If you want real facts, here’s a basic fact of life you will never see trumpeted on T.V. or any of the mainstream American mass-media:
American domestic and foreign policy is now, and has always been, dictated fundamentally by economics — not by moral and political values.
All the talk of “democracy” and “human rights” is just so much PR spin — to cover up American and Israeli war crimes.
America has never been a democracy itself, which helps to explain why it has never supported democracy anywhere else in the world. For over 100 years America has supported brutal fascist regimes in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe; criminal regimes dominated by extremely evil, murderous people — the sort of people the American plutocracy feels more comfortable with.
America is a plutocracy, not a democracy. Ultra-wealthy
slave-owners,
landowners, bankers and
corporations
have been the ultimate power behind the U.S. government from the beginning to the present day — not “We The People”. A government by the majority of “We The People” has always been a total myth at the national level, and at most state, county and big city levels as well.
In America therefore, as in all countries, we are subjected to the bald-faced lies of patriotic propaganda in the soulless, government-controlled schools. But far more importantly, we are absolutely dominated — from our earliest childhood — by the calculated, highly effective brainwashing of the corporate-owned mass-media.
American television is by far the most effective.
“It’s been demonstrated that well within two minutes of watching television, most people enter a hypnotic alpha state bordering on theta. Viewers in this state are no longer able to critically evaluate, discern, or pass judgement from their own moral database on the material being viewed. The information just flows, unimpeded, into their subconscious year in and year out.”
— Jeff Rense
Rense.com
With its hypnotic, rapid-flashing images and chanting “news” announcers — jabbering away in their rhythmic, sing-song cadences calculated to lull the listener into a state of subconscious receptivity — American television is the most effective mass-brainwashing tool of all time.
On the radio the so-called “news” is presented by similarly jabbering droids, but television is a more powerful tool for influencing the subconscious mind because it is visually oriented. The conscious mind is influenced by words, but the language of the subconscious mind is that of images — form and color.
And the television sits right there in your living room or bedroom every day. You don’t have to go to a theatre and buy a ticket to be brainwashed. All you have to do is sit down in your own easy chair or lie back in your bed, push a button, and say goodbye to your independence of mind.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that media-mesmerized Americans are so totally CLUELESS.
T.V.-brainwashed Americans have been gaping like morons all their lives at increasingly puerile and degraded “entertainment.” They have no idea of the horrifying numbers of innocent, civilian people whom our own United States government and military have violently murdered and terrorized, all around the world, for over 100 years.
See the
Chronology of Terror
for a good overview of America’s genocidal hidden history.
Also:
Revealing Quotes 3: Mass-Media Deception
America’s War-Criminal M.O.
Professional Liars: The Crooked Job of Corporate Journalism
Corporations Have a Chokehold on the U.S. Media
by Rep. Bernie Sanders
Neighborhood Bully: American Militarism
interview with Ramsey Clark
“Most people prefer to believe their leaders are just and fair even in the face of evidence to the contrary, because once a citizen acknowledges that the government under which they live is lying and corrupt, the citizen has to choose what he or she will do about it. To take action in the face of a corrupt government entails risks of harm to life and loved ones. To choose to do nothing is to surrender one’s self-image of standing for principles. Most people do not have the courage to face that choice.
“Hence, most propaganda is not designed to fool the critical thinker but only to give moral cowards an excuse not to think at all.”
— Michael Rivero
WhatReallyHappened.com
Related sites
TV-Turnoff Network
http://www.tvturnoff.org/
“TV-Turnoff Network encourages children and adults to watch much less television in order to promote healthier lives and communities.
“TV-Turnoff Network has helped millions of Americans to break free of TV through our two primary programs, National TV-Turnoff Week and More Reading, Less TV. Our 3,000 members include teachers, parents, doctors, and others — Americans from every corner of the country and walk of life.
“Formerly TV-Free America, TV Turnoff Network was founded in 1994.”
US psychological warfare experts worked at CNN and NPR during Kosovo War
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/apr2000/cnn-a18.shtml
“Cable News Network (CNN) and National Public Radio (NPR) have acknowledged that eight members of the US Army 4th Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Group served as interns in their news divisions and other areas during the Kosovo war. PSYOPS is a highly specialized unit of the military whose personnel are trained in the production and dissemination of US government propaganda, including on television and radio programs.”
“Three PSYOPS personnel also worked at the Washington DC headquarters of NPR, a publicly-funded radio network. They worked for periods ranging from six weeks to four months from September 1998 through May 1999 on such programs as All Things Considered and Morning Edition.”
Propaganda Techniques
http://serendipity.magnet.ch/more/propagan.html
“This document is based upon ‘Appendix I: PSYOP Techniques’ from Psychological Operations Field Manual No. 33-1 published by Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington DC, 31 August 1979.
“Although this document was published by the U.S. Army, the techniques described are well known to those who practise propaganda.”
And also because this is published by the U.S. Army, it’s no wonder that the document itself contains propaganda. For example, near the end it states: “The United States is absolutely opposed to the use of terror or terror tactics.” Hilarious.
Here’s another (and closely related) kneeslapper:
“Lying and distortion. Lying is stating as truth that which is contrary to fact. For example, assertions may be lies. This technique will not be used by US personnel. It is presented for use of the analyst of enemy propaganda.”
Yeah, right. But with absurdities like that recognized as such, this document is still of great value for identifying and understanding some of the U.S. government’s own basic propaganda techniques.
How the White House and the media package government propaganda as entertainment
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jan2000/drug-j24.shtml
Project Censored
http://www.projectcensored.org/
“The Essential Issue raised by [Project Censored] is the failure of the mass media to provide the people with all the information they need to make informed decisions concerning their own lives and in the voting booth.”
PR Watch and the Center for Media & Democracy
http://www.prwatch.org/
“Whether the issue is health, consumer safety, environmental preservation or democracy and world peace, citizens today find themselves confronted by a bewildering array of hired propagandists paid to convince the public that junk food is nutritious, pollution is harmless, and that what’s good for big business and big government is good for the rest of us.
“Unlike advertising, public relations is often hard to recognize. ‘The best PR is invisible,’ say industry insiders. To spin the news in favor of their clients, PR firms specialize in setting up phony citizens’ groups and scientific ‘experts’ who spin out contrived research using junk science.”
Six of the most notorious PR propaganda firms are the Rendon Group, Ruder-Finn, Hill & Knowlton, Shandwick, Burson-Marsteller and Ketchum PR.
See also a review of the book
Toxic Sludge is Good For You!:
Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry
Media Beat
http://www.fair.org/media-beat/
“Media Beat is the insightful weekly syndicated column on media and politics written by FAIR associate Norman Solomon. It runs in newspapers across the country.
“Utne Reader called Solomon one of ‘the fiercest and most articulate media critics around.’ A Los Angeles Times reviewer wrote: ‘The bold, muckraking tone of these columns offers a welcome respite from the decerebrated discourse that too often passes for contemporary journalism.’”
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting — FAIR
http://www.fair.org/
“FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints.
“As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.”
Bibliography
Inventing Reality:
The Politics of News Media
by Michael Parenti
Manufacturing Consent:
The Political Economy of the Mass Media
by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media:
Decoding Spin and Lies in Mainstream News
by Norman Solomon
Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television
by Jerry Mander
The Plug-In Drug
by Marie Winn
Pirates and Emperors, Old and New:
International Terrorism in the Real World
by Noam Chomsky
The Real Terror Network:
Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda
by Edward S. Herman
Body of Secrets:
Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency
by James Bamford
In 1962, U.S. military leaders had top-secret a plan for committing terrorist attacks on Americans in Miami and Washington D.C., while blaming Cuba. Codenamed “Operation Northwoods”, the plan was intended to provide the propaganda necessary to create popular support for an invasion of Cuba.
War, Lies & Videotape:
How media monopoly stifles truth
edited by Lenora Foerstel; multiple authors
The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
by Gore Vidal
What Uncle Sam Really Wants
by Noam Chomsky
Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy
by Robert W. McChesney
The Hidden Persuaders:
What makes us buy, believe – and even vote – the way we do?
by Vance Packard
Toxic Sludge is Good for You!:
Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry
by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton
Dumbing Us Down:
The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
by John Taylor Gatto
Lies My Teacher Told Me:
Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
by James Loewen
Derailing Democracy:
The America the Media Don’t Want You to See
by David McGowan
War At Home:
Covert Action Against U.S. Activists and What We Can Do About It
by Brian Glick
Blackshirts and Reds:
Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism
by Michael Parenti
The Beast Reawakens
by Martin A. Lee
The Fire This Time:
U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf
by Ramsey Clark
Desert Slaughter:
The Imperialist War Against Iraq
by the Workers League
Hidden Agenda:
U.S./NATO Takeover of Yugoslavia
by Ramsey Clark, Nadja Tesich, Michel Chossudovsky, Slobodan Milosevic, numerous authors
NATO in the Balkans:
Voices of Opposition
by Ramsey Clark, Sean Gervasi, Nadja Tesich, Sara Flounders, Thomas Deichmann, Gary Wilson and Richard Becker
To Kill A Nation:
The Attack on Yugoslavia
by Michael Parenti
Killing Hope:
U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since WWII
by William Blum
Rogue State:
A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower
by William Blum
Western State Terrorism
Alexander George, editor; essays by Noam Chomsky, Edward S. Herman, Gerry O’Sullivan and others
Terrorizing the Neighborhood:
American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era
by Noam Chomsky
Pressure Drop Press, 1991
Corporate Predators:
The Hunt for Mega-Profits and the Attack on Democracy
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
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Join the Blue Ribbon Online Free Speech Campaign!
“If you want free speech you can go down to a street corner and shout.”
— Jim Olson
owner of Humboldt Internet
September 26, 2001
On September 14, 2001, three days after the WTC attack, the owner of the humboldt1.com ISP summarily deleted the original American Terrorism website. When informed that he was suppressing online free speech, he offered the helpful advice above.
http://www.humboldt1.com/~016910/Amerikan_Terrorism.html
Launched: May, 2000 — Torpedoed: September 14, 2001 R.I.P.
To spare my vocal chords I offer this remaining mirror site:
