UK: Reign of the media state.

Since the heady days of mid-twentieth century newspaper reporting, when a war was stopped and a President toppled, the slow demise of investigative journalism has continued and accelerated to where the Western media now performs similar function to the old Soviet 'news' agencies.

There are benefits though, and by watching the News, we quickly gather the party line and gain some insight into what our politicians are thinking. It may tell us little about the events, but plenty about how our leaders are reacting and what their likely course of action will be.

Under normal circumstances, this is all well and good. There are numerous broadcast channels, and of course the Internet, in which to find alternative views and opinions.

But there are times when only the mainstream media can effectively challenge those in power and ask the questions that we, the public, are asking.

The sort of questions that spring to mind are:

Who sanctioned Victoria Nuland's Ukraine intervention?

It's clear that senator McCain is a loose canon and a committed war monger, and as such the US probably can do little to prevent his meddling; but as an employee of the Department of State, Nuland must surely have received some form of approval for her actions.

Another question that bothers me is how Russia's limited mobilization is such an earth shattering event, yet France's military excursions into her former African colonies are simply peaceful expeditions?