There is usually a little problem in noting themes worthy of comment on any day: they jump out from the morning's news agenda and the wide variety of news that I receive by email, Twitter, and other sources.
This morning, those sources are largely moribund. I think we have finally hit midsummer, when politics goes to rest.
Except it doesn't, does it?
There is still a genocide going on in Gaza.
There is a war in Ukraine.
Around the world, the planet is burning.
And in the UK, no one is really talking about tackling the real political issues we face.
Labour has no obvious plans to talk about addressing inequality, an yet doing so is vital.
Nor is Labour apparently changing its narrative on migrants coming to the UK to stress that they are welcome, almost entirely legally here from the moment they arrive, and usually become so not long afterwards in the cases when that is initially in doubt, and that they add enormously to our society.
Poverty remains real for millions.
Many other forms of discrimination remain rampant.
Far too many are working in insecure jobs.
Grim housing is to be seen almost everywhere.
People are still on waiting lists.
And the news concentrates on the likely death of an exceptionally rich man whose yacht sank, which is, of course, profoundly unfortunate and appropriate to report, but which fact also just highlights that we don't talk about those dying by the day in the Mediterranean as they seek refugee status, and who are treated so very differently.
Life is going on. It does, whether politicians are available to talk about it, or not, and they do not seem to be this week. And what would really matter is if they could address these issues of concern.
What matters is not balancing budgets - because they never do.
What matters are not arbitrary targets, because they can always be changed.
What matters is that people are living without the protection, care, support, security, income, education, healthcare and economic and social justice they need to believe that they are included in the world of politics that excludes them so often, which fact is more obvious when the politicians shut up for a moment.
On a morning when there is so little news, it's worth recalling that.
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The front pages of today’s newspapers are summarised by the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy3e550839o
You are absolutely right, the papers have nearly all chosen to report on first-world problems.
For a hint at what may really be going on in the world, I can recommend this YouTube video I watched last night:
“On Intelligence Services, Corporate Media & Propaganda | Ash Sarkar meets Matt Kennard”
https://youtu.be/ig-ARHqXVxw?si=K2SJ82Pn5i4m63mj
Thanks
That is very frightening – should be over the top conspiracy theory – but so much of it rings true. He quotes chapter and verse.
CIA and associated secret institutions exercising U.S. power across the globe.
He does imply that despite all this, there may still be scope for popular resistance – as when Starmers Labour collapses…
According to UNHCR figures there were over 1,000 confirmed deaths and a further 2,000+ missing from known (migrant and refugee) boat incidents, in the Mediterranean, last year. I don’t recall any of those dominating the news.
Me neither
Thank you for an insightful. article.
Alas, Main Stream News seems to be a form of excessively manipulative entertainment to serve the whims and purposes of powerful groups, usually to the cost of the general regular community.
« News is what someone doesn’t want printed or broadcast; all else is advertising. » (From Randolph Hearst)
Some of the independent media have more news and low. to nil diversion and misinformation quotients.
Why would you allow the rich to own or control your mainstream media in a sane society? Of course they are going to avoid focussing on issues of inequity in societies! The British slumber on in this regard!
Just shared this on Blue Sky https://bsky.social/about
Thanks
And there is unlawful price gouging going on
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c204p7nrzrro
The public disorder has died down (although I fear that is a fire that is not entirely extinguished and could flare up given the chance) but we have an ongoing crisis in the criminal justice system.
The number of people in UK prisons was around 40,000 until the late 1990s. It is now over 80,000, and approaching 100,000. The rate of imprisonment is significantly greater than the European average (although some way behind the US). Why?
There always appear to be plenty of heavily armed paramilitary style police standing around in Westminster and Whitehall, but elsewhere the police simply ignore many crimes. Not just burglary and theft – where you will be given a crime number and routinely told nothing can be done for lack of evidence, often because no effort is made to find any. The percentages of sexual assaults and rapes that lead to charges let alone convictions are awfully low. Like hospitals, the courts are literally falling apart. And god help you if you find yourself accused of a crime and need legal advice and assistance. Legal aid is virtually non existent. Even if you are acquitted you won’t recover all of your costs.
A great deal to agree with
The silly season has come late.
The planned agit prop summer ‘race’ riots didn’t materialise.
Supported by wholly owned Collective Wests leadership and mass and social media platforms, against the wishes to its own citizens.
Violence that was promoted didn’t materialise because the majority of locals turned out to not let our neighbourhoods be turned into riots.
London DID NOT Burn.
London is NOT burning.
That is us , the many, who are resisting the furtherance of Fascism .
Through Fear and Loathing
Us The Many and who oppose the escalation of further War.
A war that is being daily more escalated as the Few, now Labour FO and MoD form an unprecedented overt collaboration, as the Collective Wests ‘leaders’ in its existential campaigns across the world.
They do that because of the US election cycle which stops both their bought ziofascist owned political parties from leading the charge, because even the most deluded voters wont buy war above domestic issues.
Just because it is not in the news it doesn’t mean there is none.
For those of us who have eschewed the Narratives of the Mass Media and their Propaganda Multipliers and state control of such through government set up and run spooky warmongers. – institute of Statecraft, integrity initiative and its military troll operation the 77th Brigade .. the Hasbarats Big Brother messaging telling us who to hate daily. The controlled journalists, Mockingbirds, that will NEVER admit their true allegiances as State Actors for Global Imperialist Actors.
They have no reverse gear – no U-turn – the unipolar Rules based world order and all their plans for the control and ‘management’ of the billions of humanity and the earths resources are falling apart. All the new pseudo religious pseudo scientific bs is not sticking to the walls (our perceptions) anymore.
The Multipolar has formed and it is finally bringing to an end the unipolar collective West imperialism after centuries. Including the most important weapon- financial control. They are the 85% of humanity.
The failed riots in the U.K. – the narratives manufactured to go with that -more prisoners, more prisons, more laws against protest, laws against dissent, against free speech and alternative world views; so now they have resorted to the always reliable modern hybrid Opium of the People to distract us – the start of the Football Season already!
Oh and look ! There is a Monkey Pox to launch – more Fear and Loathing.
Monkey as in from Borrell’s ‘Jungle’ and our ‘Garden’ the golden billion, Agenda 2030 … the Collective Waste.
Fascism only works by dividing and ruling the masses.
This is a psychological war that is waged directly into our daily lives and perceptions.
We have to pick which side we want to win. The old Anglo Euro centric or the new polycentric?
That’s the news.
Now that is interesting.
I believe it was Polanyi who really promoted ‘polycentrism’, highly decentralised and localised systems in the 1940s in his fundamental disagreements with Hayek, in Mont Pelerin.
This then ties in with ‘localisation’ and the social ecology movement.
Of course it is the Scandi social democracies which are the most devolved with local government through their municipalities.
In urban terms, the ‘urban village’ concepts have been revitalised somewhat with the “15 minute city” model of decentralisation, that Bookchin had promoted 30 years earlier.
Think Global Act Local.
Thank you and well said, DG and Tony.
Westerners are being done a disservice by MSM ignorance of and propaganda about developments outside. It’s not just multipolarity, but a rejection of western ideas on the role of the state, governance, technology (so freeing itself of the US military industrial ecosystem) and for whom the state serves. I add that western identity politics is also being rejected.
Thank you and well said, Richard.
It also allows politicians to let this sort of looting go on, https://www.politico.eu/article/tony-blairs-ai-mania-sweeps-britains-new-government/.
“And in the UK, no one is really talking about tackling the real political issues we face.”
If the politicians and news media will not talk about the failure BREXIT with its problems to the UK economy, what makes one think they would talk about Ukraine, Middle East ongoing genocide and climate change disasters.
The news media wants to talk about and concentrate on the likely death of an exceptionally rich man whose yacht sank and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The problem is the news media feeding the public with “click-bait” stories. I can understand the Daily Fail but The Times and The Telegraph have sank to new lows in their efforts to compete against the Daily Fail.
The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and New York times has no desire to compete with The National Inquirer and The Star.
Thank you.
I can’t / won’t comment about the US media.
With regard to the UK, the neoliberal and neocon Grauniad is little better than the Times and Torygraph in its click baiting and milking of readers.
Please feel free to comment on the US media. I am very interested in what non-Yanks about anything having to do with the USA.
This why I come here.
Or should I say, come back here – as its the best news available – talking about the things too often seldom said.
I’ve even stopped getting Byline Times – it just does not seem to dig deep enough for me into our issues.
I admit I am finding Bylines frustrating
Some Byline stories are good and some are not.
I dropped my subscription when they increased the rate to get inside the paywall.
Thank you, PSR and Richard.
The money and personalities behind Bylines do not want to.
In plain sight
for anyone who wants to look?
Iceberg! Schmeisberg! the Titanic is unsinkable, right?
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/08/all-the-devils-from-2008-are-back-at-the-megabanks-leverage-off-balance-sheet-debt-over-192-trillion-in-derivatives-shaky-capital-levels/
Just another one of those conspiracy theories, eh?
The system is shaking….fintech is capable of bringing it down
Bail-in ahoy?
DO NOT remove your seat belt.
Starting on 06 November 2024 every Republican who wants to be the Republican Presidential nominee in 2028 will start “politicking” like their is no tomorrow. What do you think J.D. Vance is doing now?