Russia
Today (RT)
(I'm
A Celebrity, Get Me Outta Here!)
Making
News
The
last thing a journalist or news network ever desires is to be in
the news.
Our task is to make the news – not to be a star (or
celebrity) in it (!)
That's exactly what happened to Russia Today
yesterday – but don't expect to be informed about it on the BBC,
Fox or Sky Television Networks.
Russia Today is part-funded by the Russian government
and is, for want of a better word, run lock stock and barrel by
staunch supporters of Mr Vladimir Putin.
(No different from our own major news and commercial
networks - which are owned by companies who themselves have strong
links with the political class, at very senior levels.)
Leni's Children
I have on several occasions cited RT as being the most
effective news propaganda machine in the world today.
It replaced the BBC about 5 years after it first started
broadcasting – and the world of news (or propaganda) has never been
the same since.
The BBC, CNN and Fox all changed our perception of what
news is or should be.
Russia Today Televison Network is the 'new kid on the
block' and it too has changed the world of information - as we know
it.
If you really understand propaganda (and I have been
very fortunate in my life to have an opportunity to study it in
operation) then you can appreciate Fox, CNN, The BBC and now RT, not
just as news outlets but as art forms in themselves.)
Run, Buddy, Run
RT is so effective a propaganda machine (much more than
CNN or Fox) that questions have been raised continuously on the Hill
about how to stop it's influence – worldwide. Nothing so far has
worked in this regard.
No amount of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars
thrown at other networks have had any significant impact in any way
shape or form on RT nor of its ability to influence the shape of
events worldwide.
Part
of the reason for the failure to halt the haemorrhaging
of
the local populace
away
from 'traditional networks' (such as the BBC for example) towards RT
can be found in what I call the 'type' of individuals entering
politics in Western Europe and the United States today and their
perception of news as a technology of political control.
Because
they see RT with 'tunnel vision' they haven't a clue about where to
start to counteract it's influences both at home and across the
planet:
''if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail''
Ours Is News – Yours Is
Propaganda !
If you step back you can see across Europe a move away
from traditional politicians and towards extremism.
(Ironically, RT, as a propaganda network, has been
encouraging such divisions simply to cause as much disruptions to the
political and financial structures as is possible within the limits
of its remit. To complicate matters even further, our own
politicians have been 'aiding and abetting' RT over at least the past
two decades with remarkable foreign policy blunders which have
destroyed our abilities in the West to sell basic goods and services
(everything except weapons) across much of the Middle East and North
Africa today.
Killing The Messenger
The 'nuclear' solution to the problem caused by RT's
successful inroads into popular viewing availability options is to
simply find ways of closing it off from mainstream media access
network streams and push it into the back alleys. Effectively, to
isolate the channel and make it harder for the general populace to
access it's propaganda or news.
The decision to withdraw UK banking facilities is just
one step in this direction.
Neither is it inconceivable that mobile networks will
not 'pull the plug' on RT or recategorize it as 'premium rate' for
access.
This, in my opinion, as I said a year ago or longer, is
a very dangerous path to go down.
The only time I would ever support such action would be
in the advent of a world war (really serious stuff!)
Information and It's Messengers
Are Always Amongst The First Casualties Of War
Long gone are the days where you 'declare war' on
another country.
Today and tomorrow you will just have to look for the
(subtle) signs elsewhere that The Rubicon has been crossed.
(There is no doubt in my mind that many in mainstream
news in the UK are concerned about RT's right to broadcast without
hinderance – but they too have mortgages, bills to pay, families,
careers and promotions to think about.)
Support for colleagues at a foreign news network
(RT) dedicated to the economic and political destruction of life as
we know it is not a very motivating factor to garnish their support -
under such circumstances (!)
Mad, Mad As Hell (!)
I have been incensed by the vitriol against U.S.
Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton being spewed out by RT on a
daily basis. It has been a very long time since I have seen such
biased coverage of a U.S. election campaign by a major foreign TV
network.
Should Hillary Clinton be elected President of The
United States, RT might just as well pack it's bags on the American
continent as a whole. In this regard, it has only itself to blame.
The First Real Cyberwar
Between the Superpowers (The Russian Federation and The United
States)
Should President Clinton assume office in January (which
I hope she will) forget about throwing hundreds of millions of
dollars to counteract RT propaganda– it will simply be closed down
on the U.S. mainland. Companies such as Verizon will, more likely
than not, introduce access streaming fees which specifically target
the ability of the RT network to provide an effective service.
But this will only be the start. Expect the Russian
government to retailiate with similar restrictions on European and
U.S. networks.
I call this the first global cyber war because access to
RT, even at cyber cafes, will be 'closed down' across the world (at
least that cyber world where servers pass through mainland and other
territorial jurisdictions of the United States.)
It might well be in your interest to learn the
meaning of different HTTP error codes now – before you start to see
them on your screen when attempting to access RT.
As to whether restricting RT's broadcasts will help or
hinder the fight for the heart and soul of propaganda worldwide, only
time will tell.
Are we at war? Watch out
for the signs - or shapes in the clouds - because for sure, the media
of today will never tell you straight to your face (!)
©Patrick
Emek, October 2016
On 17th October, 2016, RT Released the press statement below:
''RT has received a letter from Natwest, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, which has a significant shareholding by the UK government, informing it that its UK banking facilities with the bank will be withdrawn without explanation or redress.
This decision is incomprehensible, and without warning. It is however, not at odds with the countless measures that have been undertaken in the UK and Europe over the last few years to ostracize, shout down, or downright impede the work of RT.
RT UK will continue its operations uninterrupted.''