Critical Thinking Skills For The Masses
Few people sincerely want the truth about the world. Most just want politicians and pundits to whisper reassuringly in their ear, "Don't worry. We've got this. Your schoolteachers told you the truth about everything, and so did the news man. You are on the side of righteousness." --Caitlin Johnstone, US Interventionism Always Makes Things Worse
Friendly reminder that it's impossible to get a clear understanding of what's going on in the world without accounting for the fact that very powerful people within your own society are actively working very hard to manipulate your understanding in their favor. -- Caitlin Johnstone, US Interventionism Always Makes Things Worse
It's time for a lesson in...
Critical Thinking Skills For The Masses
by Redd Phlagg
Critical thinking is making reasoned judgements that are logical and well thought-out. --Study.com
Function of the CIA:
1. Run secret wars
2. Disseminate propaganda to influence people’s minds
That’s not hyperbole. That’s from the Former Operations Director of the CIA.
Think about this next time you buy the narratives that are crafted to control you. pic.twitter.com/HysmXBejUV— Ryan Knight ☭ (@ProudSocialist) April 7, 2022
You meet a person, and they become the love of your life. You trust this person and believe every word that comes from their mouth and trust every action they take or ask you to take on their behalf. One day, you come across irrefutable evidence that your beloved has been lying to you, not just once but many, many times. As time goes on, you discover that this person has been lying to you all throughout the time you've known them and are confident that you will never confront them about their lying. They are free to abuse your trust and even possibly abuse you physically, psychologically, and spiritually because they know you will never leave or speak ill of them.
Do you stay in this relationship? What is your payoff for putting up with the lies and abuse?
If you're able to think critically, you should be able to weigh the evidence and come up with a theory about how this person will act in the future based on their past actions. If they have lied repeatedly to you, you will act skeptically about any information they have given you or will give you. You will eagerly double-check whatever claims they make against other authoritative sources. If you believe these sources and discuss your options with others you trust, you should come to the conclusion that it's not worth your effort to remain with this person. You will make the logical decision to leave them.
But human beings aren't logical and rarely use their critical thinking skills when it comes to the people and groups they have emotionally bonded with. We make excuses for other's lies and tell ourselves that we deserve to be lied to. We convince ourselves that the lies we've been told are actually "truths" even if our higher cognitive processes tell us there's no possible way they can be true.
"I'd never accept a lie as the truth!" I hear you say. Are you so sure? "No way would I continue believing anything out of the mouth of anyone who repeatedly lied to me," you insist.
Okay, then answer me this: Do you believe everything the US government has told you about the whys and wherefores about what's happening in Ukraine? Do you believe everything that mainstream media outlets such as NBC News tell you about what's going on there?
If you answered yes to either or both or those questions, the following is going to blow your mind:
NBC News has a new report out citing multiple anonymous US officials, humorously titled "In a break with the past, U.S. is using intel to fight an info war with Russia, even when the intel isn't rock solid".
The officials say the Biden administration has been rapidly pushing out "intelligence" about Russia's plans in Ukraine that is "low-confidence" or "based more on analysis than hard evidence", or even just plain false, in order to fight an information war against Putin. (…)
Just as the smear campaign against Julian Assange trained mainstream liberals to defend the right of their government to keep dark secrets from them, we may now be looking at the stage of narrative control advancement where mainstream liberals are trained to defend the right of their government to lie to them. -- Caitlin Johnstone, US Officials Admit They're Literally Just Lying To The Public About Russia
It's time to use those critical thinking skills... NBC News (a mainstream media outlet) is quoting US government officials who state they're telling outright lies. Do you continue believing these officials who candidly admit to lying?
It wouldn't be the first time US government officials have lied to us about a military action. Do you remember the reason George W. Bush sent our troops into Iraq-- something about "weapons of mass destruction" being found there? Does that ring a bell? It's been verified there were never any WMDs in Iraq. This "false flag" or fictional excuse was concocted to give the US an excuse to invade that country.
And no, none of the 9/11 terrorists came from Iraq. Most of them came from Saudi Arabia. So, why didn't we invade Saudi Arabia? Good question. Invading a country we don't like just made more sense at the time than invading one we did/still do like.
Hey, stop using those critical thinking skills now! It's embarrassing to the US government to point out that they're liars.
When our government wants the American people to believe something or go along with a military action (no matter how abhorrent it may be), they will expect us to keep our minds turned off and our mouths shut.
This year we're supposed to hate all things Russian with a passion and to think there's no such thing as a Ukrainian Neo-Nazi paramilitary unit such as the Azov Battalion. But here's the Pentagon and another mainstream media outlet--Reuters News--reporting about a recent event in Ukraine that you probably have heard about and might have upset you. Warning: I might upset you again by telling you that it's possible that this horrible event might not have even happened or it wasn't quite what you were led to believe:
WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. military is not in a position to independently confirm Ukrainian accounts of atrocities by Russian forces against civilians in the town of Bucha: “The Pentagon can’t independently and single handedly confirm that, but we’re also not in any position to refute those claims.”
If the Pentagon, which includes the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, cannot confirm any of the atrocities that Ukrainian government claimed, then what really happened? Did anything happen? Who can be believed?
Critical thinking skills can help us in this instance. Other sources of information should be consulted and the evidence weighed before jumping to conclusions.
According to this source:
The Ukrainian President caused controversy in Greece by including a video message from members of the neo-Nazi Azov battalion in his speech to the Greek parliament. This caused a walk-out by a number of Greek MPs who protested the move on Thursday. (…)
The Azov Battalion is based in Mariupol, and had led a terror campaign against civilians there, including the city's 120,000 Greeks. Greek City Times also reported that the Ukrainian nationalist forces have "killed people for trying to leave the city."
Greece's SKAI news asked Mr. Kiouranas, a Greek who lives in Mariupol, if he was planning on leaving the city, to which he responded:
“How can I leave? When you try to leave you run the risk of running into a patrol of the Ukrainian fascists, the Azov Battalion," adding “They would kill me and are responsible for everything." --Greek MPs Leave Zelensky Session for Including Message from Neo Nazi Azov
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/greek-mps-leave-zelensky-session-for-including-message-from
Since foreigners living in Ukraine have confirmed the violence of the Azov Battalion, and other sources have stated that multiple atrocities have been committed against ethnic Russians by these fascist groups since the 2014 coup when the eastern republics that make up the Donbas region voted to leave Ukraine, then it's possible the Russian Army isn't committing atrocities at all. It seems highly probable that Ukrainian fascists such as the Azov Battalion are killing ethnic Russians and are trying to shift the blame and focus away from them and the Ukrainian government instead.
Now, more than ever we need to use our critical thinking skills to prevent a proxy war over a liquid natural gas pipeline (and possibly American/Ukrainian biolabs working on military grade pathogens) from turning into World War III. And if you don't believe this conflict could turn into a nuclear apocalypse, just read what one former top NATO commander says about how the use of nuclear weapons is a "proper response" in this article, Former NATO Military Analyst Blows The Whistle on West's Ukraine Invasion Narrative https://www.rsn.org/001/former-nato-commander-says-western-fears-of-nuclear-war-are-preventing-a-proper-response-to-putin.html
Always keep in mind who benefits from a situation--even a horrific situation such as nuclear war or a prolonged conventional conflict: For Arms Manufacturers the War in Ukraine is a Profits Bonanza https://www.rsn.org/001/for-arms-manufacturers-the-war-in-ukraine-is-a-profits-bonanza.html
Remain skeptical. Read widely. Don't give your love or trust away automatically to any person, group, political party, or government just because they tell you, "You can believe us! We'll never lie to you!"
Because even our co-opted mainstream media has told us that's completely bogus.
Russia supposedly killed civilians in Bucha that they:
-Lived in peace with for a month
-Did not ever previously engage in combat with
-Were distributing food & aid to
-Knew we’re supporters of Russia (white armbands)
-Were peacefully leaving during a withdrawal of the city 🤔— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) April 6, 2022
Articles to make you think for yourself and consider all sides of the story:
UPDATE: More Escalations in Online Censorship https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/more-escalations-in-online-censorship?s=r
Former NATO Military Analyst Blows The Whistle on West's Ukraine Invasion Narrative https://scheerpost.com/2022/04/09/former-nato-military-analyst-blows-the-whistle-on-wests-ukraine-invasion-narrative/
US Officials Admit They're Literally Just Lying to the Public About Russia https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/us-officials-admit-theyre-literally?s=r
Who Are the Good Guys In the Ukraine War? https://scheerpost.com/2022/04/05/paul-street-who-are-the-good-guys-in-the-ukraine-war/
The Lie of American Innocence (audio article) https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/listen-to-this-article-the-lie-of?s=r
New Witness Testimony About Mariupol Maternity Hospital Airstrike https://popularresistance.org/new-witness-testimony-about-mariupol-maternity-hospital-airstrike/
Questions Abound About Bucha Massacre https://scheerpost.com/2022/04/06/questions-abound-about-bucha-massacre/
Greek MPs Leave Zelensky Session for Including Message from Neo Nazi Azov https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/greek-mps-leave-zelensky-session-for-including-message-from
Twitter IS "State-Affiliated Media" https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/twitter-is-state-affiliated-media?s=r
For Arms Manufacturers the War in Ukraine is a Profits Bonanza https://www.rsn.org/001/for-arms-manufacturers-the-war-in-ukraine-is-a-profits-bonanza.html
Twitter to Crackdown on Russia-Ukraine Info That Contradicts State Department https://www.rokfin.com/post/81618 (video)
US Interventionism Always Makes Things Worse https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/us-interventionism-always-makes-things?s=r
The Levers of Power Are Also Triggers (warning: contains link to graphic video of Russian soldiers being murdered) https://popularresistance.org/the-levers-of-power-are-also-triggers/
Independent journalist Richard Medhurst: "What EXACTLY Happened in Bucha" featuring UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter (video) https://youtu.be/klPYYqhqO74
Ukraine: A Conversation with Scott Ritter (video) https://youtu.be/OdM5Pkyl0_8
If It Feels Like You're Being Manipulated, It's Because You Are https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/if-it-feels-like-youre-being-manipulated?s=r
They Admit They're Lying to You! (video) https://youtu.be/CvXVBDs_fKw
The Revolution Continues' ongoing series on the proxy war in Ukraine: https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/p/ukraine-war-series.html
Seen on Twitter:
Ukraine: Russia committed war crimes
Russia: We did not and are willing to allow a full UN investigation
The West: No investigation or we wont be able to keep saying Russia did it 🙄— Michael R. Weinstein, Bookseller #EndTheOligarchy (@fToRrEeEsSt) April 6, 2022
If Russia was trying to hide "guilt in mass killing" then why did they TWICE request a Security Council meeting to call for an INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION? And why did Britain block the requests? This will now be a bogus investigation!
— Kinkajou51 #IStandWithDonbas 🇳🇮 (@Kinkajou5123) April 5, 2022
Everyone stopped talking about the fact that Hunter Biden was funding dangerous zoonotic pathogen research in level 3 Ukrainian biolabs as soon as the bogus allegations of Russian war crimes in Bucha & Kramatorsk hit the headlines.
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) April 10, 2022
BREAKING NEWS: US State department officials leak that when asked what benefit we gain from freezing and starving the EU with Russia sanctions Victoria Nuland responded "less Europeans."
— Garland Nixon (@GarlandNixon) April 6, 2022
They suspended Scott Ritter? The UN weapons inspector who was right about Iraq not having WMD??? Well that's how you know he's right again.
For shame, @Twitter.— My Aunt Fanny (@Dienne_7) April 6, 2022
Twitter has locked out @FiorellaIsabelM for reporting the news
The first casualty in every war is the truth— Slow News Day (@SlowNewsDayShow) April 6, 2022
The UK blocking the UN investigation into the Bucha massacre is all you really need to know about how propaganda works.
— Mnar Adley (@MnarMuh) April 5, 2022
That link is no longer available.
Here's the video. pic.twitter.com/JlvEqCDEsm— RoadNotTaken - PalestineSolidarity 🇵🇸🍉 (@RoadNotTaken19) April 7, 2022
Ukraine can't win this war - Everyone knows this.
The longer the war goes on, the more citizens die.
Sending weapons/money only serves in prolonging the war, resulting in more deaths.
Meanwhile, Americans don't have healthcare.— Hanx Fingers ⏳🇮🇪 (@HanxFingers) April 7, 2022