Disclaimer: This site is *not* affiliated with AIPAC, Ahmed Chalabi, K Street, ClearChannel, or Urban Moving Systems of Weehawken, NJ. In case you were curious. Full disclosure: I have some shares of Apple and therefore I have an Apple bias. Yum. Also got a tiny bit of gold!
WikiLeaks via SunshinePress.org just sent out a curiously ambiguous call, signed by the elusive Julian Assange, for emergency funds, with subject "WikiLeaks may be under attack", also calling for people to set up local "Friends of Wikileaks" chapters. Also: Save Bradley! The Wikileaks guy Bradley Manning. Facebook . More.
Julian Assange signed it himself. The whole thing seems strange -- Is Assange in hiding? Is the whole thing too outsized? Daniel Ellsberg says he should hide. Would Assange refer to the 'alleged' diplomatic cables in a last ditch plea for funds? Why not?
WikiLeaks may be under attack.
You were generous enough to write to us, but we have not had the labor resources to respond.
Your support is important to us. Please read all of this email to understand what is going on. We apologize for not getting back to you before. It is not through any lack of interest on our part, but an enforced lack of resources.
One of our alleged sources, a young US intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning, has been detained and shipped to a US military prison in Kuwait, where he is being held without trail. Mr. Manning is alleged to have acted according to his conscious and leaked to us the Collateral Murder video and the video of a massacre that took place in Afghanistan last year at Garani.
The Garani massacre, which we are still working on, killed over 100 people, mostly children.
Mr. Manning allegedly also sent us 260,000 classified US Department cables, reporting on the actions of US Embassy's engaging in abusive actions all over the world. We have denied the allegation, but the US government is acting as if the allegation is true and we do have a lot of other material that exposes human rights abuses by the United States government.
Mr. Manning was allegedly exposed after talking to an unrelated "journalist" who then worked with the US government to detain him.
WikiLeaks a small organization going through enormous growth and operating in an adverserial, high-security environment which can make communication time consuming and the acquisition of new staff and volunteers, also difficult since they require high levels of trust.
To try and deal with our growth and the current difficult situation, we want to get you to work together with our other supporters to set up a "Friends of WikiLeaks" group in your area. We have multiple supporters in most countries and would like to see them be a strong and independent force.
Please write to friends@sunshinepress.org if you are interested in helping with Friends of WikiLeaks in your area. You will receive further instructions.
We also have significant unexpected legal costs (for example flying a legal team to Kuwait, video production. Collateral Murder production costs were $50,000 all up).
Any financial contributions will be of IMMEDIATE assistance.
Special greetings to Rule of Law Radio / Axxiom for Liberty listeners! We had a great time chatting last Friday for moar than an hour about every cutting edge dimension of the military-industrial police state, hosted by Kaye Beach and her friend (nickname Matrix? I forget). Get the live recording of all 2 hours here (110MB) or 13MB lo-fi version. I joined about a half-hour in, but in the first minutes they talked about being Ron Paul delegates at the 2008 RNC, thoroughly abused by the Man, and leaving as changed people. A great springboard into fusion centers, the NAFTA superhighway and more, with a guest from OK SAFE as well. [I forget her name right now as well but she was kewl!]*******
I've been there and back again lately, leaving far too little time to check in. We are expecting new videoz to leakify from points interesting Real Soon Here. Stay tuned for that one... And now, my video exposé of the Fort Snelling Undercover - in all his epic fail glory:
Intrusive photographer admits it: a government employee spies on rallies against Fort Snelling & immigration policies at the Whipple Federal Building. He gets a "thumbs up" from Haukoos, lead Department of Homeland Security/Federal Protective Service security officer. At Fort Snelling, the photographer admits he's a government employee but won't say if he's a federal employee, then refuses to show his lanyard (even though he says it has his ID) and he promptly runs away in his blue truck. Same logic of "Federal Control" persists for centuries, but this video shows everyone can deal with sleazy spy photographers: block them, tape them, confront them about their chain of command. Organizers try to mitigate his efforts to collect intelligence on rally participants. Another element: Homeland Security radio transmission seems to order operations "systematically". Could this man be photographing everyone for addition to federal facial recognition databases? What data practices rules apply to this man's camera and his taxpayer-financed salary? Amazingly, some people do not realize this conduct & aggressive spying on political dissent happens all the time even under a Democratic presidency. Video edited by Dan Feidt for Twin Cities Indymedia - http://tc.indymedia.org Video shot by Dan Feidt & Sally Jo Sorensen - http://bluestemprairie.com (Sally Jo clips of him @ Whipple Building) LICENSE: This video is licensed Creative Commons/ShareAlike. Please remix and share!!
Here was the transcript of the whole Helen Thomas clip, which of course was released in a heavily spun way [via Balloon Juice » You Got Played]
Q: Any advice for these young people over here for starting out in the press corps?
Thomas: Go for it. You’ll never be unhappy. You’ll always keep people informed, you’ll always keep learning. The greatest thing of the profession is you’ll never stop learning.
Q: Today they are covering the Jewish Heritage Month.
Thomas: ... and meet the President.
A: Any comments on Israel? We’re asking everyone today, any comments on..
Thomas: Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.
Q: Oooh. Any better comments?
Thomas: Remember, these people are occupied, and it’s their land. It’s not German and it’s not Poland.
Q: So where should they go, what should they do?
Thomas: They can go home.
Q: Where is home?
Thomas: Poland. Germany.
Q: So you are saying Jews should go back to Poland?
Thomas: And America and everywhere else. Why push people out who have lived their for centuries? See?
Q: Now, are you familiar with the history of that region and what took place?
Thomas: Very much. I’m of Arab background.
{It goes on for a little while with friendly banter about languages they both speak with words I can not even begin to spell.}
Q: Thank you.
Thomas: All the best to you (directed at the Jewish students). Go for it- go for journalism, you’ll never regret it.
AUTHORITARIAN ESCHATON == ARTILECT OF DOOM!: Last night I remembered that the Roomba cleaning robot is made by a company that also makes killer robots. A review of what they're up to now: the scary wikipedia page, PackBot, iRobot Negotiator , & more. "Chembot is a DARPA-funded prototype of a shape-shifting robot without motors, wheels or any rigid elements. It runs on chemical power and is made using dielectric elastomers, which are extremely flexible and can alter their shape in electric or magnetic fields. Ultimately, the program aims to build a robot that is completely squishy and able to squeeze through a hole 'the size of a 10 pence piece'.when was this made"
What will control these killer robots in 80 years or so? Via cryptogon.com, The spooky new idea to check out is the ARTILECT -- aka the bossy killer super-intelligence that will wipe us all out like ants. Now some guy who's leading the charge to build China's artificial brain has actually considered the implications of his work. From the fine new Technofascism blog, Hugo de Garis and The Coming Artilect War:
If you haven’t heard ofHugo de Garis, AI researcher and Professor at China’s Xiamen University, then you’ve probably never heard of an Artilect either. A contraction of Artificial Intellect, the Artilects are future creations that, according to de Garis, will be immortal, godlike robotic beings that, due to being built on a substrate of nanoscale computer chips, will have billions of times the intelligence of the average human. Needless to say, these Artilects would not for a second hesitate in wiping out the entire human species if their need dictates; much like a human wouldn’t trouble themselves over running over an ant colony on their way to work.
It’s important to listen to de Garis because he is one of those rare scientific researchers that actually considers the implications of his work. In de Garis’ view, in the late 21st century humanity will have the technological ability to create the Artilects. At that point, humans will be divided into three camps: the Terrans, who will attempt to violently prevent the creation of the Artilects; the Cosmists, who think building them is a good idea; and the Cyborgists, who will attempt to merge with the Artilects to preserve some shred of their humanity. These three camps will fight it out and the winner will decide the fate of the planet. Since the war will be fought with late 21st century weaponry, the death toll is expected to be in the billions.
Considering all this, I predict that humanity will split into three major philosophical, ideological, political groups, which I label as follows.
--The Cosmists (based on the word "cosmos") will be in favor of building these godlike machines (the artilects), who would be immortal, think a million times faster than humans, have unlimited memory, go anywhere, do anything and take any shape. The Cosmists would take a quasi-religious view that they are god builders. Privately, I am a Cosmist, but publicly, I have mixed feelings about the rise of the artilect.
--The Terrans (based on the word "terra," meaning the earth) will be opposed to the construction of artilects, fearing that in a highly advanced form, the artilects may decide to wipe us out. To ensure that the probability that this might happen is zero, the Terrans will insist that the artilects are never built in the first place. But this strategy runs utterly contrary to what the Cosmists want. The Terrans will be prepared to go to war against the Cosmists to ensure the survival of the human species.
--The Cyborgists (based on the word "cyborg," meaning cybernetic organism that is part machine, part human) will want to become artilect gods themselves by adding artilectual components to their own brains, thus avoiding the bitter conflict between the Cosmists and the Terrans.
1985 GANDER FALSE FLAG AIR CRASH CONCEALS NEUTRON BOMB TEST etc: Moving right along, I would like to add something about a 1985 false-flag plane crash. aka: Arrow Air Flight 1285 - Wikipedia.
A while ago I ran into someone who was involved with this. A private transport plane carrying lots of military personnel and cargo from Cairo to the US crashed near Gander, Canada in 1985. It obviously exploded somehow, and actually for once the National Transportation Safety Board failed to unanimously peddle the establishment coverup.
This was actually a false-flag bombing carried out by people friendly with Oliver North & the Usual Suspects of Iran-Contra fame. It was a bombing "required" to advance numerous coverups, included a need to get rid of bodies from dead illegal Special Forces operations in Lebanon, and also the remains of illegal neutron bomb testing in the Sinai Peninsula. [US military personnel cooked with neutrons were murdered en route rather than risk public exposure after reaching a stateside medical facility]
The records of the Gander Crash have been sealed for 70 years because it was a false-flag coverup -- and additionally there has been at least one direct death threat from a 'credible source' to shut people up.
I was pleased to find a surprisingly good video about it, from a show on Spike TV no less? For students of conspiracy video styles, I thought the editing on this segment was concise & excellent as well:
To: pepis[at]googlegroups.com,pepis[at]yahoogroups.com
From: Tony Gosling <tony[at]cultureshop.org.uk>
Subject: [PEPIS] Leaked participants of 2010 meeting? Bilderberg participants 2010 (in alphabetic order)
(Present) Occupation
BEL Davignon, Etienne F. Honorary Chairman, Bilderberg Meetings; Vice Chairman, Suez Tractebel
DEU Ackermann, Josef Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive
Committee, Deutsche Bank AG
USA Alexander, Keith B. Director, National Security Agency
GRC Alogoskoufis, George Member of Parliament
USA Altman, Roger C. Chairman and CEO, Evercore Partners, Inc.
GRC Arapoglou, Takis Chairman and CEO, National Bank of Greece
TUR Babacan, Ali Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister
GRC Bakoyannis, Dora Minister of Foreign Affairs
NOR Baksaas, Jon Fredrik President and CEO, Telenor Group
PRT Balsemão, Francisco Pinto Chairman and CEO, IMPRESA, S.G.P.S.; Former Prime
Minister
FRA Baverez, Nicolas Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
ITA Bernabè, Franco CEO Telecom Italia SpA
SWE Bildt, Carl Minister of Foreign Affairs
SWE Björklund, Jan Minister for Education; Leader of the Lìberal Party
CHE Blocher, Christoph Former Swiss Counselor; Former Chairman and CEO, EMS Group
FRA Bompard, Alexandre CEO, Europe 1 USA Boot, Max Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
AUT Bronner, Oscar Publisher and Editor, Der Standard
FRA Castries, Henri de Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, AXA
ESP Cebrián, Juan Luis CEO, Grupo PRISA
BEL Coene, Luc Vice Governor, National Bank of Belgium
USA Collins, Timothy C. Senior Managing Director and CEO, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC
GRC David, George A. Chairman, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co. (H.B.C.) S.A.
GRC Diamantopoulou, Anna Member of Parliament
ITA Draghi, Mario Governor, Banca d'Italia
USA Eberstadt, Nicholas N. Henry Wendt Scholar in Political Economy, American
Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
DNK Eldrup, Anders President, DONG Energy A/S
ITA Elkann, John Chairman, EXOR S.p.A.; Vice Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.
DEU Enders, Thomas CEO, Airbus SAS
ESP Entrecanales, José Manuel Chairman, Acciona
AUT Faymann, Werner Federal Chancellor USA Ferguson, Niall Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University IRL Gleeson, Dermot Chairman, AIB Group
USA Graham, Donald E. Chairman and CEO, The Washington Post Company
NLD Halberstadt, Victor Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former
Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings
NLD Hirsch Ballin, Ernst M.H. Minister of Justice
USA Holbrooke, Richard C. US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
NLD Hommen, Jan H.M. Chairman, ING N.V.
INT Hoop Scheffer, Jaap G. de Secretary General, NATO
USA Johnson, James A. Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC USA Jordan, Jr., Vernon E. Senior Managing Director, Lazard Frères & Co. LLC FIN Katainen, Jyrki Minister of Finance
USA Keane, John M. Senior Partner, SCP Partners; General, US Army, Retired
USA Kent, Muhtar President and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
GBR Kerr, John Member, House of Lords; Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc
DEU Klaeden, Eckart von Foreign Policy Spokesman, CDU/CSU
USA Kleinfeld, Klaus President and CEO, Alcoa Inc.
TUR Koç, Mustafa V. Chairman, Koç Holding A.S.
DEU Koch, Roland Prime Minister of Hessen
TUR Kohen, Sami Senior Foreign Affairs Columnist, Milliyet
USA Kravis, Henry R. Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Inc.
INT Kroes, Neelie Commissioner, European Commission
GRC Kyriacopoulos, Ulysses Chairman and Board member of subsidiary companies
of the S&B Group
FRA Lagarde, Christine Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment
INT Lamy, Pascal Director General, World Trade Organization
PRT Leite, Manuela Ferreira Leader, PSD
ESP León Gross, Bernardino General Director of the Presidency of the Spanish
Government
DEU Löscher, Peter CEO, Siemens AG
GBR Mandelson, Peter Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory
Reform
INT Maystadt, Philippe President, European Investment Bank
CAN McKenna, Frank Former Ambassador to the US
GBR Micklethwait, John Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
FRA Montbrial, Thierry de President, French Institute for International Relations
ITA Monti, Mario President, Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi
ESP Moratinos Cuyaubé, Miguel A. Minister of Foreign Affairs
USA Mundie, Craig J. Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation
CAN Munroe-Blum, Heather Principal and Vice Chancellor, McGill University
NOR Myklebust, Egil Former Chairman of the Board of Directors SAS, Norsk Hydro ASA
DEU Nass, Matthias Deputy Editor, Die Zeit NLD Beatrix, H.M. the Queen of the Netherlands ESP Nin Génova, Juan Maria President and CEO, La Caixa
FRA Olivennes, Denis CEO and Editor in Chief, Le Nouvel Observateur
FIN Ollila, Jorma Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc
GBR Osborne, George Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
FRA Oudéa, Frédéric CEO, Société Générale
ITA Padoa-Schioppa, Tommaso Former Minister of Finance; President of Notre Europe
GRC Papahelas, Alexis Journalist, Kathimerini
GRC Papalexopoulos, Dimitris Managing Director, Titan Cement Co. S.A.
GRC Papathanasiou, Yannis Minister of Economy and Finance USA Perle, Richard N. Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
BEL Philippe, H.R.H. Prince
PRT Pinho, Manuel Minister of Economy and Innovation
INT Pisani-Ferry, Jean Director, Bruegel
CAN Prichard, J. Robert S. President and CEO, Metrolinx
ITA Prodi, Romano Chairman, Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation
FIN Rajalahti, Hanna Managing Editor, Talouselämä
CAN Reisman, Heather M. Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
NOR Reiten, Eivind President and CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA
CHE Ringier, Michael Chairman, Ringier AG
USA Rockefeller, David Former Chairman, Chase Manhattan Bank
USA Rubin, Barnett R. Director of Studies and Senior Fellow, Center for
International Cooperation, New York University
TUR Sabanci Dinçer, Suzan Chairman, Akbank
CAN Samarasekera, Indira V. President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Alberta
AUT Scholten, Rudolf Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische
Kontrollbank AG
USA Sheeran, Josette Executive Director, UN World Food Programme
ITA Siniscalco, Domenico Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley International
ESP Solbes, Pedro Vice-President of Spanish Government; Minister of Economy and
Finance
ESP Sophia, H.M. the Queen of Spain
USA Steinberg, James B. Deputy Secretary of State
INT Stigson, Bjorn President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
GRC Stournaras, Yannis Research Director, Foundation for Economic and Industrial
Research (IOBE)
IRL Sutherland, Peter D. Chairman, BP plc and Chairman, Goldman Sachs International
INT Tanaka, Nobuo Executive Director, IEA
GBR Taylor, J. Martin Chairman, Syngenta International AG
USA Thiel, Peter A. President, Clarium Capital Management, LLC
DNK Thorning-Schmidt, Helle Leader ofThe Social Democratic Party
DNK Thune Andersen, Thomas Partner and CEO, Maersk Oil
AUT Treichl, Andreas Chairman and CEO, Erste Group Bank AG
INT Trichet, Jean-Claude President, European Central Bank
GRC Tsoukalis, Loukas President of the Hellenic Foundation for European and
Foreign Policy (ELlAMEP)
TUR Ugur, Agah CEO, Borusan Holding
FIN Vanhanen, Matti Prime Minister
CHE Vasella, Daniel L. Chairman and CEO, Novartis AG
NLD Veer, Jeroen van der Chief Executive, Royal Dutch Shell plc
USA Volcker, Paul A. Chairman, Economic Recovery Advisory Board
SWE Wallenberg, Jacob Chairman, Investor AB
SWE Wallenberg, Marcus Chairman, SEB
NLD Wellink, Nout President, De Nederlandsche Bank
NLD Wijers, Hans Chairman, AkzoNobel NV
GBR Wolf, Martin H. Associate Editor & Chief Economics Commentator, The Financial
Times
USA Wolfensohn, James D. Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company, LLC USA Wolfowitz, Paul Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
INT Zoellick, Robert B. President, The World Bank Group
GBR Bredow, Vendeline von Business Correspondent, The Economist (Rapporteur)
GBR McBride, Edward Business Editor, The Economist (Rapporteur)
• AUT Austria
• BEL Belgium
• CHE Switzerland
• CAN Canada
• DEU Germany
• DNK Denmark
• ESP Spain
• FRA France
• FIN Finland
• GBR Great Britain
• GRC Greece
• IRL Ireland
• INT International
• ITA Italy
• NOR Norway
• NLD Netherlands
• PRT Portugal
• SWE Sweden
• TUR Turkey
• USA United States of America
--
Please consider seriously the reason why these elite institutions are not discussed in the mainstream press despite the immense financial and political power they wield?
There are sick and evil occultists running the Western World. They are power mad lunatics like something from a kid's cartoon with their fingers on the nuclear button! Armageddon is closer than you thought. Only God can save our souls from their clutches, at least that's my considered opinion - Tony
Wolfowitz & Perle be plottin a comeback, watch yo self ....plus the new site? http://www.bilderbergmeetings.org/index.html
*********
Can has Drupal 7? In Drupal news, well the Drupal community is slowly chugging through to Drupal 7, and there are a few things people can do to help - see Drupal core improvements | drupal.org for a roundup on that. It is currently on Drupal 7.0 Alpha 5 released as of May 23. There are 67 critical issues right now; when that hits zero it's release time.
*********
I know that LRAD! Russia Today has done a fine job covering the latest developments in crushing North American dissent - what nice LRAD footage from Chicago Indymedia (provided courtesy Glass Bead Collective :-D )
"....we will suggest below that if the hard core arises for certain identifiable reasons, it can be broken up or at least muted by government action." .... "We suggest a role for government efforts, and agents, in introducing such diversity. Government agents (and their allies) might enter chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups and attempt to undermine percolating conspiracy theories by raising doubts about their factual premises, causal logic or implications for political action."
This is one hell of a chestnut. It seems obvious, in retrospect, the best way to conceal the truth of establishment shady business and institutionalized crime is to mix in a ton of bullshit in order to turn all the skeptics and inquirers against each other. Only now it's Obama's dang 'information czar' pitching the strategy!
Interestingly, the more I broaden my sources, the more I appreciate the broad spectrum of people that have cancelled their subscriptions to Establishment Bollox and the Lies of the Mighty Wurlitzer. It's amazing how so many features of Establishment Reality are so widely loathed from within so many different worldviews.
This important fact is what people like Cass Sunstein don't understand. Like faux Establishment 'Centrists', they believe that ontological truth, or even the 'optimal' policy outcome, is like @ the 50% mark between where the dialectical left & right goalposts are placed.
It's like Howard Fineman - accurately dubbed the Weathervane because you only have to look which way he's pointing to determine what reassuring centrist reality is today's hot item. Howard Fineman is the precise opposite of a 'conspiracy theorist' in Sunstein's world.
The Establishment's Hegelian social control techniques are obvious: just set the left and right goalposts, stir and repeat. Problem-reaction-solution. If one can influence both the left and right goalposts in the great false dichotomy, it makes the product of "centrists" far more acceptable. Everything floating around outside this parlor game is the prima materia of 'conspiracy' that the State should attack professionally, Sunstein says!
Anyhow Cass Sunstein was appointed by President Obama as some kind of info czar. Interestingly he wrote a paper about how to manipulate conspiracy theorists by attempting to throw their groups off the Hegelian deep end, thus opening an opportunity for defamatory information warfare. Fascinating stuff, and it's got Alex Jones incensed!!
This whole thing reminds me of how the JFK conspiracy scene is managed as "A Story/B Story" wherein there are two alternate, mutually irreconcilable narratives. Dribs and drabs of facts supporting A and B (roughly, CIA/Mafia and Lone Gunman, usually) can be offered and safely paddle around on the History Channel.
Let us share a few choice links about how the CIA type control system AKA the Intelligence Power controls the World of Conspiracy. This is good stuff -- this is exactly how Mama Cass wants the world of conspiracies organized.
For The Win: Fintan Dunne called the Sunstein approach years ago!
The CIA Fakes is a catchphrase term to describe a group which includes:
-- Covert Operatives of the CIA, NSA and DIA; of the U.S. Corporate/Military Industrial Complex; of the intelligence services of U.K. Spain, France Holland, Germany, and Russia.
-- Political Agents working within the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Democratic Black Caucus, Green Party, and Patriot Movement.
-- Politicians in the U.S., U.K. Spain, France, Germany and Russia --who pose as 9/11 skeptics.
-- Media, including Mainstream, Alternative Media and Internet broadcasting media who either front for, cooperate with, or are directly employed by intelligence services mentioned above.
The primary objectives of the CIA FAKES are:
-- To leverage the Fakes into position as the leadership/spokespersons
for the 9/11 skeptics movement. --To splinter and divide that movement. --To promote lame, tame and/or booby-trapped questions about 9/11.
-- To be sufficiently over-the-top as to prevent the 9/11 issue getting
any traction in the media or left-wing.
-- To ensure that the movement would not have a politically-active
leadership capable of turning it into an effective political lobby campaign.
The questions about 9/11 were bound to be asked, the important
aspect for the perpetrators was and is ...by whom?
One big corner of that overall 9/11 picture is formed by four disparate-seeming individuals: a veteran whistleblower, an attractive novice whistleblower, a campaigning journalist and a reputed lingerie model; jigsaw peices called Ellsberg, Edmonds, Hopsicker and Keller. Ellsberg supports Edmonds, confirmed by Hopsicker --backed by eyewitness accounts from Keller. But they're all telling different flavors of the same story.
To specify which story that is, let's take a look at the popular tales of 9/11. The notorious main division is between LIHOP and MIHOP. But it's much more detailed than that. Explanations come in a full range of flavors --starting with the official story:
A. Official story:
CIA/FBI were incompetent; Bush and/or Clinton were complacent.
B. OfficialLame Conspiracy:
CIA/FBI were incompetent; Bush/Cheney maybe let it happen; Israelis Knew.
C. OfficialLIHOP Conspiracy:
CIA/FBI were compromised; Bush/Cheney did let it happen; Israelis Helped.
D. OfficialLIHOP Wild Conspiracy:
CIA/FBI compromised; Bush/Cheney/Neocons let it happen; Israelis Did It.
E. OfficialLIHOP Tinfoil Conspiracy:
Israelis/Neocons/Bush/Cheney Did It; CIA/FBI looked the other way.
F. OfficialMIHOP 'Serious' Conspiracy:
Israelis/Neocons/CIA/FBI/Bush/Cheney/Military-Industrial-Complex Did It.
G. OfficialLoony Conspiracies:
Rothschilds and/or Rockefellers and/or CFR and/or Bildebergers did it.
Globalists who want to run everything in a World Government did it.
Jews and Jewish bankers -who already run everything- did it.
Satanists, Opus Dei or Reptilians did it.
It's a terrific variety of theories.
It plays out something like this:
The mainstream media push version A; hint at B; sneer at G.
The controlled right/intellectual media pushes version B.
The controlled left/intellectual media pushes version C.
The 'moderate' Fake internet sites push versions C and D.
The 'softcore' Fake internet sites push versions D and E.
The 'independent' Fake internet sites push version F.
The 'loony' Fake interent sites push variations of version G.
But every single one, from A to G are OFFICIAL versions, sanctioned and promoted by the 9/11 intelligence coverup operation and their CIA Fakes network. They have a flavor for every market.
The creation of this multiplicity of explanations is a core element of the coverup. Left to their own devices, people on the Internet might have figured out the truth themselves. But with this circus in action, there is always plenty of distraction and lots of division in opinion.
The intelligence coverup is not trying to stop 9/11 conspiracy theories on the internet. It's creating them. Then playing off supporters of the different theories against each other. That's a classic Cointelpro-style tactic.
Our main though far from exclusive focus – our running example – involves
conspiracy theories relating to terrorism, especially theories that arise from and post-date
the 9/11 attacks. These theories exist within the United States and, even more virulently,
in foreign countries, especially Muslim countries. The existence of both domestic and
foreign conspiracy theories, we suggest, is no trivial matter, posing real risks to the
government’s antiterrorism policies, whatever the latter may be. Terrorism-related
theories are thus a crucial testing ground for the significance, causes, and policy
implications of widespread conspiracy theorizing. As we shall see, an understanding of
conspiracy theories has broad implications for the spread of information and beliefs;
many erroneous judgments are a product of the same forces that produce conspiracy
theories, and if we are able to see how to counteract such theories, we will have some
clues about how to correct widespread errors more generally.
Part I explores some definitional issues and lays out some of the mechanisms that
produce conspiracy theories and theorists. We begin by discussing different
understandings of the nature of conspiracy theories and different accounts of the kinds of
errors made by those who hold them. Our primary claim is that conspiracy theories
typically stem not from irrationality or mental illness of any kind but from a “crippled
epistemology,” in the form of a sharply limited number of (relevant) informational
sources. Those who hold conspiracy theories do so because of what they read and hear. In
that sense, acceptance of such theories is not irrational from the standpoint of those who
adhere to them. There is a close connection, we suggest, between our claim on this count
and the empirical association between terrorist behavior and an absence of civil rights
and civil liberties.10 When civil rights and civil liberties are absent, people lack multiple
information sources, and they are more likely to accept conspiracy theories.
Part II discusses government responses and legal issues, in light of the discussion
in Part I. We address several dilemmas of governmental response to conspiracy theories,
such as the question whether it is better to rebut such theories, at the risk of legitimating
them, or to ignore them, at the risk of leaving them unrebutted. Conspiracy theories turn
out to be especially hard to undermine or dislodge; they have a self-sealing quality,
rendering them particularly immune to challenge. We suggest several policy responses
that can dampen the supply of conspiracy theorizing, in part by introducing diverse
viewpoints and new factual assumptions into the hard-core groups that produce such
theories. Our principal claim here involves the potential value ofcognitive infiltration of
extremist groups, designed to introduce informational diversity into such groups and to
expose indefensible conspiracy theories as such.
Tell me this, Sunstein: how does all that drug money get through the Federal Reserve System? Everyone has been so eager to confront that 'conspiracy theory,' haven't they?
Blah blah blah... let's get to the good stuff: [Below the fold - favorite chunks of much of the crazy essay]
UPDATE: I should have noted this PETA job posting seems really quite well-done spoof, the Iron Mountain of job postings. However there are 2x entries on their official PETA twitter:
@vegetarianstar Actor needed 2 participate in this year's "State of the Union Undress?" http://ow.ly/EXk3 RT? 12:34 PM Nov 23rd from web
@GirlieGirlArmy @Veggywood Actor needed 2 participate in this year's "State of the Union Undress?" http://ow.ly/EYCv RT? 12:35 PM Nov 23rd from HootSuite
The tweet before that was
@KhloeKardashian We r eatin' tofurkey & givin' thanks! XOXO http://ow.ly/EWJM
PETA is a deeply bad organization which attempts to vanguard around some edgy cultural iconography and save some animals, which all basically translates to trashy soft-core porn style imagery. Because what we all need is a certain "Girls Gone Wild" edge to social progress.
On the flip side is the creepy authoritarian/esoteric Illuminati style imagery of yr leading pop stars like Lady Gaga and Rihanna. For a disconcerting read see Lady Gaga, the Illuminati Puppet (part 2) as well. It is sort of funny but also quite weird.
African American or Mixed-Race Vegan Actor Needed for PETA Video
Date: 2009-11-23, 10:04AM PST
Reply to: job-bdwht-1478953353@craigslist.org
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) will be featuring a video on PETA.org in mid-January 2010 called the "State of the Union Undress." This video will feature an attractive woman dressed in business attire proudly and powerfully reciting a speech, which will be approximately five minutes long about PETA's hard work for animals in 2009 (she will be able to read from a teleprompter during filming). It is meant to be a parody of President Obama's state of the union address, but instead of being about America's progress, it will be about PETA's progress. As the woman reads the script, she will begin removing articles of clothing until she is completely naked. It will be a sexy video with a powerful message. Full frontal nudity will be shown on this video (by the end of the video, the woman will have no bra or underwear on). We've done similar videos in the past and have achieved incredible success, including coverage on Fox News and hundreds of online outlets.
We have found that people do pay more attention to our racier actions, and we consider the public's attention to be extremely important. Part of our job is to shake people up and even shock them in order to initiate discussion, debate, questioning of the status quo, and of course, action. The current situation is critical for billions of animals, and because it is our duty to continue drawing attention to the plight of animals abused in the meat, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment industries, we are willing to use all legal means at our disposal in ways that will capture the public's imagination. Our goal is to make the public think about the issues. Although some consider our projects that include nudity to be controversial, many express support for these tactics.
Requirements for the actor:
1) She must be vegan or vegetarian and supportive of PETA's work.
2) She must be 18 or older with a valid ID.
3) She must be African American or mixed race. The goal is to have her ethnicity resemble Barack Obama's as closely as possible.
4) She must be willing to be completely nude on camera and know that the full frontal nudity scenes will be publicized on PETA.org and possibly reposted on hundreds of other media outlets.
5) She must be capable of a fun, sexy, and easy flowing performance and be excited about the animal rights message.
6) She must be fully aware that we will be pitching this video to many media outlets and be eager to represent PETA.
7) She must be available to film sometime in mid-December in Los Angeles (we will discuss specific dates once an actor is chosen). The filming will be at a private studio where the actor will work with a professional crew of men and women, including a female PETA staffer who will be there to assist her.
To Apply:
Please e-mail a photo (preferably both a head shot and a full body shot) to the "reply to" e-mail address above (send as attachment, preferably JPG format). Please include answers to the following questionnaire in the e-mail body:
Name:
Age:
Race:
City in which you currently reside:
E-mail address:
Phone number:
Are you vegetarian or vegan?
Do you have any concerns about going completely nude in this video?
Do you have your own transportation?
Do you have any acting and/or modeling experience? If so, please list highlights.
Do you have any other thoughts/comments?
Only submissions with clear photos attached will be considered. If desired, we can also refrain from publishing the actor's name.
* Compensation: The video will receive massive media coverage online and probably on television news outlets as well. Fox News has picked up previous versions of this video. As a nonprofit organization, it's difficult for us to pay the actor in money, but we can assure her that we'll do everything we can to pitch and publicize the video to make her as well known as possible. If desired, we can also refrain from publishing the actor's name.
* This is a contract job.
* This is at a non-profit organization.
* OK for recruiters to contact this job poster.
* Please, no phone calls about this job!
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
In a stunning surprise, apparently the New Zealand mobile phone system is a complete racket, wherein grumpy ministers set the pay rate and thereby influence the balance of corporate power. Or something.
In any case, New Zealand's version of the Man officially censored this article about the stupid hustle upon which people's cellphone billing rests. It's interesting because it just shows how arbitrary determinations are used to control the market, particularly telecommunications.
Plus, this sort of censorship is exactly the thing that is lame about British Commonwealth nations and law. The truth should be an absolute defence against libel or in this case arbitrary censorship.
The rights of the Press is inscribed on the First Amendment around here partly because the Brits love to BS about stuff like this! Everyone knows it's a hustle, but they get extra powers to gag people. Saudi prince type guys abuse British press law all the damn time and get away with it.
They need to erase this article because there is no free market cell phone system in New Zealand. Boooo hoooo....
WIKILEAKS! Censored story from the National Business Review of New Zealand on Vodafone interconnection deal, 5 Aug 2009
"This is the text to a National Business Review (nbr.co.nz) article written by Chris Keall, detailing a secret interconnection deal ordered by former Labour Minister of Communications, David Cunliffe, between Vodafone New Zealand and mobile operator 2 Degrees.
The file contains information that directly affects public policy (telecommunications regulation). However, the regulator, the New Zealand Commerce Commission, has used its powers under section 100 of the Commerce Act to suppress the story, and have ordered New Zealand media not to publish any details of the deal. NBR was forced to take down the story as a result of this state censorship.
The New Zealand public that needs to know how telecommunications industry regulation is done."
Revealed: Vodafone’s secret deal with 2degrees
Wednesday August 5 2009 - 03:02pm
In November 2008, in the dying days of the last Labour government, communications and IT minister was determined to clear the path for 2degrees’ launch.
A source says that at the climax of discussions, a fed up Mr Cunliffe gave Vodafone just more hour to reach a mobile termination rate agreement with 2degrees - or face a fresh investigation on the issue from the Commerce Commission (mobile termination rates - MTR - are what one telco pays another when a call terminates - is received - on another’s network).
The two mobile operators duly stitched up an MTR agreement, which has remained confidential ever since - to the infuriation of Vodafone, which has maintained that 2degrees has complaining loudly about MTR, while in reality knowing it was in line for sweetheart rates.
The source says that at the time, “2degrees thought the deal was the best thing since sliced bread”. Yet, to Cunliffe’s dismay, the new carrier failed to launch by the end of the year. And when National came to power, 2degrees saw the chance to push its MTR luck further.
The Commerce Commission - which under the new government is investigating MTR a third time, regardless of Mr Cunliffe’s promise (again, to Vodafone’s chagrin) - has told NBR it has no issue with the deal being made public.
However, 2degrees said no dice. “We respect the confidentiality of our agreements,” said head of corporate communications Bryony Hilless.
Terms revealed
Now, NBR has obtained the terms of the secret MTR deal.
There are three key elements.
One, Vodafone gives 2degrees a “new entrant” discount of around 33%.
For mobile-to-mobile calls, Vodafone charges other telcos 15 cents a minute, but 2degrees will only have to pay 10.75 cents per minute.
For txt, Vodafone’s MTR is 9.13 cents per message. 2degrees is charged 6.25 cents.
The second element is asymmetry: 2degrees will pay 10.75 cents a minute. But when as call terminates on Vodafone’s network, it will pay 2degrees the full whack: 15 cents. The same applies to txt, with Vodafone paying 146% of 2degrees’ rate.
The third is that MTR is charged by the second, from the first second - which, says one source, makes it pretty rich that 2degrees charges by the minute.
Vodafone wants the Commerce Commission - which has so far based its MTR sums on Vodafone’s headline rate - to take its 2degrees deal into account when weighing whether market termination rates are competitive.
The commission recently recommended that MTR be reduced to 7.2 cents per minute immediately for voice calls, and 3.8 cents per txt, with a series of further cuts through to 2015. A review and consultation process is now underway, with communications minister Steven Joyce likely to make a decision on the matter in the New Year.
Many independent observers, including Tuanz, representing 500 corporate customers, have strongly backed the commission’s call for voice MTR of 7.5 cents or below.
For its part, Telecom has challenged all carriers to agree to a voice MTR of 7 cents a minute - though by 2015, rather than immediately as the commission is angling.
That's OK. The LOLcats are taking over, up in ur rational frameworks, makin ur reality look weirder. Reality seems to be curving away into some other odd direction, yes.
One of the freshest commentators on Internet culture, Clay Shirky, has written, correctly, that nobody really knows what form journalism will take in the evolving post-newspaper era. Looking back to the unpredictable social and cultural upheavals brought about by Gutenberg’s invention of movable type, he writes, “We’re collectively living through 1500, when it’s easier to see what’s broken than what will replace it.” So who will do the heavy journalistic lifting? “Whatever works.” Every experiment must be tried, professional and amateur, whether by institutions like The Times or “some 19-year-old kid few of us have heard of.”
Here's the fucked-up thing: it is damn near impossible for nature to recombine a lot of things, frequently. Certainly nature is constantly messing around, but it can't make a huge batch of a special three-part influenza hybrid. The odds are astronomical.
But now we've got these research labs making all the hypothetical possible flu combinations, so that they can, perhaps, have vaccine lines ready to go.
So all you gotta do to market your product is spill it on some buses in Mexico City, or whatever.
I'm ticked off about this. Some damn links.
step 1: don't open those live mashup packages from Baxter
Where does anyone draw the dang line about 'bio weapons proliferation'???? Remember "bio-weapons"? Where did that concept slip off to - oh yes, we left it behind the beakers in the Bio-business lab.
and yes the fabulous Illinois company, Baxter, with its spiffy special patented vaccine dev setup, is going to step up and research what's going on. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/04/baxter-to-pursue-swine-flu-vi...
except they sent out the hot stuff before - along with the other cultures you'd want to make a mix http://www.opednews.com/articles/Still-Think-They-re-Not-Tr-by-Mr-M-0903...
The Situation in Israel/Palestine/Iraq/Pakistan/arbitrarily defined 'nations'/etc. looks about as bad as ever for 2009. Of course, each one feeds into the next, and cascades are possible, or even likely?
The Israelis are tragically caught in a situation where their politicians have to pander to the voting populace by looking tough with another weird, half-cocked war - much like Lebanon in 2006.
One difference: besides the end of the 6-month cease-fire, which Hamas basically honored for the most part, not much happened to precipitate this dumb "all or nothing" gamble -- Israel has placed its credibility on winning.
However, it is of course more important to get into WHO placed credibility on winning: annoying career politicians. Fortunately, as everything explodes, poor ignored Ehud Barak can try to prove that the war will deliver better political mileage for Israel than the great 2006 Lebanon debacle.
This war has been looking pretty bad, PR-wise, for Israel; much weaker, really, than a lot of other things Israel has done, and in how people even on TV seem to talk about it. And yet, taking the plunge yet again, Israel takes to one extreme after another. At this point, why not?!
Two stories encapsulate the ugly weirdness of how these things get stacked up.
Within Israel there's a general election 5 weeks away, and it's a mess.
The Labor Party was seen crudely as the 'peace party,' which is true to some extent (though often not). The Likud Party is seriously looking to win bigtime, which would put the supremely narsty Benjamin Netanyahu back in charge . Thus, "reformed peacenik" Ehud Barak needs to whomp some people in a campaign that clearly won't deliver any definitive "victory". Except at the ballot box (maybe).
The Israeli paper Haaretz captures all this stuff so much more clearly than anything generally printed in the U.S. However at this time they are under a certain degree of military censorship, so keep that in mind. What excellent headline writing!
Last update - 04:28 05/01/2009
Barak's political fortunes seen rising with each missile that pounds Gaza
By Roni Singer-Heruti
The Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza has prompted a surge in the number of people volunteering at the Labor Party's campaign headquarters over the last week, party officials say.
Thus far, the operation has been very popular with the public, and most of the credit has gone to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who is also Labor's chairman.
The surge in people calling or emailing to volunteer their services is yet another sign of a trend already evident from the polls: a sharp rise in support for Labor in general and Barak in particular. Last week's Haaretz poll, for instance, found that Labor had risen to 16 Knesset seats from 11 in the previous poll.
The turnabout is particular striking for a party whose demise has been widely forecast just two weeks ago.
"There is no doubt that the [Gaza] operation has highlighted Barak's advantages and enabled a real discourse about the truly important matters," one senior Labor official said this weekend. "That's what we were trying to say all along: He's not a pal, he's not nice, but he's a leader. And now, people see that."
Even in the Ramle market, generally a reliable bastion of the right, support for Barak was virtually unanimous last week.
"Barak has proven himself in this operation as someone who knows how to do the work," said Shlomo Sarur, who has been a member of rival Likud's central committee for 25 years. "On security, he's good, and you can't take that away from him.
Labor officials insist that the operation's timing has nothing to do with the fact that elections are due to take place in another month, on February 10. But they readily admit that, as one put it, "his conduct in managing the operation in Gaza enables the public to examine Barak's conduct in the real world and not the world of image and style."
Officially, the party's campaign has been suspended since the operation began 10 days ago. But party officials know the campaign will have to resume the day after the operation ends, and they are therefore busy preparing their day-after strategies.
However, these strategies depend largely on how the operation turns out. If, by the time it ends, it is still perceived as a success, Barak will feature prominently in Labor's campaign as a "leader with a proven record." If not, Labor will clearly need a different tactic. But Dr. Tamir Sheafer of Hebrew University's political science program predicts that Labor's surge in the polls will be short-lived either way.
"It's all a question of how long the operation lasts and how many screw-ups there are," he said. "But from the polls we have conducted, it is possible to say that in general, rightist voters will ultimately have trouble putting a Labor ballot in the box."
The other story is not in Haaretz - apparently the Israelis have decided to round out their excellent PR so far and drop White Phosphorus rounds around Gaza. White Phosphorus is burning shards of metal, leaving puffy clouds behind -- toxic clouds, but 'gases', if you will.
White Phosphorus basically ought to be a war crime - you drop the shit all over an area you want to clear out and/or burn those within. Fortunately, the Israelis would never stoop to some treaty banning its use! Its use in Iraq is another unbelievably depressing story...
srael is believed to be using controversial white phosphorus shells to screen its assault on the heavily populated Gaza Strip yesterday. The weapon, used by British and US forces in Iraq, can cause horrific burns but is not illegal if used as a smokescreen.
As the Israeli army stormed to the edges of Gaza City and the Palestinian death toll topped 500, the tell-tale shells could be seen spreading tentacles of thick white smoke to cover the troops’ advance. “These explosions are fantastic looking, and produce a great deal of smoke that blinds the enemy so that our forces can move in,” said one Israeli security expert. Burning blobs of phosphorus would cause severe injuries to anyone caught beneath them and force would-be snipers or operators of remote-controlled booby traps to take cover. Israel admitted using white phosphorus during its 2006 war with Lebanon.
The use of the weapon in the Gaza Strip, one of the world’s mostly densely population areas, is likely to ignite yet more controversy over Israel’s offensive, in which more than 2,300 Palestinians have been wounded.
The Geneva Treaty of 1980 stipulates that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban under international law on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination. However, Charles Heyman, a military expert and former major in the British Army, said: “If white phosphorus was deliberately fired at a crowd of people someone would end up in The Hague. White phosphorus is also a terror weapon. The descending blobs of phosphorus will burn when in contact with skin.”
The Israeli military last night denied using phosphorus, but refused to say what had been deployed. “Israel uses munitions that are allowed for under international law,” said Captain Ishai David, spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces. “We are pressing ahead with the second stage of operations, entering troops in the Gaza Strip to seize areas from which rockets are being launched into Israel.”
The civilian toll in the first 24 hours of the ground offensive — launched after a week of bombardment from air, land and sea— was at least 64 dead. Among those killed were five members of a family who died when an Israeli tank shell hit their car and a paramedic who died when a tank blasted his ambulance. Doctors at Gaza City’s main hospital said many women and children were among the dead and wounded.
The Israeli army also suffered its first fatality of the offensive when one of its soldiers was killed by mortar fire. More than 30 soldiers were wounded by mortars, mines and sniper fire.
Israel has brushed aside calls for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory, where medical supplies are running short.
With increasingly angry anti-Israeli protests spreading around the world, Gordon Brown described the violence in Gaza as “a dangerous moment”.
White phosphorus: the smoke-screen chemical that can burn to the bone
— White phosphorus bursts into a deep-yellow flame when it is exposed to oxygen, producing a thick white smoke
— It is used as a smokescreen or for incendiary devices, but can also be deployed as an anti-personnel flame compound capable of causing potentially fatal burns
— Phosphorus burns are almost always second or third-degree because the particles do not stop burning on contact with skin until they have entirely disappeared — it is not unknown for them to reach the bone
— Geneva conventions ban the use of phosphorus as an offensive weapon against civilians, but its use as a smokescreen is not prohibited by international law
— Israel previously used white phosphorus during its war with Lebanon in 2006
— It has been used frequently by British and US forces in recent wars, notably during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Its use was criticised widely
— White phosphorus has the slang name “Willy Pete”, which dates from the First World War. It was commonly used in the Vietnam era
This is what you probably ought to check out. Very shocking video of a Gaza market evidently bombed by the Israelis. Honestly I could not handle watching the whole thing. Many people torn asunder.
Such is much like the carnage at suicide bombings and the many other varieties of explosions that happen all over these days. It is only via removing such images from general public awareness -- as a major fork of the whole effort -- can such horrors be rationalized. (and this certainly applies to all sides)
Nightmares... Just try getting this video out there. Information operations, indeed.
Krugman: Op-Ed Columnist - Lest We Forget - NYTimes.com: A few months ago I found myself at a meeting of economists and finance officials, discussing — what else? — the crisis. There was a lot of soul-searching going on. One senior policy maker asked, “Why didn’t we see this coming?” There was, of course, only one thing to say in reply, so I said it: “What do you mean ‘we,’ white man?”
Awesome. For some reason he keeps getting cooler.
More establishment bullshit, courtesy the DailyKos:
The target is your brains!!! Ahh formalized domestic-directed propaganda, so clean & polished. I wonder how many contractors will profit! (huge hat tip to barrisj_redux @agonist)
Press And "Psy Ops" to Merge At NATO Afghan HQ: SourcesBy REUTERSPublished: November 29, 2008
Filed at 2:01 a.m. ET
KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. general commanding NATO forces in Afghanistan has ordered a merger of the office that releases news with "Psy Ops," which deals with propaganda, a move that goes against the alliance's policy, three officials said.
The move has worried Washington's European NATO allies -- Germany has already threatened to pull out of media operations in Afghanistan -- and the officials said it could undermine the credibility of information released to the public.
Seven years into the war against the Taliban, insurgent influence is spreading closer to the capital and Afghans are becoming increasingly disenchanted at the presence of some 65,000 foreign troops and the government of President Hamid Karzai.
Taliban militants, through their website, telephone text messages and frequent calls to reporters, are also gaining ground in the information war, analysts say.
U.S. General David McKiernan, the commander of 50,000 troops from more than 40 nations in NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), ordered the combination of the Public Affairs Office (PAO), Information Operations and Psy Ops (Psychological Operations) from December 1, said a NATO official with detailed knowledge of the move.
"This will totally undermine the credibility of the information released to the press and the public," said the official, who declined to be named.
ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Richard Blanchette said McKiernan had issued a staff order to implement a command restructure from December 1 which was being reviewed by NATO headquarters in Brussels, but he declined to go into details of the reorganization.
"This is very much an internal matter," he said. "This is up with higher headquarters right now and we're waiting to get the basic approval. Once we have the approval we will be going into implementation."
But another ISAF official confirmed that the amalgamation of public affairs with Information Operations and Psy Ops was part of the planned command restructure. This official, who also declined to be named, said the merger had caused considerable concern at higher levels within NATO which had challenged the order by the U.S. general.
"DECEPTION ACTIVITIES"
NATO policy recognizes there is an inherent clash of interests between its public affairs offices, whose job it is to issue press releases and answer media questions, and that of Information Operations and Psy Ops.
Information Operations advises on information designed to affect the will of the enemy, while Psy Ops includes so-called "black operations," or outright deception.
While Public Affairs and Information Operations, PA and Info Ops in military jargon, "are separate, but related functions," according to the official NATO policy document on public affairs, "PA is not an Info Ops discipline."
The new combined ISAF department will come under the command of an American one-star general reporting directly to McKiernan, an arrangement that is also against NATO policy, the NATO official said.
"While coordination is essential, the lines of authority will remain separate, the PA reporting directly to the commander. This is to maintain credibility of PA and to avoid creating a media or public perception that PA activities are coordinated by, or are directed by, Info Ops," the NATO policy document says.
"PA will have no role in planning or executing Info Ops, Psy Ops, or deception activities," it states.
The United States has 35,000 of the 65,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, operating both under ISAF and a separate U.S.-led coalition operation, but both come under McKiernan's command.
Washington is already scheduled to send another 3,000 troops to arrive in the country in January and is now considering sending 20,000 more troops in the next 12 to 18 months, further tipping the numerical balance among ISAF forces.
"What we are seeing is a gradual increase of American influence in all areas of the war," the NATO official said. "Seeking to gain total control of the information flow from the campaign is just part of that."
"....
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