But Fascism is also a political and economic system. Why, then, cannot we have a clear and generally accepted definition of it? Alas! we shall not get one – not yet, anyway … All one can do for the moment is to use the word with a certain amount of circumspection and not, as is usually done, degrade it to the level of a swearword. (George Orwell ‘What is Fascism?’) Godwin’s Law, a kind of internet update of Orwell’s own theory, states: “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches.” I was reminded of this recently as the increasingly hysterical debate over anti-eviction protests, or escraches, has raged. In particular, the … [Read more...] about Nazis?
protest
The next Spain
There’s an overwhelming consensus all across Spain that “we can’t go on like this”. Yet there’s an equally determined belief within the Rajoy government that we can, and in fact will, go on like this until it somehow gets better. Which means that someone – either the government with its faith that everything will come out well, or the entire population of the country, who believe that it won’t – has got it wrong. In this article I will take it as an assumption that the existing state of Spain will not be able to survive long enough to hold general elections again in 2015, and that therefore Rajoy’s Partido Popular government will be the last of the 1978-model Kingdom of Spain. How will … [Read more...] about The next Spain
Forget police brutality, this was verbal brutality
Whether or not the police in Madrid during the September 25 “Surround/Occupy Congress” protest acted with wanton brutality depends on whom you listen to. If it’s Interior Minister Jorge Fernández, then you’ll believe that the forces of order acted “magnificently” and “extraordinarily well” in the face of violent provocation. Likewise, the government’s delegate for Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes, deemed their behaviour “very professional”. Leaders of the protest itself and some opposition parties have seen it rather differently, accusing the police of using disproportionate force. A look at some of the day’s video footage reflects badly on both sides in the sense that some protesters and … [Read more...] about Forget police brutality, this was verbal brutality
Portuguese take to streets against austerity
It was a demonstration born on Facebook, on Saturday, September 8 - 24 hours after Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho announced a new tax on all workers. Exactly a week later it was reality - never since the revolution of 1974 had so many taken the streets to express their anger at the government. More than 1.5 million people hit the streets, according to state news agency LUSA. The hub of the protest was Lisbon, where 350,000 people walked two miles from Praça Jose Fontana Square to Praça de Espanha Square. In Porto, the same: more than 100,000 came out to Praça da Liberdade for more than four hours, to show their anger at the conditions resulting from the country's bailout … [Read more...] about Portuguese take to streets against austerity
