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Documents by Wikileaks express CIA’s concern that the populations of European countries,which oppose their governments’ war policies,are not succumbing to the usual propaganda spun through the media.

Posted by Scrat on December 13, 2010 at 6:44pm
On previous occasions I have mentioned the importance and significance of reading Sigmond Freuds psychoanalysis for beginners as a guiding tool to help you understand how the herd and media shepherds effect the markets.........In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger traces the history of propaganda to Edward Bernays, the American nephew of Sigmund Freud, who invented the term "public relations". Bernays believed in "engineering public consent" and creating "false realties" as news. Here are examples of how this works today.Edward Bernays, the American nephew of Sigmund Freud, is said to have invented modern propaganda. During the first world war, he was one of a group of influential liberals who mounted a secret government campaign to persuade reluctant Americans to send an army to the bloodbath in Europe. In his book, Propaganda, published in 1928, Bernays wrote that the “intelligent manipulation of the organised habits and opinions of the masses was an important element in democratic society” and that the manipulators “constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power in our country”. Instead of propaganda, he coined the euphemism “public relations”.The American tobacco industry hired Bernays to convince women they should smoke in public. By associating smoking with women’s liberation, he made cigarettes “torches of freedom”. In 1954, he conjured a communist menace in Guatemala as an excuse for overthrowing the democratically-elected government, whose social reforms were threatening the United Fruit company’s monopoly of the banana trade. He called it a “liberation”.Bernays was no rabid right-winger. He was an elitist liberal who believed that “engineering public consent” was for the greater good. This was achieved by the creation of “false realities” which then became “news events”. Here are examples of how it is done these days:False reality The last US combat troops have left Iraq “as promised, on schedule”, according to President Barack Obama. TV screens have filled with cinematic images of the “last US soldiers” silhouetted against the dawn light, crossing the border into Kuwait.Fact They are still there. At least 50,000 troops will continue to operate from 94 bases. American air assaults are unchanged, as are special forces’ assassinations. The number of “military contractors” is currently 100,000 and rising. Most Iraqi oil is now under direct foreign control.False reality BBC presenters and reporters have described the departing US troops as a “sort of victorious army” that has achieved “a remarkable change in [Iraq’s] fortunes”. Their commander, General David Petraeus, is a “celebrity”, “charming”, “savvy” and “remarkable”.Fact There is no victory of any sort. There is a catastrophic disaster; and attempts to present it as otherwise are a model of Bernays’ campaign to “re-brand” the slaughter of the first world war as “necessary” and “noble”. In 1980, Ronald Reagan, running for president, re-branded the invasion of Vietnam, in which up to three million people died, as a “noble cause”, a theme taken up enthusiastically by Hollywood. Today’s Iraq war movies have a similar purging theme: the invader as both idealist and victim.False reality It is not known how many Iraqis have died. They are “countless” or maybe “in the tens of thousands”.Fact As a direct consequence of the Anglo-American led invasion, a million Iraqis have died. This figure from Opinion Research Business is based on peer-reviewed research led by Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC, whose methods were secretly affirmed as “best practice” and “robust” by the Blair government’s chief scientific adviser, as revealed in a Freedom of Information search. This figure is rarely reported or presented to “charming” and “savvy” American generals. Neither is the dispossession of four million Iraqis, the malnourishment of most Iraqi children, the epidemic of mental illness and the poisoning of the environment.False reality The British economy has a deficit of billions which must be reduced with cuts in public services and regressive taxation, in a spirit of “we’re all in this together”.Fact We are not in this together. What is remarkable about this public relations triumph is that only 18 months ago the diametric opposite filled TV screens and front pages. Then, in a state of shock, truth was unavoidable, if briefly. The Wall Street and City of London financiers’ trough was on full view for the first time, along with the venality of once celebrated snouts. Billions in public money went to inept and crooked organisations known as banks, which were spared debt liability by their Labour government sponsors.Within a year, record profits and personal bonuses were posted, and state and media propaganda had recovered its equilibrium. Suddenly, the “black hole” was no longer the responsibility of the banks, whose debt is to be paid by those not in any way responsible: the public. The received media wisdom of this “necessity” is now a chorus, from the BBC to the Sun. A masterstroke, Bernays would surely say.False reality The former government minister Ed Miliband offers a “genuine alternative” as leader of the British Labour Party.Fact Miliband, like his brother David, the former foreign secretary, and almost all those standing for the Labour leadership, is immersed in the effluent of New Labour. As a New Labour MP and minister, he did not refuse to serve under Blair or speak out against Labour’s persistent warmongering. He now calls the invasion of Iraq a “profound mistake”. Calling it a mistake insults the memory and the dead. It was a crime, of which the evidence is voluminous. He has nothing new to say about the other colonial wars, none of them mistakes. Neither has he demanded basic social justice: that those who caused the recession clear up the mess and that Britain’s fabulously rich corporate minority be seriously taxed, starting with Rupert Murdoch.Of course, the good news is that false realities often fail when the public trusts its own critical intelligence, not the media. Two classified documents recently released by Wikileaks express the CIA’s concern that the populations of European countries, which oppose their governments’ war policies, are not succumbing to the usual propaganda spun through the media. For the rulers of the world, this is a conundrum, because their unaccountable power rests on the false reality that no popular resistance works. And it does.
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Possible Short Term Tops (NASDAQ:CREE) (NASDAQ:RVBD) (NYSE:SMH)

Posted by Aadil on December 13, 2010 at 5:52pm

it looks like certain semiconductor and storage plays have possibly topped out today. After an initial gap higher, they have turned to the downside even as the markets remain higher. Their daily charts are extremely extended and into major resistance. The first stock that has shown a good top reversal is Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ:CREE). In two months CREE has gone from $48.00 to a gap up high today of $72.85. Even with the markets near the highs of the day, this stock has now reversed and gone negative. The second stock is Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVBD). RVBD opened higher at $37.60. Since then, it has dropped, going negative on the day. RVBD was a $12.00 stock at the beginning of 2010. Just in the last month, RVBD is up almost $10.00 per share. The reversal today, could spell a solid short term pull back in the stock. The semiconductor ETF is also looking like a top is near or already in the stock. Semiconductor HOLDRs (ETF) (NYSE:SMH) is extremely extended. Watch for a pull back. To gain more guidance, swing trades and education, join the Research Center.

Gareth Soloway
Chief Market Strategist
www.InTheMoneyStocks.com
#1 Rated

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Dollar Drops Keeps Markets Floating Higher (NYSE:UUP) (NYSE:SPY)

Posted by Aadil on December 13, 2010 at 5:37pm


The stock market is floating higher today on the back of a major drop in the Dollar. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (NYSE:UUP) is down sharply, trading at $22.89, -0.23 (-0.99%). A weak Dollar keeps the markets moving higher for multiple reasons. The Federal Reserve continues to create an artificial asset bubble to make the average American believe they are richer. While this bubble will burst, the Federal Reserve believes for the first time in history, they can control it. As the Dollar drops, stock prices must move higher to keep their real value. For instance, if the Dollar drops 10%, stock prices should move up 10%. In addition, a weak Dollar causes commodity prices like oil, gold, silver and copper to move higher. This also helps the profits of many stocks that are part of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.

While the market is slightly higher on the day, it is interesting to note that we are not seeing major gains on a massive drop in the Dollar. This tells us that the key $125.25 level on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) is holding well as resistance. This level may cause a short term pull back in the markets and should be watched very closely. To gain more insight, guidance, swing trades and education, join the Research Center.

Gareth Soloway
Chief Market Strategist
www.InTheMoneyStocks.com
#1 Rated

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How Long Will China Float The Global Economy? (NYSE:FXI) (NYSE:FCX) (NYSE:SCCO) (NYSE:CLF)

Posted by Aadil on December 13, 2010 at 5:30pm

Last night the Shanghai Index rallied higher by nearly 3.0 percent. The rally in the highly followed Shanghai Index occurred after the Chinese central bank failed to raise interest rates as most economists had expected. Inflation fears have come over the Chinese economy as reports such as the CPI surged by over 5.0 percent. Recently the Chinese have increased bank reserves to try and curb speculating in real estate. However, the failure by the Chinese to increase actual interest rates has caused a spike in most commodity stocks this morning. Stocks such as Freeport McMoRan Copper& Gold Inc.(NYSE:FCX), and Southern Copper Corp.(NYSE:SCCO) are rallying this morning after the action by the Chinese. Oil, gold, and silver are also surging higher as this action by the Chinese has helped the U.S. Dollar Index to decline. As we all have seen before when China rallies the world seems to inflate higher and rally. This is really just an extension of the current inflation rally as the central banks around the world continue to keep interest rates artificially low in order to create inflation. Leading commodity stock Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.(NYSE:CLF) is rallying higher by nearly 3.0 percent this morning. United States Steel Corp.(NYSE:X) is another leading commodity stock that will often benefit from the weakening U.S. Dollar Index. These stocks will often rally higher when the U.S. Dollar Index pulls back or sells off. Therefore, keep one eye on the U.S. Dollar Index at all times. Should the U.S. Dollar Index catch a bid higher or begin to rally most commodity stocks will deflate and trade lower. At this time the stock markets around the world follow the Chinese markets like a hawk. The other major catalyst for a global stock market rally is the weak U.S. Dollar Index. It seems that as long as the dollar declines the world economies will inflate higher. This type of action can continue for a while, however, it will not last forever. Watch for signs when these current relationships seem to break apart or no longer work. Until then enjoy the inflation rally.

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On Tuesday 14 December,ITV will broadcast'The War You Don't See' at 10.35pm.

Posted by Scrat on December 13, 2010 at 4:26pm

The new film is a powerful and timely investigation into the media's role in war, tracing the history of 'embedded' and independent reporting from the carnage of World War One to the destruction of Hiroshima, and from the invasion of Vietnam to the current war in Afghanistan and disaster in Iraq. As weapons and propaganda become even more sophisticated, the nature of war is developing into an 'electronic battlefield' in which journalists play a key role, and civilians are the victims. But who is the real enemy?

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