There is a cool looking series starting on BBC2 on wednesday 9pm (GMT) called The Power of Nightmares - about the culture of fear in today's politics...
"In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares. The most frightening of these is the threat of an international terror network. But just as the dreams weren't true, neither are these nightmares.
This series shows dramatically how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media. At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neoconservatives and the radical Islamists. Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. These two groups have changed the world but not in the way either intended. Together they created today's nightmare vision of an organised terror network. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful.
The rise of the Politics of Fear begins in 1949 with two men whose radical ideas would inspire the attack of 9/11 and influence the Neoconservative movement that dominates Washington. Both these men believed that modern liberal freedoms were eroding the bonds that held society together. The two movements they inspired set out, in their different ways, to rescue their societies from this decay. But in an age of growing disillusion with politics, the neoconservatives turned to fear in order to pursue their vision. They would create a hidden network of evil run by the Soviet Union that only they could see. The Islamists were faced by the refuasl of the masses to follow their dream and began to turn to terror to force the people to 'see the truth'."
Definately looks worth watching. Probably be streamable off the BBC web site, as most of their stuff is.
I've seen the adverts for this. Probably won't be harsh enough on our government. ;)
Remember, true patriotism is testing your leaders with questions.
That was indeed a good programme.
Amusing to see the archive footage of Rumsfeld as a younger, more energetic- but no less incoherent and repetitive- liar.
darn it, i set the video and it didn't work!! (must be getting old).
Why oh why don't they do tivo in the uk.
Wonder if it is on the bbc web site? *wanders off in senile daze*
I never heard of that show, but I say they are right! All politics and media want to do is controll our minds for their own enrichment and power!
They are using fear (fear of Al Quida) to make the public follow the leader!
The public is letting Bu$h take our civil rights away to become more powerfull! (Patriot act comes to mind!) A true patriot would not allow that to happen!
Originally posted by toms
darn it, i set the video and it didn't work!! (must be getting old).
The Video? Or the person trying to set it? :D
it is.... although in my defence i was actually recording it on my pc and it recorded without sound for some reason. Last week my pc could rcord fine... now for some reason it doesn't record sound... i guess that is PCs for you...
Anyway, if anyone is interested there are links up to torrents of this all over. A google for power nightmares torrent will find lots. Here are a few pages that have links:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/sos_usa/1643833.html)
"It was very worrying to watch Donald Rumsfeld make very similar speeches in the 1970s to those he makes now. Except in the 70s he was asking the soviets to prove the nonexistance of a weapon rather than the Iraqis."
http://blogs.linux.ie/xeer/2004/10/23/the-power-of-nightmares/)
http://www.quantumphilosophy.net/Article1587.html)
you need bittorrent or something like shareaza to download...
talking of wich, i guess now everyone will be talking about that bin-laden video... :D