Ribal al-Assad (cousin) on "Mornin' Joe" kaffee klatch today.

 This fellah, Bashar's first cousin is an exile from Syria.  He was on the mentally flatulent 'Mornin' Joe' show today trying to explain Syrian realities to the crew of New Yorkers who infest this TV space.  Well, there are a few good ones.  Anyway, Ribal al-Assad tried to tell them that Syria is about 50% minorities; Christians, Alawis, a few remaining Jews, Druze, Ismaili Shia, etc. and that the great defect of present policy is that it is completely focused on the Syria civil war as a conflict between an Alawi minority government and a Sunni Arab majority.  Ribal said that was wrong because the minorities have not been given a viable alternative to the present government of Syria.  Why is that important?  Well, pilgrims, the jihadis, including the ones the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey support intend to enslave the minorities.

Yes, I know,  There are also Sunni Arabs who support the government and many serve in the Syrian Army but that does not obviate Ribal's point that the 50% of the Syrian population who are minorities have not been given any alternative to the present government.

He further pointed out that the supposed "mediators" (Saudi Arabia) in the process of building an alternative future government do not respect democracy, the rule of law other than their view of Sharia, and any thought of a multi-confessional national entity. 

 Mikka and Joe listened for a few seconds and then their eyes glazed over as he violated the parameters of their Borgist conditioning.  After a bit you could see that they just wanted him to go away and not further disturb their bovine content.

A few days back I mentioned a well educated woman neighbor who explained to me that the American people lack the "software" in their heads to grasp what is being written here on SST about the ME.  I agree.  Borgist repetitive propaganda has IMO re-structured the collective American brain to such an extent that the truth is for most unfathomable.  pl 

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe

Comments

[AEL]

Still, they *did* have him on the show.

Small blessings/ Glimmers/ etc. etc.

[Bill Herschel]

The odor of Napoleon III is very strong. Victor Hugo would have died in exile had it not been for Bismarck. In other words, there are governments, many, many governments, that remain in power and control the popular discourse even in the face of truth being screamed from the rooftops. But there is always (perhaps) a Bismarck waiting in the wings. Napoleon III ran out of new clothes when he was defeated by Bismarck and had to flee to England.

What would a defeat for the U.S. look like in Syria? Has it already occurred? I am under the impression that Napoleon III's government was declaring victory upon victory for quite awhile before the truth became known.

A footnote. Putin does not run Russia the way we would like the United States to be run. In America Pussy Riot would be welcomed in St. Patrick's Cathedral, apparently, as an example. What earthly difference does that make about anything? Canada has universal health insurance. Should we invade?

[johnf]

"Borgist repetitive propaganda has IMO re-structured the collective American brain to such an extent that the truth is for most unfathomable."

With respect I don't know if I agree with this. I think human beings have an innate sense of when they are being lied to. Something in their brains switches to "ignore", their eyes glaze over. Maybe its the tone, maybe its the robotic repetition. Maybe they can sense when the person who has repeated the lie so often himself gives up on believing it. This is how the jury system often works.

This of course does not mean that the American public knows what the hell is going on. They just "know" it isn't what they're being told.

I'm sure this is the reason for the huge popularity of a figure like Trump, that he again and again challenges and ridicules the official narrative.

[Matthew]

BH: I don't agree with your comment about Pussy Riot. Had they pulled their stunt at St. Patrick's Cathedral, they would have been arrested, and the very people who lionize them now would have been condemning their outrageous behavior.

[turcopolier]

johnf

No, most are sheep. pl

[Emad]

Colonel,

"Borgist repetitive propaganda has IMO re-structured the collective American brain to such an extent that the truth is for most unfathomable."

True.

I'd like to also submit that the truth has not only become unfathomable, but also painful. The collective brain considers alternative beliefs painful to entertain, because Borgistas have managed to connect their truth to American might: We can defeat the enemy with what we've got, only if you accept our truth. Otherwise, good luck with fighting the towel heads. That's why anyone who contradicts the Borg's characterization of the world is instantly smeared as an appeaser, weakling, coward, softie and the like.

[Fred]

Bill,

"... he was defeated by Bismarck..." France was defeated in a rather brutal war. I'm sure Patrick can tell us how many widows and orphans were created in that one. As to Pussy Riot somebody tried to pull that stunt at a Hilary Clinton rally months ago. Off to jail they went with nary a word in Pravda on the Hudson. The former got a free dog and pony show courtesy of a number of American universities and at every one where a question violating the narrative was asked they immediately terminated the Q&A session due to the arduous nature of their travels.

[different clue]

The unfortunate thing about enough sensurround 24/7 conditioning going on for long enough is that the neuroplastic brain permits hardware to follow software after long enough running the same software.

Here is a little animation which appears to illustrate the process in a metaphorical way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz1qIj3_1U4

[walrus]

Bill Herschel, yes, there is a Sedan somewhere in Americas future. Feminism is going to do to the Army what the French predilection for promoting illiterate idiots did before (and after?) 1870.

Americans sheep? Why yes. The changes I have seen on visits since 2000 have been remarkable - and unfortunately all negative.

[turcopolier]

emad

In my case they just treat me as an enemy to be destroyed. pl

[VietnamVet]

Colonel,

I respectfully disagree. Americans are not sheep. They are more like goats or mules. Stubborn. True to their beliefs. Attached to their patch of grass. Moving on when it gets overgrazed. That is why there are the gaping black holes in the babble of western propaganda that are never discussed:

1. The inequality of wealth between the super-rich and workers that is rising exponentially due to the loss of manufacturing jobs, revolving door corruption, and off-shoring of corporate taxes.

2. The use of Muslims as “Others” to justify spending monies to fight wars across Africa and the Middle East.

3. The restart of the Cold War 2.0 with Russia and the very real danger of a nuclear war.

4, The basic contempt that the ruling neo-conservatives and neo-liberals have for the lower classes and conscripts.

I dread the day when this new reality becomes general knowledge.

[Seamus]

Regarding minorities not being given any alternative to the present govt., the formation in Derîk of the Democratic Syria Assembly on Dec 8-9, mainly under the auspices of the Kurdish PYD could be a potential start.
http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/executive-board-of-democratic-syria-assembly-elected

[Origin]

A key aspect of the success of the Borg is the way our news/information system has evolved, particularly since WWI. To a grand extent, the real actions of the US in its foreign affairs are conducted in secret and away from American shores, most often in undeveloped places. This means that few are actually in a position to make first-hand observations that can be brought back home to the citizens. The Iran-Contra Affair is a good example of this. The financial shenanigans were hidden in secret bank accounts and the actions were done in places where practically no American could visit. Everything was a secret and nothing was observable by outsiders.

Also, much of what really happens is observed only by persons with security clearances who cannot share or disclose the truth. Thus, a vast amount of the history of what happens will never be known. Our security establishment works against the People's by hiding their own government's workings.

We are left with a few foreign papers, interrogations of the travelers we meet, and parsing "unattributable sources" who often lie for the Borg, but sometimes do tell the truth.

In the end, it is practically impossible for us Americans to know what is really happening in the world observing from within the shores of the US. Thus, when observed reality is cognitively at odds with the Borgian line, the only outlet is speculation and conjecture trying to match the snippet of observed facts to the puzzling goings-on, explaining them with conspiracy theories. The existence of true conspiracies such as Iran-Contra and Watergate often seem to justify looking for conspirators instead of incompetents as the explanation for events gone awry.

Unfortunately, for now, the Borg seems to be winning. It is important that committees like this one function because at least some outside information can seep into the American vacuum.

[cynic]

Do the people who make political decisions, or their financial backers, believe their own lies? It may not matter what the public believes; but what consequences follow from a disregard of reality by those at the top?

[Herodotus]

IMHO Colonel, its not that they "lack" the software. It's that they refuse to "buy" that software and opt buy software such as Halo5 and Tomb Raiders...

[Kooshy]

"Borgist repetitive propaganda has IMO re-structured the collective American brain to such an extent that the truth is for most unfathomable. pl "

Col.
In your opinion how much of that has effected the intelligence and planing communities, and if it mattered, if it did.
Also some liberals believe the base closure policies of Clinton years, later resulted in increase in foreign military intervention, any thought on that?

[philippe]

Direct link to the interview :
http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/al-assads-cousin-weighs-in-on-syrian-war-585518147518

[gemini33]

I think most Americans just don't care about the Middle East, to be honest. They don't see anything attractive to them in the form of culture, literature, entertainment, sports, fashion, music, technology. Of course there are people who love the architecture and art but I think that's a fairly small percentage too.

I can only go by the people I've known, I guess, and I'm not saying that nobody cares about the Middle East but it's hard to argue that any significant chunk of Americans do. Despite the latest CNN poll that was worded in a way that could be interpreted as "do you support the troops?" I think most people just want to get the heck out of the ME and let them figure things out and would be happy never to hear the words Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria ever again.

[Cortes]

Colonel: Perhaps the best way to get a handle on the conformism in western countries is to read Kornbluth and Pohl's Classic "The Space Merchants" which deals with the domination of society by advertisers. A sci fi novel, but worth a read.

[turcopolier]

kooshy

It doesn't really matter. The policy masters of the professionals are Borgists. I find it increasingly difficult to take any of this seriously in the presence of the contest among self serving egomaniacs like FH. pl

[Matthew]

gemini33: We also are conditioned to believe that we are a constructive player on the world stage. That is why are policies are called "ineffective" or "mistaken" or "naïve" when they fail. Outside of NATO countries, who else is ever given that benefit of the doubt?

[Jack]

VV

The wealth inequality problem is not just a western problem. It's even more stark in the BRICS. Look up the income distribution in China, India, Brazil and Russia.

I don't know how the Borg has arrived at their policy positions. But it seems that careerism has become so pronounced in government that the apparatchiks have to play within the groupthink sandbox. In fact it would seem that once the groupthink moves to a certain position then every one has to outdo the other to that end if they are to be perceived as team players.

That's why I advocate the drastic reduction in the scale and scope of government.

[mbrenner]

Anyone who has taught a large college class is familiar with the phenomenon of "eyes glazing over" as the Colonel describes it. Some call it "the Montana stare." Apologies to anyone from Montana for this gratuitous insult; it requires an "alert" at least - preferably noted in the syllabus. The inference is not that the students are stupid in any I.Q. sense. They patently aren't since they would not be there if they had been. It takes years of socialization and training to produce the stupidity of a Scarborough and M. Brzezinski and any of the other media crowd. Immersion in video games, addiction to TV shows, allergic to print, talking to no one but colleagues,and being marinated in mind-numbing pseudo-Yoga classes are some ingredients of the regime.

On the Middle East, I have tried to answer the challenge often posed after found criticizing persons and policies; if you're so smart, what would you do? The proposed response is at:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-brenner/getting-real-an-isil-stra_b_8805654.html?1450115235

[jsn]

Sheep doesn't really capture it. We some sort of "schooling" predator like, say blue fin tuna, all out looking for smaller fish to eat, even those of us at the center of the "school", about as self reflective as tuna too.

The problem is how deeply alienating the truth is in most contemporary contexts. I just shut my mouth most of the time and most of the people I know know better than to ask what I think because it is so corrosive to their world view. I have know idea if my ideas are right, they are just supportable, and that alone is seen as an attack and generally just results in an attack on my sources...

Truth seeking and power seeking are incompatible value sets and the American hive mind relishes its power to the exclusion of truth.

[xbrowning]

apropos of all above, this:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/its-too-late-to-turn-off-trump-20151209?page=2