DHS on buzzwords:

Homeland Security has made no secret that they are monitoring the Occupy Wall Street followers. Apparently the 18 mayors who participated in a conference call in early November were talking strategy and unconfirmed reports indicate that Homeland Security was coaching them on removing occupations which quickly followed.

The Oakland fiasco, which provided several viral videos and nearly cost Mayor Quan her job, was the first demonstration of overwhelming force. This pattern was repeated several times, the emphasis on massive displays of police personnel in riot gear. Most of the encampments that existed in the middle of November are now history. The second Los Angeles raid early November 30 was executed with precision, 1400 cops evicting the relatively few holdovers from the raid two nights before.

The precision and coordination of these efforts, along with the timing which coincided with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, served notice that the federal government was involved and would assist the locals to whatever extent possible. Not surprising when you consider that the feds have passed along $34 billion in military weaponry and equipment to civilian police since the Patriot Act was passed in 2001. This wasn't the result of disagreements on city ordinances at the local level.

Homeland Security published the following guidelines for monitoring social media, the preferred means of communications amongst protesters who are often confronted with police actions without notice, usually in the middle of the night. Here is the PDF document which takes a microview of the habits and verbage common to these communications. Note the section on “buzzwords” which automatically invoke suspicious behavior:

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_ops_publiclyavailablesocialmedia_update.pdf

As long as we're on the subject of buzzwords, it has been fairly obvious that congressional leaders and other supporters of fascism in the U.S. have their own buzzwords which should cause as much or more suspicion by the citizenry.

http://youtu.be/EcoccUtc79w

We've already discussed how terms like terrorist are completely left to the interpretation of those who use it, and it seems that all you have to do these days is imply some sort of animosity towards anyone associated with the government and the word is quick to follow. But after perusing the buzzwords included in the Homeland Security document above, you almost have to laugh when the words “cops” and “breaking news” are supposed to have some sort of connotation that only Homeland Security seems to understand.

What do you call it when you're confronted by 1400 police officers marching towards you? Damn right. It's the cops and it's breaking news. If someone would like to offer a Homeland Security-approved, sanitized version, I'd like to hear it.

There is also a theory that was intended to be a humorous commentary about social media that applies to the interpretation of certain words, how they are manipulated and used in a sometimes-fallacious manner to deflect attention from the rules of logic. It is called Godwin's Law and it basically states that if you follow a thread of any discussion on any subject, eventually you will arrive at a point where someone compares someone else to a Nazi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

The reason this pertains to the Homeland Security document is rather obvious. Buzzwords are regular, non-buzz words that have adopted a new meaning because of how they have been defined by Homeland Security in this case, and the media which has long understood this fact of life. We have seen many adaptations adjectives that somehow morphed into something else completely, like the "wars" on terror, domestic violence, obesity, cholesterol or drugs. (But only certain drugs. Not the ones that are made by pharmaceutical giants that often contribute more to poltical campaigns than any other sector in a typical campaign season). Nowadays, you can declare war on anything, even a concept, a state of mind, or a condition.

When I first read the document, I counted 27 words that had been used either here or in a conversation that was largely the result of the political dialog inherent to any discussion of social change, or the direct result of actions taken by government officials and police. (Not OK to say cops anymore. Big Brother doesn't like the implications). I then realized that there were several other sections with other buzzwords before deciding there were simply too many to go through to attempt an accurate tally.

So it continues to be notable that the manipulation of the language is a key to the efforts of law enforcement, government officials and the political opposition that use these words like weapons when they attack the movement. Some of those include anti-capitalists, communists, freeloaders, dirty hippies and anarchists. Now it may come as a surprise that the term anarchist is used as an example, but it is actually a good example how the interpretation of any term can be worked over until, after a proper amount of conditioning, it becomes a bastardized version over time.

At any rate, Homeland Security has assigned a value to these words, an inference that most people may not be aware of or understand. or how they are being interpreted by law enforcement. Of course, the entire exercise, (naturally under the auspices of national security), shows how far government paranoia of non-existent conspiracies has gone.

Very reminiscent of the Nazis isn't it? (See Godwin's Law).

Gingrich remains clueless: More from Godwin

“'Some of the Occupy Wall Street people, frankly, have a touch of anarchism in them,' Gingrich declared.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/10/gingrich-occupy-protesters-blocking-my-free-speech/

Look Newt, every effort has been made to get the attention of elected leaders in the past without success. Same goes for the mainstream media that has proven they can ignore the message even when it is occupying their front porch with signs and banners. The aforementioned William Godwin also observed that libertarians are descendents of the first anarchists. Georges Lechartier wrote that "The true founder of anarchy was Jesus Christ and ... the first anarchist society was that of the apostles.” What do you think about that Newt?

Zuangzi, born in 369 BC wrote, "A petty thief is put in jail. A great brigand becomes a ruler of a nation." Starting to catch on Newt?

There are many people, this writer included, that believe that libertarians and anarchists are very similar in many respects, and when one is confronted with the lapdog tendencies of the mainstream media, an “anarchist” philosophy is exactly what is required to change the dialog.

The alternative media is anarchist by definition because we don't ignore important issues out of fealty to a corrupt system for profit or other considerations. That is where we are coming from. But the Republicans reliance on buzzwords to convey falsehoods is apparent daily. Watch a typical Fox News broadcast and see if you don't agree.

Lee Camp and friends go viral:

http://youtu.be/xmZmI4eP7cc

Occupy Congress (continued)

The contingents from several Southern California occupy groups are in transit for the Occupy Congress event. Many will be functioning as citizen journalists. Take the opportunity to compare their reports here with those of the MSM. Wonder if Jesus would approve?

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