Propaganda Machine Feeds on Its Own Excrement: "Anarchists' Video Urges Dublin Riots to Destroy EU"

national | summit mobilisations | feature Saturday April 03, 2004 16:40 by eeekkk - 1 of imc irl

Indymedia Ireland- the number one source for 'Security Correspondents' makes the news again.

So a Video (punctuated by visuals of scaremongering 'riot' newspaper headlines on the subject of planned protests on Mayday) posted on this site becomes front page news in the Irish Examiner. Strange days indeed. Here's what the maker of the Video had to say about the video in question on the newswire a few days ago. The journalist concerned - Juno McEnroe of the Irish Examiner - obviously read this. The ironies are multiple:

By Maydayer Wednesday, Mar 31 2004, 9:08pm: "It was a piss-take, a bit of fun. Propaganda can work both ways. It was meant to show how silly (and frightening) the whole thing is. I am sure most Indymedia viewers are smart enough to see what’s going on. Using the media to create fear as justification for violence - that’s what I said in the video. As for attracting "extreme elements" of whatever the cops are calling peace protesters or environmental activists - I think the corporate media has already done a good job of that. The only thing this video advertises is peaceful protests like Critical Mass and RTS. Not one stone let alone one petrol bomb has ever been thrown at a (anti-War / Globalisation) protest in Ireland - It is not the Irish protesters who are arming themselves to the teeth and training for violence is it? Lets look at the facts and look behind the propaganda lie machine. Any violence on Mayday if there is any will likely come from the State against the protesters, the Government is running scared - every day now they make another announcement escalating and militarising the situation. As for the video - tongue in cheek ;) stay tuned for many more..."

Continue at link below for info on the latest Scare Story and an analysis (from an Irish Imcer) of how Juno McEnroe helped the Irish media eat its own Shit .

'Mayday Mayday Hi-Voltage'

So a video posted here becomes front page news in the Irish Examiner - strange days indeed.

First up here's the Video

According to Juno McEnroe of the Irish Examiner ( Paper edition only for some strange reason) on today's front page - I'm summarising:

"The video has been circulated via the internet to hundreds of thousands of lefties."

"Gardai have expressed concern about it. Their hands are tied in relation to the threats contained in the video"

The footage makes chilling references to the need to destroy the EU while zooming in on Bertie and Brian ~Cowen.

Examiner identifies the narrator as 'english.' (Oh those nasty Brits)

Garda spokesperson sez they are powerless to stop the video being circulated.

gardai will not alter security arrangements for bertie because of the video.

It of course as per usual makes reference to the Reclaim the Streets Riots - Riots which unless described as 'police riots' never actually took place."

Helpfully the article mentions Indymedia very Frequently and quotes in a garbled fashion an unnamed 'spokesperson'. (Thanks for the publicity Examiner - You know - or you will soon enough - you should have just said 'a website')

Less than helpfully it gives the impression that Indymedia is a natural starting point for police attention:

"Gardai are setting up ad-hoc centres to detain protesters on May 1st. Indymedia is establishing a 'world media centre' off Dublin's Mountjoy square".

The journalist is either a bought and paid for character or is stupid as nowhere in the article does he/she mention the videomakers rationale for making the piece and the fact that the only references to riots in the video are snapshots of other previous scaremongering press headlines. From this to the headline - Video Urges Dublin Riots to Destroy EU' - is some jump. The video categorically does not 'urge riots' - it promotes a series of protests including a critical mass bike ride, a pro-immigrant protest and a Reclaim the Streets protest while taking a critical view of the anti-democratic propaganda being pumped out by Irish newspapers and television.

"Propaganda by Maydayer Wednesday, Mar 31 2004, 9:08pm

"Sadly this video is just as sensationalistic" YES that was the point - thus the title - Mayday propaganda. It was a piss take a bit of fun, propaganda can work both ways. It was meant to show how silly (and frightening) the whole thing is. I am sure most Indymedia viewers are smart enough to see what’s going on. Using the media to create fear as justification for violence, that’s what I said in the video. As for attracting "extreme elements" of whatever the cops are calling peace protesters or environmental activists, I think the corporate media has already done a good job of that. The only thing this video advertises is peaceful protests like critical mass and RTS.

Note * not one stone let alone one petrol bomb has ever been thrown at a (anti-War Globalisation) protest in Ireland - It is not the Irish protesters who are arming themselves to the teeth and training for violence is it? Lets look at the facts and look behind the propaganda lie machine. Any violence on Mayday if there is any will likely come from the State against the protesters, the Government is running scared - every day now they make another announcement escalating and militarising the situation.

As for the video tongue in cheek ;) stay tuned for many more..."

So who in our wonderful society is going to stand up for the right of Indymedia to report on whatever happens?

Not many it seems considering the number of individuals and organisations on the left who have stood up for the democratic right to protest the EU summit in the face of the unceasing and increasingly hysterical manufacture of a moral panic by the gardai in cahoots with trained security correspondents and with elements in the cabinet.

The number of individuals and organisations on the left who have asked any questions about such scaremongering about protests is none btw unless you count the protesters themselves.

• No questions about the army being deployed?
• No questions about the level of scaremongering?
• No questions about 'Ad Hoc Detention Centres"?
• Does no-one remember what 'Bolzaneto' Was?
• Does no-one remember what happened at and in the vicinity of the Indymedia Centre in Genoa on July 21 2001 under cover of media hysteria about 'violent anarchists'?
• Doesn't this all seem as little familiar?

Related Stories/Background from 'The Real Irish Examiner'

Indymedia Centre Plans
Manufactured Hysteria
Mayday Plans
Demonstrators Challenge Anonymous Smear campaign
What to do about ‘Anarchist Menace’ Corporate Journalists?
Requiring Army Deployment? Was her Editor Drunk Too?
Reclaiming Mayday
Comments on Cancellation of Mayday in London from Collective Members