a-progressive-regression

writing and talking

Stenography

Stenographers perform a wonderful role in our courts. They record, precisely or as best they can, the words spoken by judges, council, witnesses and the accused. There is no "jurisprudence" without them. The Magna Carta is moot without them. Judicial stenographers facilitate the society to which the "west" aspires.

The term "stenographer" has recently been applied to journalists working in large media organisations, corporate or government funded. This is indicative of redefinition. As a cadet reporter, that is what you do. Report on events with date/times, names, a summary and *what people said* to partially validate your summary but also give context to the "event". How is this "wrong"? It is not. Its is basic reporting.

Journo Cadets

There are almost no cadets. "Journalism" has been incorporated, in the USA, into their pay-for-play tertiary education system. The legends who grew up in the "cadet" system, Seymour Hersh (USA), John Pilger (Aus), I.F Stone (USA), Wilfred Burchett (Aus) and a good phalanx more, cannot evolve in the new system for "journalists". The mentors were replaced a generation and a half ago by those embracing the "new journalism" as defined in the halls of academe and enforced by nervous editors. Its a covert topic censorship mechanism. See Operation Mockingbird and Manufacturing Consent for background. Hats off to the covert intel people; long play, very successful. “When everyone believes silly we’re good”; a paraphrase for the paraphrasing sake.

With this influence, first through financial apparati on the media, and then back into the academic training infrastructure, a slow but decades long influence has been established. The intel people have always been there at the "leading" universities (Hi, Skull and Bones); that is their recruitment ground. How to influence academic grants and grunts?

Which are the dominant sectors of influence on foreign policy to control? I know not the answer, and it changes over time, but I am dead certain that the USA military intel leadership have been asking this question repeatedly. Would the "Think Tanks" be useful? Who funds them? Is there external funding? Who controls external funding? Hmmm.

The biggest problem seems to be the Congress; too many people! No. There is a power structure there too, with which one can ally. Thank you Citizens United! Running drugs from Colombia is always useful for killing people in the tens of thousands to stop socialist governments in central America, but Iran-Contra was such a bummer. What is the Boland Amendment anyway? How about Drugs-for-Congress?

President Eisenhower in his final address did identify the risk of "untoward influence" by the military industrial (congressional) complex. 60 years later, the line is not tired.

Security Blanket

Back-filling a McGovern MICIMATT.

If you want to really get serious, look at private banking and Jekyll Island.

A few sources

Sy Hersh. He trained himself to read upside down. But, the “we cant make money out of traffic” publishers have (two of them) decided that you need to give up your gonads to read their reporter’s writings. Well. Your choice. His last years reporting were in the London Review of Books, and then a German publisher, which should tell you something.

John Pilger. Straight up, the shitfuckery of Vietnam.

I. F. Stone, Iconoclast of Journalism, Is Dead at 81, Peter B. Flint, New York Times, 1989-06-19

My barge pole is retreating. Interesting how terms move in time. Stone is now the “for-father” of independent journalism, not some outcast iconoclast, Flint.

The Outsiders: Wilfred Burchett, John Pilger, (his website), (no publication date)