Book Description
A dozen carefully researched books have exposed the official story of 9/11 to be a terror fraud. Yet the mainstream media have monolithically failed to ask elementary questions about anomalies in this story. So-called alternative media have been little better.
Towers of Deception explains why and prescribes actions to break out the truth.
Â
Authored by a lifelong journalist who was for thirty-five years a media critic,
Towers of Deception provides twenty-six "exhibits" of evidence proving "beyond a reasonable doubt" that 9/11 was an inside job. It then presents case histories of de facto censorship by mainstream media and examines the psychological phenomenon of denial. "False flag" operations and psychological warfare are dealt with in detail, as is the "invisible government"-the powers pulling strings behind the scenes. Following a profile of Dr. David Ray Griffin as an authentic prophet of the 9/11 truth movement,
Towers of Deception urges people to speak truth to power and challenge all media.
Â
Interspersed with photographs, diary entries, and inspiring profiles of those who see 9/11 truth as the Achilles' heel of the neocon agenda,
Towers of Deception includes a professional-quality DVD produced by the author:
The Great Conspiracy: The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw.
Customer Reviews:
Nonesense.......2007-09-19
After reading this book, I just wanted to laugh and the leaps people can make and others will believe.
The Ideology of Conspiracy.......2007-08-09
Almost everybody has seen the headlines in the check-out lines and had a chuckle. We all know there are those who take this stuff seriously. The same can be said of the 911 "conspiracy". Some folks pay absolutely no attention to the various and many investigations that have disproved 99% of all the bogus claims but go orgasmic over the latest Youtube video by Joe Blow claiming he has the ultimate 911 truth. If you don't believe my conspiracy theory you are part of the plot - the perfect defense mechanism. I try to point out that despite universal claims of inside knowledge and the real "truth", the stories contradict each other in almost every detail. For example, the hijackers cannot be (1) alive & well, (2) non-existent, (3) murdered, (4) Mossad agents, (5) al Qaeda agents or (6) under remote mind control by the CIA.
Barrie Zwicker is described as a Canadian alternative writer and a left wing political activist (Wiki). Those phrases should set off warning bells as to his bias before we start. That is not to say that political leanings are always a factor - the liberal Skeptic Magazine came up with the same conclusions as the conseravite Popular Mechanics and the neutral Engineers of America and, for that matter, the 911 commission. Physical evidence is no longer used in the conspiracy since they were quite easy to disprove. A political conspiracy is easier to trot since it is entirely subjective, based on a hodge podge of overheard snatches of conversation, internet chatter and bizarre tales that almost always have a simple explanation, i.e. "pull" down WTC7 meant "pull" the men from the bldg but of course it was taken out of context and transformed into one of the most-quoted pieces of "evidence" around. Zweiker plays it safe - making several proposals that if proved would leave no doubt that indeed it was a conspiracy.
The fallacy of that approach is the same as its construction - its utter subjectivity. If I prove 10 but disprove 5 is it conspiracy? If I can't prove any but disprove one, does it fall apart? He carefully does not make the error of others and try for exactness. He asserts that the media were part of the "plot" by repeating erroneous stories, relying on unknown sources and in general, supporting the series of events proved by investigations. Someone has calculated the thousands it would take to pull off something of this magnitude and yet not a single soul has come forward with a confession...strange in this day of the confessional.
People are now noticing how other conspiracies are intertwining and becoming part of the mythology. These "odd? ideas are standard fare for the conspiracy addict but not the general public - Jewish bankers (Anti-Semites are drawn to such crap), New World Order, Knights Templar, the Illuminati, Big Oil, CIA remote mind control, the Vatican, aliens... Some sites now headline the catchy phrase - "No Planes, No Holocaust" - further damaging the dwindling credibility of the "movement". The success of this movement speaks volumes about our inability to think critically about problems. How much easier it is to imagine dark cabals of whispers and payoffs than the horrific truth. It is an exercise in nonsense, irrationality, political ideology and wish fulfillment for big kids. The results, however, are as tragic as any conspiracy buff could imagine. The "Patriot Act", "Homeland Security", the war in Iraq, the loss of liberties agreed to by both parties, the never ending war and surveillance...those are outcomes of 9-11 and do not even require a dark, secret plot as an explanation.
Why Aren't People Accepting That 9/11 Was An Inside Job.......2007-07-24
I can't say enough good things about Barrie Zwicker's book. It is filled with wisdom pieces throughout. Barrie takes on the challenge of why people aren't accepting that 9/11 was an inside job and even devotes a whole chapter to a former hero of his, Noam Chomsky, selling out. I might also add Amy Goodman's name to that list. I couldn't put the book down. After reading 150 pages in my first sitting, I was compelled to write to Barrie letting him know how much I appreciated his book. Upon further reading I was not disappointed. That is an understatement for this very important book.
BEST APPROACH POSSIBLE TO CLEAR THE SMOKE OF LIES ABOUT 9/11.......2007-07-07
I have seen many of different movies and read many other books on the subject, and Zwicker's approach is the best I have seen, in my opinion. Go out and get this book NOW, and I guarantee you will be impressed!!!
Do you have an alibi for September 11?.......2007-05-15
In his book "Towers of Deception: the Media Cover-Up of 9/11", Barrie Zwicker complains that the term "conspiracy theory" is used pejoratively to dismiss or denigrate unwelcome arguments. But charity clearly begins at home, because Zwicker has never met a conspiracy theory he didn't like. To begin with, he believes that the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11 was an "inside job", or "false-flag operation", carried out by rogue elements within the US government. But that is just the tip of the iceberg, for he also believes that the Madrid train bombings (2004), the Beslan school massacre (2004), and the London subway bombings (2005) were all "false-flag ops".
The extent of Zwicker's paranoia can be gauged by his explanation of why so many important people on the Left reject the idea that 9/11 was an inside job (p. 220): "That the agenda of Chomsky, Barsamian et al would be so widespread and pursued with such intensity begs explanation. One theory would be incompetence ... Another theory would be that some, perhaps a surprisingly large percentage, of these individuals are following instructions that benefit the national security state; that they are, in other words, agents. The nature and consistency of the anomalies they present prohibit this theory from being rejected out of hand ... This is, indeed, a not unreasonably founded conspiracy theory." In fact, most people would be hard pressed to concoct a more far-fetched theory without recourse to UFOs. There is a much simpler explanation: Chomsky et al are correct.
As for the evidence showing that 9/11 was an inside job, Zwicker rounds up the usual suspects and throws in a few of his own. He is, of course, big on the collapse of WTC7. In the case of the Twin Towers, the collapses were photographed in such detail that the correctness of the "official" explanation is hardly in doubt (e.g., in both towers, structural collapse began at the entry point of the aircraft). In the case of WTC7, there are no photographs that show clearly the extent of the damage or the collapse itself; hence the scope for wild theorizing is much greater. Zwicker never explains why, if "rogue operatives" decided to destroy the Twin Towers, they felt it was necessary to destroy WTC7 as well. He also never gets to the real question, which is why anyone would devise a plan that required planes to crash into the Twin Towers followed by the use of hidden explosives to bring them down. ("Don't let `em see the explosions! That's the key to our plan!") That's not a plan; it's a Rube Goldberg machine. Only someone who has never had to carry out a big project in the real world could find this plausible.
The weird thing is that Zwicker cites material on how people make up facts to maintain a given worldview, misinterpret facts, etc. So how could he have got it so wrong, and bought into such nonsense? The answer is contained in several innocuous sentences in the book. Zwicker writes that, while seeing the events unfolding on TV on 9/11, he very quickly concluded that the destruction of the towers was the equivalent of the Reichstag fire (p. 6). He quotes Webster Tarpley, who has clearly influenced his thinking, as saying (p. 187) "I concluded more or less instantaneously that the 9/11 events were a provocation by this rogue network ..." In other words, Zwicker and friends instantly made up their minds and have maintained the same opinion ever since. But because these conclusions were reached before there was any evidence to go on, they are the result of mental predispositions and biases.
I gave the book two stars mainly because Zwicker's treatment of Noam Chomsky, with its continual oscillation between fawning adulation and vituperative disgust, is worth a read.
Book Description
From the makers of the cult classic Pop-Up Book of Phobias comes a satirical celebration of celebrities gone wild. Everyone has a bad day now and then. But when superstars fall apart in public, it's international news! The Pop-Up Book of Celebrity Meltdowns puts you front and center as ten of the most spectacular public crack-ups of our day unfold before your eyes. Open the page to trigger a wardrobe malfuntion and watch as Janet Jackson bares all at the Super Bowl . . . Pull the tab and see Tom Cruise leap up on Oprah's couch like an excited puppy . . . From the aerial view of a news copter, watch as a phalanx of squad cars pursues O. J. Simpson's Bronco in slow motion. . . . Brought to life with hilariously humorous caricatures and stunningly ingenious paper engineering, this deluxe, handcrafted gift book proves once and for all that celebrities are just like the rest of us, only much, much more so. AUTHOR BIO: Heather Havrilesky is the TV critic for Salon.com. She co-created Filler, a popular cartoon on Suck.com, with illustrator Terry Colon. Her writing has appeared in Spin, New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Bookforum, and NPR's All Things Considered. She also maintains the Rabbit Blog, through which she dispenses free bad advice to total strangers. Bruce Foster has created numerous children's pop-up books, including Charles Schulz's Peanuts: A Pop-Up Celebration and Marjorie Priceman's Little Red Riding Hood. Bruce has also engineered moving books and cards for The Museum of Modern Art and other clients. Bruce snips, clips, and glues his movable paper constructions in Houston, Texas. Mick Coulas has parodied celebrities and politicians for publications like The Wall Street Journal and Maxim. His skewed perspective also helps sell mustard, pudding, pickles, and glue. His satirical images are created with digital photography, digitizing pens, chewing gum, bailing wire, and a big Mac. He lives in Toronto with his partner, Candace Lourdes.
Customer Reviews:
DISAPPOINTING AT ANY PRICE.......2007-09-15
I enjoy satire, especially when the targets are politicians and ridiculously hyped celebrities. However, I found this book extremely disappointing even at a steeply discounted price. My reaction after reading it was: "Is that it?" A picture may be worth a thousand words, but I didn't find that to be the case in this instance. The stories, gossip, and commentaries about these celebrity meltdowns that appeared in various media were far funnier than the caricatured likenesses in this book with its "interactive" pull-tabs that add little or no embellishment to the humor of these parodies. The cadre of media pundits who wrote columns about these foolish antics were more searing and entertaining than what is presented is this book. I donated it to a sale at a local library. At least a potential buyer could examine the book and perhaps deem it worth the maximum price of $3.00 as a gag gift. I was interested in other pop-up books in this series but have since deleted them all from my wish/shopping lists. It's difficult for me to believe that most people who paid the original retail price of $29.95 didn't regret it. I regretted paying $5.99.
Pop-Up book for adults.......2007-06-29
Have a friend with a warped sense of humor - this is the perfect gift!
The Pop-Up Book of Celebrity Meltdowns (Pop Up).......2007-05-25
This book is very good for a laugh.....The Pop-Up pictures are really funny..
It's well made considering the content.....
Gale from Surrey, BC
Pop-Up Book gets an A minus rating from the Lenster.......2007-05-12
This book is a coffee table gem! It is an outstanding bithday gift for those folks you know who are raunchy and quirky and middle-aged. Extremely clever. Expensive but worth every penny. I loved the O.J. Simpson car chase the best. The only thing I don't like about it is the cover. Michael Jackson looks horrifyingly, frighteningly creepy, which he probably does in real life, too, nevertheless, I'd rather they had put Hugh Grant or Paris Hilton on there, and left Michael off or made him much smaller than the other cover shots. But the book is a wonderful conversation piece. Fun for the whole family (but best to keep out of the hands of small children for a number of reasons).
This is too funny.......2007-03-27
This is a book of hilarious caricatures that will make you laugh out loud, if you have a sense of humor, that is. There are not many fun books for adults so I treasure this all that much more. I think the Tom Cruise addition is too funny for words and Kate Moss and OJ's pages just take it over the top. I got this over the holidays but bought another as a "Get Well" gift. There is nothing that cures like laughter and this will have you rolling on the floor. If you're not into celebrity gossip, this is not for you. If however you enjoy taking a peek at the lives of the rich and infamous, get yourself a copy and have at it. Too, too funny.
Average customer rating:
- Those who like this book really like it, those who don't really hate it
- Poor book, badly disjointed, rehashing scandals most people already know about
- I read this book before because it was WRITTEN before...
- The Hollywood Book of Scandals
- Debbie Davis could only like this book.
|
The Hollywood Book of Scandals : The Shocking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of Over 100 American Movie and TV Idols
James Robert Parish , and
James Parish
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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The Hollywood Book of Death : The Bizarre, Often Sordid, Passings of More than 125 American Movie and TV Idols
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Hollywood Babylon: The Legendary Underground Classic of Hollywood's Darkest and Best Kept Secrets
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The Hollywood Book of Love : From True Romance and Blushing Brides to Tawdry Trysts and Femme Fatales
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Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die? Fitting Ends and Final Resting Places of the Famous, Infamous, and Noteworthy
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Cut!: Hollywood Murders, Accidents, and Other Tragedies
ASIN: 0071421890 |
Book Description
Popular cult author and show business insider James Parish exposes the scandals that rocked Tinseltown
Nothing intrigues the public more than a good, juicy scandal. Add a famous Hollywood star or two to the mix and the nation is hooked. The Hollywood Book of Scandals provides the full account of 32 big, provocative scandals—complete with all the sexy, scintillating, and often shocking details. Written by veteran show business chronicler James Robert Parish, this book dishes the full dirt on:
- Bob Crane’s mysterious death
- Elizabeth Taylor’s seduction of Eddie Fisher
- Robert Mitchum’s arrest for drug possession
- Judy Garland’s public meltdown
- Errol Flynn’s trial for statutory rape
- Winona Ryder’s shoplifting trial
More than 100 black-and-white celebrity photos offer readers a close-up look at the leading players in these sordid dramas.
Customer Reviews:
Those who like this book really like it, those who don't really hate it.......2007-07-12
There's not much space, it seems, for in-betweens, but place me firmly in the "like" camp, especially since I've talked up this book favorably in reviews of several other Hollywood-gossip books here on Amazon. I will say I'm also in Parish's corner. I haven't read a _bad_ book from him yet, IMO. His "Hollywood Book Of..." series specializes in relatively short, punchy articles that are well-researched (certainly in comparison to some other books in this genre), evenhanded and crisply written. While the photos are not always anything special (his series on actresses features much better selections of pictures), they're also usually well-chosen and a lot less sensationalistic than, say, _Hollywood Babylon's_ selections.
Another reviewer questioned why Cary Grant's rooming with Randolph Scott should even be considered a scandal in 2007, which misses the point. It's not that it's not scandalous now, in 2007; the point is how it was regarded _back then_. If Parish doesn't make it clear in that particular instance, he generally does elsewhere in the book (for instance, in his analysis of the Fatty Arbuckle scandal, where it was clear both at the time and now that Arbuckle was a railroaded, innocent man; in fact, Parish explodes the myth of Virginia Rappe's innocence and demonstrates that key (false) testimony was given by a friend of Rappe's who had an axe of her own to grind).
No book is perfect, though, and my own quibble is that Parish covers some material that's already been gone over in other books in the present series, while leaving out other material that clearly deserves inclusion. Specifically, I'm thinking of his section on the Woody Allen-Mia Farrow breakup, which was already discussed at length in "The Hollywood Book of Breakups". The space devoted to that rehash could have been used, instead, to talk about - for instance - the David Begelman check-forgery scandal (where actor Robert Stack discovered his name signed to a check he didn't draw or cash, which was ultimately traced to then-studio head Begelman).
All in all, though, I have no hesitation in recommending this book.
Poor book, badly disjointed, rehashing scandals most people already know about.......2007-03-24
I found this book to be very disjointed, badly organized, and even poorly written. The list of "scandals" is the same old list of tired stories, innuendo, and might-have-beens that every movie fan and scandal fan likely knows about already. Worse, some of the occurrences Parish lists aren't really even scandals - the fact that Robert Blake was tried for his wife's murder may be a scandal, but in 2007 is the fact that Cary Grant shared a house with a fellow male star even slightly scandalous? The only scandal is in those who judged him, one way or the other.
In addition, this book could have benefited from thorough copy editing and fact-checking. There are many minor and major factual errors and, in addition, many typos and grammatical errors.
I don't recommend this book.
I read this book before because it was WRITTEN before..........2006-09-04
If you have read the Hollywood Babylon books, then there is really no need to read this one. It is a rehash of what was in those books.
The only reason you might want to read this one is to save yourself reading the other two or maybe you have no clue at all about these scandals and want to catch up.
I found the book hard to follow in general. Overall I can't tell if this was a repeat by intention or what. I like John Robert Parish too, so this is no slam on him. I just don't get the point, but he isn't the first guy to so something over.
The Hollywood Book of Scandals.......2006-07-29
The scandals themselves were interesting however I found the book hard to read. Some of the information was repetitive from chapter to chapter and it was not well written. I was looking for something that I could just pick up an read a story at a time and this was not the book for that.
Debbie Davis could only like this book........2006-06-24
Only a short bus rider like Debbie davis could love this book.This book is the second book in a row this parish character wrote and its boring an old news from the old tabloids.Unless you have lived under the dirt there is nothing new here. Just an obvious attempt to make money. This has been done much better by better writers like Bob Thomas and James bacon and Earl Wilson!!!!- Note- one reviwer wrote Don Johnston of Beach Boys wrote I write the songs. His name is Bruce dear.
Book Description
Torture. Kidnapping. Bogus wars. Illegal wiretapping. Propaganda. Spies in the newsrooms. Oil profiteers. Soldiers who won't fight. Mothers of fallen soldiers Who will.
In Static, the bestselling brother-sister team of Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!, and investigative journalist David Goodman takes on government liars, corporate profiteers, and the media that have acted as their cheerleaders. The authors cut through the official static to show the truth about war, torture, and government control of the media. Static breaks the sound barrier to present the voices of dissidents, activists, and others who are often frozen out of official debate.
Read Static. Become informed. Fight back. Defend democracy.
Customer Reviews:
Amy Goodman is published by Mickey Mouse.......2007-04-12
Amy Goodman is the recipient of numerous prestigious journalism awards and is presented as a hard-hitting journalist that goes after the stories the mainstream media won't touch.
From her appearance on Charlie Rose (PBS)
AMY GOODMAN: In a time of war we need independent reporting.
CHARLIE ROSE: I don't know what that means independent in contrast to what?
AMY GOODMAN: It means not being sponsored the corporations, the networks like CBS, ABC, NBC owned by General Electric -- or CBS owned by Viacom or Disney is ABC.
In her best selling book The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them, Amy spends the majority of the book explaining that mainstream news is compromised because they are owned by huge corporations who use the news to protect their own narrow interests.
I agree with that sentiment, what is troubling to me is that Disney publishes Amy Goodman herself. Her first book 'Exception to the Rulers' and her latest 'Static", are both published by Hyperion, a division of Walt Disney.
I'm not saying Amy is guilty merely by association, but if you understand the argument that Amy Goodman puts forth, in interviews, books, etc. That is, the mainstream news is compromised because, in her words, "the networks like CBS, ABC, NBC" are "owned by General Electric -- or CBS owned by Viacom or Disney is ABC." Then what are we to make of Amy being published by Mickey Mouse? We have two, and only two possible answers; either Amy's thesis is incorrect or Amy is part of this compromised mainstream media.
Engrossing & Forceful!.......2007-03-15
I happened to find this book while searching for another title here at Amazon ~~ it came as a suggested buy and I ditched the first title in favor of this one ~~ and I haven't regretted the decision since. Once I picked up this book, I wasn't able to put it down. It is disturbing and equally disquieting. I cannot believe there aren't more people talking about this book or Democracy Now!
This book covers the lack of media reportage of human rights violations across the world. That alone is disturbing. But what makes me even more nervous is that the violations are also being supported by the current administration that we have now. They are the most secretive administration ever in the US history and no wonder, after reading this book, are they so secretive. And the media goes right along with them in covering up their crimes. As a former news designer for a very tiny newspaper (remind you!), I have seen what happened when big corporations get in the way of decision-making of what goes in the newspaper on a daily basis, so it wasn't surprising to read of it here. What is more surprising are the news that just aren't being reported.
There's instances reported in here about innocent men being arrested just because they're Muslims or from the Middle East; torture chambers in different countries that are supported by the CIA; a Democratic leader from a small and impoverished nation being exiled because he wasn't going along with the administration's goals; a British diplomat who was fired for speaking up for the country he's an envoy for; military soldiers fighting against the Iraq War and mothers who want answers for their children's death; the firing of the prosecutors were mentioned in this book, long before that became an issue in the news just recently; suppression of true journalists (Helen Thomas comes to mind) when they ask probing questions, and many more instances.
It is enough to make you sick and at the same time, you're questioning if this is really happening ~~ because the media didn't really report it. Fortunately for me, I remember hearing a lot of these instances simply because my husband reads the entire newspaper from front to back and finds a lot of these snippets buried in obscure corners of the paper and he'll point them out to me. There were instances that I was not familiar with ~~ and was appalled. This book is not for weak stomachs. This book is enlightening. This book will make you so mad that you'll want to throw it across the room.
If you want to read something that is compiled of disturbing instances that we don't see in the mainstream media, this is the book to get. It is honest, gut-wrenching, and forceful in just the facts being reported. It is also well-written and engrossing that you can't put it down. But at the same time, it leaves you with a question hanging over your head, just what are you going to do now? Keep burying your head in the sand or face the fact that there are serious problems facing our country and it's coming from within, not from the outside.
3-15-07
Long-Time Viewer of Democracy Now! .......2006-12-08
Undoubtably, Amy Goodman's knowledge of current and past events runs deep. The collective facts that
she and her co-author put together are not only insightful, but furthers public understanding of the severity of decision-making at the highest levels of government. Often underepresented, Democracy Now!'s journalism is noteworthy of near-perfect journalism; Amy Goodman reflects this in her recent work, "Static: Government Liars, Media Cheerleaders, and the People Who Fight Back".
Excellent analysis.......2006-11-10
This is an excellent analysis. It proves the enormous value to the public of an independent media. Amy Goodman is intelligent and insightful; the anti-Couric.
If you want the truth . . ........2006-11-10
Excellent collection of facts of the scandalous Bush administration. By now, we know that America has figured it out, but reading it is a shocking detailing of just how arrogant our government can be when it feels it has to answer to no one.
Average customer rating:
- Superficial, uneven, and dated -- but still worth a look
- Fun, but needs updating
- The book THEY don't want you to read
- Unreadable
- VERY, very enjoyable...
|
Everything Is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-ups
Robert A. Wilson
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Masks of the Illuminati
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The Illuminati Papers
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The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, Leviathan
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Conspiracy Encyclopedia: The Encyclopedia of Conspiracy Theories
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The Earth Will Shake: The History of the Early Illuminati (The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles)
ASIN: 0062734172 |
Amazon.com
Robert Anton Wilson is the grand pooh-bah of late-20th-century conspiracy theory, but regular Wilson fans may find Everything Is Under Control inchoate in comparison to such masterworks as the Illuminatus! trilogy. The format may be encyclopedic, but the information isn't; to note one glaring omission, the only entries on Ronald Reagan refer readers to three other entries in which Reagan is briefly mentioned--none of which has anything to do with Iran-Contra. (Actually, there is a listing for Iran-Contra, but again, it merely points to some of the pieces of the puzzle.)
The book's primary value, then, apart from the snippets of conspiracy "proof" it does provide, is in Wilson's playful yet insightful articulation of the psychology and linguistics of conspiratorial thinking. "Because we can say 'the Jews' or 'the New World Order' or 'the Patriarchy,'" he writes, "we can believe, or almost believe, that these grammatical abstractions have the same kind of reality as basketballs, barking dogs, and baked beans." There are also some fun private jokes, including a lot of data on the Discordians. It's not the best Wilson book--that, perhaps, is Masks of the Illuminati--but it's an adequate introduction to his imaginative philosophy. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
Before the X-Files, before alt.conspiracy, there was Robert Anton Wilson and his legendary Illuminatus! Trilogy. Now this avatar of conspiriology, renowned for his razor wit and progressive philosophy, takes you on a fascinating, eclectic ride through what Wilson has termed the "Cultic Twilight" where conspiracy theories flourish.
Everything Is Under Control covers the range of Wilson's kaleidoscopic knowledge, from John Adams to the Voronezh (former Soviet Union) UFO sighting, the Campus Crusade for Cthulhu to the Mothman prophecies, and everything in between. What do the Freemasons, the Kennedys, and Princess Diana have in common? All are at the center of gigantic conspiracy theories with incredibly complex and endlessly multiplying twists, turns, highways and byways. Arranged by alphabetical entries which include cross-references to other entries in the book and also provide addresses to related sites on the Web, this book is truly interactive--you can dip in, read through, or follow one of the URLs from an interesting entry onto the internet.
What some famous people say about Robert Anton Wilson:
"A dazzling barker hawking tickets to the most thrilling tilt-a-whirls and daring loop-o-planes on the midway to higher consciousness."
--Tom Robbins
"Wilson managed to reverse every mental polarity in me, as if I had been pulled through infinity."
--Philip K. Dick
"One of the most important scientific philosophers of his century--scholarly, witty, scientific, hip and hopeful."
--Dr. Timothy Leary
Customer Reviews:
Superficial, uneven, and dated -- but still worth a look.......2007-08-03
Much as I love Robert Anton Wilson, I have to be fairly critical of this offering, especially with 10 years passing since its publication.
"Everything is Under Control" is set up like an encyclopedia, but given the brevity of each entry works better as a bathroom reader. The material included is somewhat uneven: I'm not sure why there are all the references to Discordianism and the Church of Subgenius -- neither of which counts as a conspiracy. There is also considerable space devoted to Recovered Memory Sydrome, which again doesn't really count.
Most entries have web sites listed at the end if the reader is interested in more information, but alas many of them are no longer valid. Likewise, several of the conspiracies that have entries have been debunked since the book's publication, notably the Priory of Sion. Admittedly, RAW did give lip service to suggesting that the Priory may be "...nothing but an elaborate hoax by some witty French aristocrats" [p.348] but I got the impression he actually bought into it.
Despite these flaws, the book does offer up some interesting information on various topics, many of which I was not previously aware of. And, as always, Wilson's sardonic wit shines through.
If you're after a "serious" or "academic" compendium of conspiracies, cults, and cover-ups, this book will quite likely frustrate you, but if you're after something more generalized and light-hearted, give it a go.
Fun, but needs updating.......2006-03-27
This book is great for browsing through occasionally - would probably be good bathroom reading - as long as you don't take it too seriously. The "conspiracies" range from satirical to loopy to almost believable. My favorite is the unbelievably convoluted "plot" surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Since I've just finished another book about conspiracy theories, I was disappointed not to find anything on the "reptilian" aliens, which seem to be quite popular on the late-night fringe - or at least they were a few years ago when I worked the third shift across from an Art Bell fan.
I would love to see a new edition - a lot has happened since 1998.
The book THEY don't want you to read.......2005-09-26
`Everything is Under Control' is an A to Z listing of hundreds of conspiracy theories and cover-ups that pervade the minds of paranoids. The main issue I had with the book is how quickly the author cruises through topics. Some items are touched on so lightly that I'm not even sure what Mr. Wilson is talking about. It's disappointing not because the subject matter is boring but because it's so interesting that the short descriptions left me wanting more.
Although the author is clearly a skeptic concerning many of the classic conspiracy theories not all conspiracies are equal and his lack of commentary may leave some readers confused. The Church of the Sub-Genius is fairly self evident as parody while others like the Discordian Society may be less so and the author doesn't discern between parody and sincere conspiracy theories. The other problem is that he doesn't differentiate between the absurd and the likely, for instance when Noam Chomsky claims that the media is owned by a handful of billionaires it's not really a conspiracy theory since it's pretty much true. On the other hand the Illuminati's relationship with extra-terrestrials is clearly the product of some overactive imaginations. When Mr. Wilson talks about a seemingly legit conspiracy like the P2 in Italy (which I had never heard of) it's hard for me to know whether or not to take it seriously. I think the book would have been improved if the author had gone into more detail on less subjects. Do people really care about Howard Hughes's legal difficulties with TWA or whether John Hull ran guns through Costa Rica or that psychologists spent a million dollars to avoid government regulations?
In some ways the author is like a magician who doesn't want to reveal his tricks. There is a tiny bit of debunking and some subtle tweaks to the reader but the conspiracies are generally presented as is leaving it up to us to decide. Did our government really do extensive testing with chemical agents on unsuspecting American populaces during the 50's and 60's? There is enough known evidence that it is certainly plausible.
Despite any issues I had with the organization and focus of the book I found it absolutely fascinating and had a difficult time putting it down. I suppose it might fall under the category of a reference guide or introductory primer to the world of paranoia. I look forward to reading other books by the author that go into more detail.
Unreadable.......2005-09-10
This book is lousy. There is no depth to any theory portrayed and it is organized as an encyclopedia.
I suppose I should have looked more closely at the attributes of the book before purchasing, but this has been a major disappointment.
VERY, very enjoyable..........2004-01-01
I have a problem with this book, in that I practically wet myself reading it... or was it another one? Time I got it again, anyway. After a year or two I had to get another copy because it literally fell apart from too much reading (which is, honestly, very possible).
A long, long while ago, in easier days, I had a bunch of friends who were very educated and knew British political history betwen them from the beginning of the 20th century through to the seventies, but that was a long while ago, and I sure miss these guys. There was enough conspiracy material in there to fuel a bonfire! My point is, that beside British Political history, they also knew about philosophy pretty well, Heidigger, Kant, Popper, the works. Also Joni Mitchell, Ralph McTell, Wishbone Ash, etc, etc. Where are you now, brave lads?
I have a feeling that they may never have seen this book, and this brings me to my real problems - is it all really true? is the secular world so very confused in this way?
I know that RAW is uniquely gifted, and we all love him over here, but the one thing that makes me secretly unsure is the consistency between the writing style ...and the content of the fictional world of the Illuminatus books and this documentary book. Is this the ultimate joke, a complex work of partial fiction?
My problem is that RAW obviously knows a huge amount of real history and could run circles round nearly anyone I know at the moment, so who on earth do I ask this time? Or am I going to have to do another MSc in something or other to find out?
Average customer rating:
- CIA is more fascist that you may think
- an important book
- Just Say No (to the CIA)
- Itýs the Liberal Media, Stupid!
- Wake up and smell the open border!
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Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs and the Press
Alexander Cockburn , and
Jeffrey St. Clair
Manufacturer: Verso
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Amazon.com
Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair take the revelations of the links between the Central Intelligence Agency, the Nicaraguan Contras, and the Los Angeles crack market that journalist Gary Webb exposed in 1996--revelations that are the basis of Webb's book Dark Alliance--and use them as a springboard for a tale of the U.S. government's involvement with the illegal drug trade that extends much further back than Webb's tale.
The specific revelations are not, perhaps, entirely new; many know, for example, that even before there was a CIA, the WWII-era Office of Strategic Services enlisted the aid of gangster "Lucky" Luciano in arranging support among the Sicilian Mafia for the American invasion of Italy, or that the CIA was actively involved in the Southeast Asian opium trade during the Vietnam War. But Cockburn and St. Clair persuasively argue that the traditional explanation for such events--"rogue elements"--is deliberately misleading, and that the mainstream "liberal" press plays an active role in this obfuscation (noting, for example, that Webb's three biggest attackers were the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post). By providing an overarching narrative rather than treating these incidents as isolated, the authors present a damning indictment of the CIA--but one that fully admits that the agency was not acting on its own, but was merely fulfilling the mandates of the American government. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
A shocking expose of the CIA's role as drug baron. On March 18, 1998, the CIA's Inspector General, Fred Hitz, told astounded US Reps that the CIA had maintained relationships with companies and individuals that the Agency knew to be involved in the drug business. More shocking was the revelation that the CIA had received from Reagan's Justice Department clearance not to report any knowledge it might have of drug-dealing by CIA assets. Many years' worth of CIA denials, much of it under oath to Congress, were sunk. Hitz's admissions made fools of some of the most prominent names in US journalism and vindicated others that had been ruined. Particularly resonant was the case of the San Jose Mercury News, which published a sensational series on CIA involvement in the smuggling of cocaine into black urban neighborhoods, and then under pressure conspired in the destruction of its own reporter, Gary Webb. In Whiteout, Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair finally put the whole story together, from the earliest days, when the CIA's institutional ancestors cut a deal with America's premier gangster and drug trafficker, Lucky Luciano. This is a thrilling history that stretches from Sicily in 1944 to the killing fields of Laos and Vietnam, to CIA safe houses in Greenwich Village and San Francisco where CIA men watched Agency-paid prostitutes feed LSD to unsuspecting clients. We meet Oliver North, as he plotted with Manuel Noriega and Central American gangsters. We travel to little-known airports in Costa Rica and Arkansas. We hear from drug pilots and accountants from the Cali Cartel. We learn of DEA agents whose careers were ruined because they tried to tell the truth. Cockburn and St. Clair show how the CIA's complicity with drug-dealing criminal gangs was part and parcel of its attacks on labor organizers, whether on the docks of New York, Marseilles, or Shanghai. They trace how the Cold War and counter-insurgency led to an alliance between the Agency and the vilest of war criminals like Klaus Barbie, or fanatic opium traders like the mujahedin in Afghanistan. Cockburn and St. Clair horrifyingly affirm charges of outraged black communities that the CIA had undertaken enduring programs of experiments on minorities. They show that the CIA imported Nazi scientists straight from their labs at Dachau and Buchenwald and set to work, developing chemical and biological agents, tested on blacks, some of them in mental hospitals. Cockburn and St. Clair dissect the shameful way American journalists have not only turned a blind eye to the Agency's misdeeds, but also helped plunge the knife into those who tried to tell the truth. Fact-packed and fast-paced, Whiteout is a richly detailed excavation of the CIA's dirtiest secrets. For anyone who wants to know the real truth about the Agency, this is the book to start with.
Customer Reviews:
CIA is more fascist that you may think.......2007-05-23
Having read a lot of books about terrorism, govt corruption, etc, I have to say this is an amazing book that stands out because it is so well researched and compelling.
The CIA worked with Nazis after WWII and helped smuggle them out of Europe (where they were being searched for by Israel) to South America
the CIA gave LSD to random US citizens (and children too).
the CIA overlooked cocaine shipments into Los Angeles by persons with ties to the contras, the US backed-terrorist force implicated in the Iran-Contra Scandal
Amazing stuff like that is contained within--this book will keep you on your toes, and is documented enough so that you wont feel like a conspiracy theorist when simply telling your friends the plot of the current book you are reading.
an important book.......2004-05-04
a concise, dense, distilled synthesis representing the cumulative result of almost sixty years of investigation and research. an important book to be sure, yet the narrative suffers somewhat due to the ambitious all-encompassing scope of the material.
Just Say No (to the CIA).......2004-04-26
This book is a summary of horrific CIA shenanigans which can be of interest to government watchdogs and ethics buffs. In particular, Cockburn and St. Clair attempt to sum up the story of the CIA's long-term involvement in the drug trade, often in direct opposition to the efforts of the DEA or rhetoric from two-faced politicians. This is all extremely hard to dismiss, given the enormous volume of evidence presented here and elsewhere. The problem with this book is that it's just an extensive list with almost no analysis whatsoever, and mostly rehashes work that has been done by stronger investigative journalists. Among many examples, Chapter 1 is based almost entirely on "Dark Alliance" by Gary Webb; and Chapter 8 is very heavily indebted to "Acid Dreams" by Martin Lee and Bruce Schlain.
This type of summarization shows all the weaknesses of conspiracy theories, complete with inflammatory language and far-reaching accusations. Though the authors try very hard not to give this impression, they assume that by piling on huge amounts of specific events and examples that are correlated (but not necessarily causal in the supposed direction), they are proving the existence of a large conspiracy by the CIA, or at least a higher plan. Meanwhile, one-third of the book's supposed goal of implicating the press in unethical CIA behavior is almost totally missing, except for occasional potshots at particular sympathetic journalists. There is no systemic evidence given of media complicity even though, once again, convincing evidence of this can be found elsewhere.
In the end, after piling on huge mountains of evidence about CIA drug running around the world and throughout history, again summarized from other sources, Cockburn and St. Clair completely forget to delve into the obvious conclusion promised by their summarization. That would be how the CIA, under the guise of protecting American security, is actually in the business of ideology, installing conservative-friendly dictators in weak nations and financing those regimes in any way possible, including getting involved in the drug trade. This has caused all kinds of serious ethical lapses, cover-ups, government lies and misinformation, and suffering for millions of Americans. After reading this book, you'll wish that the authors had reached that obvious conclusion. [~doomsdayer520~]
Itýs the Liberal Media, Stupid!.......2004-03-23
First published in 1998, "Whiteout" is a meticulously documented account of the CIA's decades long role as an international drug peddler and of the surprising support it received in this capacity from America's purportedly liberal press. Authors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair provide a detailed history of the CIA's drug business and its alliance with organized crime around the globe beginning with its precursor organizations in World War II (Naval Intelligence and the Office of Strategic Services) through the mid nineties.
While the authors span the CIA's fifty-year history of assassination, gruesome torture, and collaboration with evil figures such as drug lords and Nazi war criminals, the principle villain in this book is actually the American liberal press and not the agency itself. To be sure the agency has done some horrific things, but to anyone who has read their history, little of this is new or surprising and believers in "realpolitik" may even find them justifiable according to America's national interest. The latter point is often shallow and difficult to hold up under scrutiny but probably not worth examining here. Perhaps the only readers who'll find this book's portrayal of the CIA offensive are those whose view of the agency has been formed by James Bond movies and popular television shows such as "JAG", "Alias", and "The Agency". Sorry to burst your bubble folks, but don't worry, the tooth fairy isn't real either.
The centerpiece of whiteout is veteran San Jose journalist, Gary Webb who in 1996 broke the story that:
"For the better part of a decade, a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to the Crips and Bloods street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to a Latin American guerrilla army run by the US Central Intelligence Agency."
Webb had stumbled on this story almost accidentally, but could verify it with irrefutable evidence including the sworn grand jury testimony of one of the drug dealers who was also on the DEA payroll, as well as DEA and FBI documentation. One of the most damning aspects of Webb's story was not so much that the CIA subverted congress by funding a secret war that the legislature had refused to, but that it knowingly-and with great indifference-launched a drug epidemic that ravaged America's inner cities with addiction, violence, and murder.
Despite such hard evidence, which the San Jose Mercury News made available on its Web site, Webb and his paper were hounded mercilessly by liberal publications such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. At first Webb's editor supported and encouraged him, but soon he caved in to the mounting pressure from these other publications and subsequently retracted the story. After bravely enduring an unprecedented attack on his work and professional qualifications, and after finally losing the support of his own paper, Web subsequently resigned and went on to publish his findings in book form.
Why, one might ask, would the liberal press go after one of its own instead of picking up the story and perhaps supplementing it with additional research? Cockburn and St. Clair argue that for a variety of reasons the liberal press-its reputation aside-is and always has been extraordinarily cooperative with the CIA. Several senior editors at the Washington Post, for example, make no secret of the fact that for years they have acted as agency "assets" and continue to collaborate with it to this day. Add to this the attitude of individuals such as the Washington Post's Katherine Graham who believe that most Americans are infants whose perceptions need to be managed by self appointed media parents such as herself. (Graham once stated: "We live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things the general public does not need to know, and shouldn't. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows.")
Whether it collaborates directly with the government or simply takes it upon itself to manage our perceptions on its own, the press hardly serves a democratic or informative purpose in matters such as its treatment of Webb's story. And when you factor in the press's complacency regarding the three most important stories of the past few years (The attacks of September 11th, the colonization of Iraq, and the wave of corporate crimes) it becomes evident that the press is a prime contributor to the "dirty" and "dangerous" aspects of the world we live in.
Wake up and smell the open border!.......2003-09-01
I have been on the front lines of the so called Drug War for many years. I know first hand that this terrific book clearly illustrates the fact that our Nation's borders are wide open to the tons of illegal narcotics that come into our country every day. The war on Drugs is all but lost, and our borders are an open invitation to any Terrorist that wants to use them. This is also graphically explained in another book entitled: "U.S. Customs, Badge of Dishonor." I highly suggest that our friends and relatives read these books, before it's too late.
Book Description
er comments turned Charlie Rose red in the face. Bill Clinton called her 'hostile, combative, and even disrespectful.' Newt Gingrich said to her, 'You're the kind of reporter I warned my mother about.' Meet Amy Goodman, award-winning journalist and host of the daily hour-long talk show that is a beacon for passionate, critical, and hard-hitting news. On subjects ranging from the deceptions of the George H. W. Bush administration to the corruption of media monopolies and corporate influence over the government, Amy Goodman attacks and exposes the lies and hypocrisy that put democracy at risk. Goodman has traveled the world reporting and speaking out in defense of human rights and offers no apologies for her advocacy. At lectures, rallies, and other public appearances, thousands turn out to hear her speak the truth. Now, in her first book, she offers her no-holds-barred perspective on world events.
Download Description
She reduced Sally Jesse Rafael to tears. Charlie Rose was red in the face after her comments. Bill Clinton called her "hostile, combative, and even disrespectful." Newt Gingrich said to her, "You're the kind of reporter I warned my mother about." Meet Amy Goodman, award-winning journalist and host of a daily hour-long talk show that is a beacon for passionate, critical and hard-hitting news that cow-tows to no one. On subjects ranging from the deceptions of the Bush Administration to media monopolies and from the Patriot Act to corporate influence over the government, Amy Goodman attacks and exposes the lies and hypocrisy of officialdom everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
Must reading/ listening re:current events.......2007-09-20
I read the book last year and then listened to the CD's on a car trip. This is such relevant information to understand what's going on in the USA and the world. Amy Goodman is the premier journalist who digs deep, asking the most important questions, tying world events together in a network to promote the comprehension of the interrelationship of seemingly unrelated events. Big media fails to do this, so there little understanding the cause and effect of all important global events. Watch Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! to get a clear picture of world events.
Radio Free America - On CD.......2007-06-14
Far more intriguing format than the book! This profound document comes across far better on CD than in print. Like an extended "Democracy Now" with the addition of subjective commentary. If you listen to "Democracy Now", buy it, asap! If you don't, well... you should. For the past half century, Pacifica Radio has been doing much of the most important journalistic work in America. The Goodmans' stunning journaling of events spanning the period from 1991-2003 is at once highly intimate and of universal importance. I feel this set of CD's maybe the greatest "audio book" ever recorded. Like Ed Murrow's "You Can Hear It Now" LPs of the 1950's, the essential stories of our era are here, recorded up close and personal, as they rightly should be. The complicity between the U.S. government - brutal militaries and paramilitaries world-over - the arrogant and unconscionable greed of the dominant corporations - and a submissive media - is illumined once again in the light of damning evidence (as is the battle to shed that light). That battle is crucial for the survival of life on upon this planet, and Amy et all are leading the way. One can only wait for the CD version of "Static".
Is Amy Goodman a liberal who is protecting the Neo-Con? This is a paradox indeed! .......2007-06-11
Is Amy Goodman a liberal who is protecting the Neo-Con? This is a paradox indeed!
I read this book when it first hit the store shelves and back then I was very pleased with Amy Goodman's reporting on "Democracy Now." She seemed to genuinely care about the issues of the day, or so I thought.
The many topics she tackles on her show as well as in this book will lance through your consciousness until time indefinite, but unfortunately her discourse comes-across as downright hollow and insincere since she receives contributions from the likes of the Ford Foundation, the Soros Foundation, the Carlyle Group, the CIA, The Council On Foreign Relations, and The Trilateral Commission. (Just to name several sources of income for her daily TV/radio program).
Furthermore, she vociferously addresses her outrage against the establishment media when in reality she is apart of it. Hyperion publishing published her book, which is a subsidiary of Walt Disney. Of course that doesn't really matter considering most authors have to travel through the mainstream avenue to get their voices heard, so no one can fault her for that. But what we can fault her for is accepting money from secret societies, which are making her exorbitantly wealthy, and not reporting 9/11 truths.
Amy was about a mile from the World Trade Center Building 7 sight when it imploded at 5:20pm on September 11, 2001 and she failed to report that fact.
So the axiomatic conclusion in ascertaining this story is elementary. Amy Goodman witnessed WTC 7's collapse and for some reason or another she deemed it wasn't news worthy and decided not to report it to the public, which in my opinion is egregiously insidious and treasonous...making her apart of the conspiracy!
So, the next inquiry has to simply be, whose primary interest was she protecting?
And if you need proof of Amy Goodman's media deception just watch the footage on-line of her running in the opposite direction as WTC7 collapses.
I had to digress about that before I went on with the review of this book because I deem it a personal responsibility to tell the truth as I ascertain it.
Insofar as "The Exception To The Rulers" goes it's an exceptional read. There's a litany of information and anecdotes that she toils around with in this book that everyone should read even though they may have heard it all before. Much of the same diatribe can be found in Greg Palast's books and news reports as well as Noam Chomsky's and Gore Vidal's.
Also, I must confess that I loved her sardonic approach! It was outstanding, especially in chapter 2 "Oilygarchy" where she lampoons characters such as Dick Cheney and uncovers detailed information about the Bush, bin Laden connections and how George W. Bush blocked FBI counter-terrorism chief John O' Neill's investigation of Saudi involvement in terrorist acts. This was great stuff in the tradition of Alex Jones and Anthony J. Hilder.
However, what was disappointing was chapter one titled "Blowback" she starts her diatribe on how her day was progressing just before the September 11 attack. She then goes into detail about the tumultuous events in New York City from her own perspective, which is an engrossing story. Unfortunately, it is just that...a story because the term "Blowback" means revenge.
In this case the title "Blowback" is in reference to Al Qaeda attacking us on 9/11, but Al Qaeda isn't a real terrorist organization, so in reality Amy Goodman is promulgating the official story, or should I eloquently say "official fabrication."
In chapter 3 "Crackdown," Amy does expose the USA Patriot Act provisions that eviscerated our constitutional rights. Read the book to find out what she says about it because there is so much information in it that I would have to write a 12-page report to scratch the surface.
It's abhorrent to think that so much corruption is being proliferated from Washington D.C., which Amy Goodman elaborates on by saying "the assault on civil liberties doesn't end with the USA Patriot Act. President Bush decided that he can declare an American citizen an `enemy combatant' who can be locked up, denied counsel, and tried before a military tribunal instead of a regular court. The United States can send these prisoners into a legal netherworld on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba." Then Goodman asked the million-dollar question, "Whose warped vision of America is this?"
That is the question Amy never reveals and that's what is so sad about this book. 80% of what is in this book is accurate, she just doesn't go far enough so I'm giving this book four stars. I think it's worth reading for surface history/politics, but if you're looking for a deeper analysis then look elsewhere. But if you are new to this then start here. I have mixed emotions about Amy's creditability because in reality she's protecting the perpetrators of 9/11. By not exposing that 9/11 was an inside job when there is a plethora of evidence to behold is irresponsible. Even still Ms Goodman's style of reporting is vital even though she won't go for broke!
kt99l.......2007-05-14
Good book but is only the tip of the iceberg. Watch America Freedom to Facism. And Vote Ron Paul president in 2008.
Amy is exceptional !!.......2007-03-24
For those of us who just listen to the mainstream media, this is a wakeup call. You know how much you are missing once you listen to her.
Amazon.com
"Even presidents have private lives," declared Bill Clinton in August 1998, as he admitted his affair with Monica Lewinsky to a live television audience. Yet in recent years, a cursory examination of news coverage would suggest that almost nothing about politicians' lives is private. Most Americans--as well as journalists--would have it otherwise, write media experts Larry J. Sabato (of the University of Virginia), Mark Stencel (politics editor of the Washington Post's Web site), and S. Robert Lichter (of the Center for Media and Public Affairs). In Peepshow, they propose a few rules governing what should and should not be off-limits to the press. Acceptable areas of coverage, in their view, include financial information about candidates, health as it pertains to job performance, "any incident or charge that reaches the police blotters or a civil or criminal court," sexual activity that blurs private and public duties, debilitating behavior (such as drug use), and private behavior that involves public funds. Out of bounds are nonlegal matters involving a pol's family, discrete extramarital sex, sexual orientation, and past drug or alcohol abuse.
What makes Peepshow an engaging book is its string of up-to-the-minute anecdotes. The authors take real-life incidents that made it into the press and assess whether they should have been there in the first place. When Colin Powell's wife convinced her husband not to run for president, a few media outlets reported that she had been treated for depression. This, say the authors, is out of bounds. On the other hand, the story of a Republican member of Congress from North Carolina who allegedly caused a traffic accident, left the scene, and traded places with his wife in the passenger seat before returning is worth public examination. Sabato, Stencel, and Lichter relate dozens of similar examples, touching upon recent stories and rumors involving Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Al Gore, Henry Hyde, and others. The book at times reads like a gossip column; even political junkies may find themselves saying, "I didn't know that!" about certain figures. But the point is not to titillate. The authors earnestly lay out a few principles that, if followed, will make the news business seem more dignified, even when it's covering indignity. --John J. Miller
Book Description
The line dividing public life and private behavior in American politics is more blurred than ever. When it comes to questions about sex, substance abuse, and family life, anything goes on the political desk in many newsrooms, including uncorroborated hearsay disguised as news. Peepshow looks behind the scenes at news coverage of political scandals, analyzing what gets reported, what doesn't, and why. The authors talk with top news editors to get a fix on what will make the evening news and what we're likely to read about in the next campaign season.
Customer Reviews:
Great resource.......2004-07-27
My daughter read this book to help her write a research paper in her government class. I got curious, so I read it too. Excellent information, with lots of concrete examples of media invading the private lives of public figures. Also gives great examples of public figures wanting to use their private lives as part of their campaigns (for public image-building), and then resenting the intrusion of the media. I look forward to an updated edition, since this was published in 2000.
Sanity at last!.......2000-05-20
I've been waiting for a book like this for a long time. It offers, at last, a clear-headed and incisive analysis of the whole scandal mess in today's media. It's short, to-the-point, delightful reading that I found tremendously entertaining. Anybody who listens to the daily diet of dirty laundry on the news will love this book.
Book Description
- Lost History is a kind of All the President's Men in reverse. As that journalistic classic followed Woodward and Bernstein exposing Watergate, Lost History is the inside story of reporters who broke the key stories of the Iran-contra scandal. But instead of basking in praise, they paid a high personal price. In a larger sense, Lost History explains how the Washington press corps of the 1980s missed or under-reported many of the major scandals of the era, from the dirty secret of Nicaraguan contra-cocaine trafficking to the Guatemalan army's genocide against Mayan Indians. Not only does Lost History recover this important historical record from the government's secret files, but it shows how the decade of the 1980s was the missing link in the transformation of the Washington press corps from the glory days of Watergate to the tawdry tabloid moments of Monica Lewinsky. This is a book not only about "lost history" but about a political system that has lost its way.
Customer Reviews:
Great insight into Iran-Contra.......2005-07-01
Despite some flaws in the writing style, this book is a terrific read.
It provides an insight into the 'hidden truth' and 'lost history' that remains unknown.
Neither a conspiracy theory nor unproven, this book highlights the obscene lack of attention given by the press to the government admissions of culpability in the Iran-Contra affair.
Conspiracy?.......2005-03-19
Truth be told, even "fruitcake conspiracy theories" are right occasionally. This doesn't measure up that well. This is an interview with Bobby Nieves, one of the agents working with the Nicaraguan Resistance. Here it is for good and all:
"Every stone has been turned. Every page has been written. Everybody who had any knowledge about it has been questioned ad nauseam. There is no story about Contra drug smuggling that hasn't been reported a thousand times by the Kerry commission, Tower Commission, the IG's...There is no story..."
Brilliant Truth-Telling with Some Short-Falls.......2003-11-09
This book is a real gem. It outlines a tale of both corruption and ideological mendacity within the White House, and of ignorance and unprofessionalism with the Directorate of Operations in the Central Intelligence Agency. As one who served on the Central American Task Force at the time, and as a clandestine case officer focused on these matters, I find it especially fascinating that I, from the inside, was truly unaware of the degree to which we were engaged in direct support to a band of contras characterized by drug-running, money-laundering, corruption, rape, torture, routine murders, and perhaps worse of all, total incompetence and ineffectiveness.
There are two aspects of this book that truly stand out for anyone who is committed, as I and most CIA employees are, to the concept that "the truth shall make you free."
First, as the title suggests, there is a "lost history" that is unavailable to the American people. The author is not alone in making this charge. The editors of the history of the Department of State have on several occasions complained, both publicly and privately, that an accurate history of the foreign relations of the United States of America cannot be written without more complete disclosure of our various covert operations. Indeed, Derek Leebaert's book "The Fifty-Year Wound", Jim Bamford's book "Body of Secrets", and Sterling and Peggy Sterling's book "Gold Warriors", among a number of others books but these three reviewed by me on Amazon and being the most recent and best documentary efforts, all show that America has paid a *huge* cost, a cost running to trillions of dollars in deceitfully mis-spent dollars and lives, for clandestine and covert activities that have inspired enmity, often nurtured environments of genocide and war crimes (Sudan today, for example, given a "bye" for its nominal counter-terrorism support), and spawned vast war profiteering enterprises at the same time that we nurture and encourage dictatorships such as those in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, both of which are protecting Bin Laden, his family (which we allowed to escape from the US rather than taking them hostage--a White House accommodation to its Saudi paymasters), and other terrorists. America needs to understand the truth about such matters, and this book helps.
The other major value of this book is its examination of how the White House, first under Reagan and now under Bush junior, and personified in the activities of one Otto Reich (Reich and Rove are exemplar representatives of the neo-Nazi and neo-conservative aspects of the Cheney-Bush regime), has violated various US laws and values by running psychological operations and media campaigns against its own public. Especially distressing has been the manner in which the National Public Radio (NPR) has been "brought to heel" by threats to cut off its federal subsidies if it fails to accept the lies of the Administration and actually reports truthfully to the public. The Associated Press (AP) is also shown in this book to have subverted the truth and conformed to the falsehoods and propaganda line being purveyed by the Reagan Administration against the American people. The New York Times is specifically cited, on several occasions, and publishing false and misleading information, not because its employees lack ethics (as has recently been the case) but because the NYT is part of the "establishment" and all too eager to betray its readers by publishing the party line from a corrupt White House.
Usefully, the author documents a General Account Office decision on 30 September 1987 that the "white propaganda" of Otto Reich and the Public Diplomacy Office in the Department of State amounted to "prohibited covert propaganda activities" against the US media and the US public. Under Bush Junior the Administration has added blatant lies and manipulated intelligence to its repetoir, and continues to manage covert propaganda against the American people.
Among the most interesting sub-themes the author documents are how Richard Nixon undermined the Vietnam peace talks in order to prevent Johnson from successful resolution, and how Reagan's team undermined the Iran hostage negotiations to prevent Jimmy Carter's ability to resolve that in time for the election. In both cases the Republicans violated the law and engaged in actions that amount to treason--to a betrayal of the public trust. Now fast forward to the recent stories about how Richard Perle was a principal in the Bush Administration's refusal to accept an offer from Saddam Hussein to help in the war on terrorism, allow full US inspection teams, and otherwise give us everything we wanted except his head and the right to loot Iraq. American soldiers are dying today--and a bill we cannot pay is being run up--in Iraq because of Republican treason and Republican lies and Republican propaganda against the American people.
Another important point that this book documents is the sorry reality that CIA analysts cannot trust the CIA clandestine operators to tell them the full truth, and that the US public cannot trust the White House to tell it the full truth (apart from blatant propaganda). The truth in America has been subverted, distorted, and *buried*. As others have documented (see my review of Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber, "Weapons of Mass DECEPTION: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq"), the American people are, if they are avid searchers for the truth, able to see only 10% of the facts and undistorted information available to Europeans and Asians.
The book has some flaws--a rotten index, some repetition caused by integrating old and new material--but I rank it as essential reading for anyone who would like to understand how we got ourselves into an unjust war with Iraq, how an extremist Republican Administration was able to do Goering proud by manipulating the American Congress and the American people and the United Nations with a "platform of lies." We have lost history, we have lost ethics, and we are on the verge of losing America and that for which it stands.
Media Manipulation and Political Corruption.......2003-10-28
Robert Parry is a reporter with a wealth of experience who combines knowledge with investigative expertise and a bedrock courage to find the truth and faithfully report it. Here is the reporter who uncovered the illegal government operation of Oliver North in the National Security Council office, which violated federal law by providing weapons, manpower, and logistical advice to the Contras in Nicaragua. The government did its best to smear the Associated Press and later Newsweek reporter, painting him as unreliable and a man with his own agenda, but ultimately the truth won out.
Parry brilliantly documents what the Contras were really all about. The so-called Nicaraguan freedom fighters which President Ronald Reagan referred to as "the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers" were instead involved in a major drug networking operation, aided by the CIA. The result was that scores of youngsters in South Central Los Angeles became drug addicts as they moved their operations into America while battles waged among young gang members over turf control. When Senator John Kerry sought to expose what was happening he too was denounced as a troublemaker operating against America's best interests.
Parry tells about what political correctness really is, and it is far removed from what is depicted by right wingers seeking to pin the tag on liberal critics. To Parry this correctness takes the form of barking on cue in alliance with and as supplicants to the major commercial interests which hold sway not only over those in political power, but on the media itself. His efforts to exercise independence of judgment were accompanied by negative reactions from powers in the media as well as Washington operatives. All the same he prevailed, and hopefully he and others will continue telling their stories despite the fervent efforts to silence them.
Required reading for all Americans.......2001-12-23
This book is fabulous. I have read much of the literature surrounding the Iran-Contra operation and this is one of the best. Parry was a leader in exposing that operation, as well as so many others. Here he leads readers through the many attempts of the government to control the information we receive. Anyone who dismisses this as mere "conspiracy theory" obviously never read the book (and so many others that are backed up by the govt's own documents). Parry is no armchair reporter. He has personally spoken with countless sources involved in these operations. Do yourself a favor. Buy the book and make up your own mind.
Book Description
The revealing and much-discussed look behind the scenes of recent headline-grabbing controversies in the history profession.
Widely reviewed and discussed upon its hardcover publication, Historians in Trouble is investigative journalist and historian Jon Wiener's "incisive and entertaining" (New Statesman, UK) account of several of the most notorious history scandals of the last few years.
Focusing on a dozen key controversies ranging across the political spectrum and representing a wide array of charges, Wiener seeks to understand why some cases make the headline
9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out, Vol. 1
The Terror Conspiracy: Deception, 9/11 and the Loss of Liberty
Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory
9/11 Synthetic Terror: Made in USA, Fourth Edition
Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action
