🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1158868110.929012.130460@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com>,
 maxhemust@yahoo.com wrote:

> Example of  propaganda in Austin Texas paper
> 
> Here's an example some of the hogwash/propaganda in a Texas paper, the
> Austin American Statesman. On page A-3 the fourth paragraph of an
> article entitled:  "Venezuelan leader reviles Bush as the devil" (dated
> 9-21-06)
> 
> "..the leftist Chavez is a close ally of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro
> and other nations whose leaders are at odds with the United States."
> 
>  The article is not an editorial -it's a report on Chavez's speech at
> the UN.
> 
> Deception/inaccuracies:
> 
> 1) The view that Castro is a "dictator" is an opinion. It would be
> honest/factual to say the  Cuban "president" or "leader".

He's a dictator in the classic definition.
 
> 2) Those leaders are NOT at odds with the United States. The ignorant,
> deceptive misleaders in Washington are NOT the United States. The so
> called news report would be honest/factual to say that those leaders
> "are at odds with the Bush regime".

"The united states" in this context means US Government, and that usage 
is more common than "the government of the United States" - and 
Cuba/Fidel has been "at odds" with the US for quite some time.

As for Chavez, since Bush is the only president since Chavez took 
office, it might be ok to us "US/US Policy" and "Bush administration" 
interchangeably.

> One of the methods that the Bush regime and billionaire controlled US
> news media frequently use is to repeat a lie over and over again. The
> more people who read or hear the lies, the more will believe them.

For someone accusing of propoganda, you seem very familiar with it.


> It's true that the people of the USA are the most decieved people on
> earth. We've all to a greater or lesser extent been filled with
> hogwash. I wish it weren't true, but it is.
> That too shall pass!

"The most deceived people on earth"?

THe secret to good propoganda is to keep the hysteria level low, you 
lose.


> 
> 
> ==================================
> 
> Thomas Keske wrote:
> 
> Efficiency in Propaganda
> 
> It is difficult to beat the professionalism of propaganda
> in the U.S. and in the GOP, in particular.
> 
> In the art of propaganda, it would be crude if you relied
> simply on the telling of outright falsehoods.   The subtle
> professional relies as much on creating *impressions*,
> by indirect means, by focus, juxtapositions, associations,
> suggestions, inference.
> 
> GOP propaganda is admirable for the efficiency of its
> content.   For example, consider a small newspaper article
> which reported that there was a small error detected in the
> vote-counting in Ohio.   When it was corrected, Bush won
> by a slightly larger margin.   Not by much of a difference,
> just slightly, according to the article.
> 
> This is very efficient, because in just a couple sentences,
> it is very likely that there are no less than four false
>  impressions that are made:
> 
>    * that when we have errors, it is by accident,
>       not by malfeasance
> 
>    * that when we have errors, we catch them quickly.
>       Not that when we have errors, we never in our lifetimes
>       will be the wiser.
> 
>    * that when we have errors, they are small, not large-scale
> 
>    * that when we have errors, they are *against* the political
>       party that has the worst history for hardball, dirty tricks,
>       not *in favor* of the party that has the worst history for
>       hardball, dirty tricks
> 
> Another example of propaganda-by-power-of-suggestion is
> the hypocritical double-standard in reporting of suspected
> election fraud in the Ukraine, where a pro-Western candidate
> lost, versus reporting of possible fraud/abuse in two successive
> U.S. elections.
> 
> In the Ukraine, the primary focus of the news reporting was
> on the making of the accusations by the losers, not on the denial
> and rebuff of the accusations by the winners- just the reverse
> of the reporting on the alleged GOP fraud in the U.S.
> 
> When reporting on the Ukraine, the photos that accompanied
> the news articles showed pictures of the losing, pro-West
> candidate, of the crowds supporting him, of Lech Walessa
> shaking hands with him in Poland.   No such pictures
> of the winning candidate, or his supporters. Without even
> needing to misreport any actual facts, this technique creates
> an impression that the pro-West candidate has more support,
> is more important, and more legitimate.
> 
> In both cases, the media presentation made clear to reader
> what conclusion should be drawn about the validity
> (or lack thereof) of the elections, immediately after
> the election was complete, and  well before any serious,
> in-depth investigation had been conducted.
> 
> The American public should wake up to the fact they
> are being manipulated by propaganda, serving the ends
> of power-politics, practically every day.
> 
> Our CIA is notorious for having engaged  in rigging of
> elections in smaller, Third-World countries.   This is an
> admitted historical fact, not a "conspiracy theory".
> 
> It ought to produce a shiver, when a head of the
> CIA was formerly the GOP campaign manager, as
> was the case under Ronald Reagan, and William Casey.
>  Similarly, it is dangerous to democracy when the new head of the
> CIA is a former Republican Congressman, who is busily
> stuffing the organization with fellow partisans.
> 
> Instead of the dismissing and insulting concerns
> about the legitimacy of the last election, the media
> should acknowledge that there are specific, concrete
> measures to better ensure the honesty of future elections-
> paper receipts mandated for all voters who want them,
> open source computer programs, independent virus-scanning
> software that can detect modifications of the programs,
> etc.
> 
> The blatantly partisan CEOs of some of the key
> suppliers of vote-counting computers should resign.
> Their credibility is already compromised, for such things
> as holding $1000-a-plate fundraisers for the GOP.
> We need either entirely new suppliers, or at least bipartisan
> teams to monitor every step of the manufacturing,
> distribution, installation, and operation.
> 
> The GOP supporters can laugh about these concerns,
> and not really care if there is fraud, but they should take
> a note from the Ukraine.   When the people of a country
> cannot be satisfied of the honesty of elections, it can eventually
> lead the country into violent civil strife.
> 
> Resistance to obvious, simple suggestions for improving
> security should be regarded by the public as signs of
> probable malfeasance and dishonesty.
> 
> ===========
> 
> in a second post, he added:
> 
> Another good thing in the art of propaganda- always,
> always have a scapegoat.
> 
> If you stage a coup, and assassinate a President,
> tthen have a Lee Harvey Oswald to take the blame, and
> then have another 2-bit mobster assassinate the
> scapegoat so he can't bleat too much information.
> 
> If you rig some vote-counting computers, then
> misplace the blame by quoting some rigged polls
> that  show "moral values" as the reason for the vote
> turn-out.  It is a two-fer for advancing your agenda.
> 
> Remember that, too- it is even easier to rig polls
> than to rig elections.
> 
> ###
> 
> end of TK's comments
> ========================
> 
> The points made are true and very well stated. The US propaganda
> system is truly spectacular. The billionaires who control it, the
> major politicians and the nation are doing a great job of deceiving
> the unsuspecting masses. It's incredibly to see and a great pity that
> so many good, gullible and hard working Americans have been tricked
> into believing that they are the luckiest people alive, here in the
> "greatest nation" in the world. Of course that's exacty what most
> would like to believe anyway.
> 
> Luckily with the internet, it is getting harder for the truth to be
> hid from those who really want it.  TK's paper should help some in
> these newsgroups to grasp the facts - or to at least consider them. A
> google search on the keyphrase "bohemian grove" will be helpful to
> some.
> 
> As many people know, the first step in solving any problem is
> recognizing and defining the problem. For many of us, we have met the
> enemy and it is us.
> 
> =======================
> The American (and to a lesser extent the British) people's view of the
> world is largely shaped by the most spectacular propaganda system of
> all time.   Those who want to be aware of what's happening must stop
> trusting the corporate American news media.
> RH
> 
> Here are some good sources for news
> (that are typically NOT  hogwash outlets like the major US networks)
> 
> http://AlterNet.org
> http://Anti-War.com
> http://caracasnews.com
> http://www.CommonDreams.org
> http://www.DemocracyNow.org
> http://www.futurenet.org
> http://www.gregpalast.com
> http://www.independent.co.uk
> http://www.informationclearinghouse.info
> 
> ===========================================
> 
> In case you missed it...
> 
> Something is Terribly Wrong With the USA- 7 Minute Video
> 
> ============
> 
> There is something terribly wrong with this country
> 7 Minute Video
> http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14615.htm
> 
> consists of some scenes from the movie V For Vendetta
> 
> good food for thought
> 
> pass it around!
> 
> =================================================
> 
>  The original terrorists in Iraq were the military and civilian
> officials of the Bush administration -- starting with their "shock and
> awe" bombing campaign that destroyed Iraqi infrastructure in order to
> "undermine civilian morale." The American form of terrorism continued
> with the wholesale destruction of most of Falluja and parts of other
> Sunni cities, designed to pacify the "hot beds" of insurgency, while
> teaching the residents of those areas that, if they "harbor the
> insurgents," they will surely "suffer the consequences."
> 
> At the individual level, this program of terror was continued through
> the invasions of, and demolishing of, homes (or, in some cases, parts
> of neighborhoods) where insurgents were believed to be hidden among a
> larger civilian population, thus spreading the "lesson" about
> "harboring terrorists" to everyone in the Sunni sections of the
> country. Generating a violent death rate of at least 18,000 per year,
> the American drumbeat of terror has contributed more than its share to
> the recently escalating civilian death toll, which reached a record
> 3,149 in the official count during July. It is unfortunately accurate
> to characterize the American occupation of Sunni Iraq as a reign of
> terror.
> ============
> from:
> http://www.TomDispatch.com/
> 7 Facts You Might Not Know about the Iraq War
> by Michael Schwartz
> 
> ===============================
> 
> Feel free to copy and spread this around... the American people can't
> be expected to act intelligently until they know the truth about the
> war criminals in the white house and pentagon.
> 
> ================================
> 
> WAR PICTURES
> 
> Pictures of Destruction and Civilian Victims of the Anglo-American
> Aggression in Iraq
> 
> These photos are only of a very tiny fraction of the thousands of Iraqi
> Civilian Victims who have been terrorised, humiliated, injured, maimed
> and killed through British and American bombing of civilian areas in
> various cities of Iraq. Due to insecurity, independent reporters could
> not and still can not reach many areas to photograph and report the
> atrocities. Several independent reporters and journalists were
> deliberately bombed to prevent them reporting the atrocities. We kindly
> request Independent News Reporters to send us photos of the
> Anglo-American atrocities in Iraq for inclusion on these pages.
> 
> Please note that some of these pictures are not suitable for small
> children and those who have weak hearts.
> 
> Robert Fisk:
> http://snipurl.com/h6tm
> 
> Mind Prod:
> http://snipurl.com/h6tp
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------
> 
> "...With American influence at low ebb, the world is in danger of
> sliding
> into a vicious circle of escalating violence. We can escape it only if
> we Americans repudiate the war on terror as a false metaphor. If we
> persevere on the wrong course, the situation will continue to
> deteriorate. It is not our will that is being tested, but our
> understanding of reality. It is painful to admit that our current
> predicaments are brought about by our own misconceptions. However, not
> admitting it is bound to prove even more painful in the long run. The
> strength of an open society lies in its ability to recognize and
> correct its mistakes. This is the test that confronts us.
> 
> Excerpted from the  Wall Street Journal Tuesday, August 15, 2006
> "A Self-Defeating War"
> By George Soros
> 
> ===================
> 
> The time for impeachment is now.
> The time for warmongers and liars has past!
> A good way to fight the real terrorists:
> http://www.ImpeachBush.org
> 
> The Bush regime is a regime of imposters -  who cheated to get into the
> White House.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Some good sources for news
> (warning - those who are accustomed to fox/cnn/and other establishment
> approved hogwash outlets, probably won't like them)
> 
> http://www.commondreams.org/
> http://democracynow.org/
> http://alternet.org/
> http://www.informationclearinghouse.info
> http://www.independent.co.uk/
> http://caracasnews.com/
> http://www.guardian.co.uk
> 
>  =================================================
> 
> In case you missed it:
> 
> EMPIRE OF SHAME, by Jean Ziegler
> Book review by Luc Guillory
> 
> Well-known activist and writer Professor Jean Ziegler is the UN Special
> Rapporteur on the Right to Food and is also a senior Professor at the
> University of Geneva and the University of Sorbonne, Paris. He teaches
> sociology and has written many books, including books about hunger. In
> his book L'Empire de la Honte (Empire of Shame), he explains the
> mechanisms which enable multinational corporations to behave like new
> feudal rulers, and how they use debt as a weapon of mass destruction to
> force national governments and their populations to give up their
> sovereignty and freedom for the sake of vested interests.
> 
> "Eu tenho cola, porque no tenho vida - I have glue [to sniff]
> because I have no life," a little girl in Recife, Brazil, told Jean
> Ziegler while he was investigating the impact of debt and hunger in
> that country. The reality of hungry or ill children with no hope,
> future, education or family life can be directly attributed to the
> country's foreign debt and its relations with rich countries and
> multinational businesses, Ziegler says.
> 
> Between 1964 and 1985 Brazil's debt increased by 50 per cent due to
> military expenditure incurred under the pretext of protecting
> "national security". Foreign investors were offered incentives like
> tax cuts and other financial benefits but since Brazil could not make
> such provisions it was forced to become financially dependent on the
> IMF, the Eximbank (an agency of the US government providing aid in
> financing and facilitating imports and exports), and other private
> Western banks.
> 
> Debt trap
> 
> In 1979, the USA raised its interest rates, and Brazil fell into the
> debt crisis trap of having to take new loans in order to be able to pay
> off interest on previous loans. Years later, President Fernando Cardoso
> chose to raise interest rates in Brazil to attract desperately needed
> foreign capital. The immediate impact on small businesses was
> catastrophic; unable to get access to credit, they had to cut back on
> their activities and dismiss employees. Worse still, the rise in
> interest rates fuelled speculation. Both foreign and Brazilian
> investors took personal loans at high interest rates in order to buy
> Brazilian government bonds.
> 
> As the Brazilian crisis deepened, Western banks and Wall Street became
> concerned about their investments and assets in Brazilian agriculture,
> industry and services. To end the downward spiral the IMF stepped in
> with the biggest bail-out ever - credit worth US$30 billion in 2002.
> (Ironically, just a short while before that, the IMF had refused
> Argentina a similar rescue package.)
> 
> A combination of "heavy Wall Street pressure" plus the IMF rescue
> deal increased the pressure on the Brazilian government for further
> privatizations in mines, telecommunications and the petrol and
> electricity industries. Unemployment rocketted and billions of
> dollars' worth of national assets were sold off to multinational
> corporations.
> 
> The 'conditionality' of the loans granted by the IMF was that the
> Brazilian government undertook to maintain economic growth at 3.75 per
> cent per year. This guaranteed creditors that Brazil would be able to
> pay back its debt and interest. As a direct consequence, social
> spending budgets were inevitably slashed and the welfare of the poorest
> sections of the population was sacrificed to debt servicing.
> 
> Shockingly, the Brazilian case is not unique but can be found again and
> again in various countries and guises throughout the world, says
> Professor Ziegler. He provides ample illustration throughout his book,
> with a wide variety of concrete and detailed cases, from Mongolia to
> Ethiopia and other heavily indebted nations. Each case, though
> different in its pattern, ends in a similar outcome: increased poverty
> and millions of homeless, deprived people.
> 
> New feudal powers
> 
> What is behind this phenomenon of whole countries going bankrupt and
> being forced to sacrifice the well-being of their own populations to
> foreign financial institutions?
> 
> According to Ziegler, the multinational corporations are the new feudal
> powers. Their purpose is to maximize profits - whatever the human and
> national cost in lost jobs, crippled welfare systems and virtually
> non-existent public spending. They aim to eliminate national controls
> and "social obstacles", thereby gaining control of the wealth of
> individual countries.
> 
> To achieve their aims they deliberately cause a scarcity of services,
> of capital and assets, so as to gain control of the global economic
> system. By way of illustration: in 1964 the global debt of the 122
> developing nations was $54 billion; today it is $2,000 billion. At the
> same time, the net profitability of the 500 most powerful
> transcontinental corporations is 15 per cent per year. According to
> Standard & Poors, the financial reserves maintained by the 374 biggest
> corporations amount to some $555 billion. Despite this they continue to
> cause job and wage cuts and limit social spending.
> 
> Weapon of mass destruction
> 
> In 2003, the international 'aid' received by 122 developing
> countries totalled $54 billion; debt repayment from those developing
> countries back to the donor countries was a massive $436 billion. Debt,
> Ziegler says, is the new weapon of mass destruction that the modern
> feudal powers use to enslave whole countries.
> 
> The well-known British NGO Jubilee 2000 has calculated that every five
> seconds a child dies because of debt. Indebted governments of the South
> borrow loans with interest rates five to seven times higher than those
> on the financial markets. Just the annual servicing of this debt
> prevents them from making any investment in public schools, hospitals
> and social security, while police and military budgets are maintained,
> to protect the foreign investments, says Ziegler. Between 1992 and
> 1997, Cameroon allocated 4 per cent of its budget to social services,
> but 36 per cent to debt repayment. In Kenya it was 12 per cent and 40
> per cent and in Zambia 6 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.
> 
> Although most of these countries keep up with their repayments, their
> external debt keeps on growing. There are several reasons for the
> continuous increase in their debt:
> 
> � most countries produce raw materials but import industrial
> equipment, the cost of which has risen enormously in the last 20 years;
> � rampant corruption has led elites, with the connivance of Western
> banks, to indulge in organized corrupt practices;
> � astronomical profits, although made by businesses in developing
> countries, are controlled by shareholders from rich industrialized
> countries and sent back to the West. These profits are usually not
> transferred in the local currency but in US dollars or other major
> international currencies;
> � most multinational companies in Developing World countries hold
> patents and receive royalties which are also transferred to the West.
> 
> This, Ziegler explains, is how developing countries lose their ability
> to provide for themselves. Their sources of income are stolen by
> Western creditors. In the 1970s, Latin America's total foreign debt
> was $60 billion. In 1980, it was $240 billion, and in 2001 it reached
> $750 billion. Each individual in Latin America owes, on average, $2,250
> to their Western creditors.
> 
> Ziegler shows that the gap seems to be widening. Forty years ago, he
> says, some 400 million people were permanently underfed. Today, their
> number has more than doubled - to a staggering 842 million people.
> Meanwhile, the Return on Equity (ROE) of the 500 most powerful
> transnational companies has remained at a steady 15 per cent level in
> the US since 2001. Global capitalism, Ziegler explains, has reached a
> stage where it now experiences a constant economic growth without
> job-creation and almost no increase in the purchasing power of
> consumers.
> 
> What Ziegler points up is that this issue is not simply about profit
> and loss, interest rates and investment. It is about endemic violence,
> hunger and death in countries that are pillaged and broken in this way.
> In 2002, it is estimated that 4,000 children were killed on the streets
> of Brazilian cities. The lack of education, of adequate housing and
> food, the denial of access to healthcare, to paid jobs and security, as
> well as the loss of personal autonomy, forces huge numbers of people
> into purposeless lives.
> 
> War to serve global feudal rulers
> 
> But Ziegler goes a step further. Politics, he says, is exploited to
> serve the financial interests of giant conglomerates. The war waged by
> the US-led coalition in Iraq had a very important strategic purpose:
> not only does Iraq have the world's second largest oil reserves but,
> thanks to its particular geology, the oil reserves are only a few
> metres from the surface. To produce a barrel of crude oil in Texas
> costs $10; in Iraq the same barrel costs less than $1 to produce.
> 
> Quoting The New York Times, Ziegler says that in the first quarter of
> 2004 the net profits of the seven foremost American oil companies grew
> by 43 per cent. Similarly, other big corporations in military
> electronics and weapons have experienced skyrocketting profits due to
> the permanent 'war on terror' waged by the American administration.
> 
> Can the indebted countries rebel against the domination of the IMF,
> asks Ziegler? No, he answers, because each time they appeal to the IMF,
> they have to write a 'letter of intent' in which they literally
> give up their sovereignty for the sake of the creditors. There is a
> conscious underlying strategy of the 'cosmocrats' to maintain those
> at the bottom in utter poverty, so as to make colossal profits. The
> continuation of this system of usury relies on the permanent
> enslavement of whole nations.
> 
> The French revolution of 1789 was a step on the journey towards
> political democracy, and a partial source of inspiration for the
> Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. In the 20th century, the
> United Nations tried to secure universal peace; substantial progress
> has been made in many areas of human endeavour. But we are now facing
> the most brutal attack on the people's sovereignty by the new feudal
> lords. Quoting Gracchus Baboeuf, one of the leading figures of the
> French Revolution and head of the revolutionary group 'Conspiracy of
> the Equals', Ziegler concludes that we have to "look for the common
> good", and recognize that the right to happiness, dignity, food and
> freedom are basic and essential to mankind. This will require the
> complete transformation of society.
> 
> Jean Ziegler, L'Empire de la Honte. Editions Fayard, Paris, France.
> 
> Copied from the March 2006 issue of Share International magazine
> http://www.shareintl.org/magazine/SI current.htm#review
> 
> -------------------------------------
> Quotes from Jean Ziegler:
> 
> "In a world overflowing with riches, it is an outrageous scandal that
> more than 826 million people suffer hunger and malnutrition and that
> every year over 36 million die of starvation and related causes. We
> must take urgent action now."
> Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur
> 
> In 2003, the international 'aid' received by 122 developing
> countries totalled $54 billion; debt repayment from those developing
> countries back to the donor countries was a massive $436 billion.
> 
> Forty years ago some 400 million people were permanently underfed.
> Today, their number has more than doubled - to a staggering 842
> million people.
> 
> -------------
> 
> In Case you missed this...
> 
> CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN
> How the U.S. Uses Globalization to
> Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions
> 
> (A NY Times Best Seller!)
> 
> http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/31/1546207
> 
> Watch/Listen to an hourlong interview with John Perkins, a former
> respected member of the international banking community. In his book
> Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid
> professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe
> out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could
> possibly repay and then taking over their economies. John Perkins
> describes himself as a former economic hit man - a highly paid
> professional who cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of
> dollars.
> 
> 20 years ago Perkins began writing a book with the working title,
> "Conscience of an Economic Hit Men."
> 
> Perkins writes, "The book was to be dedicated to the presidents of two
> countries, men who had been his clients whom I respected and thought of
> as kindred spirits - Jaime Rold�s, president of Ecuador, and Omar
> Torrijos, president of Panama. Both had just died in fiery crashes.
> Their deaths were not accidental. They were assassinated because they
> opposed that fraternity of corporate, government, and banking heads
> whose goal is global empire. We Economic Hit Men failed to bring
> Rold�s and Torrijos around, and the other type of hit men, the
> CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behind us, stepped in.
> 
> John Perkins goes on to write: "I was persuaded to stop writing that
> book. I started it four more times during the next twenty years. On
> each occasion, my decision to begin again was influenced by current
> world events: the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1980, the first Gulf War,
> Somalia, and the rise of Osama bin Laden. However, threats or bribes
> always convinced me to stop."
> 
> But now Perkins has finally published his story. The book is titled
> Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
> 
> Watch and/or listen to the interview
> http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/31/1546207
> read excerpt:
> http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/interviews/188
> 
> ===================
> 
> The truth will set us free!
> 
> (from allegience to corrupt politicians who kiss the asses of the
> obscenely rich while pissing on the peasants at home and abroad, and
> all the horrificly miserable wars and poverty that they create).
> 
> =============
> 
> http://veteransforpeace.org/
> 
> ==============
> 
> "...mankind [will advance] into a civilization and a state of
> consciousness in which  right human relations and worldwide
> cooperation for the good of all will be the  universal keynote."
> Djwhal Khul