So, Big Sugar was conspiring to misinform the public of the dangers of consuming their product? Sounds like the kind of thing that might be done by someone like Edward Bernays...

http://videosift.com/video/animated-book-summary-propaganda-how-to-control-people

*conspiricy *science (because of discussing how "scientific" results can be manipulated by money.) *quality

For more info on what sugar actually does, see Robert Lustig's talk, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth."

*related=http://videosift.com/video/Sugar-The-Bitter-Truth

I don't particularly like O'Reilly's conservatism and warmongering, but about this, Colbert is simply ignorant or worse. "OMG, mercenaries going rogue!" Because, y'know, the state's armies never go "rogue" or cause any "mayhem." Nope! Not in WW 1. Not in WW 2. Not in Korea. Not in Vietnam. Not in Latin America. Not in Iraq. Not in Afghanistan, or anywhere else!. Nope. Not ever.

The American forces never goes rogue and Bradley/Chelsea Manning is not being locked up for exposing the never-rogue nature of the American forces.

I don't think Colbert is an idiot. So I'm inclined to think that Hoppe may be correct and Colbert is just part of the "intelligensia," paid to promote stupidity among the masses. (OMG, I'm beginning to sound like "OMG Bernays!")

What's coming inevitably will be as it's always been in the 'century-of-self ': The machine keeps peeps distracted by disinformation, issues to rally-behind, toys to play with and continual mind-fucking through Bernay's-style cradle-to-grave programming then....Suddenly, like three skyscrapers dropping into their footprints on International Shit-Box Tonight with Sham Cocksworth, yet another, 'create-the-crisis-provide-the-solution' scenario will further strengthen the resolve of the assholes who want ultimately to have the world to themselves and the bulk of humanity as dutiful robot-putty-slaves.

Technology, technique, fear, and an empty promise of safety and security (please, think of the children again, break to commercial) will shape the next worldwide crisis and urgency of action...and again, watch rights and individual responsibility deteriorate into a controlled chaos.

Fake alien invasion? Orchestrated and choreographed conflicts? Some scary flesh-eating disease? Most-likely the next planetary theatrical concoction will be some superfecta once again where fascism continues to reign supreme and the entire globe continues along the path of planetary lock-down.

Oh, and pusillanimous shit-heals with Cheeto-stained fingertips will between anime-clips and chicken-choking to porn, (who think they know how police fraternities work), will continue to pop-spit from the illusory comfort of their soiled computer chairs....

'Right...'Left' ?? Again, for the ChaosEngines of the world...a concocted and programmed, fucking illusion.

'Gay, not gay' is nothing more than a distraction alla Edward Bernays to me, baby-People of all races, creeds, colors are easily and idiocratic-ally sucked-into identity/orientation mumbo-jumbo is my real 'beef' with adverts like these....They're produced by assholes for morons. Enjoy your super-sized slavery, would you like cheese on that??

Can't argue that BK has turned to complete shit as have ALL fast-food chain-driven shit-holes.

People so emotionally attached to the regime (as @st0nedeye seems to be) are often either regime propagandists being handsomely compensated or serfs who feel so vulnerable and afraid (and maybe even inept themselves) that they can't think of how they would survive without the "rulers" to protect them. (Of course, the jokes on them since that protection, safety, and security, is mostly an illusion.)

If they are regime propagandists, then unless you pay them more to take on whatever views you want them to stick to in the hopes of cashing in on the cronyism.

If they are true believers or fanatics (due to fear, insecurity, envy, etc.), then they will try to tear up anyone who tries to give them information, even if that information will ultimately help them out, improve their lot (help, to be sure, that was not solicited by them, and they have a right not to be given).

These are the attitudes that made Edward Bernays and others rather loathe "the people," allowing them to rationalize the various forms of manipulation imposed in the 20th century. This propaganda was ostensibly for "the people's" "safety," but was more accurately for personal profit. It's a fate though that I can't totally disagree is not deserved.

Still, despite the crazy analysis, I commend @st0nedeye for bringing up the interesting topic of the situation in Europe after the "fall" of Rome (which happened gradually and parallels that of most empires, including this current one). It's worth considering that the collapse of the Soviet Union also, a collapse that even to this day many in Russia bemoan -- just like st0nedeye bemoans the collapse of Rome. Life under the Roman bureaucracy and plutocracy was not as glamorous as many people would have you believe (maybe if you were a one of the beneficiary plutocrats).

What if I said that much of what we consider advanced human society is simply a network of selfish people individually interested in maximizing pleasure and avoiding displeasure?

What if I said that, other than hugely displeasurable experiences (disease, war, famine, etc., all displeasure) there are few other driving factors to advance modern human society outside of selfish desire for more pleasure?

The success of capitalism is the recognition that a society can be built around this with some rules that keep everyone from trampling everyone else.

We exist in a society built upon selfishness, where products beget products in an endless stream. Have you seen the new 'retina display' ipads? And the new Batman movie? And the new coffee brand that the local store is carrying that you heard is good? And the new treatment for that disorder you have? This is the current state of human society. Bernays and others recognized that tweaking things here and there for their own selfish gain was not only successful, but successful beyond their expectations. Bernays and people like him don't see themselves as 'taking advantage of' or 'cheating' others, though they will readily admit that marketing is manipulation.

Many of us look around now and say, 'this marketing and consumerism has gone to far!'. Why? I suggest this is because aggressive, constant barrages of these marketing tactics is leading your typical person to feel displeasure due to constantly being pitched to, and displeasure at recognizing the unending attempts at manipulation. This displeasure is outweighing the pleasure of participating in some areas of our society.

What will this lead to? Maybe a happy medium, maybe a swing the other direction, maybe an incredible swing to a 'matrix'-like dystopia where we are happily asleep in our minds, maximally pleased with the state of things.

>> ^Dread:

I'm of the opinion that these methods of massive crowd manipulation are unfortunately a blight... I do instead see a few very wealthy individuals throughout society whom most assuredly endorse and utilize these systems... I wonder if they are truly happy?

I'm of the opinion that these methods of massive crowd manipulation are unfortunately a blight on psychologies contribution to humankind & far form beneficial for the advancement of our species as an evolved society.

I do not see much good that has come from Bernays' philosophies and how they have been used to increase the average persons delusion that happiness is brought forth via external material acquisition.

I do instead see a few very wealthy individuals throughout society whom most assuredly endorse and utilize these systems... I wonder if they are truly happy?

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

On the contrary, I think Russia's conflict with the US puts them in a better position to understand and critique American corruption. They have no patriotic blinders to cloud their view, no nationalism to justify censoring harsh critiques and they've suffered more against the American propaganda machine more than any other country in the world. We still, to this day, have an fictionalized, fairy tale understanding of the former Soviet Union. Google Edward Bernays.
http://videosift.com/video/Edward-Bernays-and-the-Art-of-Public-Ma
nipulation

>> ^mxxcon:
1 hit peace with no relevance whatsoever on a company that has a name of that country's biggest opposition is hardly considered to be a quality news source.

while true, "Russia Today", a tv channel sponsored by Russia's gov't is hardly an objective source of information.
Their own description is "RT sets out to present the Russian point of view on events in Russia and its 'near abroad' and give the viewers an opportunity to get acquainted with Russian views on world and domestic events." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_%28TV_network%29
So most of their content is presented with a pro-Russia spin. And in this case they couldn't pass up an opportunity to dump on a bank with "America" in its name.

On the contrary, I think Russia's conflict with the US puts them in a better position to understand and critique American corruption. They have no patriotic blinders to cloud their view, no nationalism to justify censoring harsh critiques and they've suffered more against the American propaganda machine than most other countries in the world. We still, to this day, have a fictionalized, fairy tale understanding of the former Soviet Union. Google Edward Bernays.

http://videosift.com/video/Edward-Bernays-and-the-Art-of-Public-Manipulation



>> ^mxxcon:

1 hit peace with no relevance whatsoever on a company that has a name of that country's biggest opposition is hardly considered to be a quality news source.

There's so much wharrgarbl going on in there I almost popped a blood vessel.

Contrary to the "Idiocracy" belief that our society is being "dumbed down", as it were (and, believe me, I still find myself saying this is the case) evidence suggests the opposite is the case. In first world nations across the globe intelligence quotients are rising (and plateauing in some cases, while minority's IQs are still rising), and belief in silly religions and superstitions are falling.

Yes there is Mercury in Thimersol, but it isn't the horrific kind.
Bad Mercury: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylmercury
Thimersol Mercury: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylmercury

The key words there are "Bioaccumulate": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioaccumulate

For a look at the whole "Vaccines/Thimersol causes Autism" wharrgarbl, I rebuke with a video I posted to the sift a while back: http://videosift.com/video/Do-Vaccines-Cause-Autism-A-Detailed-Examination

Oh, and hey! How about the fact that Dr. Wakefield, the father of the whole Vaccine/Autism debacle with his article published in The Lancet was discredited finally!

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/02/02/and-now-the-antivax-failure-is-complete-the-lancet-withdraws-wakefields-paper/

As for the whole "Flouride" wharrgarbl I'd just recommend reading the Wiki's Article on Water Flouridation, in particular this section right around paragraph 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation#Ethics_and_politics

(Emphasis mine)

"Conspiracy theories involving fluoridation are common, and include claims that fluoridation was motivated by protecting the U.S. atomic bomb program from litigation, that (as famously parodied in the film Dr. Strangelove) it is part of a Communist or New World Order plot to take over the world, that it was pioneered by a German chemical company to make people submissive to those in power, that behind the scenes it is promoted by the sugary food or phosphate fertilizer or aluminum industries, or that it is a smokescreen to cover failure to provide dental care to the poor.[19] One such theory is that fluoridation was a public-relations ruse sponsored by fluoride polluters such as the aluminum maker Alcoa and the Manhattan Project, with conspirators that included industrialist Andrew Mellon and the Mellon Institute's researcher Gerald J. Cox, the Kettering Laboratory of the University of Cincinnati, the Federal Security Agency's administrator Oscar R. Ewing, and public-relations strategist Edward Bernays.[84] Specific antifluoridation arguments change to match the spirit of the time.[85]"


The video is right; let's get the facts. And if your facts only support your "New World Order", "omfg they're trying to control our minds" nonsense, well then, those are your "facts". There's a funny thing about why smart people believe weird things; read about it in Michael Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things". It showed me the error of some of my foolish beliefs as well.

And I'm at the point where I wonder why I bother doing this, I'm talking to walls and making friends with no one. I guess I just care too much about seeing fear mongering bullshit like this peddled as if it has any rational backing whatsoever.

http://christophersisk.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/thestupiditburns.jpg

/downvote

Tags for this video have been changed from 'adam curtis, documentary, guatemala, banana' to 'adam curtis, documentary, guatemala, banana, Bernays, Century of the Self' - edited by fissionchips

what a great question for Sift Talk. It's been interesting seeing such a diverse collection for users. A few brought memories while many sound interesting. Thanks for the quality question Rougy.

currently I'm re-reading

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, by Bart Erhman

From Booklist
The popular perception of the Bible as a divinely perfect book receives scant support from Ehrman, who sees in Holy Writ ample evidence of human fallibility and ecclesiastical politics. Though himself schooled in evangelical literalism, Ehrman has come to regard his earlier faith in the inerrant inspiration of the Bible as misguided, given that the original texts have disappeared and that the extant texts available do not agree with one another. Most of the textual discrepancies, Ehrman acknowledges, matter little, but some do profoundly affect religious doctrine. To assess how ignorant or theologically manipulative scribes may have changed the biblical text, modern scholars have developed procedures for comparing diverging texts. And in language accessible to nonspecialists, Ehrman explains these procedures and their results. He further explains why textual criticism has frequently sparked intense controversy, especially among scripture-alone Protestants. In discounting not only the authenticity of existing manuscripts but also the inspiration of the original writers, Ehrman will deeply divide his readers. Although he addresses a popular audience, he undercuts the very religious attitudes that have made the Bible a popular book. Still, this is a useful overview for biblical history collections.

and I just finished, THE FLUORIDE DECPTION, by Christopher Bryson

From Publishers Weekly
Concerns over fluoridated drinking water have long been derided as the obsession of McCarthyite cranks. But this muckraking j’accuse asserts that fluoride is indeed a dire threat to public health, one foisted upon the nation by a vast conspiracy—not of Communist agents, but of our very own military-industrial complex. Investigative reporter Bryson revisits the decades-long controversy, drawing on mountains of scientific studies, some unearthed from secret archives of government and corporate laboratories, to question the effects of fluoride and the motives of its leading advocates. The efficacy of fluoridated drinking water in preventing tooth decay, he contends, is dubious. Fluoride in its many forms may be one of the most toxic of industrial pollutants, and Bryson cites scientific analyses linking fluoridated drinking water to bone deformities, hyperactivity and a host of other complaints. The post-war campaign to fluoridate drinking water, he claims, was less a public health innovation than a public relations ploy sponsored by industrial users of fluoride—including the government’s nuclear weapons program. Legendary spin doctors like Edward Bernays exploited the tenuous link between dental hygiene and fluoridation to create markets to stimulate fluoride production and to prove the innocuousness of fluoride compounds, thereby heading off lawsuits by factory workers and others poisoned by industrial fluoride pollution. Bryson marshals an impressive amount of research to demonstrate fluoride’s harmfulness, the ties between leading fluoride researchers and the corporations who funded and benefited from their research, and what he says is the duplicity with which fluoridation was sold to the people. The result is a compelling challenge to the reigning dental orthodoxy, which should provoke renewed scientific scrutiny and public debate.

I think Edward Bernays was just trying to do good, I don't believe cynicism exists. See this thread for details:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Fantastic-Dove-Ad-Talk-to-Your-Daughter-Before-They-Do

for more info about this unethical company

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company

and no discussion of United Fruit Company (aka Chiquita) would be complete without some information about Edward Bernays role in its scandals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays