NEW STUDY - Says Those Who Believe In Conspiracies Are Sane; Those Who Don't Are Idiots!

In short, the new study by Wood and Douglas suggests that the negative stereotype of the conspiracy theorist – a hostile fanatic wedded to the truth of his own fringe theory – accurately describes the people who defend the official account of 9/11, not those who dispute it.”

Recent studies by psychologists and social scientists in the US and UK suggest that contrary to mainstream media stereotypes, those labeled “conspiracy theorists” appear to be saner than those who accept the official versions of contested events.

The most recent study was published on July 8th by psychologists Michael J. Wood and Karen M. Douglas of the University of Kent (UK). Entitled “What about Building 7? A social psychological study of online discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories,” the study compared “conspiracist” (pro-conspiracy theory) and “conventionalist” (anti-conspiracy) comments at news websites.

The authors were surprised to discover that it is now more conventional to leave so-called conspiracist comments than conventionalist ones: “Of the 2174 comments collected, 1459 were coded as conspiracist and 715 as conventionalist.” In other words, among people who comment on news articles, those who disbelieve government accounts of such events as 9/11 and the JFK assassination outnumber believers by more than two to one. That means it is the pro-conspiracy commenters who are expressing what is now the conventional wisdom, while the anti-conspiracy commenters are becoming a small, beleaguered minority.

Perhaps because their supposedly mainstream views no longer represent the majority, the anti-conspiracy commenters often displayed anger and hostility: “The research… showed that people who favoured the official account of 9/11 were generally more hostile when trying to persuade their rivals.”

Additionally, it turned out that the anti-conspiracy people were not only hostile, but fanatically attached to their own conspiracy theories as well. According to them, their own theory of 9/11 – a conspiracy theory holding that 19 Arabs, none of whom could fly planes with any proficiency, pulled off the crime of the century under the direction of a guy on dialysis in a cave in Afghanistan – was indisputably true. The so-called conspiracists, on the other hand, did not pretend to have a theory that completely explained the events of 9/11: “For people who think 9/11 was a government conspiracy, the focus is not on promoting a specific rival theory, but in trying to debunk the official account.”

In short, the new study by Wood and Douglas suggests that the negative stereotype of the conspiracy theorist – a hostile fanatic wedded to the truth of his own fringe theory – accurately describes the people who defend the official account of 9/11, not those who dispute it.

Additionally, the study found that so-called conspiracists discuss historical context (such as viewing the JFK assassination as a precedent for 9/11) more than anti-conspiracists. It also found that the so-called conspiracists to not like to be called “conspiracists” or “conspiracy theorists.”

Both of these findings are amplified in the new book Conspiracy Theory in America by political scientist Lance deHaven-Smith, published earlier this year by the University of Texas Press. Professor deHaven-Smith explains why people don’t like being called “conspiracy theorists”: The term was invented and put into wide circulation by the CIA to smear and defame people questioning the JFK assassination! “The CIA’s campaign to popularize the term ‘conspiracy theory’ and make conspiracy belief a target of ridicule and hostility must be credited, unfortunately, with being one of the most successful propaganda initiatives of all time.”

In other words, people who use the terms “conspiracy theory” and “conspiracy theorist” as an insult are doing so as the result of a well-documented, undisputed, historically-real conspiracy by the CIA to cover up the JFK assassination. That campaign, by the way, was completely illegal, and the CIA officers involved were criminals; the CIA is barred from all domestic activities, yet routinely breaks the law to conduct domestic operations ranging from propaganda to assassinations.

DeHaven-Smith also explains why those who doubt official explanations of high crimes are eager to discuss historical context. He points out that a very large number of conspiracy claims have turned out to be true, and that there appear to be strong relationships between many as-yet-unsolved “state crimes against democracy.” An obvious example is the link between the JFK and RFK assassinations, which both paved the way for presidencies that continued the Vietnam War. According to DeHaven-Smith, we should always discuss the “Kennedy assassinations” in the plural, because the two killings appear to have been aspects of the same larger crime.

Psychologist Laurie Manwell of the University of Guelph agrees that the CIA-designed “conspiracy theory” label impedes cognitive function. She points out, in an article published in American Behavioral Scientist (2010), that anti-conspiracy people are unable to think clearly about such apparent state crimes against democracy as 9/11 due to their inability to process information that conflicts with pre-existing belief.

In the same issue of ABS, University of Buffalo professor Steven Hoffman adds that anti-conspiracy people are typically prey to strong “confirmation bias” – that is, they seek out information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs, while using irrational mechanisms (such as the “conspiracy theory” label) to avoid conflicting information.

The extreme irrationality of those who attack “conspiracy theories” has been ably exposed by Communications professors Ginna Husting and Martin Orr of Boise State University. In a 2007 peer-reviewed article entitled “Dangerous Machinery: ‘Conspiracy Theorist’ as a Transpersonal Strategy of Exclusion,” they wrote:

    “If I call you a conspiracy theorist, it matters little whether you have actually claimed that a conspiracy exists or whether you have simply raised an issue that I would rather avoid… By labeling you, I strategically exclude you from the sphere where public speech, debate, and conflict occur.”

But now, thanks to the internet, people who doubt official stories are no longer excluded from public conversation; the CIA’s 44-year-old campaign to stifle debate using the “conspiracy theory” smear is nearly worn-out. In academic studies, as in comments on news articles, pro-conspiracy voices are now more numerous – and more rational – than anti-conspiracy ones.

No wonder the anti-conspiracy people are sounding more and more like a bunch of hostile, paranoid cranks.

By Dr. Kevin Barrett - Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror. Dr. Barrett has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications. Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin, where he ran for Congress in 2008. He is the co-founder of the Muslim-Christian-Jewish Alliance, and author of the books Truth Jihad: My Epic Struggle Against the 9/11 Big Lie (2007) and Questioning the War on Terror: A Primer for Obama Voters (2009). His website is http://www.truthjihad.com. More articles by Dr. Kevin Barrett - talesfromthelou.wordpress.com

Fresh Evidence Exposes How Microsoft Helps the NSA Spy on Us

Microsoft, the first tech corporation to be brought onto the PRISM program, has also been contributing encrypted information to the National Security Agency (NSA). Along with this data, the NSA was given access to cloud storage systems and Skype video calls. It has been reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) could request information with ease because the PRISM program “is a team sport!”

Skype NSA S. PoselDocuments obtained state that:

• Microsoft assisted the NSA in breaking encryption codes
• Pre-encryption access was obtained for email accounts for Outlook and Hotmail
• Microsoft cooperated with the FBI with SkyDrive which affected 250 million users
• Microsoft and the FBI Data Intercept Unit (DIU) created aliases for email accounts to gain access to more information on users
• After Microsoft purchased Skype, NSA had full access to the technology

In response, Microsoft said in a statement:

    “To be clear, Microsoft does not provide any government with blanket or direct access to SkyDrive, Outlook.com, Skype or any Microsoft product. We take our commitments to our customers and to compliance with applicable law very seriously, so we provide customer data only in response to legal processes.”

However, just after 9/11, the FBI began their data sharing relationship with Microsoft who gave unfettered access to surveying their customers to the federal government. FBI agents were interested in customer email account information. Microsoft engineers were told to give over new user data to the FBI as it became available.

Slides provided explain how the data mining program was conducted and how real-time surveillance of emails and stored content.

It has been revealed that in September of 2007, Microsoft was the first tech corporation to join PRISM, followed by Google and Apple.

James Clapper, director of National Intelligence (NI), explained PIRSM program last month with the declassification of documents regarding the NSA surveillance initiatives as well as intelligence collections. It is now known and confirmed that the FBI and NSA are currently syphoning personal digital data from users of major internet and tech corporations.

Clapper has explained how that Big Brother program is governed. Clapper commented on Snowden’s revelations:

    “We have seen reckless disclosures of intelligence community measures used to keep Americans safe. In a rush to publish, media outlets have not given the full context — including the extent to which these programs are overseen by all three branches of government — to these effective tools.”

Clapper claimed that the “PRISM is not an undisclosed collection or data mining program.”

The FBI has been requesting access to backdoors from tech corporations such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Yahoo since 2012.

Essentially, the FBI’s Going Dark program which outlines the surveillance “capabilities” of the federal government with regard to “Web-based e-mail, social-networking sites, and peer-to-peer communications” was an easy way for the government to spy without obtaining legal permission.

NSNBC - Susanne Posel via Occupy Corporatism

Obama calls Putin over Snowden’s asylum request

After American whistleblower Edward Snowden applied for asylum in Russia, US President Barack Obama called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the case. The White House said on Friday that Obama spoke to Putin about the National Security Agency leaker without giving further details about the content of the talks, the Associated Press reported.

Washington’s phone call came after Snowden decided to seek temporary refuge in Russia. An official from Moscow revealed Snowden’s intention after meeting with him in the transit zone of Russia’s Sheremetyevo Airport on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, responded by saying Snowden could stay in Russia if he stops issuing leaks that harm the United States. The Obama administration reacted angrily to Moscow’s response, warning Russia against giving Snowden a “propaganda platform.”

     “Providing a propaganda platform for Mr. Snowden runs counter to the Russian government’s previous declarations of Russia’s neutrality,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday.
     “It’s also incompatible with Russian assurances that they do not want Mr. Snowden to further damage US interests,” Carney added.

Human rights groups say the Obama administration is violating the whistleblower’s right to have his asylum request considered fairly. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Human Rights Program Director Jamil Dakwar accused the US of having “improperly interfered” with Snowden’s asylum rights.

Human Rights Watch General Counsel Dinah PoKempner said Snowden “should be allowed at least to make that claim and have it heard.”

WikiLeaks also slammed the latest White House interference to reassert that Snowden should not be returned to the United States to face trial.

     “This further proves the United States Government’s persecution of Mr. Snowden,” the group said, “and therefore that his right to seek and accept asylum should be upheld.”

Snowden, who is charged with espionage in the United States, leaked confidential information that showed the NSA collects data of phone records and Internet communication of American citizens.

PressTV

 

Conspiracy or Truth - The Origins Of Margarita Papandreou's Family - MUST READ

Here is an opinion piece that has been circulating on the Greek blogsphere for several days now. This is a genealogical descendancy chart of the Papandreou family and specifically the family tree of mama Margarita Papandreou's family the "Mineika" or Mineiko family. This information just comes to add what we already had suspected and knew about her family. Discovering that she is of a noble bloodline though, is kind of shocking, but nonetheless we here at HellasFrappe fully comprehend why the oligarchs have been bending backwards to protect George Papandreou and his family.

The article claims that Lithuanian foreign minister Valionis was to give several items to the Greek foreign minister Papandreou regarding his family,the coat of arms of the Mineika family and documents from the Lithuanian State Archives detailing the life and times of the nobleman Zigmantas Mineika.

Zigmantas Gozdava Mineika was born of noble blood in 1840.
He is the great-grandfather of the current Greek foreign minister. Mineika, originally from the administrative area around the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, took part in the 1863 uprising by Poles and Lithuanians against the Tsarist  occupation of their united country.

He was sentenced to twelve years' hard labor in Siberia, but managed to escape.

Zygmunt Mineyko is also my great-great grandfather and I can assure one and all that he never used the name "Zigmantas Gozdawa Mineika".

He was Zygmunt Gozdawa-Mineyko.

He was actually sentenced to death for his part in the 1863 uprising. However his mother and his relation by marriage (Russian General Todtleben) managed to get the sentence changed to 12 years hard labour. He escaped through Siberia, was exiled, passed Russian secrets directly to Napoleon III, ended up in the Ottoman Empire as a spy for the Greeks.

He helped the Greeks with the wars of 1896, 1897 and 1912 and helped them win the battle of Janina. He was almost captured and returned to Greece where the King decorated him and the Greek Parliament made him an honorary citizen. He was also the first Polish sports correspondent for the Olympic Games. He was a correspondent of "Dziennik Polski". He deposited his memoirs and articles in the Library of Jagielonian University. As if that wasn't enough he also uncovered the ancient temple of Dodona near Janina.

Even though he was a catholic he was also an active freemason (something I never understood).

He was originaly initiated in the Vox Ukrainia, belonging to the Grand Orient du Russie.

He later became a member of the Grand Orient de France, the Grand Orient d'Italie and of the Lodges Panhellenion and Pythagoras of the Grand Lodge of Greece - where he was extremely active. He also belonged to the Supreme Council of Greece of the Masonic Old and Accepted Scottish Rites.

Zygmunt Mineyko married one daughter to a Potocki, another to a Jablonowski and a third to George Papandreou (first P.M. of post-war Greece). Andreas Papandreou had some difficulties with his father and was much more close to his Mineyko mother.

He was very very fond of his Mineyko ancestry. Zygmunt Mineyko had little time for George Papandreou and I am told that he was rather rude and curt towards him on numerous occasions.

A genealogical descendancy chart showing descendants of Zygmunt Mineyko is available by clicking here: http://www.interlog.com/~mineykok/min6.html

My cousin, Krzystof Mineyko, has created a truly excellent web page on the Mineyko family. It is well worth a visit, there are also photos of Zygmunt: http://www.interlog.com/~mineykok/home.html

Rafal Heydel-Mankoo The Polish Aristocracy & Heydel-Mankoo's Almanach de Polska: http://www.geocities.com/polishnobles

ANALYSIS - The Search for Snowden: Assaults on Sovereignty & Diplomatic Immunity

Apparently the phrase “blood is thicker than water” compares to the Imperial ties that bind NATO, where the history of European colonial collusion runs thicker than internationalist ethics and treaties. The recent brushing aside of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and US that endangered the life of Bolivian president Evo Morales should be at least a reminder to the people of Africa, Asia and Latin America. It demonstrates that only a radical and transcontinental transformation can abolish the vestiges of European colonialism and white supremacy.

By Netfa Freeman
Global Research

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is the international treaty that forms the legal basis for diplomatic immunity.  But on July 2ndthe aforementioned NATO countries, most likely led by the US, breached the Convention by colluding to disallow a Bolivian presidential flight into their respective airspace. This was allegedly based on the unfounded suspicion that the flight was transporting US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. President Morales and accompanying Bolivian officials were returning to Bolivia after attending a Forum of Gas Exporting Countries in Russia. Low on fuel, due to rerouting caused by denial of passage through the airspace of the European culprit countries, the Bolivian presidential flight had to make an emergency landing in Vienna, Austria.

This is another one of countless arrogant racist double standards that the US and its NATO allies have demonstrated since the dawn of colonialism and neo-colonialism. The Convention on Diplomatic Relations is supposed to be the framework governing relations between independent countries. It specifies the privileges of a diplomatic mission that enable diplomats to perform their functions without fear of coercion or harassment by hosts countries, including free and safe passage via land, sea or air.

While the plane was parked in Vienna, according to President Morales, the Spanish ambassador to Austria arrived with two embassy personnel and asked to search the plane.(1)Admirably exercising an understanding of his sovereign rights as a national official, the indigenous South American leader denied them access and asserted from Vienna Airport, “We won’t be threatened. We are a small country but one with dignity. I say to the European countries, we are not in times of colonization and we won’t be intimidated. This is the time of the peoples.”(2)

Despite  the displeasure of European leaders over the disclosure that their US ally has been spying on them as well, their past colonial ties and neo-colonial present remain unquestionably intact.

    “A working group of intelligence experts from the EU member states is supposed to discuss with US counterparts allegations that the US spied on the EU and member states’ embassies in Washington, DC and New York and on the offices in Brussels of the Council of Ministers and the European Council.”(3)

Regardless, the previously scheduled US-EU trade-talks in Washington DC are going forward.

Like a parent/child relationship, trade between other continents with the US and the EU do not enjoy such talks. But US-EU talks and their agreements can impinge on the rest of the world because of the 66 year old colonial legacy of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), still in effect under the framework of the World Trade Organization. These talks allow the US and EU to make plans and decisions on how they will manage their trade interactions with everyone else.

Tolerating being spied on by each other is a small tradeoff for global economic and political dominance over the rest of the oppressed, repressed, and suffering majority of the world. There is no question that these nations would never have committed the same offense against an aircraft of one of their own. Nor do they ever have to add to their national security concerns being military invaded, the overthrow of their governments, or being subjected to economic sanctions. Lack of these concerns is a luxury non-NATO nations cannot afford.

Exercising the right of any sovereign nation, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua affirmed that, given a formal application, they would consider without question the human right of Edward Snowden to seek asylum.

In contrast to how revealed US surveillance practices have affected relations among those who preside over neo-colonialism, the US feels free to threaten Latin American countries with coercive economic measures if they help Snowden. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers told CNN he “absolutely” thinks that one of the 15+ countries to which Snowden applied for asylum will give him travel documents and says the U.S. should look at trade agreements with the nations that are offering asylum “to send a very clear message that we won’t put up with this kind of behavior.”

As the subservience of Latin American states is fast dissolving, US woof tickets are falling on deaf ears. Instead, this act of imperialist aggression against Bolivia has sparked outrage and condemnations from the leadership and populace of several Latin American countries. Both UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) and ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) called emergency meetings to address what top representative of the OAS denounced as “… total disrespect to the highest authority of  a  country.”

Selfless acts like those of Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden that expose US corruption and atrocities will always throw the US into a tizzy. As US public response to such corruption and atrocities meets global indignation, legitimate stances like that of Latin America will ripple into transcontinental expression. Africa too will renew and reinforce its proud legacy of bottom up struggle and smile in a new era of strength from unity, and prosperity and power fromPan-African self-determination.

Netfa Freeman is a long-time social justice activist who co-produces and co-hosts Radio WPFW 89.3 FM. He is program director and event coordinator at the Institute for Policy Studies, and a Board member of Empower DC and on the advisory Board of MOMIES Tlc.

IMF Says No Financial Gap in Greece Before August 2014

(AMNA) - Greece is not going to face a financial gap until after July 2014, International Monetary Fund (IMF) spokesman Gerry Rice said during the daily press briefing in Washington.

     "There is no financial gap through July 2014," he said, adding that a gap was expected after July.

Rice said the IMF΄s board will convene at the end of July to decide on whether to give 1.8 billion euros in aid to Greece. No firm date has yet been set for the meeting, which will be announced seven days beforehand, while the next bailout tranche will probably be given in mid August.

The spokesman also referred to the decisions made by the IMF and its partners in the Greece bailout, the European Union and the European Central Bank, following their announcement on Monday that Greece΄s progress under the rescue programme was "broadly on track".

Trans Adriatic Pipeline Should Begin Being Constructed By 2015

The construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, recently selected by the Shah Deniz consortium to carry Azeri gas to Europe, should start in early 2015, TAP said. The company intends to make its Final Investment Decision one month before the Shah Deniz Consortium announces their FID. Following this, TAP will work towards preparing for construction, which is planned to begin early 2015 and last for approximately four years, a TAP press officer said in response to an emailed SeeNews inquiry.

TAP’s shareholders are Axpo of Switzerland, Norway’s Statoil and E.ON of Germany.

Shah Deniz Consortium members BP, SOCAR and Total each have options to purchase shares in TAP which if exercised in full would give them a total ownership of 50% of TAP.

The approximately 870-kilometre long TAP will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.

The Shah Deniz consortium is planning to make the final investment decision on Shah Deniz Stage 2 later in 2013. The target date for the first gas exports to Turkey is 2018 and to Europe in 2019.

Initially, the Southern Corridor will deliver up to 10 bcma of Shah Deniz natural gas to European markets.

capital

Draft Law To Allow Shops To Open 7 Days A Week

Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis and Deputy Development Minister Athanassios Skordas unveiled a draft bill that is going to allow smaller retail shops to open for up to 52 Sundays a year, while all shops are expected to be permitted to open for seven Sundays around Christmas, Easter and during the sales.

According to the bill, small shops are considered those covering up to 250 square metres that are not part of a chain or a shop-in-shop and which are not situated in shopping malls, discount department stores and discount villages. These stores will have the option to open on all Sundays allowed in their particular area.

The number of Sundays, in addition to the 'core' seven for all shops, where shops are allowed to open in each area can be restricted by order of the deputy regional authority chief of each region or by the mayors of Athens, Thessaloniki and Piraeus, provided this order is issued within two months.

Failing that, shopowers will finally be allowed to open their stores for as many Sundays as they like. However, opening hours on Sunday will be after Sunday church services.

Hatzidakis said that the changes harmonised Greek laws with those of the majority of European Union countries, especially competitive tourist destinations, and would help breathe life into city centres and allow tourists to make purchases that benefit the economy and grant a competitive advantage to smaller businesses over large ones.

The minister quoted recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) studies showing that Sunday opening for shops can create up to 30,000 additional jobs in commerce, while the increase in competition can generate savings of up to 309 million euros a year for consumers. According to Skordas, these savings are the result of an increase in turnover for businesses accompanied by lower prices.

The draft bill also includes a number of additional measures relating to operation of markets, including two additional sales periods in the first 10 days of May and November, a simplification of penalties for various transgressions to limit corruption and the abolition of outdated regulations that obstructed market operation.

Several measures concern the retail fuel market and include tougher penalties for those tampering with fuel pumps and other measuring organs - including revoking the business owner's licence - and requiring that fuel stations draw up written contracts with their suppliers, closer monitoring of fuel volume to discourage trade in contraband fuels and others.

Gov't To Keep Cash-Strapped Onassio Centre Afloat

The cash-strapped Onassio Heart-Surgery Centre was saved from imminent collapse this week when the government stepped in and decided to hand over the centre's state funding for 2013, amounting to 7.0 million Euros, immediately and up front. The decision was made following a meeting held at the Onassio Centre between Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis and the hospital's board, including board chairman Dr. Ioannis Lekakis, to brief the minister on the centre's pressing financial problems.

Prior to the meeting, doctors and Onassio staff fearing the centre's financial collapse and further wage cuts had held a three-hour work stoppage.

Georgiadis then held a meeting with Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, who agreed to the immediate release of seven million euros in state funding earmarked for the Onassio, whose state funding had been slashed by half since 2012, when it was 14 million Euros.

The government also agreed to settle outstanding debts of about 38 million Euros owed to the Onassio by social insurance funds, dating back to the years before the foundation of the unified health services provider EOPYY and up to the end of 2011.

Also present at the meeting with Staikouras was Deputy Health Minister Zeta Makri, who managed to secure 500,000 euros as the second installment of a total 1.5 million euro to be spent on vaccinating the children of those lacking health insurance.

In other related news, state hospital, welfare and ambulance service workers announced planned 24-hour strikes on July 16 and July 24, during which their services will operate with a skeleton staff. The strikes are held in retaliation to an announcement that 2,500 health-sector employees of all types will be suspended on reduced pay as part of a public-sector 'mobility' scheme, until they are either transferred or laid off.

The strikes were announced by the Panhellenic Federation of State Hospital Employees (POEDHN), which said it was "infuriating" that national health service staff should be suspended when hospitals suffered chronic staff shortages and had been among the first to receive 470 workers in the first wave of public-sector transfers. The union spoke of a "policy to degrade and dismantle the national health system that is now in full swing".

The union said that its members will participate in Monday's protest rally with the local authority workers' union federation POE-OTA and joint a 24-hour strike announced by the civil servants union federation ADEDY and the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) next Tuesday. If the finance ministry omnibus bill is not passed before Wednesday, there may be another 24-hour strike on Wednesday as well.

The strike on July 24 will be combined with a protest rally outside the health ministry at 11:30 a.m.

(Combined Reports)