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Tag: George Monbiot

  • Some Very Proud Boys Have Taken Power in America

    Some Very Proud Boys Have Taken Power in America

    It’s in times like this I am reminded of a quote from George Monbiot:

    “The primary threat to the democratic state and its functions comes not from mob rule or leftwing insurrection, but from the very rich and the corporations they run.”

    How Did We Get Into This Mess? – George Monbiot

    And here we are in 2025, with the return of Trump and his MAGA nutjobs, more powerful than ever, all with the help of oligarchs like Musk. On the day Trump is inaugurated, Musk does a speech and makes back-to-back nazi salutes.

    There are arguments for “context” – he’s apparently throwing his heart out to the crowd… seriously?

    Some Very Proud Boys Have Taken Power in America - Musk nazi salute

    The worst argument is that he made this awkward “gesture” because of autism… This is not an excuse to perform a Roman salute – which is, in fact, the Nazi salute.

    The strange thing is, as insane as all this is, who is surprised? Sure, the dog whistles have turned into centre-stage performances, but what else has changed?

    The Proud Boys and their affiliates had a march through Washington, celebrating Trump’s return and the release of what they call “political prisoners.” Trump has recently called January 6 a “day of love,” so there is no hiding who these MAGA Republicans are anymore.

    True to his word, and the prophetic Project 2025, on his first day in office, Trump signed a slurry of executive orders that confirm the ramblings of his campaign speeches were true. 

    Among these executive orders was the order to end birthright citizenship (which should be blocked by the courts as it’s unconstitutional), including births by mothers who were legally in the country, although on a temporary visa.

    Trump signed several orders related to immigration, including the designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorists, but the most worrying is declaring a national border emergency for the southern US border.

    If all goes well for Trump and his insane sycophants, the military could be deployed along the border to keep people out.

    How could that possibly go wrong?

    He then went on to rename the fucking Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” and reverse Obama’s renaming of Mount McKinley from Alaska’s Mount Denali. 

    Apparently “World Health ripped us off,” so America is leaving the World Health Organisation in 12 months, and electric vehicle targets of making half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 electric have been revoked.

    If you thought the world was burning too fast, these billionaires with their bunkers couldn’t care less. I saw online that some believed Trump would not do this, as it might interfere with Musk’s business.

    Are you kidding? Musk will adapt. He has other businesses. He’s a MULTIBILLIONAIRE who might not like losing money, sure, but he won’t. His close ties to the President of the United States will make sure of that.

    “This is the way our world is being carved up at an alarming rate. Europe, Australia, and North America are erecting increasingly elaborate (and privatized) border fortresses to seal themselves off from people fleeing for their lives.”

    No is Not Enough – Naomi Klein

    They’re also withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement (again) – not that we were keeping to the limits imposed anyway, but it was a goal to aim for. Now the only aim is “Drill, baby, drill” which I always translate as “Burn, planet, burn.”

    There have been many executive orders signed by Trump, and they’re tiring to talk about, so I will focus now on the final few that show us Musk’s nazi salute was just a sign of things to come.

    There will be an official policy stating there are “only two genders, male and female,” reversing Biden’s opposite move that accepted gender identity and its separation from sex. I see this getting no push back whatsoever, as the Democrats are terrified their “wokeness” lost them the election.

    Federal employees will be made easier to fire, which will make getting rid of those who disagree with MAGA easy to get rid of and replace with compliant drones. And finally, Trump issued immediate pardons for EVERY SINGLE JANUARY 6 DEFENDANT. 

    Yes. All of them. That’s approximately 1500 people, who rioted at the Capitol at Trump’s behest after he lost the last election to Biden. Those imprisoned are free to go home.

    If this revolting picture of Trump’s Day 1 turns your stomach, I can unfortunately say that things can only get worse.

    With the focus on attacking minorities (immigrants, queer people, etc), releasing the January 6 rioters while making it easier to fire disloyal federal employees, and voicing imperial intentions on his neighbours (Panama, Greenland, etc), Trump is realising his fascistic vision of America.

    “Politics hates a vacuum; if it isn’t filled with hope, someone will fill it with fear.”

    No is Not Enough – Naomi Klein

    The Democrats failed to offer the people of America anything but more of the same. No one believed their lives could change for the better under Harris, so they turned to the only man promising the world.

  • George Monbiot on Why the UK Should Leave the American Empire

    George Monbiot on Why the UK Should Leave the American Empire

    This is the beginning of the end for the American Empire.

    For this generation, the U.S-backed genocide in Gaza has been a wake up call. In the UK, we watched in horror while our politicians called the bombing of children and hospitals, and the collective punishment of a poulation a “right” for “Israel to defend itself.”

    Since the catastrophic failure which was the Vietnam War, there has never been such a widespread protest against the UK’s foreign policy (except, perhaps, it’s participation in the War in Afghanistan). The rise of social media has given the people of Palestine a louder voice than they have had before, though, and many independent media outlets have been covering the events in-depth, leading to a much wider spread of knowledge.

    In an article for the Guardian, George Monbiot argues that the UK should seek to distance itself from the U.S, especially in the event of a Trump win (which came to pass). Describing the President-elect of the United States as “convicted felon, coup plotter, sex assaulter, liar, fraud and wannabe dictator,” Monbiot offers no comfort to the U.S. population, but it should inspire our current government to rethink that “special relationship” everyone seems to love so much.

    Or, as Monbiot puts it, “this should bring an end to our abiding fantasies about a special relationship.”

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    American Empire and the “Special Relationship”

    Monbiot goes on to describe that special relationship as an “illusion” as the UK is merely an “instrument of policy,” a tool or weapon to be weilded at will, in return for security from the U.S.

    Some of the imperialist projects we have taken part in, doing the bidding of the U.S, are listed in the article, but the one that “sounded the death knell of the empire” (Chris Hedges, Declassified UK) was the 20-year war in Afghanistan and the 2003 Iraq war.

    The U.S. and UK opted for a “shock and awe” approach to their military project which was met with far more resistance than they realised (due to severely underestimating their opponents).

    Their goal? American hegemony. Global dominance. And it failed spectacuarly. After their defeat, the U.S. have been quieter with their foreign policy, but do not think for a second that it has put them off getting involved in a new conflict in order to keep a hold of their dominance and hegemony.

    Putin’s Lapdog in the White House

    The impact of Trump’s next term in the White House will be giving Starmer’s government a massive headache.

    The choice for Labour, right now, is do they kiss the ring of Trump and bow down further to their masters, the United States of America, or do they finally seek independence from the American Empire and pursue stronger relationships elsewhere – like our allied neighbours in Europe.

    George Monbiot argues that Trump’s special relationship is not with the UK “but with Vladimir Putin, to whom he defers as the iron dictator he would like to be.” With Putin’s invasion of Ukraine ongoing (and not looking good for Ukraine right now), we in Europe are facing the very real threat of Putin’s overflowing insanity.

    What we need now is to come together, as we are doing, and force the U.S. to continue to support Ukraine too. What pro-Putin Americans tend to forget is that their Empire is only as strong as their colonies, and China is not the military threat they need to focus on right now (if ever).

    I feel emotional reading Monbiot’s potential u-turn on nuclear disarmament. Once a fierce advocater for getting rid of our nuclear weapons, due to the “highly unlikely” event of us ever needing them, he now believes we must keep them to better defend our allies and even ourselves.

    However, he does go on to reveal to readers that our “independent” nuclear weapons are not independent from the American Empire. The UK cannot use them without the consent of the US government. With a pro-Putin lackey in the White House, it seems our deterrent is nothing more than “a £172bn heap of bricks.”

    Keep Reading!

    Some of the topics covered in this article include American imperialism, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the European Union.

    If you want to learn more about American imperialism, check out Declassified UK, or Empire Files. If you’re looking for reading material,The Racket by Matt Kennard and Noam Chomsky’s Turning the Tide or Making the Future will give you plenty of historical context that relate to the current situation.

    To understand how insane the European Union is, you only need to watch In the Eye of the Storm. Otherwise, read Byline Times for some great arguments for reversing some of the BREXIT mishaps.

    Russia and Ukraine can only be understood by reading the history books. Mark Galeotti’s A Short History of Russia and We Need to Talk About Putin are a good start. Philip Short wrote a biography called Putin which is facinating.

    And finally, Jacob Mikanowski’s Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land is a fantastic analysis of the context in which this war is taking place.

    For the latest news and analysis on Gaza, The Electronic Intifada, Novara Media, Double Down News, Middle East Eye, and so many more amazing independent media outlets are doing a great job, so check them out.

    The documentary film, Gaza Fights for Freedom by Empire Files is free on YouTube, directed by Abby Martin. This is well worth watching for people unsure of what is happening and how it came to be.

    For books on Palestine, I would suggest beginning with Ilan Pappé‘s work and going from there. In Pappé and Chomsky’s joint book, On Palestine, you can begin to see some difference of opinion within supporters of the Palestinians.

    Want to see why we write these articles? Read more about our goals here.

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    George Monbiot on Why the UK Should Leave the American Empire