Mic Check Radio

On this supplemental episode we kick off a series of the Mic Check Radio Book Club.  It's the audio book of Propaganda by Edward L Burnays, published in 1928.  Noam Chomsky has called this book "the main manual of the public relations industry".  It may be 87 years old, but the ideas and concepts are still used (and successful) today.  This book explores the psychology of manipulating the masses in order to influence consumerism, politics, social change and gender dynamics.  On this episode we will hear Chapter 1: Organizing Chaos and Chapter 2: The New Propagandists. [Click to Listen]

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda,

programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever

other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind

trying to convince you to do something.  In the second episode of this series we take a look at the early, early days of advertising...before cars took people to stores miles from their house.  Back in this time period, the merits of a consumer good or service were believed to be enough to sell the item.  At the turn of the century (1900) we were still considered 'citizens' by those in positions of power (government and industry), but this was all about to change.  After the success of the Committee on Public Information, a WWI organization in charge of swaying public opinion to support the war, the same techniques used to sell the war to the citizens of the US were adapted by big business to more effectively sell their goods and services.  Edward Burnays was a member of the CPI and the leading proponent of switching the citizenry into consumers in the post WWI years. In the mid 1920's, he successfully combined the philosophy of Wilfred Trotter (and his idea of "herd instinct") with the writings of his uncle, Sigmund Freud.  The successful techniques pioneered by Burnays are still being used to sell us consumer goods today; press release, celebrity endorsement, testimonials, sex, product placement and the idea that buying a consumer good that we don't need will fill that empty hole in our lives. [Click to Listen]

We are all affected by it...call it advertising, propaganda, programming, social engineering, psychological operations, or whatever other term could be applied.  The act of a force outside of your mind trying to convince you to do something.  In the kick-off episode of this series we go over the etymology and definitions of the above terms and then get into an example of how 'conversations' on this topic usually play out within the corporate media [hint: they suck].  We also take a listen to some shitty pop music and ask 'how do the lyrics affect the human brain', mainly in an unconscious way.  We conclude part 1 with an adaptation of the Zen TV Experiment and how it could be used with any kind of screen, to the benefit of us all.  [Click to Listen]

Here's the initial news headline that caught my attention "FBI Arrest Ohio Man in ISIS Inspired Attack on US Capitol Building".  This headline caught my eye for a number of reasons; I live in Ohio, the FBI has a track record of coaxing isolated individuals into "plots" like this and the idea of attacking the US Capitol sounds terrifying.  So, in this episode was track down the publicly available paperwork the FBI filed on Christopher Lee Cornell to see what the reality is behind this kind of headline. [Click to Listen]

More details on Police State tactics of surveillance. The FBI (and the court system) has determined that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy once a citizen has left his or her home.  So, if you are outside of your house, you will be monitored.  How?  Two of the new surveillance weapons used by the United States Intelligence Community are the DRT Box and the StingRay.  They both work in similar ways.  They are "cell-site simulators" or "ISMI catchers".  

From the ACLU website:

The DRT Boxes are now being used in the air (plane, drone, helicopter, etc.) to sweep up even more information from cell phone users.  It doesn't seem like there is even an expectation of privacy within the walls of your home anymore.

[Click to Listen]

A look at some of the great examples of Activist Cinema from 2014, and a little bit of behind the scenes information about the 'Sony Hack'.

No No: A Dockumentary,

The Internet's Own Boy,

The Unknown Known,

Citizenfour,

Night Moves,

Selma.

[Click to Listen]

Eric Garner, killed by a cop in Staten Island, NY.  John Crawford, killed by a cop in Bevercreek, OH. Michael Brown, killed by a cop in Ferguson, MO.  Tamir Rice, killed by a cop in Cleveland, OH. Is there some sort of racist-cop trend that has cropped up recently around the country or is there a larger issue here?  If we have a half-asses compulsory school system in this country that barely educates the masses, then what happens when a certain portion of those masses become cops?  In this episode we look closely at a recent Department of Justice investigation into the Cleveland Police Departments' 'use of force policies' over the past few years and how the findings within that report apply to most police departments across the country.  What happens when poorly educated, poorly trained people are armed and given military weapon hand-me-downs and told to go police the streets of America?  [Click to Listen]

[Rebroadcast: Episode

from February 9th, 2013]From push notifications, corporate news channel

tickers, billboards, newspaper headlines, blog titles, Facebook updates and

twitter posts - the depth of our information diet is getting smaller and less

diverse.  In this episode we take a look at alternative ways to expand the

mind with in depth information.  From concerts and films to just plain old

up all night passionate conversations with friends and family, there is no need

to limit ourselves when it comes to the amount and type of information we are

putting in our brains. [Click

to Listen]

FBI - Spying - US Citizen's.  It's a simple set of search terms.  If you search it every six weeks or so you will find no shortage of reasons to be pissed off.  This weeks tale includes an internationally know non-profit organization that is funded by "donations" from the top corporations in the world and how they hosted the current head of the FBI and his speech - Going Dark: Are Technology, Privacy and Public Safety on a Collision Course?  [Hint: it's a trick question] This from a guy who oversees a system called the Digital Collection System Network, which is connected directly into the switches for virtually all of the major network providers.  What does it say about our society when the second reason to monitor everyone, second only to terrorism, is consumerism? Market research, in order to figure out how to more effectively sell us shit we don't need.  [Click to Listen]

Activist Cinema 11: We're trying something new with this episode of Activist Cinema...we're discussing a film that I hate.  The term 'Citizen's United' is very familiar to most activists these days, but it's mainly due to the infamous Supreme Court case. 

In the case the court decided:

It's a landmark piece of law that has ruined the electoral process in the United States.  However, Citizen's United is more than just a court case, it is a production company for political documentaries.  In 2012, director Stephen K. Bannon teamed up with Andrew Breitbart (two darlings of the Corporate version of the Tea Party) and put together this documentary. 

From the films website:

purpose of destroying the American government. The film also discusses

allegations of rape, drug use, and property destruction at the Occupy

encampments."

I would suggest refreshing your memory by reading the brief Timeline of Occupy Wall Street over at Wikipedia (click here) before watching this film as the filmmakers go into quite a bit of detail about some of the events that may have faded from your memory.  Then get ready to yell at your TV...a lot. [Click to Listen]