Image via WikipediaArmy is 'misleadingly optimistic' over Afghanistan, says ex-diplomat
UK and US rely too much on force as the solution, Britain's former man in Kabul tells foreign affairs committee
( That would depend on the problem they are set to deal with - not the Mission Statement issued covering activities scarce subject to informed scrutiny. )
Propaganda Part I: Bernays and Goebbels
I am currently reading a book called "Propaganda," by Edward Bernays. Along with Walter Lippmann, he is one of the fathers of American public relations. He was a direct nephew of Sigmund Freud and spent much time as a child studying human psychology under him. He put this knowledge to good work.
Bernays, along with Lippmann, believed that the masses could not be entrusted with decisionmaking in a Democracy. Fleeing antisemtic religious persecution in Austria, both believed that the masses had a mob mentality that would aim at nothing short of tyranny and oppressive brutishness, if given the chance.
Image via Wikipedia
Political Propaganda has Defined Patriotism
Political propaganda must affect policy.
Oversimplification of complex issues is a popular technique. A perfect example is the manner in which the global fiscal importance and complexity of the deficit has been reduced to “kitchen table” economics; or the criticism of the bank bailout, which was adopted under the Bush administration and supported by both Republicans and Democrats.
Propagandists employ tactics that dehumanize those who support the opposing viewpoint through suggestion or false accusations. They influence public perception by disseminating negative and false information.
Stereotyping is used to arouse prejudices by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign as something the target audience fears, hates, or finds undesirable…” Muslims are terrorists”…”homosexuals are Godless”.Propaganda reinforces anxiety. And too often the anxiety has been created by the propaganda itself. Because if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. It was Adolf Hitler who said, "What good fortune for those in power that the people do not think."
It was Mussolini who said. “Fascism should rightly be called corporatism as it is a merger of state and corporate power”. He should know since he’s credited with creating it.
More Salon.com War Propaganda for "Progressives"
There is no justification for an attack on Iran. And yet here we are, with even the supposedly"independent" "lefty" media joining in the effort to get us to goosestep into another war.If you don't believe that this is happening, please read this story about recent wikileaks revelations:
CIA Document Calls For Using Afghan Women as Messengers to Humanize the War
The Document is about publicizing anecdotal female human interest stories in Afghanistan to keep European women from opposing the war. We see the same strategy with the recent TIME magazine cover, and now in Salon for a war that we haven't even started yet.This is how an Imperial Democracy manages the people.
Thanks to Salon for pitching in to the Attack Iran Propaganda !
I wonder if Salon's publishers will feel guilty when thousands of Iranian women and children die violent deaths brought about by American weapons
CIA Document Calls For Using Afghan Women as Messengers to Humanize the War
Here is something you can find in one of the WikiLeaks documents, entitled, "CIA Red Cell Special Memorandum: Afghanistan: Sustaining West European Support for the NATO-led Mission-Why Counting on Apathy Might Not Be Enough". The document, assessing how to shore up support in Germany and France for the war, begins with this summary:
This classified CIA analysis from March outlines possible PR strategies to shore up public support in Germany and France for a continued war in Afghanistan. After the Dutch government fell on the issue of Dutch troops in Afghanistan last month, the CIA became worried that similar events could happen in the countries that post the third and fourth largest troop contingents to the ISAF mission. The proposed PR strategies focus on pressure points that have been identified within these countries. For France it is the sympathy of the public for Afghan refugees and women. For Germany it is the fear of the consequences of defeat (drugs, more refugees, terrorism) as well as for Germany's standing in NATO. The memo is a recipe for the targeted manipulation of public opinion in two NATO ally countries, written by the CIA. It is classified as Confidential/No Foreign Nationals.It includes sections with the following titles:
- "Public Apathy Enables Leaders To Ignore Voters"
- "...But Casualties Could Precipitate Backlash"
- "Tailoring Messaging Could Forestall or At Least Contain Backlash"
The Burning Of Afghan Women--A Cry For Help But Not A Cry For War
From day one of game on for invading Afghanistan, one of the most compelling parts of the why we must invade and now apparently stay indefinitely in Afghanistan narrative has been that it will save the lives of women who are being brutalized by the Taliban. And brutalized they have been and continue to be. But the real story is that Afghan women have been and are brutalized by just about everyone, not only the Taliban.On the Feminist Peace Network blog and in articles, I have pointed to stories of Afghan women being set on fire or setting themselves on fire to escape horrific personal situations more times than I can count. There is nothing new in this, but it is nonetheless good to see this feature piece on this atrocity in The New York Times.
What I think is most notable about this piece is that first, it portrays immolation as the intimate, personal violence that it is, there is no attempt to paint this as something perpetrated by the Taliban, nor an effort to paint this as a reason for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. Given that Afghan women’s lives have been used all too often as a deliberate call to war, the framing of this piece is quite welcome.
Breast Cancer Action Asks You To Be The Billboard
Manufacture potential cancer causing products that might help create a market for your cancer treating products. As Breast Cancer Action points out, that is exactly what Eli Lilly is doing.
Eli Lilly has taken pinkwashing to a whole new level. By adding rBGH to the products they sell, Eli Lilly has completed its cancer profit circle: it creates cancer with rBGH, it sells cancer treatment drugs like Gemzar, and it sells a drug, Evista, to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women at high risk of the disease. Eli Lilly’s cancer drugs made $2,683,000,000 for the company in 2008. Its potentially carcinogenic dairy hormone made millions of dollars in the same year. Eli Lilly is milking cancer.
Don’t Get Cooked For Thanksgiving–Opting Out Of The New Airport Scanners
The TSA originally said that these machines would be used only for secondary screening, for those passengers that set off an alarm at the walk-through metal detector or Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) machine. They are now being used as primary screening at 45 airports, to take nude images of passengers who have done nothing more suspicious than present a boarding pass.And while the privacy issue is a major concern, what ought to be scaring us a lot more is that these machines are x-raying us. And there is absolutely no such thing as a safe dose of radiation, which is a long proven cause of cancer, because radioactive load in our bodies is cumulative and every dose, no matter how small adds to that and can lead to cancer,
Backscatter X-ray uses ionizing radation, a known cumulative health hazard, to produce images of passengers bodies. Children, prengant women, the elderly, and those with defective DNA repair mechanisms are considered to be especially susceptible to the type of DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. Also at high risk are those who have had, or currently have, skin cancer. Ionizing radiation’s effects are cumulative, meaning that each time you are exposed you are adding to your risk of developing cancer. Since the dosage of radiation from the backscatter X-ray machines is absorbed almsot entirely by the skin and tissue directly under the skin, averaging the dose over the whole body gives an inaccurate picture of the actual harm…
Obama pre-emptively shuts down Government to appease GOP
Continuing his pattern of negotiating before being at the negotiating table, President Barack Obama shut down the Federal Government today.
“We must work together,” said Obama, on the 16th hole of Pebble Beach. “By shutting down the government right now, we’re showing Republicans that we are open to their suggestions.”Having won control of the House, Republicans enter the new Congress confident and with one major agenda item – destroy Obama. Noted for his need to have Republicans like him, Obama used an obscure Constitutional law to shut down the federal government, as well as all state and local governments.
“We mean business,” said Obama. “I’m well aware that Republicans want to destroy my Presidency and legacy. It’s time to meet them halfway.”
Asian Powers Are Starting to Call the Shots, and the US Can't Do Anything About It
( It's amazing how the converse of the 'Monroe Doctrine' doesn't appear covered anywhere in U.S. perceptions : that people can be concerned with good relations with their neighbours over appeasing the Gods of War....would that they would stay far away. )
Institute for New Economic Thinking
Image via WikipediaRainbow Warrior and Lightworkers
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