freedom next time

is the latest book by australian john pilger
i haven't read it yet but i will be doing so as soon as i can get my hands on it
tonight as i try to most evenings i tuned into the internet based show democracy now
hosted by amy goodman the woman i admire most above all others
amy is a lady of enormous integrity, intelligence and courage
she is unstoppable in her drive to expose the truth and present the facts
and always with no apparant personal opinion or bias
this i suspect is because she credits her audience with the intelligence to figure it out
now of course these days the show can be relentlessly depressing
for there is not much good news in the world today
but she loves a good story, a good story-teller and downright truth and honesty
from time to time the hour long show will be dedicated to one interview or one speech
a very memorable guest from some time ago was a very politically active harry belafonte
tonight's show featured a speech given by john pilger at a socialism conference in america recently
the title of the speech as with his latest book is freedom next time
i must admit i sat listening to the speech and was floored by the clarity of what he had to say
this is one very articulate, intelligent, brave and concerned citizen of the world
he has spent his life as an author, film and documentary maker and journalist
this particular speech was about journalism, war by journalism, propaganda and silence
it started out with a historical perspective on the way journalism has developed
he makes a blistering attack on the concept of professional (read corporate) journalism
and his fellow australian rupert murdoch gets a less than flattering mention
he now lives in england and obviously has had a lot of exposure to the bbc which also cops a lashing
amy gets a look in occassionally during what would be tv ad breaks
she loves this kind of stuff and has a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye
before cutting to some very cool and appropriate music while the tv ads roll
it seems john pilger spent some number of years in vietnam and cambodia
and obviously has a first-hand take on what occurred on the ground there
he tells us this as a background to the reference to some american war films
including a funny story about a 1968 film showing of the green berets starring john wayne
he is not a fan of this actor and in a showing of this film in america's deep south
was chased by a bunch of rednecks after daring to laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of the film
he goes on to talk about a documentary (one of many) he made called year zero
about america's contribution to the rise of pol pot in cambodia
seems the film has never been shown in america the land of the free and free speech
as you would expect he is also not a fan of the current president of the u s of a
but he sees no difference in the likes of blair, brown and clinton
for he believes they have all played their part in american imperialism
in another ad break amy tells us that his latest documentary titled war on democracy
is yet to be picked up by a distributor in the u s
john pilger then proceeds to very clearly talk about and define liberalism and democracy
before then laying down some more very sobering facts and figures
of america's participation in war-mongering, regime change/support and outright genocide
the point of his talk being the complete denial and silence of journalists
he scarily points out the restart of the cold-war under the banner of 'reliable weapons replacement'
specifically to blur the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons
so what is the answer?
he sees no hope in the democrat alternative and their drivel (as he puts it)
he strongly believes real and subversive information is the most potent power of all
and he has a very strong optimism in the growing public awareness
that has to be propelled forward by real and honest reporting
it's a great speech
i watched it through twice
check it out at democracy now