‘An incalculable loss’: Hampshire College to close doors after fall semester https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/14/hampshire-college-massachusetts-closure #Massachusetts #UsNews #WorldNews #UsUniversities #HigherEducation #UsEducation #Education

Lawrence W. Britt: 14 Characteristics of #Fascism

[Unattributed, but based on the writings of #UmbertoEco]

"#Historian #LawrenceBritt studied the fascist regimes of #Hitler (Germany), #Mussolini (Italy), #Franco (Spain), #Suharto (Indonesia), and #Pinochet (Chile) and found they had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism.

1. Powerful and Continuing #Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of #patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. #Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of #HumanRights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, and long incarcerations of prisoners.

3. Identification of #Enemies / #Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: #racial, #ethnic or #religious #minorities; #liberals; #communists; #socialists, #terrorists…

4. Supremacy of the #Military
Even when there are widespread #domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant #Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional #gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to #abortion is high, as is #homophobia and anti-#gay legislation.

6. Controlled #MassMedia
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government #censorship and #secrecy especially in war time, are very common.

7. Obsession with #NationalSecurity
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. #Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.

9. Protection of #Corporate Power
The #industrial and business #aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Suppression of #Labor Power
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor #unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for #Intellectuals and the #Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to #HigherEducation and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other #academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

12. Obsession with #Crime and #Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the #police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego #CivilLiberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant #Cronyism and #Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. #FraudulentElections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

This post is a summary of Fascism, Anyone? by Lawrence W. Britt published in 2003 by Free Inquiry magazine."

https://voxpopulisphere.com/2017/08/23/lawrence-britt-14-characteristics-of-fascism/

#History #Histodon #RabidRight #Antifa #Antifascism #FarRight #Trump #Putin #Russia #MAGA #Project2025 #CharacteristicsOfFascism #DetentionCenters #VoterDisenfranchisement #VoterIDLaws #SilencingDissent #CriminalizingDissent

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The 14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism 1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism 2. Disdain for Human Rights 3. Identification of Enemies As A Unifying Cause 4. Supremacy of the Military 5. Rampant Sexism 6. Controlled Mass Media 7. Obsession With National Security 8. Religion and Government Intertwined 9. Corporate Power Protected 10. Labor Power Suppressed 11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts 12. Obsession With Crime and Punishment 13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption 14. Fraudulent Elections

UC San Francisco: Announcing the Open Access UC-Authored Monographs Pilot Project. “The University of California (UC) Libraries are supporting several open access pilot projects intended to broaden access to UC research and scholarship by making UC-authored books freely available online.”

University of Massachusetts Amherst: Five College Consortium Launches New Online Access to the Shared Collections of Six Museums, Including UMCA. “The Five College Consortium has launched a major update of a website that gives students, researchers and art lovers around the world access to over 100,000 objects from the shared collections of five campus art museums and nearby Historic […]

@petersuber
#agriculture #DMV #highereducation
Petition link in text ⏫

Neuroscientist resigns from Columbia amid revelations about Epstein ties https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/25/richard-axel-columbia-university-resignation-epstein #ColumbiaUniversity #JeffreyEpstein #UsNews #NewYork #HigherEducation #UsUniversities

ShinyHunters claims breach of Harvard & UPenn, alleging theft of 2.2M+ records including PII and donor data.

https://www.technadu.com/shinyhunters-alleged-data-breach-targets-ivy-league-2-million-records-stolen-from-harvard-university-and-the-university-of-pennsylvania/619531/

#InfoSec #DataBreach #HigherEducation #ShinyHunters

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ShinyHunters Alleged Data Breach Targets Ivy League: 2 Million Records Stolen from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania

RE: https://berlin.social/@kingconsult/115938115327131064

Very insightful, this #Fediverse #worldmap by @ricci

https://arewedecentralizedyet.online/map/?source=fedi

I'd love to see more #HigherEducation Institutions #HEI providing their staff (researchers and teachers) as well as their students the option to use free and open social media platforms. There is no #ads, no #tracking. #Mastodon isn't the only choice; there are many other federated services!

#HigherEducation #HigherEd #academia #scicomm #science

The #Trump admin is appealing a federal judge’s order reversing billions of dollars in #funding cuts to #HarvardUniversity, extending a standoff over the White House's demands for “reforms” at the #school.

The #DOJ filed a notice of appeal late Thursday in a pair of consolidated lawsuits brought by #Harvard & the American Association of #University Professors.

#law #AcademicFreedom #FirstAmendment #HigherEducation #RevengePolitics
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-administration-appeal-judges-order-reversing-federal-funding-128555783

Over the last week, the Trump administration has cancelled $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University and $800 million in grants to Johns Hopkins University.

So far, America’s leading universities have remained virtually silent in the face of this authoritarian assault on institutions of higher education. That must change. Harvard must stand up, speak out, and lead a public defense of our freedom to speak and study freely.

Not only is silence in the face of mounting authoritarianism morally objectionable, but, as the Columbia case suggests, it’s not working. Columbia’s leadership made repeated concessions to right-wing critics, only to be the first to come under attack.

#USPol #Universities #Columbia #authoritarianism #HigherEducation #education #maine