Sunday, March 18, 2018

When propaganda fails

Even though Hillary Clinton is a private citizen, and even though she is certainly not going to run for any office ever again, somebody has put a lot of money into an anti-Hillary ad campaign. The ads -- which you can see on all sorts of clickbait sites -- promise that Hillary's "hit list" has finally been unveiled. "You'll never guess who's number 1!"

Always on the lookout for new amusements, I made an honest effort to find out the name of Hillary's number 1 target. The link goes here. Use caution if you click on that link, because you never know where malware lurketh. Here's the only visible ad copy:
"We voted AGAINST her lies. But now she's plotting on final devastation.

Will THIS be Crooked Hillary's Secret Revenge?

[31,747 DEAD in 2017. If you're over 55, watch the warning below to protect yourself and your spouse.]
And...that's it. Nothing else loads up.

I think the page is supposed to play a video, but if it does, I couldn't see it. I tried three separate browsers. A shame, that. I'd like to know just how Hillary managed to murder 31,747 people in a fashion so secretive that not even Fox News noticed.

(Maybe I should have used a better computer. I visited that page using an ancient notebook computer at the local Mickey D. Gotta protect against nasty ol' malware, you know.)

The ubiquity of these ads indicates that a decent-sized pile of money went into this campaign -- a campaign which failed utterly for technical reasons.

The anti-Hillary page is part of a larger site called the Health Sciences Institute, which claims to have treatments for cancer, diabetes, back pain and heart problems. You can read more about the lovable funsters at HSI if you visit the Ripoff Report and Snopes. To paraphrase an old axiom: If it looks like a quack and quacks like a quack...

It turns out that the big, hidden cancer cure is honey. Hillary is preventing you from eating honey. Because Evil.

According to a Ripoff Report correspondent, HSI also trades in heavy-duty anti-Catholicism. I guess the Pope also has a thing against honey.

Mother Jones did a piece on these guys back December of 2015. Turns out they have a link to the Huckabee family; they've also hooked up with Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. You know: The gang.

As fate would have it, this company traces back to a local Baltimore crew that I've had my eye on for years. I've even made cryptic references to them in past posts, though I've never mentioned the name until now.
The Health Sciences Institute is part of a company called NewMarket Health, which is just one asset of a Baltimore-based publishing empire named Agora Inc. Agora’s subsidiaries and affiliates publish more than 40 newsletters and sell more than 300 books on a range of topics, including biblical health tips, natural-healing supplements, and “insider” investment advice—a mix of ideas the company considers the intellectual equivalent of the marketplace of ancient Athens. To find new readers for its ever-expanding catalog of publications, Agora’s subsidiaries have tapped into a network of conservative heavyweights, including Huckabee, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich, who sell access to their massive email lists to advertise Agora’s products.
In April, Paul appeared in a 51-minute video for an Agora subsidiary in which he argued that the United States was on the verge of martial law and societal collapse. The libertarian patriarch, whose own Survival Report newsletter once played to its white readers’ worst fears, urged viewers to buy a newsletter subscription to find out more. Conservative outlets including National Review and Townhall have also rented their email lists to Agora subsidiaries. While it’s not unusual for publications (including Mother Jones) to send sponsored messages to their subscribers, Agora’s emails skirt the line between spammy and scammy. An email sent last year to followers of the popular right-wing site RedState on behalf of the Health Sciences Institute claimed that the Obama administration was blocking a miracle cure that “vaporizes cancer in six weeks.”
The rest of the MJ article contains the fascinating backstory of Agora.

I first heard about these folks when I was researching the National Inflation Institute, a pump-and-dump scheme linked to Jonathan Lebed which Fox (for some reason) was pushing heavily back in 2011. (I even made a film about them.) Although I know of no link between Agora and Lebed's operation, I did notice certain similarities -- such as a heavy emphasis on Ayn Randroid libertarianism, mixed in with a willingness to engage in certain lines of endeavor which some uncharitable souls might describe as "scammy."

(Another example of the breed would the sex cult/multi-level marketing scheme called NXVIM, which deserves a whole separate post.)

Pump and dump. "Natural" health cures. MLM schemes. These are the things that fund the paranoid right. There are paranoids on the left as well, but most liberals aren't enlightened enough for to seek out these kinds of "opportunities."

Agora became particularly interesting to me when I discovered a potential link to a local mystery. I even toyed with the idea of investigating this matter as part of a larger film about various aspects of Baltimore's colorful history. This post is not the place to discuss the event in any detail. But perhaps one image will offer certain interested parties an indication of the mystery that I'm talking about...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Belvedere in Phila? If that's it, wasn't that the first place that was found to have Legionaires disease?

Joseph Cannon said...

Bawlmer.

nemdam said...

Heard those comments recently from Hillary about how the middle of the country is backward and Trump's supporters are all racists and misogynists? They were, of course, taken grossly out of context. But what's interesting is how it originally spread. It was a GOP oppo research firm that found the speech, cut it up to look as bad as possible and then promoted the out of context remarks which the MSM picked up on. It's a textbook definition of how your Hillary sausage gets made and how the MSM dutifully adopts GOP framing on Hillary.

I will also say the fact they still spend time attacking her says something. I'm not really sure what, but they still see her as having some sort of power or else they wouldn't spend time trying to tear her down. No losing candidate has even been attacked like this. My guess? They want to narrative to exist that Hillary lost only due to herself because if the story becomes that outside forces caused Hillary to lose then it undermines the legitimacy of the GOP. Hillary merely existing as a respectable, normal person is a threat to the GOP. How sad.

b said...

Agora sound like Steinerites.

From Threefoldsystems.com:

"Threefold Systems is part of The Agora, a global family of publishing companies in over a dozen countries. Agora affiliated companies specialise in financial, health, travel, and special-interest newsletters, books, and an array of other products & services. It is a modern marketplace for opinions and breakthrough ideas."

"Threefold Systems was founded by Agora employees with combined decades of experience in publishing and development. Threefold was created to meet the needs of a wide range of clients to help them grow their business and take advantage of new technologies."

I searched on "Agora and threefolding and this is what I found. (I didn't just happen on it.) "Threefolding" is a Steinerite word. Whenever you encounter a phrase such as "people, planet, profit", beware. These fuckers will be operating overtly or else lurking.

Berlusconi's children went to Steiner schools.
Jacob Rees-Mogg's father and sisters have helped advance Steinerite interests.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is a Steinerite.
"Ethical" bank Triodos is Steinerite.
Etc.

Many readers of this will have already read the warning by Valery Gerasimov, head of the Russian general staff, that the US may be planning a false-flag chemical attack to justify a US assault on government-held parts of Damascus where Russian service personnel are deployed, and that Russia will respond with force to any such US assault. I.e. WW3.

In Britain the media are bigging up the "Beast" even in weather reports, the "Beast from the East", and in some cases, using the theme of Monster Reborn, "Beast from the East 2". Talk of a cyber attack against Russia is put into commentary and statements, as if that's akin to sticking your tongue out at someone you don't like. Actually it would be an act of aggressive war against a nuclear power. Meanwhile the British army has been helping people in the snow, and food shortages are already being reported in Birmingham and elsewhere.

This looks like it.

Could Easter/Passover be a key moment in the war agenda?

Stephen Morgan said...

I looked at your first link and got it to load up in a text-only browser. There's no video, but I can't post the text here because there are 42 pages of it, depending I suppose on monitor size. Below the asterisks I shall put some tiny excerpts.


****************

And it’s a scheme so elaborate and far-reaching, it can only be defined as high treason.

Here was the plan...

On January 20, 2017, Hillary was supposed to place her hand on the Bible and take the Presidential oath of office... NOT as the victor of an
honest and fair election...

But as a LIAR, a TRAITOR and the CONSPIRACY MASTERMIND of a rigged election.
[.....]
I’m Dr. Allan Spreen, and I work for an organization just outside Washington DC... a patriotic group that monitors our government for
exactly this type of thing.

I can’t reveal my sources, but a network of insiders gives me special access to this kind of information...

We’ve uncovered a lot of dirt over the last 19 years... but NOTHING this huge.

I might even be putting myself at risk to publish this report today — but it’s my duty, both as a journalist and a proud American who
loves his country.
[.....]

So we’ve printed up every single cure in a free report we call... The Insider’s Book of Secrets: The REAL Cures Buried By Clinton’s Cartel.



And we’re ready to mail it right to your door. Today.

We feel it’s our duty as Americans and patriots. And it’s the ONLY way to stop the Clinton Cartel from carrying out the final phase of
its deadly scheme.

But, a fair warning, the information I’m about to share is so explosive... and Hillary’s Cartel is SO powerful...

They can wipe all traces of this report from the internet at any moment.

********

Okay, I can't read any more.

So ultra-low grade conspirapiffle with the usual random bolding replacing the usual random CAPITALISATION.

The cause of the 30,000 deaths seems to be medicine, which they are trying to replace with natural, non-lethal, treatments like "sour honey". So it's just the same as what you've seen of the rest of their site, but with a number of deaths given. There is no mention of Clinton's number one target, I'm afraid.

Anonymous said...

It would be bad enough if the attacks on Hillary Clinton were merely from the Right that has made Hillary-hate a cottage industry. But as we saw in 2016, the Left, specifically Nina Turner and Our Revolution, is still piling on. In this case, protesting a speech Clinton is scheduled to present at Rutgers University. The speaking fee? $25,000, a sum which will damage middle & lower class citizens. Because? Well just . . . because.

Link here:

https://go.ourrevolution.com/page/event/detail/rally/4jvkvCached

The something, something in this 'call to rally' concerns the damaging effects of money in politics. Seemingly the on-going Bernie Brigade has not reckoned with the fact that HRC is a private citizen who is entitled (and frankly I would say earned the right) to speak her mind anywhere she damn well chooses. The Dems piling on with the Hillary critiques are the same ones calling for the ouster of Nancy Pelosi who has the dubious honor of assuming the #1 position on the political Demon List.

Nothing like being attacked from both flanks--the Far Right and the Far Left. Gives that Horseshoe theory a lot of gas.

Peggysue

Stephen Morgan said...

https://www.channel4.com/news/cambridge-analytica-revealed-trumps-election-consultants-filmed-saying-they-use-bribes-and-sex-workers-to-entrap-politicians-investigation

CA talking about using bribes, setting up shell companies, Israeli subcontractors, Ukrainian girls for honey traps, manufacturing blackmail material... they don't even get round to Facebook. They talk about a recent successful operation in Eastern europe which I'm now curious about.

Stephen Morgan said...

Further: it's now being reported that CA will be raided by the information commisioner this very night in connection with the Facebookk activities and the allegations of the whistleblower. Facebook shares in freefall.

Anonymous said...

Everyone should pop up the link that Stephen Morgan posted above. Or go here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbeOCKZFfQ

Same devastating film, just different link. Pretty damning, too. This is one time CA did not manage to 'ghost in, ghost out.' In fact, their footprint is now muddy and oozing with corruption. Nasty.

No wonder they wanted to stop the film's release.

Peggysue

b said...

Nice film.

This line from Alexander Nix is classic: "I should have recognised where the prospective client was taking our conversations and ended the relationship sooner." Everyone accused of being a drug supplier or a paid killer should try that one.

Wonderful to watch Facebook have the shits put up them...but where will it lead?

Anonymous said...

Dutch investigative journalists explain data received in Panama Papers and media alliance work on running leads in the documents to ground to identify major international players' shell companies and undisclosed investments -- from mafia to prime ministers.

http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/56febff0a1bb8d3c3495adf4/

Here's the searchable Panama Papers data, just in case you are looking for a particular entity or person:
https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/

Mercer owns a major share in Cambridge Analytica. Rebekah Mercer and Steve Mercer served on the Board when they formed the U.S. election division of Cambridge Analytica.
SCL owns Cambridge Analytica. The British director of SCL has ties to Ukrainian oligarch and Putin.
Cambridge Analytica has ties to alumni and academics at Cambridge University.
Cambridge Analytica claims Channel 4 meetings were Entrapment
All's fair in love in war, eh boys?
If you've got the retired secret agents and Ukrainian girls working for you...
Straight from the horse's mouth, who looks more 'ludicrous' now, Mr. Nix?
https://www.axios.com/cambridge-analytica-responds-to-channel-4-claims-they-were-entrapped-1521493099-8e783325-79a3-4a10-a29f-9b012141aee0.html
dataflo

Anonymous said...

1. Cambridge Analytica is 1 piece of election data breach.

2. Palantir contracted w/U.S. State Dept & Trump Campaign (2016), Homeland Security (2018, overlays CIA data w/ SM data). Peter Thiel, founded Palantir, eBay & PayPal, serves on Facebook's Board, chums w/Erik Prince (Banner Air, U.A.E. private militias https://theintercept.com/2016/04/11/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-drive-to-build-private-air-force/)

3. Quid= repurposes parsed SM, email,.docx/pdf text data, creates visual maps of significant content & relationships for millions of documents. https://medium.com/@timtolka/russian-analyst-cambridge-analytica-palantir-and-quid-helped-trump-win-2016-election-44ecc577ee60

4. Did this GOOGLE heir kick it off?
“..in June 2013, Sophie…suggested he (Nix) meet … someone she knew… through her father (Eric Schmidt, Google Chair)...Palantir…a data-mining firm (that) has contracts with governments all over the world – including GCHQ and the NSA… “
"“Google’s algorithm had been gamed by extremist sites …Jonathan Albright, professor of commun at Elon University…was the first… to map and uncover an entire ‘alt-right’ news and information ecosystem."
"He called the company a central point in the right’s ‘propaganda machine’….work(ing) for the Trump election campaign and the referendum (for BREXIT)...”
"Cadwalladr ...detail(s) Mercer’s work and the key role of a Canadian company AggregateIQ…and (CA)…she gives us this interesting take-away:”

““SCL/Cambridge Analytica was not some startup…it’s effectively part of the British defence establishment. And, now, too, the American defence establishment. An ex-commanding officer of the US Marine Corps operations centre, Chris Naler, has recently joined Iota Global, a partner of the SCL group….This is…a story about social psychology…data analytics…(and) a military contractor using military strategies on a civilian population. Us. “

David Miller, a professor of sociology at Bath U… and an authority in psyops and propaganda, says it is ‘an extraordinary scandal… It should be clear to voters where information is coming from, and if it’s not… it raises the question of whether we are… living in a democracy or not.’”
"... likelihood that the vote counting in the 2016 election was manipulated in favor of Trump… @mikefarb1… has been reviewing the election results precinct by precinct, collecting voting anomalies, and linking to sites that detail how machines can be hacked. "

https://davidhemond.wordpress.com/2017/05/07/cambridge-analytica-exposed-bonus-spoonamores-link-on-hacking/

5. Kogan’s timeline - FB data lifted for “academic” research…
That's summer 2014, when he was also pulling @facebook data for Cambridge Analytica….when (CA) was pitching to Lukoil…when Robert Mueller's indicted Russians were starting to use the platform for "information warfare"..
@carolecadwalla 3/19/18
@Rochelle @cfiesler
“Looking at Turkopticon reviews, it seems like the “personality survey” that required FB access was posted by Kogan’s account from at least 2/2014 to 5/2014 and from GSL’s account 6/2014 to 12/2015. (IIRC, they also had 1-2 other accounts too.)”
https://twitter.com/d1gi?lang=en

Do Mechanical Turk gig workers become legal fall guys for big boys?
“...gig economy workers are the first victims of the #Facebook & Cambridge Analytica scandal (Kogan used Amazon Mechanical Turk to increase downloads of thisismydigitallife app). It is a clear case where work precarity meets alienation of personal data” @JCPlantin 4/19/18

"Man in the Middle" Explains Vote Rigging in Ohio in 2004 Prof. Spoonamore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8KW5-XpxcI&app=desktopon

Cadwalladr's "The Great British BREXIT election robbery": https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy?CMP=share_btn_tw

Guardian article – how to ck if you got trolled on FB https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/22/facebook-tool-russia-troll-army-internet-research-agency
dataflo