Y’all may remember me posting a while back about a lady called Beatrice, who fled Cameroon to the UK five years ago and has since suffered terrible abuse and psychiatric problems. Well, it didn’t end there for Beatrice.
She got put on a plane at the end of August and sent back to Cameroon, via France, with immigration officials. When she arrived, the Cameroonian immigration authorities wouldn’t take her because she was so distressed and had been so badly beaten (bp2.blogger.com/_1hLGnoNrUoc/RwudR7…). This is unprecedented. She was sent back to England, where she spent the night in hospital and was then returned to detention, where she was examined by a doctor (medicaljustice.org.uk, brilliant people) who said:
“Her physical injuries and mental state are highly consistent with the history of her assaults during her recent attempted removal from the UK … She should have an independent psychiatric assessment urgently… She is totally unfit to be removed to Cameroon … There is abundant evidence that she has suffered and continues to suffer from severe and enduring mental illness; she is very vulnerable, and is at risk of suicide; her recent assault during her attempted forced removal, and her forced incarceration in a detention centre are highly likely to worsen her condition”

Beatrice’s story was recently featured in The Independent newspaper ( http://news.independ...n/article3028716.ece ) and this attention to her story, combined with support for her at a protest today and your support, could give her a second chance which is extremely hard to come by. My heart breaks for this poor woman. She has been through all of this for daring to do in her country what you and I do ever day in ours; dissent.

C’mon people, you KNOW this is wrong, and you know from the Lordorice campaign that these things can take effect. It wont cost you a penny or take more than a few minutes of your time but you could play a part in ending this woman’s suffering [and in so doing, remind the immigration officers that brutally asaulting failed asylum seekers is not acceptable, and will not go by unnoticed]. Email me: saoirse_ionannas_aonad [at] yahoo [dot] co.uk with your details, or send a fax yourself to

Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith MP
Secretary of State for the Home Office
3rd. Floor, Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London, SW1 4DF
Fax : 020 7035 3262
Quoting: Beatrice Guessie ref no. K1123945

Dunno, i guess i’m to exposed to “the awful truth”.

Official [government] communications to the public that are designed to influence opinion. The information may be true or false, but it is always carefully selected for its political effect.

So, propaganda as a tactic. Myself, I’m not always so good with (and at) tactical politics. I think I’m more concerned with the raw, unfiltered truth.

So when Michal Moore makes a movie about health care, and he goes to London, ON (the wealthiest city per capita in Canada) and shows us that ‘the health care system in Canada is amazing’, it may be effective to make his point (an important one to make!), but it’s not really true. It’s the positioning of facts selectively in order to meet his goal. I agree with that goal - health care in the US is fucked - but it’s not about the raw, honest truth with him. It’s about tactics. The things he shows are true, but the are not the whole picture.

I felt this same way about the Pilger film. Why the visual and auditory effects to indicate good and bad? It’s so over the top - anyone with a slightly critical viewing eye who may not be already “on side” with Pilger’s worldview will look at that and think “why is this necessary? Aren’t the facts enough?” Which is exactly what I ask. The skeptical viewer may wonder what the flourish is there to mask.

The facts are enough. I believe - generally - that progressive social movements are the ones who’s views reflect a just, sane, sustainable world. And the facts are on their (our) side. And the facts are our “corrective measure” against the drumbeat litany of right-wing views that hammers down on us daily.

I believe that most people recognize when someone is laying it all out on the table - and the sincerity that represents - and that could be the most persuasive tactic there is.

That and armed struggle, hahahahahaha.

Sebast- I totally agree that the actions of the communists in spain required harsh criticism and that the actions of Spanish anarchists may also be deserving of critique, but I think that Goldman makes a strong argument regarding the complexity of the situation requiring a more considered approach from those outside of Spain observing the events.
I have not come across many negative accounts of Goldman’s account of the Spanish Revolution, thanks for bringing that up, Ill have to look into it and seek out some critiques. Might bring a new perspective on things.

Michael Moore is truly an outstanding artisan of the silver screen.

I actually almost prefer obvious propaganda over not-so-obvious propaganda, because i think ALL media is propaganda to some extent. Humans are incapable of pure objectivity. At least overt propaganda is at least more or less up front with its agenda.

So yeah, i think it’s impossible for someone to make a documentary that is not in some way influenced by his or her worldview.

\m/