March 2013 Media Thread

ArisKatsaris

(I decided to temporarily usurp RobertLumley's place in posting this thread. I hope he doesn't mind)

This is the monthly thread for posting media of various types that you've found that you enjoy. Post what you're reading, listening to, watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing! To see previous recommendations, check out the older threads.

Rules:

Please avoid downvoting recommendations just because you don't personally like the recommended material; remember that liking is a two-place word. If you can point out a specific flaw in a person's recommendation, consider posting a comment to that effect.
If you want to post something that (you know) has been recommended before, but have another recommendation to add, please link to the original, so that the reader has both recommendations.
Please use the comment trees for genres. There is a meta thread for comments about future threads.
If you think there should be a thread for a particular genre of media, please post it to the Other Media thread for now, and add a poll to the Meta thread asking if it should be a thread every month.

(I decided to temporarily usurp RobertLumley's place in posting this thread. I hope he doesn't mind)

Rules:

Please avoid downvoting recommendations just because you don't personally like the recommended material; remember that liking is a two-place word. If you can point out a specific flaw in a person's recommendation, consider posting a comment to that effect.
If you want to post something that (you know) has been recommended before, but have another recommendation to add, please link to the original, so that the reader has both recommendations.
Please use the comment trees for genres. There is a meta thread for comments about future threads.
If you think there should be a thread for a particular genre of media, please post it to the Other Media thread for now, and add a poll to the Meta thread asking if it should be a thread every month.

I think the alliance between nationalists and communists is a pan-European phenomenon after the end of the Cold War. My model of European politics says that after World War I and onwards there are three competing ideologies (Communism, Nationalistic-fascism, Progressivism/Liberalism) which concentrate around states and state alliances and shift ideological alliances after major events. If a power center suffers a significant defeat, its ideology tries to ally itself with another formerly opposed ideology. The victorious power center on the other hand seeks to purify itself from internal fractions, and thus becomes "purer" in a sense.

Initial ideological players: Soviet Union (Communism), Axis (Fascism), USA+UK+France (Progressivism)

World War II ends - Fascism under Germany suffered a devastating defeat, so the leftover nationalists (both as individuals, and as leftover regimes like Franco), allied themselves with the USA against the communists.

New ideological players: Warsaw Pact (Communism), NATO (Progressivism + nationalist fascism)

Cold War ends - Communism suffers a defeat, so the leftover communists (both as individuals, and as leftover regimes) seek an alliance with the remnants of fascism -- fascism accepts because progressivism holds it in contempt, and USA starts reducing interest in Europe to focus on Arab issues instead.

New ideological players: European Union (Progressivism), informal alliance centered on Russia (Nationalist fascism + communism)

In what sense do you see more nationlist facism in NATO then there was before WWII in the USA, UK and France?

2Viliam_Bur13y

Just to make sure: In your model, the laissez-faire guys are classified as a part of "Progressivism/Liberalism"? Or are they just statistically too insignificant to be included in any major political force?

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