The only reason to vote is if the vote represents power or change. I don’t think it does. I fervently believe that we deserve more from our democratic system than the few derisory tit-bits tossed from the carousel of the mighty, when they hop a few inches left or right. The lazily duplicitous servants of The City expect us to gratefully participate in what amounts to little more than a political hokey cokey where every four years we get to choose what colour tie the liar who leads us wears.
Ten mega corporations control the output of almost everything you buy; from household products to pet food to jeans.
And it’s not just the products you buy and consume, either. In recent decades, the very news and information that you get has bundled together: 90% of the media is now controlled by just six companies, down from 50 in 1983, according to a Frugal Dad infographic from last year.
The UK government’s response to revelations of mass surveillance leaked by Edward Snowden is leading to the erosion of fundamental rights and freedoms in Britain, said a letter sent to PM David Cameron on behalf of global human rights organizations.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. In Russell Brand’s case, of course, they paid to laugh. But the fighting has now begun in earnest.
Note that it hasn’t come primarily from the direction one might have expected. The ever-dignified Tory MP Michael Fabricant labels him a ‘twat’ (a badge of honour, surely?), but apart from that, politicians have been pretty quiet. It is mostly journalists, commentators and assorted pundits who really have the knives out for Brand.
“What we revealed is that this spying system is devoted not to terrorists, but is directed to innocent people around the world,” Greenwald told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview that aired Monday. “None of this has anything to do with terrorism. Is Angela Merkel a terrorist?”
The only advice I can give is that when you hear the presstitute media smear a concern or explanation as “conspiracy theory,” have a closer look. The divergence between what is happening and what you are told is so vast that it pays to be suspicious, cynical even, of what “your” government and “your” presstitute media tell you. The chances are high that it is a lie.
It is not particularly clear how, or why, secretaries of state acquired this enduring immunization from the kind of polarization and criticism to which defense secretaries and other Cabinet officials are subject. While there is undeniably something about the office that lends itself to unjustified acclaim – ask an enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter to name a few of her substantive accomplishments in her four years as America’s chief diplomat – Rice, Powell, Albright and Kissinger are all exceptionally skilled at playing the media and the public at large. The blame ultimately rests with anyone who tacitly supports or contributes to this culture of valuing personality over substance.
The DA Notice Committee claims to offer a confidential advice service to editors to enable them to make informed decisions about the harm that could be done when it comes to making revelations about the security services. It says on its website: “The Notices have no legal standing and advice offered within their framework may be accepted or rejected in whole or in part.”
The reactions to Russell Brand’s passionate exchange with Jeremy Paxman have been tellingly predictable throughout the establishment media. Most of the smug complacency and dismissive derision on offer can be found distilled into this feature in the corporate-owned Independent. It started badly with the patronizing, trivializing headline: ‘Would you join Russell’s revolution’? We were then offered an attempt at balance with a for/against format. The ‘for’ section, however, consisted of praise only for his comic delivery; his ‘swagger’ and ‘charm’. With that out of the way, we then came to what the Independent (via assistant editor Memphis Barker) actually wanted to get out of its system
British intelligence has been trying desperately to keep its surveillance practices secret – wary of public anger and legal challenges. That’s emerged from internal documents leaked by Edward Snowden, and obtained by the Guardian newspaper. But as RT’s Sara Firth reports, the spy agencies’ worst fears are already coming true. To discuss the controversial techniques used by British intelligence, and the ongoing backlash, former MI5 agent Annie Machon joins RT.
The story that Hastings was working on at the time of his death centered around CIA Director John Brennan, the chief architect of President Obama’s foreign drone program. It related specifically to Brennan’s role as the administration’s point man tracking investigative journalists and their sources in Washington.
Glenn Greenwald’s video message for the Frontline Club Awards 2013.
