1. The cult of tradition. “One has only to look at the syllabus of every fascist movement to find the major traditionalist thinkers. The Nazi gnosis was nourished by traditionalist, syncretistic, occult elements.”

 

2. The rejection of modernism. “The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity. In this sense Ur-Fascism can be defined as irrationalism.”

 

3. The cult of action for action’s sake. “Action being beautiful in itself, it must be taken before, or without, any previous reflection. Thinking is a form of emasculation.”

 

4. Disagreement is treason. “The critical spirit makes distinctions, and to distinguish is a sign of modernism. In modern culture the scientific community praises disagreement as a way to improve knowledge.”

 

5. Fear of difference. “The first appeal of a fascist or prematurely fascist movement is an appeal against the intruders. Thus Ur-Fascism is racist by definition.”

 

6. Appeal to social frustration. “One of the most typical features of the historical fascism was the appeal to a frustrated middle class, a class suffering from an economic crisis or feelings of political humiliation, and frightened by the pressure of lower social groups.”

 

7. The obsession with a plot. “Thus at the root of the Ur-Fascist psychology there is the obsession with a plot, possibly an international one. The followers must feel besieged.”

 

8. The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”

 

9. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy. “For Ur-Fascism there is no struggle for life but, rather, life is lived for struggle.”

 

10. Contempt for the weak. “Elitism is a typical aspect of any reactionary ideology.”

 

11. Everybody is educated to become a hero. “In Ur-Fascist ideology, heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death.”

 

12. Machismo and weaponry. “Machismo implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”

 

13. Selective populism. “There is in our future a TV or Internet populism, in which the emotional response of a selected group of citizens can be presented and accepted as the Voice of the People.”

 

14. Ur-Fascism speaks Newspeak. “All the Nazi or Fascist schoolbooks made use of an impoverished vocabulary, and an elementary syntax, in order to limit the instruments for complex and critical reasoning.”

Okay, I’ve ignored the genuinely gross stuff … the online autopsy and Texas death row websites … (Don’t bother – it’s just depressing) Some are familiar – some are new (to me, anyway) It’s always interesting to check out the kookier stuff out there. We’re so used to the big monopolies now that’s it’s useful to stop and think about the internet, what it’s for and who owns it. To me, it’s still a great DIY publishing tool. The idea that you can exercise a little creativity and potentially be seen by the whole world is, even now, slightly miraculous.

If you’re still looking for (slightly insane) xmas gift ideas …

This is why I’m broke. com

As the website says … open a new window somewhere in the world

Window-swap.com

This seems to be a genuine car-hire co. – but it’s as mad as a tambourine … check out the ‘fun stuff’ … hell, check it all out, it’s nuts

Ling’s cars.com

Jeezus ! … I can’t believe this guy’s still going ! … I blogged him well over a decade ago … and still nobody’s shut him down/arrested him – unless it’s all just one big joke, and I’m the owner of an eggy face

Alex Chiu.com

What the advertisers really mean …

Honest slogans.com

It may take a minute or two to work out how to use this … you basically click on a tab on the left and then move up and down for the musical scale – I’m sure I didn’t suss out half of what it can do – but it had me genuinely engaged for a while, while waiting for my dinner.

Plink.in

Fascinating – and slightly horrifying site that monitors every single flight, happening right now, across the world. Notice, that when you click on some rich person’s private jet the words ‘no information’ pop up

Flight radar 24.com

I’ve no idea why anybody would want to go back to Windows ’93 (I didn’t even know it existed) … but, I know, some people love this kind of stuff. I just remember trying to render video in Windows XP … clicking the button and then going out for the day ‘cos it would take 12 hours or more …

V1.Windows ’93.net

Oh yes … I’m always up for some harmless vengeance, myself

Ship your enemies glitter.com

Maybe it’s just a fool like me that would create giant posters from 20 sheets of A4 paper. I did it for an exhibition once. The results were meh … so-so. I’m sure a lot of people out there would do a better job … the website pics look quite good.

Rasterbator.net

More graphics … I’m  told there’s some good tools on this site. I haven’t tried it out, myself … I’ve been learning graphics all year … my noggin needs a rest

Photopea.com

Just one question … is it normal ? Some funny questions and replies. Like reddit, but without the ads and distractions. I’m guessing the first person to say “But hey, what’s normal, anyway” gets an instant ban

Is it normal ?.com

Like window-swap, but more google street-view stylee … a nice 5 minute wanderlust

Map-crunch.com

Another street-view style site – of that famous abandoned island off Japan – for those that like that post apocalyptic feeling

Hashima island.co.uk

Okay … I’ve been going too easy on you – with all this tastefully odd stuff. Here’s one of the many sites out there that just don’t make any sense. A gratuitous piece of nonsense that may break your retinas, if not your mind. Hit refresh and it changes (but never gets any better)

yyyyyyy.info