordan Valley area of the West Bank , nor did any of its promises to moderate its behavior towards Palestine result in the cessation of bombing Gaza , which it continued to do throughout the talks , let alone lifting blockades against Palestinians or guaranteeing them the right of return to their homes .
Therefore , while some in the media try to spin the deal as a good thing for Palestinians , there will likely be no reduction , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the near future .
This , for Bennis , was the fact that undermined the whole concept of a peace accord : And so while New York Times columnists might describe the news as “ a rare triumph in the Middle East , ” the question remains , a triumph for whom ?
Perhaps for Washington war hawks , defense contractors , and undemocratic Middle Eastern rulers , but not for the people of the region .
“ [ The accord ] is very bleak if you care about human rights and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added .
Feature photo | Members of the Iranian army take part in the annual Zolphaghar 99 military drill in the Gulf of Oman , September 10 , 2020 .
Photo | WANA Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

On paper at least, last month’s U.S.-sponsored agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were all about peace. But behind the headlines, a darker, much more worrying picture of regional alliances, weapons deals, destabilization campaigns, and messianic prophecies emerge.
The Abraham Accord, as it is known, is likely to expand the power of Gulf dictatorships and increase the number of devastating high-tech weapons in the Middle East, fueling further instability and bloodshed, a welcome prospect for neoconservative hawks and religious zealots who see the deal as fulfilling ancient prophecies about the end of the world. Above all, the deal can be seen as an attempt to present a united front against Iran for any potential future war — a conflict that would likely make Iraq and Afghanistan look mild by comparison.
But across corporate media, the accord was almost universally hailed as a “peace deal” — and a potentially massive breakthrough. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board presented Trump as a master dealmaker, breaking the mold of “failed conventional wisdom” on the Middle East, and claiming that he deserved far more praise from the media for his breakthrough, suggesting he was not getting it because of their anti-Trump bias. Yet even MSNBC, not a network known for praising the president, found it difficult to find an angle that did not paint him as a great peacemaker. Trump has subsequently been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and is among the favorites to win it, according to bookmakers.
Israel’s man
While it is Trump gaining the plaudits, in reality, the man organizing operations is his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kushner has spent his entire adult life organizing for zionist groups and making contacts with the Israeli right, his family’s charitable organization has donated thousands to the IDF and to illegal Jewish-only settlements. Kushner has been leaning heavily on Saudi Arabia to join the new alliance, promising them state of the art new weaponry and a host of economic benefits. A cult-like hero in much of Israel, he has time and again shown his disgust for Palestinian life, claiming they have “done nothing right in their sad, pathetic lives” and own a “perfect track record of missing opportunities,” presenting his so-called “Deal of the Century” was an opportunity for them to finally stop playing the victim. Many on the religious right in Israel talk of Kushner in almost reverential tones, seeing him as completing a divine mission.
Trump campaigned on a platform of “draining the swamp” — i.e. removing the corrupt warhawks from the White House. Yet he has surrounded himself with many of the Bush-era “crazies” and “even craziers,” including the likes of Michael Flynn and John Bolton, who was considered too much of a loose cannon for Bush to handle. Kushner has been “the neocons’ backdoor” back into the White House, where, not with their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran has become the number one target.
The Abraham Accord appears to have been deeply unpopular with the people of the UAE and Bahrain, who risked serious consequences by protesting the decision on social media. Nevertheless, their governments justified it by claiming they had guaranteed that Israel would not annex the Jordan Valley as it announced it would in the summer. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later made clear that the plans were merely now “delayed” and that they remain on the table.
A strange “peace” deal
Yet a number of experts who spoke to MintPress questioned the entire framing of the Abraham Accord as a peace deal, claiming instead that this was far less about peace than about war, particularly with Iran.
Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and author of “Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: a Primer,” which is now in its seventh edition, said of the deal:
The notion that this was somehow a peace deal implies that somehow until this ‘fabulous deal’ Israel the UAE and Bahrain were somehow not at peace, but at war. And that is simply not true; they had very good ties, they had commercial, trade and security ties that go back decades in the case of the UAE. But they were always very quiet because the official position of the Arab League and the actual position of Arab populations across the region were strongly opposed to normalization with Israel as long as the oppression of the Palestinians continued.”
For such a “peace deal,” negotiations certainly seemed to revolve quite heavily around weapons transfers. Much of the accord focussed on American plans to sell the UAE and Bahrain high tech armaments, including the costly Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, Boeing’s EA-18G Growler jets, and General Atomics’ MQ-9 Reaper drones, previously off-limits to anyone in the region except the Israelis. Thus, it is difficult to see how flooding the world’s most war-torn region with even more advanced weaponry, especially to nations currently involved in the bombing campaigns against Yemen, will secure peace.
“The UAE and Bahrain are key customers for the U.S. arms trade,” Bennis explained,
They are very eager to buy more. So they get brownie points from the Trump administration. They get promises of being able to buy more and better military gear, and Israel will get even more weapons to maintain its congressionally-guaranteed ‘qualitative military edge.’ They give up nothing because they already have these relations with Israel, who had already suspended its threatened annexation. It is now just a matter of making it public. So everybody gains except the Palestinians.”
Almost immediately after the accord was announced, the head of Mossad, Yossi Cohen, traveled to the UAE to meet with Emirati security officials to discuss “cooperation in the fields of security,” as well as regional issues, Al-Jazeera reported. Thus, as Greg Shupak of the University of Guelph, Ontario, and author of “The Wrong Story: Palestine, Israel and the Media,” argued, “peace deal” is a misleading framing of what looks more like the beginnings of a military alliance. “In the language of countries with egregious human rights records like Israel and the UAE, ‘security’ is a euphemism for violent repression,” he added.
Iran in the crosshairs
From being a key ally of the United States under the Shah, since the 1979 revolution, Iran has become an obsession for planners in Washington. The U.S. is currently waging an all-out economic war against Tehran, hoping to foment an anti-government movement. U.S. sanctions have decimated the value of the Iranian rial and sent the prices of consumer goods soaring. Personal savings have been wiped out and lives have been stunted. Many have lost out on opportunities to study abroad or even get married due to economic pressure. More seriously, the U.S. has also made it extremely difficult to import life-saving medicines, leading to countless deaths.
“The sanctions deliberately target ordinary Iranians, women and children,” Seyed Mohammad Marandi, Professor of English Literature at the University of Tehran told MintPress. “They are designed to kill hospital patients and to create poverty. They have had partial success.”
Iran was one of the first countries to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year, and the U.S. government worked hard to dissuade all nations from selling or even giving the Islamic Republic face masks, medicine, or other equipment. In the end, the World Health Organization stepped in and directly gave the Iranians what it could, a major reason the Trump administration has decided to leave the organization. In 2018, Bolton promised the Iranian exile group the Mujahedeen Khalq (MEK) that they would soon rule over Iran, essentially guaranteeing regime change for the country of 82 million people. In January of this year, Trump decided to assassinate public figure and statesman Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad while he was attending regional peace talks. Trump donors like Sheldon Adelson want the president to go further and drop a nuclear bomb on the country. Despite pulling out the nuclear deal itself, the Trump administration has recently used Iran’s non-compliance with the same treaty as a reason to trigger even harsher “snapback” sanctions against Tehran.
For Bennis, the Israel-UAE-Bahrain deal was less about peace, and more about setting up a united front in a possible coming war with the Iranians, noting that Trump’s central foreign policy goal for the Middle East is “to build up Israel as the centerpiece of an anti-Iran coalition. That has been underway for years now… what we have here is a consolidation of the U.S.-backed anti-Iran coalition across the region.”
While media aimed at a more mass market hid this fact, elite, insider journals were more frank. Foreign Policy, for example, wrote that the Abraham Accord has made Trump’s, “Maximum pressure’ policy of economic asphyxiation against Tehran more effective and painful than his predecessor’s sanctions campaign.”
Increased Arab collaboration with Israel and the United States has helped the latter obstruct clandestine financial channels and escape valves traditionally used by Iranian authorities and institutions to evade US sanctions.”
What are the consequences for Iran under this new partnership? Shupak warned that those wishing for peace in the region should treat the deal with suspicion, telling MintPress,
The UAE and Bahrain can now openly and comprehensively partner with Israel in the U.S.-led effort to destroy it. Because there is no longer a need to even pretend that Israel is not partners with the UAE and Bahrain, this alliance can work together in full support of one another. That means it’s now possible to have more effective enforcement of the already crushing economic blockade of Iran, collaborative efforts to carry out subversion inside Iran, more intimate sharing of intelligence and perhaps of weapons, as well as greater logistical support and possibly military coordination and integration if a full scale attack on Iran comes to pass.
Yemeni Onslaught
A tiny island of only 1.5 million people, Bahrain is nonetheless an important strategic state in the Middle East. The nation is home to the United States Fifth Fleet, its primary base for the entire West Asian-Middle East region. The base has proven vital over the decades as a launchpad for American invasions of neighboring states and continues to serve a role as a base of operations for the U.S.
Both Bahrain and the UAE are also partners in the Saudi-led coalition’s aggression in Yemen, not only attacking military targets but striking against medical and water facilities over 200 times since the war began in 2015. The United Nations has called the country “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” estimating that 14 million people — over half its population — are at risk of famine, and 20.5 million need help accessing drinkable water. The Abraham Accord is sure to increase the amount of high-tech weaponry available to both Bahrain and the UAE, which will immediately be used in their Yemen campaign.
The destabilization of the country has led the World Food Program to warn of a “famine of biblical proportions” if nothing is done about it. The UAE and Bahrain have continued to justify their involvement in the conflict on the basis of the Houthi militias’ alleged ties to Iran, claiming they need to support the legitimate government as a bulwark against Iranian domination of the region.
“The UAE is one of the central protagonists in the cataclysmic war of aggression against Yemen—alongside key partners such as Saudi Arabia, the U.S., U.K., and Canada—so there is a strong possibility that the UAE will unleash these killing machines on the impoverished Yemeni population that it has already done so much to devastate,” said Shupak. “Likewise, increased intelligence sharing between Israel and the UAE could entail Israel helping the UAE having more, and possibly more advanced, information that it can use to maim and kill Yemenis.”
Palestine: no justice. No peace
Notable by their absence at the negotiations was any Palestinian representation, and according to Shupak, the deal actually lifts international pressure on Israel with regards to Palestine, exactly the opposite of what the UAE and Bahrain have claimed.
What’s most significant for Palestinians about normalization is that it means Israel no longer has to face the political and economic costs of being boycotted by the UAE and Bahrain or any state that chooses to follow them: thus, a mechanism that could have helped play some part in ending Israeli colonialism is no longer available,” he told MintPress.
In fact, Israel did not formally relinquish its claim to the fertile Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, nor did any of its promises to moderate its behavior towards Palestine result in the cessation of bombing Gaza, which it continued to do throughout the talks, let alone lifting blockades against Palestinians or guaranteeing them the right of return to their homes.
Therefore, while some in the media try to spin the deal as a good thing for Palestinians, there will likely be no reduction, let alone an end to their suffering in the near future. This, for Bennis, was the fact that undermined the whole concept of a peace accord:
The definition of peace has to come back to what we learned from Dr. Martin Luther King, which is that peace is not just the absence of war but the presence of justice. If you are not going to at least talk about justice for the Palestinians then you’re not serious about peace.”
And so while New York Times columnists might describe the news as “a rare triumph in the Middle East,” the question remains, a triumph for whom? Perhaps for Washington war hawks, defense contractors, and undemocratic Middle Eastern rulers, but not for the people of the region. “[The accord] is very bleak if you care about human rights and anything remotely resembling justice,” Bennis added.
Feature photo | Members of the Iranian army take part in the annual Zolphaghar 99 military drill in the Gulf of Oman, September 10, 2020. Photo | WANA
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-10-06--From British Israelism to the Miami Model: What’s Behind QAnon’s 2020 Resurgence?

A simple wave of Trump ’ s hand from his motorcade at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was enough for QAnon believers to race to their internet-connected devices and begin decoding the latest Q drops .
These “ encoded ” social media posts spread through obscure internet forums like 8-Chan that are considered by adherents to be veiled communications from “ patriots ” with special access to the hidden truth behind the American deep state and what they perceive as its subversive campaign to destroy the foundational values of the country .
According to NBC News , “ QAnon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decode the president ’ s tweet announcing he had the disease and [ tried ] to deduce clues from the statement ’ s use of capital letters.
” QAnon devotees had apparently reached a consensus about the meaning behind the president ’ s illness after exchanging interpretations of Trump ’ s COVID-19 diagnosis across their preferred internet forums .
Unsurprisingly , their conclusion reaffirmed their unfaltering belief in “ the plan ” they assert Trump is carrying out in order to weed out what they believe is a satanic pedophile network run by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” has been unfolding for this quasireligious revivalist movement of the digital age since the phenomenon got its start during the 2016 presidential election as a result of a purportedly false claim made by a known White supremacist account “ David Goldberg ” on Twitter .
The NYPD , he tweeted , had initiated an investigation into Democratic Party official John Podesta ’ s emails leaked by Wikileaks , where evidence of a pedophile ring operating out of a pizza parlor in New York City had been ostensibly uncovered .
The hashtag # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thereafter and the narrative of reality TV star and Manhattan real estate developer Donald Trump as a white knight come to save America from “ the swamp ” in Washington D.C. was rapidly adopted by a freshly-galvanized nationalist-minded segment of the U.S. population , who jumped at the opportunity to subsume the biggest “ conspiracy theories ” in the United States ( including the Kennedy assassination ) under one grand and redemptive story for an America which Trump promised to “ make great again.
” With the 2020 election only weeks away , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new momentum after the end of the Mueller investigation , which provided adherents with so much fodder that it relegated some of its popularity to yesterday ’ s news .
The coronavirus crisis and the eruption of anti-police brutality protests have both converged to remotivate QAnon ’ ers and bring in new blood from as far away as Australia .
In the United States , QAnon ’ s newest enthusiasts are coming from police departments across the country , according to a recent Mother Jones investigation “ It ’ s called ‘ Q @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says an Illinois police officer who has bought into the Q narrative .
“ I ’ m merely someone who sits on my couch late at night with my dog on my lap , iPhone in hand , while seeking the truth , ” he told the New York Times Last time I checked , there was nothing wrong with that !
” .
The ubiquitous presence of elements from law enforcement throughout the gestation of the phenomenon , as well as the grand narrative concocted with virtually every significant “ conspiracy theory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Kennedy assassination to 9/11 – recast as a backdrop for an absurd tale about the redemption of the country , all point to QAnon being an elaborate psyop to justify internet de-platforming of dissident voices , on the one hand , and the potential real-world confrontation between nationalist , pro-cop groups and left-leaning contingents of the BLM , anti-police brutality crowd to justify a more severe crackdown on civil liberties , that began almost twenty years ago with the passage of the Patriot Act .
Suspicions that the individual who started the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing was actually a police officer may have been spurred by popular imagination at first .
But such assumptions are rooted in a well-documented , modern-day history of sabotage and infiltration by police officers in any consequential show of resistance against the establishment .
In 1999 , underhanded police tactics were used against demonstrators at the anti-WTO protests in Seattle , Washington .
Just four years later , undercover police agitators were crossing protest lines in Miami , Florida to incite violence among the thousands who had gathered in downtown to disrupt Bush @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americas ( FTAA ) talks in 2003 .
Police departments in South Florida benefited from the first post-9/11 mass protest by receiving billions from the federal government to implement what has since been referred to as the “ Miami Model ” ; a policing tactic “ designed to intimidate political demonstrators , silence dissent , and criminalize protest against [ … ] government policies ” , according to then-president of the ACLU ’ s Greater Miami Chapter , Terry Coble .
It was here , at the start of the new millennium , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security , that the American establishment began to build the parameters wherein the legal contours of the ‘ domestic terrorist ’ would be framed .
Two decades later , the legal framework is firmly in place as the USA Freedom Act .
In the wake of the Minneapolis riots where a police precinct was burned to the ground , Attorney General Barr released a statement declaring that it was “ time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regional FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces ( JTTF ) to “ identify criminal organizers and instigators ” with “ extremist ” agendas .
Examination of the broader narrative espoused by QAnon followers reveals a more-than-passing similarity to the White supremacist canon developed mainly in the South in the late 1970s .
That ideology held that the White race was the “ last line of defense ” against a “ secret , powerful cabal of Jewish families and white race traitors , ” that make up the “ ZOG ” ( Zionist Occupied Government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in her book about the birth of White Supremacist ideologies in the United States , titled “ Aryan Cowboys.
” According to the original ideology , the ZOG ’ s goal is to “ bring the United States to its knees economically ” and implement the New World Order ; a carbon copy of the “ deep state ” QAnon devotees are convinced they are exposing through their diligent deciphering of so-called Q drops and unwavering support for Donald Trump , who is perceived to be carrying out the secret plan to finally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ age of White American exceptionalism .
The Nazi overtones of the entire Q creed are unmistakable and perhaps no sharper than in Q ’ s characterization of the Trump administration as “ The Storm ” in what is almost certainly a direct reference to both the Sturmabteilung ( Nazi Stormtroopers ) and to a White Supremacist online bulletin board called Stormfront , which was established in 1990 and run out of West Palm Beach , Florida , by a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and member of the National Socialist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white nationalist David Duke ’ s campaign for United States senator for Louisiana .
This ZOG narrative has long been the ideological backbone of White prison gangs , courtesy of John Greschner , one of the leaders of the largest and most powerful White Supremacist prison gang in the country , who came up with the idea to infuse its members with “ some northern European religion or whatever , and some racial thing ” that he correctly calculated would more successfully enforce membership and loyalty in their growing and varied criminal enterprise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , extortion , and many other illegal activities within and outside prison walls .
QAnon simply overlays a direct political layer to this ideology using Trump as a savior figure .
Any tolerance their followers show towards Israel and the president ’ s Jewish son-in-law is only part of the “ plan ” they must trust , and not a departure from the staunchly xenophobic movement , which is ultimately a modern form of what has been termed “ British Israelism ” – the belief that the Anglo Saxon race is the true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American Settler psychology and is expressed not only via QAnon messaging , but through far more mainstream media sources like Ann Coulter and Fox News ; both of whom target the rust and bible belts where versions of the QAnon narrative have been amalgamating for years as people try to cope with their increased disenfranchisement .
A recent retweet by former U.S. director of National Intelligence , Richard Grenell , who amplified the message of one of the largest QAnon accounts , reveals one of the subtle ways in which the group is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep state they claim to abhor , by some miracle of cognitive dissonance .
The secret “ plan ” allows people like Grenell and NYPD sergeants ’ union chief , Ed Mullins , to speak for them .
Mullins has repeatedly endorsed QAnon in television appearances on Fox News and other outlets and as Americans get ready to vote for a president in the coming weeks , QAnon is enjoying a strong resurgence through among Trump supporters and the from Trump , himself , who stated in a press conference last August that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he was aware that “ they like [ him ] very much ” .
A survey by Civiqs from early September reported that 1 in 3 Republicans believe QAnon theories to be mostly true , while another 23 percent admit that parts of the narrative is real .
Since July of 2019 , awareness about QAnon among the American public has jumped from 65 % to nearly 80 % .
Police officers all over the country are among the growing numbers and , if we read between the lines of a 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police law , Samuel Walker , we can see how QAnon ’ s inroads into America ’ s police departments could serve the interests of those who wish to re-make policing in the United States .
“ We have 18,000 separate local police departments—15,000 city police departments and 3,000 county sheriffs , ” Walker answered when asked about discipline standards for police officers who engage in QAnon-type conspiracies .
“ The only applicable national standard , ” he continued , “ would be Supreme Court decisions… But one of the real problems in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 18,000 separate , independent , local law enforcement agencies .
And they do most of the work in policing.
” Feature photo | A person caring a sign supporting QAnon wears a t-shirt that shows the QAnon name in the format of a rope noose during a protest rally in Olympia , Wash , May 14 , 2020 .
Ted S. Warren | AP

A simple wave of Trump’s hand from his motorcade at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was enough for QAnon believers to race to their internet-connected devices and begin decoding the latest Q drops. These “encoded” social media posts spread through obscure internet forums like 8-Chan that are considered by adherents to be veiled communications from “patriots” with special access to the hidden truth behind the American deep state and what they perceive as its subversive campaign to destroy the foundational values of the country.
According to NBC News, “QAnon influencers” immediately set out “to decode the president’s tweet announcing he had the disease and [tried] to deduce clues from the statement’s use of capital letters.” QAnon devotees had apparently reached a consensus about the meaning behind the president’s illness after exchanging interpretations of Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis across their preferred internet forums. Unsurprisingly, their conclusion reaffirmed their unfaltering belief in “the plan” they assert Trump is carrying out in order to weed out what they believe is a satanic pedophile network run by the opposing party.
The “plan” has been unfolding for this quasireligious revivalist movement of the digital age since the phenomenon got its start during the 2016 presidential election as a result of a purportedly false claim made by a known White supremacist account “David Goldberg” on Twitter. The NYPD, he tweeted, had initiated an investigation into Democratic Party official John Podesta’s emails leaked by Wikileaks, where evidence of a pedophile ring operating out of a pizza parlor in New York City had been ostensibly uncovered.
The hashtag #pizzagate erupted all over social media soon thereafter and the narrative of reality TV star and Manhattan real estate developer Donald Trump as a white knight come to save America from “the swamp” in Washington D.C. was rapidly adopted by a freshly-galvanized nationalist-minded segment of the U.S. population, who jumped at the opportunity to subsume the biggest “conspiracy theories” in the United States (including the Kennedy assassination) under one grand and redemptive story for an America which Trump promised to “make great again.”
Q’s 2020 resurgence
With the 2020 election only weeks away, the QAnon movement seems to have gathered new momentum after the end of the Mueller investigation, which provided adherents with so much fodder that it relegated some of its popularity to yesterday’s news. The coronavirus crisis and the eruption of anti-police brutality protests have both converged to remotivate QAnon’ers and bring in new blood from as far away as Australia.
In the United States, QAnon’s newest enthusiasts are coming from police departments across the country, according to a recent Mother Jones investigation . “It’s called ‘Q Research’ for a reason,” says an Illinois police officer who has bought into the Q narrative. “I’m merely someone who sits on my couch late at night with my dog on my lap, iPhone in hand, while seeking the truth,” he told the New York Times Last time I checked, there was nothing wrong with that!”.
The ubiquitous presence of elements from law enforcement throughout the gestation of the phenomenon, as well as the grand narrative concocted with virtually every significant “conspiracy theory” in recent American history – from the Kennedy assassination to 9/11 – recast as a backdrop for an absurd tale about the redemption of the country, all point to QAnon being an elaborate psyop to justify internet de-platforming of dissident voices, on the one hand, and the potential real-world confrontation between nationalist, pro-cop groups and left-leaning contingents of the BLM, anti-police brutality crowd to justify a more severe crackdown on civil liberties, that began almost twenty years ago with the passage of the Patriot Act.
Since Twitter imposed some restrictions on well-known QAnon phrases and hashtags appearing in trends, the conspiracy's followers have started using new ones to circumvent the ban. #SavetheChildren is one of them, which has been tweeted over 200,000 times since Friday pic.twitter.com/8SJgyOWfj7 — Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) August 10, 2020
The Miami Model
Suspicions that the individual who started the chaos in Minnesota following the George Floyd killing was actually a police officer may have been spurred by popular imagination at first. But such assumptions are rooted in a well-documented, modern-day history of sabotage and infiltration by police officers in any consequential show of resistance against the establishment.
In 1999, underhanded police tactics were used against demonstrators at the anti-WTO protests in Seattle, Washington. Just four years later, undercover police agitators were crossing protest lines in Miami, Florida to incite violence among the thousands who had gathered in downtown to disrupt Bush’s Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) talks in 2003.
Police departments in South Florida benefited from the first post-9/11 mass protest by receiving billions from the federal government to implement what has since been referred to as the “Miami Model”; a policing tactic “designed to intimidate political demonstrators, silence dissent, and criminalize protest against […] government policies”, according to then-president of the ACLU’s Greater Miami Chapter, Terry Coble.
It was here, at the start of the new millennium, with the passage of the highly controversial Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, that the American establishment began to build the parameters wherein the legal contours of the ‘domestic terrorist’ would be framed. Two decades later, the legal framework is firmly in place as the USA Freedom Act.
In the wake of the Minneapolis riots where a police precinct was burned to the ground, Attorney General Barr released a statement declaring that it was “time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it”, directing the country’s 56 regional FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) to “identify criminal organizers and instigators” with “extremist” agendas.
Stormtroopers
Examination of the broader narrative espoused by QAnon followers reveals a more-than-passing similarity to the White supremacist canon developed mainly in the South in the late 1970s. That ideology held that the White race was the “last line of defense” against a “secret, powerful cabal of Jewish families and white race traitors,” that make up the “ZOG” (Zionist Occupied Government), according to Evelyn A. Schlatter in her book about the birth of White Supremacist ideologies in the United States, titled “Aryan Cowboys.”
According to the original ideology, the ZOG’s goal is to “bring the United States to its knees economically” and implement the New World Order; a carbon copy of the “deep state” QAnon devotees are convinced they are exposing through their diligent deciphering of so-called Q drops and unwavering support for Donald Trump, who is perceived to be carrying out the secret plan to finally conquer the ZOG and implement a golden age of White American exceptionalism.
The Nazi overtones of the entire Q creed are unmistakable and perhaps no sharper than in Q’s characterization of the Trump administration as “The Storm” in what is almost certainly a direct reference to both the Sturmabteilung (Nazi Stormtroopers) and to a White Supremacist online bulletin board called Stormfront, which was established in 1990 and run out of West Palm Beach, Florida, by a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and member of the National Socialist White People’s Party to support white nationalist David Duke’s campaign for United States senator for Louisiana.
This ZOG narrative has long been the ideological backbone of White prison gangs, courtesy of John Greschner, one of the leaders of the largest and most powerful White Supremacist prison gang in the country, who came up with the idea to infuse its members with “some northern European religion or whatever, and some racial thing” that he correctly calculated would more successfully enforce membership and loyalty in their growing and varied criminal enterprise, that includes drug trafficking, murder-for-hire, extortion, and many other illegal activities within and outside prison walls.
Modern-day British Israelism
QAnon simply overlays a direct political layer to this ideology using Trump as a savior figure. Any tolerance their followers show towards Israel and the president’s Jewish son-in-law is only part of the “plan” they must trust, and not a departure from the staunchly xenophobic movement, which is ultimately a modern form of what has been termed “British Israelism” – the belief that the Anglo Saxon race is the true chosen people – which runs deep in American Settler psychology and is expressed not only via QAnon messaging, but through far more mainstream media sources like Ann Coulter and Fox News; both of whom target the rust and bible belts where versions of the QAnon narrative have been amalgamating for years as people try to cope with their increased disenfranchisement.
A recent retweet by former U.S. director of National Intelligence, Richard Grenell, who amplified the message of one of the largest QAnon accounts, reveals one of the subtle ways in which the group is promoted by the very members of the deep state they claim to abhor, by some miracle of cognitive dissonance. The secret “plan” allows people like Grenell and NYPD sergeants’ union chief, Ed Mullins, to speak for them.
https://twitter.com/partynxs/status/1312585373365739520?s=20
Mullins has repeatedly endorsed QAnon in television appearances on Fox News and other outlets and as Americans get ready to vote for a president in the coming weeks, QAnon is enjoying a strong resurgence through among Trump supporters and the from Trump, himself, who stated in a press conference last August that despite not knowing much about the movement, he was aware that “they like [him] very much”.
A survey by Civiqs from early September reported that 1 in 3 Republicans believe QAnon theories to be mostly true, while another 23 percent admit that parts of the narrative is real. Since July of 2019, awareness about QAnon among the American public has jumped from 65% to nearly 80%. Police officers all over the country are among the growing numbers and, if we read between the lines of a 2019 interview in Vice with prominent expert on police law, Samuel Walker, we can see how QAnon’s inroads into America’s police departments could serve the interests of those who wish to re-make policing in the United States.
“We have 18,000 separate local police departments—15,000 city police departments and 3,000 county sheriffs,” Walker answered when asked about discipline standards for police officers who engage in QAnon-type conspiracies. “The only applicable national standard,” he continued, “would be Supreme Court decisions… But one of the real problems in this country is that we have these 18,000 separate, independent, local law enforcement agencies. And they do most of the work in policing.”
Feature photo | A person caring a sign supporting QAnon wears a t-shirt that shows the QAnon name in the format of a rope noose during a protest rally in Olympia, Wash, May 14, 2020. Ted S. Warren | AP
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.