Immunity to Advertising
Outer Limits Radiothon Special
4 March 2017
What differentiates College Radio from Commercial Radio? Our air is free from the stench of commercials. You will never hear an ad. Why is this important? Because advertisements not only strategically manipulate your emotions, they insult your autonomy, undermine everything that is real and justify enormous crimes through the dark art of “perception management.” They communicate a sense of lack within you and offer up their product as the means of filling it. Yet the best experiences in life are rarely incentivized by the manipulative lies of advertising. If you see an advertisement for a product, it means you don’t need it. But now adverts increasingly threaten to corrupt even the news updates we depend upon to stay informed. So-called “sponsored content” and “native advertising” blur the lines between ads and news. In a world defined by NeoLiberal Capitalism where nothing is sacred and everything is for sale, how can the corrupting power of advertising be resisted?
The New Mutually Assured Destruction
11 March 2017
The Vault 7 dump from Wikileaks comprises revelations far more significant than the leaks of Edward Snowden, demonstrating the extent to which the CIA uses backdoors to hack all communications technology; the first public evidence that the US Government secretly pays to keep US software unsafe, developing vulnerabilities in US products, then intentionally keeping the holes open, to spy. This includes proof that “smart” TV’s are listening to your conversations, especially when they’ve been turned off. In an historic act of devastating incompetence, the CIA lost control of it’s entire cyber weapons arsenal. We’ll be looking at one such cyber weapon in particular – a virus called “Olympic Games” – that became known to the world as StuxNet when its spread got out of hand, infecting every single computer system on the planet. It serves as a chilling warning for just how reckless and deranged our runaway intelligence agencies have become, and what might be necessary to stop them.
Brandolini’s Mockingbird
18 March 2017
Starting in the 1950’s the CIA embarked on a coordinated infiltration of America’s major newspapers and news wire agencies through Operation Mockingbird. Today, Americans are turning away from the formerly mainstream media because the internet has destroyed the corporate-government’s deceptive narrative. In response to this exodus, the establishment invented the Red Herring of “fake news” to lay the ground work for censorship and control. Their neo-McCarthy agenda involves accusing alternative news sources of peddling Russian propaganda. And the stage is now set for a crack down on the alternative media with the newly created ‘Ministry of Truth’. With this new legal mandate in place, the establishment doesn’t need to hide behind secret intelligence programs like Mockinbird to propagandize their citizens. But if governments are allowed to decide what is worthy of being published, then why even have a media? The fourth estate is meant to be a check on power – not an apologist for it.
Treacherous Parrots
25 March 2017
Fake News has dominated American media for decades and it doesn’t emanate from the Kremlin. A multibillion-dollar industry skillfully designed and managed by public relations agencies manipulates public opinion on behalf of the system’s ownership class. Their immense propaganda industry stages pseudo-events to distort our perception of reality. The greater public is so awash in these lies, delivered 24 hours a day through electronic devices and print, that viewers, listeners and readers have more difficulty distinguishing between truth and fiction. Former journalists became conditioned to cater to corporate demands. News personalities, who often make millions of dollars a year, became courtiers, filling news holes with trivial, emotionally-driven stories designed to reassure us with comforting lies. Relying on professional propagandists to frame all discussion and debate they are incapable of genuine reporting, working instead as stenographers to the powerful.
ManchuriaNation
1 April 2017
Who is the thinker who thinks these thoughts? There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me. Evidence of ongoing mind control programs exist all around us, from TV and advertising to compulsory schooling and mindless political participation. If you’ve never considered the possibility that you might be under the influence of mind control, then you probably are. The manipulation of our psyches has become so ubiquitous that it can be difficult to identify, but once you spot one inconsistency in the orthodox narrative, you’re likely to begin spotting lies everywhere. The best defense against mind control seems to be the recognition of these programs, coupled with a willingness to ask questions. World War IV is already being fought inside of your head, and we would do well to study the fundamental strategies and tactics employed by our ministries of truth. A good start might include the likes of Edward Bernays and the infamous MK Ultra experiments carried out by the CIA to this very day.
Canary On The Campus:
An Oval Occupation
8 April 2017
Activists set up tents on the University of Montana campus this week in protest against a proposed 23% tuition hike and the evisceration of entire programs as the Board of Regents continue to run the system like a business rather than a public institution. Now administrators threaten to remove costly tenured professors who can’t technically be fired by cutting entire programs. After all, if an entire program is liquidated, tenured professors have no legal recourse to defend their position. To further frustrate matters the conversations are shrouded in complicated jargon and unnecessarily Byzantine bureaucracy through long-winded dissertations of boring, technical terms and meaningless streams of data and graphs designed to intentionally confound the layperson. As the $1.3 Trillion Student Debt Bubble approaches threshold, it seems increasingly clear that the only recourse available to students might involve intentionally defaulting on their student loans.
An Offer You Can Refuse
15 April 2017
In 1894 the Supreme Court ruled that a tax on your labor is unconstitutional, and when an Income Tax was established two decades later, the Supreme Court again ruled against it, proclaiming that granted “no new powers of taxation.” The 16th Amendment was never legally ratified, there is no law requiring the average citizen to pay it, and if you file, you wave your 5th Amendment right that’s supposed to protect you from testifying against yourself. Most irritating of all, income taxes do not pay for government services, a fact corroborated by President Regan’s Grace Commission report, which concluded that, “All individual income tax revenues are gone before one nickel is spent on the services taxpayers expect from government…100% of what is collected is absorbed solely by interest on the Federal Debt.” To comprehend this scam, we’re joined by IRS whistle blowers Sherry Peel Jackson, Joe Banister, and John Turner, alongside experienced accountants, lawyers, federal agents and activists.
Deep State Red-Bait
22 April 2017
Campaign promises are meaningless in a world run by intelligence agencies. The media portrayed Trump as weak when he argued for more cooperation with Russia, but strong when he fired 59 Tomahawk Cruise missiles against Syria. It didn’t matter that the allegations of Russian collusion with Trump’s campaign amounted to an evidence-free conspiracy theory. The combined assault from Democrats, neocons and corporate media forced Trump to surrender his campaign goal of achieving more positive relations with Russia. The Russiagate ploy also successfully replaced Détente advocate Mike Flynn with neocon General H.R. McMaster, expediting the siege. Trump’s decision to bomb Syria confirms his impotence against an intelligence community whose surveillance powers control our nation’s politicians because the Russia “scandal” disappeared as soon as bombing in Syria began. Military action in Syria was inevitable regardless of who won the election, and the attack proves Trump isn’t running the country.
Decepticon Domino Effect
29 April 2017
The only thing worse than the Trump Presidency is Liberal America’s reaction to it. Formerly-liberal anchors champion military provocation with nuclear-armed Russia while pundits and “experts” demonstrate astounding conflicts of interest by gushing about Trump’s recent missile strike in Syria; those same pundits make handsome profits from those very same missiles by working as lobbyists or board members for the companies that manufacture them. The selective use of facts shifts moral outrage from America’s murder of 200 civilians in Mosul toward politically-motivated images of dubious gas attacks in Syria. Meanwhile, as madmen like Mike Morrell openly call for the murder of Russian and Syrian leadership, the deep state demonstrates a chilling disregard for global stability as the list of dead Russian officials grows. And their sights seem to be set on Iran who have announced their intention to dump the dollar; a decision that both Iraq and Libya made shortly before they were invaded.
Kremlin Konspiracy Kool-Aid
6 May 2017
The delusion that Russia has somehow been influencing American politicians tends to be common among those who allow the corporate media to do their thinking for them. Thinking is hard, but the credibility of the garbage pumped by the Corporate Media is easily dispelled with but an ounce of critical thought. And more often than not, whatever memes the corporate media happen to be pushing tend to reveal what the US deep state propagandists are up to. It appears the current strategy is no more sophisticated that proclaiming any (and all) dissent as the result of “Russian operations.” Blaming Russia helps the Democratic party’s anti-Bernie elites maintain power, justifies hostilities with Russia, vilifies Trump, and most importantly, attempts to discredit authentic journalism. After all, why look into the veracity of claims made by the Deep State when we can just dismiss alternative viewpoints as “Russian Propaganda” purveyed by “Moscow Stooges” by means of “Fake News?”
The Power Behind The Throne
13 May 2017
While the visible, constitutional government seems gridlocked and ineffectual, an invisible force controls it. This force is capable of assassinating American citizens, crashing entire economies and invading countless countries enshrouding the entire world in endless wars, no matter which political party is the majority in Washington. The real power in the country exists as a hybrid of Corporate America and the National Security State. This shadowy symbiosis of Wall Street, the Military Industrial Complex, Silicon Valley and multinational Corporations defines itself through the ideology of deregulation, outsourcing, deindustrialization, financialization, globalization and perpetual war. This government behind our government operates off the taxpayers without constitutional constraint. It prioritizes financial and national security issues to justify draconian laws and corporate fascism. And it has successfully twisted our new president into complying with it’s long-standing agendas.
Environmental Pollution Agency
20 May 2017
California can now require Monsanto to label its weed killer Roundup as a possible cancer threat since the International Agency for Research on Cancer announced that Glyphosate – the key ingredient in Roundup – is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” More than 40 studies have linked Glyphosate to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and Glyphosate was even classified by the EPA as a human carcinogen once-upon-a-time. But Monsanto, DOW and other chemical corporations have infiltrated the ranks of regulatory bodies such as the EPA. Today, the EPA and FDA rubber stamp just about any toxic chemical the industry wants to put on the market, including formulas containing 2,4-D: the key ingredient in Agent Orange. To make such formulas appear “safe,” people high up within the EPA regularly alter data on “scientific” reports, rely on intimidation to hide information that might damage Monsanto, and enact preemption laws which make it difficult to ban these harmful chemicals at the local level.
Sorry, This Page Isn’t Available
10 June 2017
Establishment hacks continue relentlessly blaming political turmoil on facebook, who failed to adequately censor stories damaging to the establishment. In response, the social media giant began tweaking it’s algorithms to target a new list of blacklisted sites, many of which just happen to be alternative media sites that question the political and media establishment’s official narrative. This hardly seems surprising given facebook’s rather intimate ties with the national security state, but their decision to delete thousands of accounts ahead of the UK General elections on 8 June is. However, even though Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg flip flopped on the extent to which his site might be capable of swinging elections, we all might be placing far too much emphasis on the platform’s influence. In fact, the censorship and blacklists now shaped and enforced by facebook are only strengthening sources of authentic journalism, as people begin evolving beyond the tyranny of algorithms.
Tyranny of the Algorithm
June 2017
Today’s internet is defined by the thrust of social media, the biggest of which seems to be facebook. Many feel forced to use facebook out fear of disconnection. But just below the surface of connectivity, we find that the platform’s authors have deliberately shaped it to be as addictive as possible. This insinuates that social media amounts to little more than another mode of entertainment like television or gamblling. Worst of all, facebook has evolved into the social media wing of the surveillance and security state, merging with databrokers and advertising firms to spy on every aspect of users’ lives – including offline activity. Facebook now knows your income, your favorite restaurants, and even how many credit cards are in your wallet. Many alternatives have been proposed over the years, and many contenders have come and gone, including Evolver and Ello, but nothing has come close to drawing a significant percentage of the online world away from facebook until now.
Jumping the Shark
24 June 2017
Many regressives reside at the Left pole; an imaginary point on the political globe from which all other points are Right. Regressivism distracts from issues of consequence with identity politics, legislates compulsory respect, promotes cultural infantilism, aspires to victimization, and promotes an ironic intolerance. All of this tends to distract America’s attention away from our overwhelming poverty, unemployment, and enslavement. Defending liberal principles became a conservative position when the issues free speech, individual rights, and limited government were no longer championed by the Left. Many feel left out by the Left. With establishment liberalism now as rigid, dogmatic and joyless as conservatism was during the days of Punk Rock, conservatism has become the new counterculture in 2017. The phrase “America Is Already Great” does not resonate with most Americans currently witnessing declining wages, worsening life expectancy, and technological obsolescence that are the result of austerity driven by neoliberalism.
Death Becomes the Fakestream Media
The Denouement
1 July 2017
CNN continues reeling from its propagandistic Russia coverage as the network plummets into international disgrace, losing three prominent journalists. Thomas Frank, Eric Lichtblau, and Lex Haris all resigned after the network was forced to retract and apologize for yet another baseless accusation of illegal Trump/Russia collusion. This comes as The New York Times simultaneously retracts their own ‘Russiagate’ canard, alleging “17 intelligence agencies” made US election hacking reports when only 3 did – and those conclusions were drawn not by the actual agencies in full, but by a mere two dozen loyalists within said agencies (NSA, CIA, FBI), hand-selected by Russophobic eugenicist Clapper himself. As investigative journalist Robert Parry observes, if you ‘hand-pick’ the analysts, you are really hand-picking the conclusion.
Embarrassments of this sort might be too numerous to count when it comes to viral media stories hyping dubious Russia threats over the last year, but most American’s are no more shocked by this than we were by the fact that pro wrestling represents little more than staged fiction. Incidentally, pro wrestling and CNN both share identical broadcasting territory since they both just happen to be in the entertainment business.
But CNN still revels in it’s reckless claims, as exemplified by a series of new reports compiled by James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas called American Pravda. O’Keefe has presented footage of CNN producer John Bonifield making shocking admissions about “ratings” acting as the primary driver behind a Russiagate story that he admits is “mostly BS.” Bonifield even suggests that Trump could be correct in his characterization of the story as a “witch hunt.”
O’Keefe’s revelations also include footage of CNN commentator Van Jones admitting the whole Russia story is “just a big nothing burger.”
Bonifield is right about the ratings though. Blatantly inane anti-Trump Russia conspiracies command a large audience because there is a voracious appetite among anti-Trump news viewers for stories, no matter how false, that they want to believe are true. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but it certainly doesn’t appear to be as lucrative. By Wikileaks’ count, there have been 3,490 fake news stories reciting the “17 agencies” lie. Ratings indeed.
In spite of this latest fiasco, the corporate media seems to be digging their heels in even further. Take, for example, CNN’s CEO Jeff Zucker, who insists that his network is “trusted now more than ever.” Unfortunately for Zucker, the battle for “most viewed” does not necessarily translate into “most trusted,” as recent poll numbers regarding viewer’s trust in the network’s integrity stand in stark contrast to his remarks. And the Times’ belated correction affirms the growing perception that corporate media has engaged in a political vendetta against Trump, casting aside professional standards to the point of repeating false claims simply to denigrate him.
The good news is that the corporate-Deep State’s ploy to scare us into compliance with this narrative has failed. Accusing anyone who dared express any skepticism about the Russiagate story of being a Kremlin sympathizer, one of Putin’s “useful idiots,” or even an outright agent for the Russian government, only emboldened researchers committed to authentic journalism. The false Russiagate narrative continues to persist solely due to the US Deep State’s regime change ambitions in Moscow and Damascus.
But at the end of the day, the American people really don’t seem to care about Russian hacking. They care about their ongoing struggle to make ends meet. They care about how they’re going to feed their children. They care about their vanishing job security, pensions, benefits and living wages. And it appears perfectly obvious that Russiagate served as yet another attempted distraction to draw attention away from crimes committed right in front of all of us, every single day, by the American ownership class.
So perhaps now we ask ourselves whether America’s masses will tolerate yet another involvement in yet another illegal war with yet another sovereign nation.
Outer Limits Radio Show 
Humans Are Not Roundup Ready
27 May 2017
America is addicted to pesticides. The more we use, the more we become dependent. Modern industrial agriculture is currently engaged in a Super Weed Breeding Program, since the increasing use of these toxic chemicals selects for tolerant versions of the organisms targeted. But are humans immune to these toxic effects? Contrary to Corporate propaganda, pesticides are not safe. They provide a quick death for weeds, but a slow, painful death for you. And government is not regulating them properly. The EPA remains a pseudo-regulatory, media-apologism arm of the chemical industry. EPA approves dozens of Neonicotinoids that violate the Endangered Species Act; it approves weapons of war for home gardens; it keeps talks secret on reviews that asses the cancer (and sterility) causing effects of Glyphosate. We’ve been told we need these chemicals to feed the world, but the only way this can be true is if the plan to solving the food crisis involves reducing the number of mouths to feed.
Taming The Hydra
3 June 2017
Leaked documents published by The Intercept this week reveal that Standing Rock protesters faced counter-terrorism measures by a mercenary army called Tiger Swan who compared Water Protectors to “jihadist terrorists” and referred to their prayer circles as “attacks.” Though the remaining NoDAPL protesters were removed by military force in February, Water Protectors have sprung up nationwide. Since February, DAPL leaked three separate times in two months, spilling hundreds of gallons of oil before even coming online. Now that the pipeline is operational, it’s only a matter of time before the Missouri River becomes contaminated. Because of this empire’s addiction to petrol and the fact that oil companies actually profit from oil spills due to insurance loopholes, the fight to keep the waters clean will eventually become the last stand for human life on this planet. In the face of it all, Native elders urge a spirit of nonviolence, forgiveness, and a warrior’s practice of counting coup.