poliphilo: (Default)
poliphilo ([personal profile] poliphilo) wrote2011-07-14 09:30 am
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Dreamlike

There is something dreamlike about the defeat of Rupert Murdoch. A fortnight ago his tanks were on our lawn. Now they're gone. And it took so little to shift them.  

Once again we've seen what an illusory thing power is- how much it depends upon bluff. 
Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[identity profile] steepholm.livejournal.com 2011-07-14 08:53 am (UTC)(link)
A very apt thought for Bastille Day.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2011-07-14 08:58 am (UTC)(link)
A ca ira, ca ira, ca ira!

[identity profile] michaleen.livejournal.com 2011-07-14 01:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, it is rather dreamlike: first the "Arab Spring" and now this.

Events are moving rapidly here in the States, too. In case you haven't heard, the Republicans are threatening to deliberately crash the US economy, probably taking the world economy with it. Worse, it has emerged that Republican leadership is so weak, and their Teabilly caucus so divorced from reality, that they may not be able to avert the coming catastrophe, even if hostage negotiations result in a deal.

Ironically, and not too surprisingly, it was the supposed genius of Rupert Murdoch that brought us to this astounding state of affairs.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2011-07-14 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I understand there are moves afoot to have him investigated in the US for allegedly hacking the phones of 9/11 victims. And to think that only a fortnight ago he bestrode this narrow world like a colossus.

I keep asking what it would mean if the world economy crashed and no-one can tell me. I like to think we might rebuild it on saner lines.

[identity profile] michaleen.livejournal.com 2011-07-14 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Death and misery on a massive scale is my guess, followed by some good old fashioned looting and pillaging, with whatever powers that succeed in keeping the lights on, if any, feasting on whatever remains. The probable short to midterm consequences preclude the use of the word sane, in this context.

In personal and practical terms, I cannot see how the programs and services that support you and Ailz could survive such a crash intact.

Yes, I understand that there are anti-Murdoch noises over here, but I shall not be holding my breath. As one of the front-pagers at Balloon-Juice observed, there would be a rash of domestic terrorism if they so much as glanced sideways at the bastard's American media holdings. But mostly it would be just too good to be true, wouldn't it? A world without Fox News pumping hateful bullshit into this nation's political discourse, 24/7.

It really is hard to imagine, but perhaps one can should dream.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2011-07-14 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Economics is something that has always defeated me- anything to do with money, in fact.

It seems unlikely that a media empire as vast as Murdoch's could just crash, but it might well pass into other hands. Right now in Britain the Murdoch family are pariahs- and it's quite possible they may choose to sell all their UK holdings. Something similar could happen in the US I think.

[identity profile] michaleen.livejournal.com 2011-07-15 12:30 pm (UTC)(link)
I also have difficulty with money matters. For better or worse, such things simply fail to hold my attention.

The biggest issue here is Fox News Channel, the radicalized voice of the Republican party. While an obvious source of profit, its value as a propaganda mill in service to a definite political agenda is probably greater. It is difficult to see how FNC could continue in that role without Rupert's direct support.

[identity profile] poliphilo.livejournal.com 2011-07-15 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
If the News of the World can go down the drain (the best selling paper in the UK) then I doubt if Fox News- or anything else in the Murdoch empire- is safe. I understand the Feds have begun an investigation.

[identity profile] michaleen.livejournal.com 2011-07-16 11:10 am (UTC)(link)
Fox News has a rather cult-like following and that might be putting it mildly. Imagine the BNP representing about one in four Brits and having their own 'news' channel, one that caters exclusively to their unique fears and insecurities. That is as near an approximation as I can offer.

Not too long ago, Fox's top-rated host stated that President Obama had a, "deep hatred of white people", and suffered no consequences for his actions. Imagine the sort of paranoids that feast on such political sewage and then imagine how they might react if the one source of information reinforcing their world view should be threatened.
Flat | Top-Level Comments Only