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THE NEWS; HOW TO ANALYZE IT
by Kurt Saxon
The American government lied about the China plane incident. When our government was sending U-2 spy planes over Soviet territory, Eisenhower denied it. Only when the Soviets shot down Francis Gary Powers in his U-2 in May, 1960, did our government admit they had been doing it all along. Our government doesn't like to lie, even though the truth is embarrassing, like all through the Viet Nam War.
Our government, the news media and advertisers tell you what they want you to believe. They also want you to have a desire to believe. It takes two for one to be suckered. Until you understand this, you'll never rise above your grade-school idealism, which tells you that your government, the news media and advertisers are well-meaning and honest and have your best interests at heart. They usually do, but they always have their own best interests in mind first.
In order not to be decieved into believing only what they want you to believe, you must learn to analyze everything directed at the public. You must also do away with any desire to believe what can't be proven.
For instance, we were told that the American plane was on automatic pilot and the Chinese made three passes, the third resulting in the collision. So analyze it. Automatic pilot is for a straight course, no turbulance and no risk. The plane was in disputed territory. Regardless of who was right, the Chinese didn't like it so anything could have happened. This, alone, casts doubt on the automatic pilot story. The pilot would have been in full-control every minute he was in that area. Then a flight of three Chinese jet fighters approached. Unless the pilot was a complete idiot he would have been in complete control at the first sighting of the Chinese jets. Could it have still been on automatic pilot after the second pass?
The Chinese say that on the third pass the American plane swerved into the Chinese jet, which it couldn't have done if it had been on automatic pilot but could not have been on automatic pilot if the American pilot knew his business.
What had to have happened is this: The young Chinese jet pilot, very aggressive, as all jet fighter pilots have to be, crowded the American plane. The American pilot, also aggressive, took up the challenge. He may have said, "You're too close, China Boy! You want to play chicken? Okay, let's play chicken". So he swerved toward the Chinese jet fighter, expecting the Chinese hot-head to give ground. But Chinese jet fighter pilots, like American jet fighter pilots don't give ground. They are temperamentally unsuited to backing off from a challenge.
The Chinese government said their pilot didn't get too close. They lied. The American government said their pilot was flying a straight course. They lied.
It's easy to analyze what people want you to believe. Start by not believing it. Think about it and test it for logic. If it isn't logical, it isn't true. If it is true it can stand up to any doubts or examination.
Take the stock market. People desire to believe they can profit by gambling. In the last few months millions of American working class and retirees lost everything the gambled in the stock market.
Imagine you're in Las Vegas at a gaming table. One gambler wins often enough to make a profit. You have the desire to believe that if he can do it, so can you. But he's a pro. He knows the game and the odds and he's usually been at it for years. He doesn't tell you this. Neither do the casino owners. They want you to see him winning so you can believe you can too.
It's the same way with the stock market. About one out of four or five ads on CNN tell you how you can make money in stocks. Eight dollars a trade! The broker makes the eight dollars when you buy and another eight when you sell at a loss. A joke came over the tube which I don't think was repeated. A man's wife lost everything they had in the stock market. She threw herself off a balcony, killing herself. The man then said, "Thank you, Paine Webber".
Your only investment should be in your own means of production. That's why you should buy a set of The Survivor and our CDs. Unlike the stock market ads you've just seen an ad for something which challenges you to believe in yourself, rather than believing what others want you to believe. The only things you are ever going to really know is how to do what you know how to do.
Many people believe the news media is controlled by the government. We refer to the "government" although it is made up of hundreds of different agencies, most of which are favored by various politicians. The government can't control the media, which is made up of thousands of independent TV and radio stations, newspapers and magazines.
The media is controlled by advertisers, since all segments of the public media depend on advertisers for their support. Advertisers want you to believe in their ads. Watch the next bunch of TV ads. People are having fun. They are prosperous, well-dressed, living in the best of all possible worlds and you are a part of that world. The bottom line of most such ads is that you can afford their products.
People running those ads don't want you to be anxious about your ability to buy their products. Of course, the media covers natural disasters, wars, political scandals as well as assurances that whatever might worry you is being taken care of. But in most cases news stories are planted so as to put you as far away from real problems as possible.
There will be a report on the downturn in the economy, followed by another report that it only affects the other guy and your interests aren't really affected. A report on global warming, with its changing weather patterns and more frequent disasters caused by the weather are followed by denials of global warming and how the disasters are only regional and somewhere else, or at least being taken care of by competent city workers. The same goes for reports on water quality, air pollution, overpopulation, etc.
You can understand why advertisers don't want the public to be alarmed to the point where they will change their lifestyles.
So the media soft-pedals stories which would make the public think. You mustn't think. You must buy.
An alarming issue coming closer to the average consumer is the fuel shortage. Nearly every story on higher fuel prices and rolling brownouts is followed by stories of energy-sellers greed jacking up prices and even pie-in-the-sky plans to drill for more oil. Energy producers may be greedy but they're not going to destroy the economy for a short-term profit.
You might read my article, "Oil, The Crumbling Empire". The awful truth is that easily-available and cost-effective fuel is running out, never to return, and cheap alternatives, only in your dreams.
Not to worry. In my CD offer are the simple plans by which you can build your own wood-gas generator. With it you can power anything from your car to your computer.
But back to the news. Every day we see more people killed in Israel but the news coverage is shorter. Occasionally there are reports of the Arab nations protesting Israel's handling of the Intifada. The growing threat is that Arafat and his cronies will agitate the Arab nations to avenge and rescue their Palestinian brothers.
They attacked four times. Why not a fifth? The next time, which may be any time, they will tell the U.S. to stay out of it or get our oil cut off. Since oil is so critical and since Cheney and Bush are promoting domestic oil supplies, they are not very pro-Israel.
So they would be likely to stay out of the next Arab-Israeli war, aside from the obligatory government protests. With little or no help coming from the outside, the Israelis would resort to nuclear weapons against the Arab nations, destroying them and thus the oil would be cut off anyway. We're in trouble. But the politicians, the news media and the advertisers don't want you to realize this.
When you are in church you know the minister is telling you what he wants you to believe. That's all right. That is faith in a hoped-for future existence. But what the politicians, from the president on down, the news media and their commentators and analysts, and the advertisers want you to believe is mostly for their own benefit, here and now. They're just protecting their jobs and lifestyles through your belief in their sincerity and accuracy.
They are often both sincere and accurate but it's to their avantage to make you believe they have your life secured. Do you trust their honesty and real ability to guarantee your security and that of those who depend on you?
One of the greatest issues of mis-information is the gun flap. There are 80 million gun owners in the U.S. and the loudest protests against them is from people concerned with a couple of dozen youngsters opening up on their classmates.
Overall, I would consider this a non-issue when used as an argument for confiscating 220 million-plus guns from 80 million gun owners.
The last thing the news media wants is to admit a socio-economic collapse is near. They will not tell the real danger of so many guns, even if it would do any good, which it wouldn't.
The real danger and one which cannot be stopped once it has begun, is an over-armed citizenry reacting to the collapse of this Disneyland for dummies. When the collapse comes, there will be 80 million shooters defending their homes, settling scores and looting. Your best bet is to set up your own life-support system and prepare to load up and hunker down and wait for their ammo to run out.
I will do a weekly news analysis and I hope you will E-mail me your own concerns about what you're being fed through an over-optimistic news media. Together, we can get a better idea of what's being presented as fact or only wishful thinking.
