Just amazing.
"The volume of material prepared about an issue should be an indicator of the amount of effort devoted to "advocating" that issue."
Very very strange. Again and again I have tried to leave the "book of thoth" issue open, to say that, while we cannot agree with the material or methods, that the perpetrators of the book-of-thoth nonsense are very likely nice, innocent guys; again and again they return to give the lie to that possibility reducing its probability to almost zero.
What the style of Dustin AKA OddThings and Michael Bourne AKA Thoth reminds me of is the techniques advocated in the Hasbara manual - a Zionist propaganda handbook for Jewish students.
The Hasbara manual exposes how groups of deviants can impose a false reality on others by various techniques, not the least of which is "social proof," i.e. a group acts as a planned and deliberate "tag team" with the intention of manipulating a target into believing lies. This method is used very effectively by such people as Vincent Bridges and Storm Bear Williams though, as we have discovered, they have to pretend to be several different people with different internet identities in order to produce this effect and thus it is very time consuming for them.
The people behind the Hasbara Manual call what they’re doing “Israel Advocacy“, but, as forum member, a.saccus, points out, "advocacy" in this context is a blatant misnomer: what they are doing is outright sophistry and rhetorical manipulation; to be used upon those (mainly young people) who believe they’re engaging in a genuine dialogue or debate, but are really being set up and led down the garden path."
One of the techniques used is to claim to be advocating "free speech" and "democracy" when, in fact, what is really being promoted is a sort of revolutionary working class uprising against intelligent use of the scientific method. There is a schizoidal layering of the "ideal," where those on the outside of the "inner circle" really believe in the advocated "free speech" ideal - the group's propaganda - and they succumb to this external suggestive insinuations for a long time before they begin to realize that it is actually double-talk. The reason so many young people are susceptible to this type of psy-ops today (whether it is deliberate or whether the propagators are, themselves, victims of some other, higher psy-ops program) is because of the fact that there is such a large segment of society today that has been horribly wronged by the psychopathic system that has been running this world for a long time. And so, people feel deep inside themselves that they have definitely been done dirty by the system, and they are easily attracted to anyone who suggests to them that they can gather together and, through "free speech" and "democracy," make a difference in the world. These motivations facilitate sublimation of the feeling of being wronged. As Lobaczewski points out:
Upward and downward social adjustments, as well the qualitatively improper ones, result in a waste of any society’s basic capital, namely the talent pool of its members. This simultaneously leads to increasing dissatisfaction and tensions among individuals and social groups; any attempt to approach human talent and its productivity problematics as a purely private matter must therefore be considered dangerously naive. Development or involution in all areas of cultural, economic and political life depend on the extent to which this talent pool is properly utilized. In the final analysis, it also determines whether there will be evolution or revolution.
So, we can detect the revolutionary flavor behind the ideas of a "free-for all food fight" type discussion that is passed off as "free speech" and democracy.
Let me just say that if these people really want to practice free speech, they should be practicing it in exposing the Fascist takeover of the U.S. and encouraging their members to do likewise in a systematic way instead of focusing all that energy on collecting different points of view about the paranormal or whether or not aliens created human beings. Right now, the World is on Fire and we are on the verge of extinction. We need to pull together on what really matters: the fact that psychopathic deviants are taking over the World and leading the 94% of normal people to destruction via ignorance promoted by time-wasting activities such as what we find on Book of Thoth.
In a forum of normal people (and here I use the term as Lobaczewski uses it to denote individuals with normal psychological substratum as opposed to those with pathological defects) who have already thrown off the yoke of brainwashing - which is what most of the members of this forum are - and who have learned the lessons of how manipulators work to induce people to believe lies, it is only natural that they will be very good at spotting deviants and that REAL SOCIAL PROOF will manifest. Since they ALL can see what is happening, because they have "been there, done that," its not difficult to imagine why they ALL just simply pour scorn on any new manipulator who comes down the pike, once he has been identified by certain criteria as a manipulator. We see, at this point, that Bourne and his sidekick, Dustin did, most certainly, enter this forum with the intention of manipulation despite their "cover story" and protestations to the contrary.
And of course, normal people banding together and calling a spade a spade, and seeing deviants for what they really are, is the LAST thing the deviants want, so they must brand any such group as a "cult." Isn't it funny that the most natural thing in the world about normal human beings - to assemble in groups around fact-based philosophies - is labeled "cult" by psychopaths? And that "free speech" is being applied to the search for the Truth as though everybody contributing their OPINION is supposed to accomplish that?
Clearly, when someone declares that the public forum of normal people who have deprogrammed themselves is, in fact, a "cult," then there is only one conclusion to be drawn: you are dealing with someone who is not seeking the Truth of the matter, nor will this person discuss the issues fairly with you. Such a person has an agenda to push.
As one of the forum members here, Richard, once wrote:
A good way to discover whether someone is really a deviant and is attempting to subvert one's logical and realistic way of thinking is to compare what they 'say' to what they 'do'. A normal persons actions will match their words. The words of a deviant will NOT match their actions.
We see here how [Thoth and OddThings] are using manipulation and coercion tactics in the attempt to subvert at least some of the members here in order to sow divisions and disturb the logical and realistic thought-patterns of these various individuals. As has been noted, most of us here have seen these things several times before. When one has encountered this same variety of word-twisting, avoidance of issues, baseless accusations backed with NO evidence whatsoever over and over, one becomes very adept at recognizing these people pretty quickly. Actually, that must really frost their cookies! And, thanks to all the manipulators we are all getting better at discerning these types of people.
It is also really laughable that he is appealing to our [democratic principles and 'free speech'. We here are not at all concerned with democracy or free speech, but rather with truth. That is an entirely different thing, and as Laura has mentioned previously, as soon as we discover we are dealing with someone who does not value Truth at all, every bet is off and we are not only 'free' to disregard those things considered 'polite' in societies, but duty bound to expose these predators for what they really are. Reading and participating in this Forum is beneficial in lots of ways. One of them is by observing how these people are 'outed' by the members, which helps those who do not yet have the capacity to see these people for who they truly are. After a while, people learn how to spot these types themselves. And, it really, really is an essential skill to have!
This is probably 'tough' on those who care nothing for Truth, but 'delicious' in the extreme for those who do.
And, to quote forum member, a.saccus on essentially the same subject, though in the context of the Hasbara manual mentioned above:
a.saccus said:
As you may suspect, their reaction is not just some
ad hoc response at the local watering hole, but a planned and deliberate strategy for victory in debate and in policy, carried on at every level of American society: in Congress, in the Media, e.g., the recent bashing of President Carter, and most importantly, on campus. [...]
WJUS Hasbara calls what they’re doing “Israel Advocacy“, but “advocacy" in this context is a blatant misnomer: what they are doing is outright sophistry and rhetorical manipulation; to be used upon those (mainly young people) who believe they’re engaging in a genuine dialogue or debate, but are really being set up and led down the garden path.
You are probably not dealing with those who are seeking the truth of the matter and who will discuss the question fairly with you, but those who ...
--have an agenda to push: they call it “Neutralizing Negativity" or “Pushing Positivity“ (see the Hasbara Handbook on PDF page 15); in other words, their goal is manipulation, not truth.
--who are “setting the agenda":
Hasbara Handbook page 16 said:
The person who sets the agenda will usually win the debate.[…] activists get to determine what to talk about,[…] Being proactive keeps the right issues in the public eye, and in the way Israel activists want them to be seen. It is much easier to get Palestinian activists defending Arafat against charges of being a corrupt terrorist than it is to explain to disinterested students that Ariel Sharon didn’t kill anybody at Sabra and Chatilla(which of course he didn’t).
That final parenthetical remark always gets me. Even the PTB can’t be sure that such a blatant lie will be believed without constant and mind-numbing reiteration and reinforcing. And just who are those “disinterested students" who suddenly appear? Might they not be people who are actually seeking the truth of the matter? Dangerous hombres those truth seekers...
And notice the concern -- expressed over and over again through the Handbook -- with appearances, with maintaining a façade. You don’t need to do that if you’re telling the truth, now do you?
Does any of this sound familiar?
--who are concerned with scoring points, and learn the best times and the best situations to do this, not finding out the truth(page 18); "terrorism" is a big "point" for them (page 94)
--who believe that pictures are more potent than words(page 28); (hence all the YouTubing and VideoGoogling;)
--who know the value and the uses of FEAR:
Hasbara Handbook page 35 said:
When a speaker warns that the consequences of ignoring his message is likely to be war, conflict, personal suffering, and so forth, they are manipulating fear to advance their message. Listeners have deep-seated fears of violence and disorder, which can be tapped into by creating false dichotomies -- “either listen to me, or these terrible things will happen." Listeners are too preoccupied by the threat of terrible things to think critically about the speaker’s message.
That’s as cold and reptilian as they come. And that's the reason for the emphasis on terrorist violence.
--who have a strategy worked out ahead of time for when to stay and when to walk away from a debate (page 41). When your only concern is winning, why engage in a debate which, although it might lead to the truth, won‘t enable you to win? ....I'm sorry, Coach Lombardi, but winning
isn't everything. [...]
Consider the Hasbara Handbook's suggested response to a not unreasonable justification of Palestinian terrorism:
Hasbara Handbook page 94 said:
Accusation: The Palestinian use of terror is understandable and legitimate as it is their only weapon against the oppression of Israeli Occupation.
Rebuttal: There can never be any justification for the deliberate murder and threatening of innocent civilians to exact political concessions. The only effective way to combat terrorism on an international scale is to view all terrorists equally and not to differentiate between good and bad terrorists. The biggest success terrorists have had in the twentieth century has been getting people to accept the idea that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
1. “There can
never be
any justification….� But isn’t that exactly what the Zionists have
always been doing, for over a century --
justifying? We have a major reality disconnect here.
2. “[…]view all terrorists equally[…]� . I have no objections, but this is just an empty promise. When it comes to applying it, Hasbara would no doubt find a clever reason to make an exception; otherwise los zionistas would be lumped in with all the other terrorists.
3. The fact that the last sentence of the above Hasbara citation must be completely reversed to express the truth gives us an idea of just how deep the illusion is:
The biggest success the Zionists have had in the twentieth century has been getting the American people to accept the idea that “the Palestinian freedom fighters are terrorists."
So mind how you go — it’s a jungle out there!
The comments, the nature of their language and intentions, the hysterical, over-the-top comments we've received from these two
"self-promoters" are terrific for teaching purposes. Again, I refer to a.saccus and the Hasbara manual which is the guide used by these marketers of disinformation:
You can find the Manual at http:(double slash)www(dot)middle-east-info(dot)org(slash)take(slash)wujshasbara.pdf
The
emphases in the passage are mine.
Hasbara Manual said:
Seven Basic Propaganda Devices
Propaganda is used by those who want to communicate in ways that engage the emotions and downplay rationality, in an attempt to promote a certain message. To effectively present Israel to the public, and to counter anti-Israel messages, it is necessary to understand propaganda devices.
This article applies a list of seven propaganda devices to the Israeli situation, and by doing so allows an understanding of some of the ways in which public opinion is fought for in the International arena.
Thus what this manual is explicitly (and revealingly) about is ways to help the user win battles, not to find out the truth of the matter. :(
The seven basic propaganda devices are:
NAME CALLING
GLITTERING GENERALITY
TRANSFER
TESTIMONIAL
PLAIN FOLKS
FEAR
BANDWAGON
Each of the seven is followed by several paragraphs of examples on how the technique is to be applied.
Quite informative reading. This is, without a doubt, a very professional piece of work, and all the more chilling because of that very professionalism.
Major League STS.
I will only quote "NAME CALLING" in full, both out of space/time considerations and because it seems to be a technique universally and invariably used; but
all the entries are interesting.
The
emphases in the passage are mine.
Hasbara Manual said:
Name Calling
Through the careful choice of words, the name calling technique links a person or an idea to a negative symbol. Creating negative connotations by name calling is done to try and get the audience to reject a person or idea on the basis of negative associations, without allowing a real examination of that person or idea. The most obvious example is name calling -- "they are a neo-Nazi group" tends to sound pretty negative to most people. More subtly, name calling works by selecting words with subtle negative meanings for some listeners. For example, describing demonstrators as "youths" creates a different impression from calling them "children".
For the Israel activist, it is important to be aware of the subtly different meanings that well chosen words give. Call "demonstrations" "riots", many Palestinian political organizations "terror organizations", and so on.
Those opposed to Israel use name calling all the time. Consider the meaning of the word "settlement". When applied to Gilo, a suburb of Jerusalem over the disputed 1967 borders, the word "settlement" creates the unfortunate impression that Gilo is located in the middle of the West Bank, and occupied by religious and political extremists (the image many people have acquired of settlements). That's how the media and opponents of Israel use name-calling. Other examples include referring to the "war crimes" of Ariel Sharon, talking about the "invasion" of the West Bank when an army unit enters territory under PA sovereignty in order to find terrorists, and so on.
Name calling is hard to counter. Don't allow opponents the opportunity to engage in point scoring. Whenever "name calling" is used, think about referring to the same thing (e.g. Gilo), but with a more favorable description (e.g. "suburb" }. Consider calling settlements "communities" or "villages". Use the same names back; if somebody talks about Sharon's "war crimes", talk about Arafat's war crimes and involvement in terror.
[...]
Why did I refer to Bourne and Dustin as "self-promoters"?
Well, that seems to be what they are.
See here: h t t p://www.cerdwynscauldron.com/real2can/projdiectors.html
where we find this:
Michael Bourne is the owner and creator of the website "The Book of THoTH" and has been researching the paranormal and esoteric subjects for over 25 years. He has a new book being released in 2007 called "The Book of THoTH: Wisdom of the ages"which will be the first of an annual series of books which will cover all areas of the Paranormal and Alternative knowledge. Working with best selling author Philip Gardiner, he is the Director of a new DVD which will be released in early 2007, covering all aspects of the UFO experience. They have also created a new dynamic website together called beyondthecosmos.com.
Geeze, it sounds kinda like
The Wave and
The Adventures Series, doesn't it. Sounds kinda like me, too, someone who's been researching for over 25 years, blah blah. It would be too weird to think that it was "damage control" for the work we've done and published over the past 11 years, wouldn't it? Naaah! Not possible! But gosh, you'd think that if the guy was really researching, he would have found The Wave and Adventures Series, wouldn't you? After all, hundreds of thousands of others have... it's been on the net for going on 8 years now.
But, no, with all his research, Michael Bourne is not aware of this work, nor is he even aware that I am an "author," as he so disingenuously queried. Some "paranormal researcher"!!!
More than that, when I mentioned the kinds of attacks we have been subjected to over the years, he says "oh, yeah, I've had DOS attacks..." and never, NEVER, does it occur to him that there is a reason for those attacks we have experienced, and that maybe, just MAYBE, we might have some valuable information to share. After all, if the information is subjected to such attempts at suppression, must be interesting, yes? Well, at least anybody with normal curiosity would think so, anybody REALLY researching the paranormal and esoteric subjects.
But, no, Michael Bourne doesn't miss a beat, doesn't even say, "hmmm... okay, sounds interesting, let's talk."
No, all he is interested in is that we should take his word for it that he is a "good guy," we are on "the same side," and forget about looking at his site or him as a possible disinfo source. Just isn't happenin'. And then, all the subsequent effort to push that point, backed up with insults and name-calling and unilateral declarations of "fact" backed up by no data, and so on.
Wow!
Well, I'm still going to leave it open that the guys are just naive self-promoting wannabes who have come on the scene with a plan to make some bux. After all, what is Michael Bourne's background? At ebookmall we find a blurb:
Michael Bourne is the author of Strategy and Performance: Competing through Competences.
And how did he introduce himself here?
Michael Bourne said:
The Book of THoTH (_http://www.book-of-thoth.com) began in January 2004 and we're going from strength to strength, we have a book coming out later this year, and several DVD documentaries too.
"Competing through Competences"??? "Going from strength to strength" ?? Say WHAT?
Now, let me think... if I was a government agency that wanted to do damage control on what we are doing here at cass and SOTT, what kind of person would I choose to do it?
Why, someone who is in marketing.
For example, at 1888pressrelease.com we find:
The Book Of Thoth Announces Its New Venture In Publishing
Reality Entertainment - to provide thousands of dollars worth of prizes for submitted articles. In addition after 6 months the very best articles will be chosen to appear in a new Book to be launched world-wide by Reality Press entitled The Book of THoTH : Wisdom of the Ages.
The Book of THoTH Website with the help of best selling author Philip Gardiner has struck a deal with one of the world’s leading record companies - Reality Entertainment - to provide thousands of dollars worth of prizes for submitted articles. In addition after 6 months the very best articles will be chosen to appear in a new Book to be launched world-wide by Reality Press entitled The Book of THoTH : Wisdom of the Ages.
Although there will be no royalty payments on the book, presently unpublished authors will have the chance to see their name in print in a major new book and will then be able to use this as a catalyst to further their publishing career.
"This is a major step forward in helping people get their voice heard, and getting previously unpublished ideas out there in the greater world. I know for a fact that there are thousands of prospective authors out there desperate to be heard and I was wondering how I could help them. I spoke to Michael (THoTH) and to Reality and brought the two together and so with this united and powerful front we can really make a statement and help people. I simply couldn’t help everybody on their own, but this way we get to help more and more and can carry this on every year." Said Philip.
As well as Philip Gardiner, there are already some other major names who have given their support to this venture. These are Fate magazine, UFO Magazine, Anomalist.Com, Bella Online Paranormal Magazine, The Debris Field Blog, Crowded Skies website and many more.
The rules are simple, write an article about a subject that is one of the topics at The Book of THoTH these are:
The Paranormal, History, Alternative History, Ancient History, Civilisations , Aliens, Divination , ESP / Telepathy ,Ghosts / Haunting, Mysticism, Occult, UFOs, Conspiracies, Dreams/Dreaming, Human Condition, Animals, Cryptozoology, Astronomy, Nature/Environment and the edge of Science.
Submit your article via their website at The Book of THoTH Article Management System and it’s done.
The competition runs up until December 31st 2006. The entries will be judged by Michael Bourne (THoTH) and Philip Gardiner. The winners will see their articles published in the new book, and will gain further internet publishing/promotion via The Book of THoTH Websites Front page.
All entries must be between 500 and 2000 words long and contain no more than one image and of course all work must be that of the person submitting it. The only other criteria is that articles must be “non fiction� and not descriptions of personal experience, except where those experiences are described as part of an article for reference.
If you’re a website who would like to become a supporter of this venture, and get your name mentioned on the Supporters Page, contact THoTH at their website The Book of THoTH
Hmmm... For a couple of po' folks just trying to have a hobby, that sounds pretty ambitious to me.
Also, you find this same "press release" all over the web, so there is a lot of promotion going on here, which is not surprising considering Bourne's background. As he says, quite truthfully, he is going from "strength to strength." And that strength is definitely marketing... nothing else.
Then, we find posted around the internet on about every board where "odd matters" are discussed, you find this:
Paranormal Writers Needed for new book
The Book of THoTH Website details its new competition and the latest updates at the site.
- The Book of THoTH http://www.book-of-thoth.com , a site for paranormal discussion and research, is expanding massively in resources and in membership.
There are currently over 3,000 members, including notable authors and researchers. Best selling author Philip Gardiner, Gary Osborne, JC De La Torre, Marshall Klarfeld, and many other well known and respected individuals are currently active on the site, in discussions in the forums, and elsewhere.
Every new member who joins potentially brings new topics to discuss or introduces a new perspective to an older debate, so reaching 3,000 members brings thousands of view points. The discussion forums have been extremely busy lately, with total page views reaching well over 8.75 million.
Included in those 3,000 members are some well known names who bring lots of experience and research to the discussions. For instance, currently, you can find Philip Gardiner discussing interesting topics such as the Forbidden Knowledge Conference in the UK, his interview with Oddvar Olsen, and, of course, his upcoming DVD and book, Gnosis.
Author Marshall Klarfeld has recently announced his upcoming trilogy of movies called Adam: The Missing Link, which The Book of THoTH is happy to help promote. For details as they become available on the upcoming film, please see h t t p://www.book-of-thoth.com/ftopict-8279.html.
The Book of THoTH, working with Philip Gardiner and Reality Entertainment, has announced a new book to be published in 2007, titled, The Book of THoTH: Wisdom of the Ages.
This book will be a compilation of articles submitted by the members of the site, and the best will be selected by Philip Gardiner and Michael Bourne to be published. Many submissions will also be awarded prizes donated by Reality Entertainment, including an Epiphone Guitar and CD grab bags valued at more than $300. Additionally, Fate Magazine will be donating a years subscription to the prize pool.
The Book of THoTH already has several supporters for help with getting out the word on this endeavor, Fate Magazine, UFO Magazine, Bella Online Paranormal magazine, Crowded Skies Website and The Debris Field Blogspot. More information on the upcoming book can be found at h t t p://www.book-of-thoth.com/article_submit.
Another member and author, JC De La Torre, is helping as an editor to the wiki-based encyclopedia inside The Book of THoTH, called simply, The Book h t t p://www.book-of-thoth.com/thebook/
This new reference and information resource has taken on tremendous growth since it's launch just a few short weeks ago. Already The Book contains over 1,750 full topics covering a wide variety of interests, and has received over 75,000 page views.
Mr. De La Torre has been publishing articles on his historical speculations on The Book, which can be found at h t t p ://www.book-of-thoth.com/thebook/index.php/JC_De_La_Torre's_Speculations.
Fellow author and member Mac Tonnies, currently working on a new book, has allowed the use of his articles, including his writings from the Cydonian Imperative(h t t p://www.mactonnies.com/cydonia.html), a scientific and speculative look at the Cydonia region on Mars.
Last, but not least, the new Book of THoTH Newsletter is an exciting way for members to stay up to date with the latest site news. Each week members who have signed up to receive this publication will get an e-mail containing updated site information, the latest hot topics in the forums and the front page, along with interesting features such as this week in history, random fun facts and much more.
The first newsletter has just been completed by site moderator Reverend Chaos and is ready to go out. To sign up for the news letter go to h t t p://www.book-of-thoth.com/lists.
CONTACT INFORMATION
THoTH
The Book of THoTH
Email Us
Ya'll remember the Project SERPO hoax and Bill Ryan the marketing trainer who was behind it? Very similar profile. And we all remember how that was a side-show of the abovetopsecret crowd with their Neocon attorney script writer, Wayne Jaeschke. This is exactly the same way abovetopsecret started out and the same way that the Project SERPO hoax was propagated. You'd think they would come up with a different plan, wouldn't you?
But again, I'm leaving it open that Micheal Bourne, his buddy Philip Gardiner, and his buddy here, Dustin in Florida (from Boulder?) are just naive guys who see a marketing bonanza in misleading the New Age/paranormal crowd.
But it really doesn't look that way because: Methinks they protest too much.
Another old saying: if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck...
And... you can know the tree by its fruit.
Censorship, free speech, cult... you're big on the buzzwords, aren't you. In fact, you're beginning to sound exactly like the spooks and deviants that turn up here and smear their false accusations around.