Pomp and circumstantial evidence - The War on Democracy 2

I wrote abut John Pilger's The War On Democracy the other day (I think the clips from YouTube I posted = the entire film).

Today I was driving down to Devonport with Zoë after I collected her from school. I had no business there but I figured, in after-school traffic, that would be sufficient time to hear a half hour interview by resident Mr Nice Guy Jim Moira and Pilger. Jim Moira, for those of you who have never seen or heard him styles himself as 'a man of the people' - like an old time vicar. But like an old-time vicar he projects an air of superiority over his flock…the idea that he knows infinitely more than you ever will and has the vocabulary to prove it - dropping in the odd Latin phrase here and there for good measure.

Today he was revealed as badly briefed, ignorant of the subject matter and exposed as pious twerp by his subject.

The interview is here and well worth listening to.

I think my favourite part was when Mr Moira began to attribute an uninformed point of view about Pilgers politics. He was plainly behaving in the way that Pilger describes in his speech about censorship by journalism in the telegraph - spouting received wisdom without ever questioning it, even when talking to the source in real time.

The mellifluous Mr Moira has been taken down a peg. Saint Mucking-In might not be as much a man of the people as he might like to imagine - or Hugo Chavez for that matter.

Most importantly watch the clips or go see the film. I will do both.

My eight year old daughter said nothing throughout the interview. When it had finished and I had obviously had my fun she looked at me with her lovely green eyes and said:

"You owe me an ice cream…big time."

The people have spoken.

(And to think, I used to see myself as somewhere to the right of Ghengis Khan. I blame the Internet).

BTW: what kind of plonker uses the antiquated term compleat? Pilger plays along with that and dismantles his pomp elsewhere - for example "Have you seen the film?" Answer - "no".

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