- until recently I didn't realise the importance that psychological/information warfare/propaganda plays a role in many countries. In this post we'll identify ways of identifying it, it's history, methods that are employed, why it's used, how it's used, etc... First, we'll have to come up with a proper definition for it though. After all of this, it will make much more sense why Russia, Iran, China, place such a strong emphasis on being able to control their media and why even though in many countries there may be the impression of free and libeal media things aren't as clear cut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_Operations_%28United_States%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_warfare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_warfare
- one of the things we need to establish first is that propaganda actually is. For me, it means changing the opinion of a sane person to something that contravenes the facts if they are exposed to the 'complete picture'...
- as we've seen previously, several countries (including the US and the USSR/Russians) have conducted mind contol experiments for decades now (both countries had/have directorates specifically dedicated to this in their intelligence/defense services). The most well known program is obviously MK-ULTRA. Drugs in combination with certain sounds/images were used in experiments to see whether they could control subjects and turn them into 'automatons' who would do any of the masters bidding. While it seems like a conspiracy theory this program has been acknowleged via various outlets and individuals
MKULTRA Documentary CIA Mind Control Research Human Experiments in the United States
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ybWK8gbKM
America's Secret War - MKULTRA Mind Control
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I4yILk7UHk
More Proof the CIA Tried to Use Subliminals to Brainwash America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h6FNbiYRJg
Alex Jones Documentary HD State Of Mind No Ads The Science of Ultimate Social Mind Control 720p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKKU9SzT78Q
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/11/israelipalestinian-conflict-counter.html
- one of the things I've been wondering about is that if states have been engaging in a form of mass mind control how would they distribute the drug component. If you think about this a bit it's obvious. LSD was the primary agent used in the MK-ULTRA experiments a type of so called 'psychoactive drug'. Namely, drugs which can be used to alter mood and perception (and which are still used in military/intelligence interrogations nowadays even though there are question marks over their utility). Caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, etc... all also fit into this category of drug. Since the public consume these regularly, they are all addictive, they can all form the basis for mass scale manipulation if there aren't the correct checks and balances in our media
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_drug
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_psychoactive_drugs_on_animals
http://watershed.org.au/drug-information.html
http://www.hourofthetime.com/wordpresstest/caffeine-drinks-and-interrogation-veritas-news-exclusive/
- the problem is that it's fairly obvious that there are few countries which have genuinely neutral media. The US holds itself up as being a genuine proponent of free speech and media but their media is too concentrated now. The same goes with many other countries. What's worse is that there has been documented and acknolwedged evidence of linkages/payments between members of the media as well as the US intelligence community spanning decades...
Propaganda, Disinformation, and Dirty Tricks - The Resurgence of Russian Political Warfare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_Operations_%28United_States%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_warfare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_warfare
- one of the things we need to establish first is that propaganda actually is. For me, it means changing the opinion of a sane person to something that contravenes the facts if they are exposed to the 'complete picture'...
- as we've seen previously, several countries (including the US and the USSR/Russians) have conducted mind contol experiments for decades now (both countries had/have directorates specifically dedicated to this in their intelligence/defense services). The most well known program is obviously MK-ULTRA. Drugs in combination with certain sounds/images were used in experiments to see whether they could control subjects and turn them into 'automatons' who would do any of the masters bidding. While it seems like a conspiracy theory this program has been acknowleged via various outlets and individuals
MKULTRA Documentary CIA Mind Control Research Human Experiments in the United States
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ybWK8gbKM
America's Secret War - MKULTRA Mind Control
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I4yILk7UHk
More Proof the CIA Tried to Use Subliminals to Brainwash America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h6FNbiYRJg
Alex Jones Documentary HD State Of Mind No Ads The Science of Ultimate Social Mind Control 720p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKKU9SzT78Q
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/11/israelipalestinian-conflict-counter.html
- one of the things I've been wondering about is that if states have been engaging in a form of mass mind control how would they distribute the drug component. If you think about this a bit it's obvious. LSD was the primary agent used in the MK-ULTRA experiments a type of so called 'psychoactive drug'. Namely, drugs which can be used to alter mood and perception (and which are still used in military/intelligence interrogations nowadays even though there are question marks over their utility). Caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, etc... all also fit into this category of drug. Since the public consume these regularly, they are all addictive, they can all form the basis for mass scale manipulation if there aren't the correct checks and balances in our media
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_drug
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_psychoactive_drugs_on_animals
http://watershed.org.au/drug-information.html
http://www.hourofthetime.com/wordpresstest/caffeine-drinks-and-interrogation-veritas-news-exclusive/
- the problem is that it's fairly obvious that there are few countries which have genuinely neutral media. The US holds itself up as being a genuine proponent of free speech and media but their media is too concentrated now. The same goes with many other countries. What's worse is that there has been documented and acknolwedged evidence of linkages/payments between members of the media as well as the US intelligence community spanning decades...
Propaganda, Disinformation, and Dirty Tricks - The Resurgence of Russian Political Warfare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xphMkoBIms0
Outfoxed • Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism • FULL DOCUMENTARY FILM exposes Fox News
Outfoxed • Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism • FULL DOCUMENTARY FILM exposes Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P74oHhU5MDk
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-265-the-myth-of-journalistic-objectivity/
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-310-rise-of-the-oiligarchs/
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-253-the-bbc-exposed/
https://www.corbettreport.com/is-government-propaganda-illegal-questions-for-corbett-027/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/11/some-geo-politics-apple-install-media-r.html
- so called subliminal advertising was banned a long time ago. What's clear is that a lot of media continues to use similar techniques. Ever wonder why ads blink? A long time ago experiments proved that adding a few suitable frames here and there in a video could be used to manipulate people. If you ever see glitches/abberations in sound, video, added or removed frames take a closer look?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instances_of_subliminal_messages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_the_Nation%3F
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/subliminal-ads-2011-5?r=US&IR=
- the most common forms of propaganda revolve around repetition, omission, censorship, trivialisation, confusion, morality, diversion, falsification, etc...
- listen to some of the US presidential candidates. If you listen to the content they say a lot but don't actually have a lot of worthwhile meaning to them. They make use of a lot of the techniques that are mentioned here12_15_2015 CNN Republican Presidential Debate for 2016 (FULL VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d96ndXfP0X4
CBS Democratic Debate FULL VIDEO, 2nd Presidential Debate - Clinton, Sanders, O'Malley 11_14_2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPNcTkD7dOo
- don't get tied up in knots in trying to understand propaganda. Think in terms of how the system system works, the actors, and the final impact. For instance, I've been struggling for a while to determine what the difference is between a terrorist and a rebel. The definitions that many countries supply seem almost arbitrary at times. For me, it's whether or not the rebels rule with force once in power. If they do they are terrorists... Anyone who argues otherwise, is just using propaganda techniques
- the more covert techniques for propaganda media control include setups whereby someone is invited to a 'setup' only to be shouted down or publicly humiliated by a biased group of people, less competant guests are invited to a debate, blocking of funding and/or access if they don't fit the narrative, poisoning and/or assasination, etc...
- the most advanced forms of propaganda are subtly biased. The only real way to break through is for you to research yourself what the actual alternatives are. The problem is this. Putin once said that Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other major US IT companies are actually just fronts for US intelligence (or aide them in some way). After Snowden releaes of WikiLeaks documents and other revelations by US intelligence whistleblowers it seems that there may be some credibility to this. Plausible deniability is built into the structure that US intelligence has structured into their taps of these companies and other firms. If there is a bias in the the algorithms of these firms (or these is a backdoor into these firms) then we are mostly getting what the US government want us to see and it makes more sense why some countries are insisting on their own infrastructure and technological implementations of such technologies
https://pjmedia.com/blog/google-search-results-could-steal-the-presidency/
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-search-could-influence-election-results-according-to-researchers/139678/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/12/why_google_search_results_favor_democrats.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/11/middle-easternafricanasian-background.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/12/shale-oil-some-us-intelligencedefense.html
- concentration of media in propaganda is critical. Some of the above and previous posts have people actually admitting to links between government and media (US and Russia are the focus here obviously but my guess is that the same happens in many parts of the world). One of the reasons for this is because people are now time poor, don't care, lack intellectual curiosity and the media is largely syndicated/consolidated, the same stories get repeated over and over again even if they are completely wrong. Imagine that certain media outlets are at the scene of the story first each and every time. They can frame it in any way they want and the story just gets repeated everywhere internationally
- some of the recent hacks of Hollywood media studios make no sense in some ways. Given the context of propaganda and information warfare, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and others would see it as a first line of defense. If the US were using mass mind control they could remove the content and replace it with their own. They could also be using it to make the use of mass media as a form of propaganda financially unviable... (think about most movies now where the US painted as the hero and moral hero of the world)
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/some-geo-politics-apple-install-media-r.html
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/27/russia-propaganda-machine-gains-on-us/
- none of this is meant to persuade you one way or another. It's just an understanding that the world isn't as it seems. Most countries engage in horrible behaviour from time to time (because they think that's the only choice or that it's for the common good). If you understand how it all works though (and as Machievelli once said) then you can make a decision for yourself what the real story is
Noam Chomsky - The Myth of the Liberal Media
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-265-the-myth-of-journalistic-objectivity/
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-310-rise-of-the-oiligarchs/
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-253-the-bbc-exposed/
https://www.corbettreport.com/is-government-propaganda-illegal-questions-for-corbett-027/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/11/some-geo-politics-apple-install-media-r.html
- so called subliminal advertising was banned a long time ago. What's clear is that a lot of media continues to use similar techniques. Ever wonder why ads blink? A long time ago experiments proved that adding a few suitable frames here and there in a video could be used to manipulate people. If you ever see glitches/abberations in sound, video, added or removed frames take a closer look?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instances_of_subliminal_messages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_the_Nation%3F
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/subliminal-ads-2011-5?r=US&IR=
- the most common forms of propaganda revolve around repetition, omission, censorship, trivialisation, confusion, morality, diversion, falsification, etc...
- listen to some of the US presidential candidates. If you listen to the content they say a lot but don't actually have a lot of worthwhile meaning to them. They make use of a lot of the techniques that are mentioned here12_15_2015 CNN Republican Presidential Debate for 2016 (FULL VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d96ndXfP0X4
CBS Democratic Debate FULL VIDEO, 2nd Presidential Debate - Clinton, Sanders, O'Malley 11_14_2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPNcTkD7dOo
- don't get tied up in knots in trying to understand propaganda. Think in terms of how the system system works, the actors, and the final impact. For instance, I've been struggling for a while to determine what the difference is between a terrorist and a rebel. The definitions that many countries supply seem almost arbitrary at times. For me, it's whether or not the rebels rule with force once in power. If they do they are terrorists... Anyone who argues otherwise, is just using propaganda techniques
- the more covert techniques for propaganda media control include setups whereby someone is invited to a 'setup' only to be shouted down or publicly humiliated by a biased group of people, less competant guests are invited to a debate, blocking of funding and/or access if they don't fit the narrative, poisoning and/or assasination, etc...
- the most advanced forms of propaganda are subtly biased. The only real way to break through is for you to research yourself what the actual alternatives are. The problem is this. Putin once said that Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other major US IT companies are actually just fronts for US intelligence (or aide them in some way). After Snowden releaes of WikiLeaks documents and other revelations by US intelligence whistleblowers it seems that there may be some credibility to this. Plausible deniability is built into the structure that US intelligence has structured into their taps of these companies and other firms. If there is a bias in the the algorithms of these firms (or these is a backdoor into these firms) then we are mostly getting what the US government want us to see and it makes more sense why some countries are insisting on their own infrastructure and technological implementations of such technologies
https://pjmedia.com/blog/google-search-results-could-steal-the-presidency/
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-search-could-influence-election-results-according-to-researchers/139678/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/12/why_google_search_results_favor_democrats.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/11/middle-easternafricanasian-background.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/12/shale-oil-some-us-intelligencedefense.html
- concentration of media in propaganda is critical. Some of the above and previous posts have people actually admitting to links between government and media (US and Russia are the focus here obviously but my guess is that the same happens in many parts of the world). One of the reasons for this is because people are now time poor, don't care, lack intellectual curiosity and the media is largely syndicated/consolidated, the same stories get repeated over and over again even if they are completely wrong. Imagine that certain media outlets are at the scene of the story first each and every time. They can frame it in any way they want and the story just gets repeated everywhere internationally
- some of the recent hacks of Hollywood media studios make no sense in some ways. Given the context of propaganda and information warfare, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and others would see it as a first line of defense. If the US were using mass mind control they could remove the content and replace it with their own. They could also be using it to make the use of mass media as a form of propaganda financially unviable... (think about most movies now where the US painted as the hero and moral hero of the world)
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/2015/11/some-geo-politics-apple-install-media-r.html
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/27/russia-propaganda-machine-gains-on-us/
- none of this is meant to persuade you one way or another. It's just an understanding that the world isn't as it seems. Most countries engage in horrible behaviour from time to time (because they think that's the only choice or that it's for the common good). If you understand how it all works though (and as Machievelli once said) then you can make a decision for yourself what the real story is
Noam Chomsky - The Myth of the Liberal Media
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8oHl3ooeZo
Outfoxed • Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism • FULL DOCUMENTARY FILM exposes Fox News
Outfoxed • Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism • FULL DOCUMENTARY FILM exposes Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P74oHhU5MDk
Alex Jones Documentary HD State Of Mind No Ads The Science of Ultimate Social Mind Control 720p
Alex Jones Documentary HD State Of Mind No Ads The Science of Ultimate Social Mind Control 720p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKKU9SzT78Q
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/12052845/North-Korea-sentences-Canadian-pastor-to-hard-labour-for-life.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11523484/North-Korea-deports-American-humanitarian-worker.html
- the linkage between propaganda, going to war, and so called 'US imperialism' makes no sense until you examine it within context. If you look at the way the West attempts to push democracy upon countries, understand what happens to countries after they switch and so on does this make more sense... If the country was previously neutral or anti-Western then they would have been unlikely to purchase Western products or services or be open to investment. However, by changing government (or destablising the current one) you can gain a foothold. Establish a base overseas (complete with restaurants, retailers, etc...), exploit local resources, and print money (if you're government is operating in deficit) and you can control inflation while also 'growing' your economy at the same time... To me, this still sounds a like crazy way of gaining economic growth and still too slightly conspiratorial buy if that's the way the world works, that's the way the world works? Strangely, there are US servicemen and ex-servicemen who actually hold this view because they can't see the link between what the White House is saying (reasons for going to war) and what they are actually seeing on the ground
A Documentary On War Propaganda
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/12052845/North-Korea-sentences-Canadian-pastor-to-hard-labour-for-life.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11523484/North-Korea-deports-American-humanitarian-worker.html
- the linkage between propaganda, going to war, and so called 'US imperialism' makes no sense until you examine it within context. If you look at the way the West attempts to push democracy upon countries, understand what happens to countries after they switch and so on does this make more sense... If the country was previously neutral or anti-Western then they would have been unlikely to purchase Western products or services or be open to investment. However, by changing government (or destablising the current one) you can gain a foothold. Establish a base overseas (complete with restaurants, retailers, etc...), exploit local resources, and print money (if you're government is operating in deficit) and you can control inflation while also 'growing' your economy at the same time... To me, this still sounds a like crazy way of gaining economic growth and still too slightly conspiratorial buy if that's the way the world works, that's the way the world works? Strangely, there are US servicemen and ex-servicemen who actually hold this view because they can't see the link between what the White House is saying (reasons for going to war) and what they are actually seeing on the ground
A Documentary On War Propaganda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSaAI3M51Jo
Psywar - Full Documentary
Psywar - Full Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eB046f998U
Learning to Love Machiavelli - Don MacDonald at TEDxBoston
Learning to Love Machiavelli - Don MacDonald at TEDxBoston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=664thVARTQo
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-234-how-to-carve-up-the-world/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-un-resolution-on-syria-is-shattered/2015/12/21/069c0f66-a803-11e5-9b92-dea7cd4b1a4d_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-secretly-backed-syrian-opposition-groups-cables-released-by-wikileaks-show/2011/04/14/AF1p9hwD_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-is-the-us-subsidizing-israeli-settlements/2015/12/21/407c3558-a781-11e5-9b92-dea7cd4b1a4d_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b
http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/americas-cold-war-master-plan-nuke-russia-14714
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/saudi-arabia-is-killing-the-russian-economy-in-its-fight-to-control-oil-prices-2015-12
https://lobelog.com/are-u-s-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-hurting-its-own-interests-in-the-region/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/12/shale-oil-some-us-intelligencedefense.html
- one of the biggest problems with a lot of international anti (and pro)-Russian propaganda is how simplistic it is. It doesn't help us understand it. Moreover, there are often language problems, the production is too unproessional, there is too much of a bias (turn off) and given a close up examination of practices in many countries it seems to indicate a certain naievity to the people behind the production. Look at the testimony of many of the US troops later in the post and you'll see that they engage in many of the same silly acts. Russian troops steal and loot and shoot at anything that moves. US troops have been known to do exactly the same thing... Previously, the US and Russia could be differentiated by ideology. Now, it's just a mish mash...
The Secrets Of Russia's Propaganda Machine
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-234-how-to-carve-up-the-world/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-un-resolution-on-syria-is-shattered/2015/12/21/069c0f66-a803-11e5-9b92-dea7cd4b1a4d_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-secretly-backed-syrian-opposition-groups-cables-released-by-wikileaks-show/2011/04/14/AF1p9hwD_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-is-the-us-subsidizing-israeli-settlements/2015/12/21/407c3558-a781-11e5-9b92-dea7cd4b1a4d_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b
http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/americas-cold-war-master-plan-nuke-russia-14714
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/saudi-arabia-is-killing-the-russian-economy-in-its-fight-to-control-oil-prices-2015-12
https://lobelog.com/are-u-s-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-hurting-its-own-interests-in-the-region/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2015/12/shale-oil-some-us-intelligencedefense.html
- one of the biggest problems with a lot of international anti (and pro)-Russian propaganda is how simplistic it is. It doesn't help us understand it. Moreover, there are often language problems, the production is too unproessional, there is too much of a bias (turn off) and given a close up examination of practices in many countries it seems to indicate a certain naievity to the people behind the production. Look at the testimony of many of the US troops later in the post and you'll see that they engage in many of the same silly acts. Russian troops steal and loot and shoot at anything that moves. US troops have been known to do exactly the same thing... Previously, the US and Russia could be differentiated by ideology. Now, it's just a mish mash...
The Secrets Of Russia's Propaganda Machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8AIE7eWtSY
Journalism or propaganda Understanding the Russian media surge abroad
Journalism or propaganda Understanding the Russian media surge abroad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Liw3nDDFOEs
Silencing Dissent in Russia - Putin’s Propaganda Machine (Full Length)
Silencing Dissent in Russia - Putin’s Propaganda Machine (Full Length)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-AmXt8u9LE
- one thing that is obvious most countries practice censorship in one form or another. We've established that going you can end up poisoned or dead for going up against the system in Russia, whiel the US and China will attempt to destroy your professional life and possibly jail you? No country is imprevious from fabricating evidence. The fundamental issue is where is the line? Are you a traitor if you're calling out wrongdoing (but are still acting in the national interest) or are you a patriot?
Reviews don't achieve much. Fixing the problem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_the_Messenger_(2014_film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Game_(2010_film)
The Truth About Isis propaganda Cia And Mossad
- one thing that is obvious most countries practice censorship in one form or another. We've established that going you can end up poisoned or dead for going up against the system in Russia, whiel the US and China will attempt to destroy your professional life and possibly jail you? No country is imprevious from fabricating evidence. The fundamental issue is where is the line? Are you a traitor if you're calling out wrongdoing (but are still acting in the national interest) or are you a patriot?
Reviews don't achieve much. Fixing the problem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_the_Messenger_(2014_film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Game_(2010_film)
The Truth About Isis propaganda Cia And Mossad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JbJD-Ainyk
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-163-meet-james-corbett/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/20/obama-administration-blocks-washington-times-foia-/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-curbs-elite-education-programs-1450665387
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/02/05/why-chinas-education-crackdown-may-be-more-than-it-seems/
- after seeing the accounts of some former US defense/intelligence whistle blowers I wanted to see further background. As indicated by some of the Blackwater and Abu Grave incidents it just seems that recruits were just too young, didn't know what they were getting into, lacked discipline, etc... The silly thing is that this isn't limited just to US troops. This applied to other services and countries as well. Silly things such as shooting at buildings for no apparent reason other than venting/boredom are common, sexual harrassment amongst women in the armed forces quite normal (one in three apparently. I'm wondering whether they're having trouble with recruitment at the moment. It feels like they're just asking for trouble with the change in policy in the US/UK with women for front line combat), prisoner mis-treatment/population disrespect common. General lack of professionalism/frustration with the difficulties/confusion of urban combat and the signs were there for a long time that neither troops nor the Iraqis believed that the war was genuinely about WMD or terrorism. Lots of soldiers clearly didn't know what losing friends/family meant in war. Crazy estimates of 90% collatoral damage by possible if their Rules of Engagement were changed in the way that they are talking about. Not sure how true this is though?
Winter Soldier - Iraq and Afghanistan Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations (480p)
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-163-meet-james-corbett/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/20/obama-administration-blocks-washington-times-foia-/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-curbs-elite-education-programs-1450665387
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/02/05/why-chinas-education-crackdown-may-be-more-than-it-seems/
- after seeing the accounts of some former US defense/intelligence whistle blowers I wanted to see further background. As indicated by some of the Blackwater and Abu Grave incidents it just seems that recruits were just too young, didn't know what they were getting into, lacked discipline, etc... The silly thing is that this isn't limited just to US troops. This applied to other services and countries as well. Silly things such as shooting at buildings for no apparent reason other than venting/boredom are common, sexual harrassment amongst women in the armed forces quite normal (one in three apparently. I'm wondering whether they're having trouble with recruitment at the moment. It feels like they're just asking for trouble with the change in policy in the US/UK with women for front line combat), prisoner mis-treatment/population disrespect common. General lack of professionalism/frustration with the difficulties/confusion of urban combat and the signs were there for a long time that neither troops nor the Iraqis believed that the war was genuinely about WMD or terrorism. Lots of soldiers clearly didn't know what losing friends/family meant in war. Crazy estimates of 90% collatoral damage by possible if their Rules of Engagement were changed in the way that they are talking about. Not sure how true this is though?
Winter Soldier - Iraq and Afghanistan Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations (480p)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T8IfQNl-_8
Interview - Mike Hoffman - Iraq Veterans Against the War
Interview - Mike Hoffman - Iraq Veterans Against the War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R3Xo7IXo44
Vincent Emanuele -Winter Soldier-Rules of Engagement 2 (1_8)
Vincent Emanuele -Winter Soldier-Rules of Engagement 2 (1_8)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBNFMJPAyBs
On the Hill - Vincent Emanuele (12of23)
On the Hill - Vincent Emanuele (12of23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRMxnOsNi2o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse
KILL EVERYBODY - American soldier exposes US policy in Iraq
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse
KILL EVERYBODY - American soldier exposes US policy in Iraq
US Marine Eyewitness - Afghanistan's Killing Fields
Afghanistan's Killing Fields - Behind the Empire's Lies
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2015/12/18/processing-distortion-with-peter-b-collins-drone-whistleblowers-warn-of-blowback/http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/wp-content/uploads/PD.clip.0097.Westmoreland.mp3
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/03/458319524/pentagon-will-allow-women-in-frontline-ground-combat-positions
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/20/uk-military-could-allow-women-in-close-combat-roles-by-end-of-2016
https://aboutfaceveterans.org/who-we-are/
- I've known some people who have undergone re-education/torture/concentration camps. It was said that their personalities before and after their experiences changed them irrevocably (other people's accounts). Many of them basically ignore things (or somehow reconcile themselves to the fact that during times of war people have to do stupid things for the greater good). The problem with this strategy is that it can change you permanently by changing a normal response into a strange, un-natural one possibly leading to other psychological difficulties down the track. With adequate support and/or professional help it may change things but as indicated by accounts here they sometimes don't. Alcohol, meditation, drugs, are common alternaties for dealing with their problems. The fact of the matter is homelessness, crime, almost unavoidable with some veterans and we need to deal with the fact that with some they'll never be able to re-integrate back into normal society and social life. The only real way of dealing with them is by not recruiting them in the first place
Iraq Veterans Against the War - Decade-Old Group Grapples with New War, PTSD Epidemic, VA Failures
- I've known some people who have undergone re-education/torture/concentration camps. It was said that their personalities before and after their experiences changed them irrevocably (other people's accounts). Many of them basically ignore things (or somehow reconcile themselves to the fact that during times of war people have to do stupid things for the greater good). The problem with this strategy is that it can change you permanently by changing a normal response into a strange, un-natural one possibly leading to other psychological difficulties down the track. With adequate support and/or professional help it may change things but as indicated by accounts here they sometimes don't. Alcohol, meditation, drugs, are common alternaties for dealing with their problems. The fact of the matter is homelessness, crime, almost unavoidable with some veterans and we need to deal with the fact that with some they'll never be able to re-integrate back into normal society and social life. The only real way of dealing with them is by not recruiting them in the first place
Iraq Veterans Against the War - Decade-Old Group Grapples with New War, PTSD Epidemic, VA Failures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rahvtXbZQaI
Iraq War veteran wages private war against PTSD, alcoholism
Iraq War veteran wages private war against PTSD, alcoholism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLnrZs6as6Y
Interview - Mike Hoffman - Iraq Veterans Against the War
Interview - Mike Hoffman - Iraq Veterans Against the War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R3Xo7IXo44
Interview - Camilo Mejia - Iraq Veterans Against the War
Interview - Camilo Mejia - Iraq Veterans Against the War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9vdydR0j1I
Vincent Emanuel Iraq war vet Chicago Jobs Rally Sept. 10, 20
Vincent Emanuel Iraq war vet Chicago Jobs Rally Sept. 10, 20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWP6Q0j9Y1E
Northwest Winter Soldier - 1st Hour
Northwest Winter Soldier - 1st Hour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0qd5XXklEI
Northwest Winter Soldier - 2nd Hour
Northwest Winter Soldier - 2nd Hour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy-75TDRp7I
- despite the fact that there seem to be a lot of deserters and US service people who have joined the anti-war movement I'm reasonably certain that they will defend an attack against the homeland
Ann Wright - Soldier, Statesperson, Peace Activist
- despite the fact that there seem to be a lot of deserters and US service people who have joined the anti-war movement I'm reasonably certain that they will defend an attack against the homeland
Ann Wright - Soldier, Statesperson, Peace Activist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOaDqtEQIvU
SPRING RISING DC_ END ENDLESS WARS_ Military Families & Iraq Vets Against the War
SPRING RISING DC_ END ENDLESS WARS_ Military Families & Iraq Vets Against the War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt0fcIZ6Gnk
Portland Right To Heal Tour Iraq Veterans Against The War (IVAW)
Portland Right To Heal Tour Iraq Veterans Against The War (IVAW)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF02bHt_ABM
- equipment and intelligence issues over and over again amongst coalition forces. Feeling of being let down by West amongst Iraqis after they didn't support them in a previous uprising. Over and over again I see Western accounts of hasty withdrawals. I'm not so certain. Are they deliberate tactics to withdraw allow gain of territory and then resort to guerilla tactics? Heaps of money could be saved by getting better intelligence. At the moment there are accounts of the coalition air forces dropping bombs on multiple locations just to make sure that they've hit their target. In many cases in Iraq they didn't and it feels like a similar game again in Syria. They either can't find Assad or else the Russians are protecting him
Invasion of Iraq - How the British and Americans got it wrong
- equipment and intelligence issues over and over again amongst coalition forces. Feeling of being let down by West amongst Iraqis after they didn't support them in a previous uprising. Over and over again I see Western accounts of hasty withdrawals. I'm not so certain. Are they deliberate tactics to withdraw allow gain of territory and then resort to guerilla tactics? Heaps of money could be saved by getting better intelligence. At the moment there are accounts of the coalition air forces dropping bombs on multiple locations just to make sure that they've hit their target. In many cases in Iraq they didn't and it feels like a similar game again in Syria. They either can't find Assad or else the Russians are protecting him
Invasion of Iraq - How the British and Americans got it wrong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcxzigtuR9w
http://www.smh.com.au/world/fifteen-years-ago-the-cia-tried-to-predict-the-world-in-2015-heres-what-they-got-wrong-20151222-gltquh.html
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/cia-plans-to-elevate-cyber-espionage-efforts-post-smartphone-boom-20150224-13o3yq.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/invasion-what-invasion-sorry-tale-of-cia-bungles/2007/07/29/1185647743542.html
- a lot of people trying to make a name for themselves in the defense/intelligence. The problem with this is that people the line between sting operations and entrapment is too close for comfort now. It's also incredibly dangerous if you have to work with some of these people. Imagine going into an military operation knowing that it's for a promotion rather than genuine strategic/tactical reasons
- there's currently a discussion amongst the US intelligence/defense community that stopping the spread of electronic propaganda stops us from being able to attack further up the chain. I think that this is dangerous game for us to be playing. At times the line between sting and entrapment operations are so clouded that it's almost like we're turning people who may not have otherwise turned
http://www.news.com.au/technology/xray-weapon-plot-to-kill-muslims-eric-feight-jailed/news-story/f9172686db427cf171efe61a22c4eb7d
- it's obvious that there is a propaganda war currently going on. Exact number of casualties kept but not released. Veterans not getting taken care of is common theme (things which were promised during recruitment such as health care, employment, education...). So obvious that a lot of kids don't know what they're getting into. Many of them are from poorer families who are looking for benefits (even if it may cost them their life). There are crazy people engaging in reckless behaviour for promotions? Estimates of anywhere between 10K to 40/50K for anti-war deserters? Reason is not certain though... Possibly 250K in the US military with PTSD on active duty according to US DoD figures
Interview - Camilo Mejia - Iraq Veterans Against the War
http://www.smh.com.au/world/fifteen-years-ago-the-cia-tried-to-predict-the-world-in-2015-heres-what-they-got-wrong-20151222-gltquh.html
http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/cia-plans-to-elevate-cyber-espionage-efforts-post-smartphone-boom-20150224-13o3yq.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/invasion-what-invasion-sorry-tale-of-cia-bungles/2007/07/29/1185647743542.html
- a lot of people trying to make a name for themselves in the defense/intelligence. The problem with this is that people the line between sting operations and entrapment is too close for comfort now. It's also incredibly dangerous if you have to work with some of these people. Imagine going into an military operation knowing that it's for a promotion rather than genuine strategic/tactical reasons
- there's currently a discussion amongst the US intelligence/defense community that stopping the spread of electronic propaganda stops us from being able to attack further up the chain. I think that this is dangerous game for us to be playing. At times the line between sting and entrapment operations are so clouded that it's almost like we're turning people who may not have otherwise turned
http://www.news.com.au/technology/xray-weapon-plot-to-kill-muslims-eric-feight-jailed/news-story/f9172686db427cf171efe61a22c4eb7d
- it's obvious that there is a propaganda war currently going on. Exact number of casualties kept but not released. Veterans not getting taken care of is common theme (things which were promised during recruitment such as health care, employment, education...). So obvious that a lot of kids don't know what they're getting into. Many of them are from poorer families who are looking for benefits (even if it may cost them their life). There are crazy people engaging in reckless behaviour for promotions? Estimates of anywhere between 10K to 40/50K for anti-war deserters? Reason is not certain though... Possibly 250K in the US military with PTSD on active duty according to US DoD figures
Interview - Camilo Mejia - Iraq Veterans Against the War
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9vdydR0j1I
The Truth About Isis propaganda Cia And Mossad
The Truth About Isis propaganda Cia And Mossad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JbJD-Ainyk
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2015/12/22/troops-enter-central-ramadi-159-killed-in-iraq/
US considers launching all-out cyber war against Islamic State
http://intelnews.org/2015/12/22/01-1831/
- removing dents in MacBooks
http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/dent-in-macbook-pro-how-to-remove.712031/
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/remove-dents-macbook-pro-61383.html
https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-fix-a-dented-body-on-an-aluminum-MacBook-Pro
- Dell N4050 teardown and specifications
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Dell+Inspiron+n5050+Hard+Drive+Replacement/13569
http://www.pcworld.com/product/1278065/dell-inspiron-14-n4050-notebook.html
- drivers for the Dell Inspiron 11 available here
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=N3XM4
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-11-3138/drivers/advanced
- apparently, the recovery partition key on Dell computers are different depending on your operating system
http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/275245-trying-restore-dell-factory-settings-but-f8-not-working.html
http://ccm.net/forum/affich-97164-restore-factory-settings-on-dell-inspiron
- how to replace the glass on a Macbook Pro
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1278+Front+Display+Glass+Replacement/1427
- there are chemicals to remove stumps now
http://www.treeremoval.com/stump-removal/
http://www.familyhandyman.com/landscaping/how-to-remove-a-tree-stump-painlessly/view-all
http://landscaping.about.com/cs/lazylandscaping/ht/stump_removal.htm
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2015/12/22/troops-enter-central-ramadi-159-killed-in-iraq/
US considers launching all-out cyber war against Islamic State
http://intelnews.org/2015/12/22/01-1831/
- removing dents in MacBooks
http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/dent-in-macbook-pro-how-to-remove.712031/
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/remove-dents-macbook-pro-61383.html
https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-fix-a-dented-body-on-an-aluminum-MacBook-Pro
- Dell N4050 teardown and specifications
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Dell+Inspiron+n5050+Hard+Drive+Replacement/13569
http://www.pcworld.com/product/1278065/dell-inspiron-14-n4050-notebook.html
- drivers for the Dell Inspiron 11 available here
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=N3XM4
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-11-3138/drivers/advanced
- apparently, the recovery partition key on Dell computers are different depending on your operating system
http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/275245-trying-restore-dell-factory-settings-but-f8-not-working.html
http://ccm.net/forum/affich-97164-restore-factory-settings-on-dell-inspiron
- how to replace the glass on a Macbook Pro
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1278+Front+Display+Glass+Replacement/1427
- there are chemicals to remove stumps now
http://www.treeremoval.com/stump-removal/
http://www.familyhandyman.com/landscaping/how-to-remove-a-tree-stump-painlessly/view-all
http://landscaping.about.com/cs/lazylandscaping/ht/stump_removal.htm
- quite a few Python MIDI control script hacks for the Ableton Push now
Do Python scripts drive everybody crazy or is it just me?
https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=205181
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1030/archive-clyphx-v2?page=1
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/716
http://beatwise.proboards.com/board/5
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1675/pxt-live-plus-stc-scales
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1640/mlr-clyphx
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1281/emulating-push-controllers
https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=205181
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1030/archive-clyphx-v2?page=1
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/716
http://beatwise.proboards.com/board/5
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1675/pxt-live-plus-stc-scales
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1640/mlr-clyphx
http://beatwise.proboards.com/thread/1281/emulating-push-controllers
http://subaqueousmusic.com/push-browser-hack-pcy/
http://jointhestudio.com/blog/2013/04/16/tutorial-ableton-push-browser-category-hack-by-dj-limbs/
- It was during the cold war, when attempting to gauge Soviet military movements, that Binney discovered the virtue of trying to interpret the patterns between data, even when encrypted, concerned not with content but who was talking to whom, how often and when. Thus he became the metadata analyst par excellence, who came up with his own five “indicators” of aggression and later predicted the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/09/a-good-american-review-nsa-whistleblower-william-binney-911-world-trade-centre
- Despite an economy choked by fresh international sanctions and low oil prices, Russia is continuing to produce new combat aircraft, tanks, submarines and missiles.
Put against a Western military industrial complex that has a growing litany of failure, this is a major achievement.
In the past two decades the West has abandoned billions of dollars worth of failed or challenged programs: Seasprite helicopters, Zumwalt stealth destroyers, Crusader mobile artillery, expeditionary fighting vehicles, Future combat system tanks, airborne lasers, Comanche attack helicopters. Now the next generation of US super aircraft carriers seem set to continue that trend, with untested fundamental aircraft operating equipment producing dangerous results.
In that time Russia has quietly fielded a variety of new state-of-the-art types specifically designed to counter what the West has to offer.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/russias-five-most-threatening-weapons-detailed/story-fnpjxnlk-1227603091480
- You don't get it.
The benefits of real "wealth creation" through industrialisation DID achieve vast improvements in lifestyle/longevity spreading to the multitudes through wealth being more widely distributed.
However, after 3 decades of neoliberalism all we are left with is false "wealth creation". Literally, the creation of money.
The post-industrial economy really just serves to sell debt through consumer credit creation for more consumption. But "growth" through debt expansion is finite.
All debt is demand brought forward and needs to be worked/paid off. However, more jobs than ever are becoming obsolete even as the amount of goods produced vastly increases through advances in robotics/automation.
We now face an oversupply of goods and a massive bubble in consumer credit which is the only thing maintaining the level of consumption which sustains our economic model. Australia now has the highest consumer debt on record, and will more than likely fall into recession in the next 12 months.
It's becoming a zero-sum game. We're told we'll move to a "services" economy that creates growth. But I refer you to economics 101: "you can't grow living standards by doing each others' laundry" (literally or metaphorically). Why? Because you are just exchanging services for other services without producing anything new.
We are told that encouraging "investment" will fill the void. Only it won't, because investment is employing fewer and fewer people. Investment is increasing flowing into automated mining trucks, automated factories, automated checkouts, automated ports etc. It will soon be possible to "invest" vast sums and employ virtually nobody as a result.
Wealth is no longer being "created" in the real sense. And that symbolic wealth is now just being shuffled around and ending up concentrated in the hands of the already wealthy anyway.
The age of growth is over.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/economist-saul-eslake-says-the-mining-boom-may-be-the-last-ever-20151109-gkuy7g.html
- While the appetite among Americans for the haven of U.S. debt has kept the government’s financing costs low, what’s worrisome is what it suggests about the health of the economy, according to George Goncalves, the head of interest-rate strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc., one of 22 dealers that are obliged to bid at Treasury auctions.
Lower for longer?
Lower for longer?
Sure, the U.S. is creating jobs, but a raft of disappointing indicators, from retail sales to manufacturing, suggests consumers are scaling back just as overseas demand weakens.
And wages are stagnating for many Americans. Since the recession ended, average hourly earnings have increased less than in any expansion since the 1960s. Without higher wages to spur spending, inflation has remained stubbornly low.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-18/china-s-selling-tons-of-u-s-debt-americans-couldn-t-care-less-
- Emerging market governments are dumping US treasuries en masse, in the latest sign of the pressure their economies are under.
China, Brazil, Russia and Taiwan have all been sellers, accounting for some of the $123bn in foreign net sales of treasury debt maturing in a year. This figure is for the 12 months to July, according to Deutsche Bank, and marks a sea-change in the $12.8 trillion treasury market.
All these countries had historically been big buyers of the assets, using the better times of the last decade to accumulate foreign exchange assets and helping to push yields down to record lows.
Now both Russia and Brazil are facing a prolonged period of recession while Taiwan’s growth is slowing, and their central banks are liquidating those reserves to free up capital for their budgets.
http://www.cityam.com/226398/banks-dump-us-debt-pile
- Countries around the world are selling their U.S. government debt holdings this year by the largest amounts seen since at least 2000.
China has been selling U.S. debt but it's not alone. Lots of emerging markets like Brazil, India and Mexico are also selling U.S. Treasuries. Not that long ago all these countries were all huge buyers of U.S. debt, which is viewed as one of the safest places to park money.
"Five or six years ago, the big concern was that China was going to own the United States," says Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Bank. "Now the concern is that China is selling them."
http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/14/news/economy/us-treasury-debt-selloff-2015/
- In the past a balance of power among the major powers helped avert a major war. Now with nations pursuing hegemony all bets are off. Having a military second to none has ruined it for the US as it is compelled by its might to get involved in conflicts which have little bearing on its national security. The revolving door between its policy makers and the defense industry is a poisonous relationship that should be nipped in the bud. So while the social fabric of the nation is frayed along with its infrastructure the US is getting overstretched and losing the respect of the world as it tries to mold the world into its own image while extracting the maximum economic benefit. The ultimate victims are its own people.
http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/how-world-war-iii-starts-5-sparks-could-set-the-world-ablaze-14406?page=2
- It is hard to believe anything Mr. Brennan says. Last year, he bluntly denied that the C.I.A. had illegally hacked into the computers of Senate staff members conducting an investigation into the agency’s detention and torture programs when, in fact, it did. In 2011, when he was President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, he claimed that American drone strikes had not killed any civilians, despite clear evidence that they had. And his boss, James Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, has admitted lying to the Senate on the N.S.A.’s bulk collection of data. Even putting this lack of credibility aside, it’s not clear what extra powers Mr. Brennan is seeking.
http://www.blacklistednews.com/NYT_Editorial_Slams_%E2%80%9CDisgraceful%E2%80%9D_CIA_Exploitation_of_Paris_Attacks%2C_But_Submissive_/47409/0/38/38/Y/M.html
- Depleted uranium (DU) is a waste product from the nuclear industry, formed when uranium is milled and enriched. It is cheap, and extraordinarily dense. It can pierce the hardest armor.
It remains in several places in Iraq and, though last used in 2004, it continues to claim victims to this day. A number of them are American soldiers. According to the International Action Center/Poison DUst Project,
Today, half of the 697,000 US Gulf War troops from the 1991 war have reported serious medical problems and a significant increase in birth defects among their newborn children.
The effects on the Iraqi population are far greater. Many other countries and US communities near DU weapons plants, testing facilities, bases and arsenals have also been exposed to this radioactive material which has a half-life of 4.4 billions years
Military doctors have been slow to admit the cause of their symptoms. Some have refused to test them, others have “lost” their test results, and still others seem skeptical of tests performed by outside doctors. Many of these victims have been told their problems are “psychosomatic.”
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Toxic_Dust%3A_The_Invisible_Legacy_the_US_Left_in_Iraq/47436/0/38/38/Y/M.html
- U.S. Africa Command said a small team of American special operations forces assisted with evacuating hostages -- a sign of the counterterrorism and military aid program the U.S. has been running in Mali since 9/11.
Briefing documents from 2013 and 2015 reviewed by NBC News detail the American attempt to battle terror groups in the country, and its results.
A 2013 post-graduate study by a U.S. Army major -- a former special operations trainer in Mali --criticized the effort as scattershot and deemed it "anything but a successful strategy."
"Training that was episodically provided rarely diffused or even took hold," his study concluded. "If one were to count up the dollars spent and events participated in, a lot of effort was expended. But what all these efforts added up to was not consistently focused over the long term."
The end result, the study said, was that an opportunity to revamp the Malian army was largely wasted.
"There was no concerted effort by [special operations forces] or anyone else to build the capability of the Malian Army writ large," it said.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-had-mali-terror-crosshairs-siege-n467261
- Security holes have been found in Dell System Detect, Lenovo Solution Centre, and Toshiba Service Station - they are dangerous!
http://jointhestudio.com/blog/2013/04/16/tutorial-ableton-push-browser-category-hack-by-dj-limbs/
- It was during the cold war, when attempting to gauge Soviet military movements, that Binney discovered the virtue of trying to interpret the patterns between data, even when encrypted, concerned not with content but who was talking to whom, how often and when. Thus he became the metadata analyst par excellence, who came up with his own five “indicators” of aggression and later predicted the Soviet invasions of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/09/a-good-american-review-nsa-whistleblower-william-binney-911-world-trade-centre
- Despite an economy choked by fresh international sanctions and low oil prices, Russia is continuing to produce new combat aircraft, tanks, submarines and missiles.
Put against a Western military industrial complex that has a growing litany of failure, this is a major achievement.
In the past two decades the West has abandoned billions of dollars worth of failed or challenged programs: Seasprite helicopters, Zumwalt stealth destroyers, Crusader mobile artillery, expeditionary fighting vehicles, Future combat system tanks, airborne lasers, Comanche attack helicopters. Now the next generation of US super aircraft carriers seem set to continue that trend, with untested fundamental aircraft operating equipment producing dangerous results.
In that time Russia has quietly fielded a variety of new state-of-the-art types specifically designed to counter what the West has to offer.
http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/russias-five-most-threatening-weapons-detailed/story-fnpjxnlk-1227603091480
- You don't get it.
The benefits of real "wealth creation" through industrialisation DID achieve vast improvements in lifestyle/longevity spreading to the multitudes through wealth being more widely distributed.
However, after 3 decades of neoliberalism all we are left with is false "wealth creation". Literally, the creation of money.
The post-industrial economy really just serves to sell debt through consumer credit creation for more consumption. But "growth" through debt expansion is finite.
All debt is demand brought forward and needs to be worked/paid off. However, more jobs than ever are becoming obsolete even as the amount of goods produced vastly increases through advances in robotics/automation.
We now face an oversupply of goods and a massive bubble in consumer credit which is the only thing maintaining the level of consumption which sustains our economic model. Australia now has the highest consumer debt on record, and will more than likely fall into recession in the next 12 months.
It's becoming a zero-sum game. We're told we'll move to a "services" economy that creates growth. But I refer you to economics 101: "you can't grow living standards by doing each others' laundry" (literally or metaphorically). Why? Because you are just exchanging services for other services without producing anything new.
We are told that encouraging "investment" will fill the void. Only it won't, because investment is employing fewer and fewer people. Investment is increasing flowing into automated mining trucks, automated factories, automated checkouts, automated ports etc. It will soon be possible to "invest" vast sums and employ virtually nobody as a result.
Wealth is no longer being "created" in the real sense. And that symbolic wealth is now just being shuffled around and ending up concentrated in the hands of the already wealthy anyway.
The age of growth is over.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/economist-saul-eslake-says-the-mining-boom-may-be-the-last-ever-20151109-gkuy7g.html
- While the appetite among Americans for the haven of U.S. debt has kept the government’s financing costs low, what’s worrisome is what it suggests about the health of the economy, according to George Goncalves, the head of interest-rate strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc., one of 22 dealers that are obliged to bid at Treasury auctions.
Lower for longer?
Lower for longer?
Sure, the U.S. is creating jobs, but a raft of disappointing indicators, from retail sales to manufacturing, suggests consumers are scaling back just as overseas demand weakens.
And wages are stagnating for many Americans. Since the recession ended, average hourly earnings have increased less than in any expansion since the 1960s. Without higher wages to spur spending, inflation has remained stubbornly low.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-18/china-s-selling-tons-of-u-s-debt-americans-couldn-t-care-less-
- Emerging market governments are dumping US treasuries en masse, in the latest sign of the pressure their economies are under.
China, Brazil, Russia and Taiwan have all been sellers, accounting for some of the $123bn in foreign net sales of treasury debt maturing in a year. This figure is for the 12 months to July, according to Deutsche Bank, and marks a sea-change in the $12.8 trillion treasury market.
All these countries had historically been big buyers of the assets, using the better times of the last decade to accumulate foreign exchange assets and helping to push yields down to record lows.
Now both Russia and Brazil are facing a prolonged period of recession while Taiwan’s growth is slowing, and their central banks are liquidating those reserves to free up capital for their budgets.
http://www.cityam.com/226398/banks-dump-us-debt-pile
- Countries around the world are selling their U.S. government debt holdings this year by the largest amounts seen since at least 2000.
China has been selling U.S. debt but it's not alone. Lots of emerging markets like Brazil, India and Mexico are also selling U.S. Treasuries. Not that long ago all these countries were all huge buyers of U.S. debt, which is viewed as one of the safest places to park money.
"Five or six years ago, the big concern was that China was going to own the United States," says Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Bank. "Now the concern is that China is selling them."
http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/14/news/economy/us-treasury-debt-selloff-2015/
- In the past a balance of power among the major powers helped avert a major war. Now with nations pursuing hegemony all bets are off. Having a military second to none has ruined it for the US as it is compelled by its might to get involved in conflicts which have little bearing on its national security. The revolving door between its policy makers and the defense industry is a poisonous relationship that should be nipped in the bud. So while the social fabric of the nation is frayed along with its infrastructure the US is getting overstretched and losing the respect of the world as it tries to mold the world into its own image while extracting the maximum economic benefit. The ultimate victims are its own people.
http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/how-world-war-iii-starts-5-sparks-could-set-the-world-ablaze-14406?page=2
- It is hard to believe anything Mr. Brennan says. Last year, he bluntly denied that the C.I.A. had illegally hacked into the computers of Senate staff members conducting an investigation into the agency’s detention and torture programs when, in fact, it did. In 2011, when he was President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, he claimed that American drone strikes had not killed any civilians, despite clear evidence that they had. And his boss, James Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, has admitted lying to the Senate on the N.S.A.’s bulk collection of data. Even putting this lack of credibility aside, it’s not clear what extra powers Mr. Brennan is seeking.
http://www.blacklistednews.com/NYT_Editorial_Slams_%E2%80%9CDisgraceful%E2%80%9D_CIA_Exploitation_of_Paris_Attacks%2C_But_Submissive_/47409/0/38/38/Y/M.html
- Depleted uranium (DU) is a waste product from the nuclear industry, formed when uranium is milled and enriched. It is cheap, and extraordinarily dense. It can pierce the hardest armor.
It remains in several places in Iraq and, though last used in 2004, it continues to claim victims to this day. A number of them are American soldiers. According to the International Action Center/Poison DUst Project,
Today, half of the 697,000 US Gulf War troops from the 1991 war have reported serious medical problems and a significant increase in birth defects among their newborn children.
The effects on the Iraqi population are far greater. Many other countries and US communities near DU weapons plants, testing facilities, bases and arsenals have also been exposed to this radioactive material which has a half-life of 4.4 billions years
Military doctors have been slow to admit the cause of their symptoms. Some have refused to test them, others have “lost” their test results, and still others seem skeptical of tests performed by outside doctors. Many of these victims have been told their problems are “psychosomatic.”
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Toxic_Dust%3A_The_Invisible_Legacy_the_US_Left_in_Iraq/47436/0/38/38/Y/M.html
- U.S. Africa Command said a small team of American special operations forces assisted with evacuating hostages -- a sign of the counterterrorism and military aid program the U.S. has been running in Mali since 9/11.
Briefing documents from 2013 and 2015 reviewed by NBC News detail the American attempt to battle terror groups in the country, and its results.
A 2013 post-graduate study by a U.S. Army major -- a former special operations trainer in Mali --criticized the effort as scattershot and deemed it "anything but a successful strategy."
"Training that was episodically provided rarely diffused or even took hold," his study concluded. "If one were to count up the dollars spent and events participated in, a lot of effort was expended. But what all these efforts added up to was not consistently focused over the long term."
The end result, the study said, was that an opportunity to revamp the Malian army was largely wasted.
"There was no concerted effort by [special operations forces] or anyone else to build the capability of the Malian Army writ large," it said.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-had-mali-terror-crosshairs-siege-n467261
- Security holes have been found in Dell System Detect, Lenovo Solution Centre, and Toshiba Service Station - they are dangerous!
No it is not the Superfish crap-ware scandal again but thes vulnerabilities have been described as a ‘hackers best bud’ and a ‘drop everything and panic issue’. All these devices run Windows although it is not so much at fault as the companies that designed this support-ware without proper testing. Researchers have yet to find similar vulnerabilities in HP and other major OEMs but state that any remote support software is likely to have vulnerabilities.
http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/security/70673-dell-lenovo-and-toshiba-computers-at-high-risk-from-installed-support-ware
- The $500-million Expeditionary Mobile Base vessel — 784 feet long from bow to stern — combines all the most important features the military believes ships will need to respond to the more frequent and more severe natural disasters.
A modified version of a commercial oil tanker, the base ship boasts vast storage capacity for hauling emergency supplies, a huge flight deck for launching and landing helicopters and other aircraft, and plenty of internal space for people and medical facilities. By deliberately taking on water, the Montford Point-class “Expeditionary Mobile Base” can bring its lower deck level with the sea, allowing it to easily launch hovercraft and small boats. Observers have described the new ships as “ports at sea.”
The Navy originally intended the Montford Point class to support amphibious beach assaults, but the sailing branch now realizes the ships are also ideal for swiftly responding to natural disasters — including those worsened by climate change — by delivering relief supplies by air and by sea, as well as helping to care for victims.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/12/09/the-navys-500-million-ship-thats-ready-for-disaster-in-a-warmer-world/
- Claiming the outlets are “hindered by U.S. public diplomacy’s fixation on new media without proper consideration of content and what our larger aims should be,” Mr. Gedmin said that “we need to stop playing defense and go on the offense as we did during the Cold War.”
He noted that little of RT’s programming is about Russia. Instead, the network’s content is focused on advancing three main “narratives: American and Western leaders are hypocrites; the American and Western military-industrial complex seeks to dominate the world; and America and the West are in decline.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/dec/27/russia-propaganda-machine-gains-on-us/?page=3
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