The spooking of anarchy

[Paul Rigby]

Plus ca change eh?

But these sort of things could never happen in our enlightened times of course.

I still find it incredible the way that the public swallows the whole war on terrorism - and much else besides - narrative(s) hook line and sinker. Nods are made in the direction of alleged Security/SIS incompetence, bad luck, 'bravery in foiling the wicked terrorists in the nick of time' etc etc. But the core issues of a totally unaccountable 'Secret State' it's functionaries, agencies and hidden manipulative agendas simply do not exist - except in fairy tales, horror fiction plus suitably sanitised and co opted Hollywood spectaculars.

Depressing, isn't it, how the same rudimentary techniques work generation after generation? The same transparent measures which made the Gunpowder Plot such a striking success play out in the Lincoln Conspiracy; and prop up much of the nonsense of the Oswald fiction.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the general public has no reliable institutional memory to which it can turn for precedent and pointers. Relying on the BBC or the Guardian to offer instruction in such matters is, of course, a joke in rather bad taste.

Another hefty part of the answer lies in the total control of the media, as it evolves through successive incarnations: The striking feature of the internet, for example, is how early and successfully the CIA got its nose out in front, and created a series of cutting edge websites and web tools for liberals and the left (Daily Kos, Huffington Post, Google).

What is to be done, as some Russian bloke once famously asked?