THE MAGIC SOCIALIST - COLDTYPE
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witchfinders ready to burn corbyn | Jonathan Cook
The war on venezuela is built on lies | John Pilger
‘We don’t do propaganda!’ | Cromwell & Edwards
Issue 179
Writing worth reading n Photos worth seeing March 2019
The Magic
Socialıst
Bernie’s back!
And this time he’s
really geared up for
revolution. Honest!
CJ Hopkins – Page 9
2
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
Writing worth reading
Photos worth seeing
Issue 179
March 2019
Issues
4 Witchfinders ready to burn jeremy corbyn ........ Jonathan Cook
9 The magic Socialist ............................................................. CJ Hopkins
12 Growing Up! . ...................................................... Various Photographers
18 The psychology of Trump’s mexican wall . ...................... John Feffer
21 Election woes loom for Turkish leader ....................Conn Hallinan
24 ‘We don’t do propaganda!’ . .............David Cromwell & David Edwards
30 The war on venezuela is built on lies .......................... John Pilger
34 How venezuela regime change is strangling Haiti .Vijay Prashad
3
36 Teenager who had the courage to say ‘No!” .............. Rory Fanning
42 The Freddie Mercury story the film Avoids . .......Laurie Marhoefer
Insights
45 Revisiting the Catonsville Nine’s greatest day ................... Frida Berrigan
47 Concentration camps in the South African war? .... Fransjohan Pretorius
49 Certainty and the death of democracy . ..............................Emanuele Corso
50 What war films never show you ................................................ Mike Lerner
Cover illustration: Donkeyhotey
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ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
The suspension of a Labour MP is a concerted
campaign to destroy Jeremy Corbyn before he can
become prime minister, writes Jonathan Cook
Now Britain’s
witchfinders are
ready to burn
Jeremy Corbyn
M
“ cCarthyism” is a parallel of the witch hunt.
4 word thrown around In an earlier era, the guilt of
a lot nowadays, and women accused of witchcraft
in the process its true was tested through the ducking
meaning – and hor- stool. If a woman drowned, she
ror – has been increasingly ob- was innocent; if she survived,
scured. she was guilty and burned at
McCarthyism is not just the the stake. A foolproof system
hounding of someone because that created an endless supply
their views are unpopular. It is of the wicked, justifying the
the creation by the powerful of status and salaries of the men
a perfect, self-rationalising sys- charged with hunting down
tem of incrimination – denying ever more of these diabolical ic socialist who was propelled
the victim a voice, even in their women. unexpectedly into the Labour
own defence. It presents the And that is the medieval leadership nearly four years
accused as an enemy so danger- equivalent of where the British ago by its members. His el-
ous, their ideas so corrupting, Labour Party has arrived, with evation infuriated most of the
that they must be silenced from the suspension of MP Chris Wil- party’s MPs, who hanker for
the outset. Their only chance liamson for antisemitism. the return of the New Labour
of rehabilitation is prostration era under Tony Blair, when the
before their accusers and utter
repentance.
McCa rthyism, in other
W illiamson, it should be not-
ed, is widely seen as a key ally
party firmly occupied the po-
litical centre.
Corbyn’s success has also
words, is the modern political of Jeremy Corbyn, a democrat- outraged vocal supporters of
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
the definition of antisemitism to
include not just hatred of Jews
but also criticism of Israel.
Labour was eventually forced
to accept a redefinition, formu-
lated by the International Holo-
caust Remembrance Alliance,
that conflates anti-Zionism
– opposition to Israel’s violent
creation on the Palestinians’
homeland – with antisemitism.
O nce the mud stuck through
repetition, a vocal group of La-
bour MPs began denouncing
the party for being “institu-
tionally antisemitic”, “endemi-
cally antisemitic” and a “cess-
pit of antisemitism”. The slurs
continued relentlessly, even as
statistics proved the accusa-
tion to be groundless. The fig-
ures show that antisemitism
exists only in the margins of
the party, as racism does in all
5
walks of life.
Meanwhile, the smears over-
shadowed the very provable
fact that antisemitism and oth-
er forms of racism are rearing
Chris Williamson, outspoken Labour MP, who was their head dangerously on the
suspended for comments that party officials claim to political right. But the witchfind-
be antisemitic. Photo: John Whitby, via Wikimedia.org ers were never interested in the
political reality. They wanted a
never-ending war – a policy of
Israel both in the Labour party through a failed re-run of the “zero tolerance” – to root out an
– some 80 MPs are stalwart leadership contest and then by evil in their midst, a supposed
members of Labour Friends of assisting the corporate media – “hard left” given succour by
Israel – and in the UK media. which is equally opposed to Cor- Corbyn and his acolytes.
Corbyn is the first British party byn – in smearing him variously This is the context for under-
leader in sight of power to prefer as a shambles, a misogynist, a standing Williamson’s “crime”.
the Palestinians’ right to justice sympathiser with terrorists, a Despite the best efforts of
over Israel’s continuing oppres- Russian asset, and finally as an our modern witchfinder gen-
sion of the Palestinians. “enabler” of antisemitism. erals to prove otherwise, Wil-
For these reasons, the Blair- This last accusation has liamson has not been shown to
ite MPs have been trying to oust proved the most fruitful after have expressed hatred towards
Corbyn any way they can. First the Israel lobby began to expand Jews, or even to have made a
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
comment that could be inter- Chris Williamson pounded his crime by publicly
preted as antisemitic. helping just such a ready-made
One of the most experienced
was denounced for witch: a black Jewish woman
of the witchfinders, Guardian saying what he had not: named Jackie Walker.
columnist Jonathan Freedland, that Labour should He had booked a room in the
indulged familiar McCarthy- British parliament building –
ite tactics in trying to prove not apologise for its the seat of our supposed democ-
Williamson’s antisemitism antisemitism racy – so that audiences could
by association. The MP was see a new documentary on an
what Freedland termed a “Jew . earlier Labour witch hunt. More
baiter” because he has associ- slandered as antisemites. than two years ago the party
ated with people whom the As Jewish Voice for Labour, a had suspended Walker over
witchfinders decree to be Jewish group supportive of Cor- antisemitism claims.
antisemites. byn, noted: “The flood of exag- The screening was to inform
gerated claims of antisemitism Labour party members of the
S hortly before he found him-
self formally shunned by me-
make it harder to deal with any
real instances of antisemitism.
The credibility of well-founded
facts of her case in the run-up
to a hearing in which, given
the current atmosphere, it is
dia commentators and his own allegations is undermined by likely she will be expelled. The
parliamentary party, William- the less credible ones and real screening was sponsored by
son twice confirmed his guilt perpetrators are more likely not Jewish Voice for Labour, which
to the inquisitors. to be held to account. Crying has also warned repeatedly
First, he dared to challenge wolf is dangerous when there that antisemitism is being used
the authority of the witchfind- are real wolves around the cor- malevolently to silence criticism
ers. He suggested that some ner. This was the reality that of Israel and weaken Corbyn.
6 of those being hounded out of Chris Williamson was drawing Walker was seen as a piv-
Labour may not in fact be witch- attention to”. otal figure by those opposed to
es. Or more specifically, in the As with all inquisitions, how- Corbyn. She was a co-founder
context of constant claims of a ever, the witchfinders were not of Momentum, the grassroots
Labour “antisemitism crisis”, interested in what Williamson organisation established to sup-
he argued that the party had actually said, but in the threat port Corbyn after his election
been “too apologetic” in deal- he posed to the narrative they to the leadership and deal with
ing with the bad-faith efforts have created to destroy their the inevitable fallout from the
of those seeking to damage a enemy, Corbynism, and to reas- Blairite wing of MPs.
Corbyn-led party. sert their own power. So his Momentum expected a rough
In other words, Williamson words were ripped from context ride from this dominant faction,
suggested that Labour ought and presented as proof that he and they were not disappointed.
to be more proactively promot- did indeed support witches. The Blairites still held on to the
ing the abundant evidence He was denounced for saying party machinery and they had
that it was indeed dealing with what he had not: that Labour an ally in Tom Watson, who
what he called the “scourge should not apologise for its became Corbyn’s deputy.
of antisemitism”, and thereby antisemitism. In this dishonest Walker was one of the early
demonstrate to the British pub- reformulation of Williamson’s victims of the confected claims
lic that Labour wasn’t “institu- statement, the witchfinders of an Labour “antisemitism cri-
tionally antisemitic”. Labour claimed to show that he had sis”. But she was not ready to
members, he was pointing out, supported antisemitism, that he roll over and accept her status
ought not to have to keep quiet consorted with witches. as witch. She fought back.
as they were being endlessly Second, Williamson com- First, she produced a one-
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
Martin Odoni, Glyn Secker and
Cyril Chilson.
But as the battle in Labour
has intensified to redefine anti-
Zionism as antisemitism, the
deeper issues at stake have
come to the fore. Jon Lansman,
another founder of Momentum,
recently stated: “I don’t want
any Jewish member in the party
to be leaving. We are absolutely
committed to making Labour a
safe space.”
But there are a set of very
obvious problems with that
position, and they have gone
entirely unexamined by those
A Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn will never be tolerated by a fanatical promoting the “institutional
pro-Israel organisation like the Jewish Labour Movement. antisemitism” and “zero toler-
ance” narratives.
woman show about her treat- who was trying to organise the
ment at the hands of the Labour
party bureaucracy – framed in
the context of decades of racist
screening of Witch Hunt, had to
be dealt with too.
Walker is not the only promi-
F irst, it is impossible to be a
home to all Jews in Labour,
treatment of black people in the nent black anti-racism activist when the party’s Jewish mem-
west – called The Lynching. targeted. Marc Wadsworth, bers are themselves deeply split
7
And then her story was another longtime ally of Cor- over key issues like whether
turned into a documentary film, byn, and founder of the Anti- Corbyn is a force for good and
fittingly called Witch Hunt. It Racist Alliance, was “outed” whether meaningful criticism
sets out very clearly the machi- last year in another confected of Israel should be allowed.
nations of the Blairite wing of antisemitism scandal. The alle- A fanatically pro-Israel
MPs, and Labour’s closely allied gations of antisemitism were organisation like the Jewish
Israel lobby, in defaming Walker impossible to stand up pub- Labour Movement will never
as part of their efforts to regain licly, so finally he was booted tolerate a Corbyn-led Labour
power over the party. out on a catch-all claim that party reaching power and sup-
For people so ostensibly con- he had brought the party “into porting the Palestinian cause.
cerned about racism towards disrepute”. To pretend otherwise is simple
Jews, these witchfinders show Jews who criticise Israel naivety or deception.
little self-awareness about how and support Corbyn’s solidar- That fact was demonstrably
obvious their own racism is in ity with Palestinians have been proven two years ago in the
relation to some of the “witches” picked off by the witchfinders Al Jazeera undercover doc-
they have hunted down. too, cheered on by media com- umentary The Lobby into cov-
But that racism can only mentators who claim this is ert efforts by Israel and its UK
be understood if people have being done in the service of a lobbyists to undermine Cor-
the chance to hear from Walk- “zero tolerance” policy towards byn from within his own party
er and other victims of the racism. As well as Walker, the through groups like the JLM
antisemitism smears. Which targets have included Tony and MPs in Labour Friends of
is precisely why Williamson, Greenstein, Moshe Machover, Israel. It was telling that the
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
party machine, along with the What Lansman and Milne, as a Kremlin asset.
corporate media, did its best to While the witchfinders claim
keep the documentary out of
the witchfinders are saying to have unearthed a “pattern
public view. is that Zionist Jewish of behaviour” in Williamson’s
The MPs loudest about “insti- sensitivities in the efforts to expose their smears,
tutional antisemitism” in Labour in fact the real pattern of behav-
were among those abandoning party are the only iour is there for all to see: a con-
the party to join the Independent ones that count certed McCarthyite campaign
Group last month, preferring to to destroy Corbyn before he can
ally with renegade Conserva- . reach No 10.
tive MPs in an apparent attempt in motion with the Balfour Dec- Corbyn’s allies are being
to frustrate a Corbyn-led party laration – will find, as a result, picked off one by one, from grass-
winning power. that it is they who have no home roots activists like Walker and
Further, if a proportion of Jew- in Labour. That includes sig- Wadsworth to higher-placed
ish Labour party members have nificant numbers of anti-Zionist supporters like Williamson
such a heavy personal invest- Jews, Palestinians, Muslims and and Milne. Soon Corbyn will
ment in Israel that they refuse Palestinian solidarity activists. stand alone, exposed before the
to countenance any meaningful inquisition.
curbs on Israel’s abuses of Pales-
tinians – and that has been under-
scored repeatedly by public com-
I f the creation of a “safe space”
for Jews in the Labour Party is
Then Labour can be restored
to the Blairites, the members
silenced until they leave and any
ments from the JLM and Labour code, as it appears to be, for a hope of offering a political alter-
Friends of Israel – then keeping safe space for hardline Zionist native to the establishment safe-
them inside the party will require Jews, it will inevitably require ly shelved. Ordinary people will
cracking down on all but the flim- that the party become a hostile again be made passive specta-
8 siest criticism of Israel. It will tie environment for those engaged tors as the rich carry on playing
the party’s hands on supporting in other anti-racism battles. with their lives and their futures
Palestinian rights. Stripped bare, what Lansman as though Britain was simply a
In the name of protecting the and the witchfinders are say- rigged game of Monopoly.
“Israel right or wrong” crowd ing is that Zionist Jewish sensi- If parliamentary politics
from what they consider to be tivities in the party are the only returns to business as usual for
antisemitic abuse, Labour will ones that count, that anything the wealthy, taking to the streets
have to provide institutional sup- and everything must be done to looks increasingly like the only
port for Israel’s racism towards indulge them, even if it means option. Maybe it’s time to dust off
Palestinians. In doing so, it will abusing non-Zionist Jewish the Yellow Vest. CT
in fact simply be returning to the members, black members, Pal-
status quo in the party before estinian and Muslim members, Jonathan Cook won the
Corbyn, when Labour turned and those expressing solidarity Martha Gellhorn Special
a blind eye over many decades with Palestinians. Prize for Journalism.
to the Palestinians’ disposses- This is precisely the political His books include Israel
sion by European Zionists who black hole into which simplistic, and the Clash of Civilisations:
created an ugly anachronistic kneejerk identity politics inevi- Iraq, Iran and the Plan to
state where rights accrue based tably gets sucked. Remake the Middle East (Pluto
on one’s ethnicity and religion Right now, the establishment Press) and Disappearing
rather than citizenship. – represented by Richard Dear- Palestine: Israel’s Experiments
Those in Labour who reject love, a former head of the MI6 in Human Despair (Zed Books).
Britain’s continuing complicity – is maliciously trying to frame His website is
in such crimes – ones the UK set Corbyn’s main adviser, Seumas www.jonathan-cook.net.
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
Illustration: DonkeyHotey / www. flickr.com/photos/donkeyhoteya
9
Bernie’s back! And this time he’s really geared up for revolution. Honest!
CJ Hopkins has all the details
The Magic Socialist
S
o here it is, the announ- cialists instead of the British ic Party orders you to vote for.
cement we’ve been wait- filthy rich. Tickets start at just No, this time the Bernster
ing for … all aboard $27 … so hurry, because they’re really means it! This time, when
for another cruise on going fast! the DNC rigs the primaries to
the new and improved That’s right, folks, Bernie is hand the nomination to Harris,
USS Magic Socialist with your back, and this time it’s not just or Biden, or some billionaire
captain Bernie Sanders at the a sadistic prank where he gets android like Michael Bloomb-
helm! If you’re not familiar you all fired up about his fake erg, Bernie is not going to break
with this extraordinary vessel, “revolution” for 15 months, gets your heart by refusing to run
it’s like the luxury liner in The cheated out of the nomination, as an independent candidate,
Magic Christian, except cater- then backs whichever corporate- unbeholden to the corporations
ing to credulous American so- bought candidate the Democrat- and oligarchs that own both
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net
political parties, or otherwise revolutionary flavour of Bernie Bernie president, they will have
make you feel like a sucker for ice cream … and in the end it no choice but to peacefully sur-
buying his “revolution” schtick. would all amount to nothing. render, and transform America
He’s not going to fold like into a socialist wonderland!
a $50 suit and start parroting
whatever propaganda the corpo- B Sure, they won’t be happy
ut that’s not going to happen about it, but they will have no
rate media will be prodigiously this time. No, this time, the USS choice but to go along with what-
spewing to convince you the Magic Socialist is setting sail ever Bernie and his followers
Russians and Nazis are coming straight for Socialismland! This want, because that’s how Ameri-
unless you vote for the empire’s time, it’s really the Revolution! can democracy works!
pre-anointed puppet! The end of global capitalism! We’ve seen it in action these
Bernie would never dream And the best part of the whole last two years, since Donald
of doing that … or at least he’d deal is, you don’t even have to Trump got elected president.
never dream of doing that twice. take up arms, stage a series of The establishment wasn’t too
There are limits, after all, to wildcat strikes, blockade major thrilled about that, but they had
people’s gullibility. It’s not like highways, occupy airports, or to put aside their own selfish
you can just run the same con, otherwise cripple the US econo- interests and respect the will of
with the same fake message and my … all you have to do is vote the American people … because
the same fake messiah, over and for Bernie! imagine what might have hap-
over, and expect pened if they
folks to fall for hadn’t!
it. If you could, It’s not like you can just run the same con, with For exa m-
well, that would the same fake message and the same fake messiah, ple, they might
b e ex t r e mely have concocted
depressing.
over and over, and expect folks to fall for it. If you a story about
10 T hat wou ld could, that would be extremely depressing Trump being a
mean you could
get fol ks to
. Russian intelli-
gence asset who
believe almost anything, or that See, that’s the magic of elec- was personally conspiring with
we were stuck in some eternally toral politics! Vladimir Putin to destroy the
recurring multi-dimensional The global capitalist ruling fabric of Western democracy so
reality loop. The next year and a establishment, despite the fact that Russia could take over the
half in American politics would that they own the banks and entire planet.
play out like one of those Ground- the corporations that own the They could have had respect-
hog Day knock offs meets The government that owns the mili- ed newspapers like the New York
Magic Christian meets The Usu- tary and intelligence services, Times and the Washington Post
al Suspects, directed by David and despite the fact that they and television networks like
Lynch, on acid. own the media, and all essen- CNN and MSNBC disseminate
We’d be barraged by recycled tial industries, and channels this story, and subtly reinforce it
Feel-the-Bern memes. Hacky- of trade, and are relentlessly in endless variations, on a daily
sack shares would go through restructuring the entire planet basis for over two years.
the roof. That creepy little bird (which they rule with almost They could have appointed a
would come fluttering back, total impunity) to conform to special prosecutor to investigate
land on Bernie’s podium again, their soulless neoliberal ideol- the facts of their made-up story,
and chirp out L’Internationale. ogy, and are more than happy to and indict a bunch of unextradit-
People would start booking Tim unleash their militarized goons able Russians and a handful of
Robbins for interviews. Ben & on anyone who gets in their way inveterate DC slimebags to make
Jerry’s would roll out another … despite all that, if we elect the whole thing look legitimate.
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netAt the same time, they could lined above. are working to fix that).
have had the media warn every- That might have left people Oh, yeah, and in case you’re
body, over and over, that Trump, with the false impression that worried about Bernie backing
in addition to being a traitor, their votes mean absolutely the empire’s ongoing regime
was also the second coming of nothing, and that the entire change op in Venezuela, don’t
Hitler, and was on the verge of American electoral system is be.
torching the Capitol, declaring just a simulation of democracy, He’s just playing 4D chess,
himself Führer, and rounding and in reality they are living in like Obama did throughout his
up the Jews. a neo-feudalist, de facto global presidency, by pretending to do
They could have generated capitalist empire administrated the empire’s bidding while he
so much mass hysteria and by omnicidal money-worship- actually went about the busi-
Putin-Nazi paranoia that liber- ping human parasites that ness of resurrecting hope and
als would literally be seeing won’t be satisfied until they’ve eradicating racism. Bernie’s
Russians and Nazis coming out remade the whole of creation in just being sly like that! It might
of the woodwork their nihilistic image. seem like he’s aligning himself
For tu nately, the globa l with mass murdering thugs like
capitalist establishment, out of
respect for democracy and the
American people, decided not
T hankfully, the ruling classes
spared us all that, so now we
Elliot Abrams and sadistic ass
freaks like Marco Rubio, but he
isn’t. Not really. It’s just an act.
to go that route. can hop aboard the Magic So- I mean, he has to get elected,
If Americans chose to elect cialist and take another cruise doesn’t he?
a jabbering imbecile president, with Cap’n Bernie! Consider- How else are we going to get
that was their right, and far ing how magnanimous they’ve to Socialismland? CT
be it from the empire to inter- been with Trump, once Bernie
fere. Tempting as it must have wins the election fair and CJ Hopkins is an award-
been to use all their power to square, the empire clearly winning American playwright,
11
demonise Trump in order to won’t have any problems with novelist and political satirist
teach the world what happens him nationalising the Ameri- based in Berlin. His plays
when you get elected president can healthcare system, tri- are published by Bloomsbury
without their permission, they pling taxes on the super-rich, Publishing (UK) and Broadway
restrained themselves … and subsidising university educa- Play Publishing (USA). His
thank God for that! tion, and all that other cool debut novel, ZONE 23, is
I don’t even want to con- socialism stuff (ie, the stuff published by Snoggsworthy,
template the extent of the rage we mostly still have here in Swaine & Cormorant
and cynicism they would have Europe, along with some sem- Paperbacks. He can be reached
fomented among the public by blance of cultural solidarity, at www.cjhopkins.com or
doing those things I just out- although the global capitalists www.consentfactory.org
Read the best of
Joe bageant
www.coldtype.net/joe.html
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net12
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netA new book of
photographs showing
children at play in
the streets of Britain
reminds us of a time
when suburbia was
defined not by the
screeching hostility
of revving car engines
but by the joyful squeals
Growıng
of kids having fun
up Ah, nostalgia! Where would
we be without our rose-tinted
trips back to days of childish
bliss, a world of fun and games
unencumbered by the respon-
sibilities of adulthood.
As the boomer generation
ages, we’re seeing a stream
13
of photo books reviving those
memories of growing up in
the latter part of the 20th-
century, a time when we
shared our parents’ dreams
that our future would
become ever more prosperous
and fulfilling than theirs had
ever been.
One such book is Paradise
Street, The Lost Art of Playing
Outside, published by Lon-
don’s Hoxton Mini Press, that
Balham, London, circa 1961, Paul Kaye. portrays children of the Brit-
The Paul Kaye Collection / Mary Evans Picture Library ish working class at play in
the decades that followed the
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net14
Manchester, 1966, Shirley Baker / Estate of Shirley Baker / Mary Evans Picture Library.
end of World War II, before the avaricious
masters of neoliberal capitalism turned
their dreams into nightmares: parents
trapped in a spiral of never-ending debt,
the future of their children first arrested,
then driven backwards by low-paying
jobs, gravity-defying rents and unafford-
able mortgages.
“Growing up”, Lucinda Gosling, of the
Mary Evans Picture Library, writes in
the book’s introduction, “was different
in the middle of the 20th-century. Britain
was different. Not always better; but
different”.
In those days, before streets were
clogged with the screeching hostility of
revving car engines, children spent their
time outside. “Kids of the seventies might
have raced on bikes round cul-de-sacs, Manchester, 1968. Shirley Baker / Estate of Shirley Baker / Mary Evans
or clattered along pavements on roller Picture Library.
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net15
Balham, London, circa 1961 Paul Kaye / Mary Evans Picture Library.
skates”, writes Gosling. “Their mums
and dads remember chalking hopscotch
squares on the ground or rattling tin
cans while others ran to hide.
“Babies sat throne-like in prams,
parked in the ‘fresh air’ outside front
gates, watched over, perhaps, by an older
sibling. Children found opportunities to
play with sticks, puddles, an old door to
make a den, an abandoned car or mat-
tress, a pit town’s slag heap, a mountain-
ous pile of road chippings, a vertiginous
wall to clamber up, or a football pitch in
an abandoned brickworks”.
Did the kids really have it so good
or are these recollections the result of
deeply saturated nostalgia? Gosling
wonders, before declaring, “Compari-
Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, 1966. Shirley Baker / Estate of sons with today’s children do not favour
Shirley Baker / Mary Evans Picture Library.
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netManchester, 1963 Shirley Baker / Estate of Shirley Baker / Mary Evans Picture Library.
the 21st-century generation, who are
reported to be addicted to phones and
games consoles, spend most of their
waking hours indoors, and whose diet of
16 junk food is apparently contributing to
an obesity epidemic. Playing out tends
to be in a safe space, a playground or
sports ground, watched over by parents
or carers; the streets are too choked with
traffic to offer a viable alternative”.
Yes, the whole idea of community has
changed. In this over-stressed modern
world, parents don’t encourage their Paradise Street
kids to go out to play any more. And The Lost Art of Playing Outside
children, alerted by their parents’ fears, Various Photographers
are intimidated by the outside world,
Hoxton Mini Press
feeling safer, and more comfortable,
www.hoxtonminipress.com
cocooned behind locked doors with
£16.95
cellphone and games console.
However, one thing of which we can
be certain is that, in 50 years’ time,
today’s children will wallow in similar
nostalgic memories of their childhood,
while simultaneously bemoaning the
nihilist attitudes and incomprehensible
playing habits of their own offspring.
Times change, people don’t.
– Tony Sutton
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.net17
Balham, London, circa 1961.
Paul Kaye / Mary Evans Picture Library.
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netThe US is a country that is desperately in need
of a leader with a vision that doesn’t include
artificial borders, argues John Feffer
The psychology
of Trump’s
Mexican Wall
G
eopolitics, like ther- was necessary to emphasise
modynamics, has its the distinction.
laws of conservation. If a These discriminatory walls
wall comes down in one anticipated the next round of very sad set of walls separating
place, you can bet that it walls in the region: to keep out Israel from the Occupied Terri-
18 will go up somewhere else. immigrants. Hungary built a tories. Spain has walled off its
It wasn’t long after the Ber- wall on its border with Serbia in cities of Ceuta and Melilla from
lin Wall fell that different kinds 2015, and then a second one in the rest of Morocco (yes, there
of walls went up in Eastern 2017 just to be sure. Germany are two Spanish towns in North
Europe. New borders separated was letting in more than a mil- Africa). There’s a wall between
the Czech Republic from Slova- lion desperate people. Hungary Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Accord-
kia, and then, after much blood- and most of the rest of Eastern ing to Elisabeth Vallet, a geog-
shed, the new successor states Europe, after making the ear- raphy professor at the Univer-
of former Yugoslavia. lier case that they belonged in sity of Quebec-Montreal, there
By the end of the 1990s, bar- the European Union, were shut- were 15 border walls around the
riers were being established ting the door after themselves. world in 1989. That has jumped
in small towns in the Czech to 77 today.
Republic, in Slovakia, and
in Romania to separate Roma
and non-Roma populations.
I t’s not just Eastern Europe.
The Brexit vote was basically
As with so many of his fixa-
tions, Donald Trump’s call for
a wall is hardly original. And
Germans on both sides of the an effort to build a big wall this wall, too, is a response to
former Berlin Wall were declar- across the English Channel to the collapse of walls elsewhere.
ing that they were one people. separate the United Kingdom Economic globalisation was
But in other countries in the from Europe. Keeping out im- responsible, from the 1980s on,
region, the majority population migrants was a major motivat- for gradually tearing down all
was insisting, rule of law not- ing factor. manner of barriers: to trade, to
withstanding, that the citizenry Walls are practically eve- finance, and to the movement
was not one people and a wall rywhere, alas. You can find a of manufacturers. Trump and
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netA man fishing at the US-Mexico border fence at Playas de Tijuana. (Photo: Wikimedia.com)
his economic populists have imagination. Or politicians tions of “shit-hole” countries, he
done as much as they can to have deliberately conflated the does so in a New York minute.
put back some of those barriers, two, as Trump supporters did He devises travel bans. He in-
19
for instance by withdrawing in the case of the infamous Hil- structs his press secretary to
from the Trans Pacific Part- lary Clinton quote about “open dispense with the traditional
nership and by slapping tariffs borders”. She quite obviously daily press briefings. He stays
on products from allies and meant economic globalisation, within his Fox News enclosure.
adversaries. not immigration, which was Even when he prances before
But Trump’s wall along troubling in its own right, but the public in mass events, he
the Mexico border is first and for different reasons. wants to make sure that every-
foremost about keeping peo- one in the crowd is on his side.
ple out. Economic globalisation
removed some barriers to the
movement of people, but prima-
T rump is not a big fan of open-
ness, in any of its manifesta-
The Trump brand has always
been about exclusivity, though
of a rather tawdry variety: the
rily those with highly sought- tions. He loves the idea of exclu- appearance of prestige instead
after skills. As for the truly des- sivity: private jets, elite parties, of the reality. As the writer
perate who were trying to climb membership-only clubs such Fran Lebowitz once remarked,
over walls and breach borders, as Mar-a-Lago. He prefers not Trump is “a poor person’s idea
they were often motivated more to reveal his tax returns. He’d of a rich person”. It could also
by war and the violence of non- like to keep all of his financials be said that he’s a non-political
state actors. well hidden. In Trump’s mind, person’s idea of a president.
These two types of “open walls define the parameters He projects the appearance of
borders” – one for money, the of privilege. Whenever he can a president – handshakes with
other for bodies – have often wall off the press, his “low-in- other leaders, photo ops in the
been confused in the public telligence” critics, the popula- Oval Office – without any of
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netthe substance. All of his talk of In terms of national wealthy, send their children to
“fake news” is just an indirect private schools, or expunge any
admission of his own doubts
privilege, liberals also discordant viewpoints from
about his own authenticity as a believe in American their social media networks.
president. supremacy, though they These walls are largely invis-
No surprise, then, that ible – just like the financial
Trump is offering the appear- speak more in terms red lines that helped to create
ance of security rather than of restoring American America’s urban wastelands –
the reality of security. A wall but they are no less powerful.
is largely a symbol. It means
leadership In terms of national privi-
nothing when the United States
refuses to address the true
. lege, liberals also believe in
American supremacy, though
causes of insecurity, both at as China expands its influence they speak more in terms of
home and abroad. and Russia regains its great restoring American leadership.
Nicholas Kristof did a nice power status. Americans watch America, in other words, has
column in the New York Times, conflict, extremism, disease, not really adjusted to a multipo-
drawn in part from my IPS and the other horsemen of the lar world, its more modest place
colleagues’ National Priorities Apocalypse engulf other coun- within it, or the resulting anxi-
Project data, about all the sen- tries, and they feel as if Amer- eties that torment the souls of
sible ways to spend $5.7-billion: ica can no longer ride in on its Americans.
on America’s children, on gun white horse to save the day (the The US military, after all
buybacks and drug treatment last time was perhaps World its failures around the world,
programs, on job training for War II). Worse, they can hear no longer preserves Ameri-
prisoners, and on helping peo- the drumbeat of those hooves can privilege. The US dollar,
ple overseas. That’s what a real approaching the very shores of weakened by US debt and the
20 president would support, not a this country. strengthening of other national
“fake president”. currencies, may soon lose its
But let’s dig a little deeper.
The wall addresses a core psy-
chological insecurity. Trump
T rump and his supporters want
that wall to prevent all these
special glow.
A wall is a fallback position,
and a rather pathetic one at
supporters – and many others privileges – individual, com- that. The United States desper-
– feel as if their own privileges munal, national – from leaking ately needs a leader – actually,
are evaporating. Those privi- out. It’s the architectural equiv- a cadre of leaders – who can
leges are connected to race and alent of a gun. It’s for defense, reconceive America’s relation-
gender (the angry white men a way for people to “stand their ship with the world, who can
who now swell the ranks of the ground”. But it’s also compen- redefine US privilege, who can
Republican Party). But they sation for powerlessness and see the importance of a shift
are also connected to class (the lack of control. As with guns, from global power over to global
blue-collar workers that once the sense of safety and security power with. It would be a true
formed the backbone of the is almost entirely illusory. privilege to elect such visionar-
Democratic Party). Liberals, unfortunately, ies to leadership positions.
And don’t forget the oft- don’t offer much of an alterna- The world is waiting. CT
overlooked privilege of being tive. They use more inclusive
American. US citizens are feel- language when it comes to indi- John Feffer is the director
ing increasingly anxious as vidual and communal privilege of Foreign Policy In Focus –
they watch the United States – though liberals are also guilty www.fpif.com – where this
fail to achieve its objectives in of constructing walls when article first appeared.
one war after another – even they live in the ghettoes of the
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netHard days ahead: Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan. Photo: Kremlin.ru
Conn Hallinan tells why Recep Erdogan is facing ballot box office rebellion
Election woes loom
21
for Turkish leader
D
“ emocracy is like a on March 31, it is a prophecy Er- ate to use local elections to send
tram; you get off when dogan has more than fulfilled: a message, Erdogan and his
you have reached your the prisons filled with the op- Justice and Development Party
destination”. The com- position, the media largely si- (AKP) may be in for a setback.
ment by Recep Tayyip lenced, the courts intimidated, For one thing, the AKP’s
Erdogan – made more than 20 the bureaucracy tamed, and bread and butter issue, the
years ago when he was first more than 150,000 people fired. economy, is in trouble, and
elected mayor of Istanbul – But for all that, there are dark maybe very serious trouble.
sums up the Machiavellian clouds on the horizon, much of Industrial production has fallen
cynicism of Turkey’s authori- them largely of the President’s 6 percent and retail sales 7 per-
tarian president. As Turkey own making. And since it is tra- cent, and overall growth has
gears up for municipal elections ditional for the Turkish elector- dropped from 7.4 percent in 2017
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netto a projected 2 percent in 2019. on allied industries in cement, the HDP, and for the first time
Inflation is at 20.3 percent and steel and ceramics. And the in Turkish history many of the
unemployment is accelerating. combination of the lira’s fall Kurdish parties have formed
The most recent figures show in value, coupled with the eco- a united front.
that more than 11 percent are nomic insecurity people are The HDP has also decided
out of work, with almost twice feeling, has depressed sales in not to run candidates for the
that for young people age 15 to the automotive industry, elec- mayoralties of the big cities like
24, who constitute some 20 per- tronics and appliances, Istanbul and Ankara, in order
cent of Turkey’s population. The Turkish economy has to help elect candidates from
In the past, “terrorism” was long been reliant on foreign the secular centre-right Repub-
the major concern for voters, capital – so-called “hot money” lican People’s Party (CHP). In
but recent polls show that the – to keep the factories humming short, anyone but the AKP.
economy is the number one and living standards rising. The AKP used to get a sub-
issue, followed by unemploy- But hot money is drying up stantial number of Kurdish
ment and Syrian refugees. and the bills are coming due. votes, particularly from con-
Erdogan constructed his Since much of Turkey’s debt servative rural areas. But when
election juggernaut on eco- is in foreign currency, it is Erdogan launched a crackdown
nomic growth that lifted a con- harder to pay off those debts on the Kurds in an effort to
siderable section of the popula- with a depressed lira. Ankara marginalise the HDP, he lost
tion out of poverty and fuelled has opened talks with the many of those voters. While not
a major growth all of them have
of the middle
class. Much of
While much of Erdogan’s political opposition has been migrated to the
left party, they
that economy jailed or sidelined, it has not been cowed have shifted their
was centred on votes to other
22 the construc- . Kurdish parties,
tion industry and mega-projects International Monetary Fund now united under the Kurdis-
such as shopping malls, bridges to explore a bailout, but IMF tani Election Alliance.
and the largest airport in the bailouts come with a price tag: There is a certain amount of
world. austerity, not exactly a winning irony here. In an effort to make
For Erdogan an economy electoral programme. sure the AKP’s ally, the extreme
built around massive projects rightwing National Action Party
was a win-win formula: the
AKP handed out lucrative con-
tracts to big construction firms,
W hile much of Erdogan’s
political opposition has been
(MHP) made it into parliament,
Erdogan rammed through a law
that allows parties to form elec-
which, in turn, filled the elector- jailed or sidelined, it has not toral alliances. Even if a party
al coffers of a party that went been cowed. Despite the jailing doesn’t reach the 10 percent
from the margins of the politi- of nine parliamentary depu- threshold required to enter par-
cal spectrum to at one point ties from the Kurdish-based liament, it will still win seats if
winning almost 50 percent of left-wing People’s Democratic it is allied with a bigger party.
the electorate. Party (HDP), that party still But what is sauce for the
But growth fell to an anaemic managed to get enough votes goose is sauce for the gander.
1.6 percent in the third quarter in the last election to hold their The CHP has formed an alliance
of last year, and the construc- spot as the third largest party with the nationalist Iti (“Good”)
tion industry is in a recession, in the parliament. Party, and most of the Kurdish
with large layoffs almost cer- A hunger strike by impris- parties are under one umbrella.
tain. The crisis of the building oned Kurdish activists has It is likely that those alliances
trades has had a domino effect also generated sympathy for will end up winning seats that
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netthey wouldn’t have under the score points in his battle with the state to hobble his opposi-
old rules. Saudi Arabia over the king- tion, but the state of emergency
Besides domestic woes, dom’s murder of the journalist is alienating foreign investors
Erdogan’s foreign policy is Jamal Khashoggi, as well as and many Turks are increas-
hardly a major success. The with his support for Kuwait and ingly weary of it.
Turkish occupation of north- Qatar in their dispute with the In the 2017 referendum that
ern Syria has failed to scat- United Arab Emirates and the bestowed almost unlimited
ter the Kurdish-based Syrian Saudis. His willingness to resist executive powers on Erdogan,
Democratic Forces, and it looks US sanctions against Iran is he lost Istanbul, Ankara and
increasingly like Ankara has also popular, because it means Izmir, Turkey’s largest cities. A
stumbled into a quagmire. trade and a lift for Turkey’s ail- recent poll showed support for
Erdogan’s plan was to drive ing economy. the AKP had dropped from 42.5
the Kurds out and re-populate However, the March vote percent the Party got in the 2018
the area with Syrian refugees. is not likely to turn on foreign election to 35 percent today.
Instead he is in a standoff with policy, but rather on pocket- After 17 years of power, after
the Russians and the Ameri- book issues such as unemploy- using every device he could –
cans, and, to protect them- ment and the wobbling econo- including stuffing ballot boxes
selves, the Kurds appear to my. Erdogan is doing his best – to build a powerful executive
be cutting a deal with the gov- to head off any unrest over the system orbiting around him,
ernment of Bashar al-Assad. economy by handing out low- it is hard to imagine Erdogan
interest loans and giveaways, suffering a setback. But tossing
T here is a strong streak of
nationalism among the Turks,
like paying electrical bills
for economically stressed
families.
people in prison and intimidat-
ing opposition has had little
effect on repairing the economy
and Erdogan may yet harvest The opposition also claims or raising living standards.
it by pressing the Kurds in Tur- that the AKP alliance is stuff- Many Turks may be souring
23
key’s southeast, Iraq and Syria. ing the rolls with non-existent on the “destination” that Erdog-
But the Turkish army is over- voters. HDP investigators found an has brought them to, and
extended and still reeling from that one house in Hakkari in they could well decide to send
the purge of officers and rank the Kurdish southeast has 1,108 that message on March 31. CT
and file that followed the failed registered voters.
2016 coup. And there are cred- But Turkish agriculture is Conn Hallinan can be read
ible reports that the military is a mess, and construction and at dispatchesfromtheedgeblog.
not happy with occupying part manufacturing are staggering wordpress.com and
of Syria. under an enormous debt load. middleempireseries.wordpress.
The Turkish president did Erdogan has used the power of com
Get your FREE subscription
to ColdType
Send an email to editor@coldtype.net
– write subscribe in the subject line
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netFox News presenter Tucker Carlson and BBC reporters share a common
misunderstanding of editorial freedom, say David Cromwell & David Edwards
The deadly myth:
‘We don’t do propaganda’
L
ast month, Dutch his- “We gotta be talking about tax- saying that at Davos, just as no
torian Rutger Bregman, es. That’s it. Taxes, taxes, taxes. one’s saying it on Fox News,
author of Utopia For Real- All the rest is bullshit, in my right? And I think the expla-
ists, was interviewed by opinion”. nation for that is quite simple,
the high-profile Fox News His comments went viral is that most of the people in
presenter Tucker Carlson. Dur- which, in turn, led to him being Davos, but also here on this
ing a panel discussion at the invited on to Carlson’s televi- channel, have been bought by
World Economic Forum in Da- sion show. It’s safe to say that the billionaire class. You know?
vos in January, Bregman had the interview did not go as the You’re not meant to say these
bluntly told billionaires that right-wing host would have things. So I just went there,
24 they should s t o p liked. In fact, Fox News decided and I thought, you know what,
avoid i ng not to air the segment. However, I’m just going to say it, just as
taxes and it was captured on mobile phone I’m saying it right here on this
pay their footage in the Amsterdam stu- channel”.
fair share: dio where Bregman was doing
the interview and it was
later distributed via
Twitter.
C arlson was happy enough at
this point. Indeed, he praised
He told Carlson: Bregman for what he’d said in
“ T he vast major- Davos: “That was one of the
ity of Americans, for great moments - maybe the
years and years now, great moment in Davos his-
according to the polls tory”.
– including Fox News Carlson added: “If I was
viewers and including wearing a hat, I’d take it off to
Republicans – are in you”.
favour of higher taxes The Dutch historian contin-
Illustration: 123graphics.com
on the rich. Higher inher- ued: “‘America is still pretty
itance taxes, higher top much the most powerful coun-
marginal tax rates, try in the world, right? So if it
higher wealth taxes, really would want to, it could
it’s all really main- easily crack down on tax para-
stream. But no one’s dises. But the thing is, you
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netguys have brought into power a the anchors of Fox …”
Illustration: 123graphics.com
president who doesn’t even want By this point, Carlson had
to share his own tax returns. I lost it: “You would have to
mean, who knows how many bil- be a moron, you would
lions he has hidden in the Cay- have to be …”
man Islands or in Bermuda. So Bregman carried on
I think the issue really is one of speaking: “They’re all
corruption and of people being millionaires. How is
bribed, and of not being, not talk- this possible? Well it’s
ing about the real issues. What very easy, you’re just
the family—what the Murdochs not talking about cer-
[owners of Fox News] basically tain things.
want you to do is to scapegoat “You are a millionaire
immigrants instead of talking funded by billionaires, that’s
about tax avoidance”. what you are … You’re part
By this point, it was clear of the problem”.
that Carlson was unhappy with Bregman then correctly
how the interview was going: predicted: “You’re prob-
“And I’m taking orders from the ably not going to air this
Murdochs, that’s what you’re on your show”. He added:
saying?” “But I went to Davos to
Bregman responded reason- speak truth to power
ably: “No, I mean, it doesn’t work and I’m doing exactly
that directly. But I mean, you’ve the same thing right
been part of the [right-wing lib- now. You might not like
ertarian think tank] Cato Insti- it, but you’re a millionaire fund- jected with a smile: “You can’t
25
tute, right? You’ve been a senior ed by billionaires and that’s the handle the criticism, can you?”
fellow there for years”. reason you’re not talking about Afterwards, Bregman shared
The Fox News presenter these issues”. the clip on his Twitter feed:
interjected aggressively, seem- Carlson: “But I am talking “Here’s the interview that @
ingly rattled: “Well how does it about these issues”. TuckerCarlson and Fox News
work?” Bregman replied: “Yeah, only didn’t want you to see. I chose
Bregman replied: “Well, it now. Come on, you jumped the to release it, because I think we
works by you taking their dirty bandwagon. You’re all like, oh, should keep talking about the
money. They’re funded by Koch I’m against the globalist elite, corrupting influence of money in
billionaires, you know? It’s as blah blah blah. It’s not very con- politics. It also shows how angry
easy as that. I mean, you are a vincing to be honest”. elites can get if you do that”.
millionaire, funded by billion- As predicted, Fox News did
aires, that’s what you are. And
I’m glad you now finally jumped
the bandwagon of people like
T hat was too much for Carlson
who exploded: “I wanna say
not air the segment. No doubt
prompted by Bregman releas-
ing the exchange into the pub-
Bernie Sanders and AOC [Alex- to you why don’t you go fuck lic domain, Carlson addressed
andria Ocasio-Cortez, a newly yourself … you tiny brain. And it on his show: “Things went
elected Democrat politician in I hope this gets picked up be- fine for the first few minutes
New York], but you’re not part cause you’re a moron. I tried to and then Bregman launched
of the solution, Mr. Carlson. give you a hearing, but you were into an attack on Fox News.
You’re part of the problem, too fucking annoying …” It’s not clear that Bregman has
actually. ... All the anchors, all Unflustered, Bregman inter- ever seen Fox. But he wanted to
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netmake his point. Fine. had not aired the segment. instance, a Fox News presenter
“But then he claimed that After all, a simple bleep could who looked critically at the
[adopts a fierce voice] my cor- have overridden any profanity: ownership and advertising
porate masters tell me what to a standard procedure used in behind that network would not
say on the show, and that was television. last long; indeed, would likely
too much”. Note that we are not claim- never have been promoted into
Carlson continued: “What- ing that everything Carlson that trusted position in the first
ever my faults or those of this says can be dismissed as kow- place.
channel, nobody in manage- towing to his “corporate mas-
ment has ever told us what
positions to take on the air –
never – not one time. We have
ters”. Last year, for example,
he admirably challenged the
establishment consensus on
W
hat was perhaps most in-
teresting in Carlson’s riposte
total freedom here and we are Syria. That expression of dis- to Bregman was his defence
grateful for that. I have hosted sent may well have boosted his of Fox News: “Nobody in man-
shows on both the other cable ratings: always a welcome fac- agement has ever told us what
channels so I know first-hand tor for a media outlet. Our point positions to take on the air –
how rare that freedom is. On is that there is no freedom to never – not one time. We have
this show, thanks to Fox, we get “say exactly what we think” on total freedom here and we are
to say exactly what grateful for
we think is true, for that. I have
better or worse. “I called him a moron and then I modified that word hosted shows
“But there was with a vulgar Anglo-Saxon term that is also intelligible on both the
no conv i nci ng other cable
Bregman of that, in Dutch” – Tucker Carlson channels so
he knew what he . I know first-
26 knew. So I did what hand how
I try hard never to do on this a corporate outlet. rare that freedom is. On this
show, and I was rude. I called As Herman and Chomsky show, thanks to Fox, we get to
him a moron and then I modi- explained in Manufacturing say exactly what we think is
fied that word with a vulgar Consent, there are structural true, for better or worse”.
Anglo-Saxon term that is also limits in the “mainstream” Even former Guardian editor
intelligible in Dutch. media: “the ‘societal purpose’ Alan Rusbridger understood
“In my defence, I would say of the media is to inculcate and the absurdity of this response.
that was entirely accurate. But defend the economic, social In 2000, he told one of us in an
you’re not allowed to use that and political agenda of privi- interview: “If you ask anybody
word on television. So, once I’d leged groups that dominate the who works in newspapers, they
said it out loud, there was no domestic society and the state. will quite rightly say, ‘Rupert
airing the segment”. The media serve this purpose Murdoch”’ or whoever, ‘never
Carlson then pointed out in many ways: through selec- tells me what to write’, which
that Bregman had released the tion of topics, distribution of is beside the point: they don’t
exchange and that you could concerns, framing of issues, fil- have to be told what to write...
find it online: “There is some tering of information, emphasis It’s understood.”
profanity, and I apologise for and tone, and by keeping debate In fact, Bregman had already
that. On the other hand, it was within the bounds of acceptable noted when he released the
genuinely heartfelt and I meant premises”. exchange: “I stand behind
it with total sincerity”. That phrase, “keeping debate what I said, but there’s one
It was a far from convincing within the bounds of acceptable thing I should have done bet-
explanation for why Fox News premises”, is crucial. Thus, for ter. When Carlson asked me
ColdType | March 2019 | www.coldtype.netYou can also read
