Suppression/Propaganda in Media

[conniption]

There's nothing new under the thumb.

or under the boot...

Australia goes down under the boot as citizens in Sydney are ordered to avoid casual conversation – even with a mask and vaccine
Robert Bridge
22 Jul, 2021
https://www.rt.com/op-ed/529952-austral ... ng-people/

~~~

This was good, from Moon of Alabama -

MoA
(embedded links)

How Iran Successfully Trolled The U.S. Over A 'Weapon Smuggling' Ship Parade

July 22, 2021

Remember these June headlines?

Iran sends ships to Atlantic Ocean rumored to go to Venezuela - NY Post, June 10 2021
Are Iranian warships smuggling weapons to Venezuela? - gCaptain / Bloomberg, June 12 2021
U.S. warns Venezuela, Cuba to turn away Iranian ships believed to be carrying arms - Politico, June 9 2012

> The Biden administration is urging Venezuela and Cuba to turn away two Iranian warships believed to be carrying arms intended for transfer to Caracas, while vowing that the U.S. will take “appropriate measures” to deter what it sees as a “threat” to America’s partners in the Western Hemisphere.

The warnings — some public and some private, according to three people briefed on the situation — come as the vessels have traveled a significant distance across the Atlantic Ocean. A senior Biden administration official said the ships are thought to be carrying weapons to fulfill a deal that Iran and Venezuela made a year ago, noting that it was during the administration of former President Donald Trump. <

A few days later the news had changed a bit.

US officials: Iranian ships changing course away from Venezuela - The Hill June, 18 2021
CHICKENED OUT Iranian warships ‘taking weapons to Venezuela’ DIVERT to Africa after US vowed to take ‘appropriate action’ - The Sun, June 18 2021
Iranian ships once believed to be headed toward Venezuela change course, U.S. officials say - Politico, June 17 2021

> U.S. officials believe the course change indicates that a diplomatic campaign to urge governments in the Western Hemisphere to turn away the ships was successful, the official said. The Iranian frigate Sahand and afloat staging base Makran charted a new course after Biden administration officials publicly and privately urged the governments of Venezuela, Cuba and other countries in the region not to allow them to dock, POLITICO reported. <

After the U.S. was blustering that it had won that 'diplomatic campaign' the news was silent about the Iranian ships.

A few days ago the ships were back in the news but only on specialized sites:

Two Iranian Warships Spotted Near English Channel - USNI News, July 18 2021
Iranian Navy Ships Enter The English Channel - The Drive, July 19 2021
EXCLUSIVE PHOTO: Iran’s Largest Warship Now in the Baltic Sea Bound for Russia - USNI News, June 22 2021

bigger
The picture shows ship traffic in the Baltic Sea with Germany to the south and Denmark to the north. Sahand and Makran are currently sailing east-northeast at 12 knots.

After having trolled the U.S. with those ships for quite some time Iran has finally announced their real destination:

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi will travel to Saint Petersburg to take part in a naval parade commemorating the 325th anniversary of the Russian Navy foundation.

The Iranian commander is planned to travel to Saint Petersburg on Saturday at the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Defense to take part at the event marking the Russian Navy Day.

An Iranian flotilla, including Sahand destroyer and Makran forward base ship, has also been deployed to Russia.

The Iranian destroyer is scheduled to participate in the upcoming naval parade, due to be held in Saint Petersburg’s Neva River on Sunday, July 25.

All the time those ships were supposed to go to St.Petersburg and to take part in Russia's Navy Day. Can you imagine how much fun the Iranian and Russian navy officers involved in this had with those June headlines and the Biden administration's panic threats to South American countries?

Whoever had the idea to strew the rumor that the ships were going to Venezuela deserves a medal.
_______

Posted by b

comments

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2021/07/h ... arade.html

[Harvey]

Far right shit-rag The Mail is apparently embarrassing the meagre spectrum of so called left media on so many subjects, but then again, it's more difficult for Guardian et al to row back from the implications of their character assassination of Assange, which is exactly what this story is really about.

The Mail, doing journalism...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9806517/Journalists-face-14-years-prison-embarrassing-Government-proposed-law-change.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailUK

Journalists could face up to 14 years in prison for stories embarrassing the Government under proposed changes to the Official Secrets Act that would treat them like foreign SPIES

Change to law would remove defence for reporters handed leaked documents
Home Office says it would 'undermine efforts to prevent damaging disclosures'
Maximum jail term for journalists could go from two to 14 years under proposal

By David Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent For Mailonline

Journalists could face prison sentences of up to 14 years for stories that embarrass the Government under plans to reform the Official Secrets Act.

Under a consultation run by Priti Patel's Home Office, which closes later this week, reporters who handle leaked documents would not have a defence if charged under new laws designed to clamp down on foreign agents.

The 1989 act is being updated to take into account the impact of the internet age, especially in the area of speedy data transfer.

Human rights organisations and the Law Commission, which drew up the proposals, say there should be a 'public interest defence' included to prevent the prosecution of journalists who receive leaked documents.

But in a paper released for the consultation, the Home Office said such a move would 'undermine our efforts to prevent damaging unauthorised disclosures, which would not be in the public interest'.

Critics suggested that if the rules were in place now it could have led to a prosecution of the journalists who revealed this month that Matt Hancock was breaking Covid rules by having an affair with his married aide, because it relied on leaked CCTV footage.

The revelation prompted his resignation and the end of his marriage. But last week the Information Commissioner's Office faced criticism for searching two homes as part of an investigation into how the material emerged and found its way onto the Sun's front page.

Under a consultation run by Priti Patel's Home Office, which closes later this week, reporters who handle leaked documents would not have a defence if charged under new laws clamping down on foreign agents.

Under a consultation run by Priti Patel's Home Office, which closes later this week, reporters who handle leaked documents would not have a defence if charged under new laws clamping down on foreign agents.

Critics suggested that if the rules were in place now it could have led to a prosecution of the journalists who revealed this month that Matt Hancock was breaking Covid rules by having an affair with his married aide, because it relied on leaked CCTV footage.

Among those who have criticised the new laws are the Index on Censorship and the Open Rights Group, who view it as an attack on whistleblowers.

A spokeswoman for the National Union of Journalists said: 'Existing legislation distinguishes provisions and penalties between those who leak or whistleblow, those who receive leaked information, and foreign spies. The government proposes to eliminate or blur these distinctions. The government also wants to increase the maximum penalties that journalists might suffer for receiving leaked material from two to 14 years....

Just as Covid scepticism was framed as a far right phenomena from the begining, now the notional left are immunised against scepticism on any number of topics, especially those which can easily be mischaracterised as conspiracy theory. Not so much with the story above, they're probably just too busy seeding panic to notice. Covid is exactly the same mind-fuck as Russia-gate, and exactly the same deliberate pre-determined oportunism as the Patriot Act. In fact, Covid begins to resemble 9/11 with each passing day, except the enemy is now domestic, the enemy is you and I, your neighbours, your friends. Trusting in 'the science' while condemning the method (reasonable scepticism) is just a new form of anti-intellectualism for many who wield identity politics, simply paint reasonable scepticism as right wing, sexist, mysoginistc, transphobic or fake news, then sit back and inherit rising sympathy for the alphabets and their vastly increasing powers.

Meanwhile fascism has already taken hold across the Anglosphere and France and very soon now will begin to express itself. Right now the level of dehumanisation of sceptics has become frightening and is genuinely begining to approach the level of Nazi indoctrination. As a simple experiment, replace all instances of words like unvaccinated or vaxxer or Covidiot with the word 'Jew' then observe how sinister it reads.

[Belligerent Savant]

Meanwhile fascism has already taken hold across the Anglosphere and France and very soon now will begin to express itself. Right now the level of dehumanisation of sceptics has become frightening and is genuinely begining to approach the level of Nazi indoctrination. As a simple experiment, replace all instances of words like unvaccinated or vaxxer or Covidiot with the word 'Jew' then observe how sinister it reads.

Tragically accurate. They are protesting in the streets in France and the UK, however, and the U.S., for all its flaws, appears to have the highest density of stubborn advocates for civil liberties. I don't give a fuck what political spectrum one may align with. Being against this current iteration of egregious overt fascism is the ONLY issue that counts. Be against it, or be complicit -- to the peril of current/future generations.

[Harvey]

Yes.

[stickdog99]

I, for one, welcome our new Covidian overlords.

[JackRiddler]

Tragically accurate. They are protesting in the streets in France and the UK, however, and the U.S., for all its flaws, appears to have the highest density of stubborn advocates for civil liberties. I don't give a fuck what political spectrum one may align with. Being against this current iteration of egregious overt fascism is the ONLY issue that counts. Be against it, or be complicit -- to the peril of current/future generations.

Objectively, this is a self-handicapping attitude. It will be a big reason why this 'overt fascism' as you call it will win. First of all, it is most definitely not overt fascism -- it's clearly disguised as something quite different and universally humanitarian, which is why it works. (Fascism is not universal, does not put on a universal front, and it is not particularly humanitarian.) Second, it is not the only issue that counts -- go tell this to the Cubans and the Haitians and the 'essential' workers who've been essentially enslaved and all your other barefoot masses, for a start -- and insisting on 'with us or against us' and accusing all those who aren't already fanatically on the same side of being traitors and fools is a classic way to end up as the minority and the loser in this struggle. You will be painted as privileged, selfish, deluded, stupid -- successfully! So ask yourselves -- I use the plural as I realize this attitude is prevalent among many here -- Do you want to have that feeling of being right all the way down the line? Or do you want to win?

Today I was quite inspired watching a video to see the size of the crowd who had showed up in Picadilly Circus for the London anti-Covid Pass demonstration. Then, unfortunately, I continued watching, and heard the first two speeches. And basically, these may as well have been designed not to make a coalition, not to grow a movement, not even to maintain the enthusiasm right there in the street, in short, not to win. Opposition to vaccine passports is a winning issue that can cause the whole edifice of control being built around Covid to collapse, and open the way to different politics. It is obvious that 1) the Covid Pass system doesn't do jackshit to prevent further 'spread' (as if it's not endemic and will remain so) and 2) it therefore carries a different agenda, one that can be easily understood, of control, and of profit for a number of entities. Whereas I'm pretty sure that not even 1/4 of the crowd in London would have been certain about statements like Covid being altogether a hoax, the vaccines being designed to kill millions, etc. etc. Yet those were the sorts of things that were being included in the speeches, along with a number of true and important points. These are false, which is a big problem. These also are alienating and put an automatic cap on support for the cause of stopping Covid Pass, which is also a big problem. This is poison-pilling. I'd advise against contributing to it inadvertantly by adopting the 'with-us-or-against-us' rhetoric, or by saying you don't care what anyone who is 'on your side' believes, states, or does in public otherwise. Because you should.

.

[Belligerent Savant]

.

I disagree that what we're witnessing is NOT overt. It's quite clear to anyone paying attention, or not in a trance, that actions in place are quite egregious and overt.

Germany in the 30s -- was this overt? Yet many German citizens complied and 'ratted out' their fellow neighbors, hoping to placate their masters/what they presumed to be the new long-standing system in place.*

*it may not mimic 30s-era Germany, but what more is needed when there is blatant propaganda, blatant censoring and blacklisting of expression, medical intervention as a qualifier/requirement for certain employment and/or travel, and the related tracking/monitoring of transactions (not to mention segregation of those refusing)?
This may not yet be firmly set -- and those of us that see it all for what it is will fight to prevent it -- but a fair amount is already in 'trials' and certain countries are already pushing these measures overtly.

Put another way: propaganda may blind many, and cause otherwise 'good' people to agree to or participate in evil/vile acts.
Propaganda tactics can help shield overt actions, but they remain overt in deed, regardless. The extent of propaganda, by itself, can be considered an example of overt fascism.


Otherwise, you're right: you took my words quite literally, and that's on me.
If given another chance i'd revise it to say,

For those that value civil liberties, autonomy and true democracy/related principles, being against this current iteration of egregious overt fascism is the primary issue that should count.

Of course, this does not mean to ignore other injustice.
But nothing else can be resolved without first resolving this most egregious affront to ALL peoples everywhere.

The plight of the cubans/3rd world will be wholly discarded if we lose autonomy and democratic agency on a global scale.

I can understand why you'd take me literally, but you're misrepresenting the spirit of my intent. It does not align with the examples you provided.

All that aside: welcome any solutions/proposals on how to proceed in a way that maximizes benefit to the majority.

[Harvey]

Put another way: propaganda may blind many, and cause otherwise 'good' people to agree to or participate in evil/vile acts.
Propaganda tactics can help shield overt actions, but they remain overt in deed, regardless. The extent of propaganda, by itself, can be considered an example of overt fascism.

I wonder if propaganda's main function is simply to grant licence: to legitimise the worst behaviour, creating both the potential and tacit permission for, a mass lashing out in specific and highly focussed ways.

[JackRiddler]

Germany in the 30s -- was this overt?

Yes. Very.

It also was not making any kind of universalist plea. Fascism did not have humanist pretenses. It was not appealing to the best and most caring side of anyone, but telling them that they had to be strong and cruel to survive. It was not disguising the elevation of the specifically superior race over all others as anything other than that. That's what fascism is. (But I realize that many on this board now have a problem recognizing it, or separating it from other evils.)

.

[Belligerent Savant]

.

It didn't happen overnight, though -- this was my point. "otherism" and segregation (distinguishing the preferable with the non-preferable citizenry) is in play right now, as it was in Germany leading up to the more overt aspects of fascism/totalitarianism in the 30s/40s.

Anecdotally (on social media, message boards, and at times, in casual conversation -- though the rhetoric is far more intense/venomous online, of course), humans are placing 'scarlet letters' on those that refuse to comply with mass vaccination, those that refuse to get in line. They wish ill health, and even death, on those that do not march in lockstep with govt mandates. They welcome if not outright APPLAUD increasingly restrictive actions. During more restrictive lockdowns, a fair share reported gatherings to the authorities, doing their part to keep the populace locked down. Didn't matter that they were neighbors.

Again: it will not present as overtly as it may have back then, and that's largely because they don't need to be as overt about it. As Harvey touched on in his last reply above, and per my prior paragraph: the people will come to clamor for it -- the propaganda is much finer, more pervasive, and better modulated than ever before.

“A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.”

― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

[Grizzly]

[BenDhyan]

Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Google and other Big Tech companies will provide info to FIVE EYES Intelligence Network which means US will have access to the database. Now while it seems the pretext used is saving America from the Right, it will really mean the suppression of criticism of the TPTB generally, media propaganda wins the game.

Facebook and tech giants to target attacker manifestos, far-right militias in database,

July 26 (Reuters) - A counterterrorism organization formed by some of the biggest U.S. tech companies including Facebook (FB.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) is significantly expanding the types of extremist content shared between firms in a key database, aiming to crack down on material from white supremacists and far-right militias, the group told Reuters.

Until now, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism's (GIFCT) database has focused on videos and images from terrorist groups on a United Nations list and so has largely consisted of content from Islamist extremist organizations such as Islamic State, al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Over the next few months, the group will add attacker manifestos - often shared by sympathizers after white supremacist violence - and other publications and links flagged by U.N. initiative Tech Against Terrorism. It will use lists from intelligence-sharing group Five Eyes, adding URLs and PDFs from more groups, including the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters and neo-Nazis.

The firms, which include Twitter (TWTR.N) and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) YouTube, share "hashes," unique numerical representations of original pieces of content that have been removed from their services. Other platforms use these to identify the same content on their own sites in order to review or remove it.

While the project reduces the amount of extremist content on mainstream platforms, groups can still post violent images and rhetoric on many other sites and parts of the internet.

The tech group wants to combat a wider range of threats, said GIFCT's Executive Director Nicholas Rasmussen in an interview with Reuters.

"Anyone looking at the terrorism or extremism landscape has to appreciate that there are other parts... that are demanding attention right now," Rasmussen said, citing the threats of far-right or racially motivated violent extremism.

The tech platforms have long been criticized for failing to police violent extremist content, though they also face concerns over censorship. The issue of domestic extremism, including white supremacy and militia groups, took on renewed urgency following the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Fourteen companies can access the GIFCT database, including Reddit, Snapchat-owner Snap (SNAP.N), Facebook-owned Instagram, Verizon (VZ.N) Media, Microsoft's LinkedIn and file-sharing service Dropbox (DBX.O).

GIFCT, which is now an independent organization, was created in 2017 under pressure from U.S. and European governments after a series of deadly attacks in Paris and Brussels. Its database mostly contains digital fingerprints of videos and images related to groups on the U.N. Security Council's consolidated sanctions list and a few specific live-streamed attacks, such as the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand.

GIFCT has faced criticism and concerns from some human and digital rights groups over centralized or over-broad censorship.

"Over-achievement in this takes you in the direction of violating someone's rights on the internet to engage in free expression," said Rasmussen.

Emma Llanso, director of Free Expression at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said in a statement: "This expansion of the GIFCT hash database only intensifies the need for GIFCT to improve the transparency and accountability of these content-blocking resources."

"As the database expands, the risks of mistaken takedown only increase," she added.

The group wants to continue to broaden its database to include hashes of audio files or certain symbols and grow its membership. It recently added home-rental giant Airbnb (ABNB.O) and email marketing company Mailchimp as members.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-facebook-tech-giants-target-manifestos-militias-database-2021-07-26/?taid=60feaf80cb4037000146c985&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

[JackRiddler]

.

It didn't happen overnight, though -- this was my point. "otherism" and segregation (distinguishing the preferable with the non-preferable citizenry) is in play right now, as it was in Germany leading up to the more overt aspects of fascism/totalitarianism in the 30s/40s.

Also untrue. It was lightning quick and well-orchestrated, the seizure of power and the transformation of everything. As the Nazis had fought for power for years before they got it, and in their first months, there was no pretense. Everyone understood that they were all about exterminating the Jews and Commies as soon as feasible and seeing if they could win a new big war this time, and they did not disappoint. Most of the 'oh how gradually we were lulled into accepting barbarism when we had been so civilized' blah-blah is post-WWII excuses. There was open constant celebration of the supremacism, and everyone not on board with it was either getting out or subordinating themselves, knowing this well. No universalist, no humanitarian disguises.

Just stop. Find yourself other examples. You don't need to abuse the Nazi stuff all the time. It's extremely counterproductive to whatever you imagine your cause is.

From earlier posts on this and the Covid thread, compare slogans for the movement you may imagine:

'I prefer not to'

vs.

'This is Naziland -- WORSE THAN NAZILAND! -- and you are blind sheeple and anyone not immediately agreeing with all of my 100 assertions about exactly what it is or even just wearing a mask in a store is Nazi scum'.

Okay, no one's said that here exactly. But just how much of this image do you want to embody in your language and then try to slip away from by parsing endlessly the meaning of terms like 'complicit'?

.

[Belligerent Savant]

.

Some would say the egregiousness/brazenness/extent of liberty erosion over the past ~year would be considered "lightning quick and well orchestrated", particularly given the global scale involved. How else should it be described?

I've been referencing Bartleby The Scrivener for some time actually, and I believe I alluded to him/his approach a number of times here, including recently. Or perhaps I'm getting my venue mixed up.

I find it ironic that you are suggesting I hit the brakes on the nazi comparison, which -- while I acknowledge there will not be exact parallels -- is very much in the spirit of what we're experiencing now, yet you continue to insist the events of a single day -- of minimal consequence, relatively-speaking -- is a blatant example of a 'fascist takeover'. An event that lasted several hours. And made no significant impact other than offering a broader invite towards increased domestic surveillance, implemented by the party that allegedly was under "assault".

It remains incomprehensible to me, how Jan 6th can be labeled a fascist takeover attempt (as if our system of govt was a pure beacon of democracy up to that point) but current wide-scale measures -- which have and will continue to cause devastation to lives/restriction of essential freedoms for millions, now and for years to come if left unchallenged -- requires a 'softer' messaging platform.

[Harvey]

^ Depressing response from Jack. You're right BS. Maybe Jack should read They Thought They Were Free if he hasn't already. It's all in there. I looked from book to world and from world to book, and already it was impossible to tell which was which.