It's always the wealthy industrialists that are behind the fascists. Even Mussolini himself said that fascism could more accurately be described as corporatism. People like Hitler and Bush don't get into power without some rich bastard footing the bill. Corporations are the only things that benefit from fascism (apart from the fascists themselves of course). Just because Bush doesn't wear a silly mustache, worship a swastika (that we know of) and think he's an uber-mensch (that we know of) doesn't mean to say that he isn't a fascist. If Mussolini's description is accurate then this US administration is an almost perfect fusion of the corporation and the state.
This is a very good time to be alive if you are Rupert Murdoch.
He has just realised his long-held ambition to break into the US satellite television market, buying the market leader, DirecTV, after three years of tortuous negotiations with its owner, General Motors.
His cable news channel, Fox News, has come out of the Iraq war stronger than ever.
Having overtaken CNN with its hot-blooded, rabble-rousing style and deferential approach to the Bush Administration's every move, it came out as the top-rated cable station - news or non-news - in 36 of the top 40 time-slots from March 31 to April 6.
Perhaps more significantly, it may be transforming the way Americans get their news in times of crisis.
The three main networks - NBC, ABC and CBS - have been losing about two million viewers a night to cable. It is the first time their audiences have shrunk during a war.
Meanwhile, Fox's morning magazine programme, Fox & Friends, has brought in more viewers than the CBS Early Show in another unprecedented challenge to the status quo.
More potential windfalls are ahead.
Full story...