Category: Misinformation & Propaganda

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Review (Guest): Juggernaut — Why the System Crushes the Only People Who Can Save It

5 Star, America (Founders, Current Situation), Banks, Fed, Money, & Concentrated Wealth, Capitalism (Good & Bad), Complexity & Catastrophe, Congress (Failure, Reform), Corruption, Country/Regional, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, Research, Economics, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Impeachment & Treason, Justice (Failure, Reform), Misinformation & Propaganda, Peace, Poverty, & Middle Class, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Public Administration, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Threats (Emerging & Perennial), Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary, Compelling Piece of Outside-the-box Thinking and Analysis, February 17, 2011

By Robert Donovan “Author: Blueprint for Prosperity” (California) – See all my reviews

Mister Morse has done an exemplary job here.

First, Juggernaut is a well thought out, level-headed, and refreshingly non-partisan look at the evolution of western political-economic thought from the 1500s and the discovery of the New World to the present. The author discusses Marxian critiques of capitalism, the School of Salamanca, robber-barrons and laissez-faire capitalism, the effects of the division of labor championed by Adam Smith, the interventionism of Keynes, the ascent of money as a preferred medium of exchange, the perils of interdependency created by a closed economic environment, and many more emotionally charged subjects with an admirably dispassionate tone. In each case equal time is given to the benefits and inherent problems of each of the ideas presented. This serves well to define the problems we face in the modern political and economic environment and to illustrate how the US and other developed nations got into their current messes and why there is such great difficulty in untangling them effectively.
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Review (Guest): The Psychopath Test — A Journey Through the Madness Industry

5 Star, Atrocities & Genocide, Civil Society, Congress (Failure, Reform), Consciousness & Social IQ, Corruption, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Crime (Organized, Transnational), Culture, Research, Disease & Health, Economics, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Impeachment & Treason, Intelligence (Government/Secret), Justice (Failure, Reform), Military & Pentagon Power, Misinformation & Propaganda, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Threats (Emerging & Perennial)
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Jon Ronson

5.0 out of 5 stars A Serious Topic Tackled with Humanity, May 12, 2011

‘People who are psychopathic prey ruthlessly on others using charm, deceit, violence or other methods that allow them to get what they want. The symptoms of psychopathy include: lack of a conscience or sense of guilt, lack of empathy, egocentricity, pathological lying, repeated violations of social norms, disregard for the law, shallow emotions, and a history of victimizing others.'
– Robert Hare, Ph.D

I've been hooked on Jon Ronson's writing since ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats' was first published. Ronson cuts right to the heart of important topics by having the guts to ask the difficult questions. His literary style is equal parts journalistic rigour, deep compassion and incisive observational humour that often shines the light of ridicule on darker human behaviours. ‘The Psychopath Test' explores psychiatry, psychopathology, medication and incarceration of ‘dangerous' individuals. The book reads like a mystery novel, which – driven by Ronson's compelling prose – makes it difficult to put down.

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Review (Guest): Zero — an investigation into 9/11

5 Star, 9-11 Truth Books & DVDs, Atrocities & Genocide, Congress (Failure, Reform), Corruption, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, DVD - Light, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), History, Impeachment & Treason, Intelligence (Government/Secret), Justice (Failure, Reform), Military & Pentagon Power, Misinformation & Propaganda, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Reviews (DVD Only), Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Threats (Emerging & Perennial)
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5.0 out of 5 stars Who You Gonna Believe?, September 13, 2009

Reviewed by Howard M. Kindel

This is the film that makes it impossible to accept the “official” version of the “911” tragedy any longer. It presents no new, startling evidence – no “smoking gun.” What it does, though, is to organize the wealth of available material in such a way as leave no room for doubt.

Front and center, for me anyway, has always been the Video supposedly showing Osama Bin Laden taking credit for the attacks – a Video that just magically turned up almost out of nowhere a couple months after the attacks. This Video has always been suspect precisely because it surfaced just about the time people were beginning to doubt the “official” version.

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Review: Among the Truthers — A Journey Through America’s Growing Conspiracist Underground

3 Star, 9-11 Truth Books & DVDs, Culture, Research, Intelligence (Public), Justice (Failure, Reform), Media, Misinformation & Propaganda, Truth & Reconciliation, Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized)
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Jonathan Kay

3.0 out of 5 starsShallow, Scribbler Who Ignored the Books and DVDs, May 23, 2011

I came to this page asking myself if three stars would be too hard on this author and what has proven to be a disturbing amount of garbage. The other reviews kept me at three, I was toying with two stars.

When I received the book, and then again today, my first impressions of the author are hugely negative: glib, arrogant, smug, condescending. This guy has crawled out from under some Canadian rock where he led a very sheltered life–either that or he is an “agent of influence” funded by CSIS and the CIA to undermine the 9/11 Truth Movement just as it is gaining even more traction in the aftermath of the Wall Street looting of the American and global economies. [Cf. GRIFTOPIA and the DVD “Inside Job”]
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Review (Guest): Idiot America — How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free

5 Star, America (Founders, Current Situation), Complexity & Catastrophe, Consciousness & Social IQ, Country/Regional, Culture, Research, Education (General), Intelligence (Public), Misinformation & Propaganda, Nature, Diet, Memetics, Design, Peace, Poverty, & Middle Class, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Politics of Religion, Science & Politics of Science

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Charles Pierce

5.0 out of 5 stars It's True: We See This Everyday, July 2, 2009

“Idiot America” is great, informative book about concepts we see everyday. Also, many of the 1-star reviews are likely biased because of some of the political and religious topics noted. I think this book is definitely a full, 5-star book.

The Following comments aren't meant to be particularly negative towards the United States and the concepts in this book aren't exclusive to the USA. The concepts in “idiot America” exist all over the entire world. “Idiot America” is a superbly covered account of something that's very prevalent in the US.

Charles Pierce provides the history of “cranks” (con artists and showmen) from the founding of the nation to current examples today in contemporary America. I focused on TV and Radio because of it's widespread impact on the populace today (even in the age of the growing Internet, which is becoming dominant). Much of TV and Talk Radio promote misinformation based on emotion, histrionics, shock, being loud, and over-the-top attempts to get ratings.

The author notes “The 3 Great Premises: and applies them to many instances in this book:

1. Any theory is valid if it moves units (rating, and making money).
2. Anything can be true if it is said loudly enough.
3. Fact is what enough people believe (the Truth is what you believe).

There are many examples in this book. Here are just a few:

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Review (Guest): Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America — From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff

5 Star, America (Founders, Current Situation), Capitalism (Good & Bad), Complexity & Catastrophe, Corruption, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, Research, Environment (Problems), Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Impeachment & Treason, Information Society, Justice (Failure, Reform), Misinformation & Propaganda, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Public Administration, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy, Threats (Emerging & Perennial), True Cost & Toxicity, Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized)
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James B. Stewart

Product Description

Bestselling author James B. Stewart's newsbreaking investigation of our era's most high-profile perjurers, revealing the alarming extent of this national epidemic.

Our system of justice rests on a simple proposition: that witnesses will raise their hands and tell the truth. In Tangled Webs, James B. Stewart reveals in vivid detail the consequences of the perjury epidemic that has swept our country, undermining the very foundation of our courts.

With many prosecutors, investigators, and participants speaking for the first time, Tangled Webs goes behind the scene of the trials of media and homemaking entrepreneur Martha Stewart; top White House political adviser Lewis “Scooter” Libby; home-run king Barry Bonds; and Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff.

Guest Review

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-rate story teller takes on the lying addiction of the rich and famous, April 19, 2011 By F. Hayes-Roth (Monterey, CA USA) – See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Lying seems epidemic in American society. Stewart focuses his superb writing skills on the general problem of perjury and lying under oath by highlighting the cases of four celebrated liars: Martha Stewart (no apparent relation to the author), Scooter Libby, Barry Bonds, and Bernie Madoff. For each of these, he asks the same question: “Why would people with so much to lose put so much at risk by lying under oath?” Ultimately, the answer becomes obvious: “They thought they could get away with it.”

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Review: Liberty Defined–50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom

6 Star Top 10%, America (Founders, Current Situation), Biography & Memoirs, Complexity & Resilience, Congress (Failure, Reform), Consciousness & Social IQ, Corruption, Crime (Corporate), Crime (Government), Culture, Research, Democracy, Economics, Education (General), Empire, Sorrows, Hubris, Blowback, Executive (Partisan Failure, Reform), Intelligence (Public), Justice (Failure, Reform), Misinformation & Propaganda, Peace, Poverty, & Middle Class, Philosophy, Politics, Power (Pathologies & Utilization), Priorities, Public Administration, Threats (Emerging & Perennial)
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Ron Paul

5.0 out of 5 stars Six Stars for Ron Paul's Consistent Constitution–50 one liners, May 10, 2011

I have read and reviewed earlier books by Ron Paul, such as The Revolution: A Manifesto and A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship. This book moves into a higher class (only 10% of the books I read and review get 6 Stars, see all my reviews in 98 categories at Phi Beta Iota the Public Intelligence Blog). I decided in this instance, thinking of Ron Paul as a viable Presidential candidate for the first time, to deconstruct the book down to 50 one liners. I offer these as a short form of the book, not a substitute for the real deal, but intended to help inspire more people to either buy the book, or absorb this free summary as we all try to break free of the corrupt two-party tyranny that fronts for a neo-fascist state.

Bottom line: liberty is a human condition diminished by a leviathan state.

Below: one line summary of each of the 50 chapters. See also the review by A. Maheshwari that I liked so much I cross-posted it to Phi Beta Iota for others to appreciate.

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