> > Where The New Age Meets The Third Reich:
> > DAVID ICKE AND THE POLITICS OF MADNESS
> > ____________________________________________________________________
> >
> > By Will Offley, willo at lynx.bc.ca
> > - February 29, 2000 -
> >
> > On Sunday, March 19th, British conspiracy theorist David Icke will be
> > speaking all day at the Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville Street in
Vancouver.
> > Icke's politics are a very weird blend of New Age guru, anti-Semitism
and
> > neofascism. He is also antichoice.
> >
> > Icke's background, politics and connections show there is an urgent need
> > for the pro-choice and women's mevements to join forces with the Jewish
> > community, gays and lesbians, people of colour, the left and all other
> > communities under threat by the far right. The backgrounder below should
> > give a fair picture of what Icke stands for, and who supports him.
> >
> > * * *
> >
> > On the face of it, few people would credit a retired soccer player who
> > rants about a world takeover by blood-drinking lizards from outer space
as
> > being much of a threat to democracy. And as a general rule, they would
> > probably be right.
> >
> > David Icke, however, is an exception to that rule.
> >
> > Icke, 48, is a native of Leicester, England. For five years he played
> > professionally for the Coventry City and Hereford United soccer teams
> until
> > forced to retire by arthritis. He subsequently went on to become a
sports
> > announcer for BBC-TV. For three years from 1988 to 1991 he was national
> > spokesperson for the British Green Party, until he began a political
> > evolution that was to begin with his expulsion from the Greens and wind
up
> > with his current involvement with anti-Semitism, neofascism, and lizards
> > from Mars.
> >
> > At first this evolution seemed relatively harmless. Icke began to flirt
> > seriously with New Age theories, and then began to act on them. He
dressed
> > in turquoise, and began to call himself the "son of godhead". But by the
> > time his book "The Robot's Rebellion" was printed in 1994, his
trajectory
> > had begun to take quite a different course. In 1996, the British
magazine
> > "Left Green Perspectives" wrote that this book "indicated a convergence
of
> > New Age thinking with Nazi philosophy. Casting aside his pat concerns
> about
> > the environment, Icke enthusiastically embraced the classic Nazi
> conspiracy
> > theory, alleging that the world is controlled by a secret cadre of "The
> > Elite." He openly endorsed The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the
> Tsarist
> > anti-Semitic forgery that informed Hitler's notion of a global Jewish
> > conspiracy."
> >
> > The following year Icke brought out another book, "And the truth shall
set
> > you free." This one, however, was self-published, as its content was so
> > objectionable that his publisher refused to have it printed. And small
> > wonder. The book repeated Icke's previous claims that the Protocols were
> > true, and went on to state: "I strongly believe that a small Jewish
clique
> > which has contempt for the mass of Jewish people worked with non-Jews to
> > create the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Second World
> > War....They then dominated the Versailles Peace Conference and created
the
> > circumstances which made the Second World War inevitable. They financed
> > Hitler to power in 1933 and made the funds available for his
rearmament."
> >
> > In this book, Icke went even further. He began to flirt explicitly with
> > Holocaust denial, saying "why do we play a part in suppressing
alternative
> > information to the official line of the Second World War? How is it
right
> > that while this fierce suppression goes on, free copies of the Spielberg
> > film, Schindler's List, are given to schools to indoctrinate children
with
> > the unchallenged version of events. And why do we, who say we oppose
> > tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and
be
> > vilified, and magazines to be closed down on the spot, for suggesting
> > another version of history." He also denounced the Nuremberg Trials as
"a
> > farce" and "a calculated exercise in revenge and manipulation."
> >
> > Icke's politics today are a mishmash of most of the dominant themes of
> > contemporary neofascism, mixed in with a smattering of topics culled
from
> > the U.S. militia movement. He has written diatribes on the Illuminati,
the
> > Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission as examples
of
> > secret plots to take over the world. He opposes gun control as a plot by
> > this Elite, which has deliberately orchestrated numerous mass shootings
to
> > whip up opposition to guns. He has repeatedly posted anti-abortion
> > literature and articles on his web site. He rails against conspiracies
to
> > implant microchips in everyone's bodies, coded with the Satanic number
> > "666". He even accuses the U.S. government of carrying out the Oklahoma
> > City bombing and murdering 168 men, women and children.
> >
> > For a decade Icke has exhibited signs of serious mental instability. In
> his
> > web site autobiography he reveals that as early as 1990 he became aware
of
> > "a presence around me, like there was always someone in the room when
> there
> > was not. It got to the point where I sat on the side of the bed in a
hotel
> > room in London in early 1990 and said to whoever or whatever: "If you
are
> > there will you please contact me because you are driving me up the
wall."
> A
> > year later, on holiday in Peru, Icke describes hearing voices: "as I
> looked
> > at the mound, a voice in my head began to say: "Come to me, come to me,
> > come to me.... Suddenly I felt me feet pulled to the ground again like a
> > magnet, the same as in the newspaper shop, but this time far more
> powerful.
> > My arms them shot above my head, with no decision by me for them to do
> > so.... A flow of powerful energy began to go into the top of my head
like
> a
> > drill, and I could feel the flow going the other way up from the ground
> > through my feet. It was then I heard the third voice in my head,
something
> > that has never happened since. It said very clearly: "It will be over
when
> > you feel the rain".
> >
> > Over the last year Icke's writings have become so paranoid and so
extreme
> > that many are probably inclined to dismiss him as posing any sort of
> > threat, or requiring a response. Icke is now arguing in all seriousness
> > that the Illuminati plot to take over the world is actually being
carried
> > out by a race of extraterrestrial reptiles in human form. They are
> > described, literally, as being child-sacrificing, blood-drinking
> > Satan-worshippers capable of changing their shape, whose ranks include
> > George Bush, Bill and Hilary Clinton, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mum,
Bob
> > Hope and Kris Kristofferson, among others.
> >
> > David Icke is not alone. He is a small industry in a large and lucrative
> > market of often well-to do New Age boomers. He has several web sites, an
> > e-magazine, his own publishing house, and at least 9 books and 4
> videotapes
> > to his credit. He is constantly on the road, touring North America,
> Europe,
> > Australia, South Africa, the Pyramids, and elsewhere. In the last five
> > years he has spoken in Vancouver as many times, and if the audiences
have
> > not been as large as the 450 he claims turned out to hear him in Toronto
> > last October, the fact remains he hopes to fill the Vogue Theatre on
March
> > 19. It's a large milieu that can afford the hefty prices Icke charges --
> up
> > to $67 to attend a lecture, forty to fifty dollars for videotapes -- and
> > that generates a sizeable income for Icke and his message of
conspiracism,
> > fear and hate.
> >
> > To organize all this, Icke has developed an international network of
> people
> > who work with him and for him. They book the dates, churn out the
posters
> > and press releases, do the advance work, pick him up at the airport, get
> > him to the hotel, introduce him, and get him back to his flight on time.
> > They also show clearly why David Icke is a dangerous man, because they
> > underscore his politics in an unmistakable way.
> >
> > Icke is undeniably a flake, and a world-class flake, but his danger
comes
> > from his alliances as well as his politics. And it's the far right who
> > handle this man, who package and promote and present his message across
> > Canada and around the world.
> >
> > Take Joseph Duggan. Duggan is the proprietor of Strong Eagles
Productions,
> > the company organizing Icke's current Vancouver speaking engagement.
> Duggan
> > makes his living in part from organizing B.C. speaking engagements for a
> > string of conspiracy theorists and famous personalities of the extreme
> > right like Glen Kealey, Cathy O'Brien, Len Horowitz and others. Duggan
> also
> > used to be the health editor of Shared Vision until last year, which has
> > itself advertised tours by Icke and hosted speeches by him as well.
> > Interspersed with monthly columns on health foods and natural healing,
> > Duggan's writings in Shared Vision also promoted the far right
> > anti-government activist Murray Gauvreau , Colorado militia supporter
> > Suzanne Harris , and the notorious Glen Kealey.
> >
> > In March 1997, Duggan's column featured the use of extensive quotations
> > from the book "War Cycles, Peace Cycles" by American writer Richard K.
> > Hoskins. Hoskins has been denounced as "a virulent anti-Semite who is a
> > leading ideologue of the Christian Identity movement" by no less a
source
> > than Conrad Black's National Post. When Aryan Nations member Buford
Furrow
> > was arrested in Los Angeles last August after shooting and wounding five
> > people at a Jewish community centre and murdering a Filipino postal
> worker,
> > police found a copy of "War Cycles, Peace Cycles" in his car.
> >
> > Icke's books and videos are also distributed by an organization in
Salmon
> > Arm, B.C. called The Preferred Network. The Preferred Network's web site
> > advertises at least four of Icke's books and the same number of
> videotapes,
> > as well as an extensive selection of U.S. and Canadian conspiracy
> materials
> > covering the traditional themes particular to the far right: the
> government
> > coverup of the Oklahoma City bombing, "The 10 Secrets Revenue Canada
> > Doesn't Want You To Know", "Humanity's Extraterrestrial Origins", the
AIDS
> > coverup, the Ebola coverup, the Lockerbie coverup, the PanAm 800
coverup,
> > "Satanism And The CIA", and Kari Simpson's expose of the gay agenda in
> B.C.
> > schools.
> >
> > David Lethbridge, director of the Salmon Arm Coalition Against Racism,
has
> > described the organizer of The Preferred Network in the following way:
"a
> > well-attended demonstration opposing the Multilateral Agreement on
> > Investment was held [in the spring of 1998] in Salmon Arm, B.C....
Working
> > the fringes was Wes Mann, organizer of the Preferred Network. Mann was
> > handing out flyers for conspiracy advocates David Icke, Ted Gunderson
and
> > Cathy O'Brien. Whenever he could, Mann would strike up a conversation
with
> > one of the demonstrators, then write down their name and phone number. I
> > knew who Mann was. His Preferred Network catalog carries several dozen
> > books and tapes promoting the usual New Age fare: cancer cures,
> > spiritualist prophecies, UFO tales and so on. But much of the catalog
> > consists of materials promoting right-wing militias and right-wing
> > conspiracy theories, and books by notorious fascists and antisemites
such
> > as Eustace Mullins. I went over to Mann, who did not recognize me, and
> > began to question him. Within minutes he was telling me that the MAI was
> > the work of a conspiracy organized by the mysterious "Black Nobility"
and
> > the "International Bankers". The anti-Jewish code words were obvious.
Soon
> > Mann was telling me that the antisemitic forgery The Protocols Of The
> > Elders Of Zion was authentic, that the Nazi Holocaust had never
occurred,
> > that the contemporary Jews were not Jews at all but descendants of the
> > Turkish Khazars, and that the fascist Eustace Mullins was "a brilliant
> > researcher"."
> >
> > In Ottawa, Icke's key organizer is Tom J. Kennedy. Kennedy was
responsible
> > for much of the organizational detail of Icke's October 1999 speaking
tour
> > in Ottawa, Toronto, and Windsor, Ontario, also acting as his gofer and
> > driver. But Kennedy's activities do not stop there. He is an active
> > supporter of Canada's DeTax movement a far right current that imitates
the
> > tax-resistance strategies of the Freemen and other Christian Patriot
> groups
> > in the U.S. Kennedy's web site also promotes Glen Kealey's conspiracist
> > workshops, and other similar endeavours. And his politics become even
> > clearer when one reads the materials Kennedy has posted on the internet
> > over his own name. On January 18, 1999, he posted an article attacking
> > usury [a favourite code word among the far right for the international
> > Jewish Bankers Conspiracy]. He had originally found this article on a
> > British web site, and liked it so much he reposted it to his own list.
The
> > British group that had written the article, Final Conflict, is one of
> > Britain's hard-core neo-nazi groups, whose web site carries articles
> > entitled "Did Six Million Really Die" and slogans reading "Long Live
> > Death." Four months later, on May 6, 1999 Kennedy posted an article on
> > secret societies he had picked up from the Hoffman Wire. The Hoffman
Wire
> > is a far-right Holocaust denial organization based in Coeur d'Alene,
> Idaho,
> > not far from the headquarters of Aryan Nations.
> >
> > Kennedy's web site now carries an article "Fear NOT - The Ultimate Label
> > "Anti-Semitic", which clarifies his endorsement of Icke's politics: "I
> have
> > always been motivated to find out the real reasons why particular
> > researchers and historians get targeted with the ultimate label
> > "Anti-Semitic" and other lesser labels such as "Neo-Nazi" and "Racist"
> > Needless to say, I was motivated to follow the information in search of
> > reasons why David Icke was being so labelled during his Ontario '99
> > tour.... Perhaps the unfair labelling of researchers as "Anti-Semites"
has
> > a hidden agenda to keep people from seeking the "truth?" Or could this
> > whole "Anti-Semitic" labelling be another "divide and conquer"
deflection
> > to keep us busy while the real 10,000 year agenda of the Freemasons and
> > Bilderbergers is being completed? Just wondering??" In probability, the
> > labelling of Tom Kennedy as anti-Semitic might have more to do with his
> > stated support for Holocaust denier David Irving ("a meticulous
historical
> > researcher"), or with his pal Ernst Zundel, who told Kennedy in the
early
> > 1980's "Tom, you are writing about the usurious money system which reaps
> > the Financial Elite multiple millions annually. What you are writing
about
> > is even more sacred than "the holocaust", so be very careful for your
> > well-being!!"
> >
> > David Icke's associations with the extreme right are not confined to
> > Canada, nor are they only a recent phenomenon. One of the most ominous
> > instances of this was documented in an article in the London Evening
> > Standard concerning Icke's 1995 speaking tour of Britain to promote his
> > newest book, The Robot's Rebellion. Journalist Mark Honigsbaum reported
> > that "what worries the Jewish community most is that Icke's veiled
> > anti-Semitic references are now attracting the attention of more
sinister
> > British forces, in particular Combat 18, the neo-Nazi group which
recruits
> > among football's violent hooligan fringe. The Jewish Chronicle has
> reported
> > how Combat 18 has taken to publicizing Icke's current tour in its
internal
> > journal, Putsch. Citing Icke's recent lecture in Glastonbury, Putsch
> > claimed that Icke "spoke of "the sheep" and how the Zionist-operated
> > government, sorry, "Illuminati", uses them for its own ends." The Combat
> 18
> > report continued: "He began to talk about the bug conspiracy by a group
of
> > bankers, media moguls, etc. -- always being clever enough not to mention
> > what all these had in common"."
> >
> > Combat 18 is fascist. The numbers do not stand for "eighteen" but for
> > "one-eight", the first and eighth letters of the alphabet. A and H, as
in
> > Adolph Hitler. C18 was for much of the 90's the most important and the
> most
> > violent of the British neo-Nazi movement, with a number of murders to
its
> > credit. C18 has now fallen on hard times. Its main leader, Charlie
> Sargent,
> > is serving a life term for the first degree murder of one of his own
> > followers, and the group itself promptly split in two over a bitter
> > struggle over finances; but none of this prevented it from carrying out
> two
> > bombings in black and Bangladeshi neighbourhoods in London last summer,
or
> > of being suspected in the bombing of a gay pub that killed two and sent
60
> > people to hospital. Such are David Icke's friends and associates.
> >
> > Despite this record, Icke enjoys a surprising degree of support from
> > unexpected quarters. Connie Fogal, married to the long-time leftie
> alderman
> > Harry Rankin, has had her organization, the Defence of Canadian Liberty
> > Association, set up a literature table at one of Icke's appearances.
Paul
> > Hellyer of the Canada Action Party attended Icke's last Vancouver
speech.
> > Icke is listed as a contributor to the supposedly left-wing tabloid The
> > Radical, published in Quesnel and distributed widely throughout B.C. And
> > Icke's tour is being advertised in local New Age publications Shared
> Vision
> > and Common Ground.
> >
> > The fact is that some of what Icke says has a resonance in these
quarters.
> > He's against world conspiracies, free trade, the MAI, the WTO and
> corporate
> > globalism. Many of his far right supporters are active in other areas as
> > well: cannabis legalization, alternative health, anti-corporate
activism,
> > even support for native sovereignty struggles like Gustavsen Lake. It's
> > long overdue for the left, the environmental movement, feminists,
anti-WTO
> > activists, lesbians and gays, and yes, even New Agers, to start looking
> > more closely at Icke and his friends. The advocates of Holocaust denial
> and
> > anti-Semitism will seldom if ever reveal their real agenda. They prefer
to
> > work in the shadows, using coded language, building patiently for a new
> and
> > improved Reich. The threat they pose is no less real simply because it
> > doesn't register on the radar screen. Yet.
> >
> > All we need to do is look at Austria to see why these politics have to
be
> > confronted, isolated and defeated, and the price we will all pay if they
> > are not.
> >
> > Will Offley is the former security coordinator of Everywoman's Health
> > Centre in British Columbia, a member of New Socialist Group, researcher
on
> > Christian right and antichoice movements in Canada. This article will
> > appear in Canadian Jewish Outlook and appears here with the author's
> > permission.
> >
> > * * *
> >
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