There’s not much to be said about Metanoia’s “Psywar” except that it bears watching. A history of the public relations industry, this outstanding documentary explores the highly deleterious impact of organized and well-funded propaganda efforts on a would-be democratic society. [END] Permalink: Psywar
Above are two short media-critical films from different filmmakers. At top, “Globalization and the Media” from the Media Education Foundation highlights the rise of independent and primarily internet-based journalism in recent years. (Many more excellent videos touching on various topics related to the media and society are available at the link.) At bottom, part three of “Who Really Owns the Mainstream Media” (parts one and two are unavailable) discusses the convergence of upper-class interests in the governance of American media. [END] Permalink: Globalization and the Media & Who Really Owns the Mainstream Media
The 2004 U. S. Presidential election brought us Bush versus Bush Lite. In 2006, the Democrats took the U. S. Congress and while things started getting worse at a slower rate, the overall tone was the same. This documentary from BBC Dispatches examines the political parties of England and how, in recent years, rather than offering visionary leadership in increasingly complex times, they all have been posturing to be perceived as “toughest” in the same areas, such as immigration control and street crime, and spending much of their campaigns on competing to outdo each others’ placebo-based pandering. The main issue at the “rotten heart” of the current electoral system according to Dispatches: “parties, cut adrift from their popular roots, are now cold-blooded vote-winning machines. If you ignore them, they ignore you.” When there are no substantive differences between the utterly bland major parties, is it still democracy? In this sickening look into the “mass marketing” campaign style of today, Dispatches says that no, democracy is a thing of the past. With enough work, though, it can be a thing of the future as well. [END] Permalink: Why Politicians Can’t Tell the Truth
This German documentary presents a European perspective on the United States’ history of lying to the world in order to advance war agendas with a particular focus on the 9/11 attacks and the so-called “War on Terror.” This video serves as an excellent aid to understanding why the official version of 9/11 is an obvious lie, from the legends of the hijackers to the physical effects observed in the plane crashes and destruction of the buildings, and continues on into an extended analysis of the role of the media in promoting these lies, the agenda of social transformation which has been put into place in their wake and other topics. [END] Permalink: 9/11 False Flag
Hugo Chávez was a Venezuelan military officer who led a failed coup attempt against the Venezuelan government in 1992 and was imprisoned for it. Several years later, he ran for President and won. The above video, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Chavez – Inside the Coup),” documents the brief 2002 coup attempt against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez after he had been in power for several years. The coup succeeded for a day or two and then Chávez returned to power. A reply video titled “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Lies” has been produced. However, most of its arguments deal with relatively superficial to nearly irrelevant details of the situation. One of its more serious claims is that the general strikes immediately preceding the coup attempt which had been intended to bring down the government were headed by both the business union (FEDECAMERAS) and the labor union leaders (CTV) but it does not mention that CTV, which had made major concessions to neoliberal interests in the prior decade, suffered debilitating losses of support as a result of this alliance. (See Ellner’s “The Venezuelan Labor Movement Under Chávez” for more on Venezuelan labor movement history.)
This second and much shorter video, “Venezuela – Uncle Sam’s Coup,” features the work of Eva Gollinger, a dual U. S.-Venezuelan citizen who has dug up U. S. government documents related to the coup attempt. As her efforts uncovered, a CIA brief contained detailed information about the coup weeks in advance of its occurrence. The money trail behind the plot led these investigators straight to Washington, where records showed hundreds of thousands of American dollars being funneled into Venezuelan opposition groups in the year prior to the coup attempt. [END] Permalink: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and Uncle Sam’s Coup
Operation Gladio is a BBC Timewatch series concerning a series of bombings and assassinations of civilians in Western Europe which are believed to have been the work of right-wing elements within NATO intelligence agencies. The origins of the Gladio network may have been surrendered fascists who were put into the employ of the OSS/CIA following World War II for deployment in the event of a Soviet invasion of Europe but who may have, in fact, been deployed to smear and prevent the rise of the political left in Italy and elsewhere. [END] Permalink: Operation Gladio
“The Fluoride Deception” is the story of water fluoridation in America. It is the classic story of big business corrupting science to meet the agenda of a greater bottom line. Is fluoridation safe and effective? Why is the U. S. one of the only systems in the world which still fluoridates the public water supply? This hidden history of the mass medication of the American people via fluoridation, from its origins in the steel, aluminum and fertilizer factories, as well as in the atomic bomb development plants under the Manhattan Project, may surprise you. Also, since 2006, the American Dental Association has held the following position on fluoride intake for infants:
“Infants less than one year old may be getting more than the optimal amount of fluoride (which may increase their risk of enamel fluorosis) if their primary source of nutrition is powdered or liquid concentrate infant formula mixed with water containing fluoride… If using a product that needs to be reconstituted, parents and caregivers should consider using water that has no or low levels of fluoride.”
Fluoride, however, is relatively difficult to remove from water, and can only be extracted by distillation, reverse osmosis, or activated alumina. Infants in areas where the public water supply has been fluoridated therefore do not have access to water which is safe for their tiny bodies unless extra investments are made by their caregivers, many of whom are not ever aware of this problem due to the utter lack of media coverage of challenges to the policy of fluoridation from any quarter. [END] Permalink: The Fluoride Deception
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