Why NSA = STASI

The individual is more sensitive to the voice of the herd than to any other influence. It can inhibit or stimulate his thought and conduct. (Wilfred Trotter, British psychologist, 1916)

211267We live in the post-Lippmann, post-Bernays, post-Dewey, post-Le Bon and post-Trotter age. Their work is long done, generations have passed. Their efforts have been inculcated into our attitudes and industrial practices. Most of it had to do with framing the employee mindset in the industrial society. People had to be melded into efficient groups of employees, unions eliminated, with everyone accepting dominance by others as wholesome and natural. The work of these men translated easily into politics and consumerism.

I was a poor student in high school, a lousy employee who didn’t take well to dominance by insecure territorial dictators, and so escaped (or grew out of) most of it. Self-employment* is true freedom.
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Syria update

This is a follow-up on a footnote to the last post, what has become of Syria? When it leaves our mainstream news coverage, the most submissive and compliant media on earth, after months of aggressive and biased reporting, something is up. I can only speculate, but here are some facts:

  • There was a world-wide terror alert last week, and as many as fifteen embassies will be closed. I doubt that there is such widespread terror, or that any secret “Al Qaeda”* communications were intercepted, unless between Langley and the Pentagon. So I thought perhaps they are setting the stage for new false-flag attacks, after which they would blame and bomb Syria.
  • The original strategy against Syria failed – that is, the so-called red line wherein the death squads used chemical weapons, maybe, and then blamed the Assad regime. They could never quite pull this off – too many people paying close attention.
  • Part of the reason for Morsi’s overthrow in Egypt was his order to mobilize Egyptian military units against Syria. Since Syria and Egypt are the old United Arab Republic, there are still ties there, and the military refused.
  • This I just learned: The Egyptian military is conducting a large operation in North Sinai to rout “Al Qaeda” forces there. It’s a smart move, as the presence of such forces could have been a justification for NATO to sieze the Suez Canal.

I never discount the United States military and CIA, the most sophisticated fighting and terrorist force in the history of the planet. But the marked failures so far are very encouraging.
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*I put “Al Qaeda” in quotes, as it is largely a US-invested and US-run organization used to run terrorist operations and justify a US response. See how it works? In the same manner, the British originally founded the Muslim Brotherhood, and the U.S. and Israel were originally behind Hamas and Hezbollah. It is not clear, to this day, if original ties are severed. The world is full of surprises. But that is indeed how it works. Since there are no real anti-imperialist “terrorist” forces (there are resistance fighters, as in Iraq), we have to invent them.

Meh.

I have to express some disappointment at a good man and hard thinker in that JC started out in his post on the right track, civil liberties, but spent the rest of the post dwelling on partisan politics. It reminded me of when the Republican strategists who brought Reagan to office had mastered the art of direct mailing to bring voting blocs together.

That sort of thing goes on all day every day. I don’t like it. I don’t dislike it. I nothing it. It’s partisan politics. If Mitt Romney had won, had out-maneuvered the Obama people, would we be worse off? According to the first part of the long post, no. That’s what matters – Bush III.

A good man was I think a bit intimidated into using only acceptable mainstream sources. NY Times, WaPo. Isn’t it interesting how, in doing so, he went completely thought-free and partisan on us?

A big “Meh.”

World-wide terror alert! World wide terror alert!

I disregard such news as manipulation, and look to see what is not reported while such stories grab headlines. Suggestions would be useful as I don’t really have time to look for real news today.
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Speaking of news management, which does not happen in the land of the free, Glenn Greenwald was scheduled to testify before an informal hearing chaired by Alan Grayson on the NSA wiretaps.

But as Grayson said, “Obama developed a sudden and newfound interest in House Democrats and scheduled a meeting with them for that same time.” The hearings were canceled. [Politico Link.]

Obama is not known to go to Capitol Hill for anything, much less unannounced and impromptu. See how it works?

Budgeism debunked

When it is all over, I hope to have added one term to the English language: Budgeism. It came from my interactions with the Missoula financial adviser. I began to notice over time that the bulk of his theories on economics were untestable. Yet he addressed matters with certainty – if only we did x instead of y, z would happen instead y … I shortened it to the following:

I believe my theories will work and yours will fail, in the future. Prove me wrong.

From there it’s easy to see how it works as a debate tactic. Take health care – the European systems are working well, adjusting as they must, and are not in any way threatened or unpopular. They will fail in the future. The US health care system is a colossal bust, with worse outcomes and immensely higher costs while inaccessible to a large portion of the population. In the end, it will work.*

Budgeism is useful in understanding the arguments of economists of the Randian, Austrian, or neoclassical schools. They can’t explain the past or present nor predict the future, and yet get paid for it. If neoclassical economics actually worked, they’d be out of a job, right? Don’t markets eliminate bad products?

The video below is of Steve Keen, a rebel who loves taking potshots at the neo’s while advancing his own theories. I certainly don’t have the chops to evaluate his work, but I do like his attitude and humor.

My favorite line:

Neoclassical economics: The application of bad mathematics to wishful thinking.

26-minute video below fold. Enjoy!
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In retrospect, this remarkable story is even more so

There’s a nice little movie out there called “Fruitvale Station,” a separate discussion. In the movie the lead character, Oscar, is getting lovey with his wife and she is indifferent, and then mentions that he had an affair with another woman and that it was making it difficult for her. “One time,” says Oscar, and she agrees. “Yeah. You got caught, one time.”

This article is from TV Guide, April 15, 2000. It was a freer time in our history with more actual journalism going on than now. The incident has stuck in my mind all of these years because events subsequent indicate heavily military PSYOP presence in our news media.

In the TV Guide article, we learn that eight US Army PSYOP specialists held positions with CNN and NPR. That much is certain, as it was admitted by red-faced CNN and NPR.

After that, everything appears to be a lie. News executives did not know about them, they say. They did not affect “journalism,” they say. “Human Resources” did not know their backgrounds, they say. They were just there to “learn at the feet of masters,” and only about how to do news reporting, they say. In Latin America, they were used to doing things like create anti-drug advertisements, they say. They just did low-level clerkish work, says NPR, on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. They were probably pushing a coffee cart around. What could be more harmless?

And, of course, once NPR and CNN “learned” they were there, they were immediately terminated. End of story.

Truth is a little less savory. A French Intelligence newsletter exposed their existence, and the story ran in a Dutch newspaper, thereby making its way into the US media.

CNN and NPR got caught. But of course, it was the first time. Never happened before, never happen again. Honest honey.
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Serving two masters

rent_seeking_teacheconThis was another “Duh!” moment I had recently – it has to do with private health insurers eliminating coverage of office visits from their policies as we move into ACA, or “Obamacare.”

ACA instituted requirements for basic care, but they are minimal – certain tests and an annual physical. That part went into effect a couple of years ago. I had coverage through Anthem Blue Cross at that time, and after I got the physical learned that they would not pay for the office visit portion – the majority of the cost of the physical. I questioned them about this, thinking that “annual physical” would naturally include going to a physician’s office. No, they said, read the contract. They do not cover office visits.

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The origins of Americanism

The twentieth century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy. (Alex Carey)

I stumbled upon the above words years ago, and only now have followed up on Carey’s (1922-1987) work. He was a misplaced sheep rancher in Australia who had strong academic leanings. (Raising “sheep” would later seem apropos.) He studied propaganda, but most of his work was unpublished due to an early death. He noticed that around 1970 American propaganda was creeping into Australian society. In academic fashion, he did research into the origins.

Alex-CareySo I spent my down time in Yellowstone reading “Taking the Risk out of Democracy,” a collection of his essays. Most of our current attitudes are a manifestation of earlier work by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). That robust group ran education campaigns from the early twentieth century forward. The only two serious threats to corporate power in our society are government and unions. NAM demonized both, convincing even those who benefited from unions that they were a force for evil. Those attitudes are omnipresent now in our culture.
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The Military-Industrial-Intelligence-Entertainment Complex

It bears repeating that any time we see a movie that uses U.S. military hardware, the script has been approved by the Pentagon and they had a representative on-site to make sure that nothing un-American slips through. The Hollywood-Langley-Pentagon connection is as deep now as even during World War II. Very little escapes the censors.

Anyway, I am pleased to announce that the following letter was printed in CounterPunch Magazine, the print edition, June 2013, Vol. 20, No. 6:

Ed Rampell’s excellent piece on CIA and Hollywood collaboration was highly informative. He does not mention it, but I wonder about the voting process when a mediocre film like Argo secures a best picture award over an artistic achievement like Lincoln. If the agency is working the producers up front, are they also working the AMPAS voters behind the scenes?

I can think of no other reason for the award. Argo was poorly acted, Affleck was a stiff. Green screens were so obvious that it felt like a Hollywood set. I laughed out loud at the contrived airport scene.

I was shocked at rave reviews, and no less so when it got the best picture nod. I remember feeling that same shocked surprise when Bush won in 2000.

On a deeper note: American embassies house CIA stations, an open secret. CIA was deeply entangled in the Shāh’s pre-1979 Iran. The people extracted seemed to know to meet and find shelter away from the embassy during a crisis. The Canadian embassy was probably a prearranged destination. The agency had to have been extracting its own people for security reasons. I cannot imagine any other reason for such drastic measures. Rescuing innocent civilians is not CIA’s charter.

I do not know the magazine’s circulation or reach, but assume it is much less than the Atlantic Monthly, where I had a severely redacted letter printed one time many years ago. Rampell’s piece was called “The Military-Industrial-Intelligence-Entertainment Complex: Hollywood’s Year of Living Clandestinely. Unfortunately, it is behind the subscription wall.

Going for the record!!!

99532704-helen-thomasI was looking over blog stats last night and saw the usual, 200 hits a day plus or minus. It’s been like that for years. (It resembles a flat line.) I don’t actively promote the blog since that is against my idealistic nature. And anyway, most of what I write “goes right over everyone’s head,” as I was told in the early days. If I want readership, I’ve got to be more topical.

But there was an anomaly in the stats – on June 24 readership soared to 1,417. I looked back to that day – there were two posts, one about the curious Snowden affair, the other titled “Man of Steel: The 9/11 Reboot.” That’s what did it – reference to a popular movie.

In that vein, I offer the following:

  • Lone Ranger!!!
  • Royal baby!!!
  • Zimmerman Trayvon Martin!!!
  • You go, Democrats!!!
  • Miley Cyrus wears tight clothing!!!
  • Kanye, Jay Z!!!
  • Dennis Farina dead at 69!!!
  • Helen Thomas dead at 92!!!

That last one is out-of-place. Those who linked here for the former will have no clue of the inspirational work of the confrontational and courageous woman, Helen Thomas. She was a journalist. God rest ye, Ms. Thomas. You were good. Damned good.