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Page added on March 12, 2015
Putin eats babies: lies, damned lies, and psyops
I distinctly remember one day when I was – maybe – twelve; when my father saw me reading something that was lavishly illustrated with red flags and with hammers and sickles. He looked at that, very worried, then he relaxed. “Oh…, ” he said, “that’s fine: it is our propaganda.” At that time, in the 1960s, my father was active in politics and the house was full of pamphlets of the Christian Democratic party.
What I was reading was one of those pamphlets, full of vivid images of the deformed faces of Soviet communists crushing women and children under their booted feet. Those papers have disappeared from the house long ago, but examples of that old propaganda are easy to find on the Internet. You can see one on the right; it is an image that goes back to 1944, but the style and the message are the same of the time when the cold war was in full swing. Note how the caption says “Dad, save me!” echoing the well known slogan that “communists eat children”.
Of course, also the other side, that of the communists, was using the same kind of naive propaganda methods and neither side seemed to think there was something wrong with that. My father, for instance, found natural and legitimate that his political side would openly engage in propaganda. It was “our” propaganda, fighting for us in the political struggle, just as “our” artillery was fighting for us in war. In a war, nobody would claim that the guns on their side were shooting flowers at the enemy.
It was only in later times that propaganda changed its face. The term never disappeared from usage, but it peaked in the 1960s and then it fell out of fashion, at least in the sense that it became politically incorrect to say that one’s faction was using propaganda. It was only something used by “them,” not by us. “Our” side would never debase itself by using propaganda.
In part, the term “propaganda” was replaced by more neutral terms, such as “consensus building” and “public relations.” In large part, however, in the West, propaganda went undercover; fully exploiting Baudelaire’s observation that “the finest trick of the devil is to persuade you that he does not exist.” It became refined, unobtrusive, subtle. And it was incredibly successful in convincing Westerners that it didn’t exist – maybe for a while it even disappeared for real! Perhaps it wasn’t needed any more during the period of Fukuyama’s “End of History,” when everybody got genuinely convinced that the collapse of the “evil empire”, the Soviet Union, had shown the superiority of economic liberism. At that time, everyone knew that we just needed to sit down and relax to enjoy the goods that free markets would bring to us. There was no need any more to be told over and over that our enemies were dangerous, baby-eating monsters.
But, in recent times, something has changed. Propaganda is back with a vengeance. Here is just an example:
You see? No matter how you see the recent crisis in Ukraine, you have to admit that, in terms of propaganda, we are back to the methods of the 1950s and the 1960s, just a bit more sophisticated in graphical terms, but still based on the same simple theme: our enemies are baby-killing evil monsters. Note how, in the image, they have managed to put the image of a child close to the title, “Putin’s killed my son,” even though they are completely unrelated stories (that shows, incidentally, the contempt they feel for their readers.)
We are not yet arrived to accusing Vladimir Putin of eating babies, but – as things stand – we may not be far away from that. Look at the image, here, titled “Bloodymir;” where Putin is shown with blood on his mouth, as if he had just finished his breakfast of child meat. And these are just a few examples of the new wave of propaganda that is invading the Western media. It is amazing how these simple tricks worked in the 1950s and 1960s and still seem to work today. And it seems that they are being used to take us straight to a new war.
We can see propaganda as one of the several failed technologies of the 20th century, just like nuclear powered cars and weekend trips to the Moon for the whole family. Propaganda never promised to take us to the Moon, but, at the beginning it, was touted as a way to build informed consensus in a democratic society. That was the theme, at least, of Edward Bernays’ 1928 book, titled “Propaganda,” where he stated that that propaganda is not just good, but essential for democracy: “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.”
Evidently, something went wrong with these ideas. In its commercial version, propaganda became an instrument to convince us to buy things we don’t need, while, as a political tool, it turned itself into the evil form we call today “psyops,” the deliberate dissemination of lies to cast an enemy in a bad light. It is a form of black magic; powerful but extremely limited and often backfiring. Psyops can only create enemies, not friends. In the end, the effect is the opposite of what it was supposed to do in Bernay’s times: by casting an external or internal opponent as “evil”, consensus is destroyed, not created.
Nevertheless, Bernays had a good point: we need consensus. Of course, we don’t need the forced uniformity that can be achieved by a dictatorship, but, without consensus on some basic points, it would not be possible to keep a democratic society going. The rule of the law, the need of due process, people’s basic rights, are all part of this consensus. And there never was a moment as today in which we are so badly in need of consensus on such vital subjects as climate change and resource depletion which threaten the very existence of human civilization. But we are not achieving a significant consensus on these critical issues; what passes for “debate,” today, is a sterile clash of absolutes were psyops have been used with great effect to destroy the credibility of a whole generation of climate scientists.
So, we are stuck: we need to manage a planet, but we don’t know how to do it. Will we ever be able to find an agreement on something important that doesn’t involve hating or bombing someone? Maybe there are ways, but we haven’t found them, yet
23 Comments on "Putin eats babies: lies, damned lies, and psyops"
peakyeast on Thu, 12th Mar 2015 7:41 pm
The article says: The term seems to have been most popular in the early 1960
The graph in the article says 1940.
Makati1 on Thu, 12th Mar 2015 9:18 pm
War propaganda surfaced in the first world war, and has become pervasive since 9/11. If you watch enough historical videos of the wars, you can see it being used constantly to keep the masses interested in dying for their leaders power dreams.
I have lived through all of the ‘wars’ since WW2. Never have I heard so much blatant lying to the world as I have read and heard from the UFSA since 9/11. No one has to make up lies about the atrocities committed by Americans since then. They are in the news daily. The “American Dream” is dead of suicide by sloth and greed. The world is finally noticing the foul smell…
Plantagenet on Thu, 12th Mar 2015 9:26 pm
The blood on Putin’s chin isn’t from eating babies. Its from invading Ukraine and killing Ukrainians.
Tom on Thu, 12th Mar 2015 9:38 pm
In Ukraine, both sides are engaged in killing each other. Who is the good killer and who is the bad killer? And who are the parties on either side that keep the killing going?
Apneaman on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 12:28 am
And the blood on Lil Planter’s chin is from constantly shoving his foot in and out of his mouth.
Apneaman on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 1:37 am
So little effort is put into lying to the American public. It is kindergarten level stuff…..and it works. Bob, where is that long list of state dept/CIA “interventions” you posted a while back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frO1T3vZNrA
Davy on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 5:28 am
The anti-Americans are almost as bad as the global evil running the west for profit. Choosing to adopt the evil globalist’s selective use of facts and hyper descriptive distortions is playing their game. A game you cannot win at lease while BAU is strong. You choose to dirty yourself in the mud pit with them. I do the same with you all so I am no better.
I guess bad blood will destroy bad blood. You can choose acceptance or fight and die. Does it really matter? yes and no. Yes on the level there are higher values in the search for the truth unclouded by emotions of hatred, resentment, and blood lust. No in that either way we are going to die with none of us knowing what death is.
So I say to you anti-Americans here “givem hell boys” if it satisfies you but you show your lower level of humanity. This will be a race to the bottom of the worst of human nature before the better can stabilize. It will resemble the French revolution at some point. The extremism will be met with extremism. That is a vicious cycle that only ends in death and destruction. Since we have to reduce population anyway, have at it boys and enjoy those most enjoyable lower human values.
Apneaman on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 6:15 am
The current neocon’s (we can win a limited nuclear war) can probably only be stopped by other Americans. Some say they are just playing chicken, but I don’t think so. Even if they were…people have died playing chicken. One simple human error while playing chicken with nukes and we will never get to worry about a crashed economy, peak oil and climate change. Didn’t you say something a while back about how you probably should not comment until your coffee kicks in?;)
Davy on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 6:41 am
Last I saw Ape friend the Mafioso Russia and Chinese Neo-communistsas have NUK’s (LOTS), have global ambitions, corrupt society, and corrupt leaders. So they are a “C” hair away from the same league as the Neo-con devils in DC, Ottawa, London, and globally.
So, yes, I had my dose of coffee and I clearly see you are pissing on yourself because a hypocritical wind is blowing. I always know when I touch someone’s deeper emotions because they respond. I call that baiting. We bait down here in the low class Hoosier Ozarks.
So Ape, I have said numerous times I like you and your hard hitting comments and fun YouTubes. I even bought a book recommendation “TechNofix”. Friend recognize the game you are playing. Acknowledge your hypocrisy and your dabbling in the lower levels of our evolutionary dead end large brain. I do it but I am admitting I am a hypocrite and a proselytizer of doom.
Yet, on second thought you do admit being anti-American and I respect that. Honesty goes a long way in my book. We are on the same page Ape on most subjects. Even the anti-Americanism. You, Greg and I are pro-North American anti North American establishment. We know the evil of DC and Ottawa is dated. BAU’s decay will render them impotent. Something new and local will develop at lease initially in the vacuum.
I just enjoy stirring up a hornets nest to make sure the hypocrisy, delusionalism, and agendist whores stay in check. Their shit stinks as bad as the DC crooks but it still stinks. The scat is just a smaller pile. Nothing stinks more than the Makster and his Asian Phoenix fantasies. How’s that friend for the mornin joe Ape?
BobInget on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 10:51 am
The recent Putin vanishing act has people
speculating ‘who can replace him ?’
U.S. President Barack Obama’s schedule is always posted on his official site, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s website keeps up a steady stream of news about her public appearances. Their spokespeople don’t try to hide it when they suddenly feel ill or have a sore throat. Only a dictator is secretive about his bouts of flu.
Putin’s office have been clumsy in this latest
cover-up. Makes a person believe he is up to something big.
If western leaders pass into that ‘long sleep’ that awaits, there are proper superseding mechanisms in place.
In ‘cult of personality’ dictatorships
succession is rather more secretive .
Naturally, I would believe there is a connection here between a two plus %
drop in overnight oil prices, the up-coming week-end and Putin’s machinations.
I’ve been predicting this sort of “crisis precipitation” for weeks. Given events in
the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Putin
must believe it’s high time he ‘took charge’.
Stay tuned.
J-Gav on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 11:46 am
Plant – Still don’t get it,do you?
Invading Ukraine? Could you perhaps present some evidence? Could the US or NATO with all their satellite images? Euh, yes they could, but they don’t, why?
Because there isn’t any.
There are probably about 20,000 Russian soldiers across the border of eastern Ukraine. No invasion-type equipment of these troops has been reported, at least verifiably. If I were the leader of Russia, that corresponds pretty much to the measures I would have taken when confronted with people who bring neo-Nazis into their governing bodies, since Russia lost 20 million people to these assholes in WWII!
If the morons in DC and NATO aren’t made to back off pretty soon, your neo-con friends might yet actually be capable of fomenting a major conflagration. Nobody talks about the fact that in the Baltic States there have recently been joint NATO-local military manoeuvers 300 yards from the Russian border. I guess that’s just the normal course of business for you, eh?
Apneaman on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 1:41 pm
Davy I’m happy to hear you enjoyed or found Techno-Fix informative. I thought it added extra emphasis to the argument because it was coming from a highly successful German engineer and scientists. Almost every single author, journalists and historian who has informed me on America and the ongoing history of criminality of the American empire is a born and bred American. I have always suspected they were driven by an outrage that their government was using their tax dollars to commit crimes mostly for the benefit of the 1%. They are probably pissed at their fellow citizens who support such aggression and perplexed by the otherwise intelligent minority that see the reality of empire, yet still fall prey to irrational in-group emotion AKA- blind patriotism.
Davy on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 2:37 pm
Apeman you mean this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK1ZaS6mcBc
Apneaman on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 3:44 pm
I’m not sure if I would consider Trump a patriot; more like a parasite, like these supposed representatives of the American people. Isn’t treason punishable by death?
47 Felons in the US Senate
http://www.dailyimpact.net/2015/03/12/47-felons-in-the-us-senate/
There are no democracies anymore. On a subconscious they know it’s over and they are scrambling to grab all they can while they can. The 1% will eat the 99% to kick the can a little further – there is no real plan just grasping and clawing for the last of the pie.
Davy on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 4:12 pm
Sorry Ape, it was supposed to be this youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk5HQxpUz_o
Apneaman on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 4:47 pm
I remember that night. I saw some of the reactions on college campuses by the future leaders of America. It was a very sad and surreal moment for me. That sort of thing was considered tasteless and barbaric when we were that age Davy. It was necessary to get Bin Laden (imprison or kill) but to see a necessary evil celebrated like a Superbowl win made me speechless (that has not happened very often). That hate just keeps growing all over this world. I do not see much diplomacy and compromise in our future.
Davy on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 5:00 pm
Yea, Ape, we are very close to Nurenberg rallies. Very fine line between sports game and a war rally.
Dredd on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 5:06 pm
The greatest propagandist, according to the premier NAZI propagandist, was American Edward L. Bernays (The Father of Spin).
Apneaman on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 5:59 pm
Austrian-American.
A lot of really bad ideas came out of Vienna in the late 19th-early 20th century.
GregT on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 8:32 pm
“‘We poked Russian bear with a stick, unsurprisingly Putin reacted’
“The notion of building up an EU army to counter Russia was the brainchild of European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker. Farage quickly noted that the idea is already happening, despite many European leaders being against it.”
“He went on to say that the EU was the catalyst for the conflict in eastern Ukraine, due to its territorial expansion.”
““We do not want any part of an EU army and I doubt the peoples of Europe do either,” he added.
http://rt.com/uk/239877-eu-army-farage-russia/
Davy on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 9:01 pm
Greg, the EU is barely together now considering the Greek problem. Germany is separating from the south in spirt and eventually I see a physical separation.
The EU is an idea that works great with a growing pie. In a contracting world the EU is far too complex to maneuver the many traps a diversity of nation states carries with them. A European Army is more of that unreality.
Most European nations can barely field and fund their own armies but some bureaucrat thinks they can make a European army. I bet Putin is delighted with that proposal. He is a fox and knows a meal when he see it.
GregT on Fri, 13th Mar 2015 11:54 pm
Davy,
So perhaps Farage is correct. War is not the answer. Maybe we should stop allowing our elite to kill other people to maintain their control, and start demanding cooperation and peace?
Davy on Sat, 14th Mar 2015 6:49 am
Greg, when has peace ever had a chance with civilized man? Never? What we need is an end of civilized man. Or uncivilized man that believes himself civilized. Is brutal, exploitive, uneducated (spiritually), inequality, and unsustainable civilized? Hell no! That is a shortish of a longish list. We need a “man” that is in a more harmonious semi-nomadic small AG, light hunting, small pastoralist, and natural gathers in small bands of families, tribes, and small communities. We need matriarchal based tribes and natural spiritualists that are nature oriented. Peoples that shun conflict and exploitation because that is not survival based and survival is a difficult proposition in any historic era.
Maybe the constant reminder of the death and destruction of modern man will profoundly change this new awakened man. That is possible why not? The near total destruction of our ecosystem, near total depletion of resources, and suicidal nature of our species points to this possibility. Civilized man is incapable of peace. Man in small groups in relatively stable locals has that potential. Man with population and consumption stability has that potential.
Sure there is historic peripheral skirmishes by these type peoples but by and large territorial continuity has been shown in many historical cases. Native Americans (pre whites) are a great example. Men will always have a need to test their skills in battles but the conquest we see with so called civilized societies is a different animal. I know I am generalizing and romanticizing but this points to a new but old reality of man. I have no idea what is coming but a return of man to what his primary evolution was geared to his evolutionary DNA is a likely scenario. Extinction cannot be ruled out but if there is survival for postmodern man this could be a window into that survival.
Global man is dead in my mind. Civilized agricultural man is likely dead with a destabilized climate and destroyed agricultural resources of soil, water, and pre-modern man technological effectiveness. Agriculture and food is the foundational basis of civilized man. It is apparent that food resource base at the level needed to support civilized man is a dead man walking. Geological and meteorological acquiescence rules not man’s perceived exceptionalism of technology and knowledge.
If one has ever read the deep cultural and spiritual connection the Native Americans had you would understand this profoundly better arrangement. I have 50 or so significant worlds on the history and spirituality of the Osage peoples as my example of a sustainable people in the Ozarks of Missouri. I would sell my soul to go back to their world. They are so far ahead of us in sustainability and resilience there is no comparison with any so called civilized society.
These people had a natural orientation, a tribal purpose for each individual, a spoken history and knowledge. The old men and old women had purpose as much as the young and the strong. The old carried on the oral history and skill base. Sure there was the short lives and brutal elements of existence but tell me we don’t have that now. We are just deluded by our exceptionalism and think we live like gods compared to this type man. We are so far up our own asses with delusions and fantasies it is hilarious. Unreality is what it is and that is comedy.