One of the most original and provocative books of the past decade is Disciplined Minds by Jeff Schmidt.
鈥淎 critical look at salaried professionals,鈥 says the cover, 鈥渁nd the soul-battering system that shapes their lives.鈥
Its theme is postmodern America. But it also applies to Britain, where the corporate state has bred a new class of Americanised manager to run the private and public sectors: the banks, the main parties, corporations, important committees, the BBC.
John Pilger
received the following open letter from indpendent filmmaker and journalist John Pilger reporting very disturbing events in progress. Visit www.johnpilger.com for more of Pilger's work.
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Dear Noam...
The illegal eavesdropping on famous people by the Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid News of the World is said to be Murdoch鈥檚 Watergate. But is it the crime by which Murdoch ought to be known?
In his native land, Australia, Murdoch controls 70% of the capital city press. Australia is the world鈥檚 first 鈥渕urdochracy鈥, in which smear by media is power.
The most enduring and insidious Murdoch campaign has been against the Aboriginal people, who were dispossessed by the arrival of the British in the late 18th century and have never been allowed to recover.
The Euro-US attack on Libya has nothing to do with protecting anyone; only the terminally naive believe such nonsense.
It is the West鈥檚 response to popular uprisings in strategic, resource-rich regions of the world and the beginning of a war of attrition against the new imperial rival, China.
US President Barack Obama鈥檚 historical distinction is now guaranteed. He is the US鈥檚 first black president to invade Africa.
The public forum 鈥淏reaking Australia's silence: WikiLeaks and freedom鈥 took place on March 16 at Sydney Town Hall. More than 2000 people attended. The event was staged by the Sydney Peace Foundation, Amnesty, the Sydney Stop the War Coalition, and supported by the City of Sydney.
When you fly over the earth鈥檚 oldest land mass, Australia, the view can be shocking.聽Scars as long as European countries are the result of erosion. Salt pans shimmer where once native vegetation grew. This is almost impossible to reverse.
In the US Army manual on counterinsurgency, the American commander General David Petraeus describes Afghanistan as a 鈥渨ar of perception... conducted continuously using the news media鈥. What really matters is not so much the day-to-day battles against the Taliban as the way the adventure is sold in America where 鈥渢he media directly influence the attitude of key audiences鈥.
Reading this, I was reminded of the Venezuelan general who led a coup against the democratic government in 2002. 鈥淲e had a secret weapon,鈥 he boasted. 鈥淲e had the media, especially TV. You got to have the media.鈥
鈥淩ise like lions after slumber/In unvanquishable number!/Shake your chains to earth, like dew/Which in sleep had fall鈥檔 on you/Ye are many 鈥攖hey are few.鈥
These days, the stirring lines of Percy Shelley鈥檚 鈥淢ask of Anarchy鈥 from 1819 may seem unattainable. I don鈥檛 think so.
Shelley was both a Romantic and political truth-teller. His words resonate now because only one political course is left to those who are disenfranchised and whose ruin is announced on a British government spreadsheet.
The rescue of 33 miners in Chile on October 14 is an extraordinary drama filled with pathos and heroism. It is also a media windfall for the Chilean government, whose every beneficence is recorded by a forest of cameras.
One cannot fail to be impressed. However, like all great media events, it is a facade.
The accident that trapped the miners is not unusual in Chile and the inevitable consequence of a ruthless economic system that has barely changed since the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.
The rescue of 33 miners in Chile is an extraordinary drama filled with pathos and heroism. It is also a media windfall for the Chilean government, whose every beneficence is recorded by a forest of cameras. One cannot fail to be impressed. However, like all great media events, it is a facade. The accident that trapped the miners is not unusual in Chile and is the inevitable consequence of a ruthless economic system that has barely changed since the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Copper is Chile's gold, and the frequency of mining disasters keeps pace with prices and profits.
Britain is said to be approaching its Berlusconi Moment. That is to say, if Rupert Murdoch wins control of Sky, he will command half Britain鈥檚 television and newspaper market and threaten what is known as public service broadcasting.
Although the alarm is ringing, it is unlikely that any government will stop him while his court is packed with politicians of all parties.
The problem with this and other Murdoch scares is that, while one cannot doubt their gravity, they deflect from an unrecognised and more insidious threat to honest information.
The year before England won the 1966 World Cup, I interviewed its captain, Bobby Moore. Having not long arrived in England from the antipodes, where 鈥渟occer鈥 was a minority sport beloved by Italians and Croats, I did not have a clue about the game.
Nevertheless, I had been assigned to write a 鈥渉uman interest鈥 piece on the West Ham star by the same convivial assistant editor who had hired me believing I could play cricket, because I was Australian, and so assist the Daily Mirror team in its grudge match against the Express.
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