Yes, folks, you heard it here first. You probably could google all night long and not know that the May Day - Riots in Switzerland - Zurich, of all places, were disrupting our Perfect Consumer World. Apparently some plebeians or vassals were making their displeasure known. It seems that some were pissed at BMW - because many of those fine Bavarian autos went up in flames.
And how did I hear (read) about this riot? Well, I went looking over-seas for stories not covered in America. I was looking for evidence of nervousness regarding our government. But I did not expect this:
++ Mayday Switzerland:fire bomb attacks on banks, courts, police stations + +
Use the link. And, be patient, it may take a minute to load. Pictures speak volumes, and there are volumes of pictures.
The point of this diary is to call attention to something vexing for bloggers who have happily benefitted from being able to obtain some truth on the American internets. And, that is, that we may be getting snowed - AGAIN. What goes on in Europe or Africa is relevant today - and not just because the Euro is killing the dollar, or because people are dying in Darfur.
Let me tell you a story. This is a true story. I got a million like it.
It was back in the spring of 2001, just after I read a July NYT article raging against Saddam Hussein, when I came to think we were beating the drums for war. Then a very curious thing happened. Our NPR station, that had long-carried a PRI [Public Radio International] report, made by the nationals, in English, regarding conditions and issues in their countries, announced that it would no longer air these wonderful broadcasts. Understand, folks, that these broadcasts held a wealth of information and viewpoints of the reporters as well as their subject-views. These home-made - radio-roots - were telling us the truth of their daily lives. On from 1 am to 3 am where I live - I stayed up listening. Fascinated. Sometime horrified.
But, what?
Suddenly, my NPR affiliate announced that they would no longer be carrying the feeds. Some nonsensical explanation was offered. Something like, "due to the unavailablity of the expense of acquiring the show was cancelled." Total BS!
Obvious, BS. No more news on the Tamil Tigers... so much less from corners of the world that we are sold as vacation destinations. You know the rest.
And, so, when 9-11 happened, it. was. damn. it. expected.
The actual event has since sent me out gathering every bit of internet-history and archiving the bits that explain how obfuscation and re-direction work. What I have found is nasty. And we are in the thick of it.
So. Well, if there was ever a time for authority's use of obfuscation and redirection techniques, this moment would be premium. Bush is so backed into a corner that he's shooting from the hip [and by doing so actually sounds like he has some gravitas - although, the sticky, gooey kind].
No, things have changed. There is money on the ropes and blood-letting on the street very near us. Remember Kent State? Don't be a fool. And we'd better look for news and reflections on our character through media freer than ours is today, but which has actually been quashed for some time...
Peace be, and leave no stone unturned...
(or as we say on the Cape, and as politically incorrect as it may seem - because the damn things dive bomb you! But we are still eating up their dunes:
Leave no tern unstoned... especially when it is a lying, interned worshiped, manipulated.... turd blossom!