Tag Archives: Big Media/Big Tech

My Introduction to Global Warming Skepticism

Since I began reading conspiratorial blogs, the issue which surprised me most was their unanimous skepticism about global warming. Here is an example. I don’t doubt that carbon emission are extraordinarily high and that humans are having a profound and destructive influence on the environment and that measures need to be taken to preserve what’s in jeopardy and restore what’s lost, but I’ve slowly come to doubt global warming.

My biggest source of doubt is the disparity between big media and blogs. Big media (whom I’ve come to recognize as lying bastards) never misses a chance to hype global warming complete with terrifying portrayals of tidal waves hitting Manhattan, while stories like this one about volcanic activity melting Antarctica or this one about Mars getting hotter, seem consistently absent.

So why would they be lying? There is a theory (article here) that fear of global warming is being leveraged to create global institutions which would serve as a step toward global governance.

The approach of hijacking a popular movement for ulterior motives is familiar to me. In this interview film maker Aaron Russo talks about how bankers hijacked women suffrage to create an America in which all of us must work and pay taxes.

I’m putting the movie “11th hour” on the American Propaganda shelf, right next to “United 93.”

Censoring Ron Paul – Why the rEVOLution will not be televised

Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win.”

Ron Paul was the leader in 4th quarter fund raising. He finished second in Nevada. He regularly gets more votes than Guiliani. He’s outlasted Brownback, Tancredo, Hunter and Thompson. There is NO WAY they’re accidentally ignoring him. This is blatant, widespread censorship. The media is lying to you, America.

2008:

–MSNBC debate bias
Romney: 21 minutes, 11 seconds (12 answers and asked 1 question)
McCain: 16 minutes even (12 answers and asked 1 question)
Giuliani: 13 minutes and 50 seconds (10 answers and asked 1 question)
Huckabee: 12 minutes and 11 seconds (8 answers and asked 1 question)
Paul: 6 minutes and 31 seconds (5 answers and asked 1 question)

-As FL primary approaches, Miami Herald non-mentions Ron Paul, in article covering the Republican race.
–Fox “News” television graphic. They lie.
-BCC too? Notice anything missing from this race summary? The defenders of our corrupt monetary policy are widespread and numerous.
–THIS JFK / MLK / Ron Paul video was censored by YouTube. It’s author lost his account.
-I should have screen-captured. An ABC “News” story on the republican race had photos of all the candidates down to Duncan Hunter, with no Ron Paul.
–CNN gives Dr. Paul, and only Dr. Paul, a non-smiling photograph.
–Multiple 11th-hour rule changes by Nevada GOP concern Paul campaign.
–Digg Censoring Ron Paul.
-On the eve of the New Hampshire primary, Fox “News” is editing Ron Paul from AP stories. (More)
–New Republic’s Jamie Kirchick scrapes the barrel of yellow journalism ludicrously claiming that Ron Paul personally called Martin Luther King a “gay pedophile,” and stuffed 20 years’ worth of “Ron Paul” newsletters full of “racist, anti-semitic, homophobic invective.” Read Ron Paul’s response.
–Ballot box at Scottsdale AZ Straw Poll almost stolen by McCain supporters.
-From a Reader: Union Leader pretends Ron Paul does not exist on the morning of the New Hampshire primaries: Primary calendar

DECEMBER 07:

-To finish off the new year, Fox “News” has excluded Ron Paul from a New Hampshire forum. (More)
-UN-Believable! Late December, and Rasmussen STILL won’t include the six-million-dollar man in their polls, despite fundraising that’s long-since surpassed Thompson’s, Romney’s, Giuliani’s. For the few of you who still trust the mainstream, please stop.
–Bloomberg “news” column discusses all presidential candidates except . . . (surprise, surprise) . . . Ron Paul.
-I’ve heard many reports of telephone polls excluding Ron Paul. Here’s a recording. When the guy chooses “none of the above,” the automated system acts as if he chose “remove me from this list.”
-Widely quoted LA Times poll excludes Ron Paul. Its organizer has long history of excluding candidates.
–CBS “News” censors Ron Paul from graphics and commentary.
–Lew Rockwell: the Atlantic continues attacking Ron Paul, this time pointing out that “libertarian ideology and white supremacist ideology just so happen to overlap,” since both Ron Paul and white supremacists don’t think the federal government should interfere with the right to associate with whomever you choose on your own private property. This ridiculous guilt-by-association remains a common approach by Paul’s detractors.
–This is typical Big media news coverage. There’s a facade of neutrality, but of all the ways to write this headline, ABC “news” chooses the most hostile spin possible. Read ABC’s sub-headings: Opposing, Denying, Cutting, Rejecting. ABC also refused to air the Ron Paul interview. It’s available online.
–This Fox “News” broadcast is similar. ALL the candidates have Merry-Christmas ads. Only Ron Paul is put on the spot to defend it. The interviewer goes on to promote the Ron-Paul-is-racist meme. As usual, Dr. Paul answers very thoughtfully.
–Paul: Fox News is scared of me.
–littlegreenfootballs.com pushes Ron-Paul-is-a-Nazi rhetoric. I suspect this persistent meme results from Ron Paul’s philosophical objection to our annual $5 billion gift to Israel. (Hear Ron Paul talk about how this welfarism HURTS Israel.) I’ll bet ten bucks they don’t post this photo of Hillary Clinton with convicted drug dealer and cocaine smuggler Jorge Cabrera. Don’t even get me started on the Clintons’ criminal history.
–AP News: Ron Paul is a spoiler, i.e. not a real candidate. The article is factually incorrect when it says polls show no indication he can win any primaries.
–NY Sun continues smearing Paul. I should give up on this rag.
-Wonkette tries to coin the slur “Paultards,” as Neo-Libs join Neo-Cons. (Psst, they’re the same people.)
-NBC’s Tim Russert conducts openly hostile interview with Ron Paul. He discusses statements Ron Paul made in the 80’s to split hairs about issues insignificant to Dr. Paul’s current platform. As usual, Paul answers all questions thoughtfully. “News” man Russert ends interview with ominous: “Be safe on the campaign trail.”
-Best-selling author says assassination of Ron Paul has been discussed by power-brokering elites. (Follow-up: Neo-Con personalities among them.) Remember, they killed Bobby Kennedy after he won the California primary.
–Great YouTube compilation of Ron Paul slander in mainstream press.
-The organizers of a political dinner in San Francisco cancelled their straw poll after it became apparent Ron Paul would win.
–Upcoming CBS series looks like it will exclude Ron Paul.
–Newsweek ridicules Ron Paul and his supporters. (read the comments)
–TWO attacks against Ron Paul in the Dec. 24th NY Times. I think this means he’s doing well. UPDATE: NY Times retracts Ron Paul smear.
-In a staggering display of selective perception, NY Times columnist Bob Herbert laments the GOP’s militancy, completely ignoring Ron Paul’s presence. This is especially asinine, as Herbert’s own beliefs most closely resemble Paul’s. Herbert mentions all GOP presidential candidates in his column except . . . (surprise, surprise) . . . Ron Paul.
–Uber-Neo-Con chicken-hawk Bill Kristol calls Ron Paul a crackpot, completely distorts his views.
-Sorry, NPR lovers. A reader sent me this email about Diane Rehm’s committed non-mention of Dr. Paul.
-Cable provider ComCast interrupts CNN interview with Ron Paul.

NOVEMBER 07:

-The CNN/YouTube debate went for 35 minutes before Ron Paul got a question. He received the least amount of time, and only four question. (Giuliani got nine.) Hear Ron Paul comment.
–Washington Post’s post-debate commentary excludes Ron Paul. For those of you who still trust Big Media, please stop.
–The Rothenberg Political Report categorically dismisses Ron Paul.
–Mainstream press struggles with Ron Paul’s surging popularity.
–Salon discusses non-mention of Ron Paul Phenomenon by NY Times, Washing Post, CNN, CBS News, MSNBC and Fox.
-Few big media sources can still get away with ignoring Ron Paul. Many (ABC’s This Week) minimize his recent success, discussing him as a spoiler.
-Major polls STILL excluding Ron Paul. See for yourself: RealClearPolitics.com.
–A Zogby poll branched one poller into boring questions about rice, then personal questions about sex, after he answered positively about Ron Paul.
–CNBC anchor tries to play damage control after Chicago traders cheer Ron Paul, gets pointedly contradicted.
–Digg bans Ron Paul Nation.
–Springfield, IL targets Ron Paul signs.
-Echoes of Wired‘s ridiculous Ron Paul bot-net allegation still circulating. UPDATE: Here is photographic evidence of the bot-net and the spammers.
-Fantastic, link-rich antiwar.com article: Why are they afraid of Ron Paul?
-Ultra neo-con HotAir.com adopts Ron-Paul-is-a-Nazi meme, which was repeated at Jewcy, but contradicted by Zionists for Ron Paul.
-Daily Kos: Ron Paul hates you.
-Neo-Lib Wonkette consistently smearing Ron Paul, founding editor recruited to Time Magazine.
–Sean Hanity faces optimistic Ron Paul prediction.
–The Atlantic bloggers factually wrong on Ron Paul.
–Stupid questions on CBS’s Face The Nation: You do not see the threats to this country . . . do you think we even ought to have a military? So should we build a wall around this country and put all our military here? Do you really sincerely believe that you have a chance?
-After Ron Paul’s Nov 5th, $4.3-million-dollar money bomb, media spins it as commemoration of Guy Fawkes bombing attempt. See NY Times, Wired, Cnet.
-Damage control after Nov 5th Money bomb: The Atlantic, CBS, the neo-con Weekly Standard frantically repeat Ron-Paul-is-insane meme.
-Same thing repeated in my alma mater’s daily. (I rebuttal.)
–Florida county tries to bad Ron Paul truck-sign, fails after public makes themselves heard.
–Jackie Mason completely distorts Ron Paul’s beliefs.
–CNN’s Glenn Beck calls Paul supporters terrorists, interviews hate-monger David Horowitz, who lies (Ron Paul didn’t choose Nov 5th), and says Paul supports “in bed with the Islamo-fascists.”
–Glenn Beck’s CNN poll excludes Ron Paul.

OCTOBER 07:

-I’ve always took it for granted that Fox “News” stacks their audiences to achieve a desired effect. Here a Bush crony poses as an objective, neutral observer of the Florida debate, after which, Hannity and Colmes try to spin away Ron Paul’s success.
–FOX’s Hannity denies the obvious: the people who watched chose Ron Paul.
–Bullshit Wired article says Paul supporters are internet viruses. (The man raised about 10 million with an average contribution of $40!)
–Salon echoes the ridiculous accusation. Once something is reported, the propaganda machine can report the reporting. (See disinformation technique #22)
-Is author of Wired article connected to Giuliani?. (needs verification)
-Very, very strange Defense Department interruption of Ron Paul C-SPAN interview.
-Paul not invited to MSNBC presidential candidate forum.
-CNBC correspondent forced to apologize after claiming Paul’s supporters hacked their poll.
–RedState.com bans all mention of congressman Paul.
–Clinton staffers seize Ron Paul signs at PUBLIC rally.
-Ron Paul (still) excluded in many major polls.
-Israel’s Haaretz excludes Ron Paul in their ranking of US Presidential candidates.
–NY Post blacks out Dr. Paul.
–St. Petersburg Times runs major hit piece.
-Check out ABC’s creative editing.
–Fox “News” producers caught conspiring to exclude Paul supporters.
-A bogus Ron Paul-Blackwater connection published in the Washington Post. Why would America’s most militant company support our most anti-war candidate?
-Florida man forced to remove Ron Paul signs from his private property, after years of posting political signs.
-Shouldn’t this video should have been in YouTube’s most watched list? Is YouTube censoring? (Oct 12)
–This great breakdown shows how Ron Paul received the least amount of time in the October 9th debate. A mere 5 minutes.
–CNBC Pulls online poll after Ron Paul wins by a landslide.
–Republican Jewish Coalition excludes Ron Paul from their forum. Jews for Ron Paul protest. A Ron Paul Meetup forms in Tel Aviv.
-Strange. Bogus story about a bogus event. Seems to try and link Paul-supporters with America haters.
–MSNBC’s Hardball discusses cutting “freeloaders” like Paul from the field, for the benefit of the voters. “There may be an effort by the networks to narrow this field.” Chris Matthews says Giuliani’s 9/11 debate remark was a “homerun.” This was recorded after Sen. Brownback dropped out (Oct 19th) – AFTER Ron Paul’s $5 million third quarter.

SEPTEMBER 07:

–NY Republican club says no to Dr. Paul.
–Ron Paul WINS straw poll in New Hampshire, and therefore, gopstrawpoll.com removes him from their online poll.
–Hannity lies to discredit Ron Paul after the congressman WINS the fox news poll following the September 5th debate.
-Holy crap. During the debate, Fox “news” moderator Chris Wallace said: So, Congressman Paul, I’d like you to take 30 seconds to answer this, you’re basically saying that we should take our marching orders from al Qaeda? more here

AUGUST 07:

-ABC Talk show host Mark Levin declares war on Ron Paul. He asks listeners to harass Paul’s campaign headquarters. Ron Paul supporters teach Levin something about blowback!
-Ahead of the influential straw poll, the Iowa GOP seems neither reassuring of a fair election, nor willing to let the vote be easily verified. They ask Ron Paul’s campaign for almost $200k just to verify the vote.
-After the August 5th debate, ABC news tinkered with their online poll.

JULY 07:

–The Ron Paul censors continue to be hard at work.
–Hahaha Sean Hannity vs. Ron Paul supporters
–Here the AP reports on the fund-raising efforts of Giuliani, Romney, and McCain, and ignores Ron Paul, even though Dr. Paul has more cash on hand than McCain.
–Ron Paul supporters silenced at a Florida Marlin’s game after their poster was caught by television cameras.

JUNE 07:

-Ron Paul succeeds in Iowa despite exclusion.
-Ron Paul, banned from an Iowa debate, will hold a separate rally.
-Another desperate effort to slander him, by CNN “Which GOP candidate flies first class?”

SPRING 07:

–CNN attempts to slander Ron Paul. My favorite part is when they flash “blaming America for 9/11” beneath his face while he’s speaking.
–Rupert-Murdoch-owned MySpace seems to be censoring certain types of pro-Ron Paul postings. I don’t use MySpace. If anyone does, please confirm or deny this and let me know.
–One of many Fox smear jobs against Ron Paul.
–A local radio show bans mention of Ron Paul.
–Michigan GOP tries and fails to bar Ron Paul from the debates.
–ABC “accidentally” omits Ron Paul from their poll — until the public makes themselves heard.
–New York Sun calls Ron Paul anti-semitic.
–WorldNetDaily website ignores Ron Paul. A general discussion of the media’s non-response to Ron Paul’s surging popularity.
-Reason editor David Weigel predicted in February: If Paul’s campaign gathers momentum, he will be swiftly and horrifyingly destroyed by brickbats hurled from every bunker in the 2008 field.

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Translation as Hate Propaganda

(By Lawrence Swaim of InFocusNews.net)

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) provides daily English translations of film and print media stories originating in Arabic, Iranian and Turkish media.

It also furnishes original analysis of cultural, political and religious trends in the Middle East.

It sends its daily postings to every news outlet in the United States and Europe, in addition to politicians and cultural leaders.

And it’s free, which makes it a Godsend for journalists, editors and policy analysts.

But according to its critics, it is also a dangerous, highly sophisticated propaganda operation, disseminating hate and disinformation on an unprecedented worldwide basis.

“They use the same sort of propaganda techniques as the Nazis,” Professor Norman G. Finkelstein, a well-known scholar on Israel/Palestine, told InFocus. “They take things out of context in order to do personal and political harm to people they don’t like.”

(Read More)

Five Predictions for 2008

1) Corporate Media will believe their own propaganda and be astonished by Ron Paul’s success – starting tomorrow.

2) The push to attack Iran will resume once the presidential primaries are decided. If Israel bombs Iran, they’ll do so after the primaries, but before President Bush leaves office.

3) Our economic woes will be worse than predicted.

4) The price of gold will reach $1000/ounce.

5) The threat of child predators will be leveraged as an excuse to regulate the internet, or internet access.

YouTube Censoring

Watch Video which demonstrates censorship.

My Belief:

Big media has long been frightened of ceding their grip over public opinion to the information-rich internet. They’ve begun mitigating the risk is by making stars out of a very small number of web sites willing to censor anti-establishment views. The strategy hopes most of the public will not see dissenting opinions through the glare of their stars. This approach is evident in the language you hear on the evening news. Where they once said things like “internet search,” “video sharing websites” and in general, “on the internet,” they now say “Google,” “YouTube,” and “on MySpace.” So long as the masses read from a small number of sources, so long as the owners of those sources are cozy with the establishment, public opinion can continue to be manipulated. Popular websites never mentioned include Wikipedia and Craigslist, even though they offer communities as vast as those of the media darlings.

I realize this is a fairly conspiratorial view of the world. I don’t think it happens in a sinister way- no dark, smoke-filled rooms. If it happens, it’s more casual. To them, promoting “friendly” websites is analogous to putting one’s best foot forward -as described in the New Yorker article referenced in this earlier post.

Massing the Media

Another great Bill Moyers Series:

Dec 14: FCC ignores overwhelming public opposition to more consolidation, and defies Congressional request to delay vote. (10 minute video)

Dec 18: The TRAITORS in the FCC, like Chairman Kevin Martin, defy both the public and the Congress, voting to allow monopoly control over media. (5 minute video)

This fight isn’t over. A public interest group is planning to sue, and N. Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan is introducing legislation to rescind the FCC ruling.

The CNN/YouTube astroturf debates

(Wikipedia: Astroturfing is a neologism for formal public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that seek to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior.)

I believe in the debates. It’s always better for voters to hear the candidates first-hand. It’d be better still if voters got to choose the questions asked. Unfortunately, big media is determined to control it:

Great Video

“The faux populism of the YouTube format is an Orwellian leap even for CNN.”

Press Favoring Hillary among Dems


Planted audience, planted questions, questioners are supporters, former staffers conduct post-debate analysis. This was even reported in The New York Times and Daily Kos.

Public vs Pundits. Vast difference between public perception and media interpretation of Obama-Hillary answers on whether they’d speak to Iran’s leader.

See Also: Military industrial complex dumps Republicans, backs Hillary.

Net Neutrality

When do the Christian Coalition and MoveOn agree? When it comes to restoring Net Neutrality.

This post was motivated by another fantastic Bill Moyers show. Here’s what I learned:

– Cable and Phone companies control our access to the internet. It’s a duopoly.

– In 2002, the FCC ruled that net neutrality laws don’t apply to cable-based service.

– In Aug 2005, the FCC replaced net neutrality RULES with PRINCIPLES. Telephone company executives gained the right to charge for access based on content.

– In June 2007, the House refused to reinstate Net Neutrality.

– Cable/Phone companies want customers to pay for faster access. This sucks, because small users can be forced into slower connections. Legally, they can already decide which websites get fast access. They can censor, as Western Union did when they had a telegraph monopoly, or as the railroad barons did in the shipping industry.

– In 2006-2007, phone companies received tax breaks and price deregulations in exchange for building us a fiber optic network (over 100x faster than copper wire). They took the money and never built it.

– The phone companies didn’t get off their ass until Lafayette Louisiana sold bonds and began building their own network – for price and pride. Cable and Phone companies lobbied like crazy and mired them in lawsuits.

– Cable/Phone companies spend $40 million / year lobbying state capitols, and over $75 million / year on Washington. Some states have passed laws FORBIDDING municipalities from building their own fiber optic networks. Cable/Phone preserve their duopoly with great anti-regulation slogans. (See disinformation technique #4)

– Clinton’s Telecommunications act of 1996 is what allowed massive media conglomeration.

– The National Association of Broadcaster is a corporate lackey that convinced Congress to cut back on supporting local, low-power radio, and lobbied the FCC to get rid of it entirely.

author Eric Klinenberg: “I think what Congress and the FCC understand all too well at this point is that the more open and public and democratic a hearing this issue gets, the less support there is for media consolidation. And so the danger is that Congress and the FCC will rush legislation through before anyone has a chance to really participate. I look for the FCC to be rushing to get legislation passed without a democratic process. I’m very concerned about that. It happened in 2003. There’s every sign that it’s about to happen again. . . . In 2003, the FCC said it would do these kinds of hearings. They started. They then aborted the hearings once it became clear that the message, no more consolidation, was not what the then chairman Michael Powell wanted to hear. And then the commission ignored the public input altogether when it came time to crafting legislation. They got reprimanded by the courts. The order got remanded. It’s now back in play. And the question now is whether these kinds of hearings are democracy for show or whether they’re democracy for real. . . . sadly it looks like the FCC has been working in the interest of the small number of companies its charged with regulating.”

(See Show/Read Transcript)