A century ago, Germany’s democracy was hijacked by a bombastic and charismatic tyrant — and in this five-minute video, you’ll learn how he did it. Why did I produce this? Because I believe that history is speaking to us, and all too often, those who refuse to learn from it are doomed to repeat it.
As you watch, imagine filling out a Bingo card filled with Germany 1933/USA 2024 parallels: big rallies, rage-filled and hateful rhetoric, simple answers promising quick and easy solutions to complicated problems, empty promises of a great-again future, scapegoating outsiders, and political enemies silenced on day one. And notice the caring wisdom and concern from my German friends as they share these lessons from their dark history.
It’s hard to understand how Trump could, on the eve of a tight election, paint a picture of Liz Cheney before a firing squad by actually saying, “Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? And let’s see how she feels about it when the guns are trained on her face.” You can’t get into the mind of a dictator with an insatiable appetite for power — but you can recognize the playbook they all seem to follow.
Just watch this clip. It’s excerpted from my hourlong public television special “The Story of Fascism in Europe,” which is streaming free (and ad-free) at https://t.co/YA10kVH0V8. If you care about our democracy and love our country, it’s hard to stop watching.
When I produced this in 2018, I hoped this day would never come in our country. But November 5th is upon us. Please share this with anyone in your life who might need a reminder that the stakes are high...and this is very real.
Once more for those at the back.
Being ‘impartial’ does *not* mean that all views, opinions and statements are to be given equal weight and equal time.
Artificially platforming bigoted or demonstrably incorrect comments is in fact the opposite of impartiality.
Janet Albrechtsen is a cancerous piece of work. If you believe any of her past history she’s always been a bit of a poisonous toad.
Magnanimously, here Albrechtsen is ‘feeling sorry for Laura Tingle for missing the richness of this migrant country.”
Believe it or not, this has nothing to do with Tingle’s statement about Australia being a “racist country”.. but Albrechtsen wants you to believe it does.
Tingle’s statement goes to the core of a considerable problem that Australia has - which has been proven time and time again via our ongoing actions towards Indigenous people for over two centuries - and our past and present documented attitudes towards migrants “of different colour” coming to this country. It is well proven to be a racist country - along with RW media running a racist-enabling rhetoric whenever it suits them.
Tingle is not missing the “richness of this migrant country” at all. She is defending it. She understands how ingrained and insidious racism remains at its core here. She also understands how easily it can become inflamed. The No campaign is a case in point.
Albrechtsen is undermining Tingle’s truth, her credibility and her reputation. That is what she is being paid to do. It wouldn’t matter that Albrechtsen’s words are about as credible as her support for Bruce Lehrmann against Brittany Higgins.
Albrechtsen’s job is to ignore the terrible truth of our entrenched racism and paint a story of racism where it does not exist. Tingle is NOT undermining migrants and their “rich cultural history”. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that.
I’m with Laura Tingle. I understand that we are an ultimately racist country. Not only is this taken from my life experience with my father, who was part Indigenous - it is from my readings and observations over the years of attitudes towards people migrating to this country who are different in culture and different in colour. We are a suspicious and naive nation who have been unnecessarily pushed in the direction of an enabling narrative of distrust and division by those with an ideology or an agenda.
We don’t have to be that way. We see it that way because it has constantly been rammed down our throats. The “Yellow Peril” and “the Reds under the bed”, “the White Australia policy”, the subjugation and incarceration of Indigenous people, the derogatory names we call immigrants and the heinous treatment of asylum seekers. It is everywhere. It is all around us.
Historically, we are not a tolerant nation - but we are a multicultural nation. Instead of rejecting differences, we should be embracing diversity and differences. With that comes tolerance, empathy, respect and understanding.
.. but you won’t hear any of that coming from Dutton, the coalition or the RW media or Albrechtsen if doesn’t suit their agenda. Right now it suits their agenda to wave the “racist” card above Tingle’s head - but never their own.
For many millennia people have been migrating. It is difficult to determine where we actually are truly from. African migration is historically the most likely.
We are in denial of our common history. Our commonality is our DNA, our blood and the fact that we are all Homo sapiens.
Chew on that, Albrechtsen.
How do you grow a year of food in the face scorching 40°C++ spring (not summer) heatwaves, and more regular and ferocious flooding?
What happens to cities that become regularly uninhabitable?
Adaptation was always far more costly than mitigation.
Thread on my routine for personal risk assessment for airborne infections. A surprise at the end, that provides a compelling additional reason to monitor CO2. 1/
Here’s what in my view is most widely misunderstood about social media, and why it’s so dangerous. And yes, I’m still on it. You can criticise unsafe driving, while still driving.
And this is what’s at stake in the governments v platform battles. /1
ABS research shows 95 per cent of Australians who experience violence suffer at the hands of a male perpetrator - regardless of the sex of the victim, writes @Milliganreports. The statistics show that, overwhelmingly, women don’t resort to violence. https://t.co/QyYHMUXvtM
BREAKING: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just confirmed Muhammad Taha, who is recovering in hospital after bravely taking on the Bondi Junction attacker, is expected to have his visa approved tomorrow. Mr Taha was facing deportation next month.
❤️SHE MATTERS: LESLEY STILLMAN!❤️
Can we talk about how nine women have been murdered in 18 days and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has managed to organise a meeting of men. But only men who are religious leaders and the meeting was in response to a teenager attacking a church leader two days after a man slaughtered five Australian woman in Bondi Junction - and a male security guard.
I'm exceedingly flummoxed that so many women can be killed in a matter of weeks and our PM hasn't thought to ... oh, I don't know ... organise a meeting with women about this? Or with men?
Surely the killing of 67-year-old palliative carer and avid traveler Lesley Stillman on Sunday is now enough to light that fire.
Lesley was murdered in her own home by her former partner. After ending Lesley's life, he killed himself.
Lesley is the 29th Australian woman lost to violence this year and the ninth woman killed in April.
WA Police have confirmed they are treating the deaths as a murder-suicide, with a note found in the home written by the killer.
He wrote: "Won't get justice. Will die with her."
A source close to Lesley has also confirmed with myself that the fun-loving woman was murdered.
Lesley had only recently left her partner.
Lesley was as generous in spirit as she was in life.
She provided support for Guide Dogs Australia and voluntary palliative care for people with terminal illness.
The day before she was killed, she spoke to neighbours and friends, all of whom say she was her happy self.
She had spent time travelling overseas and enjoyed going to fitness classes with her mates.
Lesley really was not very different to any of the women killed this year - all going about their business, living their best lives - and then erased.
With almost every femicide this year due to male violence - and with 29 women killed less than five months, you'd think something has to give? You'd think at least our PM would call a summit, a royal commission, a plain old meeting even.
We need action, we to work out what is going on and to find a solution.
Here's the reality. A total of 29 women have been killed this year as a result of domestic terrorism. A grand total of ZERO people in Australia have been lost to acts of other forms of terrorism. And yet that latter subject gets more political air time than the misogyny that's ending women's lives every few days.
I reckon Lesley deserves something more than silence. I reckon she deserves actions that show she matters.
RIP LESLEY STILLMAN! ❤️
❤️Australian Femicide Watch: https://t.co/QJ2OuxMB8C
❤️The Memorial to Women and Children Lost to Violence: https://t.co/QJ2OuxMB8C
❤️The Australian Femicide & Child Death Map: https://t.co/HUEd7YnyWr
I document ALL unlawful deaths of women and children, regardless of perpetrator gender or relationship between the person killed and the accused. This means not every death is due to domestic and family violence. Australians are also killed by strangers, friends, colleagues, neighbours and other people known to them.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS HELP PLEASE CALL:
❤️1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732
❤️Women's Crisis Line: 1800 811 811
❤️Men's Referral Service: 1300 766 491
❤️Mensline: 1300 789 978
❤️Lifeline (24 hours): 131 114
For anyone who has been interested in my lawsuit against the Sun, the news is that I’ve had to settle my claim out of court before it gets to trial. A 🧵…
@GrogsGamut Moderate Liberals are noisy when it's too late, and silent when it matters the most.
Nothing says moderate Liberal more than talking about all of the things that were wrong when they're no longer in a position to do anything about it.