News and Announcements

Watch this space for clarifications, corrections, indications of things noteworthy, etc. I plan to update it frequently, so stay tuned. Items may be deleted as they become stale. I've left quite a few early announcements from previous semesters still in place. You can get an idea of the kind of issues that I encourage you to investigate by scrolling down.

February 8, 2012. Ad Age Daily is showing the ten most effective political advertisements (U.S.) of all time. Worth seeing.
http://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/political-ad-ailes-trippi-murphy-snyder-pick/232576/?utm_source=daily_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage

January 29, 2012. I will have to end my office hour time at 12:30 Monday for a medical appointment, but I can arrange to be around Tuesday if there is a demand. (Let me know by e-mail.)

January 25, 2012. I referred in class today to Tony Burman's article. It appeared in the Toronto Star and is reproduced in Straight Goods. Click here to see it.

January 25, 2012. Ray McGovern, former intelligence officer in the U.S. government, reports on how both Israeli and U.S. intelligence have found that Iran is not actively seeking to build a nuclear bomb at the present. This contradicts various mainstream media accounts. This is important and pertinent to our course material, as it ties in to media leaders' deceptions, as against those by government leaders. Everyone should read this. To see McGovern's article click here.

January 24, 2012. Here's a letter I sent to the Ottawa Citizen on January 20th with a copy to columnist Dan Gardner. So far I have had no response.

To the Editor
The Ottawa Citizen

Dear Editor,

While I agree with most of what Dan Gardner writes in his column “Why we should look at things from Iran’s side” (Jan. 20), I beg to differ on the matter of his claim that it is “not controversial” to say that Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Recent assessments date back to the International Atomic Energy Agency report of November 8, 2011, and its conclusion that Iran had carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device before the end of 2003, and that “some activities may still be ongoing.”

The report does not conclude that Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

When the New York Times wrote that the IAEA concluded that Iran’s nuclear program “has a military objective,” the newspaper was challenged by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) and the NYT public editor agreed that the statement was incorrect and that the “shorthand phrase” did not do justice to “a nuanced set of facts” (Jan. 6). (See FAIR, “NYT Responds on Iran Alarmism,” Jan. 10)

Perhaps it is uncontroversial to claim that Iran is preparing for a situation in which it might have to develop a military nuclear capability. About this, one can paraphrase an old French saying: “Cet animal est très méchant. Quand on contemple l’attaquer, il contemple se défendre.”*

Yours truly,

Randal Marlin
28 Third Avenue
Ottawa ON, K1S 2J6

613-234-2233

“To be added if needed: (“What a mean animal. You think of attacking it and it thinks of defending itself.”)

January 18, 2012. Try to access Wikipedia today and you will find that they are blacking themselves out for one day to protest a U.S. bill that in their view (and mine) will seriously curtail freedom of expression on the Internet. The two bills are known by their acronyms SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act). The problem is that the bills are drafted so loosely that their effect will be more than simply to protect legitimate copyright holders. Later we discuss freedom of expression issues. This development is central to the concerns of this course and everyone should read the Wikipedia message. It is posted when you try to access something on Wikipedia. For example, type in "propaganda, definition" into Google and you will be brought to a Wikipedia page after about 10 seconds or so the page blacks out and Wikipedia gives its message.

January 16, 2012. Further to the matter of the IAEA report on Iran, and claims made in the media about what it asserts, the actual report can be seen and downloaded from <http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/iaeairan/iaea_reports.shtml>. The report is dated November 8, but it is also referred to by the date on which it was officially derestricted, November 18. Two sentences in the report bear close attention: 1."While some of the activities identified in the Annex have civilian as well as military applications, others are specific to nuclear weapons" (para.44); 2. "The information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device" (para.53).

January 13, 2012. There's a scathing attack by Glenn Greenwald on the propensity of mainsteam media to simply repeat uncritically what government officials, often under cloak of anonymity, tell them. He describes this as "stenography journalism." He focuses on the New York Times and the newspaper's ombud, Arthur Brisbane. To see the article, click here.

January 13, 2012. The Web site "openfile" is an interesting experiment in civic journalism, something we talk about near the end of this term. Today they have a report on <democratize.ca> an interesting experiment in democracy started by my daughter (M.A. Carleton). To see it click here.

January 13, 2012. An unsually good and comprehensive account of the numerous cases where media (mis)led people into war can be found on Brasscheck. To see it click here.

January 12, 2012. More on the comparisons between the buildup to the war in Iraq and the accusations against Iran: click here.

January 11, 2012. Micah Clark's office hours this term are Thursdays, 12 -2 p.m.

January 10, 2012. The New York Times public affairs editor has agreed that the Times was in error in suggesting that the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. (See posting for January 6 below.) To see more on the NYT response to FAIR click here.

January 10, 2012. Learning Support Services is offering all kinds of assistance to students. To see what they have to offer, click here.

January 10, 2012. Another essay topic, or new information for those already working on the tar sands/oil sands:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/01/09/pol-joe-oliver-radical-groups.html?cmp=rss.

January 6, 2012. A propos remarks I made in class about the Ottawa Citizen's uncritical republication of a London Times article claiming that the International Atomic Energy Agency had established that Iran was pursuing nuclear weapons, see the critique made by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting of a similar unwillingness by the New York Times to assess critically such claims. To see the critique click here.

January 3, 2012. Students who were absent from the examination should contact me ASAP if they have a documented medical or other valid reason for their absence. Those who do not make contact by January 6 will miss any chance for accommodation.

January 3, 2012. Students will be able to see their December examination marks. In the left hand column are your student numbers, and in the right hand column your marks. To help you find your number I've put the first letter of last names where names begin with that letter. Don't confuse that letter with your grade if you have a letter attached to your number! Where there is only one name to a beginning letter I have omitted doing this. Click here to see the posted marks.

January 2, 2012. Welcome back, and Happy New Year. Please note that classes this term will take place in Azrieli Theatre 301, starting Wednesday, January 4. We no longer meet in Mackenzie 3380!

November 28, 2011. Somebody who has written with understanding about the Occupy Movement is Bill Greider of The Nation. He has a brilliant opening paragraph. To see his article click here.

November 22, 2011. Song is an important way of inspiring people to action. Here's a song that came out of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Click here.

November 21, 2011. The so-called "bat signal" (named after Batman) served to encourage many at Occupy Wall Street. It's a way of communicating to the masses. To see what this is all about, click here.

November 20, 2011. There's a good interview with Mickey Huff, editor of Censored 2012. To see it click here.

November 19, 2011. For a good current example of misleading people through selective use of statistics click here.

November 17, 2011. Gwynne Dyer is of much the same mind as the writer immediately below. Click here.

November 17, 2011. A build-up to an attack on Iran is taking place in the media, with some similarities to the build-up preceding the U.S. led invasion of Iraq. There's a good report on this by a former CIA analyst. Click here to see it.

November 15, 2011. Chris Hedges has reported on a fair number of collapsing regimes in his time as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times and other publications. He thinks the Occupy movement in the U.S. has brought on signs of defeat for the elite 1%, and that a revolution is taking place. His observations are worth reading. See <http://www.truth-out.org/what-revolution-looks/1321384587>.

November 14, 2011. There is some good commentary on the Occupy movement in the following: http://www.nationofchange.org/10-ways-occupy-movement-changes-everything-1320943628

November 10, 2011. Good commentary on the current build-up for attacking Iran. See Robert Parry's article in Consortium News.

November 7, 2011. For this week only, T.A. Micah Clark will be holding office hours on Friday from 9 to 11 instead of Thursday from 9 to 11. He will be at the Canadian Association of Security and Intelligence Studies conference during his normal office hours.

November 6, 2011. A very good account of U.S. veterans supporting Occupy New York was given in TomDispatch, and contrasts with a lot of non-coverage in the mainstream media. To see the account, go to http://www.tomdispatch.com and look for Tomgram: Frances Fox Piven, The War on the Home Front.

October 31, 2011. The right-wing rhetoric in the U.S. about the supposed Social Security budgetary burden is highly misleading -- false is more accurate. People made contributions to that fund so that $2.6 trillion dollars, paid by contributors, should be available. See the following Nation of Change article by clicking here.

October 25, 2011. The date of the December examination has been announced. It is scheduled for Dec. 19 @ 9:00 am.

October 20. 2011. In the advertising world, there is admiration for the brand "occupy" in "Occupy Wall Street." See
http://adage.com/article/trending-topics/occupy-wall-street-brand/230516/?utm_source=daily_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage

October 13, 2011. Censored 2012 has now arrived at Octopus Bookstore. Lots of good stuff in it, and I'll be assigning readings from it as our course unfolds. I notice a misprint at the end of the first paragraph on page 306. The correct date was in my submission. I invite you to email me the date that should have appeared, just so I know you know. <marlin@ncf.ca>

October 12, 2011. Thanks again to Nick and Donovan for rescuing today's class. The video is on You-Tube and can be accessed by Googling "Anybody's Son Will Do." It is in six parts. (Not to be confused with the War series as a whole, of which it is the second part in the series of six.) There is some good commentary to be found as well.

October 7, 2011. A student in the class was unable to attend the last few lectures and would greatly appreciate contact from another student willing to share notes. Contact Kristina at <kabretti@connect.carleton.ca>.

October 3, 2011. A short, fairly comprehensive account of the different city "occupations" is carried by Brass Check TV. You can see the seven minute presentation by clicking here.

September 26, 2001. Micah Clark has announced his office hours. They will take place in Paterson 3A35 from 9-11 a.m. on Thursdays.

September 23, 2011. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) seem to me to make a legitimate point about uneven coverage of protests by progressives occupying Wall Street as opposed to Tea Party demonstrations, the latter getting more ink and air time in the mainstream media. To learn more, go to http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4405 .

September 20, 2011. Tomorrow, Wednesday, I will be showing a video, released just this year, on the Koch brothers' and others' funding of the Tea Party and "fake grass roots" advocacy groups supporting corporate interests. Pretty scary stuff by an intrepid Australian, Taki Oldham, and his movie company, Larrikin films. Originally titled "Astroturf Wars," it has been repackaged, shortened, and re-named as The Billionaires' Tea Party. I will be showing as much of the 91 minute version as class time allows.

September 19, 2011. The University is offering lots of coaching to those who want to improve their study skills. Just go to the MySuccess link on Carleton Central.

September 19, 2011. Class was rushed near the end today and I was informed by several people that they had difficulty making notes on the last three slides. I don't normally post the slides, but in this case I'll post two of the last three slides. What follows is the third last and the last. The second last was just the definition, which is found near the end of page 22 in Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion.

• What may need more emphasis: there should be a goal of getting an individual to believe, feel, or act in ways that advance the propagandist’s cause. Is it necessary to add this, though? Why would there be an organized attempt otherwise?
  
  
• Not all intentionally defective communication (in the sense of epistemically defective) is propaganda – or is it? Some want to redefine propaganda this way.

September 14, 2011. There is an on-line source of ideas, usually anti-government, known as Brass Check. I like some of what they communicate, including this one of today: http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/censorship/life-under-hitler.html
I still have to figure out their overall philosophy and agenda.

September 12, 2011. Welcome to the 2011-2012 version of PHIL 2900, Truth and Propaganda.

Remember the point of my saying, truthfully, that I got to and completed, before midnight, the last lap of the Ironman Triathlon on Île Notre-Dame in Montréal Saturday. The Ironman consists of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bike and a marathon (26.2 miles 42.195 km) run, raced in that order and without a break.

March 22, 2011. Here's another way government has of reaching people, virtual Astroturf on steroids: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks

March 18, 2011. Today we take up the question of government information/propaganda. Your course outline refers to readings TBA. The reading I am asking you to do is Mark Bourrie's article in Global Media Journal - Canadian Edition, where he writes about how Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King helped to ensure favourable coverage in the media by selectively rewarding reporters and publishers with hot news items, and otherwise currying favour with them. This technique has been used by others. Henry Kissinger, for one. Bourrie's article is long, but you can skip over whatever is not directly related to King's method for influencing the media.

March 15, 2011. Media concentration and vertical integration is still an issue in Canada. See Carleton Journalism and Mass Communication Professor Dwayne Winseck's article in the Toronto Star.

March 11, 2011. I will be referring today to the Senate report on the media, 2006. It's available at http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/tran-e/rep-e/repfinjun06vol1-e.htm

March 10, 2011. Something not to miss: <http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/03/10>. The beginning of the New American Revolution?

March 10, 2011. I have written a review of Wendell Potter's new book, Deadly Spin, in the current (March-April) Peace and Environment News.This is an insider's account of the vast PR campaigns financed by the insurance companies to oppose government-financed medical care. Use of Astroturf is widespread.

February 2, 2011. The course outline calls for extra assigned reading to be announced this week. The extra reading is the editorial I wrote for the current Global Media Journal, Canadian Edition. To access it, click here.

January 26, 2011. More violence expressed by followers of the Rupert Murdoch supported voice of Glenn Beck. See the following article about 78-year old political and social theorist Frances Fox Piven. Click here.

January 12, 2011. The shooting of Democratic Republican Gabrielle Giffords along with the killing and wounding of others in Arizona has produced a torrent of defensive rhetoric against those who would see the shooting spree as encouraged by violent language. For an account of Sarah Palin as "victim," see <http://www.truth-out.org/poor-poor-sarah66781>. See also http://www.commondreams.org/print/64328. A film, Astro-Turf Wars has just been produced in which one can see the violent discourse in the Tea Party movement. Phony grass roots groups are backed by wealthy people such as the Koch brothers, who benefit from climate scepticism by virtue of their oil and other interests. I've reviewed this film in the current (January-February) Peace and Environment News. The propaganda around this incident is a worthy essay topic.

January 1, 2011. Happy New Year. For some interesting material on propaganda click here.

December 1, 2010. To see Chomsky's comments on WikiLeaks, click here.

November 23, 2010. The best segment of "Outfoxed" is now online. To see it, click here and plan on eight minutes watching.

November 22, 2010. Chris White's presentation on Lansdowne redevelopment at City Council was something not to miss. While it didn't alter Council's pro-development stance, it did make some good points. Click here for some fun.

November 20, 2010. Michael Moore at his best. Someone in the medical insurance business suggested the idea of "pushing him off a cliff." This information was leaked to Moore and he's capitalized on it. Moore has lots of examples of Astroturfing. Click here for details.

November 3, 2010. The end of term examination will be held Dec. 17 @ 14:00, and will last three hours. Paul Menton Centre students should make appropriate arrangements ASAP.

October 29, 2010. Michael Moore is no slouch at rhetoric. He's taken a video clip showing someone putting his foot on a protestor who has been forced to the ground and has taken that for a "boot" metaphor used extensively to warn progressives about the fate awaiting them if Republicans get control of Congress in the upcoming elections. Click to see this: http://www.truth-out.org/a-boot-head-michael-moore64636

October 24, 2010. From TA Micah Clark: A discussion group will be held in Paterson 3A36 on Friday, October 29, from 12 noon to 1 pm. We will discuss the ethical implications of risk communication, based on a reading of the following: Lawrence Freedman, ‘The politics of warning: Terrorism and risk communication’ Intelligence and National Security 20:3 (2005) pp.379-418.
The article can be found at the following link:
http://pdfserve.informaworld.com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/425273_770885140_727346963.pdf (if off-campus, students will need to log in through the library website).

October 9, 2010. Here's a current example of "Astroturf" (fake grass roots, applied to what are represented as grass roots organizations). Click here to see it.

October 5, 2010. Important article by Paul Krugman in the New York Times October 4 . To see it, click here.

October 4, 2010. I sent the following letter to the editor today. Everyone should look at the video referred to. Click below to see it.

To the Editor
Ottawa Citizen

Dear Sir:

The Citizen web site video showing Mayor Larry O'Brien promising great
things for Sparks Street (Oct. 3), and ending with "Vote for me" seemed
to me indistinguishable from a paid promotional advertisement for his
re-election. There was no indication that this was paid for. Was it a
Video News Release supplied by the O'Brien electoral team? Will you be
doing similar promotions for other candidates? Your readers and viewers
deserve an answer.

Yours truly,
Randal Marlin

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Brien+says+revitalize+Sparks+Street+elected/3615961/story.html

October 2, 2010. The U.S. is having to grapple with Taliban propaganda exploiting divisions between the U.S. and the Afghanistan government, and signs of reduced U.S. military presence.
Go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/01/AR2010100106644.html?hpid=topnews Thanks to Micah Clark for the link.

September 27, 2010. U.S. political front groups where the money source is often hidden are usefully listed in Fact Check. Go to:
http://www.factcheck.org/2010/09/rep-grayson-lowers-the-bar/

September 26, 2010. Those interested in writing their essays on the U.S. election may find the following article by Ralph Nader useful as an overall guide to many of the issues. Go to <http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/72-72/3428-why-say-yes-to-the-party-of-no>.

September 21, 2010. Micah Clark, our TA, has called attention to a Slate article giving evolutionary arguments for why we believe propaganda. See http://www.slate.com/id/2267299/. There are other reasons and explanations as well, as we shall see.
Clark's office hours and location are now posted on the Home Page, and will be on Mondays, except for tomorrow (Wednesday).

Tomorrow I will be talking about SunMedia's attack on George Soros, and on omissions in the Ottawa Citizen's coverage of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment issue such as the silencing of Maria Cook, their distinguished architectural commentator, on Lansdowne matters. Publishers of both The Ottawa Sun and The Ottawa Citizen signed their names to full page advertisements in their respective newspapers November 10, 2009, stating "We support the Lansdowne Partnership Plan & encourage City Council to do likewise." The statement in that advertisement, "The city gives up nothing, assumes no financial risk..." is at odds with the truth. Coverage of the issue has produced lapses in objectivity in both papers.

September 18, 2010. Leaked photographic footage of U.S. air crew killing what appear to be civilians in Iraq has led to the prosecution of the person responsible for the WikiLeak. Yet without the WikiLeak, propaganda denying that any such event took place might have succeeded. The case is of interest as a test of government control over information reaching the public as against those who feel the obligation to expose government deceptions affecting vital democratic interests. You can learn more about this case by clicking here.

September 11, 2010. Something to add to the references in your course outline. A magnificent store of war propaganda leaflets, at http://www.psywar.org/leaflets.php

September 10, 2010. To view the week by week readings click on "Schedule of topics and readings" in the left column of the course web site index page. (Go to the bottom of this page and click on "Home Page" to get there from here.)

September 10, 2010. I'll be talking today about Astroturf, among many other things. Here's an example:<http://www.prwatch.org/node/9422>

Septmber 10, 2010. The word from the advertising world is that jingles, as a way of helping to propagate commercial messages, are coming back into fashion. See http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=145744.

September 10, 2010. The CRTC Chair, Konrad von Finckenstein, published a letter in the Globe and Mail Sept. 8 announcing that no one in government had approached him on the matter of the Quebecor application for Sun TV, what has been called by some "Fox News North." The Ottawa Sun and presumably others in the Sun Media chain published recently an article by Kory Teneycke, former Communications director for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and now in charge of development for Sun TV. In his article, Teneyke stresses that Sun TV is interested only in making Sun TV available so that viewers have a chocie to watch it, and that he is not looking to force people to watch it. The language is likely to mislead readers. Monica Auer describes the much more complex situation in a way that will enable you to see what the true situation is, and why people like Margaret Atwood are concerned about the continuing independence of the CRTC. See <http://openmedia.ca/blog/crtc%E2%80%99s-chairperson-%E2%80%93-crtc-independence-and-impartiality>

September 4, 2010. September 4, 2010. Dan Gardner has come up with a useful name for a rhetorical device he describes. It's "chronological elision." I think this name may well catch on. See his "Iraq war supporters fight a battle against time" in today's Ottawa Citizen.

July 8, 2010. George Lakoff has a good summary of his views on enframing in the following article. to see it click here.

February 24, 2010. An article on hate propaganda appeared today in StraightGoods, pertinent to our topic this week. To see it, click here.

February 16, 2010. Two interesting articles in AlterNet today. 1. Chris Hedges wonders whether the Internet, by depriving writers and creative thinkers from the income that books used to provide, is contributing to possibly a disastrous cultural decline. 2. Sebastian Jones gives us examples of cable news talking heads not disclosing that they are paid to do PR by corporations. A familiar story, but with updated examples.

February 12, 2010. When even the advertising industry uses the word "pernicious" in connection with product placement it's time to sit up and take notice. Click here.

February 10, 2010. The problem with citing Web material is that it can change. If possible, locate your material in a Web archive. Go to http://www.archive.org/ or just click here. Thanks to Michael Schnier for this useful information.

February 8, 2010. Interesting analysis of the TV Superbowl ads, from TomDispatch. Good example of sociological propaganda, given the values that are implicit in this unedifying array of commercials. Click here.

February 8, 2010. The TV Superbowl ads can be seen by clicking here.

February 3, 2010. Anyone working on Copenhagen and climate change for their essay should find the February issue of Extra! of interest. The whole issue is devoted to that subject. To access some articles free click here.

January 27, 2010. Top lawyers advised the Blair government that going to war against Iraq would violate international law, according to testimony given to a British inquiry this week. For the link, click here.

January 26, 2010. I'll be referring today to Advertising Standards Canada, the advertising industry's self-policing council. To access the council's Web site, and the latest quarterly report on complaints, click here.

January 25, 2010. The schedule of topics and readings has been corrected and can be consulted by clicking on "Schedule of topics and readings" in the left hand margin of the home page of the course Web site. No change to the readings is involved, just the week in which they apply.

January 20, 2010. PR Watch and SourceWatch have interesting observations on the Massachusetts election, where a Republican replaced a Democrat in a seat long held by the Kennedys. To read about the "Tea Party" involvement in the election see the following: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=SourceWatch and http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tea_Party_Express

December 3, 2990. A clever linkage to "It's a Wonderful Life" has been made with a view to supporting U.S. banking regulation - very likely to have impact, I believe. To see it, and the use of the word "bankster" click here.

November 26, 2009. Chomsky has a few interesting thoughts on Afghanistan. Click here.

November 25, 2009. Further to yesterday's class, a November, 2007, Amnesty International Report makes for important reading. It's clear from the report that the reference is to "risk" of torture and nothing like inevitability of torture. The number of Canadian detainees, handed over to Afghan security, who were tortured does not have to be large for Canada's obligations under international law to kick in. When Richard Colvin testified that all detainees were likely to be tortured when handed over to Afghan security he may have been thinking in terms of "risk," which doesn't have to be very high in terms of percentages for monitoring obligations to arise. From that standpoint, Matthew Fisher's article reporting on the Kandahar prison warden's statement that one prisoner in eleven (or so) was tortured for extortion purposes, ought to suffice for Canadian obligations to begin. That's pretty terrible, don't you think?! The story could just as well have been "Prison Warden confirms frequent torture." But to the extent that Colvin's testimony might have been construed as meaning that a high proportion (say 80%) of detainees handed over were tortured, the evidence in this report does not support such a claim, so far as I can see. By reporting Colvin to have said that all those handed over to Afghan authorities were tortured, he was made out to have said something which I think could be easily refutable, but a distraction from the real issue, which is whether Canadians acted properly in handing over the detainees without adequate monitoring. For the Amnesty Report: Click here.

November 10, 2009. To see documents related to the tobacco industry, click here.

October 29, 2009. Yet another use of the "I Want You" poster theme. Click here.

October 26, 2009. The "war" between Fox news and the Obama Administration took a turn in favour of the former when four other TV media outlets sided with Fox in favour of keeping Fox as a member in the normally five-member pool admitted to the White House for certain news briefings. "If Fox goes, we go," they essentially said. I sympathize with Obama, but I also agree that the precedent of the Administration picking and choosing which media to deal with is a dangerous one. Of course Henry Kissinger was selective in his choice of interviewees, and there are other ways in which previous administrations could and did show favour.

October 24, 2009. There's an extraordinarily interesting article by a former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan. He describes his experience about witnessing evidence in a courtroom by a person who stated he had been tortured in order to make him give false evidence. The description of the episode is compelling, as is his description of how the tabloids worked to discredit him when he blew the whistle on what he saw. He ends the article with an observation on Afghanistan that has relevance for Canada. His description has a close parallel with the treatment of Maher Arar, which helps to confirm his credibility. To see the article, click here.

October 24, 2009. The Globe and Mail has a story today about the 1936 Olympics, and the introduction by the Nazis of the torch, which suited their political purposes, fire being the symbol of regeneration — burning away the old, replacing with the new. Fire also symbolizes comfort of the hearth. Wind also blows away the old, and the flag makes us aware of the presence of the wind.

October 23, 2009. There's a great video on the Obama v. Fox News "war," put out by Media Matters for America. To see it click here. Thanks to Alexis Zielke for bringing this to my attention.

October 3, 2009. For those interested in propaganda surrounding the Lansdowne Live proposal a good supplement to what you read in the mainstream media is Bob Brocklebank's blog, accessible by clicking here. He is Past-President of the Glebe Community Association.

September 25, 2009. As an example of a legist, Jacobo de Junta (educated at the University of Bologna) would appear to fit, in a time frame of 1250-1294. Benefiting from his work was Alfonso X of Castile and later monarchs.

September 24, 2009. I'll be referring to Caesar Augustus today, very briefly. If you want to learn more about this astute ancient Roman political leader and propagandist, click here. His account of his doings and accomplishments in his Res Gestae is a classic of self-promotion. There's an on-line translation that you can read by clicking here.

September 16, 2009. Welcome to PHIL 2900, 2009-2010 version.
On Tuesday I referred to George Lakoff, and his important ideas about framing a debate. You should look at his discussion of how Obama's Democrats failed to present health care reforms in a winning way, using wrong words and framing. Here's the reference: http://www.truthout.org/082009B?n/

August 7, 2009. Robert Parry, in Consortium News, shows yet another example of ownership affecting the content of news and opinion. It's a case General Electric and MSNBC combating adverse publicity from Fox News by having Keith Olbermann back off from strong attacks on Bill O'Reilly. Click here for more.

August 7, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama knew he would be in a big fight, against well-financed opposition from private health interests (pharmaceutical, insurance, hospitals and nursing homes, etc.) when he set out to reform the medical system in the United States. Since Canada is one good model for a universal health care system, those private interests naturally want to discredit that system. They've done so in a deceptive advertisement that Americans are likely to believe, not encountering much in the way of contrary information. Fact Check has exposed the deception and you can see the advertisement by clicking here.

August 7, 2009. Extra! has just drawn attention to links between private health interests and major media, with interlocking directorships. Click here to see the information, relating to the United States and media coverage of Obama's health care initiative.

July 17, 2009. I referred in class yesterday to a complaint I made with Tom Adams of Energy Probe to Advertising Standards Canada against the Globe and Mail for what we saw as disguised advertising in the pages of its Energy Supplement. To see more about this just scroll down this page, almost to the bottom, to March 11, 2002.

July 12, 2009. There's an important article by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship describing how Katharine Weymouth, publisher of The Washington Post invited top government officials, CEOs and lobbyists to her house, meeting with reporters and journalists covering health issues. The CEO's and lobbyists were to pay $25,000 a head for each get-together. There is a lot of money available to fight health care reform and there's a lot of deception, particularly about the Canadian health care system. See Julie Mason's article on page 8 of today's (Sunday's) Ottawa Citizen. It doesn't take a genius to see that this kind of contact with an influential paper like the Post would easily be worth it, given the amount that private health interests have to lose with anything resembling the Canadian health care system, and how important it is to get their propaganda out to the public. Two groups stand to lose: the Post itself and whatever reputation it might have for integrity and objective reporting, and the American people who stand to suffer from bias in the system of information. That this should happen confirms Chomsky's analysis of the media, but also reveals a new level of blatancy, the journalistic counterpart to the purchase of questions in the British Parliament some years ago. I'm also reminded of Henry Hotze and his way of influencing the media. Click here to see the article: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2009/07/bill_moyers_michael_winship_so.html

June 1, 2009. Once again George Lakoff has an excellent analysis of how neoconservatives have been working to frame issues to their advantage. In this case the word at issue is "empathy." To see his article click here.

May 26, 2009. The Conservative Party of Canada has provided us with an excellent essay topic: its attack ads, beginning around May 13. Just Google "Conservative Party of Canada attack ads" and you will find a long list materials which will be useful for the essay. The CBC actually provides the videos, while there is a lot of commentary on the wisdom and ethics of the ads in the other materials. If you can manage it, some interviews with officials in the major political parties of Canada would be a useful addition. Your analysis should include the emotional and rational basis of the appeal in each of the different attack ads.

May 18, 2009. Here's a possible essay topic. Rex Murphy argues in "When art becomes agitprop," (Globe and Mail Saturday, May 16, F12), that a playlet about Israel and the Palestinians, titled Seven Jewish Children, is agitprop and not art. The essay would study the playlet - the article indicates where it can be found on-line - examine Murphy's critique, and evaluate the fairness of that critique. Attention would have to be paid to facts about the Israeli attack on Gaza in December-January and the causes of that attack. There would be room for discussion on the question whether art and propaganda are always separable and opposed.

March 21, 2009. I have an article in today's Ottawa Citizen, Observer section, dealing with free speech and the University's banning of the Gaza poster. To see it click here.

March 20, 2009. I have put the 34th Annual report 2006 of the Ontario Press Council (the most recent annual report) on reserve for those who would like to read around what I presented in class, or who want to check the exact wording of, say, the decision in the Carol Wainio vs. David Warren case.

March 11, 2009. The power of the neo-Conservative media in the U.S. was very strong under U.S. President George W. Bush. It still has considerable power, despite the election of Barack Obama. See the article by Robert Parry by clicking here.

March 11, 2009. I have set out my arguments regarding Carleton's banning of the Gaza poster in a blog by Boyce Richardson, film-maker and former foreign correspondent for the Montreal Star. As mentioned in class, this issue will be one of the questions on the examination. You will find that Mr. Richardson does not agree with me, so the contrast should help you form your own opinions. Boyce does not name names, and neither do I, in the absence of permission to post. But you will easily recognize my contribution as coming from me. Click here to see Richardson's blog..

March 2, 2009. Since speaking to the class about the Gaza poster and the University banning of it, I came across a Media Lens Media Alert in which the charge that Israelis deliberately targeted children is made. I have found that Media Lens has generally been credible, but I hesitate to endorse its claims without further confirmation. Nevertheless, in fairness, given the position I adopted in class regarding the banning, I think it right to give you the reference. It is http://www.medialens.org/alerts/08/081103_children_in_the.php. To see it click here.

February 23, 2009. We discuss hate propaganda and controls this week. An unofficial version of the Criminal Code of Canada has been placed on a Department of Justice web site. Sections 318, 319, and 320 are the relevant ones to look up. Take special note of the defences listed under subsection (3) of Section 318. To access the Code click here.

February 5, 2009. AdAge, Madison & Vine has a section on product placement, ranking companies by number of placements. Click here to see it. Scroll to the bottom of what appears.

January 30, 2009. British politician Tony Benn has a forceful exchange with a BBC broadcaster, challenging the BBC for not carrying a charitable appeal for aid to Gaza. Click here to see it.

November 26, 2008. More insights from George Lakoff. Click here.

November 24, 2008. Tomorrow I will be referring to the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar. To access it easily, just click here.

November 19, 2008. The segment of "Outfoxed" that we didn't quite get to in class can be seen by clicking here. Thanks to Mike Duminie for the reference.

November 12, 2008. A group calling themselves the Yes Men have found a way to get their message out. They've produced a spoof edition of the New York Times. To read more click here.

November 3, 2008. A very important article in AlterNet about "dog whistle" political communications, and how the Internet has been useful in foiling them. I'll talk about this tomorrow. Please consider this article as part of your assigned reading. To see it, click here.

The Globe and Mail has an article today (page 3) about the matter discussed below (November 2).

November 2, 2008. I did not expect Canadians to enter into U.S. electioneering, but two French-speaking Montreal radio comedians for CKOI managed to reach and prank Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, pretending to be French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his assistant. Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, known as the Masked Avengers, carried out the prank with Audette posing as Sarkozy. To hear the interview, click here. To see a transcript of the prank, click here.

October 31, 2008. I mentioned on Thursday that there was a brilliant viral video by MoveOn.org, getting people to vote. The name changes with each recipient of the message. I'll show you what I got, which has my name plastered all over it. The most imaginative shot was the goat-herder in Afghanistan. The most embarrassing was the praise from Bill O'Reilly. Have fun watching your professor pilloried by clicking here.

October 31, 2008. Real News did an interesting video of Obama supporters reacting to a placard portraying Obama as Muslim. To see it click here.

October 27, 2008. SourceWatch has a good source of information for following the U.S. election. By clicking here, you can also link up with source material on tobacco, front groups and much else.

October 24, 2008. FactCheck has a good account of Robo-calls and other electoral campaign methods used in the final days before the U.S. presidential election. To see this account, click here.

October 19. 2008. A technique of negative election campaigning known as negative automated calls is worth noting. To read about it click here.

October 19, 2008. In Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama, he says something that has needed to be said. McCain responded inadequately to a questioner at one of his meetings. There was an implied insult when McCain responded to the claim that Obama was a Muslim. McCain denied it, saying "he's a good family man," as if Muslims were not also good family people. Powell makes clear his view that the U.S. should be sending the message to young Muslims that they too can qualify for the presidency. To see Powell's remarks click here.

October 17, 2008. People professionally involved in advertising have some interesting things to say about the McCain campaign. To see their opinions, click here.

October 17, 2008. AlterNet has a useful summary of the U.S. Pentagon's financing of propaganda activities that target mainly Iraq, but also the United States itself, something that is contrary to U.S. law. To see the story, click here.

October 14, 2008. The McCain-Palin campaign appears to be resorting to desperate measures. See the Alternet article on this by clicking here. There is a "Brutus is an honorable man" quality to his "defence" of Obama.

Today is election day. Maybe with the rebounding of the market, Stephen Harper's advice to buy stocks won't seem so much of a "let them eat cake" remark. Polls show a drop for support in Quebec, and pundits attribute this to opposition by the arts community. I mentioned this opposition starting September 11 below. I think the video referred to September 21 below was particularly effective.

October 14, 2008. I plan to refer today to the use of the word "terrorism" in propaganda, making use of material discussed October 24, 2004. Scroll down to October 24, 2004 see this material.

October 10, 2008. There have been references in the mainstream media (notably William Johnson in the Globe and Mail today) to the YouTube clip that I mentioned September 21 below (click here). Apparently it has had a big impact on Prime Minister Harper's standing in Quebec, Johnson being of the opinion that the attack was unfair. The issue of possible unfairness could be worth an essay topic. The factual background would have to be thoroughly investigated.

October 7, 2008. The Nazi Party platform of 1920 that I showed in class today is available on line. Click here to see it.

October 3, 2008. In widely televised political debates, candidates make many detailed factual assertions. They affirm them with apparent authority and confidence, since it would not be good for their image to show diffidence. But the viewer is left wondering how accurate the claims are. Fact Check has done an accuracy audit of the Biden-Palin debate. To see it, click here.

October 2, 2008. George Lakoff has a very insightful article in Alternet, dealing with the U.S. election. To see it, click here.

October 1, 2008. Michael Moore writes in Straightgoods, in reference to the proposed bailout in the U.S.: "But for now, Wall Street and its propaganda arm (the networks and media it owns) will continue to try and scare the bejesus out of you." Here's an essay topic. Take a look at what those media have been saying, and try to determine whether Moore's reference to the scariness as "propaganda" is justified. You'll need to look at what economists with no obvious axe to grind have been saying.

October 1. 2008. A video showing Senator McCain talking in contradictory ways about regulation and the economy is making the rounds. To see it click here.

September 29, 2008. Fact Check has come up with cases where presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama made false or misleading statements of fact in their recent debate. To see these, click here.

September 22, 2008. The mainstream media have looked at the U.S. financial crisis and have said that a bailout is needed. What they tend to avoid doing is finding ways to structure the bailout in such a way that the U.S. taxpayers won't be on the hook for long. You can read a good account of how this can be done by clicking here.

September 21, 2008. The artistic community (musical performers) in Quebec are fighting back against the Harper government's cutbacks with biting satire in a YouTube clip. It's very funny. You need to know that the French word for seal (the kind that lives in the ocean) is "phoque." To see it, and it's very short, click here.

September 17, 2008. A new book tells the story about the war in Iraq from the soldiers' point of view. One thing to notice is the language used to make more acceptable acts of devastation. For example, an approaching woman was "lit up," meaning she was hit and killed with a grenade launcher. Also mentioned are abusive terms for Iraqis. See the story by clicking here.

September 16, 2008. There's a film making the rounds, called The Reflecting Pool. It raises a lot of interesting questions about 9/11, of the sort raised in Barrie Zwicker's book, Towers of Deception. The facts come with a lot of music, and only at the end do you find out that the interviews are enacted, not actual. The strictly factual content could be presented in about 20 minutes instead of the one hour and 40 minutes of drama. What I've noticed is how heavily pro-smoking the film is (villains tend not to smoke and one even asks the hero not to smoke. Heroes conspicuously puff and think.) and I'd be surprised if the film wasn't financed by tobacco money. As for the truth about a conspiracy? I can't say, without more information. Certain basic facts, e.g., about the construction of the buildings need to be checked out. They conflict with what I read at the time. To see the l-o-n-g film, click here. It's quite entertaining. I found I could see it with Netscape but not Safari or Explorer.

September 15, 2008. The news today tells about the collapse of Lehman Brothers in New York, the fourth-largest securities firm. This casualty is likely to trigger many losses elsewhere in the U.S. economy. What you may not know, when you hear of Senator McCain's determination to clean up Wall Street, is that his good friend and advisor, Phil Gramm, was responsible for the legislation that enabled unregulated insurance ("swaps"), boosting risky securities, to take place. See the article by David Corn in Mother Jones, published in Common Dreams, by clicking here.

September 15, 2008. There's a lot of talk in the media about how the "surge" supposedly has been responsible for the drop in violence in Iraq. See see how misleading this interpretation is, see the article by Patrick Cockburn in The Independent (UK), by clicking here.

September 15, 2008. There's an interesting letter in the Ottawa Citizen today, in the City section, by Joseph Alexander Norland, who claims that the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie, shown at the Arts Court, is "political propaganda masquerading as theatre." Rachel Corrie was run over by an Israeli bulldozer a few years ago after deliberately putting herself in its path, as it was demolishing houses in Gaza. If you google "Rachel Corrie" together with Haaretz, the more left-oriented of the Israeli papers, you can read stories about her work. If you google "Joseph Alexander Norland" you come up with Israpundit and some tendentious (one-sided) reporting favouring the George W. Bush legacy. So here's an interesting essay topic: try to find as much as you can about the facts connected with Rachel Corrie's life and the facts connected with her killing (whether deliberate or accidental). Norland depicts, as "the true context" of Rachel Corrie's activities in Gaza, the following: "shielding fugitive terrorists, obstructing security forces on an operation to detect terrorists' tunnels designed to smuggle explosives, and providing the Gazan terrorists with anti-western propaganda." How much truth is there in these claims? To what extent do they represent the intention of Ms. Corrie, as possibly distinct from an interpretation (possibly, but not necessarily biased) of the objective effect of her actions? On the evidence of Mr. Norland's letter, I have the impression he is not scrupulously respectful of the truth, but you can form your own judgement. He says that "A photo of Rachel Corrie burning U.S. flags, to the delight of Gaza children, is on record at http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/5864_Teaching_the_Children." Click here to see it. I would not call these "American flags," but at most a very crude attempt to represent a flag on paper. You might tackle the question of how much propaganda versus truth there is on both sides, and with what justification for both sides.

September 14, 2008. Whatever your political beliefs, the analysis by Real News of Governor Sarah Palin's television interview concerning foreign policy should be noted. Click here to see it.

September 13, 2008. Remember when Senator McCain compared Senator Obama to Paris Hilton and other celebrities? This video suggests that you don't knock celebrities with impunity - even those you think won't have the wit and credibility to fight back. Click here for a fun couple of minutes.

September 12, 2008. Two important election articles. One by Paul Krugman about lying in the U.S. election. Click here to see it. The other is by George Lakoff. What he says is useful analysis that could be applied to Canada as well. Click here.

September 11, 2008. A very powerful open letter from the artistic community to Prime Minister Stephen Harper was published a few days ago. To see a translation of this letter, click here.

September 11, 2008. We don't discuss free speech and libel until next term, but it would be useful to take note of the Rafe Mair libel case for future reference. Click here for the article.

September 11, 2008. Those studying the U.S. election should find Andrew Sullivan's article of interest. Click here.
There's also some good comments by Fact Check. Click here.

September 10, 2008. In yesterday's class I said I would be pointing out examples of doublespeak throughout the year. Here's a good one that student Robert Keyl pointed out. Last June some lakes were designated "tailings impoundment areas" as legal protection against pollution was removed from them. Click here for the story.

September 8, 2008. According to Advertising Age, Michael Moore has a new movie coming out and he will make it available for free downloading for three weeks starting September 23. My guess is that if it resembles his past movies it will make a useful essay topic - either from the point of view of propaganda or counter-propaganda. To read more, click here.

September 8, 2008. To see Michael Moore wiping the floor with CNN's Wolf Blitzer over Moore's Sicko movie interview watch this space as I try to get an adequate URL. Click here. If this doesn't work, just put "Michael Moore CNN Blitzer Sicko" into Google.

September 8, 2008. There's an important video giving background on John McCain's Senior Foreign Policy Advisor, Randy Scheunemann, on Real News (see Links) or click here.

September 8, 2008. In my lecture tomorrow on Orwell, I will be referring to a publication inspired by Orwell's thinking, the Quarterly Review of Doublespeak, published in 1981 by American teachers of English. It's worth looking at for many reasons, but in particular there is page of advice about how to analyse election campaign material, which should come in handy for those choosing to write their essay on the topic. To see the relevant page click here and scroll down.

September 7, 2008. The URL for the Lakoff article described below can be accessed if you click here.

September 2, 2008. There is a good and important article in Alternet by George Lakoff, "Lakoff: Palin Appeals to Voter Emotions -- Dems Beware." Lakoff is a linguist who has emphasized the importance of how an issue gets framed. Sometimes refutation of an opponent's factual claims may be counter-productive, if the refutation reinforces a winning framework for the opponent. This article is a good primer for a more sophisticated assessment of the campaign strategies in the U.S. presidential election. Lakoff's books include The Political Mind and Don't Think of an Elephant!

August 29, 2008. Yesterday's speech by U.S. Democratic Party presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama displayed many features of standard rules and devices for persuasive rhetoric. It would be worth downloading and retaining for when we discuss rhetorical devices, and could serve for an essay topic.!

For those who want an early start, take a look at Jay Rosen's Huffington Post posting of August 4. From there you can read Dan Gilmor and Glenn Greenwald. It's all about the anthrax reporting in 2001, creating a scare that helped Congress to pass the Patriot Act that greatly curtailed liberty rights in the U.S.A. There are telling questions put to ABC news for its role in using anonymous sources that could easily have been conduits for the Bush administration's war propaganda: until ABC news comes clean the suspicions will remain.

There is an interesting video putting very graphically and in an easy-to-understand way the divvying up of Iraq's oil. Click here to see it.

March 28, 2007.

REDACTING THE SCIENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND SYNTHESIS This report, which presents and synthesizes the findings of a year-long investigation to determine the extent of political interference at federal climate science agencies, demonstrates how policies and practices have increasingly restricted the flow of scientific information emerging from publicly-funded climate change research. This has affected the media’s ability to report on the science, public officials’ capacity to respond with appropriate policies, and the public’s grasp of an environmental issue with profound consequences for our future. Conducted by the Government Accountability Project, the investigation incorporated dozens of interviews; a review of thousands of Freedom of Information Act disclosures, internal documents, and public records; and a comprehensive search of news archives. 1 Although the investigation focused heavily on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it also included the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Agriculture, and the Climate Change Science Program. A perception of inappropriate political interference is widespread among employees of the federal climate science agencies and programs, as well as among journalists from national, mainstream outlets who cover their research. This perception is substantiated by evidence from inside sources, scientists’ personal testimonies, journalists, and Freedom of Information Act disclosures. The investigation found no incidents of direct interference with climate change research. Instead, unduly restrictive policies and practices were located largely in the communication of “sensitive” scientific information to the media, the public, and Congress. In this context, “sensitive scientific information” is meant to signify that science which does not support existing policy positions or objectives in research dealing with the effects of climate change or greenhouse gases on hurricanes, sea levels, Arctic ice loss, marine life, and human society. Interference with media communications includes delaying, monitoring, screening, and denying interviews, as well as delay, denial, and inappropriate editing of press releases. Interference with the public and Congress includes inappropriate editing, delay, and suppression of reports and other printed and online material. These restrictive communication policies and practices are largely characterized by internal inconsistencies, ambiguity, and a lack of transparency. In turn, they send chilling signals to federal employees, including scientists and public affairs officers, that reinforce the suppression of “sensitive” information. There is a clear trend toward increasingly restrictive policies and practices unsupported by any official justification from the agencies and programs. Why are these restrictions becoming more pervasive than ever before? ...

March 2, 2007.

Advertisers are worried about the new inter-active media world and are seeking to adapt. Click here.

In line with our study of PR activities, take a look at the following article in Alternet, by clicking here.

January 23, 2007. The State of the Union address today by George W. Bush should provide useful matter for analysis. I haven't found it yet on the White House web site, but probably in a day or two it will be there. Meanwhile, the CBC's Neil Macdonald has an eye-popping story about some vicious negative propaganda against U.S Senator Barack Obama, who is seeking nomination as a presidential candidate. Click here for the link.

January 23, 2007. To learn about misleading reporting concerning Somalia, go to <noreply@medialens.org> or click here.

January 16, 2007. There is a good account, in Consortium News, about the importance of ascertaining the truth about the Bush Administration's 2003 attack on dissenters. The trial of "Scooter" Libby should reveal a lot, but the major media appear to be soft-pedaling the case. Click here to learn more about the case.

December 31, 2006. The execution of Saddam Hussein is seen very differently in Iraq from the way it has been reported in CNN. Riverbend is the nom de plume of an Iraqi blogger I have followed for some five or so years. She has a lot of credibility. Read what she wrote today about the execution. Just click here. I also plan to add her blog to the Links page.

November 21, 2006. The victory of O'Brien in the mayoralty race came as a great surprise to me. Surely the public doesn't believe that you can cut taxes and increase services, but maybe they think someone with business experience can do wonders. It would be a very worthwhile essay topic to look at the campaign messages, media coverage and commentary, etc. to track his surge in popularity as the campaign went on. One obvious boost came with Treasury Minister John Baird's attack on Mayor Bob Chiarelli's veracity regarding the light rail contract (see below). I think that with O'Brien's Tory connections he probably had a lot of skilled advisors for his campaign, in particular regarding timing. He seemed to hit his peak just at election time.

November 13, 2006. An excellent observation has been made by Medialens concerning the absence of contextualisation in the reporting, by mainstream media, of the death sentence meted out to Saddam Hussein. To see the important article go to http://www.medialens.org/alerts/06/061113_hanging_saddam_hussein.php, or click here.

October 19, 2006. The Nation has good observations about the timing of the verdict in the trial of Saddam Hussein. There would appear to be a connection between the timing of this verdict and the November congressional elections in the U.S. Read Tom Englehardt's article by going to <http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/101906A.shtml> or clicking here.

October 16, 2006. There is an excellent set of films made exposing the co-optation by the U.S. military of a chunk of the entertainment industry. To see them, go to <http://rstahl.myweb.uga.edu/militainment.html>. Thanks to student Fotis Xipolitakis for drawing these films/videos to our attention.

October 14, 2006. Today's Ottawa Citizen has a very unflattering picture of Mayor and mayoralty candidate Bob Chiarelli with Treasury Minister John Baird towering over him. There is plenty of material for an essay on the contest between Mayor Chiarelli and candidate Alex Munter. A lot has to do with the issue of light rail, and Baird has accused Chiarelli of lying to him about the contract, while Chiarelli has responded by saying that Baird was lying to the public. In any case the Citizen is doing Chiarelli no favours with the photographs chosen for the article about him today. To get a handle on the Chiarelli-Baird accusations, it would be good to look at the actual contract which is at issue, find the relevant clauses, and get a good opinion on how to interpret them. I would guess (but this is only a guess) that Baird is right to say the contract has some escape clause applicable for a few more weeks, but that Chirarelli could well be right if there is a financial penalty that would apply if that clause is invoked. That's what needs to be looked at to decide what is truth and what is propaganda in the allegations.
          
October 13, 2006. Further to the lecture on WW I propaganda: While in England, I took a side trip to Brussels to look at issues of L'Indépendance Belge and La Belgique dated April 10, 1917 and earlier. I found that L'Indépendance Belge was actually published in London, England. I checked every issue of La Belgique between January and April 10, but could find no evidence of the Corpse Utilization Plant story there. Remember that this was the anounced source for the story in the Indépendance Belge. But I also found that the April 10 Indépendance Belge proclaimed that it (the Indépendance Belge) appeared in London two days earlier than the announced publication date. That would make it less likely that the Lokal-Anzeiger story and the Karl Rosner reference to the carcass utilization plant triggered the propaganda in the Indépendance Belge. I haven't totally given up on this speculation, though. What if the April 10 issue of the Indépendance Belge was delayed, so that contrary to its claim it did not appear in London on April 8? On the whole, though, I'm now open to the idea that the dating of the two publications was a spectacular coincidence. La Belgique, by the way, was a daily newspaper of four pages except for Sundays when there was an eight-page supplement.(Added October 14. One other important thing. The word "lime" used in English translations of Rosner's April 10, 1917 report was a mistranslation. The word "Leim" was used and in German it means glue and not lime. A report about him detecting the smell of cooking glue would have been more likely to make people think of horses than the word "lime." So this mistranslation may have been deliberate. So far as I know, no one else has detected this mistranslation, which was repeated innumerable times. I want to thank my colleague in the German department, Professor Bob Gould, for pointing out the meaning of "der Leim.")

September 23, 2006. The Ottawa Citizen today has an account of the "Red Friday" rally on Parliament Hill yesterday. The aim of this movement is to get people wearing red on Friday to show support for Canadian troops. This to my mind resembles the "yellow ribbon" campaign in the United States, especially strong in the 1991 Iraq war. One problem with this demonstration is that in focussing attention on support for the troops the question of the advisability or inadvisability of committing troops to certain purposes runs the risk of being overlooked. The actions and media coverage should provide an interesting subject for the course essay. The names of the organizing individuals are in today's Citizen story and it might be worth interviewing them and others for the essay.

September 19, 2006. Here's a suggestion for an essay topic. Look at today's coverage of the Maher Arar inquiry. Go back and look at how the newspapers covered his case in the early and subsequent stages. Look for example at the National Post, the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail, and maybe the Ottawa Citizen and Le Devoir. There is a lengthy summary of the inquiry's conclusions in today's newspapers, but you get extra marks if you also consult Justice O'Connor's report directly. The CBC has made this kind of study much easier by giving a time-line. You can reach it by clicking here.
What you should be alert to is the possibility of newspapers giving inadequate attention to Ahar's right to be presumed innocent, and too much credence given to the views of RCMP and foreign affairs spokespersons.

September 18, 2006. There is an ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" that has a number of errors spotted by Media Matters. This would make a good essay topic, especially if you can videotape the series. To learn about this, click on the following: http://mediamatters.org/items/200609070001.

September 18, 2006. I notice that the National Post has a story about Pope Benedict's remarks as its lead, banner-headline, page one story today. The prominence given to this story seems to me likely to encourage negative feelings between Catholics and Muslims. It's important to see the whole speech and context. You can do this by clicking on the posting immediately below.

September 17, 2006. The media, including the CBC, have projected a false impression of Pope Benedict XVI's remarks on meeting representatives of science September 12 at the University of Regensburg. To see this, look at the whole speech and compare with the media accounts. The whole speech can be had by clicking here.

September 15, 2006. Alternet has good insights into propaganda with a story today on the use of fake news in the Iraq war. Click on the Links section of this course's Home Page and then click on Alternet, which is the second of the listed links. Then click on the story about U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

September 10, 2006. Truthout had an item September 8 about at least ten Florida journalists receiving regular payments from the U.S. government with a view to undermining the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. If anyone is fluent in Spanish, this could be worth following up as an essay topic. See <http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/printer_090806D.shtml>.
Geoffrey Stevens, a former columnist with the Globe and Mail, writes on media issues. A column submitted to the Kitchener-Waterloo Record and Guelph Mercury was not published, but he says I am free to draw your attention to it. It adds to the dossier of evidence that media under the same ownership are not likely to draw attention to cases where extraneous influences seem to have an influence in the running of other media in the same chain. He also wrote an article for Straight Goods on the same subject for which I hope to be able to give you a link. Click here.

July 25, 2006. Competition Bureau's operations. I'll give you a link to a page where they announce the new civil branch of enforcement against misleading advertising. Try to do some exploring in their web site, to see what kinds of advertisements are not permitted. Just click here to get started.

July 25, 2006. As promised, here is the link to the Senate Transportation and Communication Committee Final Report on the Media, June 2006. Just click here.

July 12, 2006. To get information about Advertising Standards Canada, their latest Code of Ethics and statistics on complaints, go to <http://www.adstandards.com/en/standards/adComplaintsReports.asp>, or click here.

May 30, 2006. I'll be talking today about Jacques Callot. To read more just click here and scroll down to The Great Miseries of War, and the 18 different panels with their captions in French.

May 28, 2006. The schedule of topics and readings for this week notes that additional readings may be assigned. Here's an additional reading, a nice summary of Augustus' route to power by Barbara F. McManus. To see it click here.

May 28, 2006. The May 20 Ottawa Citizen carried an editorial denunciation of the Iranian government based on the false news report in the National Post. On Thursday the Citizen carried a correction on the editorial page, but by including the phrase "There are many reasons to criticize the Iranian government" along with "but a law forcing minorities to wear badges is not one of them," the correction hardly rectifies the injustice of the original error. Note that the front page banner headline "Iran is 'the test of our time': Israeli PM" sustains the Iran = Nazi Germany, and Ahmadinejad = Hitler equations. The impression set in motion by the false news report has a momentum that is easily sustained despite the correction that comes five days after the editorial in question. The upshot is that there appears to be a deliberate attempt to foster a climate of opinion in which an attack on Iran by a U.S. coalition will seem reasonable -- war propaganda, in other words. Stuart Trew has a good analysis in Ottawa XPress this week.

May 25, 2006. Yesterday's National Post had a lengthy retraction, explanation and apology on page two, relating to its false report on Friday that Iran was bent on making Jews wear specially coloured arm-bands. Jews were forced to wear armbands with Star of David insignia in Nazi Germany, and the story about Iran's move was given great front page prominence. It fit well with the plans of those who would like to shape public opinion to support an attack on Iran. The only problem is that it was not true. There will probably be fall-out from this erroneous report, and it may be a good essay topic.

May 25, 2006. Regarding Caesar Augustus's propaganda, to be discussed Monday. I refer to the Res Gestae, meaning Augustus's detailed message concerning all the wonderful things he did for the Roman people. There is a translation of this lengthy inscription available on the Internet. To see it click here.
To see information on Roman coins click here.
There is a good picture of an important Augustan coin on the web. To see it click here.
For some good pictures of pro-Napoleon propaganda art click here.
An interesting article comparing the U. S. with the Roman Empire appeared The Guardian September 18, 2004. To see it click here.

May 22, 2006. The kerfuffle over the Da Vinci Code, book and film, has reached a stage where it might be a good essay topic. Mercatornet has some interesting articles including one by an Opus Dei priest. One relevant question is whether contested scholarly matters are misrepresented as settled matters of truth either in the novel, film, or commentary on either of them. If so, do the motives for the misrepresentation fit with the characterization of the material as "propaganda"?

May 22, 2006. Information Clearing House, a left-oriented web site, raises interesting questions about whether Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments about Israel were accurately translated in the media. See <http://informationclearinghouse.info/index.html>. Careful study of the media coverage of his remarks may provide a good subject for the essay on propaganda analysis.

May 22, 2006. The vote last week in the House of Commons, regarding a two-year extension of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, is very significant. It came just after news of the combat death of Capt. Nichola Goddard. The NDP and Bloc were opposed, but some Liberals supported the Conservative motion, including leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff. One reason given by those who opposed the motion was that there had not been enough debate on such an important issue. I sense a good essay topic in the making here, as different interested individuals and groups engage in selective presentation of factual reports and emotion-generating imagery, to advance their own causes.

May 17, 2006. Welcome to PHIL/MCOM 2900, Summer 2006. After the mechanics of the course, I will start talking about two sources of inspiration for this course, namely George Orwell and Jacques Ellul. I'll be referring to new material frequently. The minority situation in the Canadian Parliament means that public opinion will likely be researched carefully. If the government were to fall, how would Canadians vote? The media have a large role to play in winning over support for or against government initiatives. There should be lots of scope for propaganda analysis this summer. One way of sparking interest in propaganda is to apply analysis to some of the most vital current issues. So I'll refer you to something I wrote for a web-based publication called Mercatornet two weeks ago. Go to <http://www.mercatornet.org> and scroll down till you come to my name.

March 17, 2006. In today's National Post (March 17) there is a letter written by me criticizing yesterday's editorial dealing with Bush and lying. The subject is pertinent to this course.November 29, 2005. Whatever the other inconveniences, the timing of the federal election is perfect for an essay on the campaign. You could choose to follow the campaign in a single riding or look at the media coverage overall. The candidacy of Michael Ignatieff is of special interest because some see him as a potential new leader, replacing Paul Martin. Recall my comment below, September 16, 2005.November 21, 2005. On Thursday, November 17, the Canadian War Museum (CWM) opened a new exhibition on war propaganda. I put a catalogue from the exhibition on reserve. The exhibition is called "Weapons of Mass Dissemination: The Propaganda of War." It deals mainly with posters and stays away from newspaper articles as propaganda. The exhibition was mounted by the Wolfsonian-Florida International University, Miami Beach. The curators are Marianne Lamonaca and Sarah Schleuning of W-FIU. There's a lot of information to be gleaned from this exhibition. I was surprised, though that no mention was made of the obvious conection between the very first poster in the catalogue, "We have just begun to fight!" and the French "On les Aura" from WWI, which in turn was inspired by an iconic figure on the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe in Paris. There is also no mention of the conspicuous absence of a Japanese name from a U.S. poster designed to promote harmony between all ethnic groups during WW II. I think there could be an interesting essay written about this exhibition, from the point of view of the aims of the exhibitors, given not only what they include but also what they leave out. The CWM's role might also be part of the essay. In would be worth talking to Laura Branden, curator of the CWM.November 21, 2005. An item in Advertising Age reports on how a disguised advertising wrap-around on its own publication was "outed," and the magazine seeks to restore its credibility with an explanation. Go to <http://adage.com/news.cms?newsld=46829>November 19, 2005. A former student, Gabriel Gosselin, sent me this item:NEWARK, N.J. Oct 24, 2005 — Call it pay for praise, greenbacks for good news, bucks for beneficial publicity. The Newark City Council has awarded the Newark Weekly News a $100,000 no-bid contract to publish positive news about the city.To read more, go to <http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1247251> November 16, 2005. Tomorrow, OPIRG-Carleton is showing "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" at 7:30 p.m. in 424 Unicentre Building. This should be of interest both for exposing Wal-Mart's methods of persuasion and from the point of view of techniques used in the film to raise consciousness about Wal-Mart. That's this Thursday (tomorrow).November 8, 2005. FactCheck.org has just issued a timeline giving key facts relating to Hurricane Katrina. These can be used to compare with news reports in selected newspapers or other media to see whether the reporting reflected either pro- or anti-Bush sentiments. I can see the potential for a good essay on this topic, and the timeline as giving assistance to such a project. Go to <http://www.FactCheck.org> and look for "Katrina: What Happened When."November 7, 2005. This is a good time to be thinking about your essay topics. The Gomery Report has spawned different kinds of coverage. One divide is between those who defend Chrétien by implicating Martin, on the one hand, and those who insist that Martin was not implicated, on the other. Look out for the possibility of La Presse favouring Chrétien, bearing in mind a family connection between owner Demarais and Chrétien's daughter. Newspapers that favour greater autonomy for Quebec may well be motivated to tarnish federalist Canada whatever the individual responsibilities of Chrétien or Martin. Other papers may be anxious to promote Conservative Party fortunes but not at the cost of encouraging the kind of attitudes which would make Quebec separatism easier. Among other possibilities for propaganda studies , there is a new film by the director of "Outfoxed." It's called "Walmart: the high Cost of Low Prices." It's being screened across the USA and Canada on November 15. I'm hoping OPIRG Carleton will undertake such a screening. The new film can be ordered at http://www.walmartmovie.com/host.php?track=moveon or http://www/walmartmovie.com/watch.php?track=moveon.Either the film or Wal-Mart's counterattack could be the subject of an essay. A starting point for Walmart's response is the November 1st, 2005, article in the business section of the New York Times, "A New Weapon for Wal-Mart: A War Room." See <http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1108>. There was an interesting case of what appears to be black propaganda in e-mails directed at city councillors, reported in the Ottawa Citizen Tuesday, October 25, p. C6. The e-mails tried to dissuade councillors from supporting a persticide ban. Trouble is, the e-mails were purportedly signed by people who are known to be supporters of the ban. (Black propaganda by definition is propaganda that falsely purports to come from some named individual or group that is other than the true source.) The CBC also covered the story on the same day. The case might make a good essay topic, except that you might be unsuccessful at finding out the true source, and the news account does not supply enough information by itself.The Gomery Report is released tomorrow, and there will surely be an essay topic in the way in which interested parties handle the reporting of this document. Contrast, for example, Le Devoir with the National Post. The story should be worth following for the next week at least.October 24, 2005. Note to students who send me e-mails (which are welcome). I have to delete about 100 spam e-mails a day. That means I have to make a judgement call about whether an e-mail is worth opening or not. To be sure that I open your e-mails put TP 2900 or something at the start. Maybe the spammers will catch on and I'll have to try something else, but it's worth a try.October 5, 2005. The United States Government Accountability Office issued a ruling on September 30 determining that the use of taxpayer funds to support video news releases favourable to the government constituted "covert propaganda." I've referred to VNRs below in a May 11, 2005 posting. To learn more about the matter go to PRWatch (on the Links) or click here. The two subsequent items on that web page are also of interest.September 28, 2005. I'm adding another link to the Links page. It's FactCheck.Org.
I agree with FactCheck's analysis September 26, 2005, that accusations about Bush. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice "lying" about Iraq are not strictly speaking accurate and fully justified if there is a chance that they may have believed what they were saying, however ill-founded the belief. More on related matters when we deal with lying in January. Scroll up to March 17, 2006.

September 28, The National Post is again being distributed free at various locations at Carleton (the tunnel entry close to the library example). Yesterday, David Frum had an article which illustrates how one can mislead by selective presentation of facts. Here's a letter I sent to the National Post today:

The reference is to a U.S. Senate committee, actually subcommittee, but I didn't want to divert attention away from my main point. I've read George Galloway's "I'm Not the Only One" Penguin book, republished this year. I would certainly want to distance myself from some of the things he has said, but then so would he! (See page 106.)It is worth noting that Michael Ignatieff had a strong article in the New York Times Magazine yesterday, in which he denounced the failure of various levels of U.S. government to adhere to the basic contract between the citizen and the state, namely the provision that in exchange for handing over powers to the state, the latter will ensure basic rights such as that of life, freedom and security. In the case of Katrina, Ignatieff argues, the government failed to look after the poor people, mainly African-Americans, in the New Orleans area. We can see in this article a strong distancing between Ignatieff and the Bush administration. This will serve Ignatieff well if he chooses to respond to calls that would give him a prominent place in the Liberal Party of Canada (replacing Paul Martin?). However, those with longer memories will remember that Ignatieff was a very prominent supporter of a Bush invasion of Iraq (support qualified with the provision that UN support should be obtained). When I suggested, in a question period when Ignatieff was addressing a Carleton audience in fall of 2002, that if U.S. motives were to do Iraqis and the world a favour by overthrowing Saddam Hussein then they should eschew an oil grab, Ignatieff answered me by saying that if the U.S. were to commit blood and treasure to doing this service they should be entitled to be repaid through the Iraq oil. This response seems to me to indicate a too-willing support of the PNAC program of Bush, Cheny, Rumsfeld, Perle, Wolfowitz and the other neo-conservatives prior to George W. Bush's presidency. All of this is to say that Ignatieff's current article, for all its virtues, may encourage Canadian forgetfulness and political acceptance of someone perhaps more likely than Martin and certainly Chretien to acquiesce in U.S. plans for world dominance.
September 12, 2005. In today's lecture I referred to G .K. Chesterton's remark (made in 1908) about the blackest of all lies consisting of truths, but such a selection of them as would create a false impression. A good example of this kind of thing can be found in Dennis Hans's "Lying Us Into War: Exposing Bush and His 'Techniques of Deceit'." See in particular the techniques of deceit listed as 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, and 15. Click here.Several essay topics come to mind in relation to current events. Hurricane Katrina has revealed a lot of ugly things about U.S. social structures and attitudes. The use of the photo-op has been a staple of the current Bush administration's means of influencing public opinion. But there's been an indication that imagery of the dead and dying has already become sufficiently engraved in public consciousness that this won't work any more. For relevant articles go to Truthout in the Links section, or Common Dreams, Alternet, etc. PRWatch is a good source of essay topic ideas, including Katrina-related material. Go to original news sources to analyse the pronouncements of officials before, during and after the catastrophe. Back issues of Canadian papers are on the 5th floor of the main library, and also in the St. Pat's resource centre. For materials such as the Washington Post go on-line. Look for the disingenuous statement, the bold lie, etc. There are also people eager to exploit official incompetence for their own purposes, and watch for possible misconstruals of events or statements done for some ulterior purpose. As always, you need to assemble a dossier of materials to make your case as to some set of communications constituting propaganda.I would like to add to recommended readings "Riverbend's" book Baghdad Burning. I reviewed this in the current (September) Peace and Environment News (PEN) which can be picked up free at various outlets in the city including Octopus Books, if I am not mistaken. This book is valuable for exposing the reality of the military occupation of Iraq, insofar as the lives of ordinary Iraqis are affected. This differs greatly from the imagery projected by official sources.Old announcements:Useful for Winter term: The American Advertising Federation. Their code is accessible by clicking here. I also refer to Advertising Standards Canada and their code of ethics. The most up-to-date version can be found by clicking here. To view the latest set of complaints that were upheld, click on "Ad Complaints Report" in the left hand margin and follow the links.An interview with Amy Goodman for Democracy Now, in early November, 2004, just before the U.S. election. It's carried by Consortium News. To see it, click here. The expression is a bit loose and unedited, but the interview covers a lot of ground, telling a lot about his early life and his motivations. Appropriate web sites related to "tax freedom day" are:
http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=nr&id=536
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/National_Office_Pubs/2005/tax_freedom_day.pdf Some good materials on rhetoric are found on the web at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wik/Rhetoric> and <http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html>.June 9, 2005. A group has been formed to pressure the U. S. administration about the apparent decision to go to war before finding evidence to justify the decision. The group is called After Downing Street Coalition, referring to the memo released in May of this year in Britain to discredit Prime Minister Tony Blair, the idea being that his intelligence officer had sent him a memo giving his impression that the decision to go to war had been made already in July 2002 or earlier. This would make a good essay topic, comparing official and media responses to the leaked memo. Begin with Truthout http://www.truthout/org/docs_2005/060905X.shtml and follow the link offered there. June 8, 2005. The Fraser Institute has come out with another CBC-bashing report that has been given a fair degree of prominence in the CanWest Global media. See today's National Post, page A5, "CBC feeds anti-American view: report." The story is also in today's Ottawa Citizen. A CBC response by Ruth-Ellen Soles is included in the NP version. Here is a promising essay topic, because the CanWest Global media are in competition with the CBC, and the report appears to be tendentious. What's needed is careful study of the report, a study of the CBC reply and an evaluation of the newsworthines of the story and the handling of subsequent letters to the editor, if any appear. See if you can get the report, by Barry Cooper, from the Fraser Institute's web site. (Google "Fraser Institute" to get there.)June 2, 2005. A possible essay topic is the rhetoric between Amnesty International and the Bush Administration on the comparison between the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and the Soviet Gulag. Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld were in the newspapers this morning, and Amnesty has replied vigorously. See Common Dreams at <http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0602-25.htm> or just click here.A large archive of Nazi era materials is available from Calvin College at a web site operated by Randall Bytwerk. To access these materials go to http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ or click here.May 24, 2005. The speech by the British M.P. George Galloway May 17 to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee was a powerful bit of rhetoric which is worth analysing. To see it, go to the Boyce's Paper link, or the Common Dreams link, or click here.May 11, 2005. It may interest past and present students of this course to know that the practice of Video News Releases will be examined in a U.S. Senate Committee tomorrow starting at 10 a.m. To watch the proceedings go to <http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/index.cfm> and click on the pre-packaged news hearing, once the hearing is underway. Witnesses include representatives of the PR industry as well as from the Government Accountability Office. If you miss the hearing itself it can be accessed through the Committee archives by clicking on the "Hearings" box of the main page.March 14, 2005. As mentioned in class, tomorrow we will have Ken Rubin as a guest lecturer. He has pioneered Access to Information in Canada and probably knows more than anyone else about its functioning, certainly as regards the public interest. To see his biography, click here.March 7, 2005. I will be referring tomorrow to testimony by a group of various editors and publishers that the Southam chain under the Asper family control subordinated journalistic interests to those of editors and publishers of newspapers within the chain. A web site carries this advertisement. Go to http://www.diversityofvoices.ca.March 7, 2005. The structure of Canadian media changes with the buying and selling of print and electronic media outlets. Fortunately, it is easy to track ownership interrelationships which include radio-tv and telecommunications holdings, as the CRTC posts these on its web site. Just go to http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ownership/eng/index.htmMarch 7, 2005. To find out about the ownership of BCE's Globemedia (including Globe and Mail) go to http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ownership/cht143.pdf; for CanWest Global, go to http://www/crtc.gc.ca/ownership/cht14.pdf; for Quebecor (Sun Media) go to http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ownership/cht156a.pdf; for Rogers, go to http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ownership/cht27.pdf.March 2, 2005. Regarding the readings for the topic of Legal and Social Controls on Advertising, the readings TBA are as follows: By going to the Competition Bureau's web site, one can find examples of different kinds of enforcement mechanisms. To see the different mechanisms, go to http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/incb-bc.nsf/en/h_ct02141e.html by clicking here. To see examples of tough enforcement, go to http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/incb-bc.nsf/en/h_ct01709e.html by clicking here. For an example of the "soft" approach see http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/incb-bc.nsf/en/ct02992e.html by clicking here.

February 3. 2005. As mentioned in class U. S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address gives good fodder for propaganda analysis. To find the speech go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050202-11.html. You should compare that speech with some of the things written in Truthout or Alternet (See Links). In particular, Paul Krugman's "Little Black Lies" is worth reading - http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012905E.shtml.

January 27, 2005. Procrastinators are in luck. The George W. Bush inaugural address would make a good essay subject for analysis for the essay. Get the complete text by going to http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050120-1.html January 27, 2005. Another possible topic would be the Gomery inquiry into the Sponsorship dealings and the news coverage of the testimony.January 13, 2005. The article "Medicine, lies and deceptions," which I referred to in class, can be found by clicking here. There is also an interesting discussion on the ethics of lying by a New York (?) writers group available by clicking here.

December 1, 2004. What I am asking you to read is Jacob Levenson's article in the Columbia Journalism Review printed December 1, 2004. It is accessible at <http://www.alternet.org/story/20631>. The article is about the meaning of "the war on terrorism," and dovetails well with Chomsky's theories.

November 15, 2004. Following on from the treatment of the tobacco industry's historical and continuing propaganda efforts, an update on world-scale activities can be seen in a report by Infact (recently re-named Corporate Accountability International). The relevant report can be accessed at http://www.infact.org/dirtyd.html.

November 15, 2004. The Bruce Wark reading is on reserve in the Library.
Your reading for last week included Marvin Olasky's history of the propaganda battle for liberalization of abortion laws in the United States. His knowledge of the history of PR is extensive. He is from Texas and has served as advisor to President Bush on PR matters. To learn more about his activities go to <http://www.alternet.org/election04/20499/>.

October 26, 2004. The speech just given by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is worth studying since we take up rhetorical devices and persuasion in Thursday's class. To see his speech go to http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/printer_102704W.shtmlA very important issue was raised by CBC radio concerning the way CanWest Global alters wire service copy to fit its particular perspective on the Middle East. Words like "terrorists" are often carefully chosen or carefully avoided by those reporting from that area. By altering key words a media outlet can misrepresent the perspective of a reporter, in effect imputing its own perspective to the reporter or wire service. The National Post and the Ottawa Citizen both have made changes of this kind, giving a different coloration to the reporting. Such behaviour is certainly worthy of attention from the point of view of propaganda analysis. To see the CBC news account of September 17, 2004, click here.
The Citizen defended itself in an editorial September 18. To see the editorial, click here.
The Citizen's editorial seemed to me to misrepresent the CBC's chief complaint, and I said so in a letter I sent via e-mail to the Citizen on Saturday, September 18. To see my letter, click here.

The issue was sparked by a letter to the editor by Steven Moore, of Tamworth (near Kingston) published Friday, September 17 ("One man's terrorist") which elicited the editor's admission that changes to an Associated Press story about violence in Fallujah were contrary to the Citizen's policy, which is to use the term only when civilians are targeted. Mr. Moore said the original AP story did not contain the word "terrorists." I have not seen the original AP story, but I counted ten occurrences of the word "terrorists" in the Citizen's story of September 9, 2004, plus the use of the word in the headline, "U.S. attacks fail to weaken terrorists' grip on Fallujah." The story had the by-line of Hamza Hendawi, with the credit to Associated Press at the end. If I were Hamza Hendawi, and I were captured by insurgents who held a copy of my article with all the references to them as "terrorists" I might have a difficult time convincing them that those were not my words. Such changes to an author's text are indefensible, and to its credit the Citizen does not try to defend them in that particular instance, though I maintain its policy is still objectionable when it leads to a distortion of a writer's views while continuing to attribute those views to the writer.

Further treatment of the issue can be found in the Globe and Mail, Saturday, September 18, where Edward Greenspon, the editor, has a column "To be terrified of the word is to give in to the terrorists," on page A2, and a news story appears on page A9 "CanWest editing questioned."Robert Fisk was granted an Honorary LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) degree at Carleton on June 11th. His convocation address received a standing ovation. The text of his speech can be accessed at http://www.carleton.ca/duc/News/Speech_Content/address-spring04-fisk.html, or by clicking here. Later that day, Dr. Fisk gave a public lecture to a packed Bell Theatre on "The Fantasy War: Weapons of Mass Destruction and 'Democracy'." It will be aired by TV Ontario October 9 and 10, at 1-3 p.m.; it is also available through Instructional Media Services at the production cost of $25. I recommend you read the following interview with George Lakoff, who shows how framing an issue is all-important. Professor Lakoff applies it to the Republican Party's framing of certain tax measures as "tax relief" instead of "unfair restructuring of tax burdens" (a suggestion that came to mind after reading the interview). Go to the following web site: http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/04/01/int04003.html. There is also a very good interview available at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/lydon/2003/11/24September 29, 2003. Le Monde Diplomatique carried an interesting article "Le jeu vidéo comme arme de propagande," on page 27 of its September, 2003 issue. It points out how easily people can be conditioned for war by playing video games wherein the player uses the latest high-tech weaponry to shock, awe, kill and maim masses of ill-defined enemies. The article reminds readers of French President Jacques Chirac's riposte to George W. Bush on February 6, 2003 when Bush famously told the world "The game is over." Chirac replied, "It's not a game, and it's not over."I recommend Michael Parenti's "Methods of Media Manipulation." If you want to go there directly the URL is <http://www.media-alliance.org/mediafile/17-5/manipulation.html>.June 18, 2003. A public opinion poll reveals that 60% of those polled in the U.S. believed that the U.S. went to war with Iraq because of Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction. As many as 42% thought the most important reason given by the U.S. government was the evidence Iraq was working with the terrorist group al-Qaeda. The margin of error for the poll was stated as +/-3.5%. Go to http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/Iraq/Irraqqaire_5_03.pd

May 22. A link to Mark Fiore's cartoon site has been suggested by a student taking this course. To get there go to http://www.markfiore.com/index.html.

A useful reference is to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. To see who are the people making adjudications, go to the CBSC web site. It's at http://www.cbsc.ca/english/whatis.htm#history.February 5, 2003. An interesting primer on the U.S.-Iraq crisis is provided by Phyllis Bennis for the Institute for Policy Studies. Go to http://www.ips-dc.org/ or click here. December, 2002. Click on the following: John Thackrah, Encyclopedia of Terrorism and Political Violence.A useful source of information about an Arab perspective on events is khaleejtimes.co.ae -- an English language paper in the United Arab Emirates. To see examples of cigarette advertising, deceptions, and attempts to recruit women, see for example <http://www.chickenhead.com/truth> or click here.
Another site with advertising pictures and commentary is <http://speakerskit.chestnet.org/04/>; click here.
The NSRA provides a gold mine of documentation about the tobacco industry's deceptive claims. To see their web site go to <http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/english/> or click here. Michael Moore's movie, "Bowling for Columbine," should be seen by everyone who can manage to do so. It is a very powerful attack on a gun-loving mentality widespread in the USA. There are many techniques and rhetorical principles at work in this film. Among them is Moore's demolition job on Charlton Heston and Dick Clark, two people generally held in high esteem. Because he looks and acts something like a hoser (Moore is very pro-Canadian), people are not afraid to open up to him. Charlton Heston is no mean rhetorician himself. Click here to see a report on this ability.
A phrase used more than once by Heston in his speeches (and in the movie) is "...from my cold, dead hands." This is reportedly a reference to a gun-rights slogan "I'll give up my gun -- when they pry it from my cold, dead hands."Wednesday, October 23, 2002. Yesterday's CBC National had an interesting story about the "War of words" concerning the Kyoto accord. It dealt with propaganda by the Alberta government and reported the formation of a counter-force to Kyoto of 25 business groups, called "the Canadian coalition for responsible environmental solutions." To see the transcript involves some effort. First go to <http://archives.cbc.ca> with a click. Then (2) look at the top bar and click on "Television." (3) Scroll to bottom and click on "Programs A-Z." (4) Scroll down to "The National" and click on it. (5) Scroll to bottom of the page and click on "Transcripts." (5) Set the date at 2002 - Oct. - 22 and press on "search." (6) You now face a whole list of program segments. Go to the fifth from the bottom, "War of words." (7) Click on this and you have it! It ought to be good background for an essay topic to track this particular war on words.Today's (September 27, 2002) Citizen carried an article by Marie-Josée Kravis, of the Hudson Institute. The article was first published in the Wall Street Journal. I consider the article propagandistic, for reasons that I set out in a letter I sent off to the WSJ, with a copy to the Citizen. To see my letter click here.
The Ottawa Citizen published an article of mine, "And now for the news...or is that public relations?" on the Argument and Observation page, Monday, September 2. This will be a useful introduction to the ideas in this course. You can see back issues of newspapers either in the main library, 5th floor, or the St. Pat's Resource Centre. Boyce's Paper has commented on the issues involved.

The letter to the editor of the Globe and Mail co-signed by myself and Tom Adams of Energy Probe, regarding its advertising supplement, has been posted on Energy Probe's web-site. To see it click here.The formal complaint by Tom Adams and myself to Advertising Standards Canada, against the Globe and Mail for disguised advertising by the Government of Ontario in the Globe's Special Supplement March 11, 2002 has been posted on Energy Probe's web-site. Click here to go there.

Not to be missed is Michael Moore's exposure of George W. Bush's connections with Enron. Go to the Links section, bottom part, or click here.January 29, 2002. I referred in class to the Globe and Mail's Report on Business (February, 2002) and what I argued was disguised advertising for two Canadian firms. The arguments are contained in a letter to the editor of the Globe and Mail. To see a copy of the letter, click here.

January 28, 2002. The reading for this week, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty is available on line. Click here.January 26, 2002. There is a hard-hitting account of the U.S. Enron scandal that goes beyond what I've seen in our own media. It's by Andrew Gumbel in the Independent. Go to end of Links, or click here.January 18, 2002. I have just learned of a web-site sponsored by the British Journal Philosophy Now. It has a calendar of events which includes Canadian conferences. Go to their main page to learn about interesting philosophical articles, discussion groups, etc. Click on Philosophy Now or go the Links where I've put it at or near the end.November 20, 2001.

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