The Men Who Stare At Goats : Secret Missions, Movies, and Propaganda

The Men Who Stare at Goats was an interesting book and I have to wonder about the timing of the new movie coming out and the use of propaganda.

Quote from : Wikipedia : Propaganda

Propaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position.

As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience.

Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented.

The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

The book review for The Men Who Stare at Goats is below :

Amazon Review :

Just when you thought every possible conspiracy theory had been exhausted by The X-Files or The Da Vinci Code, along comes The Men Who Stare at Goats.

The first line of the book is, "This is a true story."

True or not, it is quite astonishing.

Author Jon Ronson writes a column about family life for London's Guardian newspaper and has made several acclaimed documentaries.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is his bizarre quest into "the most whacked-out corners of George W. Bush's War on Terror," as he puts it.

Ronson is inspired when a man who claims to be a former U.S. military psychic spy tells the journalist he has been reactivated following the 9-11 attack.

Ronson decides to investigate. His research leads him to the U.S. Army's strange forays into extra-sensory perception and telepathy, which apparently included efforts to kill barnyard animals with nothing more than thought.

Ronson meets one ex-Army employee who claims to have killed a goat and his pet hamster by staring at them for prolonged periods of time.

Like Ronson's original source, this man also says he has been reactivated for deployment to the Middle East.

Ronson's finely written book strikes a perfect balance between curiosity, incredulity, and humor.

His characters are each more bizarre than the last, and Ronson does a wonderful job of depicting the colorful quirks they reveal in their often-comical meetings.

Through a charming guile, he manages to elicit many strange and amazing revelations.

Ronson meets a general who is frustrated in his frequent attempts to walk through walls.

One source says the U.S. military has deployed psychic assassins to the Middle East to hunt down Al Qaeda suspects.

Entertaining and disturbing.

YouTube : The Men Who Stare At Goats : Movie Trailer


The thought that they made this movie into a comedy makes me wonder if they are trying to discredit the actual event, or if the event was really that comical, because according to various sources this actually happened as a secret and classified project behind closed doors and behind the scenes on our hard-earned tax-payers money.

Hollywood History: World War II Propaganda

Quote from Associated Content

Many Americans would bristle at the idea that Hollywood films were as deliberately propagandistic as the films made in Germany during the Nazi era.

While most of those films were, in fact, heavy-handed and leaden, there were exceptions, such as Leni Riefenstahl's pre-war Olympics documentary Olympia.

The Crazy Rulers Of The World - Episode One: The Men Who Stare At Goats [1 of 5]


The Crazy Rulers Of The World - Episode One: The Men Who Stare At Goats [2 of 5]


The Crazy Rulers Of The World - Episode One: The Men Who Stare At Goats [3 of 5]


The Crazy Rulers Of The World - Episode One: The Men Who Stare At Goats [4 of 5]


The Crazy Rulers Of The World - Episode One: The Men Who Stare At Goats [5 of 5]


Hoist the Flag : False Flags, Agent Provocateurs, and Black Box Operations

[edit on 24-10-2009 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


I am actually looking forward to seeing this film. Although I can see where you are coming from Spartan, I think it will be more of a comedy than anything else.

It's a very interesting story and I have picked up the book but haven't had any time to read it yet.

I am just wondering why you would classify this as propaganda? Is there any particular issue that this is pushing?

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Well, they would be discrediting themselves, by making the movie a comedy.

Either that or the Hollywood industry would be doing just that, either intentionally, or unintentionally through the need of a new movie, and since I have noticed a trend in Hollywood where nothing new is coming out lately, it might be the second more than the first.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


I agree, the ammount of remakes in the works right now really makes me wonder where writer integrity and original thought went this past decade.

In any case they would be discrediting themselves, but is that not what the point would be? I mean anything to classify conspiracy theorists as loons seems to me the norm these days.

~Keeper

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

I agree, the ammount of remakes in the works right now really makes me wonder where writer integrity and original thought went this past decade.

In any case they would be discrediting themselves, but is that not what the point would be? I mean anything to classify conspiracy theorists as loons seems to me the norm these days.

~Keeper

Yes, discrediting the conspiracy theory clique would be a way to go.

I mean George W Bush turned around and stated not to believe any wild conspiracy theories in conjunction with September 11th, thereby only making his stance look that much more corrupt and culpable.

Hollywood, and the dumbing down of America go hand in hand, and the culpability is plain and obvious as the crooked nose on Dick Cheney's face.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


Yup I agree once again.

Whenever I see anybody discrediting a theory based on nothing but "The Government's Word" I automatically assume there is more truth to that story than the person attempting to tell me not to listen.

It's a strange game the US and other countries have been playing with the content of television, moves and news. The propaganda reels for the Iranian Theater are in full swing, we have an abundance of Alien/UFO content being distributed monthly on various channels and an economy about to implode.

All of this has one single function. To promote fear. And they are doing a great job of it. Much better than post 9/11. They have pushed the terrorist agenda so far they've needed to change the name to "Political & Religious Extremism".

In any case that movie will be very interesting and I really do wonder these days how long it will take for things to really hit the fan.

~Keeper

Wasn't there some very real CIA/KGB projects that attempted this sort of thing for real during the coldwar?

I mean Phys espionage?

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

Yup I agree once again.

Whenever I see anybody discrediting a theory based on nothing but "The Government's Word" I automatically assume there is more truth to that story than the person attempting to tell me not to listen.

It's a strange game the US and other countries have been playing with the content of television, moves and news. The propaganda reels for the Iranian Theater are in full swing, we have an abundance of Alien/UFO content being distributed monthly on various channels and an economy about to implode.

All of this has one single function. To promote fear. And they are doing a great job of it. Much better than post 9/11. They have pushed the terrorist agenda so far they've needed to change the name to "Political & Religious Extremism".

In any case that movie will be very interesting and I really do wonder these days how long it will take for things to really hit the fan.

~Keeper

Yes, I agree 100% with you, tothetenthpower.

Why would they need so many types of propaganda?

* White Propaganda

Quote from : Wikipedia : White Propaganda

White propaganda is propaganda which truthfully states its origin.

* Black Propaganda

Quote from : Wikipedia : Black Propaganda

Black propaganda is false information and material that purports to be from a source on one side of a conflict, but is actually from the opposing side.

* Grey Propaganda

Quote from : Wikipedia : Grey Propaganda

Grey propaganda is propaganda without any identifiable source or author.

Hollywood does tend to take any real secret or classified topic and turn it into "sci fi" (like Stargate) or comedy (like this movie).

But the military was not content to use psychics merely to gather intelligence. They wanted to go further and use them for offensive purposes, too - an enthusiasm that turned to paranoia when the Americans learned of a huge Russian programme to develop their own psychic weapons.

More than 40 Russian institutes were involved and the Americans were terrified that the Soviets would use psychics to disable their nuclear missiles.

To combat the threat, American psychics were tasked with manipulating the workings of Russian computers and erasing their hard discs. They were also asked to interfere with the detonators of nuclear weapons and interrupt the guidance systems of missiles. All of this work is still highly classified.

AND things soon turned even more sinister - for the military began investigating whether human thought could inflict damage on living creatures. This is known as DMILS (Direct Mental Interaction with Living Systems).

source

Originally posted by darkwing81
Wasn't there some very real CIA/KGB projects that attempted this sort of thing for real during the coldwar?

I mean Phys espionage?

In fact there was several but one that comes to mind is Joseph McMoneagle.

The Stargate Chronicles

Amazon Review :

Back in 1964, 18-year-old Joseph McMoneagle joined the army to escape an unhappy family in the Miami projects.

McMoneagle had shown high aptitude in intelligence tests and soon wound up in several interesting assignments in the Bahamas, West Germany and Thailand as an intelligence officer.

But McMoneagle was not happy-his military career interfered with what was eventually a failed marriage, and his applications for promotion went answered.

Still, he seemed to have a charmed life and met people who directed him along his path.

In 1977, he was recruited for a top secret army project that became known as Star Gate-psychic spying on behalf of the United States.

The army showed McMoneagle secret documents, based on information compiled by the Stanford Research Institute, that revealed enemy psychic spying on the United States.

Willing to learn more, McMoneagle soon became immersed in the program, which was set up in some old buildings on the periphery of Fort Meade, Md., near Washington, D.C.

During the 10 years that McMoneagle spent with this program, he allegedly developed an uncanny ability at "remote viewing," a process by which he was able to psychically see a targeted object, at one point seeing into a secret Soviet submarine construction facility and at another pinpointing where an American general was being held by members of Italy's Red Brigades.

McMoneagle retired from this draining work in 1987, married a third time and devoted his time to freelance work, sometimes at Stanford.

After the Star Gate program was revealed to the public on Nightline, McMoneagle appeared on television in America and Japan.

This book (his fourth on remote viewing) is a fascinating peek into the secret world of an offbeat military intelligence program and a life lived within it.

YouTube - Remote Viewing - Joe McMoneagle interview

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


Yeah.
That's it. Remote viewing.
I'll see the movie anyway.
Just for kicks.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


I added a bunch of videos I remembered after the fact to the original post.

Originally posted by darkwing81
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

Yeah.
That's it. Remote viewing.
I'll see the movie anyway.
Just for kicks.

I'm going to see it just for the humor and as well to see how close it is to the truth.

Originally posted by Orion65
Hollywood does tend to take any real secret or classified topic and turn it into "sci fi" (like Stargate) or comedy (like this movie).

AND things soon turned even more sinister - for the military began investigating whether human thought could inflict damage on living creatures. This is known as DMILS (Direct Mental Interaction with Living Systems).

source

I agree with you 100%.

I made some threads on topic with this thread a while back.

Remote Viewing Secrets: A Handbook : Joseph McMoneagle

Are Psychic's Being Held Prisoner Based On Politically Skewed Views?

Mental Imagery From Words Or Images

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


I'll read those, I think this topic is very interesting. As far as the propaganda aspect, it really plays into the "fear factor". Now people (who haven't previously done so already) are beginning to think "wow, what exactly is the government/military hiding from us??". If they only knew.

Originally posted by Orion65
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

I'll read those, I think this topic is very interesting. As far as the propaganda aspect, it really plays into the "fear factor". Now people (who haven't previously done so already) are beginning to think "wow, what exactly is the government/military hiding from us??". If they only knew.

I agree with you there as well.

If only the people knew even 1% of the secrets, not illegal ones either, that were kept from the public there would be blood running in the streets of Washington D.C.

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SKL,

I really love all the information you threw out. In particular this thread as Jon Ronson has always been one of my favorite "writers". THEM: Adventures with Extremists was funny but fair.

For months he lived with extremists to the left and right, and he admits that when he started he had some preconceptions that were softened, if not changed entirely by the end of the whole adventure. He is even friends now with the Weavers (Ruby Ridge) and Alex Jones.

It will take some time to watch all of the videos, but I will. Thanks for sharing.

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

I added a bunch of videos I remembered after the fact to the original post.

Originally posted by darkwing81
reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

 

Yeah.
That's it. Remote viewing.
I'll see the movie anyway.
Just for kicks.

I'm going to see it just for the humor and as well to see how close it is to the truth.

I'll see it too, it looks like it'll be interesting to watch. Jim Channon, the man whom Jeff Bridges' character is based upon, is quite a character:

www.youtube.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by A Fortiori
SKL,

I really love all the information you threw out. In particular this thread as Jon Ronson has always been one of my favorite "writers". THEM: Adventures with Extremists was funny but fair.

For months he lived with extremists to the left and right, and he admits that when he started he had some preconceptions that were softened, if not changed entirely by the end of the whole adventure. He is even friends now with the Weavers (Ruby Ridge) and Alex Jones.

It will take some time to watch all of the videos, but I will. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, that's interesting that's he be-friended Randy Weaver and Alex Jones.

I wonder how that came into being.

Was it because of any connections or due to his book, or what?

I always try to provide as much information as possible and let the conversations begin and the education level increase, because I learn just as much from others as they learn from me.

reply to post by Orion65


I find this topic fascinating and as well Jim Channon.

FIRST EARTH BATTALION The Real Story By Jim Channon

I believe this movie is most likely a propaganda piece. The movie and book are both based on the adventures of Jim Channon. If you are unfamiliar with this man one should google First Earth Battalion and/or his name. Think Blackwater for the UN.