Fifth Column

Found a good "Fifth Column" link? Let Us Know!

Technically, the fifth column is a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders. Here we will also concentrate on MEDIA MANIPULATION of news which undermines US Policies to the detriment (in our opinion) of the Nation, as well as domestic terrorism activities.

Interestingly enough, BOTH sides of the political spectrum (you choose the topic) accuse the other of manipulating news - both coverage and content - for the benefit of the opposition.

What we place on this section of the site is not "fair and balanced." It is survival based and survival biased. Those who oppose whatever power currently controls the purse strings and politics of the nation will always have their own take, their own biases. We don't care. If it threatens the survival of the Nation and its Citizens, it falls under the heading of "Fifth Column" and will be reported on in this section. Truth is a whole other story....

Bring Out Your Dead Media Mind Control in the War on Terror By Craig Roberts. By using graphic images, focusing only on what they want you to see and hear, shaping events by reporting only on those that fit the media’s political agenda, ignoring anything that is counterproductive to their goals, they control an empire that is actually a fourth arm of government. And, they control our minds. Wrapped in a thin veil of alleged “patriotism”, the evening news now makes a daily point of “honoring” those killed that day with color photos of them in uniform, photos of them as children, and quotes from their parents, school teachers, coaches, and then a brief bio to humanize the subject. But what is really happening is that the body count, kept like a scorebook, is being paraded in front of us in a manner that psychologically affects us as individuals. Instead of “honoring” the casualties, in reality we see more people being lost, and for what? We see the young faces, the faces of our kids and our family members who are trying to help a country get on its feet after decades of dictatorial oppression, and we think “It’s not worth it! We need to get out of there and let the country sink of its own weight.”

Fact, Fantasy and Film at Eleven (CBS News Twists the Truth--1965) This article originally appeared in the December 1988 issue of Soldier of Fortune Magazine. The original title was "Two Minutes at Cam Ne", but the editorial staff renamed it "Fact, Fantasy and Film at Eleven." I wrote this article in reference to one of the most famous Vietnam war reports done by Morley Safer and CBS News in August of 1965. In this piece, his cameraman filmed a Marine lighting the roof of a hut with a Zippo lighter, and another shot of a flame thrower being used on a hut. What Safer failed to point out was that the "village" concealed the entrance to a massive Viet Cong tunnel complex, and had been discovered to be the headquarters of the Viet Cong R-60 Battalion that had plagued the Marines and the Da Nang Airbase...

Craig's comments on John Kerry's Silver Star. I just read John Kerry's Silver Star citation and almost fell out of my chair. Having served at one time as an "awards and decorations officer", which is an additional duty assignment for staff officers, I know full well how these citations can be colored and worded to change an "aw sh*t" into a "attaboy." That is what happened with Kerry's situation. He probably would have been disciplined for endangering his boat and crew, but instead, because of his political connections, they gave him what is known as a "coverup award." One of the oldest tricks in the military book is that if you have a "favorite son" or coat-tail hangar and he screws up, rewrite the reports and give him an award before he gets court-martialed. That appears to be what happened here.

Who is exactly saying, 'Rumsfeld must go?' Andrew Sullivan has a piece at his Time blog indicating that the Army Times is calling for the resignation or firing of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The Army Times is not an official Army publication and is not a professional journal. As Oak Leaf points out over at Stop the ACLU, the Army Times is part of the Army Times Publishing Company and, in addition to the Army Times, includes the Air Force Times, Marine Corps Times, and Navy Times. It also includes the Federal Times, Defense News and Military Market. These publications are owned by the Gannett Group which also owns USA Today. Oak Leaf also reveals that the writers of the “military papers” also write for USA Today.

METHODS OF MEDIA MANIPULATION, by Michael Parenti. Reading this, one would think the media is in the government's pocket and the government is out to get YOU. Well, that may or may not be so, but the methods illuminated are valid. If you can get past the author's bias, you can see how the media uses these techniques for WHATEVER point of view they wish to support.

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