A new Twitter post by Secretary of State Tony Blinken reads as follows:
“We will never hesitate to use force when American lives and vital interests are at stake, but we will do so only when the objectives are clear and achievable, consistent with our values and laws, and with the American people’s informed consent – together with diplomacy.”
Like pretty much everything ever said by Blinken, and indeed by every US secretary of state, this is an absolute lie.
Firstly, US military force is never used to protect “American lives” in modern times, unless you count the lives of US troops and mercenaries in foreign lands they have no business occupying in the first place. The US military is never used to defend American lives against an invading enemy force; that simply does not happen in our current world order. It is only ever used to protect the agenda of unipolar planetary domination, which would be the “vital interests” which Blinken obliquely refers to above.
Secondly, Blinken’s claim that the Biden administration will never use military force without “the American people’s informed consent” has already been blatantly invalidated by Biden’s airstrikes on Syria last month. The American people never gave their consent to those airstrikes, informed or uninformed. A nation the US invaded (Syria) was bombed because troops are being attacked in a second nation the US invaded (Iraq) on the completely unproven claim that a third country against whom the US is currently waging economic warfare (Iran) supported those attacks. At no time were the people asked for their consent to this, and at no time was any attempt made to ensure that they were informed of the situation before it happened.
We will never hesitate to use force when American lives and vital interests are at stake, but we will do so only when the objectives are clear and achievable, consistent with our values and laws, and with the American people's informed consent – together with diplomacy. pic.twitter.com/KW3VBrwxIg
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 9, 2021
Thirdly, US military force is never, ever conducted with the American people’s informed consent. Literally never. Consent is always manufactured for US wars by lies and mass media propaganda, one hundred percent of the time, without exception. The bigger the military operation, the more egregious the deceit used to manufacture consent for it. Even in relatively “peaceful” times when the US is merely raining dozens of bombs and missiles per day on foreign soil, Americans are subject to a nonstop deluge of distorted and outright false narratives about their military and the nations it targets for destruction.
Consent that has been artificially manufactured by propaganda is not informed consent, any more than sex with someone who’s been dosed with rohypnol is consensual sex. US imperialism does not rely on informed consent, it relies on disinformed consent; consent for it is manufactured by disinformation. Informed consent plays no role whatsoever in the use of US military force, nor indeed in any other major aspect of the behavior of the US or its allies.
Every aspect of the US-centralized power alliance is propped up by a relentless deluge of mass-scale psyops. Imperialism, capitalism, electoral politics; consent for all its key pillars is constantly being manufactured by the plutocratic news media, by television, by movies. All of the most influential generators of modern mainstream thought and culture are heavily influenced by a plutocratic class which has a vested interest in keeping power out of the hands of the people.
This is the only thing keeping us from moving into a healthy new paradigm where we collaborate with each other toward a healthy world based on truth and beauty instead of competing with each other over who can create the most profitable pieces of future landfill. No hard obstacles are in place stopping us; our cages only exist between our ears. It is only because powerful people are manipulating our minds to their advantage that we have not already used the power of our numbers to create a healthy, harmonious and enjoyable earth.
Tyranny By Propaganda Is Tyranny By Force
"Chaining people's bodies looks tyrannical while chaining their minds does not, but as far as the powerful are concerned they accomplish the same goal."https://t.co/TeLLTbV25m
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) February 16, 2021
It’s important to be aware of the fact that our consent has been manufactured for this mess, because it means we never gave them our informed consent, which means no existing power structures have any legitimacy at all. They have power because they stole our power from us, and it is our prerogative to take it back. We do not need to go through the political systems they have rigged to their advantage or the ideological spectrum of acceptable debate that they have confined mainstream discourse to. We can just take it.
This will only happen after we have freed ourselves in sufficient numbers from their mass-scale psychological manipulations, which will only happen after we have prioritized weakening public trust in their propaganda operations and waking the mainstream public up to the truth. Once a sufficient number of people have been awakened from their propaganda-induced slumber, we can reclaim our world from the sociopathic manipulators without firing a shot, just by standing up to our true size and flexing our giant muscles.
I sincerely believe this will happen, and that it will happen fairly soon. Then we will extract their rapey fingers from our minds and create something truly amazing together.
_______________________
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58 responses to “Consent That’s Manufactured By Propaganda Is Not Informed Consent”
Spouting illusions of grandeur about how “we are going to take charge and kick out those callous bastards” will get old fast. The status quo cares not a whit about unorganized, unpolished, overly idealistic citizens who incessantly caw over the bloody aftermath of battlefields as if so many carrion birds genetically programmed to arrive too late to make any difference in the battle but just in time to pick up a ripe snack.
This is the same status quo which recently sailed quite easily right back into the crux of total power whilst simply ignoring the fact that over 70 million red hat, card carrying US citizens (that we know of, a new record!) faithfully voted to reelect their incumbent President following a massive, well organized, well funded and very well followed campaign which traveled all around the nation to find massive cheering crowds everywhere they went. Note: The ‘quo is your foe now, caw all you want but since they proved they can roll the once mighty red hats at will, they will simply ignore you poor silly birds also.
The status quo accomplished victory over the red hats through totally magical means… by coming up with even more votes than the aforementioned record number giant “red wave” exactly where and when needed.
They waved the magic wand of going into overtime, over-due, Mordor postmarked, midnight delivered, under the table mail-in vote counting well after election day had passed. In one reported case the pro ‘quos continued counting ballots even after they closed the building off to witnesses due to “plumbing problems”, at least until the vote count was “right” and the pipes presumably fixed the next morning. This counting magic went just as publicly boasted it would by the pro ‘quo Governor himself of one turnaround key swing State for which the red hats held a large majority at the close of election day… but magically lost the next morning.
The event was quickly declared a sudden turnaround total victory for the pro ‘quo P guy and VP gal by the mainstream media (pro ‘quo) – the same two candidates who had to be force dragged through their own party primary and did ridiculously little campaigning before tiny groups of people anywhere they went. Abracadabra, it’s a done deal, the proof of which is that even the nation’s high courts have totally approved. The spell put upon us is now in cemented place by the judges’ refusal to hear any red hat election complaint cases or even consider how this amazing “election magic” was actually worked.
He/She whose name must not be mentioned is now ensconced within the tower of power, against which the slings and arrows of the carrion birds fall harmlessly into the moat. IMHO God Bless Sauron.
I agree easily with 99% of your post’s Caitlin. Where I have problems is giving any credence to the “people” waking from their ten plus millennia of subservience to their ruling classes..it ain’t gonna happen. Hell, most people are too lazy to read let alone take action in the streets. A more achievable goal to my mind would be to rebuild the Unions but even that modest goal would be next to impossible in the USA where the mind control is omnipresent and seemingly insurmountable. If China presents a viable alternative like the USSR did, we might get back to the 60s level of worker vs. capitalist power and taxation but I’m not hopeful. The future is almost certainly dystopian so try and enjoy your life, it’s all you have and all you ever will have. Pollyannaism, like the second comming is for fools.
The only time we did not attack and defend America was when it was attacked by Saudi Arabia. The majority of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia. We never even held them accountable. President Bush even sent some high level Saudis home on planes when no one even his father could take a plane. So what we did was protect Saudi Arabia
Oh, and there was the USS Liberty too. Not as many killed, but the attack was done openly and without fear of consequences.
NOT attacked by Saudi Arabia but by a conspiracy of agents working for the CIA, Mossad, CFR, etc., with Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and George Bush Sr as directors. They recruited and paid Saudi Arabian puppet stooges to take the blame. Go do your homework!
Money or wealth is the dominant power (the god) of all states. Who does not love money? This is why the world’s great Liberator Yeshua said that His followers must aim their revolutionary tactics at the monetary system. As soon as they start doing that they become threats to the government which calls them traitors. That is what happened to Yeshua and His followers who were secretly arrested, tortured and executed one by one, starting with Yeshua’s cousin John. Criticizing, complaining and condemning is only the first step towards revolution. The next step is to formulate a plan of action. The third step is to convince others who criticize, complain and condemn the evil empire to commit to following the plan of action. Fourth step: Start putting the plan into action, the only practical strategy which can defeat the evil empire and will eventually do this.
Nazi Healthcare Reforms Revived Under Biden- Strategic Hour on Rogue News with Matt Ehret
Right out of the ballpark, Caitlin!
As quoted in the article:
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“Diplomacy — not military action — will always come first.”
— Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken
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Translated into English:
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“First, we threaten them. If they don’t obey, then we attack and massacre them. Except in the case of false flags, when we attack and massacre right away.”
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Also known as the US official non-defensive doctrine of Full Spectrum Dominance. Or Fascism.
.
More information:
.
Countdown to “Full Spectrum Dominance” — Plymouth Institute for Peace Research — CounterPunch.org
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/20/countdown-to-full-spectrum-dominance/
That’s what I call a poor judgement. You must have missed a lot in school or cheated in tests. Well, I’ll not question anymore. Trust in your gut. Best of luck.
Ragnar, Secretary Blinken was also referring to these despicable words:
“As your commander in chief, I will never hesitate to use force to defend the vital interests, blah, blah, blah…”
— President Joe Biden, Feb. 10, 2021
In my opinion, that translation of Blinken’s quote is exactly accurate, according to all known facts. That’s what they really mean.
No doubt about that.
Sorry for the previous comment. It’s not about you.
Ragnar, in fact I see in your comments approving Caitlin’s article that we agree a lot.
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Blinken reminds me of when they say (or mean): “Well, we already tried diplomacy, so now it’s the time for mass musrder.”
With well over 600 mass shootings (4 or more) in 2020 in the US, about 2 per day, mass murder has become ordinary in the US.
Articles on Heidi and Ted’s excellent vacation – thousands
Articles on “ insurrection” with one non-protester death – thousands
Articles on mass shootings in the meantime ~ zero?
The US has never ever had a justified war. Their MO is to push prod and provoke until the other side attacks. Eg. WW2, oil embargo on Japan. Sending munitions on the Lusitania even when Germany warned them to stop or it would be sunk. FDR didnt blink to send the passengers to their death to provoke war. If they wont attack then use a false flag like 9/11 and fake WMD in Iraq. The US was the last nation to use nuclear weapons on foreign soil and will be the first to use them again.
Secretary Blinkered is a consummate Swamp Creature. A denizen of elite think tanks. Neoliberal neoconservative imperial globalist.
Words have lost their meanings today.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/communists-v-fascists/
You are more sour today than usual. I guess I’ll curb my enthusiasm about optimism.
You are right. I will say something positive about the world today. Ummm…. Let me get back to you on that.
Never underestimate the joy people derive from hearing something they already know.==Enrico Fermi
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1205076
As the world grows colder and drier, expect shortened growing seasons and migrations. Example is the US west which was overpopulated during favorable weather conditions after WW2. As droughts take their toll over the years drinking water is beginning to reach conditions that it cannot support agribusiness and large pooulations. Something must give.
“Fears Of A ”Return Of The 1930s Dust Bowl” Rise As Record Drought Sizzles Southwest | ZeroHedge” https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/record-drought-sizzles-southwest-fears-return-1930s-dust-bowl
The Ogalla aquifer is being depleted rapidly, same with the california aquifers, glacier’s melting fast. Much of the country’s food supply is dependent on irrigation and the supplies are finite and closing in on exhaustion. River’s all used before making it to the sea. The US is a rich country with a powerful military so it will find vays.. poor countries, not so much. The US military has been training for the climate wars to come for over a decade. Climate refugees will number in the billions and it will take more than a wall to keep them out and with the fifth columns of their compatriots, life will be interesting to say the least.
Caitlin, it is so refreshing to encounter an Enlightened voice.
Rumsfeld: “It happens not to be the area where weapons of mass destruction were dispersed. We know where they are. They’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat.” (Note the embracing laughter in the clip.)
It’s a crime against humanity that this guy is still walking free. Of course, that could apply to just about every government official, past or present. But this guy is particularly venal and very stupid to boot.
He’s in a class by himself. “Hanging would be too good for the man who makes puns. He should be drawn and quoted”
Fred Allen
The Russians aren’t coming—the Israelis are
If you think that Russia is or has been a threat to America and much of the West, I think you are mistaken.
By Jonas E. Alexis -March 8, 20212210 7
There is no Democracy, so how can politicians ask for people´s consent? there are nearly 250 armed conflicts raging in the world, not one of them happening with people’s consent. Some of the conflicts have been there for decades. topping the madness, inhumanity and immorality of war, cannot be done by counting money. Military budgets are usually independent from health, educations, environment and other budgets.
For killing, murdering, destroying buildings, crops, families, there are no budget limits. And, if no money available, for war purposes politicians will simply order their central Bank to print more money, will get Bank loans, will buy weapons with oil, gold, copper, drugs, etc.
Nothing will change unless we achieve the Universal Abolition of Militarism, that is the Abolition of Legal Murder. The only was Governments can keep the military Industry alive, is by giving us war, hunger, homelessness, refugees, destruction of life and buildings.
To expect anything else from Governments is as illogical and absurd as if the same people who expect politicians to promote the manufacturing of pianos, violins, guitars, clarinets, and other instruments, to allow and promote the construction of music schools, train people to play those instruments, build concert halls and opera houses, allow the manufacturing and trade of CDs,form chois and orchestras, then demanded politicians to ban music.
An oxymoron!
Alberto Portugheis
President HUFUD
Informed consent means some of you voted for us and now we can do whatever we want.
In the U.S. at least, some forms of consent don’t even require one to be alive, or for that matter, to have ever been born in the first place. In the case of elected officials it is clearly stated somewhere that we give them consent to act in our best interests, without needing to consult with the people who elected them.
Beyond that I can’t say as I see the necessity for the continued existence of the species; not that anything that I might think, do or say would ever change anything in this world, but it’s rather obvious that some animals in this world will never can be content until they are worshipped as God’s, so let us all see how that works out for the vast majority of the Earth’s inhabitants.
The saddest result of all the propaganda is convincing the public that picking between one psychopath and another psychopath on a ballot will solve all our problems. As if both were not in the employ of the very same Psychopaths In Charge. All the “profound” differences between them on constant display is just noise to keep you from noticing that who you vote for makes little difference, except for a possible minor change in the speed of the handcart to hell we are riding on. The destination remains the same. Ain’t democracy grand? The enemy of humanity isn’t the right or the left, the red or the blue, the Republicans or the Democrats, it’s the very Psychopaths In Charge that own all the teams in the game. They operate an equal opportunity engine of destruction. Themselves of course being the operators of the engine suffer none of the consequences, and instead collect a great deal of increase in their privilege. Being psychopathic makes such quite a bit easier since such things as moral behavior are of no importance to them. How unfortunate they also own the means of discussion on the internet that could have been the greatest expansion of discussion and debate in history.
The easiest route forward is to start a third party. It came close with Perot. People are itching to boot out the neocon scumbags, the lobbyists, the Netanyahu fartcatchers, the Debbie Wassserwoman apparatchiks, the closet neocon editorial board of WaPo etc.
It’s so fun how you reveal everything that is so obvious, but only to a few, “the king is naked!” but everyone is shouting long live the king, and no one hears you except perhaps the little girl next to you, and she joins in your shouting. I don’t believe the change will happen so magically, though I would love to be wrong. I think we need a way for those who can see thru all the illusions and tricks to be palbably united via digital tech, like a gigantic network of network which we and others have been working on for quite awhile and anticipate will maybe be ready by the end of this year with state of the art tools for collaborating and organizing (utopiacornucopia.org).
As separte entities we can only storm the capital, and then what? who takes control? usually its the baddest guys and everything is undermined once again and just to be sure, there is our favorite rogue secret org. manipulating all behind the scenes, so we never escape, a la 1984. Revolutions have not really improved much in the long run.
We need to be organized before hand in a horizontal way, no authoritarians, no leaders (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wywMhg604W8). Decentalized, localized, conferalized (an agreed upon social contract embodying our human values).
Just something I have been thinking about for the last 50 years.
If a million people in the US, right now, wrote or called their congressional representatives to complain about the US military budget and troops in places like Syria, it would put some real pressure on them to reconsider next year’s “defense” budget. If 10 million people did, there would be absolute panic in DC. If 20 million did, things would change quickly.
Unfortunately, people have been brainwashed into thinking that complaining does not work. It does. It always has, as long as the number of people complaining is large enough. Every major change came about through mass protests, and lots of complaining. I write or call my representatives (including local, state and federal) on a regular basis. But I don’t know anyone else who does. If you want change, you need to tell the people in charge. Until the pressure from people exceeds the pressure from lobbyists, nothing will change.
The proles are asleep. They think they got real change when sleepy Uncle Joe ousted his Royal Orangeness. It’s a flimflam that has been going on my entire life.
The pressure from people will not happen until people wake up. The politicians’ rulers are the ones lining their pockets, and as long as they keep them happy there is a cushy job waiting for them should they be defeated at the polls. There is no incentive for them to respond to pressure from the people while this remains the case. I have not been brainwashed. It’s the way things are; you get corporate sponsored warmonger from column A or B.
Until we change the underlying causes that make our current form of government a plutocracy instead of a democratic republic nothing will change. The current lockdown of the Capitol is how they respond to “pressure from the people.”
Hi Caitlin
I have a suggestion. We are all Drowning in seas, if not tsunamis, of bullshit from American media. It has become impossible to smell a flower, with our olfactory receptors saturated with indoles and skatoles.
Fact checker columns e.g. WaPo are grossly gamed and near worthless as the Facts selected are clearly those slanted at nonpartisans , validating Biden, sliming the rest, but throwing in occasional truths (sops) for the unwashed.
To prevent more drownings, why not highlight once a week news that the Americans suppress. Important news only but illustrative would do.
Let me start it off.
Some weeks ago the United Nations Population Division reported the latest data on longevity by country. Lots of interesting facts. No mention of it in the American media. Why?
Well the US not only is a pathetic 46th in the world. They’ve just been passed in delicious irony for Cuba, whose health has been damaged by American embargoes so bad they led to an epidemic of nutritional blindness. Cuba spends 1/10 th what America does on health, has none of the glut of near worthless FDA approved drugs and still outlives their neighbours to the North. Americans get to live 4 years less than Canadians, whose immigration office is overrun by applications from Americans. Wisely they are asking themselves if they really want exceptionalism, boasting, racism etc.
Next.
I would strongly recommend to share this article (in my opinion one of the most important manifesto written in the last 50 years against the manipulation perpetrated by press media) in every forum and social media of some renowned influencers. It’s worth a shot. We are far past from the point of nothing left to lose. I’m aware of Don Quixote tale and K-Pax effect (movie 2001). Let’s see what’s going to happen. Every click will help to spread the word.
And just to make me clear, I’m not going to ask, I’m just suggesting for those who feel the same call that this is the right thing to do.
“Unequivocal 9/11 Nukes” > “Breathtaking: Solving Nuclear 9/11” > VeteransToday.com
The false flag for Afghanistan and Iraq false consent. The unpunished REAL terrorists,
then created the Chinese Cootie Plague bioweapon to force “WuFlu@WarpSpeed” >
the voodoo vaccine genocide as the ruling elites “final solution” for domination.
Well said. Thanks.
No matter how many times one might state the obvious (as Caitlin does here), unless the remarks are released on a governmental or corporate media platform they get totally ignored or dismissed by nearly all of the American public.
~
It’s like everyone has been told a million times that the true business conducted by the Ministry of Love (aka the Department of “Defence”) is unabashed wanton mass murder to project power not defence but apparently the truth cannot be said; however, if it is, the speaker will be treated either as a non-existent entity or a bald faced liar.
And the award for saying the same thing in yet another new way goes to…
I know, I guess.
They’re gonna hang on; they’re gonna die hard:
Fascism is Capital’s last hoorah.
Fascism is Capital’s Funeral Procession.
Fascism is an ineptly cruel Dance to Perfidy upon the Tomb of Freedom.
Fascism is the Royals everywhere laughing at the Guillotine.
Fascism undefeated will end life on Earth.
Spot on, Caitlin! These war dogs think of nothing but violence. They do not hesitate to demand unlimited $$$ for war (and generally get it from a Congress that took months and months to deliver what amounts to chump change to citizens whose lives have been overturned by Covid-19). The utter madness of war in the nuclear age is indescribable. These warmongers need to be installed in a nice padded room with lots of chamomile tea to calm them down.
If it were only true that they think of nothing but violence. The sad fact is that they think of nothing but plundering the citizenry and the public treasury, and what better way than the constant propaganda machine delivering a “need” for ever greater piles of plunder because the rest of the world is out to get us? It’s not that violence is all they think of, it’s that they have not the slightest bit of moral objection to murder as a means to wealth.
next up, kamala.
after that? buttygig..
then santa claus.
with his buddy Lucifer., the new head of the WEF.
As always, Ms Johnstone, I sincerely hope that you are correct in your thinking. My experiences with the owners and the masters has me convinced that they would destroy this entire planet, and all life on it, before they would ever give up their control over it.
Blinken is the same BS artist who, with Biden, selected the witnesses who conned the US Senate into invading Iraq. Biden was Chmn of the vital Foreign Relations Committeee at the time.He’s very used to lying. Good on you to point this out.
So hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis on his balance sheet.
What kind of country refuses to have an inquiry into the worst foreign policy decision in their history? Then has one key architect elected as President so he can appoint his war criminal sidekick and co-war criminal as Sec of State?
Biden has been avoiding press conference. Rumors of all colors. I’ll not be surprised to see him announcing a military campaign on Iran. If Hitler had all this media support to soft people and to make other nations lower their heads, he would be invincible. That’s the US government in raw form: Ultra nazism. With make up: The good guys (wolves) trying to protect the world (sheep).
I think his confusion is simply outpacing his medication. Well, at least DR. Jill got what she wanted.
How long do you think they can continue this charade of a demented president. If this was Trump, there would be a congressional inquiry. The facade can only go on for so long before even CNN will notice. I see him stepping down at the midterm elections for health issues if he lives that long.
Yeah but I’m not worried about tomorrow. It didn’t happen yet. All what we have is today to live as if there’s no tomorrow. If we don’t do that, let’s get back to our antidepressants and just get focused in our own lives.
More like millions of dead Iraqis, not to mention the millions of others in the Middle East whose lives have been destroyed by the criminal invasion of Iraq. And these guys have gotten away with it–“the U.S. is back!”
I agree but what happens if you say millions is you get the weasel replies disputing the numbers.
No MSM articles about Iraqi deaths recently but thousands on Heidi and Ted’s excellent adventure and on the “insurrection” – one death, not counting the demonstrator deaths.
Well, that’s exactly the point of this article. No press media will never publish for example a magnificent article like this one. Even RT would be pointing the bullet against them. No. This kind of power can only burn for the Botton to the top. Representatives will just move their ass from their seats if they smell smoke In the air. They care nothing about endless talkings without relevant repercussions affecting their seats till the next election. This is something to be pile up stone by stone like a Cairn. It just does not happen just staring at the wall, laptop screen or saying hard words to the mirror. It’s a collective hard work. You’ve been looking for something really good to work on it; Well, it’s here. What you’re going to do now?
Here is a more broad and inclusive informed-consent-form.
Just sign down there. It’s all covered, from mRNA vaccine unanticipated side effects to inadvertent nullification of Yemeni schoolkids.
Just initial down there by the M.A.D. addendum. too, please, to protect your freedom.
Remarkable and more than welcome this message. Spread the word!