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May 16, 2023 18 tweets 8 min read Read on X
#THREAD

As predicted, the President of the opaquely-funded & extremely influential ultra-right free-market US 'think tank' Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, has delivered arguably the most unhinged speech so far at the deeply disturbing National Conservatism #NatC conference.
Founded in 1973, the opaquely funded Heritage Foundation's stated mission is to formulate & promote policies based on the principles of "free enterprise, limited Govt, individual freedom, traditional American values, & a strong national defense."

desmog.com/2023/05/15/nat…
It is widely considered one of the world's most influential public policy research institutes, maintaining strong ties with #Tuftonstreet's IEA, the Mont Pelerin Society (the organisation coining 'neoliberalism'), &, significantly, the UK Government.

In keeping with the dangerously irresponsible reality-denying draconian antidemocratic policies of the Heritage Foundation, Roberts has blamed “globalists” for the world’s political problems, repeatedly using a term associated with the far-right & antisemitic conspiracy theories. Image
Roberts mentioned Globalists - condemned by UK MPs & Jewish groups as an antisemitic trope - more than a dozen times in his address to the #NatC event in London, also making the absurd claim that left-wingers 'want to end all democracy to impose their opinions on the world'. 📽️ Image
While “globalist” can be a neutral term, its use as a term for elites supposedly seeking global domination is used by the far right & conspiracy theorists about Jewish power - ironic, as Heritage is funded by & represents the interests of powerful elites.

desmog.com/heritage-found…
Tory MP Miriam Cates, who spoke on Monday, used the idea of “cultural Marxism” in her speech, another concept linked with the antisemitic conspiracy theory which inspired far-right terrorist Anders Breivik, & which the UK Board of Deputies has chastised Braverman for using. Image
Dangerously delusional ideological extremist Roberts repeatedly condemned what he called “the leftist control of globalist corporations & entities”, seemingly indicating this was part of a conspiracy to end democracy, calling this “the gathering storm”.

Alarm bells ringing yet? Image
Like every billionaire-owned UK newspaper & right-wing conspiracy nut on earth, he makes the bizarre claim that “The new left, greedy, elitist, woke & globalist, has foresworn every principle their ideological predecessors once espoused: democracy, equality, diversity, justice.” Image
The Left “abhors religion, & Christianity especially, as well as the nation state, political accountability & even objective truth. Their goal is not to win political contests but to end them altogether – to sweep away dissent & any subversive institution that dares facilitate.” Image
“This new left is not in competition. It is at war with the west, with the moral, intellectual & social foundations on which our entire civilisation rests. Which is why it reserves a singular hatred for the kind of conservatism represented by Trump & DeSantis, Brexit, Orbán...”
Roberts explicitly praised the dangerous Nationalist Populism of DeSantis & Orbán, saying UK politicians could follow their lead.

The US & UK have already joined Hungary in 'economic backsliding' (significant erosion of their democratic institutions).

Roberts argued: “The emergence of nationalism & populism on the right is a re-emergence. It’s a rebirth of the principles western conservatives de-emphasised over the last three decades, to their nations’ peril.”

It was "de-emphasised" in the aftermath of the Nazis & WWII. 🤬 Image
Imagine hearing Roberts' words spoken by Nazi #propaganda Chief Joseph Goebbels, in an angry 1930s German accent:

“The great awokening & normalisation of anti-western, anti-Christian, anti-democratic, cultural totalitarianism in western newsrooms, classrooms, & bureaucracies...” Image
“These are not distinct, discrete phenomenon, but myriad symptoms of one ruling class’s contempt for everyday working families and the institutions that prioritise their rights and interests over elite privilege.”

Absolutely fucking crazy - imho. Image
To end, here's a link to a single document encapsulating the policy agenda of the Gobal "Christian"Libertarian Nationalist Populist Right, which includes Brextremists, the billionaire-owned press, & the UK Govt - Heritage Foundation's "Solutions Journal":

The Global Christian National Conservatism project grew out of the US-based Edmund Burke Foundation 'think tank', founded in 2000, which now has the aim of "strengthening the principles of national conservatism in Western & other democratic countries". 😬

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More from @docrussjackson

Mar 25
🧵 Online #Incel communities foster misogyny, resentment & extremism, which have led to multiple murderous attacks in the US & UK, motivated by hatred toward women.

Their echo chambers also amplify mental health issues like isolation & anger, radicalizing vulnerable men & boys. Image
In the US, proven murders attributable to incels include: Elliot Rodger, who killed 6 & injured 14 in a shooting & stabbing spree; Lyndon McLeod shot & killed 5; & Mauricio Garcia shot & killed 8 & injured 7.

In the UK, Jake Davison shot & killed 5, including a 3-year-old girl. Image
Farage defended his Reform UK MP who was jailed for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend (which wasn't disclosed to voters before he was elected), & in 2014, he dismissed as "just a joke" an MEP's comment that beating women "helps bring wives back to Earth."

Image
Read 14 tweets
Mar 19
#THREAD

When is a “think tank” not a think tank?

A 🧵 about how spurious and inflammatory claims, based on unevidenced cherry-picked data, are passed off as truth by partisan private limited companies and used as a weapon to divide voters and to scapegoat and demonise migrants. Image
At 1.32pm on Monday 10th March, The Telegraph published the claim that based on “the first data analysis of its kind. Data from the Ministry of Justice, obtained under freedom of information laws,” shows that “Foreigners [are] convicted of nearly a quarter of sex crimes.” Image
Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said the figures were “shocking.”

Shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, said: “Not only is mass migration making us poorer, but this data proves it’s also making us dramatically less safe.”

A Govt spokesman did not dispute the figures. Image
Read 40 tweets
Mar 17
🧵

Democracy is under attack. As with the US, Italy is 1 of 5 European Govts undermining the rule of law ‘in nearly all aspects’, with changes to the judiciary & a “heavy intolerance to media criticism”, fueling Europe’s deepening “democratic recession”.

theguardian.com/world/2025/mar…
A report by Civil Liberties Union for Europe said Italy was one of five “dismantlers” – with Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania & Slovakia – that “intentionally undermine the rule of law in nearly all aspects”.

Hungary has long been an “electoral autocracy.”

theguardian.com/world/2022/sep…
“Europe’s democratic recession has deepened.”

The report highlights judicial systems subject to political manipulation, weak law enforcement against corruption, overuse of fast-track legislative procedures, harassment of journalists & growing restrictions on peaceful protests.
Read 16 tweets
Mar 14
🧵

Many of Britain's most vocal 'anti-establishment' voices attended some of the most expensive schools on earth.

These broken boys masquerade as 'anti-elite' while serving the interests of the ultrarich by turning working class people against each other using 'Divide & Rule'. Image
Moscow born Konstantin Vadimovich Kisin came to the UK aged 11 & was sent to Clifton College boarding school (current fees: up to £18,360/term).

He recently said about Rishi Sunak "He’s a brown Hindu; how is he English?" He's a regular speaker at Paul Marshall's ARC conference. Image
Rupert James Graham Lowe was sent to Radley College, an all-boys independent boarding school (current fees: up to £19,200/term).

Lowe worked in the City of London for companies such as Morgan Grenfell, Deutsche Bank and Barings Bank. Image
Read 13 tweets
Feb 28
🧵

Jacob Rees-Mogg's dad's 1997 book was originally called The Sovereign Individual: *How to Survive & Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State*😱

It predicted “cybercurrency,” the decline of nation-states & the ascendance of a “cognitive elite” who would rule the world.
My own summary is above, but journalist @gilduran76 - of the brilliant #FrameLab - has now written his own summary, review and interpretation of it, which I reproduce with a few links and commentary, below.

Access his original (25 February) article here:

thenerdreich.com/the-sovereign-…
To fully understand Silicon Valley’s project to destroy democracy, read 'The Sovereign Individual: How to Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State.'

In 1999, it was rebranded as 'The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age.' Image
Read 39 tweets
Feb 17
#THREAD

Life was demonstrably worse in the 1979 than it is today.

Zymunt Bauman calls this yearning for an imagined past, ‘retrotopia’, in which the ‘Volk’ (the ‘simple folk’, who Reform UK claim to represent) are constructed as homogenous, Christian, white, & ‘indigenous’. Image
Life was demonstrably inferior in the 1970s compared to today for almost everyone in England.

Life expectancy in the UK in 1980 was 71 for men and 77 for women. By 2019, life expectancy at birth in England had increased to 79 years for men & 83.5 for women.
1. Economic Hardship

In 1979, the UK economy was struggling with high inflation, unemployment, and a budget deficit. This eroded purchasing power, making essentials like food, clothing, and housing more expensive relative to wages. "Stagflation" was a significant problem. Image
Read 40 tweets

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