The Private Empire's Social Media Hit Squads

"Front Cover" given new meaning

I. General Background

The subject of "The Private Empire" was brought up directly in a Dredd Blog series with a similar name (MOMCOM: The Private Parts, 2, 3, 4, 5).

That private empire is part of what Dredd Blog calls "epigovernment" (e.g. Epigovernment: The New Model).

The gist of it is that for a long time it has been declared, revealed, observed, and known that private factions exist that are so powerful they are described with the word "empire."

The definition of that word which applies in today's post is "An empire is a group of countries or territories that are under the control of a single entity ..." (Vocabulary.com, emphasis added), but more particularly "An empire is an unequal relationship between a core state and a periphery of one or more states controlled from the core. On the simplest level, control means military occupation or other formal political intervention, but it can also cover informal economic or cultural influence. Economic pressure by itself has frequently been enough to manipulate governments." (Ancient History Encyclopedia, emphasis added).

II. What The Private Empire Does

The book "The Private Empire" (shown in the graphic above) is about a private empire that controls governments.

This is an issue that is out in the open now:

In a recent interview with Texas Monthly magazine, Coll asserted that “reporting on Exxon was not only harder than reporting on the bin Ladens, it was harder than reporting on the CIA ... They have a culture of intimidation ... they make people nervous, they make people afraid.”

(Washington Post, book review). The book covers one private member of the entity that Dredd Blog calls Oil-Qaeda (Oil-Qaeda: The Indictment, 2, 3, 4).

The manifestation of Oil-Qaeda in the U.S. is a mixture of government and private entities, with the nickname "MOMCOM" (MOMCOM: A Mean Welfare Queen).

III. What The Private Empire Looks Like

The form taken by the various entities that compose the private empire is a corporation.

Those corporations openly declare that they are not beholden even to the most powerful nation:

"I am not an American company."

(MOMCOM: The Private Parts). Not an American company, nevertheless, the private empire epigovernment has the elected governments of various countries by the jugular vein:

"Oil is the lifeblood of America's economy"

(Petroleum Civilization: The Final Chapter (Confusing Life with Death), quoting: Dept. of Energy and Dept. of Commerce). Using the word "lifeblood" communicates the gravity of the situation quite well.

IV. The Private Empire's Inroads To Power

It does not take a brain surgeon to see how the governments have been manipulated for a century or so:

John D. Rockefeller, in his 1909 Random Reminiscences of Men and Events, recalled, "One of our greatest helpers has been the State Department. Our ambassadors and ministers and consuls have aided to push our way into new markets in the utmost corners of the world." But he left out a key explanation for the government's interest. Standard Oil was the biggest U.S. company, putting a hundred ships to sea, buying and selling oil in Latin America, Germany, and the Far East. It also operated a global intelligence system. "By 1885," according to one historian, "seventy percent of the Standard's business was overseas and it had its own network of agents through the world, and its own espionage service, to forestall the initiatives of rival companies or governments."

(American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of ..., emphasis added). The private empire, the epigovenment, when threatened, can take care of itself via its own network of agents.

But, the official government is also one of their best helpers (ibid).

V. Agents and Operatives of The Private Empire

And so we come to the use of those agents to forestall rivals, in this case "rivals" are environmental movements that understand the science of climate change.

They also understand the oil companies' responsibility for addicting civilization to their commercial product (Oil-Qaeda: The Indictment, 2, 3, 4).

One has to wonder what kind of tactics and strategies does Oil-Qaeda use, in terms of agents on the internet, to forestall those rival environmentalists?

Obvious incarnations are: supporting websites and blogs that preach denial (Scientific American, Dark Money Funds Denial).

In their book, "Oreskes and Conway write that in each case "keeping the controversy alive" by spreading doubt and confusion after a scientific consensus had been reached, was the basic strategy of those opposing action" (Merchants of Doubt, emphasis added).

Today, in this first post of this series, let's consider other internet attacks on environmentalist rivals of Oil-Qaeda.

VI. The Private Empire Gets A Little Help From Its Friends

Remembering that the private empire can influence various government activities, let's take a look at an activity that fits today's subject matter quite well:

The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.

A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an "online persona management service" that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.

The project has been likened by web experts to China's attempts to control and restrict free speech on the internet. Critics are likely to complain that it will allow the US military to create a false consensus in online conversations, crowd out unwelcome opinions and smother commentaries or reports that do not correspond with its own objectives.

The discovery that the US military is developing false online personalities – known to users of social media as "sock puppets" – could also encourage other governments, private companies and non-government organisations to do the same.

The Centcom contract stipulates that each fake online persona must have a convincing background, history and supporting details, and that up to 50 US-based controllers should be able to operate false identities from their workstations "without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries".

(Guardian). Remember that the U.S. military is one of the members of MOMCOM ("military oil media complex"), which is one of the "greatest helpers" of the private empire.

Using its own agents and/or government hired private contractors, or even military personnel, the private empire attacks environmental sites of all kinds through its agents (cf. Mocking America - 3).

A. One Observed Strategy

Recall what Steven Coll, the author of the book shown at the top of this post, said about the private empire, "They have a culture of intimidation ... they make people nervous, they make people afraid" (see Section II above, @Washington Post book review).

That is one of their main stratagems.

B. One Observed Tactic

I have noticed one tactic within that stratagem, which is a tactic designed to generate discussions of "committing suicide as a way of helping the Earth, the environment, Gaia, because it will diminish the population, and thereby save the world" (paraphrased).

It actually means "kill the enemies of Oil-Qaeda by persuading them to kill themselves."

There are websites (e.g. Church of Euthanasia) which encourage suicide, evangelizing by way of zealots who frequent environmental and climate change sites to spread the private empire's message:

******* Says:
******************
.
Looking forward to war, famine, and pestilence.
.
Just sitting on this runaway train, staring out the window, with a cat on my lap.

The Voluntary Extinction Movement
“…thou shalt not procreate.”

The Church of Euthanasia
“Save the planet, kill yourself.”

I am not going to mention the specific site where that sordid message was posted, because, there are many such sites where that sordid message is posted incessantly by agents of the merchants of doubt.

The point and the important question is: how does that promote the private empire's attack on its environmental rivals?

The answer is: by promoting illegal activity on any site the agents of the private empire is targeting.

They do so hoping they can eventually accuse the site owners or operators of enabling illegal activity and thereby at least discredit those site owners or operators.

It is in accord with the nature of "intimidation ... they make people nervous, they make people afraid" by devious means and methods.

Don't forget, they have been at this for over a hundred years now.

C. Promoting Suicide Is Illegal

Here is a brief look at some of the relevant statutes:

California: "Every person who deliberately aids, or advises, or encourages another to commit suicide, is guilty of a felony."

Illinois: "A person commits the offense of inducement to commit suicide when he or she does either of the following: Coerces another to commit suicide and the other person commits or attempts to commit suicide as a direct result of the coercion, and he or she exercises substantial control over the other person through (i) control of the other person’s physical location or circumstances; (ii) use of psychological pressure; or (iii) use of actual or ostensible religious, political, social, philosophical or other principles."

Iowa: "A person commits a class “C” felony if the person intentionally or knowingly assists, solicits, or incites another person to commit or attempt to commit suicide."

Louisiana: "Criminal assistance to suicide is: The intentional advising or encouraging of another person to commit suicide."

Maine: "A person is guilty of aiding or soliciting suicide if he intentionally aids or solicits another to commit suicide, and the other commits or attempts suicide."

Minnesota: "Aiding suicide: Whoever intentionally advises, encourages, or assists another in taking the other’s own life may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 15 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $30,000, or both."

Mississippi: "A person who willfully, or in any manner, advises, encourages, abets, or assists another person to take, or in taking, the latter’s life, or in attempting to take the latter’s life, is guilty of felony."

New Hampshire: "A person is guilty of causing or aiding suicide if he purposely aids or solicits another to commit suicide."

N. Dakota: "Any person who intentionally or knowingly aids, abets, facilitates, solicits, or incites another person to commit suicide ... is guilty of a class C felony."

S. Dakota: "Any person who intentionally in any manner advises, encourages, abets, or assists another person in taking or in attempting to take his or her own life is guilty of a Class 6 felony."

Texas: "A person commits an offense if, with intent to promote or assist the commission of suicide by another."

(Assisted Suicide Laws in the United States). If you want to read some articles about this dynamic, here are a few:

Articles:
Is it a crime to "encourage suicide"?
Huffpo on Melchert-Dinkel

Melchert-Dinkel No, Encouraging Suicide From Your Computer Is Not Free Speech, Court Rules

Teen Faces Charges For Encouraging Friend To Commit Suicide: Cops

Cases:
Melchert-dinkel (William Francis Melchert-Dinkel, Wikipedia).

D. Promoting Murder by Deception Is Also Illegal

The Private Empire, like many businesses (The Deceit Business), incessantly carries on a campaign of deliberate deception:

Internal fossil fuel industry memos reveal decades of disinformation — a deliberate campaign to deceive the public that continues even today.

For nearly three decades, many of the world's largest fossil fuel companies have knowingly worked to deceive the public about the realities and risks of climate change.

Their deceptive tactics are now highlighted in this set of seven "deception dossiers"—collections of internal company and trade association documents that have either been leaked to the public, come to light through lawsuits, or been disclosed through Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests.

Each collection provides an illuminating inside look at this coordinated campaign of deception, an effort underwritten by ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell, Peabody Energy, and other members of the fossil fuel industry.

(Union of Concerned Scientists: The climate deception dossiers). It is the essence of depraved heart murder (Oil-Qaeda & MOMCOM Conspire To Commit Depraved-Heart Murder).

VII. Conclusion

Resisting Oil-Qaeda is not only an endeavor requiring vigilant research on the scientific issues, it also requires watching out for the agents of the private empire who will be sent to infiltrate, attack, and discredit in one way or another.

Stick to the science and the facts, all you who endeavor to do good to all people, by uncovering the grave danger which Oil-Qaeda presents to civilization (Civilization Is Now On Suicide Watch, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

The next post in this series is here.