Wars and War Crimes; Propaganda Techniques, And What Lack of Transparency Engenders

Here is Hitler's famous stadium in Nuremberg. See Germany Road Ways. The Nazi Documentation Center there is worth an entire day, if not more. Films, resources, guided seatings and transitions given for exhibits to alter your whole worldview. Things we don't want to acknowledge.

All over Europe are memorials and ruins remaining, statues and other strong reminders of conflict. From that, stems an interest in how governments get people to believe what the government wants them to believe, so the people will support them, and think they are making up their own minds. Not.

An overview of the techniques used to get people to support a cause, see www.propagandacritic.com/. Scroll to the Institute for Propaganda Analysis. Set up in 1937 by our own government to educate us about such techniques, so we could protect ourselves, and before WWII even. Whether the cause is a good one or not, it is the fact that there are known techniques that is more important. We should be self-educating, so we can analyze before swallowing. Who else will do it? Not the persuaders, certainly.

For an overview of the overall war crimes topic, see www.grolier.com/wwii/wwii_warcrimes. The issue comes up in the world wars and the countries involved. Not all agree on who should be tarred and tried as a war criminal. In Bosnia, posters protest against the ongoing search for some people, while trials of others continue at The Hague. Evildoing: Many-sided issue.

Good site for WWI picture history: www.historypictures.com/home_wcppx_l.htm#contents.

This site seems to have it all - news, poetry, songs, and histories and audios: www.firstworldwar.com/index. For military history overviews, various campaigns, see www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/anzio. There are also sites where vets can add their recollections.

Good picture history at Western Civilization Picture Pack, WWII at www.historypictures.com/home_wcppx_n.htm#contents. As with any of these references, go to the home page at the dot com, then use the rest of the address only as needed.
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Where to put people's views of "wars" propagated on us from within, or close to?
Or that show how, without governmental transparency, conclusions of what happened are easily skewed?
Why aren't all the counter-footages, or black boxes, or whatever, showing the areas that now are still withheld, put out there?

• Take your pick here, if you are inclined. These are long, so if you are going to delve in, set the time aside. Let me know of counter-sites that lay issues to rest for you.

• These sites came from a comment on a blog. I did not publish the entire comment.
  

• The sites here to films about these issues, of governmental transparency and remaining questions, are offered only to show a tally of what information is seen as most important by the film-makers, and do not represent a conclusion of the "best" or "right" ones because I am no expert. And, any film reflects the point of view of the film-maker. Do let me know of other film views we all should see for balance before coming to conclusions.

Controlled demolition? See video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6708190071483512003;
related movements at video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5948263607579389947; or
www.scholarsfor911truth.org/. Keep info, ideas flowing.
Already responses: As to 91truth, see a counter-site at 911research.wtc7.net/essays/st911/index.

Amnesia , Persuasion Techniques - and Lili Marlene (Lilli Marleen)

A side mini-rant.

Amnesia is the persuader's friend, all over the world. Represent what happened in a way to elicit certain emotions, perhaps change words, repeat, associate this with that, and people forget what was before, or the other side of the story.

This, in Cetinje, Montenegro. See Montenegro Road Ways.

Is there any country where critical thinking is encouraged, questions are solicited, to fill in details, or where visual and aural persuasion techniques are taught so people can defend against them? Or are persuasion techniques now used everywhere against them. Whether looking at war criminal posters in Bosnia, or seeing war memorials all over, or hearing political rally speakers and people rev up, or hearing war touted again as an answer, we may be at this point, all of us: we have to educate ourselves.

Look up the persuasion techniques listed from 1937 - now being used, at www.propagandacritic.com; and the great prophet of PR, he who could even "warm up" Calvin Coolidge - Edward Bernays from 1928 or so - see the Museum of Public Relations at http://www.prmuseum.com/bernays/bernays_1928.html,
You, too, can do it. Sell. Regardless. See www.aboutpublicrelations.net/. We deserve what we let happen.

Propaganda on a small scale: Lili Marlene. The torch song associated with World War II, both sides singing, hearing Marlene Dietrich's froggy voice, imagining the lamp post in Berlin.

This started with a protest poem by a German soldier in World War I - 1913 - on the way to the Russian front. See www.jazzprofessional.com/report/Norbert%20Schultze.htm#english. That site says that Ron Simmonds (the jazz trumpet player I think) translated the original from 1913. From the words to Lili, perhaps his girlfriend, and the Marleen maybe a nurse, Lili Marleen came about and herself may be already dead in that song. The waste of War. The blood. Who counts the bodies. Who names them. All from pride and greed. That is 1913. Lili Marleen.

But then, the song morphed into its opposite - a torch song in wartime in World War II, and even a Panzer Division marching song. See Germany Road Ways, Lili Marleen post.

So somehow war is not protested in Lili Marlene. It is just a love song. Go to the Germany Road Ways, Lili Marleen post and you can find the audio of the song, in its many variations, and the poem. Small example, but we can't seem to look at truth for long. War protest, too powerful, So turn it into nostalgia for war.

Historical periods, survey sites, UNESCO World Heritage

1. UNESCO World Heritage sites. See http://www.galenfrysinger.com/world_heritage.htm for World Heritage sites he has visited; then roam about his pages for photos all over the world - and organized, sometimes, into other categories than mere countries - the Roman World, for example. Also: UNESCO World Heritage sites: United Kingdom www.thesalmons.org/lynn/wh-england.

2. History.

2.1 Feudal societies, Roman Empire, overview of European migrations and those affecting Europe: see the History of Central Europe at //mysite.du.edu/~etuttle/misc/europe.htm#Mong.

2.2 Sites with different perspectives on history: This site says that our esteemed idea of Renaissance in the 15th century was nothing. Instead, look at the 12th Century. Names names. For an unusual topic, "The Renaissance Myth," see web.maths.unsw.edu.au/%7Ejim/renaissance. There are always new ways of sorting information.

2.3 Overall, for history go to the Internet History Sourcebook site at www.fordham.edu/halsall/. It includes film, everything you could want. You get lost in it, going from one link to another. I used the top menu rather than the side one.

2.4 Middle Ages: try www.ship.edu/%7Ecgboeree/middleages.

2.5 Surveys and commentaries: www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/. See ancient world, voices, photos, Queen Victoria, the death of a child in 1890, and a red light district in 1843, and other focused (not just survey) topics; see also the World Association of International Studies on history at cgi.stanford.edu/group/wais/cgi-bin/index.php?p=587">WAIS on history. These are a series of brief commentaries.

3. Country-specific themes: English towns: see www.trytel.com/%7Etristan/towns/towns. [others are also listed, not in England; and other topics such as plague}

Electric Scotland: www.electricscotland.com/history/journey/jour21.


4. Where to go: Internet "hotlist" on middle ages: www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listthemiddel.

5. Myths - Forest myths around the world: at www.leaf-international.org/Leaf/myths.

6. Monasticism - at aggreen.net/monasteries/monastic.

Belfries and Keeps; Trees on roofs

See this World Heritage site for the role of belfries and keeps in medieval life. The belfry signified independence, the keep signified the power of the overlord, as a summary - and there are apparently 23 of them that are especially beautiful in France and Belgium. See whc.unesco.org/en/list/943 for Keeps and Belfries. We began sketching the different types - witches' hats, onion domes.

Tree-topping for luck. Here is an example of "tree-topping" at Prislop, the Gateway Pass, Romania. This U.S. site says the custom of "tree-topping" is Scandinavian, dating from the Vikings. See www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A225315%20">Trees on Rooftops. If the long address does not work to get yo to the specific section, start with the main dot-com and work your way. The site notes that ironworkers these days may all sign the beam before putting them in place. Then they often put it up with a flag and evergreen tree on it. The tree idea goes back to Scandinavians, Vikings, symbolizing work done well, and promoting good luck for those about to move in. It was American Norwegian ironworkers who added the American flag iere, putting their own touch on the tradition.

For steelworkers, it also signifies, says this next site, that the maximum height has been reached, and the last beam is now in place. And, it notes that the Scandinavians by 700 A.D. used the tree at the top to signal the beginning of the "completion party." Everybody come. See www.aisc.org/Content/ContentGroups/Modern_Steel_Construction3/December_2000/0012_05_christmas.pdf#search=%22luck%20tree%20on%20roof%22. That is a pdf file, at page 1 of 4. Go to the basic aisc.org if the later information does not help.

So much easier if we could link, and if the protections of copyright and intellectual property could still be offered.

In Romania, the trees are also found on reconstructions and on tops of gates leading to a family compound.

A Japanese site also seems to say that cut trees at the entrance are lucky. See www.hkjapaneseclub.org/english/message. Quote from that site: "Good Luck Tree.
We placed two good luck trees on our 38/F & 39/F at the main entrance. Member can hang your wish on the tree. It will all come truth!" Unquote.