Saturday Open Thread - 10/26/24: Odds and Ends

Good morning, good people!

This was the early voting week. Like a good little sheep, I went along with the nutjob narcissist shepherd, afterwards went home, drank me some cold beer, and wondered what my Dad would think of me.

I am furious about Brazil's veto of Venezuela's entry into BRICS. I know little about how they vote, or veto power. All I can do is say they must have either some vendetta against Venezuela that I know nothing about, or that they are kissing ass with the US. I would have to research to find out which conclusion is accurate.

Anyway, or either way, I toured Brazil. Glad I did before they totally demolished my respect for them. They will never get another tourist dollar from me, bastards. They can keep their steaks.

I think I have mentioned the tour bus drove by the apartment complex and pointed to the windows of that famous beautiful woman from Ipanema.
Fascinating!

For odds, we have a 5 member herd of deer that pretty much dominate 3 acres behind my home during the morning hours. I am guessing the two small yearlings are the fawns of last year.

Well, they are mischievous teens, in human terms. One teen started running and leaping, maybe flying is more accurate, and made an oval track path of the acreage. Two circles, then the teen declared him/her self the winner, taunted the other, almost emitting a "take that!", but I totally get body language.

To get a deer break, I come to the front porch, and find 5 Blue Jays on the bird bath. My water bill will reflect their activity, no doubt. Water is a necessity. We haven't had rain in weeks, so we haul it to them. They ignore the lake 1/8th mile away, the creek at the rear of my property. No, it is bird bath water only!

sigh...

So, this is an open thread, open to ideas, discussion, music, links, personal expeIriences, and personal opinions. Wide. Damn. Open.

So, people, it's your turn to let 'er rip!

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As I finish up composing this masterpiece, the IDF bombs military targets. Yay. Iran says they knocked the missiles down. Big Yay. US says it is informed Israel will end it there with the win. Bull Shit!
Should be an interesting day, even if you spend it harvesting veggies or buying second hand books.
Let's hear it from the crowd! You have the mike!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Cassiodorus's picture

@on the cusp Its so-called leaders funded and armed a genocide, and its mass public looked the other way because of a media propaganda effort that was history's lamest. Vote for Stein or stay home, nitwits.

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"I don’t know anyone who has seen the images who would not have strong feelings about what has happened, much less those who have relatives who have died and been killed." - Kamala Harris

@Cassiodorus I do not believe voting makes a whole helluva lot of difference. I figure anybody voting for the wrong person, or not voting at all, did no harm, and probably had intelligent and rational reasons for their actions.
People who do not explore alt media do not even know a genocide is occurring. They are more concerned about inflated grocery prices and high fuel costs.
It is interesting that neither The Nation nor Washington Post are officially endorsing anyone. This is a new trend. Interesting.
Thanks for dropping in some food for thought.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

earthling1's picture

@on the cusp
is always voting third party. Never for an incumbent and voting for a lessor evil is still voting for evil.
When my choices are between two evils is when I refuse to vote.
Have a great day.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

@earthling1 that same vein. What I will not do, ever again, is get personally or emotionally invested in a candidate. The Gilens and Page study from 2014 makes it clear it doesn't really bring us the changes we want or need.
Nevertheless, this is the first time in my life where our elections occur while we are directly responsible for a genocide. A President who was a decent human being could stop it with a phone call. One such human made it to the ballot in Texas. I cast a vote against genocide. Other policies and agendas they are calling for with either make our lives worse, or won't ever be presented in a bill.
Maybe we did little, but we did what we could, e1.
Your input is much appreciated, friend.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp

What I will not do, ever again, is get personally or emotionally invested in a candidate.

Yes. Obama and Bernie taught me that lesson well.

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@crescentmoon my teachers. They taught me well.
I have sooo many more people to extend my respect and helping hand. I think the only politicians on the national stage I might enjoy chatting with over lunch would be Thomas Massie and Dennis Kucinich.
I would not allow any of the rest to join me at my table.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp

big and diverse enough seems like it would be hard to generalize about it. Lot of Brazilians
- mostly nisei or sansei ethnic Japanese here. Would like to see some of it but I think it's behind
the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan on the bucket list

Great tune, 'Girl from Ipanema' although for me it always gets a bit conflated with the
1968 Mad Magazine version...Mad Magazine 1968 Guy from Jersey City.png

Ended up voting for Stein in spite of not subscribing to her climate delusions. Non-swing state so a protest vote seemed more appropriate than choosing between genocide and genocide.
Congress critter was diversity hire v. diversity hire - RINO Israel supporter or Woke-Dem Israel supporter - went for the very cool Libertarian alternative (https://sonja4oregon.com)

Japan national election was today - haven't checked results yet, ruling party may lose some ground but it's largely theater - real power tends to be exercised from behind the scenes. Starting to sense some real dissatisfaction with the system though. For now the elite will just go ahead and run things till the wheels fall off.

Interesting times...

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QMS's picture

.
Today putting on the plumber hat - a leaking commode base
followed by ripping up the flooring which is at the end of life.
Then, to be odd, will switch to the painters cap for a job.
Always something.

Thanks for the OT and enjoy the critters!

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truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

@QMS My bathroom flooring took a beating as a new commode and sink were installed. Much like newly painted interior walls were screwed up by installing a heat pump. And some caustic substance magically demolished some porcelain on my bath tub as it was being installed. And, lest I forget, the installation of a new washer and dryer put some big holes in the wall for the water lines, and exposed the old holes.
You do see the pattern of taking one step forward, two steps backward, and the resulting never-ending work projects, of course!
Got some shopping to do this afternoon, including the purchase of a bird bath to put in the office back yard. I have birds everywhere up there, so this will give them time to be still and give me a really good sighting. Oh, and they will enjoy getting a drink or bathing. It's all about the birds, not me. s/
Enjoy your work day, friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

Looks like y'all may get some rain...not so lucky here.

Israel's attack on Iran is still a bit hazy. More details should emerge through the day.

We're in a high cycle for both deer and turkey. The natural cycles spin round and round.

Got friends coming over this PM. Hoping for plenty of laughter.

Enjoy the weekend everybody. Thanks for the OT!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout The rain forecast has changed, so it will be another week before the rain falls. Dammit.
That last grass mow of the year at the office is being delayed because of the dust up that would ensue.
We will do a bit of stocking up for next week's meals, otherwise, it is just a pleasant day in which I can avoid the office!
I bet that in addition to laughter, there will be some music emanating from your company this evening. $2.00 bucks.Any takers? Lol!
I will skim the news, update on world events today when I can.
Have a fantastic day, dear friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

Fall is definitely here, temps today = 46-76. Farmer's market, also a grocery store sale on bacon.
now some Gnus

Israel Concludes Attack, Says Struck Iranian Missile Systems & Rocket Production Sites =
https://sputnikglobe.com/20241026/israel-concludes-attack-says-struck-ir...

Israel Missile Attack on Iran: What’s Known So Far? =
https://sputnikglobe.com/20241026/israel-missile-attack-on-iran-whats-kn...

So, he said, she said, and how in hell does one convey the full sense of that without being either sexist of pedantic?

So for no return strike from Iran, so 1) attack was complete success, or 2) attack was a complete failure. Will have to check military summary channel later.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@enhydra lutris

There is a false dichotomy in the above, speifically the complete success v complete fail, those are the extreme best/worst case scenarios. There are others, but I was in a hurry.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris I will be looking around for info on the escalation betwixt and between Israel and every dam ME country within the reach of their missiles. Israel is a shitty neighbor, imho.
Get some tasks completed, pat yourself on the back, then do some more. Try not to bruise your back, dear friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

Follow up on yesterday’s fear mongering theme. This is what democrats have done to their base.

IM Doc
October 25, 2024 at 4:47 pm
I have had a very busy morning today. I am just stunned by the level of anxiety, stress, insomnia and mental health issues that are unspooling before my eyes. The blue among us are literally beginning to melt down. With each poll that comes out showing Trump ahead, they are just having mental freakouts. The only thing I have ever seen in my life that comes close to this is the very very few patients I have seen and dealt with who are detransitioning from cults. I have some experience with both Scientologists, and the Tony Alamo group.

Kamala is saying that Trump is Hitler because of some hearsay from John Kelly about something Trump said 8 years ago. Where did it come from? Bob Woodward's book that seems more like fantasy than reality.

A Holocaust survivor blasted Kamala for saying that. Good. Keep pissing off both sides.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

‘He’s killing us!!!!'
"Hey idiots! Don’t you question the headlines or our reporting!'

So why don’t they show Trump saying the things they accuse him of saying?

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

@snoopydawg Propagandists never can.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

earthling1's picture

@snoopydawg
Cult A - Cult B.......Right cheek - left cheek...... Same ass......different day.
Just starting to rain again here. Nothing hard like back there.
Earthling2 calls a light sprinkle a downpour. She has never been east of the Rockies and experienced a real Midwest downpour where you have to pull over to the side of the road.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

snoopydawg's picture

@earthling1

Jennifer Ruben said that the LA Times staff should quit! Now…do it now! But so far there’s no news that Rubin has quit the WaPo. Stay tuned. In this environment where news sites are losing money I don’t think it’s a good idea to walk away from your job. And giving up your seniority. I’m betting that she stays put.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

@snoopydawg TPTB are disabling the population with fear and anxiety.
Isn't it strange that free speech is being described as "the" problem in the west at exactly the same time, as if right on cue?
I guess the Nazi sling insults is very indicative of the adage, "It takes one to know one."
Thank Flying Spaghetti Monster for alt media!
I hope you have plenty of toilet paper rolls to entertain my client today. And toys. And socks. And special treats.
Get in some play time, chica!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

@on the cusp

Just unbelievable that they can throw that much money away and not help Americans.

It’s going to be 71 today and rain in a few days with a 30 degree drop. We’ll stay out longer today and I’ll chauffeur Sam around the neighborhood. Gotta take the trailer in to be put to bed. Gotta make up for this summer next year.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

snoopydawg's picture

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

did not make the splash as intended. The audience heckled her throughout her speech, feeling as though it was a bait and switch event.
Apparently, attendees believed Harris was appearing at a Beyonce show, not the other way around. Beyonce spoke 4 minutes. Not sure what Willie Nelson contributed to the whole affair.
Imagine Harris' campaign being surreptitious. (Why is that so easy to imagine? Hmmm...)

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

@on the cusp

It was a raging success and Harris is gonna win.

Just read how Ukraine is winning even though they have lost almost every city that’s important to them. Russia can’t keep up the cannon fodder and they have lost too much equipment.

They’re going to be devastated when Ukraine sues for peace. Literally devastated.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

@snoopydawg claim Ukraine is winning. They also overlook the extreme damage the genocide has done to Israel.
Details, amirite?

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

.

Larry is still saying that Iran’s missile defense shot down all missiles. Israel is saying otherwise.

A historic humiliation

Saturday's strike was not just a threat; it was a promise that reached the heart of Tehran.

As dawn broke over Tehran today, it wasn't the usual hum of a busy city greeting the morning. Instead, the reverberations of precision strikes echoed across Iran’s strategic landscape. You could almost picture the startled faces behind closed doors in Iran’s power centers, scrambling to understand how Israel managed to pull off an operation so audacious, so brazen, and yet so meticulously calculated. For over three hours, Israel has been striking with unprecedented precision, unmasking a simple truth: Tehran, for all its bluster, isn’t untouchable. You can almost feel the tectonic plates shifting under Iran’s feet as the “regional power” finds itself reeling, looking a lot less like the force it projects to the world and a lot more like Hezbollah, scrambling to avoid the light.

More links in article. Guess time will tell.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

earthling1's picture

@snoopydawg
Lessor evil is still evil.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

snoopydawg's picture

@earthling1

It’s especially relevant now when shitlibs are telling people that they must ignore the genocide because Trump would do genocide harder. Or because he’s going to be a fascist.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

@snoopydawg In a court proceeding, we observe "the best evidence rule". No hearsay, no photos that can't be proven to be unaltered, etc...
Those phone camera videos are the best evidence that Israel did nothing of military significance.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

earthling1's picture

The Brazil veto was a US State Dept op. Milieu is a US puppet that has recently disappeared all of Brazil's gold and I'm pretty sure where it went. The same place our Fort Knox gold went.
Brazil is being looted much like Russia after the collapse of the USSR.
Seen some interesting video last night on Larry Johnsons site showing multiple missiles being shot down over Tehran. Will have to wait and see if it's really over or Israel strikes again. Would not put it past them. We know how they lie.
Thanks for hosting.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

snoopydawg's picture

@earthling1

Isn’t Lulu the brazil president? I agree that he’s our puppet. The poor people are under crippling austerity measures.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

snoopydawg's picture

The government paid a behavior changing company to scare the population into believing that if they got Covid they would die and to scare them into believing that the vaccines would save their lives.

Maybe it’s why Obama rescinded the Smith-Mundt act that restricted the government from spreading propaganda.

For those who don’t have a twitter account here’s the thread reader that reads like an article.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1849703925395697797.html

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

As the report’s introduction explains, for its “behavior change” services, HHS ultimately paid FMG over nine hundred million dollars. Stop and think about that for a second. The U.S. government paid nearly a billion dollars to one company to manipulate citizens into becoming more compliant to the government.

But … but … it was all meant for good, right? I mean, sure, we can quibble about the ethics of psychological manipulation and “nudging” and stuff, but those decisions were made during a pandemic, amidst a public health emergency, when lives were at stake. But the important thing is their hearts were in the right place. Right?

Maybe not. Maybe it was much simpler than it looks. What advanced techniques did FMG use to make the American public more compliant? What cutting-edge science did FORS bring to the HHS table, to earn their billion-dollar fee? Was it a blend of innovative AI and pioneering psychology?

Nope. They just lied. They lied, and they exaggerated stuff, to terrify people. Their lies were so bloody awful and so preposterous that nobody would have ever listened to them — except that they put the full weight and credit of the United States government behind their lies and fearmongering to make the whole grotesque scheme work. In doing so, they consumed every drop of historic trust earned by previous generations of hard-working public servants.

But … did they really lie? Yes. They lied. They lied like rugs, or dogs, or Joe Biden reminiscing about his Uncle Bosey. They lied tons of times. Lies like promising that vaccination would stop transmission of the virus dead in its tracks. That particular lie came from the CDC itself (i.e., the pits of hell) and sailed straight into the FMG’s advertising scripts:

CDC's guidance, which the Campaign relied on, went beyond the terms of FDA's Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to state, without evidence, that COVID vaccines were highly effective against transmission. This ultimately had a negative impact on
vaccine confidence and the CDC's credibility when proven untrue

FMG’s plan wasn’t innovative. It wasn’t cutting edge. A child could have done it. They’re morons. They just lied, and they leaned on Americans’ trust in government to sell their simplistic lies. And the bureaucrats running the health agencies and the country’s liberal health professionals all compliantly went right along with it all, facilitating the lies at every step.

Lies are unethical and Liars are bad people. Even, or especially, public health liars. FMG’s whole stupid program was unethical to the core.

It was also overhyped nonsense. For example, FMG’s initial proposal to HHS was founded on a single “theory” they called the “Health Belief Model.” Here’s how they dressed their so-called Health Belief Model up in fancy, academic-sounding language:

The health belief model, used by the Campaign, posits that "a person's belief in a personal threat of an illness or disease together with a person's belief in the effectiveness of the recommended
health behavior or action will predict the likelihood the person will adopt the behavior

That’s not innovative, creative, cutting-edge, or even smart. All that Model says is, if you scare people by saying they’ll die, and don’t give them time to think, they’re likely to do whatever you say, especially if they already trust the person telling them what to do:

Horrific and should be actionable for all those injured and dead from the jabs that never made it through phase 3 trials and still haven’t even though big pharma is making more vaccines from the mRNA platform. And people are still lining up to take them.

The new pneumonia vaccine has 21 different pneumonia viruses in it. Where the F are the safety studies?!

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

@snoopydawg is expensive, after all.
But FEMA is broke.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@snoopydawg more skeptical of the medical profession, way more skeptical about prescription medicine, as well as vaccinations. Most prescribed meds you have to take endlessly to treat symptoms of a condition, as there are no meds to cure much of anything, then cause other conditions, requiring more forever drugs, and on and on.
A doctor's favorite patients are those on a dozen different meds. Ka ching!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

Whenever she doesn’t like what someone says she either tells them to shut up by I’m speaking or telling them to go to the Trump rally. Why can’t she say that she hears what they’re saying and she will address it? I don’t want a bad Momola for president. Shitlibs do though.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

@snoopydawg Local news says most of the attendees paid to come to see Beyonce, with a short visit by Harris. Beyonce has gone country music, and Willie Nelson was a named performer, so people felt rooked. Not the concert they thought they were paying for at the ticket line.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981