Monday evenings have recently turned into an interesting time to settle down in front of the television. I say that as a fan of investigative journalism, and believing it is necessary to hear two sides to a story, especially when powerful forces back one point of view to the extent it becomes accepted as unquestionable. There two good broadcasts last night, one from the BBC and the other from Channel Four.
The BBC’s Panorama programme Should we be scared of Russia? provided a differing interpretation of Russia’s recent alleged aggression. By contrast it argued that having embraced capitalism, consumerism and democracy, Russia has felt let down by the West , and indeed has been found itself threatened by Western expansionism. The defensive organisation NATO was not disbanded at the end of the Cold War along with the Warsaw Pact, but has changed its ethos to a more interventionist approach, and has recruited former soviet states on Russia’s border into its membership. The plan to establish US missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic has rankled Russia further, and in response Russia has increased military expenditure. With 20 million Russians living in the now independent former soviet states it is no wonder that what goes on their borders is of interest to them. The BBC report asked us to look beyond the rhetoric of Western politicians and look deeper into Russia to what is happening in their society, and consider another point of view.
Closer to home was Channel Four’s Dispatches programme which examined whether the energy companies’ claims that rising fuel prices meant that huge increases in household bills over the last year were justifiable, and they have no choice but to pass these rises on to the consumer. Is this the truth? There is also evidence that shows that the profits paid to shareholders has increased by 20% over the same period. I recommend a viewing
Dispatches.
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