The Electronic Whorehouse

The Electronic Whorehouse

by Paul Sheehan

McMillan Australia (2003)

Although 15 years old, this book offers valuable historical insight into the major transformation of traditional media in the 21st century. Paul Sheehan is a columnist and former senior editor for for The Sydney Morning Herald. His book is pretty wide ranging. As a point of departure, he examines the simultaneous rise of Fox News and Alex Jones, just as total network news viewership dropped from 60 to 30%, with a comparable reduction in newspaper readership.

One of Sheehan’s most important points is that the rise of the Internet has ended exclusive control by politicians, bureaucrats, media executives and journalists over the flow of public information. A second relates to the role of Fox News in forging a divergence between the “cultural elite” (represented by the traditional TV networks and CNN) and “mainstreet.” In describing Fox News’ appeal to blue collar white workers and Christian evangelists (almost never reflected in network news coverage – despite representing 46% of the US population), Sheehan eerily foreshadows the Trump phenomenon and the battle currently being played out between Trump and heritage media.

Sheehan goes on to decry the growing blurring between news, opinion and entertainment, as well as the exponential growth of the public relations industry as the source of most western news.

His conservative political bias comes across loud and clear in his diatribe against so-called “economic” refugees*, who he claims cheat the asylum process, and antiglobalization protestors (like myself), who in his view are merely trade unions playing the system for higher wages.

Oh really? That’s news to me – and I’m sure to conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan, as well.

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*With the chaos the US and allies have inflicted on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, the distinction between “economic” and “political” refugees has become purely arbitrary. When the basic infrastructure of a society has been totally destroyed, the question of basic survival becomes even more acute than if a refugee has received actual death threats.

 

 

The CIA Operation to Dismiss Dissent as “Conspiracy Theory”

The Conspiracy Theory Conspiracy

Directed by Adam Green (2015)

Film Review

The Conspiracy Theory Conspiracy is about the US government psychological operations strategy of dismissing critics of government crimes as mentally unbalanced “conspiracy theorists.”

The documentary consists mainly of clips of corporate media pundits denouncing journalists, historians and social media activists who question the government’s official version of events. I haven’t watched the major TV networks in years and was shocked at some of the extremely bizarre denunciations – labeling dissident Americans as schizophrenic, mentally ill anarchists who drive people to violence and make life more miserable for everyone else.

Maintaining that the CIA has “weaponized” the term “conspiracy theory,” the film traces the origin of this psychological operation to a 1967 CIA memo to field agents dealing with CIA assets in the mainstream media. Filmmakers quote specific recommendations in the memo for techniques journalists should use to discredit scholars who were questioning the official version of the JFK assassination.

The film goes on to explain Operation Mockingbird, divulged during the Church Committee hearings in the mid-seventies, and Carl Bernstein’s 1977 expose (“The CIA and the Media”) in the Rolling Stone. Both sources thoroughly document the CIA’s history of paying editors, journalists and publishers across the media spectrum to publish government propaganda.

The filmmakers also feature excellent commentary by Abby Martin, Alex Jones, Charlie Sheen, George Carlin, Rosie O’Donnell, Jesse Ventura and Ed Asner challenging the government campaign to shut down all dissent by dismissing it as “conspiracy theory.”

The only weakness of the documentary is its failure to address the government strategy of “false sponsorship.” This is where government trolls invent extremely bizarre and contradictory “conspiracy theories” to compete with more credible critiques based on scientific or journalistic investigation. New World Order* “false sponsor” scenarios that incorporate antisemitic or apocalyptic narratives, talk about Wall Street plans to impose a socialist or communist world government, or accuse wealthy elites of being reptiles, demons and/or space aliens are examples of disinformation deliberately planted by intelligence trolls.

Over the past decade, the 9-11 Truth movement has also been heavily infiltrated by government agents disseminating extremely bizarre false sponsor scenarios.

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*The strongest neoliberal “new world order” advocates (Bill Clinton, Bush senior, Bush junior and Henry Kissinger) never define exactly what they mean beyond vague notions of world peace through greater global cooperation. In the film, former congressman Ron Paul gives the clearest explanation of what neoliberals mean by “new world order” by linking it to the loss of national sovereignty through pro-corporate free trade treaties such as NAFTA, the WTO and TPP.

Trump, Hitler and Right Wing Populism

Make America Hate Again

Reich Wing Watch (2016)

Film Review

Make America Hate Again, a documentary about Donald Trump’s right wing populism, likens his strong appeal for blue collar white men to that of Adolph Hitler. The film specifically examines the narcissistic personality disorder – the profound grandiosity, entitlement and absence of empathy – shared by both men. The filmmakers find it no accident that Trump enjoys the support of modern day white power supremacists and neo-Nazi fascists who idolize Hitler.

They also examine the appeal of racial scapegoating for white men struggling with profound fear and inadequacy in economically precarious times. As Hitler fomented irrational hatred of Jews to propel his rise to power, Trump foments irrational hatred of Muslims and #Blacklivesmatter activists.

The documentary includes great video footage of rabid Trump supporter Alex Jones foaming at the mouth, as well as audio footage of Michael Parenti lambasting mainstream politicians (and media) for concealing the link between capitalism and fascism.

In my view, the film’s major weakness is its failure to expand on this link. It makes brief mention of the German industrialists who financed Hitler’s rise to power. However it fails to mention the key role played by Wall Street corporations in the rise of Nazi Germany.

I was also disappointed by the documentary’s failure to examine the financial interests promoting Trump’s meteoric rise in the corporate media and public opinion polls.