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Wednesday, September 09, 2020
A Scottish group protesting against wearing masks and the use of vaccines is couching its hardline conspiracy theories with moderate messages and familiar slogans. That should concern all of us, writes Martyn Mclaughlin
Tuesday, 8th September 2020
Paddy Hogg addresses the Saving Scotland rally outside the Scottish Parliament.
Picture: Lisa Ferguson
There is an understandable temptation to dismiss or downplay the anti-mask, anti-vaccine Saving Scotland demonstration held outside the Scottish Parliament at the weekend, which railed against so-called globalist hoaxes and sought to propagate conspiratorial tropes involving Bill Gates and the Rockefeller Foundation, which have been circulating online for months.
With lockdown restrictions tightening across swathes of the country, there is an appreciable fatigue and frustration at how Covid-19 continues to turn ordinary life upside down. People are seeking out respite from a chaotic reality. There will be several more detours and delays on Scotland’s route map out of the pandemic before we can say with any confidence that the home straight is in sight.
The Holyrood protest, however, was not simply the symptom of public irritation. Several hundred people turned out to hear dangerous misinformation being peddled, with speakers attempting to refute the scientific evidence for social distancing. But more than that, it provided a platform for those who pointed the finger at Scotland’s political class, and called for MSPs to be held to account at next year’s Holyrood elections.
Anti-mask Covid-19 Holyrood demo organised by councillor who claims 'no one' is being infected
What made this particular rallying call striking was the fact it emanated from an elected politician who has held public office for eight years – Paddy Hogg, who represents the Cumbernauld East ward on North Lanarkshire Council. I ran a story on Monday detailing how Mr Hogg was the ringmaster of Saturday’s event, during which he chided the mainstream media for refusing to give Saving Scotland’s views prominence. At the time of writing, more than 24 hours have passed since I emailed Mr Hogg and left him a voicemail. He has yet to reply.
Perhaps he is too busy developing what he calls his “different narrative” around coronavirus. Or perhaps he is simply attending to his public duties. As well as promoting conspiratorial nonsense and alternative health theories, Mr Hogg is a member of North Lanarkshire Council’s community safety partnership forum, and its education and families committee.
The fine people of Cumbernauld will have to wait until 2022 before deciding whether Mr Hogg is fit to continue to represent them. In the meantime, it is galling that the local authority has not condemned his reckless views, instead observing that councillors are free to express their own opinions. That is an established and valued protocol, but at a time when a pandemic is raging, with a sharp spike in cases in the very region Mr Hogg serves, it seems a meek and negligent response on the part of a public body with myriad statutory duties.
Like many who have passed through Motherwell, Mr Hogg may in any case aspire to greater things. He has promised that he and the Saving Scotland movement will be waging more “campaign battles” in the future, which is an interesting choice of phrase. What exactly is the end game of those who seek to harness the growing distrust among coronavirus ‘truthers’. Could it mutate into, or inspire, a political force?
There is an understandable temptation to dismiss or downplay the anti-mask, anti-vaccine Saving Scotland demonstration held outside the Scottish Parliament at the weekend, which railed against so-called globalist hoaxes and sought to propagate conspiratorial tropes involving Bill Gates and the Rockefeller Foundation, which have been circulating online for months.
With lockdown restrictions tightening across swathes of the country, there is an appreciable fatigue and frustration at how Covid-19 continues to turn ordinary life upside down. People are seeking out respite from a chaotic reality. There will be several more detours and delays on Scotland’s route map out of the pandemic before we can say with any confidence that the home straight is in sight.
The Holyrood protest, however, was not simply the symptom of public irritation. Several hundred people turned out to hear dangerous misinformation being peddled, with speakers attempting to refute the scientific evidence for social distancing. But more than that, it provided a platform for those who pointed the finger at Scotland’s political class, and called for MSPs to be held to account at next year’s Holyrood elections.
Anti-mask Covid-19 Holyrood demo organised by councillor who claims 'no one' is being infected
What made this particular rallying call striking was the fact it emanated from an elected politician who has held public office for eight years – Paddy Hogg, who represents the Cumbernauld East ward on North Lanarkshire Council. I ran a story on Monday detailing how Mr Hogg was the ringmaster of Saturday’s event, during which he chided the mainstream media for refusing to give Saving Scotland’s views prominence. At the time of writing, more than 24 hours have passed since I emailed Mr Hogg and left him a voicemail. He has yet to reply.
Perhaps he is too busy developing what he calls his “different narrative” around coronavirus. Or perhaps he is simply attending to his public duties. As well as promoting conspiratorial nonsense and alternative health theories, Mr Hogg is a member of North Lanarkshire Council’s community safety partnership forum, and its education and families committee.
The fine people of Cumbernauld will have to wait until 2022 before deciding whether Mr Hogg is fit to continue to represent them. In the meantime, it is galling that the local authority has not condemned his reckless views, instead observing that councillors are free to express their own opinions. That is an established and valued protocol, but at a time when a pandemic is raging, with a sharp spike in cases in the very region Mr Hogg serves, it seems a meek and negligent response on the part of a public body with myriad statutory duties.
Like many who have passed through Motherwell, Mr Hogg may in any case aspire to greater things. He has promised that he and the Saving Scotland movement will be waging more “campaign battles” in the future, which is an interesting choice of phrase. What exactly is the end game of those who seek to harness the growing distrust among coronavirus ‘truthers’. Could it mutate into, or inspire, a political force?
If the very idea seems laughably implausible, consider how absurd it would have sounded back in 2015 to air the notion that, in just five years’ time, the president of the United States would be praising the followers of QAnon, a group which claims 5G mobile networks are spreading the coronavirus, and insists a cabal of Satanic politicians and A-list celebrities are working with governments the world over to engage in child sex abuse.
Much is made of the role of the internet and social media in furthering disinformation and conspiracy theories, and while that is one of the defining dilemmas of our age, the Covid-19 example is not exceptional. The psychological trigger for such nonsense is as old as the hills.
A key element is what is known as group attachment; in other words, people side with factions, believing their group’s aims to be just and right, and those of the opposing side to be malicious and deceitful. It’s a simple enough conceit, and a recognisable one in the hyper-partisan battleground of Scottish politics.
It has been interesting – and concerning – to see the language with which anti-mask and anti-vaccine groups have been amplifying their messages. Buzzwords and well-worn rallying calls from the independence movement have been co-opted and weaponised. ‘Freedom over fear’ is one slogan mentioned on the Saving Scotland Facebook page.
The familiarity – and indeed, the power – of such phrases can garner unthinking support, particularly among those already inclined to turn their backs on our shared reality at a time when there are no straightforward answers. There is also a danger of conspiracists using more moderate messages to draw in an audience and create the illusion of credibility.
The Saving Scotland group is a good example. On its newly launched website, it makes a series of demands of the Scottish Government. The mix includes a slew of suitably vague and middle-of-the-road behests, such as a national reconstruction plan for jobs and the economy, and a national campaign of food independence, realised through the creation of thousands of allotments. Granted, the last one sounds a bit like on-the-hoof, Thick of It-style policy plucking, but it could sit easily in a mainstream political party’s manifesto without raising an eyelid.
Which is not to say they would obscure the group’s primary motivations – an insistence that there be no mandatory wearing of face masks or Covid-19 vaccinations, and a call for an independent inquiry into “WiFi radiation health damage in schools” – but they certainly serve to sugar the pill.
It may be that Mr Hogg and Saving Scotland do not seek to field candidates joining their chorus of moon howling. It may be that they don’t have to. Conspiracy narratives are being shoehorned into the mainstream political discourse across established democracies, and we should not be so complacent as to presume that we are somehow immune.
There is no simple solution to countering this, but those peddling wild, conspiratorial views which endanger others must be explicitly and repeatedly condemned, especially if they occupy public office.
Much is made of the role of the internet and social media in furthering disinformation and conspiracy theories, and while that is one of the defining dilemmas of our age, the Covid-19 example is not exceptional. The psychological trigger for such nonsense is as old as the hills.
A key element is what is known as group attachment; in other words, people side with factions, believing their group’s aims to be just and right, and those of the opposing side to be malicious and deceitful. It’s a simple enough conceit, and a recognisable one in the hyper-partisan battleground of Scottish politics.
It has been interesting – and concerning – to see the language with which anti-mask and anti-vaccine groups have been amplifying their messages. Buzzwords and well-worn rallying calls from the independence movement have been co-opted and weaponised. ‘Freedom over fear’ is one slogan mentioned on the Saving Scotland Facebook page.
The familiarity – and indeed, the power – of such phrases can garner unthinking support, particularly among those already inclined to turn their backs on our shared reality at a time when there are no straightforward answers. There is also a danger of conspiracists using more moderate messages to draw in an audience and create the illusion of credibility.
The Saving Scotland group is a good example. On its newly launched website, it makes a series of demands of the Scottish Government. The mix includes a slew of suitably vague and middle-of-the-road behests, such as a national reconstruction plan for jobs and the economy, and a national campaign of food independence, realised through the creation of thousands of allotments. Granted, the last one sounds a bit like on-the-hoof, Thick of It-style policy plucking, but it could sit easily in a mainstream political party’s manifesto without raising an eyelid.
Which is not to say they would obscure the group’s primary motivations – an insistence that there be no mandatory wearing of face masks or Covid-19 vaccinations, and a call for an independent inquiry into “WiFi radiation health damage in schools” – but they certainly serve to sugar the pill.
It may be that Mr Hogg and Saving Scotland do not seek to field candidates joining their chorus of moon howling. It may be that they don’t have to. Conspiracy narratives are being shoehorned into the mainstream political discourse across established democracies, and we should not be so complacent as to presume that we are somehow immune.
There is no simple solution to countering this, but those peddling wild, conspiratorial views which endanger others must be explicitly and repeatedly condemned, especially if they occupy public office.
US election: Donald Trump's Soviet-style personality cult is a dystopian nightmare for America – Henry McLeish
After a Republican Convention was described by one commentator as a ‘culture war grievance fest’, it is clear the US election will be a choice between hate and decency, fear and hope, writes Henry McLeish
By Henry McLeish
Monday, 31st August 2020, 4:45 pm
Supporters of Donald Trump held a car parade Saturday from Clackamas to Portland, Oregon (Picture: Paula Bronstein/AP)
IS THAT RICK PERRY SURE LOOKS LIKE HIM
Last week, a surreal Republican Convention confirmed President Trump as the official Republican candidate for the 2020 election, reaffirmed his absolute control over the once “Grand Old Party” and exposed how the power of populism, personality and propaganda is being ruthlessly used to degrade America, devalue its democracy and deceive voters.
A headline in the magazine Vanity Fair suggested the convention was a “culture war grievance fest”. Trump is the master of tapping into victimhood. This political freakshow, more reminiscent of Stalin’s Soviet Union or Kim Jong Un’s North Korean regime, portrayed Joe Biden as an enemy of America, accusing him of seeking to rig the election and offering a dark, menacing, dystopian socialist future.
Among his supporters, Trump is worshipped as the saviour of Western civilisation, “the bodyguard” of a troubled world, the protector of America and, for some, chosen by God to lead the most precious country in the world to the promised land. Relentless propaganda is disguising the obvious truth of a President and party bonded together and completely detached from reality and totally dependent on a seemingly immovable base of loyalists.
Even more remarkable, this was a Republican convention without a policy platform. Four years ago, there were 54 pages of policy, but now this ego-driven President is more convinced of his unique policy, first mooted in 2016 that, “I alone can fix America”!
The first Republican Party Convention took place in Philadelphia in 1856. But at least they got down to business and adopted a platform of formal opposition to the extension of slavery and supported Congress “in prohibiting those twin relics of barbarism – polygamy in the Mormon settlements, and slavery everywhere”. The party of principle, purpose, and policy no longer exists.
Biden is not left wing
The pre-convention publicity offered something different. There were to be daily themes – land of opportunity, land of promise, land of heroes and, for Trump’s acceptance speech, land of greatness.Each of the four days produced contributions from Trump and his family. The White House, usually free from party political campaigning, hosted Trump’s acceptance speech on Thursday night. Each day, highly divisive figures were wheeled out to speak directly to Trump’s base and to ignore and insult the rest of the country.
But this Republican Convention always had limited focus: to galvanise support for the ‘cult of the dear leader’, regardless of his record and behaviour; to demonise Joe Biden and attack his mental health. Trump, the self-proclaimed “stable genius”, is not in a strong position to judge whether someone is more or less unhinged than he is; to lie about the economic achievements of his presidency, despite the worst economic crisis in US history, with 31 million Americans out of work, that has left his claims in ruins; to attack Biden and Kamala Harris for being in the pocket of the “far left” of the Democratic party – Biden is not left wing; or to evangelise about how he has protected America by becoming a foreign policy rebel, ignoring the fact that its status in the world has diminished.
The convention was, unsurprisingly, light on apologies or remorse or indeed discussion on Trump’s catastrophic handling of the coronavirus pandemic – for him the “China virus ... is what it is” – as deaths are heading towards a staggering 200,000 with nearly six million cases.
Absurdly cynical
It is always useful to remember that Trump is not the fictional character in some Orwell or Atwood novel of the future. This is the nightmare of America today.
The party conventions are over. The general election, just over two months away, has officially begun, and the tactics are clear. Trump wants to exploit fear, hate, cultural differences, identity and intolerance and win the election by pitting his largely white minority base against multiracial, majority America.
Biden seeks instead to unite and heal the country and restore respect and trust and the belief in the idea of one America. This election sees the ego and autocracy of ‘super-celebrity’ Trump take on the empathy, decency and hope of Biden. There is no common ground in this election.
America is faced with a choice between actual reality and Trump’s alternative reality. Trump is asking voters to erase from their minds the last six months of unimaginable chaos resulting from the pandemic health crisis and economic crash. Donald Trump Jr captured the essence of an absurdly cynical convention when he said, “it’s almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism”.
Writing in his book, The Soul of America, Jon Meacham said that, “in the Presidency of Donald Trump, the alienated are being mobilised afresh by changing demography, by broadening conceptions of identity”.
Trump cannot see the racial injustice
Trump is interested in the fate of white America and his own, and that means fostering fear and shunning hope. In his first inaugural address in 1861, Abraham Lincoln said: “We are not enemies, but friends. Though passions may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth stone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Biden is best described as being guided by the “better angels of our nature”.
The President is immune to racial injustice, black lives matter and honest protest. For Trump, these are law and order issues to be used to deepen the fears and heighten the anger of his base. Dystopian imagery is captured in his every speech, in his talk of “the smouldering ruins of Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland and the blood stained sidewalks of Chicago”: little comfort to the family of yet another black man, Jacob Blake, shot by police in Wisconsin last week.
America’s nightmare is stark. Trump has a stranglehold on his base and consequently the country. His base represents a minority of voters. In 2016, 56 per cent of US citizens turned out to vote. Of that vote, 46 per cent voted for Trump.
This is a democratic crisis where less than half of just over half of the adult population supported the President. But, partly because of the piece of absurdity that is the Electoral College, this was enough to put Trump in the White House.
Out of his depth, with no scope for improvement, and dragging the country under, the President should reflect on the words of JF Kennedy, who said, “only the President represents the national interest”, and “upon him alone converge all the needs and aspirations of all parts of the country... all nations of the world”.
Last week, a surreal Republican Convention confirmed President Trump as the official Republican candidate for the 2020 election, reaffirmed his absolute control over the once “Grand Old Party” and exposed how the power of populism, personality and propaganda is being ruthlessly used to degrade America, devalue its democracy and deceive voters.
A headline in the magazine Vanity Fair suggested the convention was a “culture war grievance fest”. Trump is the master of tapping into victimhood. This political freakshow, more reminiscent of Stalin’s Soviet Union or Kim Jong Un’s North Korean regime, portrayed Joe Biden as an enemy of America, accusing him of seeking to rig the election and offering a dark, menacing, dystopian socialist future.
Among his supporters, Trump is worshipped as the saviour of Western civilisation, “the bodyguard” of a troubled world, the protector of America and, for some, chosen by God to lead the most precious country in the world to the promised land. Relentless propaganda is disguising the obvious truth of a President and party bonded together and completely detached from reality and totally dependent on a seemingly immovable base of loyalists.
Even more remarkable, this was a Republican convention without a policy platform. Four years ago, there were 54 pages of policy, but now this ego-driven President is more convinced of his unique policy, first mooted in 2016 that, “I alone can fix America”!
The first Republican Party Convention took place in Philadelphia in 1856. But at least they got down to business and adopted a platform of formal opposition to the extension of slavery and supported Congress “in prohibiting those twin relics of barbarism – polygamy in the Mormon settlements, and slavery everywhere”. The party of principle, purpose, and policy no longer exists.
Biden is not left wing
The pre-convention publicity offered something different. There were to be daily themes – land of opportunity, land of promise, land of heroes and, for Trump’s acceptance speech, land of greatness.Each of the four days produced contributions from Trump and his family. The White House, usually free from party political campaigning, hosted Trump’s acceptance speech on Thursday night. Each day, highly divisive figures were wheeled out to speak directly to Trump’s base and to ignore and insult the rest of the country.
But this Republican Convention always had limited focus: to galvanise support for the ‘cult of the dear leader’, regardless of his record and behaviour; to demonise Joe Biden and attack his mental health. Trump, the self-proclaimed “stable genius”, is not in a strong position to judge whether someone is more or less unhinged than he is; to lie about the economic achievements of his presidency, despite the worst economic crisis in US history, with 31 million Americans out of work, that has left his claims in ruins; to attack Biden and Kamala Harris for being in the pocket of the “far left” of the Democratic party – Biden is not left wing; or to evangelise about how he has protected America by becoming a foreign policy rebel, ignoring the fact that its status in the world has diminished.
The convention was, unsurprisingly, light on apologies or remorse or indeed discussion on Trump’s catastrophic handling of the coronavirus pandemic – for him the “China virus ... is what it is” – as deaths are heading towards a staggering 200,000 with nearly six million cases.
Absurdly cynical
It is always useful to remember that Trump is not the fictional character in some Orwell or Atwood novel of the future. This is the nightmare of America today.
The party conventions are over. The general election, just over two months away, has officially begun, and the tactics are clear. Trump wants to exploit fear, hate, cultural differences, identity and intolerance and win the election by pitting his largely white minority base against multiracial, majority America.
Biden seeks instead to unite and heal the country and restore respect and trust and the belief in the idea of one America. This election sees the ego and autocracy of ‘super-celebrity’ Trump take on the empathy, decency and hope of Biden. There is no common ground in this election.
America is faced with a choice between actual reality and Trump’s alternative reality. Trump is asking voters to erase from their minds the last six months of unimaginable chaos resulting from the pandemic health crisis and economic crash. Donald Trump Jr captured the essence of an absurdly cynical convention when he said, “it’s almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work and school versus rioting, looting and vandalism”.
Writing in his book, The Soul of America, Jon Meacham said that, “in the Presidency of Donald Trump, the alienated are being mobilised afresh by changing demography, by broadening conceptions of identity”.
Trump cannot see the racial injustice
Trump is interested in the fate of white America and his own, and that means fostering fear and shunning hope. In his first inaugural address in 1861, Abraham Lincoln said: “We are not enemies, but friends. Though passions may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth stone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Biden is best described as being guided by the “better angels of our nature”.
The President is immune to racial injustice, black lives matter and honest protest. For Trump, these are law and order issues to be used to deepen the fears and heighten the anger of his base. Dystopian imagery is captured in his every speech, in his talk of “the smouldering ruins of Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland and the blood stained sidewalks of Chicago”: little comfort to the family of yet another black man, Jacob Blake, shot by police in Wisconsin last week.
America’s nightmare is stark. Trump has a stranglehold on his base and consequently the country. His base represents a minority of voters. In 2016, 56 per cent of US citizens turned out to vote. Of that vote, 46 per cent voted for Trump.
This is a democratic crisis where less than half of just over half of the adult population supported the President. But, partly because of the piece of absurdity that is the Electoral College, this was enough to put Trump in the White House.
Out of his depth, with no scope for improvement, and dragging the country under, the President should reflect on the words of JF Kennedy, who said, “only the President represents the national interest”, and “upon him alone converge all the needs and aspirations of all parts of the country... all nations of the world”.
Donald Trump Nobel Peace Price: Why US President's nomination is a far-right publicity stunt
It is regarded as the world’s pre-eminent honour, conferred upon the greatest minds who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of progress, justice, and a lasting peace.
By Martyn Mclaughlin
Wednesday, 9th September 2020
President Donald Trump has now been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize - by the same right-wing politician. Picture: AP/Evan VucciThanks to its wide-ranging and easily-exploited nomination process, however, the Nobel Peace Prize is also a vehicle that is prone to manipulation by those seeking a quick burst of publicity.
If there is anything at all newsworthy about the fact the US president Donald Trump has been nominated for the 2021 award - a development that is being widely reported around the world - it has only to do with the person who put his name forward.
In Mr Trump’s case, that individual is Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a far-right Norwegian parliamentarian and member of the country’s Progress Party. His name may not be familiar to international audiences, but until today Mr Tybring-Gjedde’s highest-profile action was, well, nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yes, that’s right. In 2018, the 57-year-old and his colleague, Per-Willy Amundsen, nominated Mr Trump for the same honour, citing the “huge and important step" he had taken towards peace in the Korean peninsula.
This time around, Mr Tybring-Gjedde - who is fiercely anti-immigration and was investigated by police after he delivered a controversial speech on multiculturalism - cited the 73-year-old’s efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
If you are starting to notice a pattern, it is entirely deliberate. Mr Tybring-Gjedde has already appeared on Fox News - Mr Trump’s network of choice - to talk him up.
Prominent Trump supporters in the US, including Mark Levin, Lou Dobbs, and Dean Browning, have also been sharing news articles reporting the nomination and offering their congratulations.
For an American audience idly flicking through their social media feeds without the time or inclination to read further, it looks as if Mr Trump is about to receive the ultimate honour. In truth, it is little more than a gimmick which will puff up his ego and distract from day to day events.
It did not take Mr Trump long to greet the commendation with his characteristic reserve and modesty, tweeting multiple links to coverage of his nomination, and offering thanks to well-wishers.
There seems little doubt that he covets the prize. Only last year, he claimed Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe had nominated him for the award. Mr Abe, it should be pointed out, has never confirmed this was the case.
Either way, Mr Trump did not win, but the prospect of a sitting prime minister nominating him - instead of a hardline parliamentarian on the fringes of Norwegian democracy - would have lent his candidacy greater weight.
Which brings us to the fundamental problem with the nominations system for the Nobel Peace Prize - it is a meaningless indicator of false glory.
The roll call of people eligible to submit a nomination is not inexhaustible, but it is extensive, and it extends far beyond individuals like Mr Tybring-Gjedde, who happen to serve on a national parliament or assembly.
That particular category alone captures tens of thousands of politicians around the world, many of whom - like Mr Tybring-Gjedde - have forged a career from divisive rhetoric and cheap publicity stunts.
As well as parliamentarians and government ministers, the nomination process is open to university professors, professors emeriti and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion, as well as university rectors and university directors or their equivalents.
The academic field alone spans a field of potential nominators as broad as several hundred thousand-strong. In the US alone, research by the National Centre for Education Statistics indicated that there are more than 300,000 individuals who hold the status of professor or associate professor.
While the actual award itself continues to be held in the highest esteem, the result of the wide-open nominations process has allowed a miscellany of tyrants and celebrities to make the shortlist down the years.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute says that the international scope of the award and the “broad eligibility” of nominators helps to ensure that “a great variety of candidates from all corners of the world” are brought forward to the committee’s attention every year.
That is indeed true. Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin received five nominations between them. In more recent times, Vladimir Putin has also been nominated for the prize. Elsewhere, the late pop star, Michael Jackson, was also nominated, part of a trend which has seen the number of nominees swell to more than 300 in any given year.
Generally, however, it is difficult to know exactly who has been nominated, unless the nominator breaks cover and makes it public. Otherwise, the complete list of eligible nominees of any year’s prizes is kept a closely guarded secret, and is not disclosed for 50 years, a restriction imposed by the Nobel statutes.
It barely requires pointing out, but neither the Fuhrer, the King of Pop, or any of the other nominees above went on to win the prize, and the same fate may befall Mr Trump, whose extensive list of personal honours includes the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and membership of the WWE Hall of Fame.
If he is unable to add the Nobel to that list, he can at least console himself with the knowledge that he will be in good company. Previous occupants of the White House, including Taft, Harding, Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower, were all nominated for the prize.
Alas, all were destined to remain bridesmaids. And all were denied the chance to make the WWE Hall of Fame.
Yes, that’s right. In 2018, the 57-year-old and his colleague, Per-Willy Amundsen, nominated Mr Trump for the same honour, citing the “huge and important step" he had taken towards peace in the Korean peninsula.
This time around, Mr Tybring-Gjedde - who is fiercely anti-immigration and was investigated by police after he delivered a controversial speech on multiculturalism - cited the 73-year-old’s efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
If you are starting to notice a pattern, it is entirely deliberate. Mr Tybring-Gjedde has already appeared on Fox News - Mr Trump’s network of choice - to talk him up.
Prominent Trump supporters in the US, including Mark Levin, Lou Dobbs, and Dean Browning, have also been sharing news articles reporting the nomination and offering their congratulations.
For an American audience idly flicking through their social media feeds without the time or inclination to read further, it looks as if Mr Trump is about to receive the ultimate honour. In truth, it is little more than a gimmick which will puff up his ego and distract from day to day events.
It did not take Mr Trump long to greet the commendation with his characteristic reserve and modesty, tweeting multiple links to coverage of his nomination, and offering thanks to well-wishers.
There seems little doubt that he covets the prize. Only last year, he claimed Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe had nominated him for the award. Mr Abe, it should be pointed out, has never confirmed this was the case.
Either way, Mr Trump did not win, but the prospect of a sitting prime minister nominating him - instead of a hardline parliamentarian on the fringes of Norwegian democracy - would have lent his candidacy greater weight.
Which brings us to the fundamental problem with the nominations system for the Nobel Peace Prize - it is a meaningless indicator of false glory.
The roll call of people eligible to submit a nomination is not inexhaustible, but it is extensive, and it extends far beyond individuals like Mr Tybring-Gjedde, who happen to serve on a national parliament or assembly.
That particular category alone captures tens of thousands of politicians around the world, many of whom - like Mr Tybring-Gjedde - have forged a career from divisive rhetoric and cheap publicity stunts.
As well as parliamentarians and government ministers, the nomination process is open to university professors, professors emeriti and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion, as well as university rectors and university directors or their equivalents.
The academic field alone spans a field of potential nominators as broad as several hundred thousand-strong. In the US alone, research by the National Centre for Education Statistics indicated that there are more than 300,000 individuals who hold the status of professor or associate professor.
While the actual award itself continues to be held in the highest esteem, the result of the wide-open nominations process has allowed a miscellany of tyrants and celebrities to make the shortlist down the years.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute says that the international scope of the award and the “broad eligibility” of nominators helps to ensure that “a great variety of candidates from all corners of the world” are brought forward to the committee’s attention every year.
That is indeed true. Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin received five nominations between them. In more recent times, Vladimir Putin has also been nominated for the prize. Elsewhere, the late pop star, Michael Jackson, was also nominated, part of a trend which has seen the number of nominees swell to more than 300 in any given year.
Generally, however, it is difficult to know exactly who has been nominated, unless the nominator breaks cover and makes it public. Otherwise, the complete list of eligible nominees of any year’s prizes is kept a closely guarded secret, and is not disclosed for 50 years, a restriction imposed by the Nobel statutes.
It barely requires pointing out, but neither the Fuhrer, the King of Pop, or any of the other nominees above went on to win the prize, and the same fate may befall Mr Trump, whose extensive list of personal honours includes the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and membership of the WWE Hall of Fame.
If he is unable to add the Nobel to that list, he can at least console himself with the knowledge that he will be in good company. Previous occupants of the White House, including Taft, Harding, Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower, were all nominated for the prize.
Alas, all were destined to remain bridesmaids. And all were denied the chance to make the WWE Hall of Fame.
Fallen Troops Send Anti-Trump Message From Beyond The Grave
In New Jim Carrey Art
The actor hit back at Trump's reported insults of U.S. service members killed in combat.
Jim Carrey hit back at President Donald Trump’s reported insults of America’s war dead with his latest cartoon.
The actor-artist drew a headstone with a message from fallen troops reading: “We were ‘losers’ and ‘suckers’ according to Trump, honor our fallen don’t vote for that chump.” Carrey captioned the image with the hashtag #BidenHarris.
The Atlantic reported last week that Trump, during a 2018 visit to France, referred to U.S. service members who were killed in combat during World War I as “suckers” and “losers.” The insults were later confirmed by multiple media outlets, including Fox News. The president denied making them.
The latest cartoon from Carrey, whose anti-Trump art has in recent years been extensively covered by HuffPost, came just days after he penned a blistering essay for The Atlantic in which he warned the U.S. “faces catastrophe” if Trump beats Democratic rival Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
“In November, we must vote in historic numbers, gathering all the ‘snowflakes’ until there’s a blizzard on Capitol Hill that no corrupt politician can survive,” Carrey wrote. “We must vote for decency, humanity, and a way of life that once again captures the imagination of kids all over the world — kids like me.”
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