"The more one watches or reads the news, the less one knows".

Too right. That's reflected here, every day, by posters and their addiction to references from the media as if the words of the scribblers were written in stone and undeniable. I wish it was true that "People have turned off the news much like they've turned off cinema, cricket or Rugby League", and it might be so in the general population; but a lot of the waffle here is still repetition of MSM bias and misinformation.

The MSM is just an arm of the fear-mongering control freaks calling themselves politicians. I would like to believe Malcom King when he says,"Trust in politicians, financial institutions, the media …." is at an all time low; but the fact that people are still voting for the same arseholes, and listening to and quoting the same media idiocy seems to belie the claim. But his final sentence, "The barbarians are on the loose and they are us", sheets home the blame for everything that is wrong to where it belongs.

The problem is the missing elements integrity, honour, and upholding the truth! And leadership!

Evil craves power like an addict craves his/her addiction.

When a crime boss wins the highest office in the land? The first casualties are the truth and freedom of the press!

And until there are real consequences for the perps, this becomes the new normal! As an ever downward spiral!

We the people need to take the blinders off and use what power we have, at the ballot bo to change this by changing those who allow it to happen on their watch!

I'd start with a bill of irrevocable rights! Which must guarantee freedom of expression and the freedom of the press to report items of public interest/ official corruption, etc-etc.

I'd also want most if not all assertions of official wrongdoing, tested with unbeatable space age lie detection, i.e., proof!
Alan B.

Methinks Malcolm is just letting off steam - a middle aged realisation that people choose what they think from the many sources available to them.

Since Cave Man Mach 1 we've always had many info sources/influences.

Today is not worse than the bad old days of:

- class based society,
- sackings without redress,
- 5 year olds working in factories
- rape in marriage
- pedo priests since AD 1
- the institution of "housewives" prevented from working

- WWI
- the 1930s Depression with kids starving here in Oz
- WWII
- Cold War fear of nuclear incineration + fear of Communism

- feelings of depression caused by the psychological pressure of Covid

The world's not worse Malcolm, just constantly changing.

You're just getting, older, "wiser", more pessimistic and more pissed-off Malcolm and also Covid is not helping.

Pete

A puerile post by Plantagenet, which proves my point that people have drifted away from the public domain and resort to anti-logic and reductionism to bat away research. According to his logic, any story here or elsewhere can be reduced to the fact that we're all getting older.

Interesting, plus one observes how many people put media and politics on a pedestal of belief through their emotions and heart strings being pulled, while avoiding thier head, analysis and personal responsibility.

Quite prescient is the analysis of several people, not just Chomski's 'Manufacturing Consent' but scrutiny round Edward Bernays the founder of PR, Marshall McLuhan 'the medium is the message' (changing how we think?), Neil Postman 'Amusing ourselves to Death' with predictions on -ve impacts of technology and Adam Curtis 'Century of the Self', have all warned of how people or voters, are being manipulated and conditioned for consumer and political objectives, while being blissfully unaware.