Posts Tagged ‘distraction’

Distraction Politics

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

I was planning to write another piece about how Democrats and Republicans both toe the same line for many key issues, be it armed conflict, pro-corporatist legislation, or a widening of the gap between the super-rich and everyone else.

The post would have highlighted how comparatively trivial issues, like same-sex marriage, illegal immigration, or Anthony Weiner’s penis, dominate the political sphere while actually significantly issues, like reforming Wall St. or slashing defense spending, remain mostly untouched by both politicians and the mainstream media alike.

But rather than write this piece, which I’m sure would have been timely and eloquent, I found the following picture which sums up what I’m trying to say quite nicely. So we’ll go with that instead:

 

 

Our News and Theirs

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Professor Juan Cole put out another of his intriguing pieces over on Informed Comment. This one outlines key differences between the mainstream media in the western world and that of the middle east.

Cole starts by describing the sad state of affairs in the US:

Americans live in a late capitalist society where the rich have gotten many times richer and the middle class has gotten poorer, where Wall Street bankers have stolen us blind and blamed us for living above our means, where persistent unemployment is worse than in the Great Depression, where most politicians and some judges have been bought by corporations or special interests, where authorities actively conspire to keep people from voting, where the government spies on citizens assiduously without warrant or probable cause, and where the minds of the sheep are kept off their fleecing by substituting celebrity gossip, sex scandals, and half-disguised bigotry for genuine news.

Professor Cole goes on to compare which stories dominate the headlines:

Our news is about Sarah Palin not knowing fifth grade American history. Their news is about killing 5 US soldiers in Iraq with rocket fire.

Our news is about a rich old French banker charged with assaulting a poor young Muslim maid in a New York hotel. Their news is about armed rebels setting an ambush and killing 120 members of the Syrian security forces.

Our news is about a six-term US congressman from New York who has been sexting. Their news is that Yemen is on a knife edge, with civil war looming.

Our news is about an American politician accused of misusing campaign contributions to hide his mistress. Their news is that Free Libya forces have used light arms and sheer guts to fight off Qaddafi’s tanks.

Cole does an excellent job detailing the striking differences between the Western and Arab worlds, but his work ends there. Never does he mention the mechanism behind the madness, detailing the way nonsense stories are used to intentionally to keep the majority of the Western population distracted and misinformed.

Still, it’s a well documented article worth exploring.

Weiner, Anthony Weiner

Monday, June 6th, 2011

So he DID send some lewd photos at one point! Wow. During the many interviews about the infamous crotch-shot, Weiner alluded to having taken risque photos in the past.

Perfect. Just perfect. This Weiner story should serve as an excellent distraction from the real important stuff, like:

  • open-ended wars in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan
  • the global repercussions of an imploding US economy
  • a widening gap between the uber-rich and the rest of us

Great to see mainstream journalism doing what it does best: creating a smokescreen to keep the majority of the population from really seeing what is going on.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m being sarcastic. It isn’t good for people to be misinformed or uninformed, since democracy depends upon an well informed public.

Fortunately, an awakening is taking place. The mainstream media is fast losing it’s grip over the minds of humankind. The world and it’s people are coming alive like never before.

Oh, btw, most of what Anthony Weiner has said or done gets my support.