tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post141977808823882703..comments2024-01-03T08:31:24.554+00:00Comments on the_last_blog_left: The Far-Right and Austrian School Crossoverthe_last_name_lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-56729468636294032262010-08-01T17:17:25.631+01:002010-08-01T17:17:25.631+01:00I don't know what you mean, anonymous.
Of cou...I don't know what you mean, anonymous.<br /><br />Of course you can link to anything here......feel free.<br /><br />Why do you want to?the_last_name_lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-30512052685977416112010-08-01T10:48:37.459+01:002010-08-01T10:48:37.459+01:00I would like to exchange links with your site www....I would like to exchange links with your site www.blogger.com<br />Is this possible?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-73416767695098316402010-06-08T03:24:42.575+01:002010-06-08T03:24:42.575+01:00hmmm - I have just been given a major lesson on le...hmmm - I have just been given a major lesson on left anti-semitism with the treatment of this flotilla malarkey.<br /><br />I'm astonished, and appalled. I've lost a lot of respect for the left over it - I wonder if that will have wider consequences for my views. <br /><br />I've never been so surprised by the distance between myself and other lefties as on this flotilla thing. Everywhere it's "israel attacked the ships". shocking.<br /><br />well, at least the scales are off my eyes, and maybe I'll have more to offer on the subject. gee - shocker.the_last_name_lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-45817215639847239192010-06-02T17:29:25.864+01:002010-06-02T17:29:25.864+01:00Right: racism, Christ killer, Protocols of Zion, M...<b>Right: racism, Christ killer, Protocols of Zion, Marx (creator of Communism) was a Jew<br /><br />Left: capitalism was a Jewish invention, Jewish oppression of the Palestinians</b><br /><br />Yeah - although you'll doubtless recognise the right even makes use of supposed jewish roots of capitalism as material for anti-semitic propaganda?<br /><br />From my understanding, even the parts of the left which posit jewish part in rise of capitalism they stress the functionalism of the role rather than any innate ethnic characteristic of jews being responsible - they stress that jews were ostracised, non-integrated, excluded from trades, and thus were well positioned to become merchants/bankers. Or some such, i think. ;)<br /><br />That would certainly be my view - even if historically jews did play major role in development of capitalism, it is no 'racial failing' of jews.....it doesn't reveal some evil, exploitative heart of jewishness, whatever. The jews were already dispersed and discriminated against - the common idea of jews as capitalists I think is just a hangover from feudalistic anti-capitalism. Just another stick to beat jews with........like you say, the arguments also run that communism was jewish plot....so......lol<br /><br />Still, I would say at its core leftism is inherently antithetical to anti-semitism and other sorts of racism. That doesn't make it impossible to appear, just as other corruptions of socialism can appear. But the means to correction are present in the ideology.....whereas in the far-right, anti-semitism is a central tenet and to consider its "correction" necessary would be anti-thetical. I think that's a huge difference - though as I admit, one that might not mean much difference at all to some. (not being jewish or familiar with jewish communities, I can't form an opinion, really)<br /><br /><b>just the fact alone that people think National Socialism was a left wing movement is enough proof for me that people just do not know their history. I'm sure this has to play some role in all of this somehow.</b><br /><br />yeah - that was clever wasn't it, calling themselves National Socialists? Bastards! We're still trying to explain the deception today! :)<br /><br />A friend of mine got quite confused over this aspect - citing Venezuela as an example. I called Venezuela socialist nationalism, as opposed to national socialism. A subtle but crucial and major difference, I feel. <br /><br />All very interesting stuff - I appreciate your stimulating comments. Thanks.the_last_name_lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-88976499353294111052010-06-02T17:07:04.644+01:002010-06-02T17:07:04.644+01:00I haven't studied the matter in detail, but I ...I haven't studied the matter in detail, but I sense that jews get nailed by anti-semitism on the right and the left, but like you said, for different things.<br /><br />Right: racism, Christ killer, Protocols of Zion, Marx (creator of Communism) was a Jew<br /><br />Left: capitalism was a Jewish invention, Jewish oppression of the Palestinians<br /><br />Getting back to the left/right paradigm, it's hard for me to understand because I learned the traditional "left/right" spectrum in my college history courses, where Marx's ultimate goal was the end of nation states and the creation of communes or small communities that would own the means of production and distribute wealth/property as equally as possible. But that's the anti-authoritarian left vs. the Soviet style, which increased the centralized power of the government. Then on the right you have the big government/authoritarian Nazi's vs the libertarians who want as small a government as possible. So both the left and the right have their big/small government wings and if you go by a linear "left/right" spectrum, its REALLY hard to understand. And I can only imagine how hard it is for people who haven't studied history! I mean, just the fact alone that people think National Socialism was a left wing movement is enough proof for me that people just do not know their history. I'm sure this has to play some role in all of this somehow.Martin Firesteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15335352234313099031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-21052356468988499882010-06-02T16:23:21.669+01:002010-06-02T16:23:21.669+01:00I've just finished listening to an audiobook o...I've just finished listening to an audiobook on Albert Einstein, a jewish socialist (and scientist, of course - lol). My position seems very close to his, as is my experience: Einstein wouldn't let himself be dragged into support for Stalinism and USSR, even as he was a socialist and staunch opponent of Nazism. It was interesting following Einstein's changing conceptions of his jewishness, especially considering his abhorrence of nationalism. He recognised the antagonism - and that if Israel was to fall into the same trap, it risked simply providing confirmation of the historic myths of jews, and the realities of the barbarity of rampant, extreme nationalism (as exemplared by Nazi Germany, which he loathed)<br /><br />[I love Albert Einstein - that audiobook is excellent.]<br /><br />Anyway - left anti-semitism? I'm probably not best placed to look at it - as I'm too leftie. I've been a bit concerned that the british Socialist workers' party and RESPECT (George Galloway's party) have been making overtures to islam whilst excoriating Israel. It concerns me, but it doesn't worry me much as I'm sure it reflects proper concerns....imperialism rather than racism. Like I say - I'm a leftie to I perhaps find it hard to see.<br /><br />The best place I have found for discussion of left anti-semitism (and other sorts) is...errr.....here we go<br /><br />http://engageonline.wordpress.com/<br /><br />Bit too lofty for my tastes, tbh. But a lot of interesting stuff, and an active kommentariat. :Dthe_last_name_lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-35796295640565745282010-06-02T16:23:16.425+01:002010-06-02T16:23:16.425+01:00We've talked before? Ah. Marty? :) Sorry....We've talked before? Ah. Marty? :) Sorry.<br /><br /><b>M: Why does a website that is presumably left wing - dissident voice - publishing an article by a guy named James petras who published this article:</b><br /><br />Yeah, well, I don't much about Petras and I'm reluctant to call counterpunch leftwing. I would call it liberal/progressive, I guess. I mean, it's hardly calling for workers' control of production is it? <br /><br />Regardless, it is surprising and distasteful to see anti-semitism making inroads here. It's something I am only just becoming aware of, really - 'leftwing' anti-semitism. I really don't know what to make of Petras, but I have even found some of John Pilger's stuff - and even the London Marxism conferences(!) - to be skirting what I would undoubtedly call anti-semitism if I found it within the far-right. The similarities can be very uncomfortable (at least to this leftie).<br /><br />I dispute that the left is as prone to anti-semitism as the right.....especially amongst the extremes. Racism is anathema to the egalitarian ethic of socialism - whereas it is core and instrumental to the far-right. The anti-semitism of left and right is different in character too - the right displays an explicit racial hatred, whereas left anti-semitism is a less vicious, more inadvertent slip into it. <br /><br />Whether that makes any difference to the result is debatable. I can imagine it probably makes very little difference to jews reading it, although to me, the difference is quite substantial and important.<br /><br />But it is right to recognise that the left is not immune to anti-semitism - indeed, if we can call USSR "left" at all then there is ample evidence of leftist anti-semitism (the Doctor's Plot etc). Again though, this seems an exploitation of anti-semitism, rather than a real belief in it.<br /><br />Still, I do find myself uncomfortable reading some of John Pilger's stuff about Israel. Doesn't he realise that it's the only stuff of his which ever makes it into the sphere of the far-right? I've been tempted to write and ask him.<br /><br />I've come under attack myself for being insufficiently critical of Israel, and it's been suggested I must be a Mossad agent because I refuse to ride the bandwagon denouncing Israel's "crimes".<br /><br />I just find it all tedious, tbh. What does yet another platitude about the sadness of loss of life through violence achieve? Nothing much - and yet it can be hijacked by the far-right to further a campaign with ulterior motives. I won't be bought out like that for a cheap expression of platitudes, and I wish the left were more understanding of the situation.<br /><br />exceptionalism about jews or Israel is pretty sickening. I am free to say this, as a non-jew. If I was jewish, my opinion might be "suspect".....but I am not jewish, have no connection to Israel or jews or anything in any way. I'm an atheist socialist - so I am entitled to comment, whereas jews are seemingly not.<br /><br />I won't join the chorus - and so I am considered a friend of Israel. As in mossad-stylee type friend!the_last_name_lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-74881711595583095642010-06-02T14:02:04.674+01:002010-06-02T14:02:04.674+01:00Hi. To be truthful with you, I really don't r...Hi. To be truthful with you, I really don't remember how or when I came across Rivero's website. But as a student of history, I simply couldn't understand how he merged a leftist dislike of corporations with a rightist support for the capitalist system. He merged a lot of left and right wing ideas together, and I wasn't sure what to make of it. But you really did make it a lot clearer on where he's coming from.<br /><br />Here's a question I want answered, and maybe you could do a blog about it: why are left wing people writing books, operating websites, or even publishing articles on websites, that cite or link to sources that are clearly anti-semitic in nature? <br /><br />I for one don't believe the 9/11 Truth movement is entirely populated by fascists or anti-semites, although they are there. Yet the other day, I saw a 9/11 truth book that quoted the websites of Rivero and Jones, and, if I'm not mistaken, Rense! <br /><br />Why does a website that is presumably left wing - dissident voice - publishing an article by a guy named James petras who published this article:<br /><br />http://dissidentvoice.org/2007/11/the-deadly-embrace/<br /><br />which ... well ... I'm not entirely comfortable calling him anti-semitic but that article does spend a lot of time talking about the organized operations of American jewish organizations?<br /><br />Why does Counterpunch (a website which I've discussed with you before) a left wing site:<br /><br />a) include articles published by a guy named Paul Craig Roberts who is associated with a website called vdare.com, which as near as I can figure, has a "white nationalist/OMG the non white immigrants are going to overpopulate us" focus?<br /><br />b) publish articles by a guy named Kurt Nimmo, whose articles appear on Rense and Jones' sites?<br /><br />I can only think of 3 explanations for this:<br /><br />1) these people/sites simply don't know that the articles, people, or websites they link to have a fascist/racist bend<br /><br />2) they know, and they don't like it, but they turn a blind eye to it because of their dislike of Israeli policies<br /><br />3) they know full well what theyre doing (afterall, there is anti-semitism on the far left, as much as the far right).<br /><br />I'd really like to see you cover this at some point.Martin Firesteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15335352234313099031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-85319623837173985332010-06-02T08:54:08.779+01:002010-06-02T08:54:08.779+01:00Just yesterday(?) in a frenzy of anti-semitism (br...Just yesterday(?) in a frenzy of anti-semitism (brought about by the flotilla killings) Rivero posted a link to some trashy piece....at a website titled "TheNewSturmer". The piece was the usual 'historical' denouncement of jews......seemingly posted by Rivero to 'prove' jewish criminality is timeless and not connected to material realities, geo-politics, etc. (exceptionalism?) But to call the site the new Sturmer!? <br /><br /><i>Der Stürmer (literally, "The Stormer;" or more accurately, "The Attacker") was a weekly Nazi newspaper published by Julius Streicher from 1923 to the end of World War II in 1945, with brief suspensions in circulation due to legal difficulties. It was a significant part of the Nazi propaganda machinery and was vehemently anti-Semitic. Unlike the Völkischer Beobachter (translatable as The People's Observer), the official party paper which gave itself an outwardly serious appearance, the tabloid-style Der Stürmer often ran obscene materials such as anti-Semitic caricatures and propaganda-like accusations of blood libel, pornography, anti-Catholic, anti-capitalist and anti-"reactionary" propaganda too, <b>in order to appeal to a larger public of readers, especially among the lower class.</b></i><br /><br />Right - there you go - there's Rivero?the_last_name_lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-40853306795751775542010-06-02T08:54:03.935+01:002010-06-02T08:54:03.935+01:00hi Martin. thanks for your comment, I appreciate ...hi Martin. thanks for your comment, I appreciate it. <br /><br />I wonder if you'd mind elaborating a little on your experience with Rivero? Personally I came across him some time shortly after 911, I think. I originally found WRH kind of "underground", and it put me in touch with a load of stuff I'd never come across before. I've always been really socialist, and liked Chomsky and Pilger etc so was familiar with that stuff, but Rivero sent me all over the place, and I became quite enthralled. As the years went by I found myself getting increasingly disconcerted about WRH and what it was "saying". It was a deep but wholly vague unease - one I found great difficulty in sorting out. Anyway - long story short: once I began looking at Rivero (and 911 Troof, Alex Jones, the Patriot movement etc) as fascist, and began picking away at it, it made much more sense. Experience has proven this to be the correct perspective - these 'movements' are riddled with fascism (it's never more than a couple of clicks away from WRH.) It might not be the whole truth about Rivero, 911 Troof, Alex Jones, the patriot movement etc, but I don't think one can understand them without recognising their fascism. <br /><br />I find it impossible to believe Mike Rivero is unaware of what Willis Carto, David Duke, Curt Maynard, John De Nugent, Zundel and Eustace Mullins stand for. I mean, he promotes these people <i>because of what they stand for</i>, surely? And if he's so smart and knowledgeable about America and its history, then he must know what these people are about. If he doesn't, then he really doesn't know much at all, right? So this is complicity with his audience - or a decpetion of them. Both at the same time. The fascists keep quiet about it (complicity), whilst the non-fascists don't recognise it (they're deceived).<br /><br />That's why Rivero and Alex Jones can furiously denounce everyone else as a fascist....yet never even bother to mention the genuine fascism of their guests, friends and collaborators.<br /><br />Rivero denounces eco-fascism, liberal fascism, israeli-fascism, femi-nazis etc. But for the real thing (nazism) he has only apologism (holocaust denial) and veneration (from Curt Maynard, for example)<br /><br />Rivero (and Alex Jones) use "fascist" as a synonym for "enemy".....whereas in reality it actually describes their own friends - about whose genuine fascism Rivero and Jones say NOTHING.<br /><br />I watch Alex Jones rant angrily about "fascism" and recall him elsewhere praising Eustace Mullins as "a modern-day founding father" ! It's ridiculous - and highly deceptive. And all to what end, exactly? They never really say? Oh - but their goal must be "freedom" though, right? One might think so, yet, bigotry in pursuit of freedom? Hardly makes sense, does it? But it's a seemingly powerful and intoxicating mix.the_last_name_lefthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12276770064991215910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2904940198922843174.post-5793881632821205592010-06-02T02:49:23.414+01:002010-06-02T02:49:23.414+01:00Perfect, perfect, perfect. Ever since I first fou...Perfect, perfect, perfect. Ever since I first found Rivero, I've been struggling to understand his viewpoint and political/historical/economical philosophy, and you have captured and explained it better than anyone ever could!!!Martin Firesteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15335352234313099031noreply@blogger.com