I offer this link as an excellent summary of what has aptly
been described as Neo-McCarthyism. The current climate is a strange one and
while the Establishment media has always played fast and loose with the truth
there are seasons in which the lies seem to be pervasive, dominant, oppressive
and overbearing.
It's a dangerous period and one of great mistrust. People
fear speaking out, they fear damaging their careers and self-censorship ends up
doing as much harm as the real thing. It would seem the clampdown is
intensifying and the persecution of RT (Russia Today) not only sends up some
warning flags it also ends up exposing other erstwhile advocates of 'human
rights'.
For years there have been journalists writing about the
corruption and appropriation of various non-profit and humanitarian NGO's by
the Establishment. They have been infiltrated and controlled by both agents and
money. Once ostensibly neutral they increasingly represent the concerns and
values of the Establishment. Some are even all but advocating the militaristic
policies of the United States... calling attention to crimes that support the
US narrative while falling silent on other occasions.... ones that just happen
to gel very nicely with the Establishment agenda. This is especially true in
the realm of foreign policy. In some cases (as in Syria) they have collaborated
and colluded with US propaganda and have all but called for military
intervention.
The signal for this shift actually took place in the 1990s
with the advent of so-called Humanitarian Wars. It was a new paradigm for the
post-Cold War period. Since it was the humanitarian NGO's which would call
attention to the deeds and report on the misdeeds it was important to control them.
It took some time and the control is not absolute, but it doesn't have to be.
The same is true of the media.
But if we are entering a period of McCarthyism and if indeed
one of the larger agenda goals of the War on Terror 2.0 is to clampdown on the
Internet then we had better enjoy and utilise our present freedoms because we
may look back at the first decade or so of the 2000's as a golden age long
gone.
Domo arigato Mr. Roboto
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