News on the run
There have been hourly reports on an explosion in
North Korea for more than 24 hours at the time of this blog being written, but
apart from the obvious fact that there has been an explosion, and that a train
or trains were involved, have we any idea what has caused the blast, and how
many have died? Never mind, just make it up.
The first reports all quoted 3,000 dead, and
repeated this number for most of Friday 23rd April. But the evening news has a
Red Cross worker confirming 54 dead. Well, there will surely be more deaths
revealed, but how did the 3,000 dead find its way into the news reports? We have
also been told that a.) Two trains collided. b.) That one train was being
unloaded, and that there was contact with electrical wires, setting off the
dynamite being carried. (That's a hell of a lot of dynamite being carried, what
were they going to do with it? Attack the U.S.?) One report had one train
carrying ammonium nitrate, and the other diesel - the perfect mix for making
bombs. Just shows how simple bomb-making can be. All one has to do is slam a
wheel-barrow of ammonium nitrate into a wheelbarrow of diesel, and off she goes.
Of course we are also told repeatedly
that North Korea is notoriously secret, and have revealed next to nothing about
the cause of the explosion. The lack of facts won't prevent the story (any
story) being revealed, and its obviously more newsworthy to prattle on with up
to the minute reports, regardless of whether they contradict the last story,
return to the original, or pull numbers out of the air (or other news sources).
Just keep it coming, and let the facts eventually emerge. Better to put forward
dubious reports, than to admit they don't
know.
The media seems to have an
obsession for prattle, followed by a laboriously long process for eking out the
eventual facts (if ever). Thus, long after thousands have died in the debacle of
the Iraq invasion the merits of whether it was right to go to war are being
debated. Its not as if there will ever be a shortage of things to report after
all. The North Korean explosion has created numerous different versions of what
happened already, and that's just in 24 hours.
One must concede that the North Korean
episode is at least worthy of mention, which is more than can be said for the
frenzy of reports about Mark Latham's comments the day before. Apparently Bill
Clinton suggesting that young people ought to have availability to the internet,
some seven years ago, represents some kind of copyright, and if Latham wants to
say something original, he should say the
opposite.
The federal minister for
health, the treasurer, and the Prime Minister, with their dedication to the big
issues facing the nation, all made themselves available to comment on this
ground-breaking issue (leader of opposition echoes ex President Clinton's words)
without the slightest hint of any embarrassment, and in no time the Labor party
were able to point to numerous examples of Howard echoing Bush's words and
policies, and verbatim quotes from an U.S. publication. All a bit silly really,
but with the huge issues of war, terrorism and political credibility so vital to
the direction the world stumbles towards in the next few years, it is also a big
worry.
The www is an invaluable source
for insights into alternate views of world affairs. Thank goodness for its
availability, because what is fed to Joe Bloggs and his Missus via traditional
sources is scant rations. If they don't search the net, they get the potted view
of the instant newsaphiles. And they
vote.
Like throw away plastic bags,
goods designed to be superseded and replaced on a regular basis, and a
concentration on the now and the trivial, the news is a consumer product, and
any high moral aspirations by the best of the trade, are overwhelmed by the
tripe pumped out for the consumer. And like the other throw-away products, they
tax resources, and heavily pollute the
planet.
Perhaps, when history is
written, the truth comes out, but that is a bloody long time to
wait.
Posted: Thu - September 21, 2006 at 04:43 PM
