Thursday, February 17, 2011

THE POLITICS OF DECEPTION

I've been thinking about the following topic for about three weeks now and the discovery of the following video from FOX NEWS spurred me to actually put my thoughts down here.  Before you roll your eyes and click over to some other blog because I'm going to go deep into my political rants, stop, wait, and hear me out.  I'm going to briefly highlight this because it is important and is going to help us today and in the future.

Watch a few minutes of Fox here where they put together two years worth of video and created the illusion that Ron Paul is booed vehemently as he is announced the winner in 2011.  The only problem with the video is that he wasn't booed in 2011, the boos were provided in 2010!  Fast forward to 4:45 in the video to see the actual reaction to the announcement at the 2011 convention.



The  CPAC attack on Ron Paul by Fox News is just an example of how we live in a world where "what they show us" becomes reality.  This is why state run media in Russia, China,  Iran, and North Korea is so effective at framing a picture of reality for their people.  After viewing the video you walk away with the idea that Ron Paul may have won, but he sure is a poor candidate because he has a lot of people that are not supporters.

Readers of the Goatmug Blog know that as a history buff I relish the views of thinkers like J.R. Nyquist who writes on the geopolitical landscape with an emphasis on Russia, the plague of Communism, and the tactics used by them to obtain power and achieve their goals.  Mr. Nyquist's latest offering provides details about the possibility that the Egyptian revolution may have been hijacked or at least sponsored by people that didn't have a genuine quest for liberty.

http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/jr-nyquist/egypt-and-the-muslim-brotherhood

In his post, Nyquist reveals that bloggers from the Ukraine couldn't find a majority of people that supported the uprising and in fact could find many Coptic Christians that felt a transition could be a bad thing.

I've found the original blog post he referenced from the Ukranian bloggers and have translated the text with the help of a translator (it's still a bit rough).

"Domestic and international media broadcast the one-sided interpretation of the U.S. government concerning the events in Cairo. Most reporters in the hotel for security reasons, and looks at what is happening through the eyes of CNN and the BBC.
We visited Egypt and study in detail the situation on the ground. Having talked with hundreds of residents of Cairo and other Egyptian cities came to a single conclusion: a nationwide uprising against President Mubarak does not exist.

Most of the population, even if it does not support the current government, a negative attitude toward anti-presidential parties shares. In particular, the Copts, are the largest Christian community in the Middle East believe that, if successful coup significantly worsen the situation of Egyptian Christians. And why the Copts are not allowed the protesters to their quarters.

In fact, the Egyptian rebellion is limited to one area of Cairo. Statements made in Tahrir Square can not be considered massive - they account for up to twenty thousand members, but for the millions of Cairo is extremely small.

The Egyptian army is not against the protesters, not because Mubarak has lost his grip on power but because the position of Mubarak - not to irritate the Americans. Participants in the uprising - nice people, but their protest, they rely solely on the support of the U.S. government."
What if this was true, that the revolt was led by a small group of minorities that had more sinister reasons yet were championed by naive reporters in the media?  We need to keep in mind that the reporters want and need juicy stories that play well for the camera.  The need for a good story line is why you kept hearing that these were "youths" rallying for freedom.  Where was the coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood that cried for an Islamic state for Egypt that could unite all Muslims under one rule?  That is what we heard from the Muslim Brotherhood leader Monday.  Interesting that we didn't hear that before the fall of Egypt's leader.  We wouldn't want the global media machine to let facts get in the way of an inspiring story would we?

What were the angles we received in the reporting?  We consumed lots of the following;
Egyptians were casting off the yoke of economic hardship
The youth were breaking the chains of those that are heartless leaders

While there is truth to this, think deeply, these portraits seem to have been constructed for our eyes, ears, and hearts to compel us to support this version instinctively.
Given the fact that we see a rumored "conservative" media outlet splicing video and creating their own version of an event we must question what that means for us as investors and participants in this "democratic" country. 

As Amerikans are pushed to the brink in the near term and the future don't be deluded to believe that all of them are violent terrorists.  Many folks like you and me will be forced to stand up against financial tyranny and the lack of representative government in the office of the President, the Senate, and Congress.  The disconnect between our "leadership" and the desires of the people is growing, not shrinking.  When Amerikans simply cannot stand it any longer you can expect to see edited videos and disinformation about their actions and their message.  Amerikans won't riot because they see an erosion of their personal liberties and a decay in their ability to protect and express themselves, no, we are fat sheep.  Amerikans will watch idly by as the poor waste away, but citizens will finally rise up when the middle class cannot afford food and gas or something terribly essential like cable or cell phones.  When Amerikans do come to their senses and stand up, you can be sure to find the media reporting that these people are trouble makers, quacks, and opposition forces rather than freedom fighters demanding that their government listen.  Sounds like how the Tea Party has been characterized doesn't it?

Second, our own government will use the media to continue to lie to us.  Ben Bernanke lied right in our face with his testimony that attempted to claim responsibility for the "asset price increases" in stock markets, but dispel any notion that he has the power to lift commodity prices and food prices around the world.  How is the Fed all powerful in the one situation but entirely powerless in the other?  Doublespeak at its finest!  I haven't read 1984 by George Orwell since high school, but I will read it again because these are the days we are living in. 



Here are a list of the lies I could find just in this testimony and a quick listening while I was typing.
1:10 in the video -  We are not monetizing our debt because it is temporary (there is no way they can reverse this)
3:30 in the video -  The US is not responsible for inflation worldwide. 
5:25 in the video -  We have 1% inflation in the US

In conclusion, I want you to know that I am not a conspiracy theory junky who sees attacks coming from everywhere and evil plots lurking around each corner.  I do believe that Amerikans believe what we are presented and we cannot continue to consume the political and economic gruel that is being served.  The Fox News story absolutely worries me as Ron Paul is someone who is an enemy of the Fed (at least in the way he speaks, let's see some action), and it is clear that editors at Fox News purposefully framed this to hurt his political support and momentum.  I would expect those actions from MSNBC and even Dan Rather with CBS, but it simply puts me on alert to question everything.  We already question every statistic released from China, why don't we do the same for statistics from the US?

If everything we see from the media is true, it is a certainty that US citizens will act like these peaceful Iranians starting at :50 in the final video clip where clerics demand the death of imprisoned leaders that called for uprisings in Iran.



Be careful!

GOATMUG