View allAll Photos Tagged Disinformation

From Hollywood, California.

Some "new" power for the BNSF.

 

Remember reading these rebuilt CN SD40's would be captive to all lines east of Northtown. Didn't take long for that to become disinformation.

  

9-19-99

NO PRIVATE GROUPS Si en algún momento te ves identificado apareciendo en alguna de mis fotos y no quieres por los motivos que sean que tu imagen este publicada en la red , por favor comunícamelo por email y quitare inmediatamente la foto de mi galería Mi unica finalidad es plasmar o a veces transformar la realidad que nos rodea con el máximo respeto posible Correo electrónico:albertohendrix56@yahoo.es JENDRIX EN LA WEB flickriver-lb-1710691658.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com/phot... Jendrix56 in Instagram JENDRIX IN FACEBOOK in Spotify...Jendrix Garcia

 

JENDRIX EN LA WEB

www.flickriver.com/photos/24523071@N02/tags/jendrix56/

 

Jendrix56 in Instagram

JENDRIX IN FACEBOOK

in Spotify...Jendrix Garcia

Lying, dishonesty and political manipulation are nothing new. In the age of digital mass communication, however, these machinations have become endemic. The war in Ukraine is also a war of mis/information and this war is going on daily across all our media. Some of us may feel helpless when it comes to separating truth from falsehood. But we are not that helpless. Whenever we are confronted with a political message, we can ask one basic question: who is talking and what question is being asked (and, usually) answered? This will help to detect the “agenda” of the message, identify its argument and understand the claim that has been made. If we wish to go deeper into the analysis, we can try to identify also the underlying assumptions of the message, check the evidence that has been quoted and see whether or not the message makes sense. We are not that helpless. We can be skeptical and make distinctions. We can reject what is false and keep what is true.

HSS 😊😊😍

 

I know that AI has some beneficial qualities, and those I am delighted with. However, I am apprehensive about the harm it may cause.

 

With heartfelt thanks for your kind visit. Have a wonderful day, stay healthy, stay alert, appreciate the beauty around you, enjoy your creativity, stay safe, and laugh often! ❤️❤️❤️

  

None of my work is Ai assisted and is copyright Rg Sanders aka Ronald George Sanders.

While I was deciding the name for this, I started thinking about how the earth is curved and I was reminded of the Flat Earth Society. For anyone unfamiliar with this whole thing, there is a group of people who seriously believe not just that the earth is flat, but that there's an international conspiracy involving governments, media, the scientific establishment, educational institutions and airlines to fool us into believing the earth is a sphere. Despite over 2000 years of scientific consensus on the matter, not to mention countless sources of physical evidence and scientific measurements, flat earth societies began to form around the mid-twentieth century. The internet era has seen a resurgence of these beliefs, with platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter making it easy for individuals to spread disinformation and attract others to their ideas.

 

I find it staggering that people in the 21st century can be so scientifically uneducated and so easily persuaded. One might argue that it's all harmless, but the flat earthers claimed their first victim in February 2020 when Mike Hughes, an American limousine driver, daredevil and professed flat-earther, plunged to his death from several hundred feet while piloting his self-built steam-powered rocket. It was to be his last of several attempts to prove the earth was flat, but it went tragically wrong when the return parachute deployed prematurely and separated from the rocket. Utter madness!

 

Well I have digressed a little 😀

 

This is, of course, the Lady Chapel at York Minster. The Minster is the cathedral of York, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. After several centuries of building, it was completed and consecrated in 1472. The east end of the cathedral, including the Lady Chapel, was built between 1361 and 1405 in the Perpendicular Gothic style.

"The lowest form of popular culture - lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people's lives - has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage." -- Carl Bernstein

 

Things can get a "bit out of hand".

 

Now this is an A.I generated image created using "Google Gemini" - frighteningly easy to do - the only thing real is my face.

 

I know you never could trust a photograph, the old saying "the camera never lies" has always been wrong - but generating an image from virtually nothing is now staggeringly easy.

 

Misinformation, disinformation, fakes and damned lies. take care what you believe.

 

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/clydm5v2dp2t

Here the notes, DisinFormation is real, I still have all my marbles, so the spelling is correct😎

Of course this photo is a lie, the water doesn't exist! But one look at the news tells us bigger lies...

 

SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited

Joel 1:17 “Seeds dry up in the ground; no harvest is possible. Our barns are in bad shape, with no grain to store in them.”

 

Revelation 6:6 “I heard what sounded like a voice from somewhere among the four living creatures. It said, ‘A liter of wheat will cost you a whole day’s wages! Three liters of barley will cost you a day’s wages too. But don’t ruin the olive oil or the wine.’”

 

How many farms have went under in the last hundred years due to government red tape? How much farmland is now owned by corporations and billionaires? What about corporations like Monsanto and Bayer? The best grasslands in British Columbia are owned by an American billionaire. British Columbia doesn’t have much grassland. I am hoping to go camping in one of the grasslands next week.

 

Those who control the food supply will control the world.

Those who the money supply will control the world.

Those who control the information will control the world.

 

What are we told? We must fight misinformation and disinformation! We must introduce a new system of central bank digital currencies, digital IDs, social credit scores, and universal basic income. For the sake of climate change and your carbon footprint, you will have to cut down on meat. You can eat 3D printed meat or how about bugs!

 

The Book of Revelation: wars, famines, and plagues. Coming soon to a place near you!

 

© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved

 

Street photography from Glasgow, Scotland.

 

Facts matter.

 

The 'summer cold' you may be hearing about, especially with razorblade throat' symptoms is highly unlikely to be a cold or 'flu. It will most likely be Covid.

 

SARS-Cov-2 and Covid19 never went away. Testing diminished and reporting stopped. The deaths and long term damage did not stop.

 

Covid is airborne.

 

Social distancing and washing your hands will not protect you from Covid.

 

It will hang in the air, like smoke, for hours in an unventilated room.

 

You can catch it outside from people's breath.

 

Each infection increases your risk of developing permanent internal damage 'Long Covid'.

 

6 years of scientific data and over 500,000 peer reviewed studies published by the most illustrious and respected medical and scientific journals around the world show the extent of the damage that SARS2/Covid19 does to the body.

 

Just some of it includes lung scarring, vascular damage (the lining of your blood vessels), causes clots and micro-clots (strokes, heart attacks), brain damage in the form of 'brain fog' and 'cognitive deficit' where it actually reduces brain tissue mass and fuses brain cells together, and immune system damage in a similar way to HIV that leaves you open to greater impacts from other opportunistic viral, bacterial and fungal infections. This is the tip of the iceberg. Because of the way that SARS2 binds to and replicates within our cells it can cause damage to almost every single part of the body. Viral reservoirs of Covid have even been found in semen some 6 months post-infection. Covid is oncogenic too. It has been shown to accelerate and 'supercharge' some cancers.

 

Even mild and asymptomatic infection causes internal damage.

 

Lateral flow tests are unreliable. A positive result will always be correct but they produce a high percentage of false negatives because swabbing is not always done correctly and the test sensitivity is not high. You also need to test every day during your infection.

 

You are most infectious for two days before you even notice symptoms.

 

If you have lingering symptoms from an infection that was likely to be Covid, you have 'Long Covid'. The numbers are grossly undercounted as many people don't realise their ongoing issues are Long Covid. Despite that, new figures record over 6 million children in the USA have Long Covid. An estimated 400 million people worldwide.

 

You have a 10-25% chance of developing Long Covid with each infection. Unprotected you are likely catching Covid at least 3-4 times a year - rolling the dice every single time.

 

Deaths are grossly undercounted too. The estimated 23 million deaths worldwide is not even remotely close. Graphs show the extent of this. Excess deaths compared to pre-pandemic levels, deaths from heart attacks in working age people, strokes, pneumonia, cancer in younger age groups. All rising continuously since the start of the ongoing pandemic.

 

You can protect yourself.

 

Well fitting FFP2/3 (N95/N99) masks worn indoors and in crowded places are the best protection we have. Far-UVC light, filtration and ventilation indoors.

 

Surgical and cloth masks will do little to protect you and other people. They offer just a small degree of protection. Vaccination will reduce the risk of severe outcomes but it will not eliminate the risk.

 

Why do I share this from time to time?

 

Because I care.

 

Because I hate that disinformation and lies have dominated the discourse on Covid.

 

Because I don't want you to suffer Long Covid as I am.

 

I have just spent two weeks recovering from a single 3 hour photography trip into Glasgow during which I spent a lot of time sitting down and resting. I wanted to go into Glasgow today but I am still not recovered enough and I know, that when I do make it, I will suffer for it afterwards.

 

I don't want any of you to experience this.

 

Please take it seriously. You only get one chance to stay healthy. You will miss it when it's gone.

 

Thank you for reading this.

I saw an article that stated that according to a survey that half of electrical vehicles want to buy gasoline powered vehicles next time. That's got to be disinformation funded by Big Oil. Once you buy EV, you never will go back. Except maybe to give up on autos altogether and ride a bike or ebike instead.

Came across this incoherent yard signage and collection of old military vehicles while cycling Minnesota. Looked up “2000 Mules” and learned the film was so widely debunked that they had to apologize to those it defamed, and pull it from distribution. But this guy’s yard signs stayed up.

Vladimir, owner of truth and nothing but the truth. He is actually a lot smaller than you think.

Please remove all Disinformation barriers

© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved

 

Captured at an anti-Trump demonstration in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2017 while out street shooting.

I did not want my 6000th Street Photography image on Flickr to be such a political post but given overnight events I feel the need to speak up.

 

I did not upload this shot when a narcissist with no political experience was elected to the 'most powerful' office on earth.

 

I did not upload this image when a small majority of British people believed the lies and propaganda resulting in a Brexit vote that has devastated British business and economy ever since.

 

I did not upload this image when a right wing 'clown' was elected to high office in the UK by ordinary hard working labourers in the north.

 

I did not upload this image when the UK Government failed to publish the Russia Report which was expected to shed light on the amount of Russian influence and finance in the heart of Government.

 

Make no mistake - President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has his hand behind all of these events. Russia and Russian money have been on a prolonged attack to destabilise democracy and partnerships all across the west for years through disinformation and interference. This was a part of the long game for Putin and his long held desire to reunify the old Soviet Union at any cost.

 

When Hitler marched into Austria we stood by. When Hitler marched into the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia we stood by. His ambition was not curtailed by words and inaction, and Poland was then invaded.

 

We barely acted when Putin took South Ossetia. We barely reacted when Putin marched into The Crimean Peninsula and installed unflagged mercenaries in the Donbas. He then invaded Ukraine.

 

Putin will not stop at Ukraine. He has earmarked his ambition to reunite all of the former USSR. Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania and even Finland are in his sights. His 'essay' and speeches have pointed in this direction.

 

Other autocratic nations around the world may now feel emboldened to take, by force, regions that they feel belong to them.

 

If we stamp down on the invasion of Ukraine hard we risk massive global consequences as Putin has made clear. He threatened actions the like of which the world has never seen should the west intervene in Ukraine.

If we do nothing the global risk is immense as it sends the signal that the borders are meaningless against military might and the international rules based law is pointless. Either way the global consequences are immense as I am sure you are all aware.

 

I was awake at 3am GMT when the attacks began and watched live Tweets and video streams from ordinary Ukrainians as their country was attacked.

 

I went and held my loved one close.

 

This is war, completely unprovoked, in Europe in the 21st Century. This is insanity.

 

Mankind's inhumanity to mankind will be our downfall.

 

We are one species on one tiny blue planet in the vastness of space. We, as a species, do not deserve this beautiful earth.

 

My thoughts are with the people of Ukraine.

 

Be safe my Flickr friends.

 

*whether you agree with me politically or not, please show respect. Innocent people are being killed right now.

Disinformation.

 

Gespecialiseerde geschiedenis vervolgstudie classicistische talen onderzoek taalkundige variëteiten lagen professionele ironie intense factoren,

традиции произведения тотальный охват предыдущих стихов универсальные конструкции аранжировки неисчерпаемые рассказы вязание композиционных контекстов,

mètres transmutés effets discordants formes comiques inventives processus humains thèmes intéressants lignes formelles œuvres élégiaques simultanées,

ukonvensjonelle skalaer revmatiske viser evolusjoner institusjoner som reflekterer avganger skarpsindig rekkefølge importerende katastrofer rasende forbrytelser,

υποκριτες χαραδες τεκμηρια τιμωριες αντιστοιχες ενοποιησεις τμημα χαος ανακατεματα διακρισεις διαμερισματα μελη,

przeobrażenia formy pytania raporty ważne naciski ciągłe narracje opozycje rozkazy sprawy niekontrolowane zarozumiałość przykłady,

嫌な方法慣性は説得力のある方向を示します表現された感覚は壮大なジレンマを課します独り言は絶え間なく書き直しているモンスターの死を報告します報告.

Steve.D.Hammond.

Free people of a free country!

The 19th day of our resistance is over. Historical war. Another difficult day, which is still approaching our victory. Approaching peace for Ukraine.

As before, the enemy is confused. They did not expect such resistance. They believed in their propaganda, which has been lying about us for decades.They still can't recollect themselves. But they have already begun to understand that they will not achieve anything by war.

Their soldiers know this. Their officers are aware of this. They flee the battlefield. They abandon equipment.

We take trophies and use them to protect Ukraine. Today, Russian troops are, in fact, one of the suppliers of equipment to our army. They could not imagine such a thing in a nightmare.

And I want to tell the Russian soldiers. Those who have already entered our land. And who are just about to be sent to fight against us.

Russian conscripts! Listen to me very carefully. Russian officers! You’ve already understood everything. You will not take anything from Ukraine. You will take lives. There are a lot of you. But your life will also be taken.

But why should you die? What for? I know that you want to survive. We hear your conversations in the intercepts, we hear what you really think about this senseless war, about this disgrace and about your state. Your conversations with each other. Your calls home to your family. We hear it all. We draw conclusions. We know who you are.

Therefore, I offer you a choice. On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance. Chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently. In a way you were not treated in your army. And in a way your army does not treat ours. Choose!

Our brave defenders continue to inflict devastating losses on Russian troops.

Soon the number of downed helicopters of Russia will reach hundreds of units. They have already lost 80 warplanes. Hundreds of tanks and thousands of other units of equipment.

In 19 days, the Russian army has lost more in Ukraine than in two bloody and years-long wars in Chechnya. For what?

I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth. To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones. And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war. To those who are not afraid to protest. As long as your country has not completely closed itself off from the whole world, turning into a very large North Korea, you must fight. You must not lose your chance.

The European Union has approved the fourth package of sanctions against Russia. The fourth - and I'm sure not the last.

We are working with partners on new restrictions that will be applied against the Russian state. Everyone who is responsible for the war. Everyone who is responsible for the destruction of democracy. Everyone who is responsible for repression against people. Everyone will get an answer. The answer of the world. And this is just the beginning.

Responsibility for war crimes of the Russian military is inevitable. Responsibility for a deliberate humanitarian catastrophe in Ukrainian cities is inevitable. The whole world sees what is happening in Mariupol. Kharkiv. Chernihiv. Sumy. Okhtyrka. Hostomel. Irpin. In all our cities.

All our partners are informed of the crimes of the invaders against civilians and local self-government in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. In the temporarily occupied areas. There will be an answer for that. Necessarily. For the disrupted humanitarian corridors. Necessarily.

During the day of March 14, 3,806 Ukrainians were evacuated from the cities and towns of the Kyiv and Luhansk regions.

Our convoy with one hundred tons of what is most necessary for Mariupol is still kept in Berdyansk. For three days already. But we will try. We will do everything to ensure that Mariupol residents receive food, water and medicine.

I provided full information about the actions of the invaders on the Ukrainian land in conversations with friends and partners of our state. Every aggressive action of the invaders only pushes the world to new sanctions.

I spoke with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. With President of Poland Andrzej Duda. Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel. We have 100% mutual understanding.

The conversation with Prime Minister of Israel Bennett was also important. As part of a negotiation effort to end this war as soon as possible. With a fair peace.

Our delegation also worked on this in negotiations with the Russian party. Pretty good, as I was told. But let's see. They will continue tomorrow.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has agreed on a package of decisions to support our economy.

So that business works. So that people have jobs. Where security allows. Where people are ready for it.

First, we are starting tax reform. Instead of VAT and income tax we give a rate of 2 percent of turnover and simplified accounting. For small businesses - this is the first and second group of sole proprietors - we set a voluntary payment of a single tax. That is, if you can - pay. You can't - no questions asked.

The second is maximum business deregulation. We cancel all inspections for all businesses. So that everyone works normally. So that the cities come to life. So that life continues wherever there is no hostilities.

The only condition is that you ensure the normal operation of your business in the framework of Ukrainian law.

These are just the first two steps of our tax reform. To be continued.

And finally.

I have just signed a decree on awarding state awards of Ukraine to 234 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who showed personal courage and heroism in the fight for our land. For our independence. 59 of them posthumously.

May the memory of everyone who gave life for our state live forever!

Eternal gratitude to all our heroes!

Glory to Ukraine!

There aren't nearly as many donkeys in west Ireland as there are sheep and cows, or even horses, for that matter. But these two did their best to entertain bicyclists as we rode by. According to social media, there's supposedly an infamous singing donkey somewhere in the outer reaches of County Galway, but our favorite two here told us that it's just disinformation or another conspiracy theory.

Soho is brilliant. On the first pass, you find yourself in blocks of decrepit post-industrial decay - crusting paint, rusting metal, graffiti and old padlocks. But like the homes of the Roman nobility, the exterior is a carefully contrived facade. Nestled inside these buildings are the elite of the art and media world in all their chic and ultramodern glory. Tampen and I were shooting decay shots along Mercer Street, snapping and talking along the way, when he paused and pointed at an off-white nearly non-descript building just in front of us. 'that's Rupert Murdoch's. he lives there, $28 million i recall.' that was the moment i realized the genius of Soho. the graffiti was more art-fueled than gang related, the decay was more affectation than apathy. i love secrets hidden behind a screen of disinformation. signal and noise. what a great place.

 

editors note: Rupe's been trying to sell his $28 million dollar digs since June. check out the slideshow on the second page.

Ah, the allure of social media to see a world that confirms how one wants to see it. When it confirms how one wants to see the world there is no need to fact check. Just connect the dots however one sees fit. And then pass it on. Unfortunately, our traditional institutions are struggling to deal with constituents who have virtual worlds of their own facts and reality.

 

I've been wondering of late how to visually convey abstract concepts, such as the dilemma of an ever fracturing reality. For example, when one looks at this image, is this the wing pattern of a butterfly? A cone flower? Or, the belief that Covid-19 is only as harmful as any other cold virus? Choose your truth. I wonder what will be passed on, become viral, be the new reality? Nowadays it is incredibly easy to find others to confirm bad information, and to join in.

 

Come on! Jump into the rabbit hole.

 

(I'm playing with twirl art on PhotoShop. These swirls are derived from a photograph of a cone flower that I captured.)

Day 348 (v 16.0) - time for some sensory deprivation

National Post: “NDP bill would prescribe jail terms for speaking well of fossil fuels”

 

United Nations: “Designing ways to fight back against falsehoods that can trigger tensions, violence, or even death, the UN has been monitoring how mis- and disinformation and hate speech can attack health, security, stability as well as progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

 

Vladimir Lenin: “The goal of socialism is communism.”

 

1 John 2:18 “Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.”

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-JgywQjeM4

 

A rusty garden statute of a tin man and his cooking. Of course tin man, cooker and other names have been hurled at members of our society who have more extreme views and behaviours. These were on display during the Pandemic but in reality were always there, perhaps being more easily ignored. The views and behaviours have caused problems for all sorts of governmental organisations such as police, libraries, council parking officers, law courts. Freedom they cry, less often responsibility or some semblance of truth. The current world affairs seem likely to stoke the "outlier" views in a range of places with X, Meta and other enormous social networking companies walking away from content moderation and fact checking. We shall see whether this backfires on these large, unregulated tech companies or whether we are going to be further influenced by lies, disinformation and scurrilous rumours. One of the reasons I so dislike disinformation is that it impacts negatively on the rights and responsibilities of the majority and minorities in our society. Rant over - www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/08/australia-...

There are many Americans that have a lot of extra time on their hands. Why don’t we use it to educate ourselves and try to make this a better country. Look at the mess we are in and the politicians that led us here, while filling their coffers. Look at Corporate America and how they are not reaching out, to those that have dedicated their lives to many of these organizations. Look at the toxicity in many workplaces and communities. Many have suffered from Workplace Mobbing, not knowing, it is actually organized, conspired, harassment and retaliation. This has become common practice in many workplaces and in many communities.

Rather than go on about what I endure here in Yosemite, it would be great if you educate yourselves with some good reads. The first read is; Mobbing Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace, by Noa Davenport, Ph.D., Ruth Distler Schwartzz and Gail Pursell Elliot.

A quote from Daniel Maguire, Professor of Ethics; “Until evil is named, it cannot be addressed. This book names “mobbing” a common and bloodless from of workplace mayhem, and proceeds with brilliance to show it’s roots and possible cures.” Many in the workplace go through this, not knowing how organized it is. Another read is; The Bully at Work, 2nd Edition, by Gary Namie, Ph.D. and Ruth Namie, Ph.D.

Once many get back to work, things may be hectic. We don’t need the additional stress of Workplace Mobbing. We need to rid the workplace of hate, harassment and retaliation, the Good-ol-Boy systems in place. What I mean is; toxic employers and supervisors, hiring and promoting like minded unethical people. These same people, ridding their organizations of anyone that questions these environments.

This not only happens in the workplace, but is extended to many communities. You want an example; take a good look at Yosemite National Park. It will bring out some of the most vile, vindictive, hateful, amoral people; to harass you beyond belief. These are people that don’t know you and have never taken the time to do so. There are many communities across America that do the same; you just don’t know it. Some call it Gang Stalking, but I think “Community Stalking” is more accurate. There is a lot of good information on Gang Stalking, but unfortunately there is more disinformation. Not only am I mobbed and harassed at work, but also in housing by my neighbors and housing staff. This also, as I venture out throughout the park. As I type this; my neighbors are stomping pass my room, down the hall, clanging dishes and slamming doors. With more exposure they are finding alternative ways to harass me. You can't reason with these people. These acts of “Community Stalking” have become too common across America. We, as a Nation; need to be better than this. We can be better than this. It’s time we pull together, as our grandparents did, our parents did. It’s time we rid ourselves of the politicians that have led us here.

 

So many across America are putting their lives on the line, to save others. Why can’t we take this time to help them make this a better country. The togetherness you see in the photo; is Bob and Marley. They joined me on the way home from work today.

 

Thank you for visiting my photostream. Please be kind and reach out to those in need.

Machu Pichu, terracing, and Huayna Pichu (young) peak.

 

Although the siting is to my mind the great thing about Machu Picchu, some of the stonework is so surprising when seen in fact. There are many mysteries about this city, (and some media disinformation.) For example there appears too small a water supply for the reputed population; and what happened to the people here? It's clear that the works were carried out with men leaders directed by the Inca -- yet were all the human remains female? Many different opinions.

Yet a marvellous experience! Humankind in creative response to landform.

 

To make the visit is of course much more inspiring than words or pictures.

 

Enlarge

Click diagonal arrows upper right; then can press F11 Fullscreen.

 

For other people's photos on flickr of Machu Picchu, try:

www.flickr.com/groups/machu-picchu/pool/

 

Link to Great Buildings page:

www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Machu_Picchu.html

 

.

.

wikimapia Machu Pichu

  

UPDATE NOTE

Nearly 50 years later I have managed a return to South America. Whereas many of these early (1967) slides were lost or damaged, I've now been able to upload to flickr new digital-camera images from some of these areas 2015 !

Eg:

Cusco and Sachsayhuaman

peteshep/albums/72157657308673680

Machu Pichu

peteshep/albums/72157654752309314

etc

 

Channel Z - The B-52's

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3hvzJiyFEg

  

I am livin' on Channel Z!

 

Getting nothing but static

Getting nothing but static

Static in my attic from

Channel Z

Getting nothing but static

Getting nothing but static

Static filling my attic from

Channel Z

 

I don't know, I feel like something's happening

Something good is happening!

I feel love has got to come on, and I want it

Something big and lovely

I want the world to change for me!

Gotta get away

Away from Z

Living on the edge of Z

 

Space junk, laser bombs

Ozone holes, better put up my umbrella!

Giant stacks blowin' smoke

Politicrits pushin' dope

 

All I know's we've got to change what's happening

Something good could happen

I feel light has got to come through and I need it

Something big and lovely

I want the world to change for me

Gotta get away

Away from Z

Living on the edge of Z

 

Waste dumps, toxic fog

Irradiate, and keep it fresh forever

Good old boys, tellin' lies

'Bout time, I got wise

 

Getting nothing but static

Getting nothing but static

Static in my attic from

Channel Z

Getting nothing but static

Getting nothing but static

Static filling my attic from

Channel Z

 

Gotta tune in (Pico waves)

Gotta tune out (PCB's)

Gotta tune in (Market crash)

Gotta tune out (Polar shift)

Gotta tune in (Narrow minds)

Gotta tune out (Space junk)

Gotta tune in (Bombs)

Gotta tune out (Atomic lasers falling from the sky!)

Where's my umbrella?

Gonna shoot that static down the drain

Gonna put that static out of my brain

Gonna put up my antennae

 

FREE!

Hamburger ads!

Pop up in my head

On the edge of Aquarius (Secret wars!)

I'm living, I'm living on the edge (Take my money away!)

 

I know I feel a change is happening

Something good will happen

I feel love is coming on strong, and I want it

We can make it happen

I want the world to change for me

Gotta get away

Away from Z

Living on the edge of Z

 

Channel Z's all static all day forever

Time to open up your windows

Let in better weather

Channel Z's all static all day forever

Time to take disinformation

And shove it in the shredder!

(Woah!)

Market crash

Bullshit

Space junk

Narrow minds

Aaaaaaa!

Woah!

"The medium is the message"

 

Marshall McLuhan

Not really but it is how I feel when I watch the news sometimes. The recent riots in England, sparked by nefarious, anti-immigration, bad actors of Right-Wing parties have shown how widespread Disinformation is on social media platforms like X (twitter). Watch Media Watch for the full discussion on the crap that was broadcast there as well as the rubbish shown on Channel 7 here in Melbourne.

www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/southport/104186252.

Spreading disinformation is rife but there are people who act on this crap, causing real societal problems. We ignore it at our peril.

For those interested in the photo it was taken underneath a bridge where the waters reflected the pillars and concrete. A little bit of overlay manipulation to give a more interesting effect.

Source: Tagesschau app message from 23 January 2025 (80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp) /

 

The translation into English follows the German text below !

 

„Umfrage in mehreren Staaten - Junge Menschen wissen wenig über den Holocaust

 

Was ist der Holocaust? Wie viele Jüdinnen und Juden wurden durch das NS-Regime ermordet? Vor allem junge Menschen in den USA und mehreren EU-Ländern zeigen sich einer Studie zufolge bei diesen Fragen deutliche Wissenslücken.

Etwa sechs Millionen Jüdinnen und Juden wurden vom nationalsozialistischen Deutschland systematisch verfolgt und ermordet. Doch rund 80 Jahre nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs schwindet das Wissen um den Holocaust und die Schoah zusehends - vor allem bei der jüngeren Generation. Zu diesem Schluss kommt eine Umfrage der Jewish Claims Conference.

 

In Frankreich gaben 46 Prozent der Befragten zwischen 18 und 29 Jahren an, noch nie von dem Begriff Schoah gehört zu haben. In Österreich traf das auf 14 Prozent der Altersgruppe zu, in Rumänien

15 Prozent. In Deutschland gab mit zwölf Prozent etwa jede oder jeder Zehnte an, der Begriff Schoah sei unbekannt.

Der Holocaust-Index der Claims Conference

Die Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, kürzer auch Jewish Claims Conference oder Claims Conference genannt, ist ein Zusammenschluss mehrerer jüdischer Organisationen. Sie wurde 1951 gegründet und hat ihren Hauptsitz in New York.

 

Die Mitglieder setzen sich für Entschädigungen für Holocaust-Überlebende in aller Welt ein. Im vergangenen Jahr verteilte sie nach eigenen Angaben mehr als 535 Millionen US-Dollar an Entschädigungen an mehr als 200.000 Überlebende in 83 Ländern.

 

Für die aktuelle Umfrage zum Wissen über Holocaust und Schoah führte die Organisation eine repräsentative Umfrage in acht Ländern durch. Dabei wurden zwischen dem 15. und 28. November 2024 in jedem Land etwa 1.000 Menschen befragt. Zu den untersuchten Ländern gehören die Vereinigten Staaten, das Vereinigte Königreich, Frankreich, Österreich, Deutschland, Polen, Ungarn und Rumänien.

 

Zahl der ermordeten Juden massiv unterschätzt

 

In der gleichen Altersgruppe gaben bei der Befragung in Deutschland etwa 40 Prozent an, nicht gewusst zu haben, dass etwa sechs Millionen Jüdinnen und Juden in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus ermordet wurden. 15 Prozent glaubten, es seien weniger als zwei Millionen gewesen. Zwei Prozent aller in der Bundesrepublik befragten Bürgerinnen und Bürger waren der Auffassung, der Holocaust habe überhaupt nicht stattgefunden.

 

Insgesamt glaubten in sieben der acht untersuchten Länder mindestens 20 Prozent der Befragten, dass zwei Millionen oder weniger Jüdinnen und Juden während des Holocaust ermordet wurden. In Rumänien waren es 28 Prozent, nahezu ebenso viele mit 27 Prozent in Ungarn und in Polen gaben das 24 Prozent der Teilnehmenden der Umfrage an.

 

In fast allen Ländern, in denen die Umfrage im vergangenen November durchgeführt worden war, herrschte bei der Hälfte oder einer Mehrheit der Befragten die Sorge, dass sich etwas wie der Holocaust wiederholen könnte. Vor allem in den USA äußerte eine Mehrheit von 76 Prozent diese Angst. In Großbritannien waren es 69 Prozent, in Frankreich 63 Prozent und in Österreich 62. In Deutschland gaben 61 Prozent der Teilnehmenden an, dass bei ihnen diese Sorge bestehe.

 

Zentralrat der Juden alarmiert über Unwissenheit

 

Der Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland zeigte sich alarmiert über die Ergebnisse der Umfrage. "Der besorgniserregende Anstieg antisemitischer verbaler und körperlicher Gewalt, den wir in Deutschland beobachten, hat seine Wurzeln zu einem großen Teil in der Desinformation und dem Mangel an Informationen über den Holocaust", sagte Zentralratspräsident Josef Schuster. Die Studie zeige die Dimension des fehlenden Wissens, insbesondere mit Blick auf junge Erwachsene. Politik, Bildung und Medien müssten gemeinsam gegensteuern.

 

In Deutschland planen mehrere Gedenkstätten anlässlich des 80. Jahrestages der Befreiung des Konzentrationslagers Auschwitz am 27. Januar besondere Veranstaltungen. Im vergangenen Jahr hatten viele der Gedenkstätten eine anhaltend hohe Zahl an Besucherinnen und Besucher verzeichnet, wie eine Umfrage der Nachrichtenagentur epd ergab. Das gilt etwa für die KZ-Gedenkstätte Sachsenhausen in Brandenburg, die 2024 fast eine halbe Million Besucher und Besucherinnen zählte. Auch die KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau in Bayern, die mehr als 900.000 Menschen besuchten, sprach von einem "stetig steigenden Interesse".

 

Das Berliner Dokumentationszentrum "Topographie des Terrors" verzeichnete 2024 hingegen einen Besucherrückgang um knapp 21 Prozent gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Das Zentrum war mit knapp 1,63 Millionen Gästen im vergangenen Jahr aber der am meisten besuchte Ort des Gedenkens und der Information über das Nazi-Regime.

 

Kaum noch lebende Zeitzeugen

 

Das Bemühen, über die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus und den Holocaust zu informieren, wird durch die schwindende Zahl der Zeitzeugen erschwert. Schätzungen der Claims Conference leben heute weltweit noch etwa 245.000 jüdische Holocaust-Überlebende in mehr als 90 Ländern. Mit 49 Prozent lebt ein Großteil von ihnen demnach in den USA. Fast alle der Zeitzeugen erlebten die Ereignisse als Kinder.“

 

Quelle: Tagesschau-App-Meldung sowie Deutschlandfunk-Beitrag vom 23.1.2025 /

  

"Survey in several countries - young people know little about the Holocaust

 

What is the Holocaust? How many Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime? According to a study, young people in the USA and several EU countries in particular have a clear lack of knowledge about these questions.

Around six million Jews were systematically persecuted and murdered by National Socialist Germany. However, around 80 years after the end of the Second World War, knowledge about the Holocaust and the Shoah is dwindling noticeably - especially among the younger generation. This is the conclusion of a survey conducted by the Jewish Claims Conference.

 

In France, 46 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 said they had never heard of the term Shoah. In Austria, this applied to 14 per cent of the age group, in Romania

15 per cent. In Germany, around one in ten (12 per cent) said they had never heard of the term Shoah.

The Holocaust Index of the Claims Conference

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also known as the Jewish Claims Conference or Claims Conference for short, is an association of several Jewish organisations. It was founded in 1951 and has its headquarters in New York.

 

Its members campaign for compensation for Holocaust survivors all over the world. Last year, according to the organisation, it distributed more than USD 535 million in compensation to more than 200,000 survivors in 83 countries.

 

For the current survey on knowledge about the Holocaust and Shoah, the organisation conducted a representative survey in eight countries. Around 1,000 people were interviewed in each country between 15 and 28 November 2024. The countries surveyed include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary and Romania.

 

Number of murdered Jews massively underestimated

 

In the survey in Germany, around 40 per cent of the same age group stated that they did not know that around six million Jews were murdered during the National Socialist era. 15 per cent believed it was less than two million. Two per cent of all citizens surveyed in the Federal Republic were of the opinion that the Holocaust did not take place at all.

 

Overall, at least 20 per cent of respondents in seven of the eight countries surveyed believed that two million or fewer Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. In Romania the figure was 28 per cent, in Hungary almost as many (27 per cent) and in Poland 24 per cent of respondents said the same.

 

In almost all countries in which the survey was conducted last November, half or a majority of respondents were concerned that something like the Holocaust could happen again. In the USA in particular, a majority of 76 per cent expressed this fear. In the UK, the figure was 69 per cent, in France 63 per cent and in Austria 62 per cent. 61 per cent of respondents in Germany stated that they had this concern.

 

Central Council of Jews alarmed by ignorance

 

The Central Council of Jews in Germany expressed alarm at the results of the survey. "The worrying rise in anti-Semitic verbal and physical violence that we are seeing in Germany has its roots to a large extent in disinformation and a lack of information about the Holocaust," said Central Council President Josef Schuster. The study shows the dimension of the lack of knowledge, especially with regard to young adults. Politics, education and the media must work together to counteract this.

 

Several memorial sites in Germany are planning special events to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp on 27 January. Last year, many of the memorials recorded a consistently high number of visitors, according to a survey by the news agency epd. This applies, for example, to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial in Brandenburg, which counted almost half a million visitors in 2024. The Dachau concentration camp memorial in Bavaria, which was visited by more than 900,000 people, also spoke of a "steadily increasing interest".

 

The Berlin documentation centre "Topography of Terror", on the other hand, recorded a decline in visitors of almost 21 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. However, with almost 1.63 million visitors last year, the centre was the most visited place of remembrance and information about the Nazi regime.

 

Hardly any contemporary witnesses still alive

 

The endeavour to provide information about the National Socialist era and the Holocaust is made more difficult by the dwindling number of contemporary witnesses. The Claims Conference estimates that around 245,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors are still alive in more than 90 countries worldwide. The majority of them, 49 per cent, live in the USA. Almost all of the eyewitnesses experienced the events as children."

 

Source: Tagesschau app report and Deutschlandfunk report from 23 January 2025

A fly on ragwort.

 

I love ragwort. Such a great plant for invertebrates late summer and early Autumn. It gets demonised and is the subject of so much disinformation on social media.

 

I like to let it be ...and occasionally I like to photograph it too

 

If anyone has time and is interested, there is a great site that collates the evidence and busts the myths and propaganda surrounding ragwort.

 

www.ragwortfacts.com/

“We’ll know our disinformation campaign is complete, when absolutely everything the American people believe is false”. --

Wm Casey, Director of the CIA (1981)

3 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Yesterday we woke up with the news that President Trump and FLOTUS tested positive for SAR-CoV-2. The result came after he spent months playing down the severity of the outbreak that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide and hours after insisting that the end of the pandemic is in sight. This morning we learned that the president had a low-grade fever, congestion and a cough. A couple of hours later aids close to the President said that since his symptoms worsened as the hours wore on, he was flown to the Walter Reed Medical Center. What a year it has been so far and it’s not over yet… The threats have come in rapid succession: terrorism, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and last not least the quaking of our democracy in the Western world. Speculation about the President’s health will only fray nerves and further destabilize the situation and the conspiracy theorists and disinformation trolls will do their best to maximize the turmoil. So, get well, Mr. President for your sake and for the sake of the world. Today’s picture is from 4 years ago when we were enjoying a fall leaf-peeping trip in New England. The world seemed to be a better place at that time - Bar Harbor, ME, USA

fading disinformation

acrylic on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, 2017

 

Fake News - Fake Kompromat !

 

Europarat-Chef warnt vor staatlicher Zensur:

Im Kampf gegen Fake News hat der Generalsekretär des Europarats vor zu großem Aktionismus gewarnt. Es bestehe die Gefahr, unliebsame Meinungen verbieten zu können.

www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/europarat-chef-warnt-vor-staa...

 

La menace que je vois se dessiner ce n’est donc pas celle des Fake news, mais celle de l’autoritarisme de l’État et son autonomisation en tant qu’agent de contrôle de l’opinion(Emmanuel Todd, historien et anthropologue)

 

Le déni de la réalité est devenu le cadre de vie de nos dirigeants (Jan Theuninck, 17.01.2017)

 

The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know. * We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy. That relies on primarily on covet means for expanding its fear of influence. On infiltration instead of invasion. On subversion instead of elections. On intimidation instead of free choice, on guerillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted, vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly nit highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific, and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. * It requires a change in outlook, a change in tactics, a change in missions--by the government, by the people, by every businessman or labor leader, and by every newspaper. For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence--on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. * Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed. It conducts the Cold War, in short, with a war-time discipline no democracy would ever hope or wish to match. * Nevertheless, every democracy recognizes the necessary restraints of national security--and the question remains whether those restraints need to be more strictly observed if we are to oppose this kind of attack as well as outright invasion. * And so it is to the printing press--to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news--that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.

John F.Kennedy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jb8KqaerhQ

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Is er een enorm verschil tussen wat de burger in het dagdagelijkse leven ervaart en wat er in de "vrije" pers wordt meegedeeld? Zijn de journalisten hondjes die aan een korte ketting liggen en alleen blaffen op bevel van hun baasje: zijn zij de promotors van het politieke "correct" denken? Is dit een symptoom van wat men een geleide democratie (of zachte dictatuur) noemt? Dient de pers om de aandacht van de burgers af te leiden van nog erger? (Jan Theuninck in Poetrylifeandtimes, begin 21ste eeuw)

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Equal enslavement is also evident in the media: journalists have accepted – without any scruple of conscience – prostituting themselves to the powerful, going so far as to censor the truth and spread shameless lies without even trying to give them the appearance of credibility. Up until last year journalists counted the numbers of the “victims” of Covid by presenting anyone who tested positive as terminally ill; today those who die after being vaccinated are always and only taken by a vague “illness,” and even before the post mortem examinations they officially decide that there is no correlation between a person’s death and the administration of the gene serum. They twist the truth with impunity when it does not confirm their narrative, bending it to fit their purposes. Mgr Vigano, 28.08.21

www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/vigano-considerations-on-the...

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"Luister alleen naar ons, naar niemand anders. Wij zijn de enige bron die de waarheid vertelt"

Jacinda Ardern - the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party. "We will continue to be your single source of truth" May 16, 2020

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Jan Theuninck is a Belgian painter

www.boekgrrls.nl/BgDiversen/Onderwerpen/gedichten_over_sc...

www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.be/wiki/index.php/Yperite-Jan...

www.graphiste-webdesigner.fr/blog/2013/04/la-peinture-bel...

www.eutrio.be/nl/expo-west-meet-east

www.eutrio.be/fr/expo-west-meets-east

 

www.holocaust-lestweforget.com/jan-theuninck.html

An information beacon glows in the autumn evening.

Today Australians go to the polls again to vote in the Referendum about recognition of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution. The Constitution is a simple document, readily available online, which came into force in 1901. At that time Australians believed in Terra Nullius (the land was not inhabited, a patent falsehood) and the White Australia policy. The 1967 Referendum which passed resoundingly, enabled Indigenous people to be counted as Australians and to have laws made for them by the Federal Government. Before that it was the various states and territories that made laws, many of which were a form of apartheid.

We will see tonight whether most people can write either "Yes" or "No" on their ballot paper like in other referendums where >99% were able to do so.

Whatever the outcome, the people have voted, the disinformation and shrills have been out in force online and in some cases outside the polls.

We are lucky that compulsory voting means the people are being consulted and have a right to their say.

But for me, again no democracy sausage!

aiatsis.gov.au/explore/1967-referendum

and'

www.aec.gov.au/referendums/

If you are overwhelmed by hate, excuses, the corruption, that surrounds us; find something, someone, that brings you joy and comfort. Violence is never the answer, or, a Disinformation Governance Board.

 

Here is a link to a video, that I hope will bring you laughter youtu.be/wVc5JcryoSM

 

Thanks for visiting our photostream

Isaiah 33:8 “The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. An agreement has been broken, cities despised, and human life disregarded.”

 

Revelation countdown to societal meltdown:

 

“A secret UK government unit worked with social media companies to shut down dissent against authoritarian lockdown policies during the COVID pandemic, according to a bombshell report.”

 

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/02/counter-disinformatio...

  

It's time for realization: The World Wide Web was transformed from a well of knowledge and cognition into a pool of stupidity and disinformation!

 

Facts are always unique, alternative facts are nothing but self-serving lies!

 

Spinnennacht

 

Zeit für Erkenntnis: Das W.W.W. wurde von einem Brunnen des Wissens und der Erkenntnis zu einem Pfuhl der Dummheit und Desinformation!

 

Fakten sind immer einzigartig, alternative Fakten sind nichts anderes als eigennützige Lügen!

Il. Title- ( - sang sur mains - ) Mike Mullen having a nice steak dinner with a 'clear conscience' ... ( On top of dead Afghani civilians & dead soldiers.. Egomaniac.. ) Yes Wikileaks shared this piece inspired by them & their work: twitter.com/wikileaks/status/21824111844 it & the entire Wikileaks series is not- for sale.

At some point there may be an exhibition with funds going towards WL & Bradley Manning.

 

But for now none of the pieces in the series are commercially available or for sale to private individuals.

 

They do have free use by Wikileaks however.

More work to be posted soon.

  

Dimensions: 18" x 24.5" acid free paper, acrylics, gouache & ebony pencil

 

"Mr. Assange can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family," Mullen said."

 

www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/29/pentagon-wikileaks-bl...

 

MMm no- Mullen..How can we end these wars ASAP- & STOP you from getting any MORE blood on YOUR hands..

  

( News from Wikileaks Twitter feed, 8 - 19 - 2012: "In fact, being from another planet, he might even have picked up on something that most Americans would be unlikely to notice -- that, with only slight alterations, Mullen’s blistering comment about Assange could be applied remarkably well to Mullen himself. “Chairman Mullen,” that Martian might have responded, “can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he is doing, but the truth is he already has on his hands the blood of some young soldiers and that of many Afghan families.” "

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/06/opinion/main6748239.shtml )

   

War Diary - wardiary.wikileaks.org/ Timeline: wartimeline.haineault.com/

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mullen#2007_Senate_testimon...

  

& from the Pentagon- "“We want whatever they have returned to us and we want whatever copies they have expunged… We demand that they do the right thing. If doing the right thing is not good enough for them, then we will figure out what alternatives we have to compel them to do the right thing." mashable.com/2010/08/05/pentagon-wikileaks-demand/

 

The NERVE.. -

  

Wikileaks - "What we didn't hear from the Pentagon last week: "killing all those innocent people is bad. Sorry. We will stop that" Thursday, August 05, 2010

YES.

 

-

 

"Thousands of children and adults had been killed and the US could have announced a broad inquiry into these killings, "but he decided to treat these issues with contempt''.

He said: "This behaviour is unacceptable. We will continue to expose abuses by this administration and others."" - www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/30/us-military-wikileak...

 

-

 

( From Wikileaks twitter- Aug 19 2010 _ ) -

 

Wikileaks vs the Pentagon: Phony Fingerpointing

Tom Engelhardt:: Who Really Has Blood On Their Hands?

  

"Consider the following statement offered by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a news conference last week. He was discussing Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks as well as the person who has taken responsibility for the vast, still ongoing Afghan War document dump at that site. "Mr. Assange,” Mullen commented, “can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family.”

 

Now, if you were the proverbial fair-minded visitor from Mars (who in school civics texts of my childhood always seemed to land on Main Street, U.S.A., to survey the wonders of our American system), you might be a bit taken aback by Mullen’s statement. After all, one of the revelations in the trove of leaked documents Assange put online had to do with how much blood from innocent Afghan civilians was already on American hands.

 

The British Guardian was one of three publications given early access to the leaked archive, and it began its main article this way: “A huge cache of secret U.S. military files today provides a devastating portrait of the failing war in Afghanistan, revealing how coalition forces have killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents. They range from the shootings of individual innocents to the often massive loss of life from air strikes...” Or as the paper added in a piece headlined “Secret CIA paramilitaries’ role in civilian deaths”: “Behind the military jargon, the war logs are littered with accounts of civilian tragedies.

 

The 144 entries in the logs recording some of these so-called ‘blue on white’ events, cover a wide spectrum of day-by-day assaults on Afghans, with hundreds of casualties.” Or as it also reported, when exploring documents related to Task Force 373, an “undisclosed ‘black’ unit” of U.S. special operations forces focused on assassinating Taliban and al-Qaeda “senior officials”: “The logs reveal that TF 373 has also killed civilian men, women, and children and even Afghan police officers who have strayed into its path.”

 

Admittedly, the events recorded in the Wikileaks archive took place between 2004 and the end of 2009, and so don’t cover the last six months of the Obama administration’s across-the-board surge in Afghanistan. Then again, Admiral Mullen became chairman of the Joint Chiefs in October 2007, and so has been at the helm of the American war machine for more than two of the years in question.

 

He was, for example, chairman in July 2008, when an American plane or planes took out an Afghan bridal party -- 70 to 90 strong and made up mostly of women -- on a road near the Pakistani border. They were "escorting the bride to meet her groom as local tradition dictates." The bride, whose name we don’t know, died, as did at least 27 other members of the party, including children. Mullen was similarly chairman in August 2008 when a memorial service for a tribal leader in the village of Azizabad in Afghanistan’s Herat Province was hit by repeated U.S. air strikes that killed at least 90 civilians, including perhaps 15 women and up to 60 children. Among the dead were 76 members of one extended family, headed by Reza Khan, a "wealthy businessman with construction and security contracts with the nearby American base at Shindand airport."

 

Mullen was still chairman in April 2009 when members of the family of Awal Khan, an Afghan army artillery commander on duty elsewhere, were killed in a U.S.-led raid in Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. Among them were his "schoolteacher wife, a 17-year-old daughter named Nadia, a 15-year-old son, Aimal, and his brother, employed by a government department.” Another daughter was wounded and the pregnant wife of Khan's cousin was shot five times in the abdomen.

 

Mullen remained chairman when, in November 2009, two relatives of Majidullah Qarar, the spokesman for the Minister of Agriculture, were shot down in cold blood in Ghazni City in a Special Operations night raid; as he was -- and here we move beyond the Wikileaks time frame -- when, in February 2010, U.S. Special Forces troops in helicopters struck a convoy of mini-buses, killing up to 27 civilians, including women and children; as he also was when, in that same month, in a special operations night raid, two pregnant women and a teenage girl, as well as a police officer and his brother, were shot to death in their home in a village near Gardez, the capital of Paktia province. After which, the soldiers reportedly dug the bullets out of the bodies, washed the wounds with alcohol, and tried to cover the incident up. He was no less chairman late last month when residents of a small town in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan claimed that a NATO missile attack had killed 52 civilians, an incident that, like just about every other one mentioned above and so many more, was initially denied by U.S. and NATO spokespeople and is now being “investigated.” "

  

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/06/opinion/main6748239.shtml

    

-

 

"What is interesting is who is responsible for the killings.

 

Of the 1,325 civilian deaths recorded by the Afghan human rights group, 23 per cent were attributed to Nato or Afghan government forces. The Taliban and their allies were responsible for 68 per cent of the deaths.

 

The UN study claimed the civilian death toll was slightly lower at 1,271 with anti-government forces blamed for 76 per cent of the casualties.

 

Chronicling precise figures is extremely difficult because most parts of the country are inaccessible.

 

Crucially, both studies suggested that the proportion of deaths attributed to Nato and Afghan government forces were down compared to last year because of fewer air strikes.

 

This is important because clumsy air strikes on innocent villages and unfair raids on their houses has been driving a lot of Afghans to pick up arms on behalf of insurgents."

 

by, Hamida Ghafour

More: www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100811/OP...

 

& -

"My countrymen called me a prostitute

(Filed: 26/10/2004)

 

Fourteen months ago, Hamida Ghafour went to Afghanistan to cover her native countrys postwar reconstruction for this newspaper. But, as a westernised Afghan, her homecoming wasnt as welcoming as she had hoped"

www.afghanistan.org/news_detail.asp?17220

 

I am skeptical about agendas.. It can be confusing, this is why for better or worse one must have THE FACTS - it would have been better if we had them from the START.

 

Without facts no one cares what we do- or who we kill, because we simply don't have ANY concept of how a decade long war is going..

 

“The government is engaging in selective prosecution to ensure that employees keep their mouths shut,” says Stephen Khon, a lawyer specializing in whistleblowing cases. “All of a sudden the whistleblower becomes public enemy number one. There is no proportionality.” www.alternet.org/world/147778/how_the_military_destroys_t...

  

This- - you MUST watch-- It's of Afghani's asking for peace & for us to leave- "Wikileaks Assange, stand freely for love & we in Afg will stand with you.." From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9E_nXiPj9g

 

US war crimes: soldiers speak out. - www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj6s1V0Dpuw

  

From Wikileaks Twitter- "UNAMA Human Rights Unit issued recommendations in the report including:

 

• The Taliban should withdraw all orders and statements calling for the killing of civilians; and, the Taliban and other AGEs should end the use of IEDs and suicide attacks, comply with international humanitarian law, cease acts of intimidation and killing including assassination, execution and abduction, fully respect citizens’ freedom of movement and stop using civilians as human shields.

 

• International military forces should make more transparent their investigation and reporting on civilian casualties including on accountability; maintain and strengthen directives restricting aerial attacks and the use of night raids; coordinate investigation and reporting of civilian casualties with the Afghan Government to improve protection and accountability; improve compensation processes; and, improve transparency around any harm to civilians caused by Special Forces operations.

 

• The Afghan Government should create a public body to lead its response to major civilian casualty incidents and its interaction with international military forces and other key actors, ensure investigations include forensic components, ensure transparent and timely compensation to victims; and, improve accountability including discipline or prosecution for any Afghan National Security Forces personnel who unlawfully cause death or injury to civilians or otherwise violate the rights of Afghan citizens."

unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1741&ctl=Deta...

 

From Wikileaks Twitter- CBC

 

"A bomb is found tucked into a school typewriter. Insurgents dressed in military uniforms attack an education chief. School guards are tied up while the building is bombed to smithereens. Teachers and students at an all-girls high school are poisoned through the drinking water."

 

"School attacks

Year Number of attacks against schools

2005 98

2006 220

2007 236

2008 348

2009 610

 

Source: UNICEF. Data for 2008 and 2009 are from the UN Country Task Force on Children, and previous years are from the Ministry of Education."

 

"Education for children up in Afghanistan since 2002- .

"Nine years ago, about 100,000 students were enrolled in schools. The figure now stands at more than seven million students, one-third of whom are girls, according to the Afghanistan Ministry of Education.

 

"It's one of those sectors where we've seen radical and dramatic progress since 2002," notes Rowell.

 

"No one knows where the country is going … but education is a beacon of success."

 

Read more: www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/08/06/f-afghanistan-education...

 

& www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/database-afghan-war-logs/

 

""

 

"New Petition Gains Prominent Signatures: “Defend WikiLeaks – End the Secret Wars” - Sign: seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/64042

"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Jung.

   

Treating Soldier Stress: www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2008931_2172992,00...

 

"Afghan War Diary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  

The Afghan War Diary (also called The War Logs) is a collection of internal U.S. military logs of the War in Afghanistan published by Wikileaks on 25 July 2010.

The logs consist of 91,731 documents, covering the period between January 2004 and December 2009. Most of the documents were classified as "secret", which The New York Times called "a relatively low level of classification".

As of 28 July 2010, only 75,000 of the documents have been released to the public, a move which Wikileaks says is "part of a harm minimization process demanded by [the] source". Prior to releasing the initial 75,000 documents, Wikileaks made the logs available to The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel in its German and English on-line edition which published reports per previous agreement on that same day, July 25, 2010."

 

&

 

"In June 2010, Guardian journalist Nick Davies and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange established that the US army had built a huge database with six years of sensitive military intelligence material, to which many thousands of US soldiers had access and some of them had been able to download copies, and WikiLeaks had one copy which it proposed to publish online, via a series of uncensorable global servers.

 

Wikileaks describes itself as "a multi-jurisdictional public service designed to protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists who have sensitive materials to communicate to the public."

 

In an interview with the U.K.'s Channel 4, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said that "we have a stated commitment to a particular kind of process and objective, and that commitment is to get censored material out and never to take it down." He contrasted the group with other media outlets by saying that "other journalists try to verify sources. We don't do that, we verify documents. We don't care where it came from." He denied that the group has an inherent bias against the Afghanistan War, saying that "We don't have a view about whether the war should continue or stop – we do have a view that it should be prosecuted as humanely as possible." However, he also said that he believes the leaked information will turn world public opinion to think more negatively of the war."

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_War_Diary

  

"War has become a luxury that only small nations can afford." -

Hannah Arendt

 

"The leak of tens of thousands of Afghanistan war-related documents tells us more than the sum total of many official communiqués about the war. On balance, more disclosure is a good thing, but the leaking of raw military intelligence is a special case that requires a careful, rather than a cavalier, approach.

 

There is not enough information about the war, and much official information is misleading. In Canada, the federal government's quarterly reports contain a few updates based on its goals in Kandahar, but little else that informs. The government has already shown itself to be an unreliable source on issues relating to Afghan detainees.

 

The situation is now too dangerous for the most trustworthy chroniclers – journalists, UN personnel – to go outside NATO-protected areas.

 

So reliable, independent information is lacking. The circumstances in this war make such information even more necessary."

 

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/we-neede...

  

"Instead, many eyes will now pore over this data from many different directions, looking for patterns and attempting to eliminate the noise, disinformation and fog of war.

Many will look to it to criticise and condemn the US presence in Afghanistan, but if those on the other side – those who support such military incursions – have any sense, they too will use it to understand better the war in which they find themselves and adapt their counsel to fit more accurately the facts on the ground.

That’s the benefit, usually, of an open society. We get to triangulate on the truth by gathering facts in the public space, then providing them to all sides to chew over. We use this against our own illusions and those of more closed societies who can only view the world through one narrow perspective.": www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0730/1224275801...

  

wikileaks.org/

 

( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_ecology )

 

"The first phase was chilling, in part because the banter of the soldiers was so far beyond the boundaries of civilian discourse. “Just fuckin’, once you get on ’em, just open ’em up,” one of them said. The crew members of the Apache came upon about a dozen men ambling down a street, a block or so from American troops, and reported that five or six of the men were armed with AK-47s; as the Apache maneuvered into position to fire at them, the crew saw one of the Reuters journalists, who were mixed in among the other men, and mistook a long-lensed camera for an RPG. The Apaches fired on the men for twenty-five seconds, killing nearly all of them instantly."

 

Read more www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/06/07/100607fa_fact_khat...

  

"With the release of the WikiLeaks documents, Arab media may finally feel vindicated, as Western media finally start to give greater prominence to civilian casualties." newamericamedia.org/2010/07/wikileaks-documents-validate-...

 

"Wikileaks confirmed: A plan to kill American geologist with poison beer

 

The Wikileaks documents contain a claim that Pakistan and Afghanistan insurgents were working to poison alcoholic drinks in Afghanistan. While that's unproven, one US adviser in Afghanistan tells the Monitor he was almost poisoned that way in 2007." : www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0728/Wiki...

  

"This is duplicitous only if you close your eyes to the Pakistani reality, which the Americans never did. There was ample evidence, as the WikiLeaks show, of covert ISI ties to the Taliban. The Americans knew they couldn't break those ties. They settled for what support Pakistan could give them while constantly pressing them harder and harder until genuine fears in Washington emerged that Pakistan could destabilize altogether. Since a stable Pakistan is more important to the United States than a victory in Afghanistan—which it wasn't going to get anyway—the United States released pressure and increased aid. If Pakistan collapsed, then India would be the sole regional power, not something the United States wants."

 

www.billoreilly.com/site/rd?satype=13&said=12&url...

 

"How to read the Afghanistan war logs: video tutorial

David Leigh, the Guardian's investigations editor, explains the online tools we have created to help you understand the secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan": www.guardian.co.uk/world/datablog/video/2010/jul/25/afgha...

 

"Jonathan Foreman, writing for the right of center National Review's Corner blog, hopes the documents will force America to deal with the possible deceptions being made by ally Pakistan. "It is possible that the publication of documents that provide actual evidence — rather than rumors — of the role of ISI personnel in Taliban planning, logistics, and strategy will give the West greater leverage in dealing with Islamabad and might force Pakistan’s political elite to confront the reality of the ISI’s secret activities. If so, that would be a silver lining to what is otherwise a military disaster abetted by the U.S. and British media."

www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/NATL-The-Importance-o...

  

"The real significance of the Afghan war diaries lies in what Wikileaks represents as a movement, as an evolution in journalism. One analyst has called it the emergence of open source journalism. Julian Assange makes it possible for anybody anywhere in the world to submit secret documents for publication." www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Sevanti_Ninan/article541...

  

A War Without End: www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,708314,00.html

  

"Julian Assange on the Afghanistan war logs: 'They show the true nature of this war'

 

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, explains why he decided to publish thousands of secret US military files on the war in Afghanistan Afghanistan war logs expose truth of occupation": www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jul/25/julian-assange...

 

The history of US leaks: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10769495

 

Freedom of Information Act: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_...

 

"A long-delayed Afghanistan war funding bill, stripped of billions for teachers and black farmers, is back before the House and walking now into the storm over the Internet leak of battlefield reports stirring old doubts about U.S. policy and relations with Pakistan.": www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40254.html & www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40251.html

  

This is a large study/drawing, Assange/Wikileakers of the organization Wikileaks ( wikileaks.org ) uses 'matches from sources' to disclose US gov secrecy ( behind large black curtains ) & to also finally bring some much needed attention & closure to some of these revelations ( set ablaze ).

   

This ongoing series is dedicated to everyone who has needlessly had their lives destroyed, been injured or die in this almost past decade of war. For the sources, journalists & average citizens who risk their lives to inform us.

Reuters reporters Namir Eldeen, Saeed Chmagh & the good samaritan ( father ) who died trying to save them & of course his two surviving small children who will forever be impacted by the brutality of war for decades to come.

 

Please help Private Bradley Manning- www.bradleymanning.org/

  

"One surprising consequence of the war in Iraq is the surrender of postmodernism to a victorious modernism. This has been largely overlooked in North America.

 

In reaction to the U.S. intervention in Iraq, Jacques Derrida, a famous postmodernist, signed on as co-author of an article drafted by the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, previously an opponent of his, in an unmistakable endorsement of modernist Enlightenment principles. Derrida, the apostle of deconstructionism, is now advocating some decidedly constructive and Eurocentric activism.

 

The article appeared simultaneously in two newspapers on May 31, in German in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as "After the War: The Rebirth of Europe," and in French in Libération, less triumphantly, as "A Plea for a Common Foreign Policy: The demonstrations of Feb. 15 against the war in Iraq designed a new European public space."

 

Other famous intellectuals joined in with supportive newspaper articles of their own: Umberto Eco (of The Name of the Rose) and Gianni Vattimo in Italy and an American philosopher, Richard Rorty. This provoked much discussion in Europe, but only a few comments so far in North America, the Boston Globe and the Village Voice being rare exceptions.

 

This week in Montreal, there was an anti-globalization riot in which windows were broken in protest against a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting. But the Habermas-Derrida declaration praises the WTO and even the International Monetary Fund as part of Weltinnenpolitik: maddeningly hard to translate, but something like "global domestic policy" or "external internal policy."

 

Yet it is not much of a stretch to claim the young anti-globalists as disciples of postmodernism and Derrida, who has hitherto been a foe of "logocentrism" (putting reason at the centre), "phallologocentrism" (reason is an erect male organ and, as such, damnably central) and Eurocentrism (the old, old West is the homeland of all of the above).

 

Derrida added a note to the article, observing most people would recognize Habermas's style and thinking in the piece, and that he hadn't had time to write a separate piece. But notwithstanding his "past confrontations" with Habermas (Derrida had objected to being called a "Judaistic mystic," for one thing), he agreed with the article he had signed, which calls for new European responsibilities "beyond all Eurocentrism" and the strengthening of international law and international institutions."

 

More: www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000361.php

 

"In early 2003, both Habermas and Derrida were very active in opposing the coming Iraq War, and called for in a manifesto that later became the book Old Europe, New Europe, Core Europe for a tighter union of the states of the European Union in order to provide a power capable of opposing American foreign policy. Derrida wrote a foreword expressing his unqualified subscription to Habermas's declaration of February 2003, "February 15, or, What Binds Europeans Together: Plea for a Common Foreign Policy, Beginning in Core Europe,” in Old Europe, New Europe, Core Europe which was a reaction to the Bush administration demands upon European nations for support for the coming Iraq War[25]. Habermas has offered further context for this declaration in an interview."

 

More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%c3%bcrgen_Habermas#Habermas_and_D...

  

Habermas: ”The asymmetry between the concentrated destructive power of the electronically controlled clusters of elegant and versatile missiles in the air and the archaic ferocity of the swarms of bearded warriors outfitted with Kalashnikovs on the ground remains a morally obscene sight

 

I consider Bush' s decision to call for a "war against terrorism" a serious mistake, both normatively and pragmatically. Normatively, he is elevating these criminals to the status of war enemies; and pragmatically, one cannot lead a war against a "network" if the term "war" is to retain any definite meaning.”

     

Derrida: “To say it all too quickly and in passing, to amplify and clarify just a bit what I said earlier about an absolute threat whose origin is anonymous and not related to any state, such "terrorist" attacks already no longer need planes, bombs, or kamikazes: it is enough to infiltrate a strategically important computer system and introduce a virus or some other disruptive element to paralyze the economic, military, and political resources of an entire country or continent. And this can be attempted from just about anywhere on earth, at very little expense and with minimal means. The relationship between earth, terra territory, and terror has changed, and it is necessary to know that this is because of knowledge, that is, because of technoscience.

 

It is technoscience that blurs the distinction between war and terrorism. In this regard, when compared to the possibilities for destruction and chaotic disorder that are in reserve, for the future, in the computerized networks of the world, "September 11" is still part of the archaic theater of violence aimed at striking the imagination. One will be able to do even worse tomorrow, invisibly, in silence, more quickly and without any bloodshed, by attacking the computer and informational networks on which the entire life (social, economic, military, and so on) of a "great nation," of the greatest power on earth, depends.”

 

www.16beavergroup.org/mtarchive/archives/000361.php

 

I am incredibly- delighted at all the vital discussions about the war & US gov that are FINALLY taking place- & on a mass scale- as a result of this leak .. Simply miraculous..

  

FREEDOM & PEACE ( transparency, diplomacy & the evolution of such ) FOR ALL WAR NATIONS.

  

( WARNING - links ( after excerpt ) are NOT for sensitive viewers- ) "Wikileaks have released over 150 supressed images. This is the tip of the iceberg, keep looking, keep publishing.In the last week Wikileaks has released over 150 censored photos and videos of the Tibet uprising and has called on bloggers around the world to help drive the footage through the Chinese internet censorship regime — the so called “Great Firewall of China”The transparency group’s move comes as a response to the the Chinese Public Security Bureau’s carte-blanche censorship of youtube, the BBC, CNN, the Guardian and other sites carrying video footage of the Tibetan people’s recent heroic stand against the inhumane Chinese occupation of Tibet."

fortuzero.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/tibet-western-media-sa...

 

file.wikileaks.org/file/tibet-protest-photos/index.html

 

FREE TIBET!!!!!!!!!!!!

   

Also other dire & serious issues ( out of countless ) - that expose corruption by corporations & gov's:

 

"A documentary about intensive pig farming due to be screened at the Guardian Hay festival on Sunday is facing a legal threat from one of the companies it investigates. Pig Business criticises the practices of the world's largest pork processor, Smithfield Foods, claiming it is responsible for environmental pollution and health problems among residents near its factories."

 

www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/may/29/pig-business-document...

 

"In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14, 2004,[79] it was reported that the site is still contaminated with 'thousands' of metric tons of toxic chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury, held in open containers or loose on the ground. A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination 500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health Organization.[80]

 

In 2009, a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab, released latest tests from a study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 38.6 times more pesticides than Indian standards."

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster

   

-

 

The Blue Mask - Lou Reed - www.goear.com/listen/9960779/the-blue-mask-lou-reed ( & O Superman ) www.goear.com/listen/02cf55d/o-superman-(for-massenet)-la...

 

Lou Reed The Blue Mask

 

Lyrics:

 

They tied his arms behind

his back to teach him how to

swim They put

blood in his coffee and milk

in his gin They stood over the

soldier in

the midst of the squalor

There was war in his body and

it caused his

brain to holler

Make the sacrifice

mutilate my face

If you need someone to kill

I'm a man without a will

Wash the razor in the rain

Let me luxuriate in pain

Please don't set me free

Death means a lot to me

The pain was lean and it made

him scream he knew he was alive

They put a

pin through the nipples on his chest

He thought he was a saint

I've made love to my mother,

killed my father and my brother

What am I

to do

When a sin goes too far, it's

like a runaway car It cannot

be controlled

Spit upon his face and scream

There's no Oedipus today

This is no play you're thinking you

are in What will you say

Take the blue mask down from my face and

look me in the eye I get a

thrill from punishment

I've always been that way

I loathe and despise repentance

You are permanently stained

Your weakness buys indifference

and indiscretion in the streets

Dirty's what you are and clean is what

you're not You deserve to be

soundly beat

Make the sacrifice

Take it all the way

There's no won't high enough

To stop this desperate day

Don't take death away

Cut the finger at the joint

Cut the stallion at his mount

And stuff it in his mouth

---

  

-

   

"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder. "

  

Albert Einstein

  

IMAGINE THE HAPPINESS & GREAT WORK AHEAD OF US WE COULD HAVE AT THE END OF THE WARS!!!!!!!!!

 

www.goear.com/listen/48d6016/hora-de-la-mehedinti-romania...

 

NO MORE WAR & FREEDOM FOR ALL WAR NATIONS!!!!!!!!!

 

Peace.

The last days of the summer. I visited a friend in Hamburg and we made an one-hour-trip to the beautiful lakes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The Day They Tried To Hang Democracy by Daniel Arrhakis (2021)

 

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May and commemorates all men and women who have died in military service for the United States.

In a world increasingly hostage to populism and the rise again of fascism, of the cult of the leader and even of national socialism, I would like to remind those who fought in their own country to guarantee the continuation of Democracy and the Free Choice of the People, many of whom simple anonymous citizens!

 

Even after January 6, attempts to overturn the election continue in a campaign of disinformation as the world has never seen, but the most serious thing is that the lies have served to try to change the electoral laws in many states in order to hinder the vote of many Americans.

 

History never praises the traitors, but those who are freed by honor!

 

 

A symbolic composition made with stock images and images of mine.

 

Photo of The State Capitol in Austin, Texas in a photo by Priya Karkare on Pexels :

 

images.pexels.com/photos/3643592/pexels-photo-3643592.jpe...

   

Contrary to what you might read on many internet forums, the contrails up there are not solely comprised of water.

 

This is (in a best case scenario) wishful thinking - worst case: disinformation, courtesy of the aviation industry.

 

Think about it. I wonder if the rise in cancer rates can be attributed to a rise in artificial precipitation (via contrails).

 

Don´t redistribute - don´t use on webpages, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.

 

© Andy Brandl (2015) // PhotonMix Photography

 

See some of my favorite images here:

Andy Brandl @ Robert Harding

or here:

Andy Brandl @ Getty Images

Shadows From The East - The King Of The Haunted Castle - “Karaganov’s doctrine” by Daniel Arrhakis (2022)

  

_________________________________________________

 

After over the years having instituted an autocratic government in Russia in which all freedom of expression is prohibited and its defenders are persecuted, imprisoned or murdered, Putin now turns to Europe trying to impose his hegemonic vision of the world.

 

Through a hybrid war with cyber attacks and political interference / disinformation campaigns in elections and in the support of parties of the radical right or the extreme right, he has tried to divide Europe and NATO to weaken the West.

 

Attempt of annexation of Crimea and Putin’s threats to use force against other parts of Ukraine have unfolded a mainstreamed near abroad policy of the Russian Federation named as “Karaganov’s doctrine” by the name of its author Sergey Karaganov. The doctrine is an essential asset to understand Russian ideology, tools in foreign policy against neighbors and what is real soft power of influence.

 

Following Sergey Karaganov's theories that Russian-speakers, who live in non-Russian territories, can be utilized as an asset in foreign policy.

The implementation of the doctrine can be observed on the Russia’s near abroad policy stretching from Georgia, Moldova to Ukraine and other near abroad states. The signature is quiet the same everywhere: territorial claims, threatening the territorial integrity of neighbors, appealing to the Russian speaking population, support of local separatists, bribing local political, military and business elite and so on.

 

A premise is quite obvious; the conflicts are artificially created and aggravated by Russian own near abroad policy towards its neighbors by acting as “peacekeeper” of the region.

 

In addition to his Doctrine, Karaganov has advocated for a united Sino-Russian strategy to unify a Eurasian bloc ; hence also the approximation of positions in recent times between Russia and China.

 

More than ever, Democracy as we know it is in danger from the advances of Autocracy and the extremisms of the Radical Right and at this moment we are no longer talking only about ideological threats but real threats to the institutions of democracy; like what happened in America on January 6th with the Capitol invasion and the attempt to change the electoral result.

 

On the other hand this latent conflict between Russia and the West took on other proportions with this recent threat along the Ukrainian border and invasion, and even if a consensus is reached diplomatically, Europe and the World will no longer be the same.

We will have to understand and accept that, after all, the threat is very real and that the all world does not live only on good intentions !

  

___________________________________________________

 

Depois de ao longo dos anos ter instituído um governo autocrático na Rússia em que toda liberdade de expressão é proibida e seus defensores são perseguidos, presos ou assassinados, Putin agora volta-se para a Europa tentando impor sua visão hegemônica do mundo.

Através de uma guerra híbrida com ataques cibernéticos e campanhas de interferência/desinformação política nas eleições e no apoio a partidos da direita radical ou de extrema direita, tenta dividir a Europa e a NATO para enfraquecer o Ocidente.

A tentativa de anexação da Crimeia e as ameaças de Putin de usar a força contra outras partes da Ucrânia revelam uma política internacional generalizada da Federação Russa chamada de “Doutrina de Karaganov” pelo nome de seu autor Sergey Karaganov. A doutrina é um trunfo essencial para entender a ideologia russa, ferramentas de política externa contra vizinhos e o que é o verdadeiro "soft power" de influência.

Seguindo as teorias de Sergey Karaganov de que os falantes de russo, que vivem em territórios não russos, podem ser utilizados como um trunfo na política externa.

A implementação da doutrina pode ser observada na política externa da Rússia, que se estende da Geórgia, Moldávia à Ucrânia e outros estados próximos ao Ocidente. A assinatura é a mesma em todos os lugares: reivindicações territoriais, ameaçando a integridade territorial dos vizinhos, apelando para a população de língua russa, apoio a separatistas locais, subornando a elite política, militar e empresarial local e assim por diante.

Uma premissa é bastante óbvia; os conflitos são criados artificialmente e agravados pela própria política externa russa em relação aos seus vizinhos, agindo depois como “pacificador” da região.

Além de sua Doutrina, Karaganov defendeu uma estratégia sino-russa unida para unificar um bloco eurasiano; daí também a aproximação de posições nos últimos tempos entre a Rússia e a China.

Mais do que nunca, a Democracia como a conhecemos está em perigo com os avanços da Autocracia e os extremismos da Direita Radical e neste momento não estamos falando apenas de ameaças ideológicas, mas ameaças reais às instituições da democracia; como o que aconteceu na América em 6 de janeiro com a invasão do Capitólio e a tentativa de mudar o resultado eleitoral.

Por outro lado este conflito latente entre a Rússia e o Ocidente tomou outras proporções com esta recente ameaça ao longo da fronteira ucraniana e consequente invasão e mesmo que se chegue a um consenso diplomaticamente, a Europa e o Mundo já não serão os mesmos.

Teremos que entender e aceitar que, afinal, a ameaça é muito real e que o mundo todo não vive apenas de boas intenções!

   

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