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Correction: Headline has been edited to correctly reflect the content of one of the stories highlighted in this post.
This blog has been alive and kicking for two weeks now. At the end of every week, FDL’s The Dissenter will take a brief look back at what was covered during the week for anyone that missed out.
A major report on government secrecy was published by the ACLU this week. The report illuminated the abuses of power that stem from secrecy, specifically the overclassification of information by the government. It also provided insight on how the government handles whistleblowers and described the “WikiLeaks phenomenon” as part of why the US government must abandon its “Cold War secrecy regime.” [Great thanks to the National Security Archive and WikiLeaks for tweeting The Dissenter's coverage out to their followers.]
Jeff Kaye, in a two-part post, examined US Air Force documents released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The documents given to Truthout and obtained by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) shows the influence of Naziism on US missile training. The influence uncovered included references to Werner von Braun in an “Ethics” slide presentation. Here is part one and part two of Kaye’s story. Worth celebrating is the fact that Truthout reported today that is coverage had supposedly pulled the training program it had scrutinized.
The Dissenter live blogged two hearings during the week: one was on a racist piece of junk anti-immigration legislation from Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) called the “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation Act.” The other was Rep. Peter King’s third ‘Muslim radicalization’ hearing, which proved yet again that he is a bigot and a blowhard. The Dissenter will be continue to live blog hearings, especially ones where racists or bigots target people’s rights or seek to isolate certain groups of people.
The Dissenter marked a significant anniversary: on Monday, it was the one year anniversary of WikiLeaks’ release of the Afghanistan war logs. Also, the blog supported the Bradley Manning Support Network’s “National Call-in Day for Bradley Manning” on Wednesday.
Thank you to everyone who visited the blog this past week. If you aren’t a Firedoglake member, you should join and participate in some of the discussions we have in the comments threads. The @FDLDissenter Twitter account currently has a little less than 100 followers. If you aren’t following the blog’s account yet, you should.
21 Comments
What do you mean by Naziism? That’s a charged term.
I should add that FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley has been commenting on the blog, especially when the blog has covered the FBI and its targeting of activists. It has been an honor to have her here discussing her experiences and opinions on the agency.
Since I didn’t mention The Dissenter’s coverage of the FBI this week, I will add that on Monday the blog covered Dennis Kucinich’s letter to Eric Holder asking why the FBI is targeting political activists. And, on Friday, the blog took an extensive look at FBI director Robert Mueller’s term extension.
Well, click on the link to part one of Jeff’s story. I think you’ll see Naziism is not just being bandied about.
I’m aware of that. I think the story may be much more complicated and nuanced. Just bc U.S. whitewashed WVB does not necessarily make U.S. Nazis. Throwing around such terms does not advance anything in the interest of U.S. citizens.
I agree. I think your take should be much more complicated and nuanced. I am suggesting that in the missile training there was Naziism. I don’t think the training makes the US Nazis. That isn’t written anywhere in this post and I am not sure that Jeff is arguing that in his story either. But, he is pointing out the influence of Naziism in the military, which is profoundly disturbing.
Yeah, i assumed from the title that we were going to hear that shaven headed, ultra right wing assholes in positions of authority in the AF were indoctrinating trainees…not that airforce technocrats were teaching shabby history…shabby history is everywhere now. our 1 minute attention span culture is riddled with it, like worms in old grain. NOW the apparently chronic problem, the air force has with xtian fundamentalists in positions of authority, indoctrinating trainees is far more interesting and appalling and thanks Keving G. for linking it.
It may be shabby but it’s a dangerous history.
I used to say that the first person who used the term “Hitler” or “Nazi” automatically lost the argument. BC it is more important to analyze the diffs than to call names. But I lost that argument several years ago. So feel free to call names without providing evidence. It’s only “fair” that the U.S. lefties should be just as irrational & name-calling as the U.S. righties.
This is not new news. Informed people have known about Operation Paperclip since at least the 70s. During the 80s news about Klaus Barbie came out and in the 90s came news about Prescott Bush’s ties to the Nazis.
How about using the term totalitarian instead of Naziism? Sensationalism does draw readers in but let’s save the use of the term Nazi for the real thing.
Don’t let those eyes glaze over or better-yet, lose your lounge. The actions of the sick nazi bastards. where all enabled by eyes glazed. Death to Nazis and attack manifestations of the disease anywhere in our society. “Save it for the real thing?”
By the time the “real thng” is realized, it is to late and damage is already done.
As we see in America today…… The damage has already been done?
The cancer of silence……
This may be of particular interest to you,solerso,re: the X’an fundamentalists and miltary.Please also consider the date when the piece was written–just prior to Erik Prince’s move to Saudi Arabia and creating a mercenary army specifically for the UAE-and no Muslims need apply.
Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh And The Men Who Want Him …whowhatwhy.com/…/pulitzer-prize-winner-seymour-hersh-and-the-… – CachedFeb 23, 2011 – Pulitzer Prize Winner Seymour Hersh And The Men Who Want Him Committed … There’s not much evidence to suggest that the Knights of Malta ..
NOTE: A most impressive and informative piece..well worth a complete read. A couple more fascinating and illuminating articles,not to be missed:
High-ranking members of US military part of ‘Knights of Malta …www.rawstory.com/…/highranking-members-military-part-knights-… – CachedJan 21, 2011 – Veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has broken some massive … The ” Knights of Malta” were a Catholic order founded in 1085 as a …
Seymour Hersh Talks About Current CIA/Neocon Crusade of the Knights ofwillyloman.wordpress.com/…/seymour-hersh-and-the-current-ciane… – CachedSeymour Hersh Talks About Current CIA/Neocon Crusade of the Knights of Malta. Posted on January 19, 2011 by willyloman. by Scott Creighton …
Actually, I never used the term Nazism in my postings on this story. I also never argue the AF is Nazi.
What I do say is that the AF (and govt in general) have covered up an important historical fact about the recruitment of Nazis. They whitewashed the background of Von Braun when they used a quote of his to justify his actions, and in their portrayal of him in historical materials. I also make the point that some of the programs the U.S. engaged in were literally continuations of Nazi programs, with former Nazi personnel in key positions (missile program, the development of nerve gas, human experimental programs, esp. on mind control drugs).
This is not Naziism, though I suppose some could portray it that way. I would reserve such an adjective for ideological components. And while I have strong disagreements with the military and its current goals, I would not label them as fascistic. Overbearing, and imperialistic, yes, fascistic (noting certain trends) no.
Apologize for not fully representing the nuances of your article. I’ve corrected the headline.
The defining feature of Naziism, its main feature, was the elimination of the Jews. When anyone gets the urge to call someone a Nazi, that image and that goal should come to mind to stop the word from being uttered or written.
It was a case of misrepresenting an author’s postings, not a case of having any urge to call anybody a Nazi. But, thanks for contributing your voice to this minor hiccup.
First, a big thank you to this corner of FDL. Great work, all.
Second, per the above quote, it may be a useful exercise to draw out a taxonomy of governance, if you will.
It would especially be useful to differentiate imperialism v. fascism in light of the topics of consent, individual sovereignty, and specifically the 4th & 5th Amendments. Please see link:
link here
For anyone interested, the fact that Nazis were involved in the US aerospace industry was an open secret as long ago as the first issue of The Realist in 1958. Click the link and scroll down to the cartoon on p.14
http://www.ep.tc/realist/01/14.html