Latest news with #WesternCivilization
Al Bawaba
15 hours ago
- General
- Al Bawaba
Charlie Kirk: Islam is not compatible with Western civilization
ALBAWABA - American conservative political activist Charlie Kirk recently sparked outrage on X (formerly known as Twitter) after taking to his account and writing, "Islam is not compatible with Western civilization." As of recently, the far-right activist has been the subject of ongoing controversy for his political views and opinions on religion. His latest post on X is no exception, sparking a wave of division, with social media users either supporting Charlie Kirk or strongly opposing his views on Islam. Fellow X user Zhang Yong clapped back at Kirk and wrote, "Charlie your smile is not compatible with society," following a picture mocking the political activist's appearance. Another took to Kirk's defense and wrote, "This is, unfortunately, becoming more and more apparent." Charlie Kirk rose to fame after founding a non-profit organization named "Turning Point USA," which aims to advocate conservative views in educational institutions such as high schools and universities. Videos of his heated debates with students on campus garnered millions of views and followers across social media due to their controversial nature. The American conservative political activist presents himself as an individual who praises Christian nationalism and advocates for the teachings of Jesus Christ and against "Woke" culture. While he initially took a more secular and libertarian stance in politics, his views have undergone a drastic shift since then, leading to his current conservative and Christian nationalist stance.
Axios
2 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
MAGA's world tour exports Trumpism beyond U.S. borders
MAGA media heavyweights are intervening in elections around the world, increasingly obsessed with exporting President Trump's brand of right-wing populism beyond America's borders. Why it matters: What began as a nationalist reaction to America's perceived decline has evolved into a global ideological crusade. Now at the apex of its domestic power, MAGA is rallying behind candidates who share its views on immigration, globalism and the fight for " Western Civilization." "We believe the fight for freedom and conservative values doesn't stop at America's borders," Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) chair Matt Schlapp told Axios. "That's why we've taken CPAC overseas — to stand united with courageous leaders and citizens who are resisting the globalist dangerous spread of authoritarianism, open borders, and Marxism." Driving the news: MAGA-aligned candidates have been competitive in a spate of recent elections, emboldening pro-Trump influencers to engage more actively in foreign politics. Poland: Conservative presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki is headed to runoff Sunday against liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, in a race MAGA media is treating as a bellwether for Europe's political right. CPAC just held its first-ever event in Poland, where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took the extraordinary step of endorsing Nawrocki and denouncing Trzaskowski as a "an absolute train wreck." Romania: MAGA leaders — including Vice President Vance — excoriated Romanian authorities for annulling the results of December's election and banning the leading far-right candidate over allegations of Russian interference. In last week's re-run, MAGA podcasters like Jack Posobiec and Steve Bannon rallied behind pro-Trump candidate George Simion, who even described himself as running "on the MAGA ticket" Simion ultimately fell short to centrist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, a result that MAGA blamed on globalist meddling. United Kingdom: The insurgent Reform Party, led by arch Brexiteer and Bannon friend Nigel Farage, is leading in British polls less than a year after the center-left Labour Party won a landslide election. Farage has brought MAGA-style rallies to the U.K., and his growing influence has forced Prime Minister Keir Starmer to move sharply to the right on immigration. Germany: Vance, Elon Musk and scores of pro-Trump influencers have championed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which had its best-ever showing in elections earlier this year. Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned German intelligence's since-retracted decision to classify AfD as a right-wing extremist organization, calling it "tyranny in disguise." Ireland: Former UFC champion Conor McGregor has teased a longshot bid for the Irish presidency on an anti-immigration platform. McGregor was hosted by Trump at the White House on St. Patrick's Day, and appeared on Tucker Carlson's podcast in April. South Korea: Bannon recorded a segment of his show Tuesday boosting the conservative candidate in South Korea's June 3 snap presidential election. Some MAGA figures have spread the theory that former conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol — impeached and removed after declaring martial law — was ousted in a China-backed coup. Between the lines: MAGA's foreign focus isn't entirely new: Trump supporters have long idolized populist strongmen like Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. But the movement is no longer just cheering on incumbents: It's actively trying to shape new political outcomes. "The good news is that after 10 long years, the institutional MAGA movement realizes the power in having friends overseas," said Raheem Kassam, former Farage adviser and current editor of The National Pulse. Reality check: Despite its rising international ambitions, MAGA's influence abroad has yielded mixed results. The AfD has been shut out of government in Germany, Simion lost in Romania, the liberal candidate is favored to win in South Korea, and McGregor might not even make the ballot in Ireland. Kassam told Axios the losses had piled up because American MAGA lacks political infrastructure abroad — and mistakes brash rhetoric for true rage-against-the-machine populism. A win in Poland would be a major symbolic victory — and a sign MAGA's global playbook might finally be working.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Europe's US-backed conservatives hope this is their moment to go mainstream
It's been a big week in Europe for CPAC, the US Conservative Political Action Conference, with large gatherings in Poland and timing is crucial, ahead of Poland's presidential election run-off on Sunday, between a CPAC-backed nationalist, Karol Nawrocki, and the liberal Mayor of Warsaw Rafal Trzaskowski, which CPAC speakers describe as a "battle for Western civilisation".Traditionally a meeting place for conservative activists in America, CPAC's visibility has soared with Donald Trump back in the White House and his Maga (Make America Great Again) movement in undisputed control of the Republican party."This is not a gathering of the defeated, but of those who have endured," Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the opening session on Thursday in Budapest. Describing President Trump as a "truth serum", Orban emphasised his vision of a new Europe, in what he calls "the Age of Patriots", based on the nation, the traditional family, and his version of Christianity. To tumultuous applause, he and other speakers derided the European Union's Green Deal, and complained of mass immigration and "gender and woke madness".In a congress hall replete with disco music, flashing lights, video clips, and celebrity show hosts, older politicians sometimes seemed dazzled by all the razzamatazz."Europeans do not feel safe in their own towns, homes, and countries," Orban said. "They are strangers in their own homes. This is not integration, it is population replacement."It was a theme echoed by his guests Alice Weidel of Germany's far-right AfD and Geert Wilders of the Netherlands' Freedom was a movement looking to reshape the whole European project with its own brand of conservativism, jettisoning the old EU speakers included Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and the leader of the Austrian Freedom party Herbert British Prime Minister Liz Truss was here too, with Australian ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott and former Polish and Czech Prime Ministers Mateusz Morawiecki and Andrej Babis, alongside an array of influential Republicans and South American was even a representative from Rajendra Modi's BJP in India, Ram Madhav. In Warsaw on Tuesday, and then in Budapest too, speakers laid out the case for what one of them called "an international nationalist movement, a global platform for anti-globalist forces"."Unlike CPAC in the US, CPAC Hungary seems to have more intellectual substance. And it also serves as an opportunity - rare in Europe - for nationalist and populist politicians and activists to get together and network," Rod Dreher, a Budapest-based editor of the American Conservative told the BBC."Viktor Orban's promise to make Budapest the intellectual capital of dissident European conservatism has come true."Orban relishes that "dissident" theme, while more mainstream European conservatives like Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, keep their been a sense in Hungary and Poland this week that the Trump administration is here to pay back the support that Donald Trump received from nationalist leaders in Europe in his victory last November."If you elect a leader who will work with President Trump, the Polish people will have a strong ally," Kristi Noem, Trump's head of Homeland Security told the Warsaw CPAC conference. "You will continue to have a US military presence here… and you will have equipment that is American made, high quality." She did not say what would happen if Karol Nawrocki did not win on Sunday. While the Maga movement in Europe - translated by Viktor Orban into Mega (Make Europe Great Again) - sounds self-confident, it has also endured setbacks, most recently with the liberal mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, winning Romania's presidential Albania, Sali Berisha, the Maga-backed leader of the Democratic Party, lost this month's parliamentary election to the Socialist Edi Rama. Former Trump campaign strategist Chris LaCivita helped Berisha's in Austria Herbert Kickl's hopes of becoming chancellor were dashed by the formation of a new left-right coalition, which chose Christian Stocker of the Austrian People's Party throne is even wobbling beneath Viktor Orban, the host of the conference in his message, so fresh in the ears of his US admirers, have gone stale for Hungarians? "If Nawrocki does not win in Poland, Hungary will be next and Viktor Orban will lose power," George Simion, the Romanian nationalist defeated by Nicusor Dan warned in Warsaw. Hungary's next parliamentary elections are due in April next are also cracks in the facade of and Russia remain a source of division. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was conspicuous by her there was bad news this week for Viktor Orban - the Hungarian fertility rate fell to 1.28 in April, almost as low as when he came to power in 2010, despite 15 years of tax and home-building incentives to encourage couples to have more as the chairs were packed away in the congress hall in Budapest on Friday evening, there was a mood of elation, eyes trained on the run-off in Poland.
Fast Company
22-05-2025
- General
- Fast Company
Is empathy a core strength? Here's what philosophy says
In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, billionaire and Trump megadonor Elon Musk offered his thoughts about what motivates political progressives to support immigration. In his view, the culprit was empathy, which he called 'the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.' As shocking as Musk's views are, however, they are far from unique. On the one hand, there is the familiar and widespread conservative critique of ' bleeding heart ' liberals as naive or overly emotional. But there is also a broader philosophical critique that raises worries about empathy on quite different and less political grounds, including findings in social science. Empathy can make people weaker – both physically and practically, according to social scientists. Consider the phenomenon known as ' empathy fatigue,' a major source of burnout among counselors, nurses and even neurosurgeons. These professionals devote their lives to helping others, yet the empathy they feel for their clients and patients wears them down, making it harder to do their jobs. As philosophers, we agree that empathy can take a toll on both individuals and society. However, we believe that, at its core, empathy is a form of mental strength that enables us to better understand the impact of our actions on others, and to make informed choices. The philosophical roots of empathy skepticism The term 'empathy' only entered the English language in the 1890s. But the general idea of being moved by others' suffering has been a subject of philosophical attention for millennia, under labels such as 'pity,' 'sympathy' and 'compassion.' One of the earliest warnings about pity in Western philosophy comes from the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus. In his ' Discourses,' he offers general advice about how to live a good life, centered on inner tranquility and freedom. When it comes to emotions and feelings, he writes: 'He is free who lives as he wishes to live … And who chooses to live in sorrow, fear, envy, pity, desiring and failing in his desires, attempting to avoid something and falling into it? Not one.' Feeling sorry for another person or feeling pity for them compromises our freedom, in Epictetus's view. Those negative feelings are unpleasant, and nobody would choose them for themselves. Empathy would clearly fall into this same category, keeping us from living the good life. A similar objection emerged much later from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche framed his discussion in terms of 'Mitleid' – a German term that can be translated as either 'pity' or 'compassion.' Like Epictetus, Nietzsche worried that pity or compassion was a burden on the individual, preventing them from living the good life. In his book ' Daybreak,' Nietzsche warns that such feelings could impair the very people who try to help others. Epictetus's and Nietzsche's worries about pity or compassion carry over to empathy. Recall, the phenomenon of empathy fatigue. One psychological explanation for why empathic people experience fatigue and even burnout is that empathy involves a kind of mirroring of other people's mental life, a mirroring that can be physically unpleasant. When someone you love is in pain, you don't just believe that they are in pain; you may feel it as if it is actually happening to you. Results from neuroscience and cognitive psychology research indicate that there are different brain mechanisms involved in merely observing another's pain versus empathizing with it. The latter involves unpleasant sensations of the type we experience when we are in pain. Empathy is thus difficult to bear precisely because being in pain is difficult to bear. And this sharpens the Stoic and Nietzschean worries: Why bother empathizing when it is unpleasant and, perhaps, not even necessary for helping others? From understanding knowledge to appreciating empathy The answer for why one should see empathy as a strength starts with a key insight from 20th century philosophy about the nature of knowledge. That insight is based on a famous thought experiment by the Australian philosopher Frank Jackson. Jackson invites us to imagine a scientist named Mary who has studied colors despite having lived her entire life in a black and white room. She knows all the facts about the spectrum distribution of light sources and vision science. She's read descriptions of the redness of roses and azaleas. But she's never seen color herself. Does Mary know everything about redness? Many epistemologists – people who study the nature of knowledge – argue that she does not. What Mary learns when she sees red for the first time is elusive. If she returns to her black and white room, never to see any colored objects again, her knowledge of the colors will likely diminish over time. To have a full, rich understanding of colors, one needs to experience them. Thoughts like these led the philosopher and logician Bertrand Russell to argue that experience delivers a special kind of knowledge of things that can't be reduced to knowledge of facts. Seeing, hearing, tasting and even feeling delivers what he called ' knowledge by acquaintance.' We have argued in a book and recent articles that Jackson's and Russell's conclusions apply to pain. Consider a variation on Jackson's thought experiment: Suppose Mary knows the facts about pain but hasn't experienced it. As before, it would seem like her understanding of pain is incomplete. In fact, though Mary is a fictional character, there are real people who report having never experienced pain as an unpleasant sensation – a condition known as 'pain asymbolia'. In Russell's terminology, such people haven't personally experienced how unpleasant pain can be. But even people without pain asymbolia can become less familiar with pain and hardship during times when things are going well for them. All of us can temporarily lose the rich experiential grasp of what it is like to be distressed. So, when we consider the pain and suffering of others in the abstract and without directly feeling it, it is very much like trying to grasp the nature of redness while being personally acquainted only with a field of black and white. That, we argue, is where empathy comes in. Through experiential simulation of another's feelings, empathy affords us a rich grasp of the distress that others feel. The upshot is that empathy isn't just a subjective sensation. It affords us a more accurate understanding of others' experiences and emotions. Empathy is thus a form of knowledge that can be hard to bear, just as pain can be hard to bear. But that's precisely why empathy, properly cultivated, is a strength. As one of us has argued, it takes courage to empathically engage with others, just as it takes courage to see and recognize problems around us. Conversely, an unwillingness to empathize can stem from a familiar weakness: a fear of knowledge. So, when deciding complex policy questions, say, about immigration, resisting empathy impairs our decision-making. It keeps us from understanding what's at stake. That is why it is vital to ask ourselves what policies we would favor if we were empathically acquainted with, and so fully informed of, the plight of others.
Axios
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
1 big thing: MAGA's fight for "Western civilization"
💐 Happy Mother's Day! It's a perfect day to call your mom, a mom in your life, or anyone who's shaped you. The MAGA movement is no longer just fighting for President Trump. His most fervent loyalists are now engaged in what they see as a battle for " Western civilization" — a rallying cry for the modern right, reports Tal Axelrod, Axios' expert on MAGA media. Why it matters: The conservative ecosystem that has developed around Trump — and is touted daily in MAGA media — is key to understanding what's behind many of his policies. 🏛️ The big picture: For MAGA loyalists taking this long view, "Preserving Western Civilization" is the new "Make America Great Again." They proclaim America as a Judeo-Christian country that's the successor to the great European civilizations of Greece, Rome and the United Kingdom. They see a modern " Western civilization" as one that prizes freedom, the rule of law as they interpret it, meritocracy and the nuclear family. It's a movement wrapped in nostalgia. That's why Trump's Make America Great Again slogan resonated: To many in the modern right, society was at its zenith in the 1950s — and the liberalism of the 1960s and '70s drove the decline of their ideal society. 📜 Zoom in: The guideposts of the Western civilization movement run through MAGA media in ways large and small. Podcasters Steve Bannon and Jack Posobiec recite dates on their shows with "the year of our Lord" and "Anno Domini." Social media posts lament the growing South Asian population in the United Kingdom. The growing pro-natalism movement encourages conservatives to have large families. Articles in far-right media tout marriage and children, and even advice for women on ways to be more "marriageable." In recent years, conservative activists have blasted college English departments for adding courses that focus on racially diverse writers, instead of staying focused on Shakespeare and Chaucer. The movement sees today's DEI initiatives, expanded LGBTQ rights, fluid gender roles and illegal immigration as signs of a society run amok. Preserving Western values was a theme of Vice President Vance's major speech in Munich in February, when he decried censorship and mass immigration. Zoom out: Critics say the Western civilization movement looks regressive and racist. Trump policy attacks on asylum-seeking immigrants, and programs benefiting historically marginalized communities, help reinforce that image. The period of U.S. history the movement heralds included subjugation of women, segregation, and discrimination against nonwhites, those in the LGBTQ community and many others. 2. ✈️ Breaking: Trump's "flying palace" The Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from Qatar's royal family, ABC's Jonathan Karl and Katherine Faulders scoop. The jet is intended for President Trump's use as Air Force One. When he leaves office, ownership is to be transferred over to the Trump presidential library foundation, Karl and Faulders note of the gift's proposed terms. 💰 Why it matters: It "may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government" and will raise questions. "Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump's top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded it would be 'legally permissible' for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump's presidential library before the end of his term," ABC reports. What's next: The gift is expected to be announced when Trump visits Qatar next week. 3. 🤖 Leo warns on AI "I too address the world's great powers by repeating the ever-present call 'never again war,'" Pope Leo XIV said from the Vatican balcony during his first Sunday address as pontiff today. "I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people. Let everything possible be done to achieve an authentic, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. ... I am deeply saddened by what is happening in the Gaza Strip. Cease fire immediately! Let humanitarian aid be provided to the exhausted civilian population and let all hostages be freed." Yesterday, the new pope laid out the vision of his papacy during his first formal audience, with the cardinals who elected him, AP reports. Leo called out AI as one of the most critical matters facing humanity, saying it poses challenges to defending human dignity, justice and labor. He also repeatedly cited his predecessor Francis' mission, committing to making the Catholic Church more inclusive and one that looks out for the "least and rejected." Meanwhile, stateside, Chicagoans are soaking up the election of their homegrown pope. The Chicago White Sox honored Pope Leo XIV on the scoreboard before a home game against the Miami Marlins on Friday. 4. 🤰 When women become moms First-time U.S. mothers were an average of 27.5 years old in 2023, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick reports from CDC data. Why it matters: That's up from 21.4 in 1970 — a notable shift over the decades, reflecting major societal changes in women's priorities, expectations, access to birth control and fertility treatments and more. Zoom in: D.C. (30.8), Massachusetts (30) and New Jersey (29.4) had the highest average ages for first-time mothers in 2023. 5. 🩸 Elizabeth Holmes' partner gets into ... blood testing Elizabeth Holmes is serving time for defrauding investors through her blood-testing startup, Theranos. At the same time, her partner is launching a new testing company called Haemanthus, a flower known as the blood lily. "Billy Evans, who has two children with Ms. Holmes, is trying to raise money for a company that describes itself as "'the future of diagnostics' and 'a radically new approach to health testing,'" The New York Times reports from a review of marketing materials (gift link). The big picture: Theranos also set out to revolutionize diagnostics — but made false claims about the capabilities of its flagship product. 6. 🚨 Student debt cliff The clock started ticking on a financial time bomb this week for student loan borrowers: Those in default will now be referred to debt collections, Axios' Emily Peck reports. Why it matters: Because of the messy state of the student loan world, the economic fallout could be far more widespread than anticipated, hitting some who typically would be able to pay back loans. It also comes amid recession fears, worries over higher inflation, and a slowdown in hiring. 📈 By the numbers: The 5.3 million who are already in default could see the federal government garnish their wages, Social Security benefits or tax refunds. Many more are in limbo. Some 20% of borrowers are in delinquency, but not yet at the default line — more than 270 days past due — according to a report earlier this week from credit agency TransUnion. That's up from 11.5% in February 2020, when the federal government stopped asking people to pay on their loans. Zoom out: Many of these people would normally be able to avoid default, and work out a payment plan. But the mechanisms meant to help them navigate the process are in shambles. The White House gutted the Department of Education, which manages student loans. It's trying to do the same to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which helps folks navigate the financial system. 👀 But this isn't a mess that the current White House started. The roots go to 2020, when the government told borrowers they no longer had to make payments. The Biden administration extended that grace period for three years. The program was poorly implemented and overly generous from the start, says Tomasz Piskorski, a finance professor at Columbia Business School, who wrote a major study on debt forbearance in COVID, published by Brookings. It was different from other kinds of pandemic debt relief programs — like for mortgage holders, who had to apply. (Few did.) For student loan borrowers, everyone got a pass. That's created a bigger problem. 7. 🍼 Trending baby names Olivia and Liam were the top baby girl and boy names in America last year. Rounding out the top 10 girl names: 2. Emma 3. Amelia 4. Charlotte 5. Mia 6. Sophia 7. Isabella 8. Evelyn 9. Ava 10. Sofia And the boys: 2. Noah 3. Oliver 4. Theodore 5. James 6. Henry 7. Mateo 8. Elijah 9. Lucas 10. William The only new entrant on either list is Sofia. 8. 🎸 1 for the road: Mom rock This weekend, in Miramar, Fla., a music festival is celebrating a little-discussed but well-loved genre: mom rock. 🎤 Zoom in: "While 'dad rock' is understood as earnest, '70s and '80s rock from Bruce Springsteen and Steely Dan, meant for blasting at a backyard barbecue, 'mom rock' is as much about community as the music," The Wall Street Journal reports. "Mom rock" artists include Brandi Carlisle — the architect of the Miramar festival, titled " Mothership Weekend" — Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow, Paula Cole and even Gen Z sensation Olivia Rodrigo. In many ways, it's an evolution of Lilith Fair, the music festival featuring all female solo artists and female-led bands co-founded by Sarah McLachlan in 1997. 🎡 At the festival, "you can be who you are and how you are at any given time," Carlisle told the Journal. "People come back, not for me, but for the people that they met there, and for the consistency of that unconditional acceptance and love that they're getting."
