April 2008
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MEDIA LENS ALERT: FLEXIBLE FRIENDS – THE OBSERVER, THE INDEPENDENT, AND THE MYTH OF A MEDIA SPECTRUM
On reflection, it seems incredibly naïve to imagine that free speech will flourish under corporate capitalism. It is true that we do not face the kind of physical threats offered by a totalitarian system – but so what? For most people, the threat of serious damage to a lucrative, high status career is enough to… Continue reading
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Media Lens: Covering Israel-Palestine – The BBC’s Double Standards
22 April, 2008 — MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media An Exchange With The BBC’s Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen The media reported last week that at least 22 people, including five Palestinian children, had been killed during Israeli ‘incursions’ into Gaza. The Israeli military ‘operation’ were ‘sparked’ by a Continue reading
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Food – the ultimate weapon of the ruling elite By William Bowles
McNamara’s thinly veiled genocidal utterances took place over thirty years ago, echoing the wealthy and the privileged’s fear of the ‘great unwashed’ when ‘over-population’ was the buzzword. So not much has changed has it, we’re hearing the same, tired old messages being rolled out once again by the ruling elites and their spin doctors. McNamara’s… Continue reading
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Media Lens: EXTRA ZERO An Exchange With The Independent’s John Rentoul
9 April, 2008 — MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media In the wake of the July 7, 2005 London bombings, the Independent’s John Rentoul commented: “A Muslim friend of mine in the East End of London says that the sense of victimisation and injustice goes so deep among his fellow Continue reading
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Sink or Swim in the capitalist ocean? By William Bowles
When a group of so-called Aboriginals from I believe Borneo (or maybe it was Papua New Guinea) visited the UK recently they were gob-smacked to find homeless people on the streets of London. The concept ‘homelessness’ simply didn’t exist in their vocabulary and reinforced by the vast wealth that surrounded them (the ‘Aboriginal and the… Continue reading
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Trapped on Planet Bail-out — Bad Science Fiction By William Bowles
4 April 2008 “Britain, a touchstone for democracies around the world.” – BBC ‘reporter’ commentating on the state visit by president Sarkozy of France to the UK, BBC1 6pm news, 26 March, 2008 The great Polish writer, Stanislaw Lem (he wrote the novel ‘Solaris’) developed a theory of fiction writing based upon the idea that Continue reading
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The Audacity of Depression By Joe Bageant
Rage fatigue, plastic dirt and happy hour in techno-totalitarian America One of the best things about the hundred or so book festivals in America is that, with luck, a writer can manage to get drunk with some of his or her readers. And with more luck, the readers pick up the tab. Bear in mind Continue reading
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MEDIA LENS ALERT: ‘WITH TOTAL DESTRUCTION’ – THE FAILURE OF JOURNALISM IN IRAQ
<strong class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>MEDIA <strong class=’StrictlyAutoTagBold’>LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media On March 22, an Economist magazine editorial described the recent violence in Tibet as a “colonial uprisingâ€, a “revolt†against foreign occupation. This was accurate, as was the implication that China has no legitimate claims over Tibet. (‘A colonial uprising – Tibet,’ Continue reading
The New Dark Age 