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Comment on the Commentators - Propaganda in Our Times

Harold Hamlet | 16.12.2007 08:16

This is comment on the commentators: comment on propaganda in the Sunday Papers. This week, in this ocassional series, we (that´s me and Lulu) look at Henry Porters column, in todays Observer:, Tiltled :"At last the great divide is coming into focus:It's not left versus right that matters any more. The real division is between authority and personal liberty" - Henry Porter: Sunday 16/12, 2007 The Observer:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2228437,00.html



Henry Porter writes a piece in his column in his column today the Obsever tittled:
"At last the great divide is coming into focus: It's not left versus right that matters any more. The real division is between authority and personal liberty". It might be as well to read Henry´s column first, if you really have nothing better to do. I did but it´s raining outside now.

However, Henry is only looking at the divion on the right-wing.

(I could stop there, that should be enough, but let me explain, or waffle on a bit because I have too much free time on my hands this morning: it being raining quite heavily means I wont take Lulu (our dog) out this morning for a run-out in the campo; hence I am left with time on my hands. Ok. )

The neoliberal elite and its supporters in the mainstream media, which as a matter of policy reinforces the neoliberal elites propaganda systems, would have us believe that left and right, as it used to be known as, doesn´t exist any more. Perhaps the next step in the right-wing surge will be to remove tte words: Socialism, Anti-authortarianism and Anachism out from students dictionary.

You do seriously have to wonder whether they really dont know that they are on another planet, or that they dont know that their propanda has become so, well, absolutely ridiculous This certainly appears to be the range of the political spectrum that is discussed in todays intellectual neoliberal society: From Right-wing liberatarians, including Henry, at the left goalpost, to the neoliberal facist, like Dick Cheny, at the right goalpost with the Jack Straw playing the Polly Toynbee looking a bit lost in the middle wondering which side they are on.

Anything outside this spectrum is terrorism, dictatatorship or just very confuseed self.centrered egotistic people, as a David Aaronovitch might write in his column about the 2 million people who marched against the war in Iraq. This view is popularised through propaganda by the tabloid and TV news media in a more simplifird form.

In reality it is the neoliberals they that are creeping towards fascism and the dictatatorship of money and the corporate elite controlled state and they who support the worlds most prolific terrorists.

Sometimes you wonder that they are just stupìd and dont realise it. But it would be foolish to underestimate the class enemy,: they really do know which side their bread is buttered on, and will choose the fascist over the socialist if the time were to come.

"It's not left versus right that matters any more." Writes Henry above.

Wha t Henry! South America ... Hugo Chavez , Zapastistas, and so on.. The real left does exist, old boy. (QED)

The political, economic and security elites are worried. They don´t have a clue what´s happening on the real left ... but they really fear it, and what it might do. It had the ability to mobilise 2 million against the invasion of Iraq, which really did scare them, and the commentators went on overtime to discredit them. The commentators who help keep the propganda bubble inflated may even be unaware of what they are doing, being so indoctrinated into the the propaganda system that they support, as Noam Chomsky has explained and made so absolutely crystal clear.

They were so far from reality that they just couldn´t accept what was happenning. That´s where you and the likes of David Aaronovitch, Polly Toynbee, and polititions like Clare Short, Jack Straw, are, on another planet really, hand in hand with the neoliberals on the steady march to facism. Of course if a form of non-authoritarian socialism were to make a significant impact on Brtiish politics, the cries of dictatorship, totalitarianism, and so on. would be heard .. just like what has been shouted at Chavez, and so evidently has wrung hollow..

Not long after Blair came to power, left leaning commentators and politicians continued the rightwards political journey they usualy make after getting a well paid job and power, and finally started to say that that left and right didn´t exist anymore. They would, wouldn´t they, to justify their right-ward surge. These former "lefts" have moved so far now that they are "worrying" neoliberal libertarians like Henry.

Glancing to the right, they see see the neoliberal fascists and glancing to the left the neoliberal libertarian. However, they probably dont even realise thay they are caught between them, together all, marching forwards towards neoliberal fascism. Sometimes holding even hands, like Blair and Bush. What they all fear is socialism and or some form of non-authoritarian system though would take away their power and priviledge.


The truth is we now have the libertarian right, and the neo conservative fascist right.


Just to show how far from reality and the truth Henry and the neoliberal elite are, here´s an article of his observer column observerver 4 years ago. The left did exist then, I think. But who knows what left Henry is talking about?

"The Right has the might - but it's not invincible

The Left must learn how to take on the triumphant neo-conservatives

Henry Porter
Sunday April 27, 2003
The Observer


" A few days before America and Britain attacked Iraq, the cover of Amnesty International's membership magazine suggested that the human cost of war might be 50,000 deaths, 500,000 civilian injuries, two million refugees and displaced people and 10 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
Amnesty was wildly wrong on the figures but maybe also in its stance. Now that the stories of the extensive cruelty of Saddam's security forces are being heard in full, an organisation that is devoted to the eradication of torture must wonder about the wisdom of a position that effectively argued for the continuation of a regime which practised torture like no other. As of this moment the torture chambers are empty, the executions have stopped and people are no longer losing their ears, eyes and tongues in routine mutilations. Surely that is the only result the charity could have hoped for.


Ten days ago The Wall Street Journal - a favourite outlet for neo-conservatives - published an editorial that pointed out the lamentable track record of the Left's prewar predictions. The Arab street did not rise; the Turks did not invade northern Iraq; and the war did not involve Israel. It then quoted one of its own columnists, Robert Bartley, who wrote that today's Left 'had become a self-insulated elite convinced of its own virtue'.

It's difficult to argue with that. Since Baghdad fell there has been very little movement on the Left to absorb and respond to events. Commentators who got it wrong are busy converting their vision of catastrophe to include an uprising of the Shia. They still insist on the general evil of the United States and remain rooted in arguments they obtained in the early part of this year, without adapting to the catalysing effect of the neo-con triumph."

Completely wrong, contadictory, confused .. are some of the phrases that come to mind. But behind it all there´s fear and cowardice. The fear and confusion of the elites, hidden behind a fig leaf of false confidence. This makes them really dangerous, but weak when you stand up to them.

Harold Hamlet
- e-mail: harold.hamlet@virgin.net

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  1. Love me; love my dogma — Class Enemy
  2. Arrrh! Cantona! — Oooohhhh