Episode 17 – Shaping Behaviour Through Dynamic Narratives

After another unintended hiatus, we’re back with another four-hour show. This one’s absolutely stuffed with global news, free-thinking opinion and friendly banter. If it were any bigger, we’d have to fat-shame it ;) WARNING: Sustained ‘bad’ language from 0:51:30 – 0:53:51 We begin by wishing ourselves a very ‘Happy Anniversary’ as we pass the one-year podcasting mark. However, whilst notMorgan’s trapped inside, recovering from surgery with only Babylon 5 to comfort him, Morgan’s out and about, organising skate jams and piloting a borrowed drone. Unlike Obama, Morgan’s drone doesn’t come with a ‘kill list’, though he does have his local Police running for cover. Our look at UK and global news begins with us speeding quickly past the car-crash disaster that was the UK General Election, pausing only to gawp at one Tory candidate’s unsuccessful attempt to recruit the English Defence League into his heavily stage-managed ‘theatre of the mind’, and the ‘voting u-turn’ of revolutionist Russell Brand. Some Tory Cabinet minsters’ views seem to seriously conflict with their new positions in Government and, speaking of privilege, advantage and entitlement, Morgan looks at three psychology studies relating to wealth and advantage, including one where the subjects are literally stealing candy from children. Then, when one person’s ‘freedom of thought and speech’ can be another person’s ‘prejudice’, notMorgan looks at the ‘biblically correct, not politically correct’ election manifesto of Northern Irish candidate Susan-Anne White. Unsurprisingly, for someone who claims to have proof that homosexuals are ‘40 times more likely to abuse children than heterosexuals’, her manifesto includes the re-criminalisation of homosexuality. But it seems that now’s the time for Christians to experience some modern day prejudice against them - gay rights now trump the rights to hold religious beliefs, at least in one case (again in Northern Ireland) where the Christian owners of Ashers bakery have been found to have discriminated against an individual by not baking a cake in support of gay marriage. Although the refusal was apparently courteous, the gentleman discriminated against reportedly felt that he was “made to feel like a lesser person”. We look at giving away your ‘personal power’ by being offended by the attitudes, words or opinions of others, particularly those of the Christian church with it’s past of persecuting others, sexually abusing children and covering-up that abuse. Indeed, on a possibly more ‘enlightened’ level, we look at the difference between being made to feel a certain way in contrast to choosing how you feel - and taking responsibility for, and ownership of, our feelings. A Student Diversity Officer at Goldsmiths, University of London, calls someone ‘white trash’ and ends up being interviewed by the Police for tweeting ‘# Kill All White Men’. It certainly seems racist, but we’re told that’s impossible, because apparently only white men have the ‘power’ required to be racist and sexist. NotMorgan secretly tests Morgan’s prejudice by offering him a choice of gifts to mark their anniversary, before reporting on the terrible prejudice against one ‘stiffy’ by members of the ‘flaccid’ community. Morgs provides a positive update on the Aysha King situation, and then turns our (reflective) air blue with a sustained and very ‘Sweary Mary’ rant from the Artist Taxi Driver. NotMorgan’s once again investigating the sexual abuse of children and the perpetrators of that abuse going unpunished. The Colombians are alleging that US private military contactor, DynCorp - protected from prosecution under immunity treaties - is responsible for the ‘crude and violent’ sexual abuse of 53 young girls, but the US mainstream media doesn’t seem to want to cover this. And then, the UK’s continuing investigations into organised VIP paedophile rings, and the case of former Labour MP and House of Lords peer, Lord Janner. The Director of Public Prosecutions says that it’s only his severe dementia that’s preventing his trial for sexual abuse and buggery, but that dementia apparently wasn’t severe enough to prevent him from continuing to attend and vote in Parliament, and run his own company. Officers investigating the now disgraced former MP Cyril Smith allege that they were ordered to hand over their evidence (including videos) relating to him, and it transpires that he was once freed from Police custody, with one duty officer reportedly being reprimanded for wanting to keep him in. The Metropolitan Police’s alleged involvement in covering-up child abuse by ‘prominent persons’, with senior officers being implicated in the abuse themselves, now sees them referring themselves for investigation by themselves with oversight from the (supposedly) Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Also, a former undercover Special Branch officer claims that the controversial and now-disbanded ‘Special Demonstration Squad’ was keeping files on MPs for ‘reasons of security’. We recount their alleged involvement in intimidating abuse victims and researchers, and suspect they’ve far more to answer for than keeping secret files. Finally, Operation Hydrant – yet another police investigation into child sex abuse – announces it has 1,433 suspects, including 261 ‘persons of public prominence’. Of those, 76 are politicians and 135 are from the world of TV, film and radio. 216 suspects have already died, and notMorgan wonders how long this will occupy the media spotlight, and how many other perpetrators will have died or be ‘too ill to face trial’ before prosecutions can be made, and justice served. In our look at technology, inventions and the latest relevant research, Morgs discusses Good Gopher, a new search engine giving prominence to alternative media sites and downgrading the traditional mainstream media. He also looks at Sky’s internet customers being targeted by ‘copyright trolls’, and again at the story of Aaron Schwartz – could he have been analysing data, looking for evidence of companies funding climate change research that led to biased results? Indian Police are equipping drones with pepper-spray to “control unruly mobs” whilst, in the Nevada Desert, construction begins on a city large enough to hold 35,000 people, but which will actually be home to drones, self-driving cars and whatever else the big tech companies want to test there. Tellingly, and as is usual, we have far more ‘weapons tech’ to report on than technology which saves lives. However, we do have some ‘green’ inventions: converting waste CO2 into biodegradable plastics, pharmaceuticals and liquid fuels, and saltwater into drinking water. And then, still mystified by Bill Gates’ ‘shitty water’ device, notMorgan looks at other cheaper and more ‘low tech’ approaches to providing clean drinking water through the use of ‘atmospheric water generators’ (AWGs). These devices are literally capable of producing clean drinking water out of thin air, as opposed to villagers having to pay for their own shit to be taken away and then drinking the water produced from that. These technologies are available now – some have been in use for years – so how much longer will we have to keep hearing about the supposed scarcity of water in the future? And when will all these charities that claim to be helping people, actually start doing so, now that this technology is easily available? Sticking with CO2, Morgan looks at plants’ role in the ‘cycle of life’, increasing and decreasing CO2 levels - more data that wasn’t included in the climate change computer models, which seem to be a scientists’ altar that we’re all supposed to worship at, as wide-eyed, ‘true believers’. NotMorgan looks at the sickness of social media egomania, covering recent ‘selfie deaths’, and lacking sympathy for those displaying their boobs for what didn’t turn out to be ‘a good cause’. In other health-related news, we look at the blatant absurdity of the NHS now recording consensual genital piercings as examples of Female Genital Mutilation ‘within an abusive context’ – and who knows how many people know your private business as it’s revealed that 13 years of NHS data, covering 47 million people, was given to 178 organisations, including 5 insurance companies. We were told that our medical data would never be sold off… and it wasn’t, it was given away. Also, the BMJ reports on a University of Kent study noting an ‘association’ between fluoridated water and hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid). And whilst the British Medical Association has come out against compulsory vaccination, we look at mandatory vaccination in California and Australia. In the Land of Aus, religious opt-outs are no longer allowed and ‘conscientious objectors’ face having their child welfare benefits stopped in a move that’s been branded ‘unconstitutional’. This, of course, whilst we and other alternative media sites continue to report on cases of extreme adverse effects (including death) associated with some vaccines. Morgan looks at pharmaceutical company Novatis being accused of blocking access to cheaper alternatives to macular degeneration eye drug Lucentis, and Nottinghamshire University tests a medieval eye salve treatment and finds it to be better than contemporary antibiotics. We take a brief break from what’s been happening in the world to thank those who’ve been in touch with the show, and to thank our patrons who, by giving us value for the value they receive from the show, keep us doing what we do. Then, we take a look at the sad state of affairs in this ‘world we live in’ as our privacy dwindles and our freedoms and rights continue to be taken from us with ever more absurd and ridiculous measures. Prime Minister Cameron and his NWO elite overlords want to abolish the Human Rights Act (protecting things like the right to life, and respect for your privacy, etc), and 38 academics write to him to criticise previous legislation “seemingly designed to stifle robust democratic consideration” and to protest over his ‘snoopers’ charter’. This is as Big Brother Watch announces that over 700,000 requests to access UK personal communications data have been made in 2012-2014 (the equivalent of 678 a day), with a staggering 96% of those requests being internally approved. We then look at the British military’s formation of a 2000-strong specialist force called ‘Brigade 77’. These troops will reportedly deliver “means of shaping behaviour through the use of dynamic narratives”, with teams focusing on “psychological operations and interaction with the media” - basically a propaganda unit, old Goebbels would be so proud. Also, the number of kids being tasered in the UK, and the cold-hearted, ruthless, gunning down in cold blood of… Bessie the cow. We also look at the ridiculous ways UK citizens are falling foul of our ‘nanny-state’ laws. And then, it had to happen sooner or later… responding to its media pervasiveness in recent months, notMorgan finds himself having to look at so-called ‘holocaust denial’. Italy’s bringing in laws that carry 3-year prison sentences, an international conference in Jerusalem has called for internet censorship and, after successfully ending all troubles in the middle-east, war criminal Tony Blair has landed himself a new job as the Chairman of the ‘European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation’ which campaigns to criminalise ‘hate speech and holocaust denial’. A woman in her late 80s is the first to question the holocaust death toll on German television, shortly before she finds her home stormed and ransacked by Police, and a 5-year prison sentence hanging over her. And in Montana, where ‘negative opinions are not free speech’ apparently, one ‘holocaust denier’ sending Jew-threatening tweets finds that the US’ First Amendment isn’t going to protect him. In our opinion, it should never be illegal to ask questions or to doubt supposed ‘facts’ – ‘facts’ should be easily able to withstand scrutiny, and criminalising inquiry and debate will not make it stop, it will simply send it underground, increasing the potential for mistrust and division. Making a topic of discussion illegal will also only make it more attractive to some, and generate interest that may not have been there before. Someone who never shied away from asking awkward questions was Charles Fort (from where we get the term ‘fortean’). Famous for cataloguing ‘anomalous phenomena’, Fort battled scientists back in the 1920s and 30s who he felt excluded ‘damned data’ from their studies, data that didn’t support the conclusions they’d already reached. This wilful exclusion of ‘awkward’ data by scientists remains today, in consciousness research and climate change research at least. Continuing the fortean tradition, notMorgan highlights some recent examples of unexpected things falling from the sky, aided by what is possibly podcasting’s worst ever jingle. In our final section, notMorgan’s back on the drugs again, looking at the UK’s ban on ‘new psychoactive substances’ (NPSs) like amyl nitrate (poppers), nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and anything capable of producing a ‘psychoactive effect’. A psychoactive effect (as defined by this law’s very broad wording) is apparently anything that ‘affects [a] person’s mental functioning or emotional state.’ Your emotional state is being affected whenever you ‘like’ or ‘enjoy’ something, raising the possibility of all kinds of things becoming banned. For once, Morgan joins in the debauched, druggy fun, looking at the continually rising numbers of people purchasing drugs online through ‘dark markets’ such as the Silk Road. NotMorgan satisfies his cravings by recounting recent cannabis-related news from the around the world, including Monsanto definitely not creating GMO weed (honest!), a whole Indonesian town getting stoned, and the owner of an Israeli pizzeria providing a very special topping to two ‘cool-sounding’ policemen. Finally, that other fine Morgan, Morgan Freeman, comes out as a long-term cannabis user who takes it “any way it comes!” – his ‘RA Hashasheen’ invite has been dispatched ;) All this and much more, including loads of bizarre and amusing tales from this ‘world we live in’, including pregnant hands, mechanophilia, an “unearthly turd”, and a bonobo’s cock. Creative commons music by UNFA plays us out. Like any good psychoactive substance, we hope our show will positively “affect your mental functioning and emotional state” ;) If it does, please support our ‘value for value’ model by contributing. Enjoy the show!