Re: the fascism stuff
Every country in the world censors what material their armed forces have access to. It's not "literally the actions of fascism". I could carry on to state that equating the US government's actions to fascism is offensive to the victims of fascist regimes, but that might get me censored, right? ;)
( wotofco pissing in your swimming pool, Thu 16 Dec 2010, 15:15, 1 reply)

or not
it depends how you look at these things. The way armed forces are constructed and controlled is a bit of a worry. It doesn't take much to get people to do horrendous things, like kill civilians.
Perhaps, if people have access to good quality information, they will make better decisions.
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Wed 22 Dec 2010, 16:24, closed)

Yes
it depends how you look at things. I tend to regard the US government and its armed forces as being quite distinct from a fascist government. I'd go on to suggest that if you disagree, you're either poorly educated or slightly demented. I'm not sure where this knee jerk conflation of authoritarian government with fascism comes from; it's almost as though the Soviet Union never existed...
( wotofco pissing in your swimming pool, Wed 22 Dec 2010, 19:27, closed)

Or not
FWIW, this is what our lord and saviour has to say on fascism:

Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one national or ethnic group, a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach.

Fascism came to rise in a world where mass media was relatively new. Radio in particular was important in pushing a particular world view. By controlling a flow of information to the public, the public's opinion was easier to shape.

There a parallels to be drawn. I don't think that you can necessarily equate the control of information that the armed forces use to control their people with Mussolini's Italy, but a lack of diversity of opinion and indeed a desire to keep unwelcome truths from your people is hardly the hallmark of democracy.
( Sextant goes to him is emotionally erect, on this day, Thu 23 Dec 2010, 7:28, closed)

*Sigh*
and practises perceived to be undemocratic are not the sole preserve of fascism. "Fascist" has become a devalued term as a result of constant misuse; you might as well draw a comparison between the US government's actions in this case and the Austro-Hungarian empire/ancient Sparta/the Umayyad Caliphate.
( wotofco pissing in your swimming pool, Thu 23 Dec 2010, 9:22, closed)