Lie loses weight through time Part I

Eugene Jarecki in his book “The American Way of War” reveals how the successive US administrations provokes and manipulate other states in a bid to fill their hungry hegemonic appetite.  Before and at the beginning of the World War II the US was in what it called ‘Great Depression’.  And for years they were looking for an opportunity to get out of the grave situation they were in. Luckily for them war erupted throughout Europe and the Far East. The inner circle members of the administration plotted a mission that could put them not only out of depression but also that would create for them an economic boom. Going to war against Germany. Initially that did not happen because Germany wasn’t ready to fight the US. Hence another plot had to be created. Provoke Japan to hit Pearl Harbor. As the writer disclosed, the conspiracy or the lie was on how “ … we should maneuver them into the position of firing the first shot without allowing too much danger to ourselves. “ With this huge magnitude of provocation Japan massively send its war planes to destroy the harbor. In this war the US was forced to pay around 3000 American lives. And America went to war in all fronts as its leaders wished to have.

The moment the US joined the Second World War industrial boom was observed in that country.  Factories producing weapons, food supplies, clothing and others. With that we are told it was the end of the Great Depression. One would ask how many such lies and conspiracies were manufactured for similar purposes since then and before. Countless!

The recent theory of WMD in Iraq is point in case. And the motive is the same. To boost American interest through controlling oil supplies in the Middle East. And all the lies and conspiracies have the backing of the major media outlets.  Here the media come forward to add fuel to the lies of the Big Bosses so that the flame goes high and high until the people believe it is really true.

The major media outlets in our world are owned by big corporates and cannot negate or refute what their bosses want or intent to achieve. They are entitled to join the club of the manipulators for what ever reason.

According to scholars on the field, media manipulation is “an aspect of public relations in which partisans create an image or argument that favours their particular interests. Such tactics may include the use of logical fallacies and propaganda techniques, and often involve the suppression of information or points of view by crowding them out, by inducing other people or groups of people to stop listening to certain arguments, or by simply diverting attention elsewhere. In Propaganda public opinion can only express itself through channels which are provided by the mass media of communication-without which there could be no propaganda.

Many of the more modern mass media manipulation methods, according to the scholars, are types of distraction, on the assumption that the public has a limited attention span.

Distraction method of media dissemination: This method is to discredit opposing arguments by appealing to nationalistic pride or memory of past accomplishments, or appealing to fear or dislike of a specific country, or of foreigners in general. It can be very powerful as it discredits foreign journalists.

Distraction by scapegoat: A combination of straw man and ad hominem, in which your weakest opponent (or easiest to discredit) is considered as your only important opponent. Example give for this one reads, if many countries oppose an action, but one of them is obviously acting out of self-interest, mention mostly that country.

Distraction by regression: This method uses the previous state of the opponent propaganda to prevent the negotiation of actual issues.

Distraction by misleading: This method injects false issues into the opponent’s propaganda or attempts to create connections with falsities. Repetition of falsehoods from numerous outlets, nearly simultaneously, is one of the most effective means to mislead by distraction.

Appeals to consensus: By appealing to a real or fictional “consensus” the media manipulator attempts to create the perception that his opinion is the only opinion, so that alternative ideas are dismissed from public consideration. Michael Crichton, a historian explains: “Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled.”
These are few from the many media manipulation methods applied to side with their masters in their conspiracies of hegemony. Their owners are part and parcel or have strong affiliation or bondage with the administration they are not expected to do other wise.

The “Occupy demonstrations” in the US and Europe are big events in which the poor and the middle class are demonstrating their dissatisfaction of the system of governance in those countries. The economy in those countries is owned by the very few and the majority are unable to live a decent life. In the streets of the major cities people are voicing their anger. One of the main slogans they are carrying says “Tax the corporates”. Who are the corporates? The owners of the big international media outlets are part. That was the case for us for not hearing much on the demonstrations through those media outlets. We have watched what these media outlets have doing during the so-called Arab uprising.