October 2009

Public Opinion?

As the ‘pre-crash’ policies gather momentum, some of us are wondering why large sections of the public appear to have faith in those who orchestrated the meltdown.
How is it possible to use (and abuse) public opinion, influence it, predetermine-, select-, shape-, control and restrict it, to serve those disastrous ends?
Books have been written with titles such as “The Opinion Makers“, and “The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies“, which seem to support Edward Bernays assumption, that, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”
Winston Churchill didn’t seem to have much faith either when he scorned, “There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion.“

The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda

Epistemology

Questions regarding cause and effects of the financial scandal have been swarming in the air from the day of reckoning.
While the effects are fairly obvious, the causes we are told, are just to wide-ranging and complex to be understood (The Algebra of Infinite Justice), thus (conveniently) preventing any ‘fair and balanced’ investigation of the causes.
The discredited power elite has learned nothing and is preparing to continue in the same manner, using the same policies, with the same inevitable end, and why should they care? – They never pay for their own mistakes.
“The history of our race, and each individual’s experience, are sown thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.” – Mark Twain

The Myth Versus the Reality …

Corporate damage control at its very best

 

This is the kind of public relations drivel we get from those responsible for the banking “mishap”.

Conspiracy, the last taboo.

To conspire:
a : to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which becomes unlawful as a result of the secret agreement
b : to act in harmony toward a common end.

It is in it self interesting that such condemnation has been associated with one concept, i,e. to act in harmony (although in secret) toward a common end.
Looking at the revelations related to the financial meltdown, the words bank secrecy (or bank privacy) even secrecy jurisdictions, take on some very familiar connotations.

Conspiracy Phobia
Some historical quotes

Dishing Out JUSTICE

…the Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Sages, Luminaries and Other Thinking Persons… have come to the conclusion that it is only just that the ‘people’ pay for the kleptocrats war damages across Europe. The argument goes something like this: The government was democratically elected and post facto promised to secure local savings accounts (thus preventing their own privatized lynching).
Those of us that didn’t have money in the bank and never voted for this particular brand of corporatism find these logical fallacies well argued.
The unthinkable, – to let the corporate kleptomaniacs pay their own debt – is in a ‘democratic’ and ‘civil’ society just that, – unthinkable. iceslave.is

How Clean and How Renewable?

Big energy gluttons such as the multinationals constantly drum into us that our energy is clean, renewable and almost inexhaustible.
Why many of us haven’t just categorized this into the – too good to be true scams and frauds category – beats me.
Scientists tell us, that, the geothermal energy sources do not suffice for all the aluminum smelters “planned”, not to speak of the largely unknown health hazards of massive dosage of sulfide in the air. As regards waterfalls, no other western nation is as ‘damned’ as we are. – Dreamland – SavingIceland.org!

To each according to his greed

“The only truly surprising thing about the 2008 financial meltdown is how easily the idea was accepted that its happening was unpredictable. Recall the demonstrations that throughout the last decade regularly accompanied meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank: the protesters’ complaints encompassed not only the usual antiglobalization motifs (the growing exploitation of Third World countries, etc.) but also how the banks were creating the illusion of growth by playing with fictional money and how this would all have to end in a crash. It was not only economists such as Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz who warned of the dangers ahead and made it clear that those who promised continuous growth did not really understand what was going on under their noses. In Washington in 2000, so many people demonstrated about the danger of a financial collapse that the city had to mobilize 3,500 local policemen. What ensued was tear–gassing, clubbing, and mass arrests. The police were used to stifle the truth.” – Slavoj Zizek – Democracy Now! & Harper’s Magazine

Opposite Land

Now that the banks that were created by and for fishermen, farmers, small industry and shopkeepers are no longer in our hands it is interesting to listen to the rhetoric.
The echo-chamber parrots the mantra about the benevolent foreign investor/creditor as being our heavenly Saviour and the mercy-full grace that we should be so lucky to have them.
In 1984 as in 2009; War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength

60 secrecy jurisdictions

Where are the world’s secrecy jurisdictions? – Richard Murphy FCA

“The Mapping the Faultlines project is based on the contention that the mechanisms that allow illicit financial flows to occur result from the synergistic relationship between the world’s secrecy jurisdictions and the secrecy providers (bankers, lawyers and accountants) whose work is based there.”

An excerpt and a full list is available for download here.

War, Inc.

In our infinite wisdom we are now to open a repair shop for Tamerlane (precision) killing machines.

Is there no limit to the lengths to which we are willing to go in prostituting our self’s for the next crack shot of little green peaces of paper?

Silly Money


This is probably as good a summary of the financial crises as any – Silly Money – a clear masterpiece.

A Magic (Norwegian) Hat

One of our more talented (or tiresome) polytricksters has come into possession of a Magic (Norwegian) Hat. All we have to do, is to ask him to tap his hat and we would get all the rabbits (or green peaces of paper) we could possibly want.

I’m convinced, that, this is the way to salvation as rabbits surely surpass our revered leaders in all things rabbity.

Al-Qaeda to rescue

We could never accuse the blogosphere of being dull.

Now that the country is all but officially bankrupt, the ruling class in tatters, and the mask is off the IMF – some bloggers think its high time to try something radically different – such as asking the Al-Qaeda for help.

The crisis: a year on

After the economic collapse and a year of corruption revelations, not a single kleptocrat has been arrested.

Do we simply have to take Herbert Marcuse’s quote as given, that, “Law and order are everywhere the law and order which protect the established hierarchy.” ?

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