MAGIC!, and exploiting patterns in info for disinfo purposes

[pepsified thinker]

Happened to see this on YouTube and immediately thought about how it applies to the manipulation of news stories, planting of false stories, and so on.

It's also got the less obnoxious side of Penn & Teller doing a fun bit of magic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5x14AwElOk

[Hugh Manatee Wins]

Some good illustrations of how implied intent can trick the audience into not seeing the Magician's Other Hand Job.

Definitely a principle worth knowing and looking out for in mainstream media.
I find this device used all the time.

But Penn and Teller did a dishonest and savage hitjob on "conspiracy nuts" and supported the Magic Bullet bullshit framing up Lee Harvey Oswald while shitting on the 9/11 Truth movement, too.

Watch this and see if you don't get raging mad at Penn and Teller for their lies-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcrF346sS_I

So Penna and Teller go into the 'too bad' folder that also holds Douglas Rushkoff, another expert in psy-ops who was recently recruited into the 9/11 Lie movement by the USG.

[pepsified thinker]

Yeah, I knew they'd slammed folks questioning thee official version of 9-11, so I'm not offering the clip as a sign of P & T being great guides in sorting things out, but I'll bet at some point, 10 or 20 or 50 or 100 or 1,000 years ago, somebody in the 'spy' biz sat across a table from somebody in the 'magic show' biz and they talked out just this kind of stuff. Least, in my imagination, that 'fits'. Maybe the 'magician' knew who he was talking with and why, or maybe not, but that wouldn't really change things.

Just as a thought experiment, I wonder what other professions have secrets/techniques that would be so clearly useful to a 'spy'? ('spy' seems a bit melodramatic, but what other term is there?) I guess we already know of psychiatrists/psychologists, and anthropologists being coopted by spooks. Any other 'knowns'?

[Attack Ships on Fire]

Hugh, I agree with you that the "Bullshit" TV series done by Penn and Teller was dishonest to its viewers and demeaning to anyone that ever mustered the bravery to exposure true conspiracy. Notice how in that video segment Penn lumps 9/11 conspiracy theorists together with those that also believe that Lee Harvey Osward didn't act alone to assassinate JFK? So let's get this straight: because you dare question if a conspiracy exists you're an asshole to Penn?

So if the Washington Post reporters never exposed Watergate and no incriminating evidence was ever found to connect Nixon to Watergate then it would just be a stinking pile of bullshit, right Mr. Penn? And when Ronald Reagan addressed the nation during the height of Contragate and told them that the U.S. didn't sell arms to the rebels that was the God's honest truth, right Mr. Penn? So when Reagan went back on television one week later when the evidence of what the U.S. did was undeniable, that couldn't have been a conspiracy, right?

The problem with people like Penn is that they wear the armor of claiming to be a skeptic but they're not. They are deniers. Nothing short of irrefutable proof, like Lyndon Johnson admitting on tape that he murdered Kennedy, will cause them to change their stance about 11/22/63. Not multiple eyewitness reports that there were multiple shooters, not the bizarre nature of Oswald's arrest, interrogation or assassination, not the fact that JFK's car slowed down when it was obvious he was being shot at, not the fact that his brain disappeared making it impossible to do a later autopsy for, and not any of the hundred or so other bits of circumstantial evidence that all point to a conspiracy.

I don't know if Penn was doing this because it's entertainment for the masses but since he's a grown-up and likes to tell the world about how big an asshole someone is that believe in a conspiracy, I side on the opinion that he's an asshole himself.

[professorpan]

So Penna and Teller go into the 'too bad' folder that also holds Douglas Rushkoff, another expert in psy-ops who was recently recruited into the 9/11 Lie movement by the USG.

Another instance of your assholish smearing of someone you don't know because they disagree with your version of "truth." I have met and corresponded with Douglas for years, and if you *knew* him you'd realize how insane it is to suggest he's been "recruited."

But don't let that stop you from slandering people. It's what you do best.

[Hugh Manatee Wins]

So Penna and Teller go into the 'too bad' folder that also holds Douglas Rushkoff, another expert in psy-ops who was recently recruited into the 9/11 Lie movement by the USG.

Another instance of your assholish smearing of someone you don't know because they disagree with your version of "truth." I have met and corresponded with Douglas for years, and if you *knew* him you'd realize how insane it is to suggest he's been "recruited."

But don't let that stop you from slandering people. It's what you do best.

"if you *knew* him"? Ya mean his actions aren't what I should consider?

Douglas Rushkoff recently claimed that at the root of the 9/11 Truth movement was RACISM due to our 'disbelief that 19 Arabs in caves' could pull off the crime.

Rushkoff claimed that 9/11 Truthers were really "American hegemonists!"
Oh, he's been bought and sold by the USG because he's much smarter than this bullshit.

http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=2275

09/20/2007
RUSHKOFF on 9/11 conspiracy theorists
Posted by arthur magazine staff

CONSPIRACIES OF DUNCES
by Douglas Rushkoff
.....
Or is it implausible that a small dark man from an undeveloped country was able to overpower a big, trained, white man from a Superpower?

And that’s where I suspect all this theorizing really takes us: to the heart of a racist jingoism worse even than the triumphalism justifying our foreign policy to begin with. They can’t bring themselves to accept that our big bad government can really be so swiftly outfoxed by a dozen relatively untrained Arab guys. And rather than go there, they’d prefer to maintain the myth of American hegemony.

Speaking of assholes, Rushkoff "SMEARED" honest anti-war anti-false flag terrorism people with classic meme-reversal bullshit that is frequently indicative of intentional counterpropaganda, that is, psy-ops -
Hey! That just happens to be his professional specialty! Well how about that.

Does he have a track record of lying about anything significant?
Yes, he does.
Rushkoff DENIES that CIA is really the Cocaine Importation Agency on his blog where he plays the role of 'professional skeptic' when he examines the accusations made by Obama's Reverand Wright-

http://rushkoff.com/blog.php

Claim 4. The US Government puts drugs on the streets.
This one most probably came from the well-publicized series of articles in the San Jose Mercury News about the CIA importing drugs and selling them on US streets. Although the New York Times later found the evidence scant, the mythology behind these claims is compelling and persistent. While no proof has been found that arms were given to contra fighters in exchange for drugs, we do know that the same people bringing the illegal arms from the USA to Nicaragua were bringing back drugs to the US on the same small planes. Further, the US occupation of Afghanistan has led to the largest crop of poppies and export of heroin in that nation's history. Either through intentional policy or incompetency, America fosters the Afghan heroin industry.

My my. That's quite a load of stupid from a very smart guy.
Are there any other deflections away from dangerous waters into safe harbors by Mr. Rushkoff?
Yes.

On his blog he links to a 'safe harbor' book called 'Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot to Print'
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560255811/douglasrushkoffA
about ancient magazine articles of little political consequence...a decoy book which was published in 2004, the same year that the very 'dangerous waters' book was published called 'Into the Buzzsaw' edited by Kristina Borjesson and with articles like the one by Gary Webb about CIA cocaine (gosh!) called 'The Mighty Wurlitzer Plays On' (gosh!) and an expose of the TWA800 cover-up (gosh!) and Charlotte Dennett's article called 'The War on Terror and the Great Game for Oil: How the Media Missed the Context.' (gosh!)

I thought highly of Rushkoff when I read his 1999 book, 'Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say.' He told us what the basic principles of CIA interrogation manuals were that also applied to sales pitches and cults-
> disorientation
> regression
> transferrence
> compliance

That's partly why I noticed how CIA-friendly he has now become while pushing the worst kind of ad hominum 9/11 disinformation.

Another writer who has joined up with the 'War on Terra' is 'killologist' Lt. Col Dave Grossman who was warning against violence-conditioning in media after Columbine in 1999 but is now conditioning soldiers bound for Iraq with justifications for killing as a way to reduce the inevitable post-traumatic stress disorder.

Times have changed Grossman's allegiences and Rushkoff's, too, apparently.

Mr. Rushkoff is now a shill for 'safe harbor masters.'
He's transparently dishonest and smears people horribly while abetting misdirection for TPTB.

Please tell your buddy to cut the crap, Pan, if you can.
Thanks in advance.

[orz]

So Penna and Teller go into the 'too bad' folder that also holds

everyone ever.

[professorpan]

Please tell your buddy to cut the crap, Pan, if you can.

Why don't YOU tell him, Hugh? Or at least send him an email asking him why he holds his opinions? Maybe you'd find out that he simply disagrees with you, but is still an honest, decent human being and hasn't sold his soul. His email is quite easy to find -- he's been on the Well since the early days with the same email address.

Nah... Much easier to just smear someone from afar, with anonymity, isn't it?

[Hugh Manatee Wins]

.....
Nah... Much easier to just smear someone from afar, with anonymity, isn't it?

That's certainly what Rushkoff did without anonymity-
when he called 9/11 Truthers "racist jingoists...[who] prefer to maintain the myth of American hegemony."

Right?
Right.

And yet he ACTUALLY TEACHES using the film,'The Power of Nightmares' as REQUIRED VIEWING for his 'Persuasion class.'
Well how about that! Um, maybe he just hasn't gotten around to seeing it himself!

http://www.rushkoff.com/itp/film.html

The Monday Night
Persuasion, Propaganda, and Paranoia
Film Series

Both as a way for students in Rushkoff's 'Technologies of Persuasion' class
to view required films, and as a way to expose the wider community to some
interesting movies about technology, media, and madness, we'll be screening
movies most Monday evenings at ITP at 6:30pm. (Schedule subject to change.)
Note - only movies with * are required viewing for Persuasion students.
.....
Monday October 17. *Power of Nightmares, Part 1 and 2
In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares. The Power of Nightmares is a highly controversial BBC documentary that assesses whether the threat from a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion.

Monday October 24. Power of Nightmares, Part 3

Rushkoff has to maintain his appearances on Nationalist Propaganda Radio and PBS and umpteen Operation Mockingbird venues and for contracts with Fortune 500 companies and even the United Nations.
http://rushkoff.com/bio.html

If he told the truth, he wouldn't be marketable. None of that glory in the loving arms of the Powers That Be.
Why, he'd become...just another Alex Constantine!
And Rushkoff is waaaay too smart to let his luminescent media genius be hid under a bushel at this stage in his career with all those doors opened to him.

"Silly racist jingoist American hegemonists and their silly facts. The idea that CIA would do such things - outrageous!"


Funny how similar Rushkoff's high-brow crap is to Penn's low-brow crap.
Gee, now why might that be?$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[professorpan]

Hugh, again and again you smear human beings for the simple reason that they disagree with you. You show no willingness to consider that the targets of your derision might be ethical, intelligent, and informed -- if they don't buy your brand of "truth," well, they must be complicit, sell-outs, or otherwise compromised.

That is how zealots characterize those they disagree with. For all your screaming of "ad hominem!" you are the board's most frequent user of that tactic.

You don't know Rushkoff, yet you have no qualms about bashing his integrity. You could email him and ask him about his beliefs, but that would require work, which you seem to be allergic to. And it would also require that you consider the idea that someone with different beliefs might actually be sincere and -- god forbid! -- might have some valid reasons for disagreeing with your worldview.

It's a stupid, counterproductive tactic, and I wish you would put it to rest.

[Hugh Manatee Wins]

Hugh, again and again you smear human beings for the simple reason that they disagree with you. .....

I'm I typing in invisible ink?

Rushkoff called 9/11 Truthers "racist American hegemonists."
Address Rushkoff's smear, Mr. Manners.

And square it with the fact that he is an expert in psy-ops and uses the movie 'The Power of Nightmares' in his teaching and covers up CIA cocaine history and is the darling of Operation Mockingbird since he can talk about psy-ops as just marketing, etc.

I didn't even go into all his ties, books, and implied agenda to stay out of a quagmire that this board falls into constantly. I'd rather that anyone ELSE ready to do the work will examine Rushkoff for themselves. Closely.

[professorpan]

In retrospect, I was too kind to Hugh in the post above.

I consider Douglas a friend. He's been very helpful to me, both intellectually and by helping me connect with people in the publishing world. He is a very kind and genuine human being with impeccable integrity.

So, Hugh, you're lying about someone I know and respect -- a friend. If you want to keep it up, I think I'd happily forgo my moderator status to tell you what I really think of your anonymous trashing of other human beings.

So go ahead -- keep it up. Make my day

[Hugh Manatee Wins]

In retrospect, I was too kind to Hugh in the post above.

I consider Douglas a friend. He's been very helpful to me, both intellectually and by helping me connect with people in the publishing world. .....

Thanks for your honesty on that.
You have a personal professional financial vested interest in Rushkoff's reputation.

No wonder you won't address Rushkoff's grossly deceptive (and obviously professionally deployed) SMEAR and playing stupid on CIA cocaine.

Now I know what to expect more of.

[FourthBase]

Rushkoff just doesn't make sense here, I can't fathom how an intelligent man could genuinely express the following:

And that’s where I suspect all this theorizing really takes us: to the heart of a racist jingoism worse even than the triumphalism justifying our foreign policy to begin with. They can’t bring themselves to accept that our big bad government can really be so swiftly outfoxed by a dozen relatively untrained Arab guys. And rather than go there, they’d prefer to maintain the myth of American hegemony.

Look, I'm as critical of truther zealotry as anyone, but Rushkoff is just way, way, way off there -- and IMO over the line. Hugh has just about as much right to be offended by that as Rushkoff would have about Hugh's lazy smears. Hugh, how about you take some fucking initiative and email the guy.

[IanEye]

Hugh, I have to admit that I am confused about something.

Do you not like the documentary 'The Power of Nightmares' itself?

Or are you saying there is something suspect about the way this Rushkoff guy uses it in his class?

Personally, I thought 'The Power of Nightmares' was a good doc and it uses a lot of Brian Eno as soundtrack music, can't beat that.....