Sunday, May 27, 2012

Eurovision song contest: NATO and western oil giants behind the stage of Europe's thrash spectacle...

The Eurovision Song Contest tonight watched by over 120 million TV viewers may be seen as a fun spectacle – a “carnival of kitsch” as one commentator put it – but off stage there are deadly serious political and economic interests at play.

This year’s annual finale of the 56-year-old competition comes from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where the purpose-built Crystal Hall on the shores of the Caspian Sea will project glitzy images of the Caucasus nation to the rest of the world.

The autocratic government of President Ilham Aliyev has spared no expense or effort to stage the event – a spectacle that has become over the decades a byword for feelgood “Euro Trash” pop culture.

In the weeks leading up to tonight’s event, Azerbaijan’s state paramilitaries and secret police have been cracking down on the slightest public protest, jailing hundreds of human rights and pro-democracy activists. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Duke of York made private visits to the President of Azerbaijan...
  2. How Western oil companies are looting Nigeria...
  3. 'NATO war machine responsible for global violence'
  4. NATO lied about civilian deaths in Libya...
  5. Eurovision: is it talent that matters or biased voting?
  6. "What if they think Ukraine is in Africa?"
  7. Tony Blair told by Azerbaijan victims: 'Give your £90,000 speaker's fee to charity'

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