Tag Archives: Survival

Propaganda + Repetition + Economic Devastation = Reaction

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by Jon Rappoport

In today’s episode of COVID fakery on rye and hold the apocalypse, we begin with a bevy of quotes from Edward Bernays (1891-1995), the acknowledged father of modern public relations, aka propaganda. I include his statements as a warm-up backgrounder—

“This is an age of mass production. In the mass production of materials a broad technique has been developed and applied to their distribution. In this age, too, there must be a technique for the mass distribution of ideas.” (1928)

“The engineering of consent is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest.” (1947)

“It is sometimes possible to change the attitudes of millions but impossible to change the attitude of one man.” (date unknown)

“When I came back to the United States, I decided that if you could use propaganda for war, you could certainly use it for peace. And ‘propaganda’ got to be a bad word because of the Germans using it, so what I did was to try and find some other words. So we found the words ‘counsel on public relations’.” (date unknown)

“When Napoleon said, ‘Circumstance? I make circumstance‚’ he expressed very nearly the spirit of the public relations counsel’s work.” (1923)

“Domination to-day is not a product of armies or navies or wealth or policies. It is a domination based on the one hand upon accomplished unity, and on the other hand upon the fact that opposition is generally characterized by a high degree of disunity.” (1923)

“The public relations counsel, therefore, is a creator of news for whatever medium he chooses to transmit ideas. It is his duty to create news no matter what the medium which broadcasts this news.” (1923)

“The only difference between ‘propaganda’ and ‘education,’ really, is in the point of view. The advocacy of what we believe in is education. The advocacy of what we don’t believe in is propaganda.” (1923)

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society.” (1928)

“Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government.” (1928)

“If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway. But men do not need to be actually gathered together in a public meeting or in a street riot, to be subject to the influences of mass psychology. Because man is by nature gregarious he feels himself to be member of a herd, even when he is alone in his room with the curtains drawn. His mind retains the patterns which have been stamped on it by the group influences.” (1928)

The news heads and the talk show heads and the sports heads and the advertisers and bureaucrats and politicians and public health flacks and celebrities are assuring television viewers, with no shame: We’re all in this together. Over and over. Night and day. On every channel.

This was the strategy during older wars. No time for disagreement or dissent; there must be a unified response and effort; otherwise, we could lose.

We’re all in this together means: fall in line.

If that’s share and care and love, it’s robot love.

Advertisers, despite their studies and their sophistication and their wall-to-wall profiling of consumers, still believe in the first principle of propaganda: repetition.

Get the name of your product and company out there and don’t stop. Do it a thousand times, a million times. As long as you have money to pay for ads, do it.

Look at the insurance company commercials. Progressive, State Farm, Liberty, Geico. The little vignettes they lay on are really the occasion for pasting their company name on the screen. Make these 30-second stories friendly and funny and crazy, but the money shot is the company name.

Pandemic ads and messages follow the same rule. In this case, it’s TOGETHERNESS. UNITY. Pounded on and on.

Why? If cooperation and love and togetherness are basic human impulses, why do people need to be reminded of that 24 hours a day, on television?

Does a husband who loves his wife need to see his face and his wife’s face on a screen, on every channel, without let-up, along with a message urging him to adore her?

On the other hand, a person who’s been thrown out of a job, who can’t find work, who sees his government checks fading down to zero…he needs pacification. That’s a tough sell. That sell-job requires a whole lot of repetition…

…In order to produce SHAME in him, if he feels cheated and exiled and screwed. The repetition of togetherness and fake love informs him that the collective citizenry isn’t on his side. It tells him his righteous anger has no place in the relentlessly upbeat messaging of “unity.” It keeps him feeling isolated.

Now we’re getting down to it. Don’t let the people who are economically devastated believe they can find each other. Shut them out. Pump them full of television public service ads that paint an “uplifting” picture from which they’re excluded.

They may be devastated, but television tells them they aren’t on the team if they give their own concerns first priority. If they do, they’re non-persons.

After all, when they sit at home watching TV, do they see a cropped video of another unemployed worker sitting in a dark room saying, “THIS IS CRAZY. I WANT TO WORK. I NEED FOOD. MY BOSS CLOSED HIS COMPANY. HE’S BANKRUPT. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”

Are they offered that kind of unity? Togetherness?

“Hi. I’m an NFL cornerback. I’ve made thirty million during my career. Here I am at home with my kids. We’re playing games on the floor. I’m enjoying my family. We’ll get through this. All of us. Stay safe. Use the time to bring your family closer together.”

Major news outlets are under strict orders to keep “disturbing human interest stories” off the front page and away from their broadcasts. This is also part and parcel of the wartime effort.

It would have to be, since economic devastation is what this fake pandemic is actually all about. No one in the mainstream will let that cat out of the bag. It would be more than a mistake. It would be a confession. It would be suicide.

How about these headlines? VACCINE KINGS WANT TO SOFTEN UP POPULATIONS FOR A NEEDLE IN THE ARM. A RUINED POPULACE IS READY TO BE LED INTO A NEW WORLD ORDER.

Propagandists know that a one-two punch of fear and then assurance works. Scare them with the virus, comfort them with togetherness.

But still, it’s a tough sell. It has legs for a while, but then the natives become restless, especially in the hinterlands. People who aren’t jammed together in big cities, who live in open spaces, tend to develop immunity to lies. Coiffed press hookers on television dispensing so-called news carry less punch. Farmers know if they can’t plant their crops on time, with workers side by side, they’ll go broke.

Generally speaking, people who don’t see other people who are sick, and don’t hear ambulance sirens, start wondering what’s happening.

Protests begin. Protests expand.

The fake night of obedience turns into the real day of rebellion.

It turns out that a story about an invisible virus isn’t quite the same as a line of enemy tanks approaching. All promoted wars are not equal.

Fauci knows this. Birx knows this. Bill Gates knows this. Mayors and governors know this. The CDC and WHO know this. They don’t really care whether you survive, but they know you care. So, for them, it’s a race against time. How long can they keep the lid on? How long can their preposterous messaging work?

Stage magic is an odd game. The performer has to run his tricks quickly, so people don’t have the luxury of sitting back and thinking about how he is fooling them. However, the public health magicians and the politician magicians and the news magicians are hemmed in—they’re basically one-trick ponies. Virus, virus, virus=together, together, together.

It looks good, but it wears out.

It’s wearing out now.

I’ll close this piece with a few more gems from Edward Bernays—to urge you to keep your eye on the ball. The real ball.

“If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it?” (1928)

“A single factory, potentially capable of supplying a whole continent with its particular product, cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda, with the vast public in order to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable. This entails a vastly more complex system of distribution than formerly.” (1928)

“No serious sociologist any longer believes that the voice of the people expresses any divine or specially wise and lofty idea. The voice of the people expresses the mind of the people, and that mind is made up for it by the group leaders in whom it believes and by those persons who understand the manipulation of public opinion. It is composed of inherited prejudices and symbols and clichés and verbal formulas supplied to them by the leaders.” (1928)

“Propaganda is of no use to the politician unless he has something to say which the public, consciously or unconsciously, wants to hear.” (1928)

from:    https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2020/05/20/television-wartime-messaging-for-the-love-of-unity/

Is Eating Out Going the Way of the Dinosaurs?

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25% Of US Restaurants Will Never Reopen: Opentable

A quarter of US restaurants will go out of business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a forecast by OpenTable, which reported that total restaurant reservations and walk-in customers have fallen 95% over the previous year ending May 13.

Susan Upton, 53, works on her computer at Mambo’s, her family restaurant, in Glendale Calif., on March 18, 2020. Mambo’s was forced to close after 32 years in the midst of the global pandemic. (Lucy Nicholson—Reuters)

The company tracks over 54,000 restaurants on its reservation site, which offers the ability to make online, walk-in, and phone reservations – but does not track data for take-out and deliveries, according to Bloomberg.

The company’s data shows that there are growing signs that patrons are willing to dine out again in states like Arizona and Texas where it’s allowed, though the numbers are still far below where they were last year.

Scottsdale showed the greatest improvement. It had zero reservations almost every day since March 21, but on May 13 this eased to a down 72% from reservations on the same day in 2019. The next most significant recoveries were in Houston and Phoenix. –Bloomberg

At the state-level, Florida showed the greatest statewide gain, with foot traffic only down 83% y/y after launching a phased reopening May 4 during which restaurants were allowed to operate at one-quarter capacity.

Indiana, which is now in phase two – allowing restaurants to operate at 50% of capacity – has come in second. The state is planning on a full reopening by the Fourth of July.

“Restaurants are complicated beasts,” said Steve Hafner, CEO of OpenTable parent company, Booking Holdings. “You have to order food and supplies. You have to make sure you’ve prepped the kitchen and service areas to be easily disinfected.”

According to Hafner, state unemployment benefits with the federal booster is one reason why restaurants have struggled to hire help. “A lot of people are making $1,200 a week doing nothing. That’s good pay.”

Meanwhile, restaurateur Danny Meyer – who shut down all of his 19 New York restaurants on March 13, says his dining rooms will stay closed for the foreseeable future, according to Bloomberg.

“We won’t be welcoming guests into our full-service restaurants for a very long time—probably not until there’s a vaccine,” he said, adding “There is no interest or excitement on my part to having a half-full dining room while everyone is getting their temperature taken and wearing masks, for not much money

“It’s very frustrating, but it’s the only safe way to go,” he added.

It’s a caution shared by fellow restaurateur Daniel Humm, who said he may not re-open Eleven Madison Park at all, and by David Chang who just announced the closing of his Chelsea restaurant Nishi and his Washington, DC, Momofuku location.

Meyer, in the meantime, is taking the first steps back into business by opening his café Daily Provisions for take out service as early as next week. The storefront, which is next to Union Square Café on East 19th St., was designed for grab-and-go coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and signature crullers. Initially, it will open for curbside pickup of breakfast items, with an expanded menu expected to follow. –Bloomberg

Meyer will likely open his Flatiron District pizza restaurant, Marta, for takeout – saying “We had been on the cusp of takeout at Daily Provisions, Marta, and Blue Smoke [the company’s barbecue spot] when we closed. It makes sense now.”

“I would think about anything that is safe and profitable. If it’s not safe, we won’t do it, we all lose,” he said, adding “Profitable matters, as well. The only way we can responsibly get back in the business of employing people is to not go out of business. It’s already incredibly hard to survive.”

from:    https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/25-us-restaurants-will-never-reopen-opentable

Where Does Consciousnes Go after Death?

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Quantum Theory Proves That Consciousness Moves to Another Universe After Death

consciousness parallel universeA book titled “Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness Are the Keys to Understanding the Nature of the Universe“, published in the USA, has stirred up the Internet, because it contained a notion that life does not end when the body dies, and it can last forever. The author of this publication, scientist Robert Lanza has no doubts that this is possible.

Beyond time and space

Lanza is an expert in regenerative medicine and scientific director of Advanced Cell Technology Company. Before he has been known for his extensive research which dealt with stem cells, he was also famous for several successful experiments on cloning endangered animal species.

But not so long ago, the scientist became involved with physics, quantum mechanics and astrophysics. This explosive mixture has given birth to the new theory of biocentrism, which the professor has been preaching ever since.

The theory implies that death simply does not exist. It is an illusion which arises in the minds of people. It exists because people identify themselves with their body. They believe that the body is going to perish, sooner or later, thinking their consciousness will disappear too. In fact, consciousness exists outside of constraints of time and space. It is able to be anywhere: in the human body and outside of it. That fits well with the basic postulates of quantum mechanics science, according to which a certain particle can be present anywhere and an event can happen according to several, sometimes countless, ways.

Lanza believes that multiple universes can exist simultaneously. These universes contain multiple ways for possible scenarios to occur. In one universe, the body can be dead. And in another it continues to exist, absorbing consciousness which migrated into this universe.

This means that a dead person while traveling through the same tunnel ends up not in hell or in heaven, but in a similar world he or she once inhabited, but this time alive. And so on, infinitely.

Multiple worlds

This hope-instilling, but extremely controversial theory by Lanza has many unwitting supporters, not just mere mortals who want to live forever, but also some well-known scientists. These are the physicists and astrophysicists who tend to agree with existence of parallel worlds and who suggest the possibility of multiple universes. Multiverse (multi-universe) is a so-called scientific concept, which they defend. They believe that no physical laws exist which would prohibit the existence of parallel worlds.

multiverse parallel universesThe first one was a science fiction writer H.G. Wells who proclaimed in 1895 in his story “The Door in the Wall”.  And after 62 years, this idea was developed by Hugh Everett in his graduate thesis at the Princeton University. It basically posits that at any given moment the universe divides into countless similar instances. And the next moment, these “newborn” universes split in a similar fashion. In some of these worlds you may be present: reading this article in one universe, or watching TV in another.

The triggering factor for these multiplying worlds is our actions, explained Everett. If we make some choices, instantly one universe splits into two with different versions of outcomes.

In the 1980s, Andrei Linde, scientist from the Lebedev’s Institute of physics, developed the theory of multiple universes. He is now a professor at Stanford University.

Linde explained: Space consists of many inflating spheres, which give rise to similar spheres, and those, in turn, produce spheres in even greater numbers, and so on to infinity. In the universe, they are spaced apart. They are not aware of each other’s existence. But they represent parts of the same physical universe.

The fact that our universe is not alone is supported by data received from the Planck space telescope. Using the data, scientists have created the most accurate map of the microwave background, the so-called cosmic relic background radiation, which has remained since the inception of our universe. They also found that the universe has a lot of dark recesses represented by some holes and extensive gaps.

Theoretical physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton from the North Carolina University with her colleagues argue: the anomalies of the microwave background exist due to the fact that our universe is influenced by other universes existing nearby. And holes and gaps are a direct result of attacks on us by neighboring universes.

Soul quanta

So, there is abundance of places or other universes where our soul could migrate after death, according to the theory of neo-biocentrism. But does the soul exist?

consciousness parallel universeProfessor Stuart Hameroff from the University of Arizona has no doubts about the existence of eternal soul. As recently as last year, he announced that he has found evidence that consciousness does not perish after death.

According to Hameroff, the human brain is the perfect quantum computer and the soul or consciousness is simply information stored at the quantum level. It can be transferred, following the death of the body; quantum information represented by consciousness merges with our universe and exist there indefinitely. The biocentrism expert Lanza proves that the soul migrates to another universe. That is the main difference from his other colleagues.

Sir Roger Penrose, a famous British physicist and expert in mathematics from Oxford, supports this theory, and he has also found traces of contact with other universes. Together, the scientists are developing quantum theory to explain the phenomenon of consciousness. They believe that they found carriers of consciousness, the elements that accumulate information during life, and after death of the body they “drain” consciousness somewhere else. These elements are located inside protein-based microtubules (neuronal microtubules), which previously have been attributed a simple role of reinforcement and transport channeling inside a living cell. Based on their structure, microtubules are best suited to function as carriers of quantum properties inside the brain. That is mainly because they are able to retain quantum states for a long time, meaning they can function as elements of a quantum computer.

from:    http://www.learning-mind.com/quantum-theory-proves-that-consciousness-moves-to-another-universe-after-death/#sthash.JuDox31e.dpuf

Why Zombies?

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Zombie Science: Why Society Is Crazy About The Walking Dead

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

A Stanford University researcher took notice of the latest craze for the walking dead and decided to pinpoint the reason for the obsession of zombies in culture and society.

Stanford literary scholar Angela Becerra Vidergar says the obsession over zombies can be traced back to the invention of nuclear warfare during World War II. She says our collective visions of the future changed after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, as well as other World War II events, churning up some disturbing thoughts about the human capacity for violence.

Vidergar wrote in her doctoral dissertation entitled “Fictions of Destruction: Post-1945 Narrative and Disaster in the Collective Imaginary” about how the events of the 20th century, combined with movements to increase environmental awareness, have cast doubt about the consequences of our development as modernized societies.

“In our world today, many of us live with an underlying awareness of possible risks to our survival, not just as individuals, communities, or nations, as has been the case for centuries or even millennia, but on a global scale for reasons new to our era of modernization,” she told redOrbit in an email. “That awareness seems to be one factor in the overflow of the apocalyptic imagination from primarily religious, spiritual spheres into more secular parts of our culture.”

NUCLEAR WAR

As an example, she mentioned how we live in a nuclear age that still continues under the threat of wars that could destroy large portions of the planet.

“Furthermore, the violent events of the past century, including two world wars and a series of other wars, genocides, and other acts of physical and psychological violence have forced us into a frightening awareness of the fragility of our moral frameworks,” said Vidergar. “We have taken great pains through efforts around the world to respond to these crises to our faith in what we thought separated the “human” and “inhuman,” but have not yet found solutions to help us process the traumas of our past, much less find a definitive way to prevent them in the future.”

The literary scholar added we could also be more aware today of the dangerous aspects of our relationships to the rest of the earth, and the non-human life that it contains.

“We regularly hear debates regarding the effects the rush of technological and scientific development can have on the world,” she told redOrbit. “No matter what side we take on these issues, the increased fear for the future over the past century or so is part of our socio-cultural milieu—and therefore affects the ways we imagine (and therefore fictionalize) the future.”

POPULAR CULTURE

“If we take cultural products such as literature, films, television, games, etc. as an indicator, we no longer primarily picture a promising road of enlightenment to a bright future (as many did during, for example, the Industrial Revolution),” Vidergar added. “Progress has not yet delivered on the utopian destinies we previously envisioned; so despite the advancements we have made, we instead find ourselves surrounded by evidence of the ways we have not only failed to improve the world, but perhaps even made it worse.”

Vidergar, who is currently finishing a doctoral degree in Comparative Literature at Stanford, said our increased awareness of mass-scale risk can shift the outlook of our future to darker possibilities, so “more of us buy into more dystopian visions of the world to come.”

“Zombie plagues are among various different scenarios that have made up the increase in mass-scale disaster stories in the past decades. Zombie horror is, in part, popular in the way other genres of entertainment that provide adventure and violence are popular,” she commented. “However, zombie narratives have a particular set of elements that allow us to tap into those anxieties about the future and how we would address them.”

SURVIVAL

She said like other disaster stories which focus on the survivors, these zombie tales provide us with a low-risk environment to “try out” our responses in an extreme situation.

“It is not the zombies that we are drawn to in this sense, but the survivors. Through them we can face our fears without being in danger ourselves, including one of the scariest things to consider: the strength of our own ethical boundaries and our capacity for survival.”

Vidergar points out the destruction of humans in these stories is not due to natural disaster, but comes in a form that is so close to ourselves it provides a unique element to the survival experiment.

“Zombies have the potential to stand in as reflections of things that frighten us about ourselves. There are various possible and interesting interpretations for what exactly about our culture they reflect, but because of my research I am particularly interested in the idea that the survivors are like the zombies in that the people they were are gone, yet they live on in another form,” she said in the email.

According to Vidergar, in the stories, humans must become different people in order to survive, creating a frightening situation, but somewhat liberating.

IMAGINATIVE ENVIRONMENT

For the research, she told redOrbit she was fascinated by the nature of the relationship between the socio-culture environment, and the artistic products that arise from that environment.

“The expressions of our imaginations, such as zombie stories, do not come out of nowhere. There is an oscillating relationship between our socio-cultural context and the fictions we create in response (whether directly or indirectly) to that environment,” Vidergar said. “In short, our experience flows into what we imagine, triggering expressions of that imagination into what we produce. Those products that make it out back out into the cultural environment become part of the experiences of others, triggering their imaginations, and so on.”

She referred to her research as “collective imaginary,” which involves the kind of imagination that is shared, rather than just possessed by individuals.

“Although it is a phenomenon that most of us would agree is ‘there,’ it is difficult to get a handle on and tricky to describe. That challenge is the exciting part!”

Also, she said she is fascinated by the manifestations of survivalism encountered in the US and around the world today.

“Stories of survival have excited and stimulated us for centuries, and they continue to do so,” Vidergar told redOrbit. “But particularly since the end of WWII and into today there has been a strong interest in disaster preparedness, from survival kits and outdoor training camps to fallout shelters.”

Angela is also co-founder of the Graphic Narrative Project, a research group and upcoming journal for the study of comics, graphic novels and other graphic narratives.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

For fun, Vidergar explained to redOrbit what she would do in the event of a “zombie apocalypse.”

“First plan of action: secure shelter, supplies and appropriate weaponry. If the first is a bust, then mobile protection of some sort. I would be traveling with a toddler, so finding sturdy transportation would be a key concern,” she said. “Guns are effective, but weapons that do not need to be reloaded would be a better, long-term solution against the undead. I particularly like the section on defense in Max Brook’s The Zombie Survival Guide. Antibiotics, pain medicine, bandages, needle and thread, dynamo flashlight/radio, water (and water purification tools), non-perishable food items and a route for escape that stays away from areas of major population yet is close enough to possible places to replenish said supplies, as well as fuel.”

She said she would find some kind of effective body armor, a solid pair of boots and layers of clothing, and a “good hat.” Also, “a bandana or scarf would be an added bonus, as it gives protection and doubles as a bandage in a pinch.”

The zombie apocalypse expert mentions it would be good to have some first aid training in your background. Also, to add to the list of supplies, she says ensure you have a compass, a map, backpack, blanket and a solar USB charger.

“The ability to make fire is great and should be acquired in advance—just ask contestants on the show Survivor! Oh, and you always need a good rope. You don’t know what you’ll use it for until you need it, but you will need it,” she told redOrbit. “Finally, good judgment and a cool head are paramount. As The Walking Dead has taught us, the greatest danger won’t be from zombies—it’ll be from other people.”

from:    http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112791793/zombie-craze-society-analysis-022613/