Friday, July 12, 2013

124. WORRYING TRENDS

During the recent inquiry into the Dotcom saga, PM John Key accused Dotcom of being a 'conspiracy theorist'. Such empty remarks are nothing new. The PM knows very well that the world of politics is full of conspiracies, as the 'Wikileaks' revelations and more recently the NSA surveillance on private citizens have so clearly brought to light. Also New Zealand was specifically mentioned in this respect, together with the US, Canada, UK and Australia. It is however no coincidence that these inroads on civil liberties go hand in hand with a simultaneously further radicalisation of our society effecting freedom of expression and debate on ground breaking events with far reaching consequences to all of us. The discerning reader cannot miss as far as our local Press is concerned that by far most articles on world affairs emanate from a few single sources and mainly from Murdoch's 'the Times'. The news paper industry in contemporary society has a purely political role to play by shaping public opinion and manufacturing consent. In the absence of any explanation, openness and transparency one can safely assume this to be the truth. John Cambell last night on TV3 'Cambelllife' is to congratulated on his attempts to highlight to some extent these worrying developments.
(submitted 11/07/13 rejected by the Press)