Question Everything !

This snip comes from a recent piece by the eminently readable Caitlin Johnstone:
Be Suspicious Of Everyone Who Habitually Defends The Powerful From The Weak

...Generally speaking, whenever you see people loudly and habitually advocating for the powerful side of a power discrepancy, they are showing you that they are servants of power. Their interest is not in truth, justice or compassion, but in helping power maintain itself. Being aware of this gives you a very useful tool for navigating a confusing media landscape that is immersed in propaganda, spin, and disinformation.

This applies across the board. When you see anyone advocating on behalf of the US empire against the latest Official Bad Guy Nation, when you see them advocating on behalf of the plutocrat-owned mass media machine against alternative media outlets, when you see them advocating on behalf of the Pentagon, the CIA and the Democratic Party against Julian Assange, when you see them advocating on behalf of fossil fuel companies against indigenous protesters, when you see them advocating on behalf of America’s increasingly militarized police force against unarmed black men, when you see them advocating on behalf of the wealthy against the poor, when you see them advocating on behalf of the status quo against activists and organizations pushing for change, they are giving you valuable information about themselves.

Illustration borrowed from HERE.


In the USA we need to question all that will be fed to us during upcoming 2018 mid-term elections, and the big one in 2020. In the UK much the same caution applies to what's being fed to the public about Brexit. Having questioned these things though, what then? That is the ultimate question to which I haven't yet found an answer.

Mercury has been in what astrologers term 'retrograde motion' since 26 July, and will continue in that mode until August 19. While the planet isn't actually moving backwards in the sky, it looks that way from our perspective - this occurs when Mercury passes the Earth in its orbit, and happens 3 or 4 times each year. It's really no big deal, but astrologers like to note these times being "something different from the norm", times when things don't always go exactly as planned. I'll not list the various possibilities for hiccups during Mercury retro periods, they are easy enough to find via Google or your favourite search engine. These times offer a useful period for fruitful reflection of things past. With that in mind, to finish off this post, I'm re-airing part of an archived post of mine (lightly edited) which, though some 8 years old points to things no less relevant today, and has connection to Caitlin Johnstone's piece quoted above:

From George Orwell's novel, 1984

"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?... Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?... The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact, there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5

1984 was written long ago. As a view of how Orwell's words still relate to the state of things, I offer a link to a film: Psywar - "The real battlefield is the mind".

The film explores the evolution of propaganda and public relations in the United States, with an emphasis on the “elitist theory of democracy” and the relationship between war, propaganda and class. This is not a high budget affair, but was financed via a blue collar job, and was released online for free. The interviews contained within are original and were conducted by proxy.

The film takes us back, with the guidance of some highly regarded historians and philosophers, over past centuries to illustrate the use of propaganda and manipulation of public feeling...mind control....psyops...call it what you will.

Psyops (Psychological Operations), under one label or another, has been a part of warfare, and used by all countries, for centuries. It has included simple operations such as circulation of propaganda leaflets (as below), posters, radio broadcasts, as well as many more sophisticated and sinister operations. As well as being a part of warfare psyops are used to influence populations that war is necessary - remember those "weapons of mass destruction"? War, of course, is one of the most profitable of all events, but only for the power-wielders. Others lose their lives, their health or their sanity. Families are left devastated, on both sides of that divide of manufactured hatred.



Not always realised, though, is the continual use of a form of psyops on the population at large by those in power (and I don't necessarily mean a country's government).

One theory put forward in the film is that we are being manipulated because "the power-wielders" consider that "the people" (The Great Unwashed) are not fit to have a say in how countries are run in this advanced technological age. All power, and consequently all wealth, must be restricted to "the elite leaders". The power-wielders choose/designate individuals - candidates - for "election". This gives the appearance that these individuals are being "chosen" by the people. In reality the "candidates" are there only by permission of "the elite", and are there to do their bidding. This process is aided by a coordinated psychological operation using elite-controlled media as its front-line to push forward "candidate du jour" and denigrate others.

"The people" are, from time to time, given tid-bits of help, they receive just enough sweetening for those in power to avoid outright rebellion by the masses. Outright rebellion - revolution - is something "the elite" fear and plan to avoid.

Quote from a respected philosopher:

Noam Chomsky, Thought Control in a Democratic Society

“If in some Orwellian future there were One Big Owner, he might be benevolent, in his own opinion, as indeed, Orwell’s Big Brother was – in his own opinion. Big Brother let the public see and hear a variety of things he deemed useful – where there is centralized control, it is the One Big Owner who makes the choices…Each year is more likely that the American citizen who turns to any medium – newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, books, movies, cable, recordings, video cassettes – will receive information, ideas, or entertainment controlled by the same handful of corporations, whether it is daily news, a cable entertainment program, or a textbook…Media giants have become so powerful that government no longer has the will to restrain them…Now that media owners are so large that they are part of the highest levels of the world economy, the news and other public information become heavily weighted in favor of all corporate values. The new corporate ethic is so single-minded about extreme fast profits and expanded control over the media business that it is willing to convert American news into a service for the affluent customers wanted by the media’s advertisers instead of a source of information significant for the whole of society.”

Beware Newspeak! Be forever wary of what you read and hear, especially when what you read and hear will aid or profit "the elite" and the powerful.

Pitch with an Imperfect Purpose

Interesting, and a tad disturbing, piece by Caitlin Johnstone:

I Paid To See A Movie About Singing. I Got Ninety Minutes Of Pentagon Propaganda.


It begins:

To cap off a long, strange day, my husband and I took the kids out last night to see Pitch Perfect 3. The first Pitch Perfect is a firm favorite in our household, the kind of movie we end up watching when we can’t agree on what to watch. We’d been waiting til we all had a night to see the latest one together, so we made a night of it and went out for some dinner, too. I even had a Coke. The sugary kind. This was a big night, people! So we were all in high spirits and I entered the theater excited to see some good music and have a good time.

I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece, but I also wasn’t expecting to be blasted in the face with ninety minutes of blatant war propaganda from the United States Department of Defense...........

I'm pretty sure we saw the original Pitch Perfect movie, and enjoyed it, not sure about #2. #3, having read what Ms Johnstone has to say about it, will be on our 'movies to avoid' list.

"If you don't control your mind...someone else will" (John Allston).

"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?... Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?... The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact, there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5

1984 was written long ago. For a view of how Orwell's words relate to the state of things in our time there's a 2010 film, available at YouTube: Psywar - "The real battlefield is the mind". The full film (around 1 hour 40 mins) is available, also in 8 shorter bites, the first of which is below:

1/8

Links to the rest:
2/8
3/8
4/8
5/8
6/8
7/8
8/8

The film takes us back, with guidance from some highly regarded historians and philosophers, over past centuries to illustrate the use of propaganda and manipulation of public opinion...mind control...psyops...call it what you will. The evolution of propaganda and public relations in the United States is explored, with an emphasis on the “elitist theory of democracy” and the relationship between war, propaganda and class. This is not a high budget affair; it was financed via a blue collar job, and released online for free. The interviews contained within it are original, conducted by proxy.

Psyops (Psychological Operations), under one label or another, has been a part of warfare, and used by all countries, for centuries. It has included simple operations such as circulation of propaganda leaflets, posters, radio broadcasts, along with many more sophisticated and sinister activities. As well as being a part of warfare, psyops is used to influence populations that war is necessary. Remember those "weapons of mass destruction"? War is one of the most profitable of all events, but only for the power-wielders. Others lose their lives, their health or their sanity. Families are left devastated, on both sides of that divide of manufactured hatred. Not always realised, though, is the continual use of a form of psyops on the population at large by those in power (and I don't necessarily mean a country's government).

One theory put forward in the film is that we are being manipulated because "the power-wielders" consider that "the people" (The Great Unwashed) are not fit to have a say in how countries are run in this advanced technological age. All power, and consequently all wealth, must be restricted to "the elite leaders". The power-wielders choose/designate individuals - candidates - for "election". This gives the appearance that these individuals are being "chosen" by the people. In reality the "candidates" are there only by permission of "the elite", and are there to do their bidding. This process is aided by a coordinated psychological operation using elite-controlled media as its front-line to push forward "candidate du jour" and denigrate others.

"The people" are, from time to time, given tid-bits of help (eg: The Affordable Care Act.) The ACA could quite easily have been of far more assistance to more people, but that would have resulted in a reduced share of goodies for the pharmaceutical corporations. Can't have that! "The people" receive just enough to avoid outright rebellion by the masses. Outright rebellion - revolution - is something "the elite" fear and always plan to avoid.

Quote from a respected philosopher:

Noam Chomsky, Thought Control in a Democratic Society

“If in some Orwellian future there were One Big Owner, he might be benevolent, in his own opinion, as indeed, Orwell’s Big Brother was – in his own opinion. Big Brother let the public see and hear a variety of things he deemed useful – where there is centralized control, it is the One Big Owner who makes the choices…Each year is more likely that the American citizen who turns to any medium – newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, books, movies, cable, recordings, video cassettes – will receive information, ideas, or entertainment controlled by the same handful of corporations, whether it is daily news, a cable entertainment program, or a textbook…Media giants have become so powerful that government no longer has the will to restrain them…Now that media owners are so large that they are part of the highest levels of the world economy, the news and other public information become heavily weighted in favor of all corporate values. The new corporate ethic is so single-minded about extreme fast profits and expanded control over the media business that it is willing to convert American news into a service for the affluent customers wanted by the media’s advertisers instead of a source of information significant for the whole of society.”

Beware Newspeak! My advice: be forever wary of what you read and hear, especially when what you read and hear will aid or profit "the elite". Pause to wonder, for instance, why more stringent (or any significant) measures are not in place to try to slow climate change. It would not profit the corporations and "the elite" power-wielders. Outpourings of manipulative garbage come regularly from what are laughingly called "both sides of the aisle". There is only one side, the corporate side, and no aisle to speak of.

Contemplating Psyops as Mercury Retrogrades

Planet Mercury will appear to be in what astrologers call "retrograde motion" until 12 September. The current episode of backward-seeming movement began on on 20 August. As has oft been repeated, these regular periods of Mercury Retrograde connect to an extra helping of difficulties in all areas of communication. These periods also provide a time when fruitful reflection of things past can be achieved.

With the latter in mind, I started re-reading George Orwell's 1984 and watched, again, the tape of the movie adaptation of his book - the one starring John Hurt and Richard Burton. 1984 struck a chord:

"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?... Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?... The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact, there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5

1984 was written long ago. As a view of how Orwell's words relate to the state of things today, I offer a link to a film I stumbled upon while drafting this post yesterday: Psywar - "The real battlefield is the mind". The full film (around 1 hour 40 mins, ends abruptly, it's possibly to be continued) and is available to view in full, or as a brief 4 and a half minute trailer either at 911 Blogger.com or at Exposure Room. If a passing reader is pressed for time, the trailer is highly recommended, though the full film is far more enlightening.

UPDATE: If the video film has been removed from the above links try THIS LINK .

Its creator said, at the 911 site:

I'm pleased to present the first feature in my documentary series, entitled Psywar ("The real battlefield is the mind"). It premiered on Global Research and should be appearing on some other alternative news websites in the coming days.

The film explores the evolution of propaganda and public relations in the United States, with an emphasis on the “elitist theory of democracy” and the relationship between war, propaganda and class.

This is not a high budget affair, but was financed via a blue collar job, and is being released online for free. The interviews contained within are original and were conducted by proxy.

The film takes us back, with the guidance of some highly regarded historians and philosophers, over past centuries to illustrate the use of propaganda and manipulation of public feeling....mind control....psyops...call it what you will.

Psyops (Psychological Operations), under one label or another, has been a part of warfare, and used by all countries, for centuries. It has included simple operations such as circulation of propaganda leaflets (as below), posters, radio broadcasts, as well as many more sophisticated and sinister operations. As well as being a part of warfare psyops are used to influence populations that war is necessary - remember those "weapons of mass destruction"? War, of course, is one of the most profitable of all events, but only for the power-wielders. Others lose their lives, their health or their sanity. Families are left devastated, on both sides of that divide of manufactured hatred.



Not always realised, though, is the continual use of a form of psyops on the population at large by those in power (and I don't necessarily mean a country's government).

One theory put forward in the film is that we are being manipulated because "the power-wielders" consider that "the people" (The Great Unwashed) are not fit to have a say in how countries are run in this advanced technological age. All power, and consequently all wealth, must be restricted to "the elite leaders". The power-wielders choose/designate individuals - candidates - for "election". This gives the appearance that these individuals are being "chosen" by the people. In reality the "candidates" are there only by permission of "the elite", and are there to do their bidding. This process is aided by a coordinated psychological operation using elite-controlled media as its front-line to push forward "candidate du jour" and denigrate others.

"The people" are, from time to time, given tid-bits of help (eg: the tidbit contained in new healthcare legislation. This could quite easily have been a much bigger portion of assistance, of benefit to more of "the people", but that would have resulted in a reduced share of goodies for the pharmaceutical corporations. Can't have that, can we?! "The people" receive just enough to avoid outright rebellion by the masses. Outright rebellion - revolution - is something "the elite" fear and always plan to avoid.



Quote from a respected philosopher:

Noam Chomsky, Thought Control in a Democratic Society

“If in some Orwellian future there were One Big Owner, he might be benevolent, in his own opinion, as indeed, Orwell’s Big Brother was – in his own opinion. Big Brother let the public see and hear a variety of things he deemed useful – where there is centralized control, it is the One Big Owner who makes the choices…Each year is more likely that the American citizen who turns to any medium – newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, books, movies, cable, recordings, video cassettes – will receive information, ideas, or entertainment controlled by the same handful of corporations, whether it is daily news, a cable entertainment program, or a textbook…Media giants have become so powerful that government no longer has the will to restrain them…Now that media owners are so large that they are part of the highest levels of the world economy, the news and other public information become heavily weighted in favor of all corporate values. The new corporate ethic is so single-minded about extreme fast profits and expanded control over the media business that it is willing to convert American news into a service for the affluent customers wanted by the media’s advertisers instead of a source of information significant for the whole of society.”

Beware Newspeak! My advice: be forever wary of what you read and hear, especially when what you read and hear will aid or profit "the elite". As a recent example, take the speeches and articles telling us that most of the millions of gallons of oil leaked from BP's exploded well, have already disappeared from the Gulf of Mexico. Mustn't upset the oil industry, they still want to drill...drill...drill, to further enrich their corporation - and to hell with the environment. And pause to wonder why more stringent (or any siginficant) measures are not in place to try to slow climate change. Again - it would not profit the corporations and "the elite" power-wielders. Outpourings of manipulative garbage come regularly from what are laughingly called "both sides of the aisle". There is only one side, the corporate side, and no aisle to speak of.

In the USA we need to question, too, all that will be fed to us during upcoming 2010 mid-term elections, and the big one in 2012. But, having questioned these things, what then? That is the ultimate question. I haven't yet found an answer.

"It was curious to think that the sky was the same for everybody, in Eurasia or Eastasia as well as here.
And the people under the sky were also very much the same--everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just like this, people ignorant of one another's existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies, and yet almost exactly the same--people who had never learned to think but were storing up in their hearts and bellies and muscles the power that would one day overturn the world."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 10