From Germany: A New Sense of Justice

[MelissaB]

A New Sense of Justice
John Horvath 23.01.2006

Yesterday's heroes are today's villains -- and vice versa
The year 2005 marked a turning point of sorts in the history of western democracies. It's not just that government scandal and corruption seemed to have reached new heights, but that the very concept of justice appears to have undergone a profound change. This change is such that what is understood to be right and wrong has been turned completely on its head. This was best exemplified by two major events to have hit American politics last year: the investigation into who leaked the identity of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent and a story in the New York Times (admittedly a year late) about illegal wiretapping authorised by the White House.


Sadly, what goes on in the US invariably infects the rest of the western world, albeit in a different sort of way. Thus, the undercurrent behind these two events, which strikes at the very heart of democratic society, can be felt elsewhere even though its not as apparent. For this reason, there is an urgent need within Europe to examine the full extent that legal systems -- and our understanding of them -- have become warped, lest democratic society begins to slide beyond the point of no return into a form of authoritarianism known as "electoral dictatorship", one in which we periodically choose our dictators during so-called "elections".

A Just Cause?

The Valerie Plame case provides a perfect example of how, without due vigilance, our concepts of justice can be manipulated. In 2005, a federal investigation into who revealed to reporters that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA agent was nearing a climax. Valerie Plame is the wife of Joe Wilson, who wrote about the Bush administration's bogus claim that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium from Niger.

...snip


What most media pundits in the US failed to grasp was that Miller wasn't protecting a whistle-blower who had exposed a government crime; she was protecting a government criminal who had attacked a whistle-blower. Hence, those who were defending Miller under the guise of the need to protect an anonymous source were actually using journalistic privilege to turn justice on its head. As one observer put it, "the First Amendment exists so that the press can be a check on government abuse of power, not a handmaiden to it."

...snip

With help from the mass media, those in positions of political and economic power or influence will continually seek to implant their messages into our minds, whether it's for our good or not. Thus, if we don't take responsibility for what goes into our minds, someone else will. This is the most serious challenge that a democracy can face, for when a government can manipulate how a person thinks, that person no longer lives in a democracy.


More: http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21827/1.html

edited to add the last paragraph

[melody]

1. This has always been the US/EU goal

Destroy the average American economically and elevate Europe, because they deem it to be culturally superior and because the US/EU has already moved operations there.

This has been BushCo's agenda all along.

[marmar]

2. No people on earth know more about...

...the dangers of faux democracies and out-of-control tyrant leaders than Germans. Perhaps the rest of the western world should listen...