Hmmm. I'm very dubious about the accuracy of this. For instance I can't believe I've used the word 'pollard' more than 'poverty'. I would hazard a guess that it is just a wordcloud of titles in my blog, not the overall content, still fun to see though.
Just by way of comparison, I also 'wordclouded' the fascist website Devil's Kitchen.
This is one very angry (and sweary) young fascist!
In what sense of the word could you possibly describe Devil's Kitchen as a fascist? Isn't this all just a bit stereotypical left-wing student politics?
ReplyDeleteNeil makes up his own definitions for words, as it suits him.
ReplyDeleteBut then if the man who says:
ReplyDelete" it is BETTER to punish the innocent than to let the guilty go free."
reckons his a friend of liberty, we can take his definition of "fascist" with perhaps a pinch of salt....
PG; I'll admit that particularly sentence was a mistake. It was clumsily written and I got rightly ridiculed for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat I meant to say was that any criminal justice system has imperfections, and that means innocent people are convicted. We have to make a decision on where the best balance is between catching the guilty and punishing the innocent.
In serious cases it is always better to limit the number of innocent that are convicted, and that is what we try to do, but there are always practical limits on costs. If we wanted to make absolutely sure we didn't convict ANY innocent people, then we wouldn't convict anyone at all.
There is no evidence that Blair's summary justice is more inaccurate than our current criminal justice system, but even if it were the case that more innocent were punished, in low level cases it might be worth it to catch more guilty earlier on, because it can reduce the number who proceed to more serious crimes.
Andrew: Devil's Kitchen is a racist and an autocrat. The logic of his arguments are those of the BNP. He doesn't believe in democracy. Look at his manifesto. I'd hope it was in jest but looking at his posts, I'm not so sure.
Nothing Fascist there beyond the obviously jocular intro (pretty much pointing out the absurdity of taking such a maifesto too seriously...).
ReplyDeleteThis '# Introduce the Citizen's Basic Income.' is interesting though...
Yes, it is very interesting. Lots of rightwingers are coming over to the idea of a citizen's income (although he completely misses the point by means testing it). I don't know if you have read my post on a citizen's income here.
ReplyDeleteDevil's Kitchen (the main guy who runs it is nationalist, racist, contradictory in the extreme and dubious about democracy). Maybe it is in half-jest but when you read his whole blog, you might get the picture.
For example; he wants to leave the EU but have total free trade. On what planet would he achieve this. He also thinks the Commonwealth is as useful a trading partner as the EU. 1950s foreign policy revisited and just as disastrous!
The rest has been toned down since I last looked. But here is his views on Muslims;
Yes, it is very interesting. Lots of rightwingers are coming over to the idea of a citizen's income (although he completely misses the point by means testing it).
ReplyDeleteI would like to point out that I only proposed means testing it to appease lefty liberals, in particular bookdrunk, who had a problem with people earning 5 figures receiving such a benefit. My original feeling was not to means-test it at all.
I also don't understand why it should be a strange thing for "right-wingers" to come over to the idea of the CBI. However, I would only embrace CBI coupled with the abolition of all other benefits, and referably the introduction of a high personal allowance and flat tax.
The point of the CBI is to simplify, and thus everything else should be simplified too.
Devil's Kitchen (the main guy who runs it is nationalist, racist, contradictory in the extreme and dubious about democracy).
Nationalist? In that I still believe in the nation state? Yeah, sure, OK.
Racist? Nah, I'd quibble on that one. I just feel that people who don't want to live in our society under our laws (e.g. the 40% of Muslims who supposedly want sharia) should either abide by our laws, i.e. no, honour killings are not acceptable here just because it is their "culture", should leave. If living in our liberal society makes them unhappy, they can either lump it and stop whingeing (or, in deed, pressurising our MPs to make special exceptions for them) or go and live somewhere that they find the living conditions more acceptable.
Bubious about democracy? Yeah, sure; well, certainly in the form in which it is practised in this country.
Maybe it is in half-jest but when you read his whole blog, you might get the picture.
Half-jest? Yeah. And it's an immediate outlet for my anger. As I've repeatedly said, I'm more reasonable in real life. Not much more, but a bit more.
For example; he wants to leave the EU but have total free trade. On what planet would he achieve this.
Well, the same planet that Iceland and Switzerland, to name but two, are on, I assume. Or, indeed, that planet on which we all traded before the EU and EEC existed, Neil. You do know that the EU didn't single-handedly invent international trade, don't you?
He also thinks the Commonwealth is as useful a trading partner as the EU. 1950s foreign policy revisited and just as disastrous!
No, Neil. I think that we could continue to trade with the EU but, free of having to impose its ridiculous quotas and tariffs, we could once more open up our markets, and our goods, to the Commonwealth. Surely two markets are better than one?
Furthermore, free-trading with the African countries, for instance, would not only benefit us, but also help to build stable economies in those benighted countries thus immeasurably benefitting them and, once they are mature world traders, securing gratitude, and thus good deals, for ourselves.
The rest has been toned down since I last looked.
I've been less angry of late.
But here is his views on Muslims;
Here are my views on some Muslims; specifically those who... oh fuck it, read the post. It's too nuanced to explain in a comment here.
DK
DK: What you don't understand is that racism is rooted in nationalism; the clue is the British 'National' Party and 'National' Socialism etc.
ReplyDeleteIf you admit to being a nationalist, you are well on the road to racism. Couple that we your view of immigration, and black and Asian people as 'culturally different' and therefore 'problematic' and it is quite clear you are racist.
Add in your distrust of democracy and your liking for autocracy and it is clear you are a fascist.
I'm now confused. What about the Scottish "National" Party? I have an Asian acquaintance who campaigns for them. Is he well on the road to being a racist?
ReplyDeleteFidel Castro distrusts democracy and likes autocracy. Is he a fascist?
It's all so confusing. I assumed that by being simplistic you would simplify stuff for me, but the reverse seems to have happened...
The logic of Devil's Kitchen's arguments may be that of the BNP. At least it's not the substance, eh, Mr Harding?
ReplyDeleteeunides: Castro - fascist = yes.
ReplyDeleteSNP = racist = almost.
Anon: In what way are my arguments the substance of the BNP?
Sigh. I don't care for the SNP, but tarring them as racists simply in order to satisfy your logic that "nationalism leads to racism" just won't do. There may well be ugly anti-English feeling among some of the SNP's fanbase but I don't accept that a desire to see your country stand on its own two feet is intrinsically evil.
ReplyDeleteAs for "fascism", I can't help feeling that you're just using it as a catch-all term of abuse, the way I might lazily describe someone as a Trot or a pinko. DK's views may not be to your tastes but to describe a blogger who spends half his time railing against state authoritarianism as "fascist" is just silly.
Not wanting to be too sanctimonious, but this strikes me as similar to the people on the hard left who describe the Iraq war as "genocide". It's a misuse of language, and an insult to people who've actually suffered through fascism and genocide.
Phew! Anyway, what about that Lib Dem election, eh?...