hootgallery - steve fitz
The Real Threat to Democracy
By Stephen Fitzgerald
Updated 5th December 2020
Making Sense of the World
As the sun rose on Extinction Rebellion’s newspaper blockade Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused XR of committing the anti-democratic act of preventing the British public’s access to the free press... Smells like something straight out of the conservative politicians handbook: "Accuse others of doing what you are doing to divert attention away from yourself and, as a bonus, create social division.
In a pantomime of irony, the Council of Europe just issued a formal warning (a ‘Level 2 media freedom alert’, no less) to the UK government for blacklisting investigative journalists that it didn’t like. This came just hours before Boris saddled up his high horse to very seriously lecture XR on their ‘completely unacceptable’ attack on democracy?
MURDOCH ENTWINED WITH THE RULING ELITE
Here are some things that XR also consider 'completely unacceptable': six billionaires control Britain’s ‘free' press; Murdoch’s empire contributes, in the words of one of its own senior execs, to 'the spread of climate change denial and lies'. With the M-bomb himself entwined with the ruling elite and, International Affairs Analyst Stan Grant, in his article, 'The tyranny of merit' sums it up nicely: Elitist control of society, and their political front men, are the real threat to the planet, mankind and democracy.
Disturbingly, the Murdoch mouthpiece masquerading as journalism have met with the government 206 times in the last two years to entrench the ruling elites control of what is a democracy in name only. "Something as small as a fly on the wall could start a revolution" - Sing along to the bouncing ball... Oh, and that every single PM in office since Thatcher has been Murdoch-backed. Questioning the oligarchic choke-hold on our press and subsequently the country, Mr Johnson, is not an attack but, a defence of democracy! Not that you care, and why would you, because you are part of the problem Mr Johnson.
Murdoch’s one sided media coverage goes half way towards censorship but, as pointed out, all the way towards undermining democracy. In the land of OZ he goes one step further. Every government backed by Murdoch not only attacks investigative journalism but also cuts funding and hollows out our independent national broadcaster, the ABC. They even pull in their own militia, 'the Australian Federal Police', to attack and threaten journalists. With Scott Morrison playing to Murdoch's tune.
QUIT THE BULLSHIT - TELL THE TRUTH
In protest at Murdoch's climate denial, propaganda and political manipulation, Sydney climate protesters, take a less subtle approach to their British counterparts and, get extremely literal. By dumping ‘Bullshit’ at Murdoch's News Corp office forcing executives to step over MANURE to get to work. You gotta love it... Check out this powerful 1min video of the action!
11th October 2020 - Previous Labor PM Kevin Rudd points out that the Murdoch media monopoly is a cancer on Australian democracy as Murdoch's son James exposes his fathers hidden agenda. The fact is that in the three mature English-speaking democracies where Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has a dominant presence – the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia – politics are deeply polarised and conducted with a toxicity and dishonesty that is harmful to the public good.
PETITION AGAINST MEDIA MONOPOLY
Here’s the question for a News Corp commission of inquiry: Is it still a news company? Help in the fight for free and honest reporting: sign the Petition EN1938 - Calling for a Royal Commission to ensure a strong, diverse Australian news media. There were 227107 signatures as at 12:30pm 14th October 2020 just 3 days after it was announced by Kevin Rudd. By the closing date 4th November 2020 it was heading towards half a million.
In relation to this petition: half a million Australians sign royal commission petition into Murdoch's media monopoly with the relationship between Morrison's Coalition Government and News Corp to be scrutinised as reported on SBS. With Australian parliament to probe Rupert Murdoch’s media dominance reported on Aljazeera.
Murdoch's News Corp is now essentially political propaganda
By Michael Vincent - 7.30
17th November 2020
The former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has joined former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd in backing a petition for a royal commission into media diversity and the role of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which they both believe is a malevolent force in Australian politics with current Liberal PM Scott Morrison cleaving very closely to the Murdoch agenda...Read more
The best solution, if you wish to avoid Murdoch's propaganda and brain-washing, is to question what you're fed or simply switch him off: News Corp, Sky News Australia, Fox News, The Australian, The Telegraph, The Herald Sun, The Courier-Mail, The Sunday Mail, The Mercury, The Advertiser...Read more
Ex-PMs unite in Australia in bid to curb power of Murdoch empire
Vanessa Thorpe and Amanda Meade - The Guardian
23rd November 2020
Both argue that News Corp Australia has become the propaganda arm of the right-wing Liberal government. There is a kind of revolving door between Murdoch’s businesses and the Australian government at the moment. The crucial element is the mobilisation of tech industry leaders, already poised to invest in green energy and infrastructure: “That is the locus". It is a big power base with lots of money, but it is blocked by the conservatives and Murdoch's hostility towards combating the climate crisis...Read more
News Corp has been rattled and scared by Rudd and Turnbull
Bernard Keane - Crikey
5th December 2020
After being monstered by Turnbull over his role in News Corp’s climate denialism, the company's senior Australian political journalist Paul Kelly confirms that Murdoch and Scott Morrison are working as a team. According to Kelly, The Australian, News Corp’s tabloids, its remaining regional papers and Sky News are in effect propagandists for the Coalition. That’s the “working rule”...Read more
As Prime Minister Scott Morrison and treasurer Josh Frydenberg bill Australian taxpayers for a private jet to Lachlan Murdoch's Christmas party and exclaim - "There's nothing to see here".
Well fuck hey! The country is being run by people with a personal agenda. How can that possibly be good for democracy and day to day Australians? As we become more aware of how the world operates, and after the pandemic, we need to once again focus on who and what drives the climate emergency and environmental crisis unfolding across the planet and, collectively, how to manage that. At the same time we can shore up our democracy.
This Guide: Emergency on Planet Earth 'tells the truth' about what’s happening, why, and what we can do about global warming. If you have any concern, at all, about the future of society and your own family please run through the table of contents and browse the topics that interests you.
Donating their time freely and fighting to protect your future - About: Extinction Rebellion
