What do you know ? | The daily blog

“In times of war or crisis, power is easily stolen from the many by the few on the promise of security. The more elusive or imaginary the enemy, the better it is for manufacturing consent.
– Ronald Wright, A Brief History of Progress

youUntil recently, few New Zealanders knew Ukraine or could even name its capital, let alone find it on a map. But now most New Zealanders seem to know who is responsible for the war that broke out in Ukraine, and it’s Vladimir Putin and he’s evil, because the media says so.

Few New Zealanders know anything about Ukraine’s recent history or that the United States poured billions into Ukraine to manipulate the overthrow of its democratically elected government, and that recorded evidence of its interference has summer available online since 2014, but they know Putin is bad, because that’s what the media told them.

Few Kiwis are aware of Russia’s concerns that Ukraine’s NATO membership had the potential to place US missiles on the Russian border and that’s why Russia opposed it. But they know Putin is bad, because that’s what the media told them.

Few New Zealanders are aware of the Minsk Accords which included constitutional reform in Ukraine and limited autonomy for its Russian-speaking secessionist regions. But they know Putin is bad because that’s what the media told them.

And few New Zealanders know that Crimea, unilaterally ceded to Ukraine by Khrushchev in 1954, is home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and as such Crimea will never remain Ukrainian territory once ‘she aligned with the United States and NATO, But they know Putin ‘illegally seized’ Crimea, because that’s what the media told them

And few New Zealanders know that when the USSR was dissolved and its component states became independent, Russia was solemnly promised that NATO would not come an inch closer to Russia. But they know Putin is bad, because that’s what the media told them.

Few New Zealanders even consider that with the dissolution of the USSR and with it the Warsaw Pact, NATO lost its raison d’être, because the supposed communist threat evaporated, or that since then NATO has in fact almost doubled in size. But they know Putin is a violent aggressor, because that’s what the media told them.

Few New Zealanders know anything about Ukraine’s World War II collaboration with the Nazis in war crimes, or that many of its people are proud of those Nazi ties and that the units of his army still bear the names of these units and still march under their banners. But they know Putin is bad because that’s what the media told them.

Few New Zealanders who today condemn Russia’s attack on Crimea have in recent years uttered a single word of protest against attacks by the United States and its various allies on Iraq, Gaza, Libya, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yugoslavia, Syria, Somalia, Laos, Chile, Cambodia or Vietnam, to name a few, and not to mention its responsibility for the global refugee crisis. But they know that Russia and China are brutal imperialist aggressors, because that’s what the media has told them.

And few New Zealanders know that their consent to any action the United States deems appropriate, to prevent Russia or China from realizing their enormous potential, and thereby threaten American supremacy, is constantly fabricated, and they don’t know because the media don’t know about it. I don’t want them to know.

“You really have no idea how human bees will swarm to the beat of any old pewter kettle: therein lies the complete manual for governing them. When you can make them believe that the kettle can be made of precious metals, therein lies all the power of men (over men)…..”

Charles Dickens – quote taken from another blog on this site