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Posts with tag propaganda

Comic Book Does the RIAA's Bidding

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 22nd 2008 at 4:57PM

Comic Does the RIAA's Bidding
Public Service Announcements in the medium of comics regarding the dangers of... well whatever the popular perils of the time are, have been hoisting well-intentioned gibberish on kids for generations. PSA comics have touched on everything from drugs, to smoking, to famine, and land mines.

The latest in a long heritage of comics urging you to do right comes without any super heroes or association with an established comic outlet like Marvel or DC. 'Justice Case Files' (really...) is an in-house effort from the National Center for State Courts, which we can only assume is a front for the RIAA, the most dastardly group of super villains to ever grace the pages of a comic book.

This disgrace to the label of propaganda bulges with misinformation so dense you'd have to bushwhack your way through its pages to find even a kernel of truth.

Issue one centers around Megan, a student with a file sharing addiction that puts her freedom and scholarship (seriously? jail time isn't motivation enough?) at risk. Megan is charged with Criminal Copyright Infringement by her fictional city government and faces charges at the state level that could net her a total of $25,000 in fines and 2 years in prison. Of course, in real life Criminal Copyright Infringement involves the selling of copyrighted materials, not peer-to-peer file sharing, and CCI is prosecuted by the federal government not local courts, but who's paying attention? Apparently, not the legal non-profit handing out this mumbo-jumbo.

You can download the entire comic in PDF form here, or for those with a taste for the ironic, you can search Limewire and BitTorrent. [From: Wired via: Boing Boing]

Iran 'Modifies' Pictures of Missile Test

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 11th 2008 at 3:08PM

Iran Photoshops Pictures of Missile Test
The Iranian government just grows more desperate to prove that it's tough and more afraid of failure with every day that passes. Need proof? Just look at the photo above. Anything seem a little off? Now look at the picture below. See the difference?

Initial photos of the Iranian missile test showed only three of the four missile launching. The fourth was still on its launch vehicle, and apparently a dud. But images circulated later by the government and the official state run news paper showed all four missiles in flight. The new image also has the tell tale signs of a bad Photoshop job. The new missile is clearly copy-and-pasted from its neighbor to the left and the bottom of the plume of smoke is just off some how. But the biggest give away is the new slightly bluer sky that surrounds the once failed missile, cutting through the haze in the sky.
Iran Photoshops Pictures of Missile Test
Look for yourselves, but we think this one is pretty obvious. [Source: The Telegraph]

Al Qaeda's Web-Based War Is Up and Running Fast

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 25th 2008 at 11:44AM

Al Qaeda's Web Based War

Want to know just how plugged in al-Queda is? Read the article in the Washington Post, which details the various online activities of the terrorist group.

For example, back in December, al-Qaeda launched a question and answers forum where high-ranking, and wanted, members of the organization post videos responding to questions and complaints posted by visitors including supporters, detractors, and even journalists. Every three to four days a new video or audio clip is posted by as-Sahab, the terrorist network's propaganda wing. The number of videos produced by the communications group has grown exponentially, from only a half dozen in 2002, to 98 videos in 2007.

The videos take various forms, from simple monologues in front of the camera to full fledged, high production value, documentary films. The videos are offered not only as streams online, but as videos specially formated for cell phones and iPods, making their extremism easily portable.

According to the article, the level of sophistication has caught law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Scotland Yard completely off guard, and has proven to be quite an embarrassment. As one unnamed foreign diplomat told Defense Secretary Robert Gates, "How has one man in a cave managed to outcommunicate the world's greatest communication society?"

Okay, Gates -- thanks for relaying the anonymous, quotable quote, but get us up to speed, will ya? [Source: Washington Post]

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