DOCSLIB.ORG

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Journalism & Mass

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Journalism & Mass Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Journalism & Mass Communications English Language MA in Digital Media, Communication & Journalism Τhe role of social networks and media in the shaping of public opinion: A case study of the Libyan Conflict Dissertation Student: Loukas Voultsios Supervisor Professor: Nikos Panagiotou Thessaloniki 2018 1 Abstract The role of media has been studied and pointed as a research topic from multiple previous researches. Specific focus has been given on how media can be used for social and political purposes. In social context, many studies mention the ability of media on people’s manipulation for political issues. However, there are contradictive findings and opinions on the literature, where some researchers support the opinion regarding which media can have a great impact on political opinions while others suggest that media effect is not great and important to be considered. This highlights the fact that media can be used for political purposes, but their impact is not definite as well as there is no solid evidence that they can have significant influence on violent incidents. For these reasons the main aim of the current study is to discuss how three media organizations from different countries and backgrounds identify how they present the facts and incidents of Libyan revolution. Additionally, the current study will present the whole spectrum of Libyan war and protests and its role on Arab Spring. Finally, comparisons will be made in order to highlight the differences between those three media and countries and identify the impact of each state on the way media refer to international events and incidents. Key words: New media, social media, Libya, Arab springs 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank all who deserve gratitude for the completion of my Master’s studies would require. Special thanks to my wife Maria for giving once again the opportunity to fulfill another target in the world of knowledge and the Assistant Professor Nikos Panagiotou for providing his excellent guidance in order to finish this study successfully. 3 Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………… 5 Chapter 1: Social Media Networks…………………………………… 7 1.1 Social Media…………………………………………………. 7 1.2 Defining Social media……………………………………….. 7 1.3 Categorization of Social Media……………………………… 8 Chapter 2: Arab Spring Uprising and Media………………………. 12 2.1 Arab Spring uprisings……………………………………….. 12 2.1.1 Introduction…………………………………………… 12 2.2 Middle East………………………………………………….. 13 2.3. Arab Spring…………………………………………………. 14 2.4 Libya and the Libyan Uprising……………………………… 18 2.4.1 Historical background ………………………………… 18 2.4.2 Libyan uprising of 2011 ……………………………… 19 2.5 Other Arab spring-related uprising …………………………. 19 2.5.1 The Syrian uprising …………………………………… 19 2.5.2 Other protests………………………………………….. 20 Chapter 3: The Role of Media ……………………………………… 22 3.1 Introduction ………………………………………………… 22 3.2 The political role of media ………………………………… 23 3.3 Media role in Arab Spring …………………………………. 26 Chapter 4: Research Methodology…………………………………… 31 Chapter 5: Data Analysis…………………………………………….. 37 5.1 Framing……………………………………………………… 37 5.2 Libyan revolt………………………………………………… 41 5.2.1 Fall of Tripoli…………………………………………. 42 5.2.2 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s murder……………….... 46 Chapter 6: Conclusion………………………………………………… 50 Bibliography .…………………………………………………………. 52 Appendix: ……..………………………………………………………. 62 4 Introduction In our days, the internet is no longer just a source of information, entertainment or education. It is a new horizon in knowledge, communication and information within a constantly evolving environment and a way of direct exchange of information. With the advent of the Internet, the need for the intelligent networks that formed all sorts of social relationships (professional, friendly, family, political, ideological, etc.) was created. Utilizing a wide range of digital technologies is the services of virtual communities in real and modern time. By overcoming the narrow limit of the restricted group, the networks include all users and find an appropriate environment to express their opinions, ideas, pass through their messages, acquire followers and achieve specific goals. Thus, social networking sites, among other things, are the journalism of the citizens and the place to share information in zero time with the participation of everyone in a more direct form of communication (Deligiannis, 2010). Today Facebook and Twitter are popular web communities, while the most popular media contributing to social networking are blogs - wikis - video coasts and podcasts. In the West society, Facebook and other media can be used to identify old friends or classmates for new acquaintances, but in Arab countries they were also used to organize and coordinate resistance movements that led to revolts against governments (Kuhn, 2012). Through Facebook, the 6th of April 2008 movement was launched in Egypt to direct public opinion on a strike to improve the political scene. Facebook's participation was great, the idea reached 1,000,000 people. Thus, the strike resulted in a massive reaction of the citizens to the political scene until it was overthrown. Twitter also played an important role in updating. Transmission directly from the street using mobile phones into social networks was also the mediator with international news agencies. The connection of the mobile phone to the internet gave at no time news and picture. This revolutionary wave of protests and protests in the Middle East and North Africa named the Arab Spring. In Tunisia, Internet was the only public space that users could share ideas, information, and organize fighting the propaganda of the regime. On February 2011 in Syria, the mobilization was shifted to social media for demonstrations with demands for liberty - human rights and the end of the country's state of emergency (Syria, 2011). During the same period, February 2011, the crisis in Yemen begins. Young people, mostly labour and activists, rushing from the outbreak of Tunisia and Egypt, were demonstrating against the authoritarian regime. 5 Inspired by the Tunisian Revolution and revolution on Egypt, Libya was experienced anti- government demonstrations. In Iran, bloggers share Libya with the joy of a liberated country and expect the end of the dictatorship of the Iran-Libyan Revolution (Durac, 2013). Social media were used to bring close unknown inhabitants on the same city or country, who were online friends, managed to pass their messages for political reasons and create the Arab Spring and the revolt of the citizens in their corrupt governments. The protests include violent and non-violent demonstrations, massive riots, and in some cases such as Libya, civil war. Additionally, these uprisings spread to the majority of the Arabic countries. However, despite the contagious form of Arabic revolutions, it can be stated that those facts were based on the political and economic environment of each country. The current study emphasizes on the role of media and social media on the Arab Spring in Libya. Specifically, the study will try to highlight whether the different media types report events. For the purpose of the study, articles of three different media organizations have been analyzed in order to detect how the authors present the events and if there are differences according the origin of each organization. 6 Chapter 1: Social Media Networks 1.1 Social Media Since the entry of the first recognizable social network the Six-Degrees in 1997 (Boyd & Ellison, 2010) a large number of social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, have become popular online platforms where people interact. The use of social networks has spread to the majority of the population and indicative of this is the fact that users who visit social networks at least once per month are expected to increase from 41% in 2008 to over 75% in 2017 (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). For example, the social network Facebook has surpassed the search engine Google and is now characterized as the most frequently visited website in the United States (Heidemann, Klier & Probst, 2012) with more than 845 million active users (Hepburn, 2011). Although originally designed for private use, more and more companies are trying to promote their brand name and their products through social networks in order to increase their popularity (Narayanan et al., 2012). As a result, global advertising spending on social networks is expected to increase from 5.2 billion in 2011 to 13.4 billion dollars in 2017 (Dwyer, Hiltz & Passerini, 2007). For this reason and including the huge amount of their available information, a large number of social networks is now worth billions of dollars (Beer, 2008). Therefore, this technical and social phenomenon has grown into a global communication medium with increasing social and economic consequences. 1.2 Defining Social media Especially in the social sciences, the desire of the individual to participate in a community is a well-analysed phenomenon (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2006). Therefore, the concept of social networks is not really new, however with the introduction of the Internet and the development of information systems, social media have moved into a new dimension. The numerous forms of social networking, including blogs and virtual communities on the Internet, motivate people to connect and communicate directly with each other (Bernoff & Li, 2008). Along with these changes, the former passive recipients of information are becoming active pillars and they share and create
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Impact of Social and Digital Media on Traditional Agenda Setting
    Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Graduate Research University Graduate School 2018 The mpI act of Social and Digital Media on Traditional Agenda Setting Theory in Relation to The Arab Spring Revolutions Arianna Khan Florida International University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/graduate-research Part of the Journalism Studies Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Khan, Arianna, "The mpI act of Social and Digital Media on Traditional Agenda Setting Theory in Relation to The Arab Spring Revolutions" (2018). FIU Graduate Research. 1. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/graduate-research/1 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Graduate Research by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA ON AGENDA SETTING 1 THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA ON TRADITIONAL AGENDA SETTING THEORY IN RELATION TO THE ARAB SPRING REVOLUTIONS By Arianna Khan Chair: Professor Jessica Matias Committee Member: Dr. Maria Elena Villar Committee Member: Aileen Izquierdo A PROFESSIONAL PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION OF FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY [Spring 2018] THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA ON AGENDA SETTING 2 Table of Contents 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Literature Review a. The Arab Spring b. Citizen Journalists c. Gatekeepers d. Framing e.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tide Turns
    November 2011 Anthony Bell, Spencer Butts, and David Witter THE LIBYAN REVOLUTION THE TIDE TURNS PART 4 Photo Credit: Fighters for Libya’s interim government rejoice after winning control of the Qaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, via Wikimedia Commons. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ©2011 by the Institute for the Study of War. Published in 2011 in the United States of America by the Institute for the Study of War. 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 515 Washington, DC 20036. http://www.understandingwar.org Anthony Bell, Spencer Butts, and David Witter THE LIBYAN REVOLUTION THE TIDE TURNS PART 4 ABOUT THE AUTHORS Anthony Bell is a Research Assistant at ISW, where he conducts research on political and security dynamics on Libya. He has previously studied the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and published the ISW report Reversing the Northeastern Insurgency. Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University in International Affairs with a concentration in Conflict and Security. He graduated magna cum laude and received special honors for his senior thesis on the history of U.S. policy towards Afghanistan. He is currently a graduate student in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Spencer Butts is a Research Assistant for the Libya Project at ISW. Prior to joining ISW, Mr. Butts interned at the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute at the Army War College where he wrote a literature review of the Commander’s Emergency Response Program in Iraq.
    [Show full text]
  • Saving Tripoli Through Social Outreach
    SAVING TRIPOLI THROUGH SOCIAL OUTREACH Interview by Dr Aref Ali Nayed on Libya’s Channel 14th july 2019 | amman, jordan © Dr Aref Ali Nayed. Libya Institute for Advanced Studies. 2019. All rights reserved. SAVING TRIPOLI THROUGH SOCIAL OUTREACH Interview by Dr Aref Ali Nayed on Libya’s Channel 14th july 2019 | amman, jordan In an interview with Nabil Al-Hajj on Libya’s Channel on Sunday Dr. Nayed considered the Libyan crisis to be a crisis of a strange kind—it was a crisis caused by parasites. For example there are coun- tries that witnessed the emergence of parasitic bodies or what is known as a state within the state; such bodies live within the state to expand their own influence because they have a transnational ideology, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is classified as a terrorist group by the Lib- yan House of Representatives (HoR). He pointed out that the Libyan National Army is restoring the Libyan state to what it should be, and getting rid of the parasites that have kidnapped the capabilities of the Libyan people throughout these years. He pointed out that winning the battle against the militias in Tripoli is in the best interests of the Libyan National Army, the people and the democratization process of the country. He said that those who do not want war must not align themselves with what he described as the “war machine”, meaning the Muslim Brotherhood, the LIFG, al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State. He argued that it was imperative now for people to support a decisive victory, not stopping it.
    [Show full text]
  • Friend and Foe of the Libyan Political Milieu)
    Key Social Institutions and Actors of the Libyan Conflict (Friend and Foe of the Libyan Political Milieu) Andrey V. Chuprygin, Senior Lecturer, School of Asian Studies, Faculty of World Economy and International Relations, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Moscow, Russia [email protected] Larisa A. Chuprygina, Senior Lecturer, School of Asian Studies, Faculty of World Economy and International Relations, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Moscow, Russia [email protected] Valeriy A. Matrosov, Lecturer, School of Asian Studies, Faculty of World Economy and International Relations, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, Moscow, Russia [email protected] Abstract. Recently, Libyan conflict has become one of the vital elements that determine the development of the geostrategic space in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Meanwhile all the governing mechanisms of this artificial state, the social structure of which still crucially depends on tribes and archaic principles of their interaction, were destroyed. During the Libyan monarchy the social fabric of the country was held together among other factors by the network of Islamic institutions, while in Ghaddafi`s Libya it came down to his personal charisma and the network of his contacts and connections through tribal elders and elites. Since late 2011, there has been an apparent lack of such a factor, on the state level, that could contribute to reunification of the Libyan society or, at least, be used as an impetus for the main actors to compromise. Instead, there are multiple tribes, controlling territories and infrastructure, and numerous militias, controlling the cities, and three governments, each posing as the sole legitimated one.
    [Show full text]
  • PAMUN XVI RESEARCH REPORT— Countering the Aftermath of the Arab Spring in Libya Introduction of Topic Background Information
    PAMUN XVI RESEARCH REPORT— Countering the aftermath of the Arab Spring in Libya Introduction of Topic “Liberty, Justice, Democracy” – the words of the Libyan motto. However, after the Arab Spring, chaos has descended over the country, with armed groups out of control and critical human rights abuse. The Arab Spring was an anti-government revolution which took place from 17th December 2010 – mid 2012. It began with a wave of protests, riots and civil wars occurring in Tunisia with the Jasmine Revolution. The causes of this revolution were the alarming rate of government corruption causing distressing levels of inflation and below inadequate living conditions. Further issues were vast differences in income, social inequality, multiple human right violations and kleptocracy. The primary cause of the Arab Spring was authoritarianism in countries such as Syria, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and of course, Tunisia. This dictatorial behaviour led to large political riots, civil disobedience, internet activism, insurgency and other forms of protest. Citizens filled streets demanding democracy, free and fair elections along with economic freedom and the abolishment of corruption. During the Arab Spring, the Libyan Civil War broke out for 8 months in February 2011 after rulers were overturned in Egypt and Tunisia. It began with peaceful protests and soon escalated into an armed conflict between the government forces of Colonel Gaddafi and the rebels against his government. Background Information The Libyan Crisis refers to continuing civil war taking place as a result of the Arab Spring in Libya. The Crisis can be thought of as being in three parts: the first civil war which began and ended 2011, the inter-civil war atrocities which occurred due to the aftermath of the first war and the second civil war, which started early 2014 and is still presently ongoing.
    [Show full text]
  • SC 2016.Indd
    “Libya: Reconstructing a failing State” Committee Guide Security Council Table of contents 1. Personal Introduction ................................................................................... 3 2. General Introduction ..................................................................................... 5 3. The United Nations Security Council ........................................................... 6 4. The topic at hand: How Libya became a failing state ............................... 8 5. Key issues and possible solutions (UNSC) ............................................ 12 6. Timelines ................................................................................................ 13 6.1 The First Libyan War 2011 ................................................................... 13 6.2 The Second Libyan War 2014-present ................................................. 16 7. Useful links and food for thought ............................................................ 22 8. Bibliography ............................................................................................ 23 2 Table of contents 1. Personal Introduction 1. Personal Introduction ................................................................................... 3 Dear delegates, 2. General Introduction ..................................................................................... 5 My name is Konstantin Krome, I am 19 years old and a freshman with Political 3. The United Nations Security Council ..........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • LET4CAP Law Enforcement Training for Capacity Building LIBYA
    G N I N I A R T T N E M E C R O F N E W A L LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING FOR CAPACITY BUILDING Co-funded by the Internal Security Fund of the European Union LET4CAP Law Enforcement Training for Capacity Building LIBYA Downloadable Country Booklet DL. 2.5 (Version 1.2) 1 Dissemination level: PU Let4Cap Grant Contract no.: HOME/ 2015/ISFP/AG/LETX/8753 Start date: 01/11/2016 Duration: 33 months Dissemination Level PU: Public X PP: Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission) RE: Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission) Revision history Rev. Date Author Notes 1.0 20/12/2017 SSSA Overall structure and first draft 1.1 23/02/2018 SSSA Second version after internal feedback among SSSA staff 1.2 10/05/2018 SSSA Final version version before feedback from partners LET4CAP_WorkpackageNumber 2 Deliverable_2.5 VER1.2 WorkpackageNumber 2 Deliverable Deliverable 2.5 Downloadable country booklets VER V.1.2 2 LIBYA Country Information Package 3 This Country Information Package has been prepared by Claudia KNERING, under the scientific supervision of Professor Andrea de GUTTRY and Dr. Annalisa CRETA. Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy www.santannapisa.it LET4CAP, co-funded by the Internal Security Fund of the European Union, aims to contribute to more consistent and efficient assistance in law enforcement capacity building to third countries. The Project consists in the design and provision of training interventions drawn on the experience of the partners and fine-tuned after a piloting and consolidation phase.
    [Show full text]
  • Militants in Libyan Politics a Militant Leadership Monitor Special Report Recovering from Several Decades of Gaddafi’S Rule
    Election Issue: Militants in Libyan Politics A Militant Leadership Monitor Special Report Recovering From Several Decades of Gaddafi’s Rule Quarterly Special Report u July 2012 A Focus on the Role of Militants in Libyan Politics The Libyan PoLiTicaL LandscaPe: beTween LocaL FragmenTaTion and naTionaL democraTic ambiTions by dario cristiani ......................................................................................................................................2 emerging Leaders in Libya: jihadisTs resorTing To PoLiTics To creaTe an isLamic sTaTe by camille Tawil .......................................................................................................................................6 From miLiTia Leader To deFense minisTer: a biograPhicaL skeTch oF osama aL-juwaLi Belhadj: one of many militant leaders by dario cristiani .....................................................................................................................................9 who participated in the Libyan elections The ideoLogicaL inFLuence oF “The bLind sheikh” omar abdeL rahman on Libyan miLiTanTs Militant Leadership Monitor, the by michael w. s. ryan ...........................................................................................................................10 Jamestown Foundation’s premier subscription-based publication, The ZinTan miLiTia and The FragmenTed Libyan StaTe allows subscribers to access by dario cristiani ....................................................................................................................................13
    [Show full text]
  • Security Council
    GeMUN Affiliated with Genoa Model United Nations Security Council Topic 1: The Lybian civil war Research Report by Viola Costa Index 1. Definition of Key Terms 1 2. Introduction 2 3. Background Information 3 4. Major Parties Involved 6 5. Timeline of Events 6 5. UN Involvement 7 7. Official Documents and Treaties about the Issue 8 8. Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue 8 8. Useful Links 8 9. Bibliography 9 1. Definition of Key Terms GNC: is the General National Congress(GNC), which won the popular vote in ​ ​ ​ ​ 2012 elections. The GNC was made of two major political groups, the National ​ Forces Alliance (NFC) and the Justice and Construction Party (JCP). ​ ​ LNA: The Libyan National Army, formally known as "Libyan Arab Armed ​ Forces", was gradually formed by General Khalifa Haftar as he fought in what he named Operation Dignity. GeMUN Affiliated with Genoa Model United Nations Libya Shield: The Libya Shield Force supports the Islamists. Its forces are ​ divided geographically, into the Western Shield, Central Shield and Eastern Shield. Elements of the Libya Shield Force were identified by some observers as linked to Al-Qaeda as early as 2012. UNSMIL: The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is a United ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Nations (UN) advanced mission in Libya, created in the aftermath of the Libyan Civil War. UNSMIL is a political mission, not a military mission. The main elements of its mandate defined by the UN include supporting Libyan transitional authorities in "post-conflict efforts", providing mediation in implementing Libyan political agreements, supporting key Libyan institutions [1] and monitoring and reporting on human rights.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tribal Structure in Libya: Factor for Fragmentation Or Cohesion?
    September 2017 The Tribal Structure in Libya: Factor for fragmentation or cohesion? MOHAMED BEN LAmmA WWW . FRSTRATEGIE . ORG Table of contents INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 3 1 – TRIBALISM IN LIBYA ............................................................................................... 4 2 – TRIBAL COMPOSITION .......................................................................................... 11 2.1 – The most influential tribes in the West of Libya (Tripolitania) ............... 11 2.1.1 – The Warfallah tribe ................................................................................. 12 2.1.2 – The Qadhadfa tribe ................................................................................ 13 2.1.3 – The Zinten tribe ...................................................................................... 14 2.2 – The Tribe in the Barqa region (Cyrenaica) .............................................. 15 2.2.1 – Al-Abaidat tribe ....................................................................................... 15 2.2.2 – Al-Awaqir tribe ........................................................................................ 16 2.2.3 – Zuwaya tribe ........................................................................................... 17 2.2.4 – The tribal map of the Fezzan region ....................................................... 18 2.2.5 – The Awlad Sulaiman tribe ......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Political Situation
    Libya Last update: 20 maart 2020 Population: 6,678,567 million (World Bank 2018 est.) Prime minister: Fayez al-Sarraj Governemental type: - Ruling coalition: - Last election: 25 June 2014 (Council of Deputies) Next election: - Sister parties: None Subsequently to the Tunisian uprising, first protests in Libya started halfway January 2011. One month later, the protests had turned into the most violent conflict between government and citizens among the different Arab uprisings at that time. After almost 42 years under the regime of Gaddafi the people of Libya found a momentum to take over control of their country. But what started as a popular uprising and outcry for political reform quickly turned into factional violence. The newly elected General National Congress (GNC) in 2012 tried to hold the country together. The rise of Islamic State in Libya and the contested 2014 elections resulted in the creation of a rival government in the eastern city of Tobruk. A second Civil War ensued. The reconciliation process initiated by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has so far failed to unite the country. The current internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the original capital Tripoli, has limited power, while the HoR supported by Libyan National Army of general Khalifa Haftar rules more than half of the country. Political Situation Libya gained independence in December 1951 after being under UN supervision as Italy lost the territory during World War II. Following a military coup in 1969, Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi designed his own political system, the Third Universal Theory, later dubbing the country the ‘Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’.
    [Show full text]
  • Cartalucci, T. & Bowie, N. (2012). Subverting Syria: How CIA Contra
    Cartalucci, T. & Bowie, N. (2012). Subverting Syria: How CIA contra gangs and NGOs manufacture, mislabel and market mass murder. Progressive Press. Introduction The Syrian "uprising" is a cynical US-engineered plot using provocateurs, mercenaries, Wahhabi fanatics, corrupt NGO's and the global media. The US, NATO and the feudal emirates are out to smash this independent Arab state that spends on human welfare and refuses to surrender to Israel. The US and Saudi-financed plot turns on the tactic of "Countergangs." Terrorists - mercenaries and irregulars, the "CIA foreign legion" - shoot both demonstrators and police, blow up buildings, massacre innocent villagers - and then blame the carnage on the targeted government. NGO's like NED, the "National Endowment for Democracy" (funded by US State Dept, Geo. Soros, Ford Foundation etc) promote "activists," whose leaders are ambitious sociopaths, eagerly carving out a piece of the carcass for the moment the state is brought down. The corporate lapdog media, cogs in the military-industrial complex, lap up and magnify the Big Lie, creating a fake "reality" that the average person has little chance of seeing through. Subverting Syria is a warning of the horror that the "Empire of the Almighty Dollar" is preparing to bring down upon Syria, the same horror of last year's obscene war on Libya, in which an egalitarian state was trampled into mud, blood and chaos under the banner of human rights and a pack of vicious lies. Subverting Syria reveals how the crusade to destroy Syria follows tactics explicitly set out in the Pentagon's Unconventional Warfare Manual.
    [Show full text]