The 2004 U. S. Presidential election brought us Bush versus Bush Lite. In 2006, the Democrats took the U. S. Congress and while things started getting worse at a slower rate, the overall tone was the same. This documentary from BBC Dispatches examines the political parties of England and how, in recent years, rather than offering visionary leadership in increasingly complex times, they all have been posturing to be perceived as “toughest” in the same areas, such as immigration control and street crime, and spending much of their campaigns on competing to outdo each others’ placebo-based pandering. The main issue at the “rotten heart” of the current electoral system according to Dispatches: “parties, cut adrift from their popular roots, are now cold-blooded vote-winning machines. If you ignore them, they ignore you.” When there are no substantive differences between the utterly bland major parties, is it still democracy? In this sickening look into the “mass marketing” campaign style of today, Dispatches says that no, democracy is a thing of the past. With enough work, though, it can be a thing of the future as well. [END] Permalink: Why Politicians Can’t Tell the Truth
John Pilger’s“Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror” questions the fundamental motives for the so-called “War on Terror” of the United States. In this video, Pilger explores the U. S.’ extensive recent history of military interventions both overt and covert in dozens of nations worldwide which, in the 21st century, have been expanded into a quest for what the Bush administration termed “full spectrum dominance” on a global scale. [END] Permalink: Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror
BBC reporter Jon Snow’s “Iraq: The Hidden War” focuses on the impossibility of accurate media coverage, or even of much media coverage at all in Iraq’s “Red Zone,” the unsheltered area of extreme violence outside of the heavily fortified U. S. military compound known as the “Green Zone” in Baghdad. The U. S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has resulted in a deadly destabilization of the country, where electricity is often available only a few hours per day and the cost of fuel has skyrocketed, where it can be purchased at all. In Iraq, much of the journalism by Westerners must be done from within the Green Zone and consists of the editing of footage shot by hired locals paid to capture what they can where it is safe to get a story. Reporters then attempt to apply what context is available to them to weave a narrative for the viewer. The kidnapping of journalists in Iraq is widespread and cameramen must be extraordinarily careful when in the field. These difficulties have resulted in a war of which the reality, the overwhelming day-to-day violence, has yet to be fully appreciated by the Western nations whose governments have commissioned the fight. [END] Permalink: Iraq: The Hidden War
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