propaganda

Call my Bluff, in the 1970s
Some years ago there was a TV show called, Call my Bluff. The format was as per most game shows but the intention was for one team to try and fool the other with false definitions of unusual words. The show ended in 2005 and simply would not work now. Today we have become so used to our politicians simply dishing out lies and bullshit that there's no longer any attempt to bluff. It's just blatant rubbish.

So life imitates art, again. The quality of the debate concerning the UK's continued membership of the EU is dire. Older people may be able to remember the last referendum held on this subject and perhaps the original debate on the merits of entry. Naturally any comparison between then and now is shaped by the many years that have passed. But what is notable now is the substitution of propaganda for debate, it's also very low grade propaganda too.

Over at EU Referendum Richard North has looked at FUD tactics: fear, uncertainty and doubt. The FUD tactic is well established but how good is it? In the link from North two of the cases are from the left wing press but all sections of the press seem to be having a go.

Which one's Rompuy?
On the first day back at work for many people the Guardian gives space to a bit of propaganda from José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Herman Van Rompuy, see HERE.

Zapatero is there because Spain now has the rotating EU Presidency. Rompuy is involved because of the Lisbon Treaty-cum-Constitution. Thus what was a bit of a joke as a solo performance is turned into a duet with double the comedic value.

NuLabour election strategy?

On May 5th the BBC repeated throughout the day film of a police and immigration officials raid on a chicken factory in Derbyshire, to which the BBC was invited along to film. In fact the raid took place on April 15th and there was no rush to make it public. See video here.

Your taxes fund Anjem Choudary

Nu Labour want to detain suspected terrorists for 42 days, yet further imposing restrictions on our civil liberties. However, it has never bothered to control our borders or immigration rates. Yet another rabid Islamist Anjem Choudary, the co-founder of, the now banned, Al-Muhajiroun in Britain is still travelling the country preaching hate whilst living comfortably on state and housing benefits of over £25,000 a year. Abu Hamza was known to be implicated in terrorism in Yemen and nefarious practices at the Regents Park mosque yet was allowed to preach openly with police protection which was estimated to have cost over £1 million and was only grudgingly brought to justice. We cannot deport terrorists because of Human Rights legislation although other EU countries do this with impunity.

dangerous dog

There is a report of a small child mauled by a dog. It is headline news. Hereafter toddlers are frequently mauled by dogs for a while until the press becomes bored. There are then no reported incidents of toddler mauling for a couple of years. Who believes that there have been no attacks for the intervening years? However, when the headlines concern global warming, which has conveniently morphed into climate change, the journalists who write the Armageddon-like headlines do not like to write anything which interferes with the main thrust of their message, even if this is official information.