War State Smog Of War: Silencing, Simplification & Outright Lies
Only Thing You Can Count On: They Are Lying To You
Cartoon by Mark Taylor / DeMOCKracy.ink
Last week Pres. Joe Biden made a near tearful reference to having just seen photos of 40 decapitated babies from the Hamas terror attack on Israel. He was echoing unconfirmed reports tracked back to one soldier. The Israeli government has refused to confirm the report. There were no photos. Never mind the issue of truth, the story thundered through the corporate media and continues to ricochet across social media.
For those who remember, passions were manipulated in favor of H.W. Bush’s 1991 Gulf War invasion of Iraq with completely fabricated testimony to congress by a young 15 year-old girl named Nayirah al-Shabah about Iraqi troops throwing babies out of hospital incubators to die on the floor. Americans were apoplectic and beat the drums of war.
It eventually came out Nayirah al-Shabah was actually the 15 year-old daughter of Saud Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States and her whole tale had been fabricated and rehearsed by a DC public relations firm. Americans suckered, again.
This stuff is nothing new.
When Pres. Woodrow Wilson pivoted away from his campaign pledge to “keep us out of war” and instead pushed the country into World War I at the behest of Wall Street bankers fearful of losing money they had loaned Britain if Germany won, part of the PR campaign included tales of German soldiers bayoneting defenseless babies.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) has made a sweaty call for “A war to end all wars.”
Just like Pres. Wilson promised over a century ago.
We saw the same kind of lying with the Cheney/Bush wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and later the Hillary/Obama war on Libya. All three were total, money-sucking strategic and human rights failures … though Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing and other American blood merchants profited nicely off the war crimes. As G.W. Bush Jr. would proclaim: Mission Accomplished!
America’s wars are not about protecting babies or some American Legion handout version of American (mockery of) Democracy. These wars are about oil, gas, rare earth minerals, trade routes, corporate profit, cheap labor and a fourth vacation estate for some Wall Street banker. That’s it. It’s a scam.
As we enter World War III (factcheck: It’s begun) keep in mind during times of war, half of what the government tells you is a lie. Half of the other half are lies as well. What remains are rumor, guesses, fear mongering, nonsense, unsubstantiated conjecture and, yes … lies.
Young people, charge up your BS detectors and stay clear of military recruiters. If you want to know why, talk to a veteran of our recent wars for corporate profit in Iraq and Afghanistan. You’d be far more likely to kill a baby than save one. Whatever they are telling you about why you need to enlist, keep in mind: It’s a lie.
Read on for examples of White House, War Department and corporate media BS.
Mark Taylor
DeMOCKracy.ink
“The moral certitude of the state in wartime is a kind of fundamentalism. And this dangerous messianic brand of religion, one where self-doubt is minimal, has come increasingly to color the modern world of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”
― Chris Hedges, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning (2002)
When The US Media Silences One Side's Suffering, More Death & War Follow
By Any Goodman and Dennis Moynihan
Democracy Now! (10/12/23)
As Israel intensifies its brutal response to Hamas’ brutal October 7th attack, it is important to hear from those at the target end of the weapons – from both sides of the conflict. The mainstream media in the United States consistently brings us the voices of Israelis who have suffered violence at the hands of Hamas gunmen. Let that be a model for coverage of Palestinian grief. We rarely hear from Palestinian civilians. Hearing people speak for themselves is the first step to breaking down barriers, to fostering understanding that can lead to a just peace. …
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/10/12/as_israel_levels_gaza_the_us
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The Crucial, Missing Context Of Israel’s War On Gaza
Al Jazera ‘The Listening Post’ (10/14/23)
What we are seeing in the occupied Gaza Strip and Israel has no precedent - the barbarism, the talk of vengeance, the war crimes. And the signs, all too familiar ones, of journalists succumbing to the pressures under the powers that be. In this special episode, we delve into the news coverage of the war in Palestine and Israel. We examine the narratives that have emerged since Hamas’s surprise attack - a seismic news event that is destined to take ownership of the date on which it happened - October 7, 2023.
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Not All Online Videos Of The Israel-Hamas War Are Real. Here's How To Spot A Fake
Media experts share the red flags of cheap fakes, deepfakes and misattributed clips.
By Anna Rahmanan
HuffPost (10/13/23)
A barrage of videos has taken over social media feeds following Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel recently.
Unfortunately, though, a plethora of clips aren’t necessarily telling the stories they seem to be at first glance. Some of the videos are entirely fabricated, others slightly modified to speak to a specific narrative, and a number of others misattributed, showcasing scenes that might have happened in real life but not in connection with this specific set of atrocities. …
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-spot-fake-videos-social-media_l_65294a23e4b03ea0c004d50d
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HISTORY LESSON: How False Testimony & Deceptive U.S. Propaganda Machine Bolstered George H.W. Bush’s War On Iraq
Democracy Now! (9/5/18)
We look at the way U.S. media facilitated the war on Iraq with journalist John “Rick” MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine and the author of the book “Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War”.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/12/5/how_false_testimony_and_a_massive