That, in the early 1970s, the newly-formed Trilateral Commission published a report which recommended that, in order for "globalization" to succeed, American manufacturing jobs had to be exported, and American wages had to decline, which is exactly what happened over the next three decades; and that, during that same period, the richest one percent of Americans doubled their share of the national wealth, is not "theory." It's fact.
...That George Bush was the CIA director who kept the names of what were estimated to be hundreds of American journalists, considered to be CIA "assets," from the Church Committee, the US Senate Intelligence Committe chaired by Senator Frank Church that investigated the CIA in the 1970s; that a 1971 University of Michigan study concluded that, in America, the more TV you watched, the less you knew; and that a recent survey by international scholars found that Americans were the most "ignorant" of world affairs out of all the populations they studied, is not a "theory." It's fact.
...Just before his death, James Jesus Angleton, the legendary chief of counterintelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency, was a bitter man. He felt betrayed by the people he had worked for all his life. In the end, he had come to realize that they were never really interested in American ideals of "freedom" and "democracy." They really only wanted "absolute power."
Angleton told author Joseph Trento that the reason he had gotten the counterintelligence job in the first place was by agreeing not to submit "sixty of Allen Dulles' closest friends" to a polygraph test concerning their business deals with the Nazis. In his end-of-life despair, Angleton assumed that he would see all his old companions again "in hell."
...Although I don't remember ever meeting James Jesus Angleton, I worked at the CIA myself as a low-level clerk as a teenager in the '60s. This was at the same time I was beginning to question the government's actions in Vietnam. In fact, my personal "paranoid shift" probably began with the disillusionment I felt when I realized that the story of American foreign policy was, at the very least, more complicated and darker than I had hitherto been led to believe.
But for most of the next 30 years, even though I was a radical, I nevertheless held faith in the basic integrity of a system where power ultimately resided in the people, and whereby if enough people got together and voted, real and fundamental change could happen.
What constitutes my personal paranoid shift is that I no longer believe this to be necessarily true.
In his book, "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower," William Blum warns of how the media will make anything that smacks of "conspiracy theory" an immediate "object of ridicule." This prevents the media from ever having to investigate the many strange interconnections among the ruling class—for example, the relationship between the boards of directors of media giants, and the energy, banking and defense industries. These unmentionable topics are usually treated with what Blum calls "the media's most effective tool—silence." But in case somebody's asking questions, all you have to do is say, "conspiracy theory," and any allegation instantly becomes too frivolous to merit serious attention.
On the other hand, since my paranoid shift, whenever I hear the words "conspiracy theory" (which seems more often, lately) it usually means someone is getting too close to the truth.
...That George Bush was the CIA director who kept the names of what were estimated to be hundreds of American journalists, considered to be CIA "assets," from the Church Committee, the US Senate Intelligence Committe chaired by Senator Frank Church that investigated the CIA in the 1970s; that a 1971 University of Michigan study concluded that, in America, the more TV you watched, the less you knew; and that a recent survey by international scholars found that Americans were the most "ignorant" of world affairs out of all the populations they studied, is not a "theory." It's fact.
...Just before his death, James Jesus Angleton, the legendary chief of counterintelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency, was a bitter man. He felt betrayed by the people he had worked for all his life. In the end, he had come to realize that they were never really interested in American ideals of "freedom" and "democracy." They really only wanted "absolute power."
Angleton told author Joseph Trento that the reason he had gotten the counterintelligence job in the first place was by agreeing not to submit "sixty of Allen Dulles' closest friends" to a polygraph test concerning their business deals with the Nazis. In his end-of-life despair, Angleton assumed that he would see all his old companions again "in hell."
...Although I don't remember ever meeting James Jesus Angleton, I worked at the CIA myself as a low-level clerk as a teenager in the '60s. This was at the same time I was beginning to question the government's actions in Vietnam. In fact, my personal "paranoid shift" probably began with the disillusionment I felt when I realized that the story of American foreign policy was, at the very least, more complicated and darker than I had hitherto been led to believe.
But for most of the next 30 years, even though I was a radical, I nevertheless held faith in the basic integrity of a system where power ultimately resided in the people, and whereby if enough people got together and voted, real and fundamental change could happen.
What constitutes my personal paranoid shift is that I no longer believe this to be necessarily true.
In his book, "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower," William Blum warns of how the media will make anything that smacks of "conspiracy theory" an immediate "object of ridicule." This prevents the media from ever having to investigate the many strange interconnections among the ruling class—for example, the relationship between the boards of directors of media giants, and the energy, banking and defense industries. These unmentionable topics are usually treated with what Blum calls "the media's most effective tool—silence." But in case somebody's asking questions, all you have to do is say, "conspiracy theory," and any allegation instantly becomes too frivolous to merit serious attention.
On the other hand, since my paranoid shift, whenever I hear the words "conspiracy theory" (which seems more often, lately) it usually means someone is getting too close to the truth.
I got an email from Jay this morning wondering why in heck people don't see what's happening in our country - when the 9/11 Commission report is there for the reading, why are people still believing the ruses? He includes a response from Dave.
Jay wrote:
Subject: It wasn't the CIA's fault!!!
Everything politics is getting twisted from reality and I can't stand the pabulum dished out. It's like there's a mass hysteria. The lies are repeated so often I forget myself they are lies.
I know for instance the CIA was saying they weren't sure about the WMD's etc. They tried again and again (and it's documented in the very Senate report everyone is pointing to) to get the 16 words removed from the State of the U speech. BUT now everyone is down on the CIA and believing the lies people are telling, for giving shrub the wrong info.
It wasn't the CIA! It was the admin's. drive to produce info that turned out to be totally wrong. Think about what O'niell said in his book. Think about what so many other people have said about what the admin. wanted and that they were looking for a way to convince the congress to sanction this war.
And sure enough, now everyone is talking about taking independent power away from the CIA and giving it to a person closer to the president. For C's sake, that's exactly how the problem was created! Has everyone gone MAD?
Dave wrote:
Hey Jay,
The CIA, Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin, Tony Blair and other leaders and their Intel agencies all agreed that there were WMDs in Iraq. Perhaps President Bush made a mistake. If so he had a lot of company. After the 9/11 attack on our country I believe he did what any prudent person would do under the same circumstances. It is a different world since the 9/11 attack. We are threatened by a determined and vicious enemy. The Islamic extremists have not changed over the past thousand years. Their methods remain the same... terrorism, murder and bombing. The only thing that changes is their target. Every American, including you and me are the targets now. They would love to saw our heads off or burn us the way they did to some of those people they kidnapped. They would love to destroy the people of the United States and turn the world back to the seventeenth century under their control.
President Truman accepted a cease fire in Korea and the war is still not officially over. Now North Korea has nukes and they hate us more than ever. I thought President Clinton was right in his Bosnia decision. However, it has turned out to be an unending quagmire, not a three month incursion like he said. He did what he thought was right at the time. He made some mistakes. The cost is great. Would anyone else with the same information have done any different? Maybe, but I believe it is unlikely.
I believe that we should give President Bush the benefit of the doubt in this case Jay. I believe he made a mistake, not a calculated political move. The situation is a long way from over and only the future will tell whether the action in Iraq was a good idea or not.
Best Regards,
Dave
Jay wrote:
Dave;
I understand about the Third Jihad and all that. And if I believed western civilization was at risk I too might not mind a few blunders. But I don't.
On the other hand I do believe in America and it's principles. And I'm willing to stick by those principles even when threatened.
In your email it seems you have not taken issue with what I said.
By reading the Senate report you will see what I'm saying. I'm not talking about someone elses version of what they think they read mind you. I'm talking about reading the report and coming to your own conclusions.
But in case you don't want to download the 24 meg file, I'll give you parts to think about.
Conclusion 1. Most of the major key judgments in the Intelligence Community's October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), Iraq's Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, either overstated, or were not supported by, the underlying intelligence reporting. A series of failures, particularly in analytic trade craft, led to the mischaracterization of the intelligence.
If you understand the difference between the NIE and the "underlying intelligence reporting" you will see what I mean. Some one or few persons changed the info from the intelligence reports, and the Senate says as much!
It wasn't the CIA's fault.
Being short of time (and perhaps just tired), I sent Jay a quick response:
here's my conclusion (for the time being!)...a conclusion which your dave confirms in his absurd message...most people just don't get it. according to their regular lives, they judge the people at the top positions as though they, too, have regular lives (ideas, desires, needs, etc.). they have no experience with anything deeper beneath the surface of (or farther out), and so they believe everyone functions at their level.
they truly do not see what you see. they can't.
while i think it is nobel of you to try to open the eyes of these people, you might think about an old navajo proverb: you can't wake someone who is pretending to sleep.
reality is going to get even wonkier - whatever it is that maintains time is weakening.
thanks for being.
they truly do not see what you see. they can't.
while i think it is nobel of you to try to open the eyes of these people, you might think about an old navajo proverb: you can't wake someone who is pretending to sleep.
reality is going to get even wonkier - whatever it is that maintains time is weakening.
thanks for being.
So, Jay, this post is an addendum to that quick, philosophical brush-off of how people work. This article I'm quoting has the reasons well-articulated....
[T]here may be millions of us, lurking at websites like Online Journal, From the Wilderness, Center for Cooperative Research, and the Center for Research on Globalization, checking out right-wing conspiracists and the galaxy of 9/11 sites, and reading columnists like Chris Floyd at the Moscow Times, and Maureen Farrell at Buzzflash. But we know we are only a furtive minority, the human remnant among the pod people in the live-action, 21st-century version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
And being paranoid, we have to figure out, with an answer that fits into our system, why more people don't see the connections we do. Fortunately, there are a number of possible explanations.
And being paranoid, we have to figure out, with an answer that fits into our system, why more people don't see the connections we do. Fortunately, there are a number of possible explanations.
More...
Read it. I think you'll begin to see what I'm talking about.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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