Author: R J Adams

There’s been much speculation in the media as to why the far-right is gaining so much power in national elections. The general opinion is that the rise in wealth by the 1%, and subsequent fall in living standards for the rest, has provoked a backlash against ruling political parties who are seen as not doing enough for the ordinary people left to scratch a living as best they can.

While this is an obvious and acceptable opinion of the situation I believe there has to be another factor causing sane and sensible people to choose far right-wing, possibly fascist-leaning, politicians rather than the less extreme parties that would normally be considered as more suitable to govern.

It should be noted that almost without exception, far-right politicians are deniers of human induced climate change. Many of their parties are at least part-funded by the oil and gas industry. Why would folk with genuine concerns about the climate vote into power politicians who deny it is happening?

There have been many cinematic ‘Holocaust’ type films over the years, portraying various aspects of a world in climate chaos. People are well aware of the serious consequences of a climate out of control. In blunt terms, it doesn’t bear thinking about. Societal breakdown, the rise of ruthless, cold-blooded, warrior types given free reign in a world bereft of law and order.

We saw it in Iraq when ISIS were running riot. We see it now in places like Sudan, Gaza, parts of Africa where terrorist gangs roam freely. These are not places where we would wish to plan our next summer vacation. To be there would be to share the suffering, the tortures, the rapes, the enormous loss of life. Much better not to think about it. Switch from those pictures on our news screens to a nice family comedy, something to laugh and feel good about. After all, Sudan is a long way away. Life is normal here. Let’s keep it that way.

Maybe Mister Trump is right that it’s all a ruse, a plot of the ‘Deep State’. But what is the ‘Deep State?’ Basically, it’s an emotive phrase to undermine the vast numbers of civil servants working to thrust into reality the demands of their government. Every government needs civil servants. They are the backbone of government. The term ‘Deep State’ has been both invented and emotionalized in far right political circles to produce an ‘Oooh’ reaction in their followers, a mix of fear and pleasure designed to draw people to the speaker emotionally. The marketing industry uses them all the time. There are webpages devoted to them. They’re known as power words, phrases that influence, persuade and convert.

There have been many such politically emotive words and phrases throughout history: ‘illuminati’, ‘big lie’, ‘fake news’, ‘alt-right’, ‘post- truth’, all serve to produce reactions in followers by suggesting that those using these phrases know more about what they represent, than those hearing them.

Consequently, when Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, a far-right political party, smears anthropomorphic climate change as a ‘scam’ his followers are happy to go along with it. Why? Because if their ‘Nige’ says it’s a scam then it must be, because he knows more about it than they do.

Basically, it’s a simple mind block. To consider the consequences of runaway climate change are too distressing to think about, so if good old Nigel, or Donald, tell you it’s not going to happen, then why worry? Push it away, out of sight out of mind, and get on with life.

It’s all part of the craft perfected by the far-right, to give the impression that with them in power life for the ordinary person in the street will be a bed of roses.

In reality, of course, nothing is further from the truth.

^{Courtesy of OtherWords.org}

Perhaps the most frustrating news to come out of Europe this week is the announcement by France that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, cannot be arrested if he arrived on French soil, as Israel is not a party to the International Criminal Court.

There’s hypocrisy, and then there’s political hypocrisy. This is an obvious political move likely agreed by Israel and the United States, to include Emmanuel Macron, the French president, in the joint agreement for peace in Lebanon, that has so far put a stop to the Israeli-Hezbollah fighting there.

As Russia is not a party to the ICC either, then presumably Vladimir Putin could also visit France without fear of arrest. For that matter, any tuppenny dictator wishing to prevent arrest for his war crimes, could plead similar immunity from prosecution by not being a party to the ICC, or simply withdrawing their nation’s membership.

Benjamin Netanyahu has called the arrest warrants ‘antisemitic’. That’s been the Israeli government’s “Get Out Of Jail Free” card for too long.

Meanwhile the Israeli Prime Minister continues to commit genocide in Gaza, using it as  his very own “Stay Out Of Jail Free” card.

Hypocrisy is alive and well and breeds profusely throughout the world’s political regimes.

Hunter Biden’s “Stay Out Of Jail Free” Card

On the subject of political hypocrisy it would seem Joe Biden’s come in for some stick because he’s pardoned his son, after Hunter Biden failed to admit to drug use on a legal form while purchasing a gun. Well, we’ve all done it, haven’t we? No, not necessarily while purchasing a gun, but who out there can honestly hold up their hand and say they’ve never just missed out ticking a box that they know would disqualify them from something they want? I would guess most of us. I certainly have. And no, I’m not going to admit to what it was.

The hoo-hah has arisen because old Joe had constantly told the world that he would never pardon his son and justice must take its course.  Had he won another term, or if his vice president had won the election, I’m sure Joe would have let run the natural flow of justice.  That was before Trump was elected. Trump has surrounded himself with Democrat haters in general and Joe Biden in particular. There’s a fair chance that son Hunter would not have had a fair trial, left to the not-so-tender mercies of Trump’s forthcoming judicial system. Let’s not forget the next President’s cries for revenge on those who, in his opinion, had done him wrong previously. Ensuring his son spent the next twenty years behind bars would be just the revenge on Joe Biden that Trump could wish for. After all, Biden had taken the 2020 presidency away from him.

So can we say for sure that Biden is a hypocrite for changing his mind? There are enough loonies and misfits shouting their mouths off on social media, apparently convinced he is.

Perhaps they should be asked the question, “If you were in Biden’s position, would you allow your son to go to jail for possibly twenty years just to satisfy the vengeful wrath of a tyrant?”

Joe Biden has done the right thing. He’s given his son a “Stay Out Of Jail Free” card. In his position I would not have hesitated to do the same.

It needs to be said. It’s unfortunate our lily-livered politicians don’t have the balls to have said it, and acted on it, long ago. It’s always been my contention that back in late 2021/early 2022 had NATO thrown everything it had, (none nuclear,) at the Black Sea : warships, planes, tanks and infantry, missiles, then told Putin to piss off or suffer the consequences, Putin would have stuck to his lie about it being just Russian military maneuvers, and high-tailed it back to Moscow.

Why did Putin insist the Russian military were only on maneuvers? To achieve exactly what it did. It threw NATO into a spin, not knowing if it were true or not. They hesitated, waited to see what would happen, Once Putin recognised there was to be no come back, in he went and left NATO looking like the useless organisation it proved to be. 

In the Guardian newspaper yesterday, James Nixey states in his article that it’s not the West escalating the war, but Putin himself.

“Even for a country that has been at war for more than 1,000 days, the past month has been rough for Ukraine: its nemesis, Russia, has acquired 11,000 troops from North Korea and mercenaries from Yemen to assist in its project to delete Ukraine. Russia has also pulverised Ukraine’s energy grid with renewed ferocity as temperatures fall below freezing and fired off experimental intermediate-range weaponry, and it continues to make gains in the east. As if that weren’t enough, Russia’s preferred candidate has been elected as the American president, promising to end the war in “24 hours” – and not in Ukraine’s favour.

And yet after all this, the question I have been asked continuously over the past week is: “Is the west escalating the war?” The question refers to the rescinding of some of the limitations imposed on Ukraine which forbade it from using western missiles to strike inside Russian territory. Far from being escalatory, western policy on the war is in fact best described as incrementalism – a drip-feed release of weaponry, which keeps Ukraine on a lifeline but certainly doesn’t allow it the possibility of pushing Russia out. The reason it has not been given this opportunity is twofold….”

Read the rest of his article HERE:

It needs to be said.

^{James Nixey leads the Russia-Eurasia programme at Chatham House.}