Candace Owens, the spokeswoman and communications director of controversial right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA, expressed some thoughts about Hitler, nationalism and globalism:
“Globalism is what I don’t want. So, when you think about whenever we say nationalism, the first thing people think about, at least in America, is Hitler. He was a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, OK, fine. The problem is that he wanted — he had dreams outside of Germany. He wanted to globalize.”
Here is a link to the video and full transcript of her comment (on Media Matters):
Category: 6 Special Posts
Lessons from Weimar
Germany’s government marked the centenary of the Weimar Republic and Germany’s first democratic constitution, yesterday. At its time, the Weimar Constitution was very liberal and progressive, but it also had some fatal flaws that helped Adolf Hitler to rise to power in 1933. Chancellor Angela Merkel said that “every generation must once again struggle for democracy.” She added that present-day Europe has drawn lessons from Weimar and the “terrible” Nazi era. Stephan Harbarth, the vice-president of Germany’s top court, said:
“The failure of the Weimar Republic must… remind us… to counter those who seek to eliminate freedom and democracy, consistently and at an early stage.” (1)
Germany has had problems with far-right movements and parties during recent years, most notably because of anti-Islam movement PEGIDA and far-right party “Alternative for Germany” AfD. According to some recent polls, AfD has lost some support, but it is still in the fourth place with 12-13 per cent support (2, 3). Internal differences in AfD have lead to birth of far-right splinter groups. Frauke Petry, former co-head of AfD, formed “The Blue Party” (Die blaue Partei) in 2017 (4). André Poggenburg criticized AfD for “shifting to the left” and formed a new group “Awakening of German Patriots” AdP last month (5). The support of the other far-right parties seems to be minimal compared to AfD.
References:
1) “Germany marks 100 years since Weimar Constitution” Deutsche Welle 6.2.2019
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-marks-100-years-since-weimar-constitution/a-47379754
2) “Politbarometer Januar II 2019” Forschungsgruppe.de 25.1.2019
http://www.forschungsgruppe.de/Aktuelles/Politbarometer/
3) “Wenn am nächsten Sonntag Bundestagswahl wäre…” Sonntagsfrage – Forsa 2.2.2019
https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/forsa.htm
4) “Former leader of Germany’s far-right kicks off new ‘Blue Party'” Reuters 12.10.2017
5) “New far-right German party adopts former secret Nazi symbol” The Guardian 11.1.2019
US Senate approves anti-BDS bill
The US Senate approved new anti-BDS bill by votes of 77-23, yesterday. The bill will be sent to the House of Representatives where it will probably face new debate. The only Republican who voted against the bill was Senator Rand Paul. (1, 2) He said:
“Our country was founded upon the concept and in the midst of a great boycott. At the time, we were boycotting British goods and most specifically, British tea. There is likely nothing more American than to protest, to dissent and to boycott.”
“The sad thing today is that we will be debating whether or not to place limitations on the First Amendment right to boycott, and we will do it because the vast majority of this body disagrees with the concept of what the people are boycotting over.” (1)
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders said last week:
“While I do not support the BDS movement, we must defend every American’s constitutional right to engage in political activity. It is clear to me that this bill would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights.” (2)
References:
1) “US Senate approves anti-BDS bill, slowdown of Syria withdrawal” Al Jazeera 6.2.2019
2) “Senate approves Syria, anti-BDS bill” The Hill 5.2.2019
https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/428572-senate-approves-syria-anti-bds-bill
British hardline right-wingers welcome new controversial youth organization
British hardline right-wingers and Brexiteers, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel, have been enthusiastic about a new right-wing youth organization Turning Point UK which is a spin-off from a controversial American youth organization Turning Point USA founded by Charlie Kirk. Turning Point USA has close ties with President Trump’s family and inner circle and Fox News as well several alt-right figures and media outlets, for example Steve Bannon and Breitbart News. Kirk is a former contributor to Breitbart News and he also worked for Trump presidential campaign in 2016. (1,2)
The UK organization will be headed by George Farmer, whose father Michael Farmer is a multimillionaire financier and longtime Tory donor. George Farmer has been socializing with some hardline right-wingers, such as Paul Joseph Watson, who works for far-right conspiracy theory website Infowars. George Farmer is engaged to Candace Owens who is a spokeswoman and Director of Communications of the Turning Point USA. George Farmer has caused controversy because of his derogatory and Islamophobic tweets. (1, 3)
Anne Marie Waters, founder of British anti-Muslim party For Britain, has praised the launch of Turning Point UK and hopes to be able to cooperate with the organization (1). Former leader of far-right UKIP party Nigel Farage expressed his support for Turning Point UK on Fox News today:
References:
1) “Tory MPs back youth group with apparent links to US far right” The Guardian 4.2.2019
2) “Who Funds Conservative Campus Group Turning Point USA? Donors Revealed” International Business Times 28.11.2017
3) Turning Point USA website
Katie Hopkins’ thoughts about “the best in people”
British poster-girl for far-right Katie Hopkins has tweeted an image that probably sums up her selective view of the humankind:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DyZgkaYWkAARyTs.jpg:large
Forgot to add earlier, that Hopkins had planned a nationwide Stand Strong School Tour in British schools in order to talk about Brexit, racism and President Trump. However, majority of the schools that had initially been willing to take part to her tour pulled out (1, 2). Hopkins has still been able to visit some schools, for example two prestigious schools in London, Harrow School and Westminster School last month. (2, 3)
References:
1) “Katie Hopkins visiting schools to teach kids about Brexit, racism and Donald Trump – but teachers ‘don’t want her'” Mirror 4.2.2018
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/katie-hopkins-visiting-schools-teach-11258654
2) “‘Funding threats’ force schools to cancel Katie Hopkins speaking tour” Shy Society 8.3.2018
3) Katie Hopkins on Twitter 17.1.2019
Were President Putin and President Maduro secretly in a same band?
Were President Putin and President Maduro secretly in a same band during 1980’s? Read the great story and watch the video on RT:
USA and far-right Azov Battalion in Ukraine
USA has had military cooperation with radical groups particularly in the Middle East. However, the cooperation with far-right parties and militia groups, such as Azov Battalion, in Ukraine may have been one of the most controversial and it may also backfire handsomely.
The Azov Battalion, or Azov Regiment, is one of many privately-funded volunteer battalions that were formed during the crisis in Ukraine in 2014 (1). Far-right volunteers from different parts of the world joined Azov Battalion. Azov Battalion has benefited from the funding, weapons and training USA has provided for Ukrainian military groups. Azov has gradually developed into a far-right, neo-Nazi movement with street-patrolling militia and own youth camp (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Because of the neo-Nazi element of the battalion, US Congressmen John Conyers and Ted Yoho drew up an amendment to House Defense Appropriations bill in 2015. The amendment “limits arms, training, and other assistance to the neo-Nazi Ukrainian militia, the Azov Battalion” and it was passed unanimously. However, US Department of Defense objected the amendment. The ban to give any kind of support or training to Azov Battalion finally came to force last year. (3, 4)
The Azov Movement and other similar far-right groups and parties have become increasingly severe problem in Ukraine. Their militia groups have been allowed to be some sort of part of law enforcement and they have attacked minority groups, often with impunity. There have also been attacks on anti-fascist groups, city council meetings, media outlets, art exhibitions, foreign students and women’s marches (1, 5).
The Azov Movement also wants to extend its cooperation with other far-right radical groups in Europe and North America. Olena Semenyaka, the international secretary for Azov’s political wing, the National Corps, says that Azov has gained popularity and become “small state in a state” in Ukraine. Semenyaka believes that in the current climate it is possible that far-right leaders can come to power in Europe and Azov wants to form coalitions and be in front of the far-right movement. There has also been more and more cooperation with American neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists. According to FBI, Azov’s military wing is “believed to have participated in training and radicalizing United States-based white supremacy organizations.” (5)
References:
1) “Commentary: Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem” Reuters 19.3.2018
2) “Foreigners join far-right militias in Ukraine’s fight against rebels” The Irish Times 17.7.2014
3) “Congress Has Removed a Ban on Funding Neo-Nazis From Its Year-End Spending Bill” The Nation 14.1.2016
4) “Congress bans arms to Ukraine militia linked to neo-Nazis” The Hill 27.3.2018
5) “Azov, Ukraine’s Most Prominent Ultranationalist Group, Sets Its Sights On U.S., Europe” Radio Free Europe 14.11.2018
From friend to foe – new American approach to Europe
Perhaps one of the most surprising changes during the Trump presidency has been the change in the attitude towards Europe and particularly the European Union. When asked to identify his biggest competitor or foe during an interview in July 2018, President Trump said:
“Well, I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now, you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.” (1)
USA and particularly Republicans have increased their cooperation with European far-right and right-wing populist leaders. The former leader of British far-right party UKIP, “Mr. Brexit” Nigel Farage has had close ties particularly to President Trump and Steve Bannon (2). Farage is still campaigning for Brexit and according to him President Trump is a “believer in Brexit” (3, 4). In last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC, organized by American Conservative Union ACU, one of the guest speakers was Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, who describes herself to be “the political heir” of her grandfather Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French far-right party National Front (5).
President Trump has appointed ambassadors who have caused controversy. The US ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra has worked closely with some American anti-Muslim organizations and he has made several unsubstantiated anti-Muslim claims (6). The US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell caused controversy already before his appointment because of his insulting and derogatory remarks about women. After becoming the ambassador Grenell gave an interview to far-right news outlet Breitbart and said that he wanted to “empower” anti-establishment right-wing forces throughout Europe (7, 8). Steve Bannon has been trying to start a “Trump-style populist insurgency” with his Brussels-based group The Movement. However, many European far-right parties or politicians haven’t been very keen to join his operation (9).
Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has joined Bannon’s group (9, 10). Salvini has also wanted to create “Italian-Polish axis” that could help to spark right-wing populist “European Spring” and replace the center-right “French-German axis” in Europe (11). Poland has become increasingly important ally of USA. President Trump has praised Poland and Polish people “for standing up for their independence, their security and their sovereignty.” The ruling Polish nationalists have wanted to strengthen the American-Polish alliance even more by requesting that USA would establish a permanent armored base, “Fort Trump”, in Poland. European diplomats have been worried that “hard-liners in the White House are using a willing Warsaw as a wedge to divide and weaken the EU, with which Trump has clashed over trade, climate change, defense spending, Middle East diplomacy and global governance” (12).
Reference:
1) “Donald Trump calls the EU ‘a foe’ ahead of Putin summit” Independent 15.7.2018
2) “Nigel Farage on the story behind his friendship with Trump” The New Yorker 30.11.2016
3) “Nigel Farage: Trump supports Brexit because it will upend ‘global bureaucracy’” Breitbart 20.12.2018
4) “Nigel Farage joins Leave Means Leave campaign as Vice Chairman” Leave Means Leave
https://www.leavemeansleave.eu/nigel-farage-joins-leave-means-leave-campaign-vice-chairman/
5) “Trump’s GOP is morphing into France’s far right” The Washington Post 23.2.2018
6) “New US ambassador to Netherlands regularly made unsubstantiated ‘no-go zones’ claims, speculated 15% of Muslims could be jihadists” CNN 9.1.2018
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/09/politics/kfile-pete-hoekstra-no-go-zones/index.html
7) “Senator weighs holding up Trump nominee over ‘insulting and derogatory’ tweets” The Daily Beast 12.7.2017
8) “New US ambassador to Germany under fire for rightwing support” The Guardian 4.6.2018
9) “Steve Bannon’s far-right Europe operation undermined by election laws” The Guardian 21.11.2018
10) “Italy’s Matteo Salvini joins Bannon’s European populist group” The Guardian 8.9.2018
11) “Salvini calls for ‘Italian-Polish axis’ to replace Paris-Berlin” EurActiv 10.1.2019
12) “Poland’s risky ‘America first’ policy” Politico 6.10.2018
https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-risky-america-first-policy-jaroslaw-kaczynski-donald-trump/
Geopolitical thoughts about the American “empire”
Because of some recent events in different parts of the world, here are some timely geopolitical thoughts about USA as an “empire.” These thoughts are from Stratfor, an American geopolitical intelligence platform founded by George Friedman in 1996 (1). Stratfor is sometimes called “Shadow CIA.” (2)
George Friedman explained the nature of the American “empire” during a media conference in 2015. Here is a YouTube link to that part of his speech:
Here are some extracts of a Stratfor article “The Geopolitics of the United States, Part 1: The Inevitable Empire.” (3)
“The two world wars of the early 20th century constituted a watershed in human history for a number of reasons. For the United States the wars’ effects can be summed up with this simple statement: They cleared away the competition.
Global history from 1500 to 1945 is a lengthy treatise of increasing contact and conflict among a series of great regional powers. Some of these powers achieved supra-regional empires, with the Spanish, French and English being the most obvious. Several regional powers — Austria, Germany, Ottoman Turkey and Japan — also succeeded in extending their writ over huge tracts of territory during parts of this period. And several secondary powers — the Netherlands, Poland, China and Portugal — had periods of relative strength. Yet the two world wars massively devastated all of these powers. No battles were fought in the mainland United States. Not a single American factory was ever bombed. Alone among the world’s powers in 1945, the United States was not only functional but thriving.
The United States immediately set to work consolidating its newfound power, creating a global architecture to entrench its position.”
“There is another secret to American success — both in controlling the oceans and taking advantage of European failures — that lies in an often-misunderstood economic structure called Bretton Woods. Even before World War II ended, the United States had leveraged its position as the largest economy and military to convince all of the Western allies — most of whose governments were in exile at the time — to sign onto the Bretton Woods accords. The states committed to the formation of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to assist with the expected post-War reconstruction. Considering the general destitution of Western Europe at the time, this, in essence, was a U.S. commitment to finance if not outright fund that reconstruction. Because of that, the U.S. dollar was the obvious and only choice to serve as the global currency.
But Bretton Woods was about more than currency regimes and international institutions; its deeper purpose lay in two other features that are often overlooked. The United States would open its markets to participating states’ exports while not requiring reciprocal access for its own. In exchange, participating states would grant the United States deference in the crafting of security policy. NATO quickly emerged as the organization through which this policy was pursued. “
References:
1) Stratfor in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor
2) “Stratfor, a.k.a ‘Shadow CIA,’ Had Contracts With 13 Federal Departments: WikiLeaks” Huffington Post 14.2.2014
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/15/stratfor-canadian-government_n_4449505.html
3) “The Geopolitics of the United States, Part 1: The Inevitable Empire” Stratfor 4.7.2016
https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empire
The hardline Brexiteers and far right – more trouble
It has been quite unbelievable to read news about Brexit and the political situation in Britain, lately. I lived in Britain over 10 years, but Britain seems to have changed beyond recognition – and not in a good way.
Today’s perhaps most stunning news was about hardline Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who reportedly suggested that PM May “should close parliament temporarily if necessary to stop MPs passing a bill blocking a no-deal Brexit.” (1)
Another worrying news was about the threat posed by far right. Britain’s counter-terrorism chief Neil Basu said that “the far right will exploit Brexit tensions with their propaganda triggering rises in hate crime and creating an atmosphere that terrorists can exploit.” Mr Basu continued:
“My concern is the polarisation, and I fear the far-right politicking and rhetoric leads to a rise in hate crime and a rise in disorder.” (2)
References:
1) “May should close parliament if necessary to stop bill blocking no deal Brexit, says Rees-Mogg – Politics live” The Guardian 23.1.2019
2) “Far right may exploit Brexit tensions, says UK counter-terror chief” The Guardian 23.1.2019
IDIS Observer 
