Download and burn the entire Cleaves site -
including all attachments and pics - to Disc or Stick.
The burn will result in a browsable ready
resource you can access on or offline
anywhere anytime you wish!
In badly co-ordinated policy and propaganda presentations, reminiscent of US intelligence agency bungles, Secretary of State Mrs Clinton presented a speech extolling the virtues of uncensored freedom of expression in the digital world while her fearless, corporate puppet leader Obaa’ma implemented what is termed, ‘Cognitive Infiltration;’ which is a strategy designed to directly interfere and subvert individuals or groups deemed to be 'conspiracy theorists,' (CTs) notwithstanding Clinton's inferred claim that conspiracy whackos have as much right to free expression as anyone else, Barack!
The fact that Obama and his advisors regard these wobbly ‘theorists’ as a threat speaks more about administrative incompetence, CONTRACTIONISM and White House paranoia than it does about the so-called ‘conspiracy threat!' It’s a wonder government officials haven't attempted to link CTs to al-Qaeda, but given enough time they probably will! [Soon Walt Disney’s sorcerer’s apprentice will be banned; after all, Mickey Mouse is depicted performing magic!]
Of particular interest is the broad definition White House paranoid whackos have given to so-called ‘conspiracy theorists,’ a group that has traditionally existed on the fringes of rationality and reason for centuries. According to the official description a conspiracy theory is "an attempt to explain an event or practice by reference to the machinations of powerful people, who have also managed to conceal their role." -- Cass Sunstein, 2008. According to that definition a CT is anyone that believes government is influenced or controlled by sinister, external, self-serving interests, like Washington lobbyists and special interest groups!
After President 'Hope and Change' introduced “indefinite preventive detention,” a watershed moment in America's RACE to a TOTALITARIAN State, we can expect anything, none of it good I would add. Nazis Bush and Cheney are put to shame by Obama's new thought crime law!
So let’s drop the pretence and just admit the US is spiralling uncontrollably toward a Totalitarian State. How simple it would be (for those sinister forces) to utilise right wing extremist 'Teabaggers,' led by Sarah Palin, in their push to institute a Totalitarian State! Furthermore, in view of Obama’s and Clinton’s disappointing time as puppets in office, the people would be begging for an authoritarian government! Too easy, or have I let the pre-empted ‘cat out of the conspiracy bag?’
However, everything comes at a price and a totalitarian America would undoubtedly attract an international nuclear response – the sooner the better, as it is clear where America is heading!
Compare the Clinton-Obama contradictions and hypocrisies for yourself:
“Some countries have erected electronic barriers that prevent their people from accessing portions of the world's networks. They have expunged words, names and phrases from search engine results. They have violated the privacy of citizens who engage in non-violent political speech. These actions contravene the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which tells us that all people have the right "to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers." With the spread of these restrictive practices, a new information curtain is descending across much of the world.” [Clinton is referring to AUSTRALIA, China and other nations that promote CENSORSHIP.]
“[W]e suggest a distinctive tactic for breaking up the hard core of extremists who supply conspiracy theories: cognitive infiltration of extremist groups, whereby government agents or their allies (acting either virtually or in real space, and either openly or anonymously) will undermine the crippled epistemology of believers by planting doubts about the theories and stylized facts that circulate within such groups, thereby introducing beneficial cognitive diversity.”
The White House official who co-ordinated the almost simultaneous release of these two polarised views must have been trained by the person that planned JFK’s absurdly exposed route through Dallas! O, would that statement qualify me as one of those 'CTs'?
What does the US stand for, Hillary? Domestic surveillance, extraordinary kidnapping, water torture, Preventative 'thought crime' Detention, Corporate rule, etc etc! Watch your mouth, HYPOCRITE!
In a 2008 academic paper, President Barack Obama's appointee to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs advocated "cognitive infiltration" of groups that advocate "conspiracy theories" like the ones surrounding 9/11.
Cass Sunstein, a Harvard law professor, co-wrote an academic article entitled "Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures," in which he argued that the government should stealthily infiltrate groups that pose alternative theories on historical events via "chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups and attempt to undermine" those groups.
As head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Sunstein is in charge of "overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs," according to the White House Web site.
Sunstein's article, published in the Journal of Political Philosphy in 2008 and recently uncovered by blogger Marc Estrin, states that "our primary claim is that conspiracy theories typically stem not from irrationality or mental illness of any kind but from a 'crippled epistemology,' in the form of a sharply limited number of (relevant) informational sources."
By "crippled epistemology" Sunstein means that people who believe in conspiracy theories have a limited number of sources of information that they trust. Therefore, Sunstein argued in the article, it would not work to simply refute the conspiracy theories in public -- the very sources that conspiracy theorists believe would have to be infiltrated.
Sunstein, whose article focuses largely on the 9/11 conspiracy theories, suggests that the government "enlist nongovernmental officials in the effort to rebut the theories. It might ensure that credible independent experts offer the rebuttal, rather than government officials themselves. There is a tradeoff between credibility and control, however. The price of credibility is that government cannot be seen to control the independent experts."
Sunstein argued that "government might undertake (legal) tactics for breaking up the tight cognitive clusters of extremist theories." He suggested that "government agents (and their allies) might enter chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups and attempt to undermine percolating conspiracy theories by raising doubts about their factual premises, causal logic or implications for political action."
"We expect such tactics from undercover cops, or FBI," Estrin writes at the Rag Blog, expressing surprise that "a high-level presidential advisor" would support such a strategy.
Estrin notes that Sunstein advocates in his article for the infiltration of "extremist" groups so that it undermines the groups' confidence to the extent that "new recruits will be suspect and participants in the group’s virtual networks will doubt each other’s bona fides."
Sunstein has been the target of numerous "conspiracy theories" himself, mostly from the right wing political echo chamber, with conservative talking heads claiming he favors enacting "a second Bill of Rights" that would do away with the Second Amendment. Sunstein's recent book, On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done, was criticized by some on the right as "a blueprint for online censorship."
Sunstein "wants to hold blogs and web hosting services accountable for the remarks of commenters on websites while altering libel laws to make it easier to sue for spreading 'rumors,'" wrote Ed Lasky at American Thinker.
Beijing issued a stinging response Friday to Hillary Rodham Clinton's criticism that it is jamming the free flow of words and ideas on the Internet, accusing the United States of damaging relations between the two countries by imposing its "information imperialism" on China.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu defended China's policies regarding the Web, saying the nation's Internet regulations were in line with Chinese law and did not hamper the cyber activities of the world's largest online population. His remarks follow those made by the U.S. secretary of state, who in a speech Thursday criticized countries engaging in cyberspace censorship, and urged China to investigate computer attacks against Google.
"Regarding comments that contradict facts and harm China-U.S. relations, we are firmly opposed," Ma said in a statement posted Friday on the ministry's Web site. "We urge the U.S. side to respect facts and stop using the so-called freedom of the Internet to make unjustified accusations against China."
In her speech in Washington, Clinton cited China as among a number of countries where there has been "a spike in threats to the free flow of information" over the past year. She also named Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.
A state-run newspaper labeled the appeal from Washington as "information imperialism," and Ma insisted that China had "the most active development of the Internet" of any country.
Washington, meanwhile, carried its message on Internet freedom directly to Chinese bloggers. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou hosted Internet-streamed discussions with members of the blogging community on Friday afternoon — the latest example of Washington's outreach to Chinese bloggers as a way of spreading its message.
The bloggers met with U.S. diplomats from the political, economic and public affairs sections, who held discussions and answered questions about Clinton's speech. The meetings were similar to a session organized during Obama's visit to China in November.
Zhou Shuguang, who blogs under the name "Zuola," attended the session in Guangzhou and said Clinton's speech resonated deeply with Chinese bloggers frustrated by the content controls.
"We welcome the U.S. bringing this topic to the table for discussion in a diplomatic way," Zhou said.
Internet control is considered a critical matter of state security in China, and Beijing is not expected to offer any concessions. Beijing promotes Internet use for commerce, but heavily censors content it deems pornographic, anti-social or politically subversive and blocks many foreign news and social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook and the popular video site YouTube.
Underscoring such sensitivities, Chinese media published only scant reports on Clinton's speech and Web sites carrying the Foreign Ministry response had disabled their comments pages.
"For many senior leaders in the party, they're going to see this as just a further example of Western misunderstanding of China, Western domination of the agenda, and they're going to be more encouraged to push or defend China's own press policies," said David Bandurski, a Chinese media scholar at the University of Hong Kong.
Bandurski said that could give added impetus to multibillion-dollar plans to raise Chinese state media's overseas profile. China has been setting up new bureaus for state newspapers and funding the official Xinhua News Agency's move into television while establishing new foreign language channels for broadcaster China Central Television.
Phil Deans, a China expert at Temple University's Japan campus in Tokyo, said Beijing will likely view Clinton's comments as further confirmation that the current administration is no more amenable to its world view than the preceding one.
"After a year of sort of getting to know you and seeing how things are, the two sides realize they have a very, very different view of how the world does work and how the world should work," Deans said.
Clinton's speech came on the heels of a Jan. 12 threat from Google to pull out of China unless the government relented on censorship. The ultimatum came after Google said it had uncovered a computer attack that tried to plunder its software coding and the e-mail accounts of human rights activists protesting Chinese policies.
Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said Thursday that the company hoped to find a way to maintain a presence in China but intended to stop censoring search results within "a reasonably short time."
Responses to the Google issue have ranged widely among Chinese Internet users, with some placing flowers at its Beijing headquarters and others penning screeds bidding good riddance.
U.S. State Department officials have said they intend to lodge a formal complaint with Chinese officials soon over the Google matter. Clinton not only urged China to investigate the cyber intrusions but openly publish its findings.
Clinton's speech was also denounced by an official newspaper Friday as part of a U.S. campaign to impose its values and denigrate other cultures while exploiting their societies' vulnerabilities.
"China's real stake in the 'free flow of information' is evident in its refusal to be victimized by information imperialism," said the English-language Global Times newspaper.
printable version
PDF version
