Using word 'Bangladeshi' for every migrant worker is dangerous: Justice S Muralidhar
He said that sweeping generalizations often lead to unwarranted national security concerns and unjust treatment of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
“In England, the Brexit catastrophe was the result of another golden age myth, which is: ‘England used to be this glorious country and it could be that glorious country again, if only we could get rid of all these foreigners.’
“Of course they neglected to mention to the electorate that the reason England was so prosperous was that it had spent 200 years plundering the rest of the world.”
"Whenever he’s found himself on the back foot during his nine-year tenure as India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi has tended to hunker down in that last refuge of scoundrel leaders everywhere: nationalism"
Soldiers on leave now govt’s marketing agents, by order of Army HQ!
Last week, media reports said that the Indian Army had passed an order to all its soldiers going on leave – soldiers are authorised 60 days of annual leave – to spend time doing “social service” to enhance “nation-building efforts”. What are they supposed to do? The Army HQ’s list of suggestions: Talk to the local community about Modi government schemes. Sushant Singh writes.
Is there any dumber than assigning nationality to historical figures who were not only born centuries before said countries and borders existed, but before the idea of "nationality" and "nation" existed?
Yes. Assigning nationality to mythical figures and mythical kingdoms.
Today in Labor History August 27, 1942: Germans and Ukrainian Auxiliary Police began the Sarny Massacre in Nazi-occupied Poland (now part of Ukraine). They killed 14,000-18,000 people over 2 days, mostly Jews from Sarny and neighboring towns. At least 100 Roma were also killed. Prior to the massacre, Sarny had a Jewish population of 5-7,000. Soviet forces had occupied the town since 1939, retreated after the Nazi assault on the USSR in 1941. However, Ukrainian nationalists remained, hoping that their alliance with the Nazis would help them create an independent Ukraine.
Today in Labor History August 26, 1942: At Chortkiv, the Ukrainian police and German Schutzpolizei deport two thousand Jews to Bełżec extermination camp. Five hundred of the sick and children were murdered on the spot. This continued until the next day. Prior to this, Chortkiv had a large Jewish community. Overall, an estimated 900,000-1.6 million Ukrainian Jews were executed during the Holocaust, with the collaboration of the Ukrainian military. According to German historian Dieter Pohl, roughly 100,000 Ukrainians joined police forces that participated in Nazi atrocities. Many participated in mass shootings of Jews, as well. Ivan the Terrible was a Ukrainian who served as a guard at the Treblinka death camp. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), founded in 1929, is an ultra-right, racist and nationalist organization that, during the WWII era, boasted tens of thousands of members, and which also collaborated with Nazi atrocities, including the Lviv pogroms of 1941, in which up to 6,000 Jews were massacred. During the Cold War, and despite their fascistic and antisemitic tendencies, the CIA and other western intelligence agencies funded and supported the OUN because of their anti-communist ideology. The organization, which still exists today, helped to popularize the nationalistic slogan “Slava Ukraini!” in the 1930s, though the slogan first appeared during the Ukrainian War of Independence (1917-1921). The OUN was active in the 1914 Euromaidan protests, and they are one of numerous far right nationalist organizations participating in the current war against Russia.
This, by @rbreich, confirms my view that right-wing populism is, in large part, the result of the left abandoning class struggle. I am fully aware that class is uncool in contemporary political discourse, but it remains very, very real.
This Reporting Guide provides extensive background on Hindu nationalism, what it is, where it comes from, what advocacy organizations and human rights groups are saying about it and what the future might hold for Hindutva.
Dear journalists: Please please please do not simply quote team Trump's latest lies -- in this case, the fantasy that the latest indictment is a "free speech" issue -- as one side of a dispute.
What will it take for Big Journalism to realize that our democracy is in serious jeopardy? What will it take for the craft to stand up in support of democracy?
At this point it's fair to worry that nothing will get journalists to move very far away from business as usual -- even with so much at stake.
Powerful and Continuing #Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of #patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. #Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of #HumanRights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, and long incarcerations of prisoners.
Supremacy of the #Military
Even when there are widespread #domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant #Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional #gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to #abortion is high, as is #homophobia and anti-#gay legislation.
Controlled #MassMedia
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government #censorship and #secrecy especially in war time, are very common.
Obsession with #NationalSecurity
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
#Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
Protection of #Corporate Power
The #industrial and business #aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Suppression of #Labor Power
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor #unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
Disdain for #Intellectuals and the #Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to #HigherEducation and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other #academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with #Crime and #Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the #police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego #CivilLiberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant #Cronyism and #Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
#Fraudulent#Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
This post is a summary of Fascism, Anyone? by Lawrence W. Britt published in 2003 by Free Inquiry magazine."