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 Mind Wars6 comments
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND DECEPTION

What appears to have severely damaged the credibility of the current U.S. administration at home and globally is that many or most of their information operations seem to have been deceptive and have presented inaccurate and untrue information.

Inaccurate intelligence and psychological manipulation have reportedly been components of planned efforts to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq as well as other domestic and foreign policy activities.

This is part of what concerns and angers Americans and people around the world.

And this is part of what has so damaged the reputation and honor of the U.S. and the American people in the eyes of the world, and in our own eyes.

Propaganda and false information from the current administration seem to have begun during the time frame of the 9/11 attacks. Then, the well-documented "cherry-picking" of often inaccurate intelligence and outright lies were put forth to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

The untruths and half-truths from the administration seem to have continued to the present day.

This apparently has become obvious to most Americans and most people around the world, according to many national and international polling indicators.



MANIPULATING AMERICANS

In a previous information operation program implemented by The Lincoln Group [link] in Iraq, news and opinion articles were planted in Iraqi newspapers. The articles, which were represented as being written by Iraqi journalists, were actually created by U.S. military information operations personnel.

The new contract for The Lincoln Group [link] will reportedly monitor media outlets, both English and Arabic-speaking. They will also create speeches, talking points and similar communications products for U.S. military operations in Iraq.

What is of interest to many Americans is that the same kind of information and psychological operations used in Iraq and in target populations around the globe have also been implemented within the U.S., targeting American citizens.

Reports surfaced over the last couple of years about American media personalities and others being covertly paid significant sums of money by the current administration while writing articles and creating media presentations which favored administration goals.

Every day we see certain TV networks and publications attempting to convince Americans and others around the world that administration actions have been and are appropriate, intelligent and morally correct.

These efforts include trying to convince us that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was a good idea, and that staying on the same path is an equally good plan.

They tell us that suspending the Geneva Conventions is appropriate and that actions which were previously universally considered war crimes should now be practiced by U.S. military and intelligence professionals.

We are told that the precious Constitutional rights, legal rights and human rights Americans have fought and died for are now to be modified or suspended indefinitely.

As polls seem to indicate, many Americans don't believe them.

FINDING TRUTH

But with hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to spend on spin and propaganda, these persuasion and manipulation efforts have a measure of success with some people.

However, despite what some elitists, media talking heads and Washington think tank propagandists think, most of the American people are not that stupid.

Deceptions by the administration and their associates have repeatedly been uncovered by brave patriots in the military, the intelligence community, defense-related businesses, the media, from within the administration itself and elsewhere.

At this point in time, it is probably reasonable to conclude that no amount of public relations gimmicks, information operations or psychological operations can persuade the majority of Americans and people around the world to fully support the administration or their "stay the course" plan for Iraq.

An attack on Iran by the current administration would likewise probably not be supported by the majority of Americans.

The perceptions of millions of intelligent people at home and abroad seem to be that people in the current U.S. administration do not tell the truth, cannot be trusted, are dangerous to world peace and have seriously damaged the honor of the American people and our nation.

This is why we should all remember that the American people and the current U.S. administration are not the same things.

Americans know this. Most of our friends and even our current adversaries around the world also know it.

And as the eyes of the international community are upon us in coming days, Americans may prove that we still retain our honor, human decency, liberty and moral integrity as well as our strength.

We may show the global community, and ourselves, that Americans can regain an intelligent and beneficial direction as a society and nation, admit and correct our mistakes, ensure that justice prevails and work with the rest of the human race to create a better world for our children and grandchildren.

[link]



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6 comments

10 Dec 2007 @ 22:38 by jerryvest : Thanks for this excellent overview
of propaganda as we are experiencing it with our administration, Vax. I hope that others will see that we are not anything like these criminal minds, or at least, we don't apply their corrupt practices with our family, friends and others on a daily basis and do attempt to be honest, respectful, open-minded human beings.

"This is why we should all remember that the American people and the current U.S. administration are not the same things." I do hope that our allies are getting this loud and clear. I have several friends who travel widely around the world and they tell me that they are so ashamed of this administration and their policies that they must spend much of their time and discussion with others abroad explaining this notion. They tell me that it is true that others do understand this dilemma.  



10 Dec 2007 @ 23:12 by vaxen : Naomi Wolf...
points out that all fascist dictatorships follow the same ten step plan. From Mussolini, to Pinochet, to Bush. You might want to do some research on the relationships between Fritz Thysson and Prescott Bush as well as research Smedley Butlers' report to Congress on the Coup that Prescott Bush, Thysson, and others were attempting in America in the 30's.

Goebbels learned his 'mass brainwashing' techniques from Madison Avenue! Many Americans may not support the 'takeover' but their number really doesn't matter at all. It is already way past midnight and the Military Commisions Act has been passed.

I don't believe that either Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich will save America from certain destruction and have been warning people about the present state of affairs all my life. And I've worked in some of the worlds major intelligence outfits so have been privy to information that is just 'not out there.'

An .mpg interview with Naomi can be found at Alex Jone's http://www.prisonplanet.com and http://www.infowars.com/ ...

In a democracy, whether I believe in one or not, information must be shared from person to person to make it effective and the people must not rely on the 'State controlled' mass media. Many Germans say they just didn't know. I say...oh yes you did but you didn't believe us when we told you what was going on.

These are important matters. Matters of life and death. The Predatory Economy must, of necessity, turn on it's own citizens. You see that happening now right before your eyes, and...it's been happening for a very long time while the American people turn a blind eye!

Krystal Nacht is coming so...be prepared and for your own sake and the sakes of those you love do the research and let them know what's here and now and coming down the pike.

WE must be prepared for all out confrontation. These people are NOT going to go away of their own accord.

Thanks for reading the article jerry.

"At the most chaotic juncture in Iraq's civil war, a new law is unveiled that would allow Shell and BP to claim the country's vast oil reserves. Immediately following September 11, the Bush Administration quietly out-sources the running of the "War on Terror" to Halliburton and Blackwater. After a powerful tsunami devastates the coasts of Southeast Asia, the pristine beaches are auctioned off to tourist resorts. New Orleans's residents, still scattered from Hurricane Katrina, discover that their public housing, hospitals and schools will never be reopened."  



10 Dec 2007 @ 23:27 by vaxen : Just...
found a link (The Guardian) to Naomi's "Fascist America, in 10 easy steps"

"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands ... is the definition of tyranny," wrote James Madison. We still have the choice to stop going down this road; we can stand our ground and fight for our nation, and take up the banner the founders asked us to carry.

{http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html}  



11 Dec 2007 @ 00:14 by vaxen : The Anti-Thesis...
Rightwing News has this to say:

We're Becoming A Fascist Society? How Ridiculous.

Remember Naomi Wolf, the feminist who taught Al Gore how to act like a man or in femspeak, an "alpha male?" Well, she's back and it looks like she's so eaten up with Bush Dementia syndrome that she's having a public mental meltdown and claiming George Bush is turning America into a fascist society.

Now, this is particularly noteworthy, because even a lot of the nutty netroots crowd stop beating the "fascism & rigged elections" drums quite so hard after the 2006 elections, but apparently, that didn't even phase Wolf's rock hard noggin'.

Here are the 10 steps to fascism that George Bush has taken according to Wolf (followed by my comments).

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy Of course, we have a terrifying external enemy, terrorists, so this one would be a given no matter who was in the White House.

2. Create a gulag. By this, she means Gitmo and other prisons for foreign terrorists. Setting aside the fact that they're prisons, not gulags, isn't the point to set up a gulag to put YOUR CITZENS into? I mean how do you create terror among the citizenry by sticking a bunch of Saudis and Afghans in a prison in Cuba?

3. Develop a thug caste. This she defines as mercenaries in Iraq, private security guards hired in New Orleans after Katrina, and Republican protestors in Florida after the Goracle tried to lawyer out a victory. Of course, this makes for pretty thin gruel if you're trying to come up with a "thug caste." As a matter of fact, black block protestors at anti-war rallies would probably be closer to the mark than anything Wolf came up with, but that's on the wrong side of the partisan divide...

4. Set up an internal surveillance system. The Bush Administration has beefed up security measures, but none of the programs Wolf mentions are aimed solely at internal communications. All of them are designed to capture intel that goes from inside the US to outside the US. So, this is really another whiff for Wolf.

5. Harass citizens' groups. Wolf's evidence for this is a church that advocated political positions is being investigated, justly I might add, by the IRS and government interest in anti-war groups. Given that some of these anti-war protests have been violent and advocated treasonous sentiments, it is appropriate to check up on them -- and just investigating these groups doesn't constitute "harassment." Again, if this is the best Wolf can come up with, it's weak tea.

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release. Here Wolf uses the "no fly" list and two people who were looked into for potential terrorism ties and not convicted. Again, this is just an incredible overstretch.

7. Target key individuals This is so vague as to be meaningless; "Target" -- target how? "Key Individuals" -- why is a person a key individual? As befits something this vague, Wolf flails all over here from college prosecutors to the fired US Attorneys and accomplishes nothing.

8. Control the press Bizarrely, Wolf cites everything from the administration's pushback against Joe Wilson's lies to Wolf's despicable claim that the US is trying to murder journalists in Iraq. Yet, the idea that the mainstream media, which is extremely liberal and implacably hostile to Bush is under his control in any way, shape, or form, is ludicrous and Wolf makes no serious effort to prove otherwise.

9. Dissent equals treason This is a favorite canard of the left, but it's self-refuting. Liberals always claim to be afraid of prosecution for speaking truth to power, yet they do it anyway, and nothing ever happens to them as a result. If anything, we've probably gone too far in the other direction where actual treason is simply shrugged off as another form of dissent.

10. Suspend the rule of law. Here, Wolf is horrified because Bush has been given the power to send one state's national guard into another state because of an emergency. You may think that's a good idea and a rational response to the mess caused by Blanco's incompetence after Katrina or you may think it's a bad idea, but it certainly doesn't amount to a suspension of the "rule of law."

Conclusion: Note that even though Wolf came up with her own 10 terms, her own 10 signs of fascism, she still couldn't make a case for her argument. There are all 10 and what's to say beyond -- "how pathetic."

John Hawkins | 05:35 PM

http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2007/04/were_becoming_a_fascist_societ.php

Now for the foot soldiers in the street, you and maybe you too...the synthesis.

You'll remember the good old Hegelian dialectic? Thesis, antithesis, synthesis? Oo do I smell Poppy Hitlers' "New World Order?' Keep touching, bro, and maybe we'll all get through this juvenile phase - of human kind's - in one piece?

Whew!

"Naomi Wolf was born in San Francisco in 1962. She was an undergraduate at Yale University and did her graduate work at New College, Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar." - from the Huffington post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf

Know about 'The Round Table?' Yeah, Cecil Rhodes. So Naomi was a Rhodes scholar? So was Billie Boy Clinton. Could this have any bearing on her opinions? Hmmm

The 'buzzflash' interview...

{http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/interviews/077}  



11 Dec 2007 @ 20:39 by vaxen : Along came Jones...
What is of interest to many Americans is that the same kind of information and psychological operations used in Iraq and in target populations around the globe have also been implemented within the U.S., targeting American citizens.

http://www.lincolngroup.com/

Welcome! The Freecycle Network is made up of 4,188 groups with 4,177,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on “Browse Groups” above the search box. Have fun!

http://www.freecycle.org/  



20 Dec 2007 @ 20:10 by vaxen : Freedom 21
An alternative to the U.N. Agenda 21 boondoggle:

The Freedom 21 Agenda

The Freedom 21 Agenda is envisioned to be a blueprint that will result in the advancement of the principles of freedom in the local community, in Washington, and throughout the world.

Agenda 21 http://www.sovereignty.net/p/sd/a21/ , adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, at the U.N. Conference on Environment and development, has had profound influence on public policy. The objective of this document is to integrate environmental protection, economic development, and social equity - under the management of global authorities.

The Freedom 21 Agenda can have a profound influence on public policy. This document will seek to set forth the principles and specific policy recommendations that will - first and foremost - protect and advance the principles of freedom enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and other founding documents.

To ensure that the Freedom 21 Agenda represents the broadest possible array of ideas and suggestons, working groups are being formed to work within defined issue areas: (1) Environment and property rights; (2) Education and Family; (3) Security and international relations; and (4) Responsible government.

The first two working groups are now organizing. The Environment and property rights working group is co-chaired by David Rothbard, President of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, and Fred Kelly Grant, with Stewards of the Range.

The Education and family working group is co-chaired by Tom DeWeese, President of the American Policy Center, and Cathie Adams, President of Texas Eagle Forum. Both of the working groups are now adding additional contributors to their groups.

A draft of their work-to-date will be presented at the Freedom 21 Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, July 12-14, 2001. Participants will review their work, and offer suggested revisions and ideas during workshops on Saturday afternoon.

The work product of the working groups will also be posted on this web site, for review and additional suggestions from people who are unable to attend the conference.

Eventually, we will compile the best ideas from people all across this country to incorporate into the final document. Since its objective is a blueprint to freedom, its recommendations should be much more appealing and effective than those which have permeated public policy since 1992.

Everyone who shares the dream of a free people living responsible lives, without constant "management" by government, will want to participate in this exciting challenge.

"Sic Itur Ad Astra." - Virgil
(Thus do we reach the stars.)  



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