Manipulating Us Into Believing We Have a Choice

Source: Phantom Report

When a voter is asked by a Corporate reporter which candidate they are going to cast their vote. The voters response is, “ I am voting for the politician who aligns with my beliefs, my views and my way of life”. They are not aligned to their candidate by any belief, any view or any way of life. They are programmed by a bombardment of corporate media psyops convincing them into believing they have choice. Audiences have no choice. The sub-conscious landscape of their minds have been manipulated, persuaded and influenced to ultimately alter their emotions, decisions and reasoning. Governments, corporations, globalist and elitist want to dismantle choice, decry individualism and create a collective of subordinates.

Source: Penumbral Report 

Why Do We Believe What We Believe?

There are perhaps many reasons why we hold the beliefs we do.  The education we’ve received, the homes in which we were raised, the experiences we’ve had, and the people we’ve met – often randomly – all contribute to shape our worldviews.   However, we also cannot escape the fact that we live in a media-saturated environment and that corporations, political leaders, governments, religions and media outlets are all very savvy in understanding this reality and more importantly they all excel at using various forms of “perception management” to gain power and control over us.

And, we find ourselves locked in a two-party system where the status quo is maintained even though that status quo doesn’t work for the vast majority of us.  It is doubtful that much will be different regardless of the outcome of the current election cycle here in the United States.  At the margins perhaps there will be some small differences in policy between an Obama administration and a Romney administration just as there were some small differences at the margins between the Bush administration and the current one.  But, the influence of Wall Street will continue unabated, just as we will have continued military misadventures abroad, an expansion of the bi-partisan surveillance state, a continuation of the failed policy called the Drug War, continuing and growing deficits, and a continuation of the standard of living for most American even though nearly all of us agree that these are not the things we want.

US, Britain, France Up for War

Source: Voice of Russia

The United States, Britain and France have begun to deploy troops in the Gulf in a move which experts say suggests preparations for a war with Iran. The first strikes could be carried out at the beginning of the summer, media reports say. 

According to reports, troops are arriving at Masirah Island in Oman which is located south of the Strait of Hormuz where a US air base is deployed. Two American strike groups are currently stationed in the Gulf. Some reports say that the grouping will be reinforced with one more aircraft carrier, the  destroyer Momsen and the nuclear submarine Annapolis. The US is also enhancing its presence in Israel and Kuwait. British troops and troops from the United Arab Emirates have been arriving in Saudi Arabia. The main target is Iran, whose nuclear program has long been an issue of particular concern in the West. Reports leaked out into the press that hundreds of penetration bombs capable of destroying heavily fortified underground bunkers have been delivered to an American base on the British Island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.  

The Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for the transportation of Gulf oil to regions across the world, serves as yet another pretext for going into open confrontation. Tehran has threatened to block it, and the allies are getting ready to strike if it keeps its word. However, none of the countries involved is prepared for war, Vladimir Sazhin of the Institute of Oriental Studies, says.

"All countries involved in this conflict are facing domestic problems. An election race has got under way in the US. Parliamentary elections in Iran have been set for March 2nd, and presidential elections have been scheduled for the summer of 2013. France’s presidential elections are just round the corner, and Europe as a whole is too preoccupied with its own economic problems to handle another war."

However, a concentration of military forces in the Gulf creates an explosive situation in the region. One accidental shot would be enough to trigger fire on both sides. If that happens, Vladimir Sazhin says, the allies will have a clear advantage.

Scientists Create Computer that Reads Thoughts and Puts Them into Words

Source: Natural Society
Andre Evans

Scientists have recently developed a complex process that allows them to seemingly decode and depict our brain activity as language.

Neuroscientists at University of California Berkeley used a technique where they monitored the brain activity of individuals as they listened to words being spoken. As the subjects listened to the words being spoken, a computer program analyzed brain activity in the temporal lobe, and how the brain interpreted and recreated specific words or sounds.

Using the information from this brain activity, scientists were able to ‘synthesize’ the actual sound, using the sounds themselves to determine what the words are. With more work and refining, this process could be used to effectively interpret thoughts of an individual and translate them into some understandable form of language.

This form of technology has a two-fold implication. On the one hand, this would prove to be incredibly useful for those with neurological diseases, physical impairment of speech (via smoking or otherwise) or brain damage, who have trouble speaking due to their injuries. This would effectively provide a medium for them to communicate effectively regardless of any impairment.

On the other hand, this has major negative implications for human relations and situations. If it were to progress to a true mind-reading level, it would threaten the integrity of human thought and individualism altogether. View the video below:

It’s reminiscent of some science fiction scenario, in which ‘thought crimes’ exist — the very nature of thinking about committing a crime or undesirable action. Man having the power to invade another man’s mind is hardly fair or acceptable, regardless of the circumstances. This influence could turn human relations into a controlled and predictable scheme where the individual would have no freedom of thought.

Russia and China Oppose West-backed Resolution on Syria

Source: The Hindu
Atul Aneja

Amid high drama at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Russia and China have spiritedly opposed a European-Arab draft that seeks to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as the first step towards the establishment of democracy in the troubled Arab nation.

Citing the principle of sovereignty and advocating a peaceful internal dialogue, Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin said during an animated debate on Tuesday that there were alternative ways to end the bloodshed in Syria other than by the eviction of Mr. Assad by foreign powers through the U.N. route.

Questioning the legality of the proposed resolution, Mr. Churkin said the UNSC did not have the mandate to interfere in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. “The Council cannot prescribe ready recipes for the outcome of domestic political processes. It is not in the [U.N.] Charter”. Mr. Churkin warned that the U.N.'s intrusion into the internal affairs of a country would set a dangerous precedent. “Then you will start telling what king needs to resign and what Prime Minister needs to step down. This is not the business of the Security Council.”

Observers say the Russians are apprehensive that if validated, the principle of U.N. interventionism in internal conflicts can be used to target them if the domestic situation in Russia deteriorates for some reason.

Fear and Loathing in the American Gulf

Source: Asia Times
Pepe Escobar

Persian Gulf? Khaleej-e-Fars? Forget it; time to call it the American Gulf - to the delight of the vultures, jackals and hyenas of war, Israeli and Anglo-American. The House of Saud wouldn't be too displeased either.

So much for the Pentagon's "pivoting" strategy from the Middle East to East Asia - recently announced by United States President Barack Obama. The confrontation against China starts in Southwest Asia - in the American Gulf; and goes way beyond Washington cheerleading the hardcore Sunni sectarian killers of Jundallah in Iran's Sistan-Balochistan province, Israeli Mossad agents posing as US Central Intelligence Agency operatives, serial assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, computer viruses, and ludicrous accusations of Tehran helping al-Qaeda and vice-versa. 

MOP it all up
Time to review the evidence. In roughly one month, no less than three US aircraft carriers and their strike groups will be sloshing around the American Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea; the USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Carl Vinson and USS Enterprise, plus good ol' French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. And yet one more Pacific-based US aircraft carrier can be swiftly dispatched.

Apart from this naval hajj of US aircraft carrier groups, the 40-year-old USS Ponce is being retrofitted into a special ops amphibious hub - to be dispatched to the American Gulf.

The Pentagon's CENTCOM is fast upgrading the 14,000-kilogram Orwellian bunker-buster monster known as Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP), theoretically capable of taking out Iran's underground nuclear installations.

A certain Bipartisan Policy Center's National Security Project - one of those myriad revolving doors in Washington mixing politicians and military-complex types - wants to give Israel some 200 additional MOPs and three KC-135 aerial refueling tankers to "increase the credibility of a military strike" against Iran.

DEBKA-Net is a digital front for Israeli propaganda/disinformation - so it's essentially untrustworthy. But its latest bombast deserves scrutiny. DEBKA is peddling that the Pentagon is in fast and furious mode in two strategic islands; the paradisiacal Socotra, 380 kilometers southeast of Yemen (where the Pentagon has been building a giant base since 2010); and Camp Justice in Masirah, 70 km south of the Strait of Hormuz, in Oman.

Experts Say Gingrich Moon Base Dreams not Lunacy

Source: Sci-Tech Today

At a recent debate in Florida, Newt Gingrich promised that "by the end of my second term we will have the first permanent base on the moon." Sound far out? Actually, the idea of returning to the moon and building an outpost there is not new. Until three years ago, it was U.S. policy and billions of dollars were spent on that idea.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich wants to create a lunar colony that he says could become a U.S. state. There's his grand research plan to figure out what makes the human brain tick. And he's warned about electromagnetic pulse attacks leaving America without electricity. 

To some people, these ideas sound like science fiction. But mostly they are not. 

Several science policy experts say the former House speaker's ideas are based in mainstream science. But somehow, Gingrich manages to make them sound way out there, taking them first a small step and then a giant leap further than where other politicians have gone. 

Gingrich's promise that "by the end of my second term we will have the first permanent base on the moon" got amped up in a recent debate in Florida, which lost thousands of jobs with the end of the space shuttle program. By then, the lunar base had become a colony and even a potential state, and his moon ideas were ridiculed by rival Mitt Romney. 

Returning to the moon and building an outpost there is not new. Until three years ago, it was U.S. policy and billions of dollars were spent on that idea.

Staying on the moon dates at least to 1969, when a government committee recommended that NASA first build a winged, reusable space shuttle followed by a space station and then a moon outpost. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush proposed going to the moon and staying there. 

Drones for Peace, Scary Charts, Morality Pills - New World Next Week

Source: Corbett Report and Media Monarchy

Welcome back to http://NewWorldNextWeek.com – the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week:

Corbett Report Radio - Around the World with Michael Vail

Source: Corbett Report
James Corbett

Tonight, the Corbett Report breaks down all the latest news from around the globe with Michael Vail of StratRisks.com. From global geopolitics and the great game to inner space and our sci-fi reality, StratRisks is a thoughtfully curated archive of news and open-source intelligence.

 

Works Cited:

US Intelligence: India may be drawn into ‘limited war’ with China
‘Great power’ politics making a comeback in the Middle East
The Dangerous Idea of NATO Expansion Will Not Die
Smaller ‘stans fret at Russia’s dominance
Are We Ready for a ‘Morality Pill’?
DNA Hackers: Synthetic biology weaponized virus, zero-day exploit to infect your brain?
U.S. to send floating base to Mideast for quick strikes
Who is Accountable when Drones Kill?

Google to Censor Blogger Blogs on a ‘Per Country Basis’

Source: Threat Level
David Kravets

Google has quietly announced changes to its Blogger free-blogging platform that will enable the blocking of content only in countries where censorship is required.

Twitter announced technology last week addressing the same topic. It said it had acquired the ability to censor tweets in the countries only where it was ordered removed, instead of on an internet-wide basis.

Twitter’s announcement via its blog sparked a huge online backlash. The microblogging service was accused of becoming a censoring agent.

Yet Google’s announcement three weeks ago — buried in a Blogger help page — went unnoticed until it was highlighted by TechDows on Tuesday.

Google wrote Jan. 9 it would begin redirecting Blogger traffic to country-specific URLs, meaning whatever country you’re in, you’ll get that country’s domain for Blogger-hosted blogs.

TechDows reports that this is now happening in India, for example. So when you’re there and click on a Blogger blog, the URL will end .in.

Doing that, Google wrote, means content can be removed “on a per country basis.”

“Migrating to localized domains will allow us to continue promoting free expression and responsible publishing while providing greater flexibility in complying with valid removal requests pursuant to local law,” Google wrote.

Twitter did not announce how its new technology functions, but said Twitter has the ability to remove tweets only in countries where that content was barred.