Schedium

Shortly after the First World War, a British media tycoon launched a campaign to pressure the UK government to end what he described as an "orgy of spending" and "appalling taxation." He urged drastic cuts in public spending, the privatisation of state-owned shipyards and factories, the abolition of regulations, and lower taxes. The press magnate was Lord Rothermere. He and his brother, Lord Northcliffe, owned some of the most popular British newspapers of the time, such as the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Pictorial, the Sunday Mail, The Times and the Daily Mail (Curran et al. 1991, pp. 50-51; Olmsted 2022, p. 21). They used their media empires to shape public opinion in order to reinforce conservative values, oppose the rise of the Labour Party, and lambaste the Liberal-Conservative government's brief post-war support for investments in housing, education and welfare. But they also tapped into an emerging middle class resentment towards progressive policies and rap...

In an interview with the Lincoln Project published on January 13, political commentator David Rothkopf said: "I think, at some point, Taiwan will become part of China again" (see video clip below). Rothkopf endorsed the policy of territorial expansionism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and misled the public by repeating some of its talking points.  For example, Rothkopf falsely stated that Taiwan has been part of China for a long time.  In fact, the People's Republic of China (PRC), which was founded in 1949, never ruled Taiwan . Claiming that Taiwan was part of the PRC is as absurd as claiming that Ukraine was part of the Russian Federation, or that South Korea was part of North Korea.  David Rothkopf echoed the CCP's ethnonationalist agenda , which denies Taiwan's statehood on the basis of the arbitrary dogma of national identity and territorial irredentism defined by the Politburo and radical nationalists. Again, it's reminiscent of Putin's denial ...

Miles Guo, a Chinese businessman and internet media personality with close ties to former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, has been arrested on various charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.  According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, Miles Guo was arrested in the morning of March 15 for allegedly orchestrating an over US$1 billion fraud conspiracy. Over US$630 million of alleged fraud proceeds were seized by the U.S. Government.  Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a twelve-count Indictment charging Guo as well as his financier Kin Ming Je with various wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering charges.   The defendants allegedly solic...

Jamie Dimon, the chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, loves Florida.  In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Dimon was asked about the political situation in Florida and its impact on business. The billionaire businessman brushed all concerns aside.  "We love Florida, we’re growing in Florida left and right," he said.  Under its far right Republican leadership, Florida's government has launched an assault on "leftist ideology" . It has stripped Disney of its self-governing district in retaliation for the company's criticism of the "Don't say gay" bill. Instead of fighting back, the mighty corporation has surrendered to the state authorities' bullying tactics.  Recently, Florida's Republican Senator Jason Brodeur introduced a bill that would require bloggers to register with the state government and file periodic reports with the state if they are paid to write posts about the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, cab...

In my previous post I wrote about far right activist Xi Van Fleet (弗里特), whose crusade against critical race theory has been covered by media outlets such as the Washington Examiner and "Fox News". Born in the People's Republic of China (PRC), she experienced Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution and fled to the United States at the age of 26. In the summer of 2021, Fox reported on Xi Van Fleet's tirade against critical race theory at a Loudoun County School Board meeting.  "I’ve been very alarmed by what’s going on in our schools," she said.  "You are now teaching, training our children to be social justice warriors and to loathe our country and our history ... The Communist regime used the same critical theory to divide people ... The only difference is they used class instead of race ... This is indeed the American version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution ... The critical race theory has its roots in cultural Marxism. It should have no place in our...

Disclaimer: this article contains links to right-wing websites used as sources _____ A victim of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution has sided with the American far right in its crusade against critical race theory and attempts to "rewrite" US history.  Xi Van Fleet ( Chinese name : 弗里特, pinyin: Fú Lǐtè) is a Chinese-American who grew up in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and experienced the turbulent years of Communist dictator Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976). At the age of 26 she moved to the United States.  "I know very, very well what happened during the Cultural Revolution," Xi Van Fleet told the Washington Examiner. "They rewrote history, and then they fed us, the young people, the fictional history, for the indoctrination for control [of] mind." On February 26, Xi Van Fleet draw renewed attention from far right circles when she sparred with 1619 Project [¹] creator Nikole Hannah-Jones on Twitter.  "In Mao's C...

During an interview at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) , far right Congressman Scott Perry spread conspiracy theories about a "Marxist" takeover of the United States, denounced "globalization", and issued threats to the left.  A retired Pennsylvania Army National Guard Brigadier General, Perry was elected in November 2021 as chairman of the far right House Freedom Caucus. He is also a member of the Congressional Veterans Caucus and the Second Amendment Caucus.  "Their [the Democrats'] goal is actually the globalization of the United States of America, destruction of our sovereignty and so this is all intentional ... This is all by design ... We're not only in a philosophical battle, but we're also in a spiritual battle for the soul of our country, and to save this Republic," Perry said.  Scott Perry at CPAC, via NowThis News YouTube channel  _____ He then ranted about a supposed takeover of the US by "Marxis...

Hong Kong's Sports Federation has urged the Hong Kong government to pressure Google to stop showing the pro-democracy song "Glory to Hong Kong" high up in search results.  The Federation's statement comes after the song was played by mistake at a sporting event in Bosnia and Herzegovina on February 28 instead of the "March of the Volunteers", the official anthem of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which also serves as Hong Kong's anthem.  " Crowd singing Glory to Hong Kong at New Town Plaza shopping mall in September 2019 " by Studio Incendo is licensed under  CC BY 2.0 . _____ Pui Kwan-kay, honorary vice-president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, said on Thursday (March 2) that the solution to the problem is to ensure that the wrong song is no longer placed high up in search engine results.  " Glory to Hong Kong " (願榮光歸香港) was written by a local musician in his mid-20s who identified hims...