Some news stories that shouldn’t surprise anyone:
- Wishywashy liberal clergyman turns against his liberal principles, blames victims.
- Murderous head of state berates another nation holding a big p.r. event for their human rights record; everybody pretends this matters.
- Kangoroo court condemns supposed terrorist on dodgy charges.
- Doomed prime minister does not think he’s doomed, prepares to fight back.
The thing they have in common that they’re all non-stories, not news but the opposite of news, almost ritualised reports where all the interesting stuff remains unspoken. You can get angry about these stories but it’s largely pointless; there was no chance that things would’ve happened differently. It’s just inherent in the system.