Of Men, Martians, and Medias

 One of my favourite stories from the 20th Century has to be the reaction to Orson Welles’ radio adaptation of War of the Worlds in 1938. Basically, folks thought it was the news, and lost their shit. 

Do listen to the radio play if you ever get the chance. It does sound like a radio broadcast. It starts with an announcer from an authentic sounding station introducing an orchestra, some music, briefly interrupted by a report on some meteorites, followed by more music, then more newsflashes, until, well, the Martians are marching on New York and it's the end of civilization as we know it. It's great entertainment, and it sounds authentic.   

It was a convincing pastiche of radio news programs at the time. 

Listeners could be forgiven if they thought it was the real thing (especially in those tense, pre-WWII days). If they seemed incredulous, well, loads of people today in the internet age believe far stupider things. 

George Orwell addressed the phenomenon in 1940. More specifically, he addressed a

survey, conducted by Princeton University, of the -victims? Participants? I’d love to quote the whole thing for you in full, but suffice it to say, his words, as usual, are still crushingly relevant. 

The first interesting bit he addressed was the extent to which people on both sides of the Atlantic tended to trust what would now be called the “Mainstream” or “Legacy” media. People thought they were hearing the news, and assumed what they heard on the news had to be true. He suggests that had the story appeared on the front page of one of London’s papers, the British public would have believed it as well:

"It is known that newspapers are habitually untruthful, but it is also known that they cannot tell lies of more than a certain magnitude,”

God knows Orwell was no fan of the papers. But he kept things in perspective, and he knew there were rules to the game. For all its flaws, I’ll still take the legacy press over the post-apocalyptic swamp of meme-land, which has fostered wide-spread climate-change denial, vaccine skepticism, Russian pseudo-history, and even bloody flat-earth theory. The papers weren’t that bad. 

Even so, the listeners are not entirely let off the hook for their credulity: 

“So few of the viewers attempted any kind of check. . .It appears over two thirds of them attempted no kind of verification: as soon as they heard the end of the world was coming, they accepted it uncritically.”

It seems our lot. People don’t check. They don’t verify. They don’t investigate. They don’t stop and think “hey, wait a minute. . .” They click “like” and repost. And base their world view on that, and vote based on that. And so here we are. 

Maybe no one’s believing in Martian invasions, but they are panicking about immigrant invasions, woke hive minds, and big pharma. They’re terrified that George Soros will implant microchips in their heads, but think it cool when Elon Musk actually does it. They rage at phantasmagorical Q Anon Pizzagate child-sex rings which don’t exist, while ignoring the child victims of school shootings, who do. They will even torment the parents of Sandy Hook victims. These self proclaimed guardians of exploited children care not a whit that their messiah was buddies with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The President of the United States can make stuff up off the top of his head, and every word is taken as Gospel.    

 Our civilization has no business lecturing anyone about gullibility. 

As interesting, and no less relevant to us today, were the apparent backgrounds of the believers. “The evident connection between personal unhappiness and the readiness to believe the incredible is [the survey’s] most interesting discovery.” I will quote the last bit in full:

People who have been out of work, or on the verge of bankruptcy for ten years may actually be relieved to hear of the approaching end of civilization. It is a similar frame of mind that has induced whole nations to fling themselves in the arms of a Saviour.

 Craziness in Korea. . .

President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to declare marshal law, ostensibly to take on "anti-state forces" at work in the country - which sounds a lot like a euphemism for "the opposition".

There followed surreal scenes of the military attempting to storm the National Assembly. . .and lawmakers blocking the door to keep them out. Fire extinguishers were used.

People took to the streets. Parliament tables a motion to lift martial law, passed 190-0. The Army wavered for a bit, then withdrew, probably disappointed. Mass calls for Yoon to resign. 

Blink and you miss it. 

It would appear that the Koreans rose to the occasion and successfully defended their democracy. It took immediate, decisive action, and more than a little courage. Had there been any lolly-gagging, the National Assmebly would have been cleared out, the motion not passed, and Korean democracy would presumably have been effectively over. 

I mean, I don't know how it works in Korean politics, but the fact this was a unilateral move by President Yoon, without any sort of process, and that it would have entailed the cessation of political activity and independent media, and that South Korea has a long and quite recent history of authoritarian take-over, AND that Yoon has a history of authoritarian tendencies, make it look like the end of Korean democracy was the end goal. 

And they were stopped. 

It was a narrow escape, and I can't help wondering how some certain other societies would compare in a similar situation. Alas, I have no faith in our own citizenry to act so decisively or bravely. 

In fact, I am quite certain a large number of the electorate would side with the army. 

Good for Korea. Shame on the rest of us. 
 

 So. . .Lame Duck President Biden has finally decided to allow the Ukrainians to strike back at their Russian and North Korean invaders with US supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS)  - in the Kursk region. Other regions of Russia remain sacrosanct, so it can continue to launch glide bombs at Ukrainian day-care centres with complete impunity. 

This has outraged the usual suspects. The Kremlin is Krying foul, as it always does when its victims fight back.  Elon Muskovite, Marjorie Traitor Green, and the rest of Putin's puppets in America are all wetting their beds, as they always do when their masters are inconvenienced. And the lily-livered left are bitching about the military industrial complex, as they always do when their prayer beads fail to stop dictators. All claim this (as opposed to Russia's invasion in the first place) will lead to World War Three. All are being disingenuous: Russia, because disingenuousness in bred into it's DNA, the Right because they want Russia to win, and the Left because they always hate to see Western weapons used, even when they intercept glide bombs headed for maternity wards. Even ostensibly sympathetic commentators, such as Owen Jones and Cenk Uygur, don't want to see Ukraine defend itself too vigorously. 

Thing is, Russia's been threatening WWIII from the very beginning. It has threatened to unleash the nukes every time so much as a bottle of foreign made athlete's foot powder has landed in Ukraine, and has opted not to do so Every Single time, possibly because it actually doesn't want to be turned into soup.

Nor is it in any position to send in its tanks or jets, as all of them are needed in Ukraine at the moment. Fact is, Russian conventional forces wouldn't last a minute against NATO, and Moscow knows it. Yet, NATO continuously falls for its bluffs, even after unwittingly calling them.  And considering the Ukrainians are already in it up the neck, the threat of "escalation" or "retaliation" seems laughable indeed.  

I say "hurrah!" ATACM strikes might hurt the invaders a bit more. They might enable Ukraine to keep some thimble-full of Russian land to bargain with when Trump forces them to surrender. They might intercept a handful of glide-bombs. Will they change the course of the war? This utterly amateur arm-chair observer thinks not.   

At this stage in the game, it all strikes me as a bit like lending someone a fire-extinguisher after their house has burnt down. The time when such weapons could have made a major impact is long past. Some months ago for instance, Ukraine came this close to winning a major victory south of the Seym river, but just couldn't pull it off. The Russians reinforced and resupplied too quickly. ATACMS, disrupting Russian logistics, might have made a difference. They might not have, but we'll never know now: the moment has passed. 

A great many moments have passed. The West has a gift for providing too little too late. ATACMS didn't even arrive in Ukraine until long after Russia had consolidated its positions. HIMARS, Abrams tanks, and F-16 jets all arrived only after much hand-wringing and delay, during which time, more and more of Ukraine was chewed off by the bear. 

Analogies abound. 

Give 'em the helmet after the head injury.

Give 'em the coat after the hypothermia. 

Plug up the boat after it sinks. 

Lock the door after the thief gets in. 

There comes a point when late becomes so late, it may as well be never.  We're fast approaching that point now. The longer it takes for Western weapons to arrive, the fewer Ukrainians will there will be to use them, and the less there will be of Ukraine to protect. 

It didn't have to be this way.  

Remember the Fallen.

 Not being in the mood this year to stand in the rain with about marching cadets, and be lectured by some blowhard about how indispensable the Battle of Vimmy Ridge was to my current freedom to scarf down two hundred flavours of potato chip, I stayed in a did my own Remembrance Day reflections this year. 

It occurred to me that there are Canadians fighting for freedom right NOW, as we speak, or binge on Amazon Prime as it may be, battling the Russians in Ukraine. At least 12 have died.  

They are: 

Jean Francois Ratelle

Alain Derasp

Malick Joseph

Cole Zelenco

Kyle Porter

Joseph Hildebrand

Emile Antoine Sirois

Grigorii Tsekhmistrenko

Anthony "Tonko" Ihnat

Joshua Mark Mayers

Austin Lathlin-Bercier

Brad Stratford

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/these-canadians-made-the-ultimate-sacrifice-in-ukraine-in-relative-anonymity

They weren't forced to go over by any government draft. They were under no pressure from their society. They went entirely as a matter of principle, feeling deep down this was a cause worth fighting. They went willingly, knowing the risks. Knowing they'd be without the backing of their state, without all the air support and technological superiority that entails. Or even the acknowledgement they've done it. 

There days, there aren't many willing to put their lives on the line for matters of principle. Nowadays, it seems most folk wouldn't even pay ten cents extra on their gas-bill to help Ukraine, let alone fight for it. Those who do, and did - who are actually doing what we claim to be honouring - deserve to be remembered. 

On this of all days. 

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

In Which the Author Succumbs to Majority Rule

 So... 

The man of the spray on tangerine tan has won. Unambiguously. By a large margin. I think he even broke his own record. Sure they'll say it was close, but not close enough to leave any doubt, not close enough that a recount would make a difference, not close enough to blame on voter suppression or hoax-bomb threats. The people have spoken, and the MAGA king is back. 

I have had a funny feeling he would be. I've had funny feelings about the last five Presidential elections in a row, and have been right each time. Difficult to say when I first felt it: possibly when I was in NYC over the summer, and noticed how much Trump shirts outnumbered Harris shirts in the tourist kiosks. 

Is that an infallible indicator? No, but those proprietors aren't dumb: they don't display what don't sell. The hysterical optimism of the Kamellan Twittersphere notwithstanding, someone was buying those shirts. 

I'm not interested in forensic analysis of the Harris campaign - I don't care what she did wrong. Whether she should have leaned more left or leaned more right, spoken up about this or shut up about that. Whether so-and-so's endorsement was worth anything, or whether they shoulda just stuck with Joe. None of it matters. It's too easy to look back in hindsight at what one should have done - coulda-woulda-shoulda. I often wish there were parallel universes to peak into and see where different may have lead, but as for the army of "told you so!" types who insist things would have gone differently if they were in charge, or their advice had been followed. . .I'm not in the mood.   

Nor do I really care to psycho-analyze Trump voters, and peruse whatever deep-down bum-hurt big Daddy Trump will supposedly soothe. "He speaks to what concerns Americans!" goes the call. Maybe he does. That's not reassuring. 

All I know is that millions of people took a look at this guy - convicted criminal, sex pest, Kremlin call boy, Epstein's Pal, fraudulent, inarticulate, unprincipled, opportunistic, cynical, serial liar - and said: 

"I want that!" 

Millions of people made common cause with Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Bibi Netanyahu, Victor Orban, Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, Andrew Tate, countless neo nazis, religious extremists,  and sex-predators. The majority of the voting public were undisturbed by his threats to political opponents and attacks on democratic institutions. Jan 6 wasn't an issue. Climate change not mentioned. Gaza not an issue. And the sooner Ukraine is abandoned, the better. 

What can I say? It's what the people want. 

I wonder if we'll have to renegotiate NAFTA again? 

Meanwhile, Volodymr Zelensky, a real statesman, swallowed his pride and offered his congratulations. 

I am reminded of what Churchill might have tried to say to Wendel Wilkie if he had won his election. Who knows? Perhaps Trump can be convinced of the necessity of helping Ukraine - he is susceptible to flattery, if nothing else. I wouldn't count on it: not with all that cabal of cowardly Russophiles he's surrounded himself with. But we'll see. . . 

I think I'll take a break from all this. I will certainly stay off Twitter. My next post will be about something harmless. Maybe a tirade against Halloween Spirit stores. . .  

 

 It is difficult to maintain any faith in humanity these days, as it so continuously, consistently and reliably chooses the path of inhumanity. 

It's exhausting to even think about, let alone write down, the litany of evils plaguing our world, and somehow even worse to contemplate the cowardice and complacency that enables it. 

The West has largely turned its back on Ukraine; sure, Australia's providing tanks, but this is an exception. US aid continues to trickle through, but with so many restrictions and conditions attached, as to be pretty much useless. "Don't actually use these" and "don't hurt any Russians" are what it amounts to. Even that will cease under Donald Trump and his handlers, who are openly siding with Russia, and will do all they can to abet and enable its plans. 

Orban's Hungary continues to block large aid packages from the EU. Olaf Scoltz continues to dither. 

Russia's allies suffer no such indecision. Iranian drones and North Korean munitions continue to flow freely, no strings attached. North Korea have even sent personnel. No paralyzing terrors of escalation there. 

Back home, the Prime Minister has announced evidence of blatant Russian interference, (paying off Jordan Peterson amongst others) and the anti-Trudeau hordes, so completely tunnel-visioned by their pet issue, can't think beyond seething, drooling rage at the messenger. They'll probably embrace Russia in response. If Justin Trudeau said water was wet, his opponents would scream that it wasn't. 

Further south, while Joe Biden has to fight tooth and nail to send Ukraine sock-full of grape shot, there's no problem at all getting billions in aid to Israel. And unlike Ukraine, which receives weapon under the condition they never actually use, there are no restrictions whatever on what Israel does with its gifts. No-strings attached, carte-blanche, do as thou wilt. Israel can hit anyone it likes, and anyone it doesn't.  It even struck Russia's Khmeimim airbase in Syria, and the world did not descend into WWIII. 

Every day brings bad news, and worse news. Even no news is bad news; silence makes one fear the worst. 

So what is one to do? "Keep Calm and Carry On" I suppose. There's not much alternative. 

  

Paul Di'Anno 1958-2024

 If I may step away from politics Just. For. A. Minute. I'm quite saddened to hear of the passing of Paul Di'Anno. 

A good singer, a good frontman, an important architect in the formation of Metal As-We-Know-It. 

His albums with Maiden are probably my favourite of the ouvre - sharp and edgy in a way they just wouldn't continue to be under Bruce Dickinson (awesome as he was and is). I think I was given a vinyl copy of "Maiden Japan" as a Christmas gift one year, and to this day the opening drum beats of "Running Free" will be every bit as seasonal as anything by Burl Ives or Bing Crosby; my own personal jingling bells. 

I got my picture taken with him after a gig in Toronto sometime in the early 2000s. I hope it still exists: a lot of my pics were lost in a flood some ten years back. 

(Funny story, his backing band at the time were a local band I would later audition to join. Alas, I didn't cut it. Wonder who they eventually did choose. . .) 
There exists somewhere a picture of me