December 27

"To be clear as one can be: the unignorable infestation of nymphets in Nabokov is not a matter of morality; it is a matter of aesthetics. There are just too many of them."

--Martin Amis, "Divine Levity: the reputation of Vladimir Nabokov is high and growing higher and there is much more work still to come," Times Literary Supplement (December 23 and 30, 2011), p. 5; image from

VIDEO

Writer and Oscar-winning documentary maker Errol Morris talks about the nature of truth, art and propaganda in photography

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. Maintains Universal Blackout In Yemen - James Gundun, The Trench: Armed with diversionary material, White House Deputy spokesman Josh Earnest was able to brief reporters on John Brennan’s [chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama] conference call with Hadi [Yemen's Vice President Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi]. Seeking to calm any lingering public anxiety over Yemen, the White House’s counter-terrorism chief insisted that Obama’s administration is a 'strong and fervent supporter of the Yemeni people.' He also commented on the recent violence in Sana’a, promising an investigation from Hadi and urging 'Yemeni security forces to show maximum restraint when dealing with demonstrations.' Despite the tough rhetoric against Saleh’s security forces, pushing Brennan back into public diplomacy is no less insensitive than [US Ambassaador to Yemen] Gerald Feierstein’s

recent statements. America’s ambassador to Yemen has come under intense fire for placing the responsibility of violence on Yemen’s protesters, generating local protests and an enormous social mushroom cloud, yet the White House is allowing Feierstein’s story to run out of control. Brennan’s statement offers the only indirect evidence of awareness. In a letter titled, 'The US Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen is an Advocate for a Tyrannical Mob and Must be Removed Immediately,' Yemen’s Coordinating Council of the Youth Revolution of Change (CCYRC) demands, 'that the US embassy and State Department issue an official apology and that Mr. Feierstein be immediately dismissed as Ambassador of the United States to Yemen and sent home without any further delay.' Image from article, with caption: Puppet show between Feierstein and Hadi

Carlos A. Garcia-Perez response to John Layfield, foxbusiness.com, re Office of Cuba Broadcasting; pertains to Public Diplomacy - [Layfield article at] posted at John Brown, Notes and Essays: "BBG [Broadcasting Board of Governors] has conducted several waves of surveys of Cubans recently-arrived to South Florida, along with expanded qualitative studies (focus groups, monitoring panels) to explore their experiences in using foreign media, and specifically Radio and TV Martí, as well as their views of the Martís’ unique value and programming. While these studies cannot be used to estimate behaviors among mass publics in Cuba, they do indicate use of Radio and TV Martí at levels higher than appeared in the 2008 phone survey. Eager

to have news and information that they can’t get from local media sources, audiences are willing to listen through the jamming and brave the danger of listening to stations that are illegal in Cuba." Image from

Missing! One Advisory Commission... [posted Friday, December 16th] - Brian Carlson, publicdiplomacycouncil.org: "In attempting to contact the Executive Director of the

Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy this morning (December 16), I was surprised to get this message: The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, the only government organization charged with overseeing and promoting public diplomacy and strategic communication of the U.S. Government, was not reauthorized by the Congress and ceased operations on December 16, 2011. The Executive Dir[...]ector and the staff have apparently been sent home and their email access cut off. More news when we learn what's going on." [Posting includes recent comments by Joe Johnson, Bill Kiehl, Matt Armstrong] Image from

Strategic or Scary? Public Diplomacy Commission Cut - Monica, eventuresincyberland.com: "To my

shock and surprise ... I ran across a tweet and blog post just before Christmas indicating the ACPD was being abolished after 63 years of service. Apparently, due to efforts to balance the federal budget, the ACPD was not reauthorized by Congress and ceased operations on Dec. 16, 2011. So what happened to its visionary executive director? Matt Armstrong was laid off just a little over a week before Christmas. If Congress’s actions really are guided by budget-cutting zeal versus a strategic reorganization of U.S. public diplomacy and strategic communications initiatives (as far as I can find out, the new Integrated Strategic Counterterrorism Communications Initiative has nothing to do with this), we’re in trouble as a country. Today, more than ever people unfriendly to U.S. culture, values, policies, and interests have the potential to take control of the political dialogue across geographic boundaries. All they need is passion, Internet or mobile connectivity, and social media savvy to spread their messages and potentially fuel mass collaboration in instigating change (or wreaking havoc as the case may be). I, for one, would sleep a lot better knowing Congress had a team advising it on making sure U.S. Government activities that intend to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics break free of conventional wisdom, recognize discontinuity, and react to change. Until we discover some sort of grand strategy behind Congress’s move, however, we’re left to find comfort in the fact the U.S. Department of State is abandoning its Cold War mindset only now." Image from

How US campaigns and elections shaped politics across the world - Andrew Hammond, mercopress.com: "While the success of ... internationally-mobile political consultants is mixed in terms of electoral outcomes, they have nonetheless had a lasting effect, prompting what some have called the ‘globalisation’ of the political communications industry. Or, in the eyes of critics, the international triumph of spin over substance, which has tended to promote more homogenous campaigns with a repetitive, common political language. As James Harding, the editor of The Times of London, documents in

Alpha Dogs, the origins of this phenomenon lie in the 1970s. It was then that US political consultants (at the vanguard of which was the Sawyer Miller agency) began exporting US political technologies and tactics into South America and, then, ultimately across the globe. A key underlying premise of the industry is that such technologies and tactics can achieve political success just about anywhere. Thus, many foreign countries are sometimes deemed as mere international counterparts of US election battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.

What started as international elections and campaigning work soon branched out into providing more foreign governments, leaders and bodies such as tourism and investment authorities with international communications counsel and ultimately what is now known as ‘country branding’. Country branding is founded (like disciplines such as public diplomacy) on the realisation that, in an overcrowded global information market place, countries and political leaders are, in effect, competing for the attention of investors, tourists, supranational organisations, non- government organisations, regulators, media and consumers. ... In general, the most effective country strategies align all key stakeholders (across the public, private and third sectors) around a single powerful vision for global positioning. ... Today, of course, it is not just US political consultants who are blazing a trail in the industry. London, for instance, has become a major country branding centre . ... Looking to the future, demand for country branding is only likely to continue growing given the increasing complexity and overcrowded nature of the global information market place." Above image from;  below image from

The Rapid Development of China's Diplomacy in a Volatile World: Address by Assistant Foreign Minister Le Yucheng at the Seminar on China's Diplomacy in 2011 and its Prospect - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China: "We have made new progress in public diplomacy and people's diplomacy. We have given wide publicity to such major events as the implementation of the

12th Five-Year Plan, the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, the centenary of the 1911 Revolution and the release of the White Paper on China's Peaceful Development. We have conducted wide exchanges with other countries in culture, education, sports, science, technology and public health. ... I don't think only the use of force can make diplomacy strong, or dialogue and negotiation only make diplomacy 'soft'. We Chinese believe in combining firmness and flexibility, which is to say that 'firmness' and 'flexibility' are two sides of a coin." Image from

China’s Frustrated Iran Diplomacy - Willem van Kemenade - drougos.gr: "Although China accepts that there has never been conclusive evidence that Iran is engaged in a coordinated program of developing nuclear weapons, it has been critical of Tehran’s public diplomacy and berates it for not doing more to convince the international community of the peaceful intent of its purported civilian nuclear program. Still, many U.S. policymakers suspect China is playing a dual game in Iran, believing that the Chinese may well have concluded that a nuclear Iran is in keeping with China’s geostrategic interests. But the suspicion cuts both ways.

Some Chinese analysts are for their part skeptical whether what they see as a U.S. obsession with the Iran nuclear issue is genuine, not least because Washington has helped keep Israel’s nuclear arsenal a (very open) secret since 1969. They believe, therefore, that the real issue isn’t the nuclear program, but regime change. Despite this skepticism, China doesn’t see confrontation with the United States as in its interests, and therefore told its state oil majors earlier this year to stop further expansion in Iran so as not to jeopardize their investment prospects with the United States." Image from article

Tangoing with Tokyo: India and Japan are diffident Asian partners. But the gains from closer co-operation are huge - Devesh Kapur, business-standard.com: "[W]hat is worrisome is that younger Japanese (between 20 and 39 years) feel less of an affinity with India than older Japanese (over 60 years old). Clearly, this is an area for the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs to focus on."

Facilitating Internal Foreign Policy Dialogue in India - Madhurjya Kotoky, CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Domestic outreach is crucial for the MEA to partner with the people in the conduct of foreign policy, and soon will be a significant component of India’s public diplomacy activities. ... [T]he MEA [Ministry of External Affairs] on its part has initiated 'The MEA Distinguished Lecture Series on India’s foreign policy.' The lecture series is organized by the

Public Diplomacy Division to facilitate discussion regarding foreign policy outside New Delhi’s power corridors. Through this program, Indian diplomats’ travel throughout the country, participating in discussions across leading academic institutions within India. Though Indian diplomats consistently speak at foreign university campuses and to think tanks around the world, this is the first time that MEA has undertaken such an exercise internally." Image from

Remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund Board of Trustees Meeting, Moscow, December 26, 2011 - isria.com: "A 2012 action plan of the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund will be considered today. This seems to be a solid document that takes into account the different areas of work. We presume that today it will be approved and look forward to its consistent implementation. The Russian Foreign Ministry is interested in continuing close cooperation with the Fund."

The Ministry Studies the Improvement of Indonesian Migrant Workers Overseas Placement and Service - isria.com: "The public perceives that the government has not work hard enough to fulfill their obligation in protecting the Indonesian citizens, especially the migrant workers. The public even believes that the government is not responsive or comprehensive enough. Those are some of the main points addressed by Ambassador Triyono Wibowo

in his keynote speech during the National Seminar 'Efforts in Improving the Quality of Placement, Protection, and Service for TKI Overseas' in Surabaya, December 12, 2011. ... The event was a collaboration of the Directorate General of Information and Public Diplomacy, the Directorate General of Protocol and Consular Affairs, and BPPK of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." Wibowo image from

RELATED ITEMS

Iraqi interpreters for U.S. military in dangerous limbo: Thousands were promised spots first in line for special visas to the U.S., but the process has slowed to a crawl. Now the Iraqis, targeted for death because of their service to America, can only wait - David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times: The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, passed in 2008, provided fast-track status for Iraqis who had worked for the U.S. government or military. The law authorized 5,000 special visas per year — 20,000 through 2011.

But through October, just 3,415 had been issued to Iraqis, according to the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project. The State Department says 7,362 Iraqis who worked for the U.S. have received special visas over that period, but that total includes family members. Through July, 62,500 Iraqis had applied through the special visa program, though many have given up and dropped out. Applicants have been told to expect waits of at least eight months. Image from article, with caption: A former interpreter for U.S. forces, Tariq, 27, has been hiding out in his home because of death threats.

Million-Dollar Visas - Editorial, New York Times: The federal government’s investor visa, created in 1990, gives foreigners a chance at green cards if they invest $1 million

to build a business in the United States that creates at least 10 jobs. Investing in an area with high unemployment would cut that price in half. The program, known as EB-5, has led foreigners to invest in projects around the country, like factories, resorts, shipyards and other enterprises in designated poor areas in need of jobs. A report in The Times last week found that EB-5 applications have nearly quadrupled in two years, to more than 3,800 in the 2011 fiscal year. But the program has spawned cynical practices that are stretching the rules and violating the spirit of the law. Some participants in New York, the report found, are pouring money into development zones that are misleadingly labeled as high-unemployment areas to qualify for the lower $500,000 investment threshold, but are not poor or underdeveloped. The surest fix would be for Congress to amend the 21-year-old law to tighten the rules to stop gerrymandering and make sure investments are steered to places that truly need development. Image from

The fall-out of memogate - Bassam Javed, nation.com.pk: Pakistan continues to confront venomous propaganda against its armed forces and the ISI coming from the foreign and local media. They have joined together in efforts to discredit the guardians of Pakistan’s ideological and geographical borders. The base of the current heinous propaganda and instigations against the ISI and the army is a memo that was sent to former US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen on May 10 through the then US National Security Advisor General James Jones by a US businessman of Pakistani origin. Mansoor Ijaz. He says that he wrote the memo at the alleged behest of Pakistan Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani who has since resigned from his post. The memo passed to Admiral Mullen after US raid in Abbottabad on May 2 requested US backing for a proposal to install a new, Washington friendly civilian security team to assert tighter control over Pakistan’s military that would also end ISI’s relations with Haqqani network and that the memo had the approval of the "boss."  Below image from

Overseas Pakistanis support army - pakistantoday.com: UK-based Pakistanis announced their support for the Pakistan Army in wake of the recent NATO attack and the memogate issue. Terming the propaganda against the army as part of an international ploy to destabilise Pakistan, community leaders across the UK pledged to stand together to defeat any conspiracies against Pakistan and its army.

Iraq: Would we choose war again? - Graham Allison, Power and Policy: Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: “Any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should have his head examined.” The next time someone asserts that Iraq was worth it and that given the chance to do something similar, we should do it again, send them to Bob Gates’ doctor to have their head examined.

Editorial: Too fast to leave Iraq? No, too quick to go in - USA Today: With U.S. intervention or without, Iraq was destined to remain what it has been since its creation: a splintered nation beset by sectarian and tribal conflict.

With help, it might in time find peace through democracy, or it might revert to dictatorship or civil war. The difference is important to U.S. interests — just not important enough to invest more American lives. Image from

Opposing view: We got out of Iraq too soon - Danielle Pletka, USA Today: The future of Iraq, which seemed clear after our post-surge military victory, was again rendered uncertain by the premature departure of American forces.

US wrong on terror tweet censorship - Jill Singer, Herald Sun: Should Twitter block feeds from the Taliban and other violent propagandists? Senator Joe Lieberman, chair of the US Senate Homeland Security Committee, is calling on Twitter to ban accounts that are linked to the Taliban - which sounds about as easy as herding cats. The Taliban movement currently makes great use of the micro-blogging network and other social media to spread an array of both information and disinformation. Taliban tweets, however, can provide timely, factual details of NATO attacks in Afghanistan, along with a motherlode of anti-Western garbage.

It's unlikely that trying to block the Taliban's use of social media will bring peace to Afghanistan. Instead, the US should be monitoring the wealth of material out there for intelligence purposes. Surely having your enemies communicating out in the open should be seen as a tactical advantage? Instead of trying to have individual Twitter accounts blocked, the US should consider how to better use social media as an opportunity for identifying those who incite violence - regardless of their politics, religion or race - and dealing with them according to the rule of law. See (1) (2) (3) (4) (5). Image from

The US trying to prevent a “Taliban Spring” on its soil - The Voice of Russia: Chair of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee Joe Lieberman has called on Twitter to block two micro-blog accounts both of which claim to be official websites of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, i.e. the Taliban. Many observers have already pointed out that such requests violate the basics of the First Amendment to the American Constitution granting freedom of speech and expression. At the same time, it definitely demonstrates the new example of the notorious “double standards”. While anybody in the “free world” can, for example, publish insulting pictures of Prophet Mohammad, and the whole state machine of the West will back such blasphemy, any hint that somebody is spreading Islamic propaganda is rebuffed by that very state machine. The weird point about the Senator’s appeal to the internet resources is that the U.S. itself has been using them in full scale. The “Arab spring” has demonstrated that the internet (and Twitter in particular) is a powerful tool of social organization which led to the fall of the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt. Earlier this year, the State Department opened a Twitter account in Farsi with and obvious objective of spreading anti-regime sentiment in Iran. While the U.S. is using the tool in an unlimited fashion, the two alleged Taliban-linked Twitter accounts, @ABalkhi and @alemarahweb cannot boast of having comparable popularity. The two combined have a little more than 10,000 followers worldwide. Still, they provide information ranging from highly accurate, up-to-the-minute accounts of unfolding spectacular attacks, to reports of American and British casualties which are considered as completely fabricated or wildly exaggerated by the mainstream Western media. Still, the information they spread must have frightened Senator Lieberman and other members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee to the extent that they thought it better to violate the First Amendment in order to prevent a “Twitter revolution” on U.S. soil.

Are they afraid that the “Twitter revolutions” the seeds of which had been sown by the U.S. are going to backfire? If so, have they forgotten that “he who lives in a glass house should not throw stones? See also Russia Today coverage of issue at;  Image from

Twitter-less North Korea crafts new cult of Kim - Daniel Rook, AFP, posted at itechpress.com: The Internet is virtually banned, there’s no free press and listening to foreign radio is illegal — if any country can build a Stalinist-style personality cult in the digital era, it’s North Korea. Following the death of its longtime “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-Il on December 17, the repressive communist regime’s propaganda machine has swung into action to burnish the image of his youngest son and successor, Jong-Un. He still has a long way to go to match Kim Jong-Il’s many extraordinary feats, which included 11 holes-in-one in a single round of golf.

While Kim’s death was mocked overseas on Twitter as an “epic loss to golf”, few North Koreans are likely to see the remarks. Social media helped to galvanise Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, but under the world’s last remaining communist dynasty, surfing the web is impossible for most ordinary people. There is a nationwide intranet system called Kwangmyong but it is tightly controlled and does not provide a window to the outside world. The senior Kim did show signs of being somewhat Internet-savvy. When then-US secretary of state Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang in 2000, the late leader reportedly asked for her email address. A ban on mobile phones has been lifted and the North had more than 800,000 registered subscribers as of the end of September. Seoul activists say it is difficult for users to make or receive overseas calls because of limited service and tight oversight. But information from outside is slowly seeping in, through smuggled mobile phones which connect to Chinese networks near the border and South Korean DVDs and videotapes imported clandestinely. Image from

N. Korean media steps up myth-making for death of Kim Jong-il - english.yonhapnews.co.kr: The North Korean regime has built an elaborate personality cult around the late Kim and his father and predecessor, North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994. Such quasi-religious mystique has partly helped the Kim family rule North Korea. In one account, an unidentified bird was seen brushing off snow from a statue of Kim Jong-il last week, "breaking the hearts of many people" who heard the story, the official Radio Pyongyang reported. "As I was unable to calm my heart from a guilty conscience, a white bird larger than a dove suddenly brushed off the snow from the shoulders of the leader's statue," one eyewitness was quoted as saying by the radio station.

Mirror on mourning - Stephen Blease, newsandstar.co.uk: No one in the outside world is sure whether the mass hysteria on the streets of the secretive Stalinist state is carefully stage-managed by the authorities, or whether his people really believe his death is a terrible tragedy. Relentless propaganda promoted him as “Dear Leader” and “Guiding Star of the 21st Century” and photos and murals of him appeared everywhere. It all seems creepy to us. But it’s not that long since Britain experienced something similar. Cast your mind back 14 years and you’ll remember the huge personality cult built around Princess Diana.

Her propaganda machine promoted her as “Queen of Hearts” – and there was an outbreak of mass hysteria after her death, with thousands of people who had never met her sobbing as if they’d lost a close relative. A year earlier Take That announced their split, and hundreds of teenage girls took to the streets in tears. The Government even set up telephone hotlines to deal with the mass grief. North Korea may be on the other side of the world – but maybe it’s not as far away as we think. Image from

Aussies upbeat about a popular Korean export - Kim Jin Soo From, The Daily Telegraph: The popularity of Korean pop culture has started to grow and its consumers have grown much more diverse in recent months. And now Korea has a timely opportunity to emphasise the attractive Korean culture and lifestyles to Australia. Koreans are familiar with many Australian celebrities - Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman are just two household names Korean culture has embraced.

Now, it is encouraging to see that more and more young Australians are becoming acquainted with the Korean pop scene and in turn developing interest in knowing more about our culture. Given the fact that there was a time when people didn't know much about Korea outside of the Korean War, it is exciting to see the cultural exchange which is apparent between the young generations of our two countries strengthening the emotional bond for our future. Kim Jin Soo is the Republic of Korea's consul-general. Image from article, with caption: K-pop craze ... Girls' Generation are hugely popular in South Korea

Hamas: Israeli threats about Gaza op – psychological warfare -  Elior Levy, ynetnews.com: Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that Israeli threats about launching a wide-scale operation in Gaza is "propaganda and psychological warfare helping Israel deal with the mental crisis she is experiencing due to the resistance's success." Zuhri made the statements during a Gaza press conference marking three years since Operation Cast Lead.

Language as a Tool Against Jews and Israel - israelnationalnews.com: Dr. Gerstenfeld interviews Prof. Georges-Elia Sarfati: "Anti-Zionism’s major ‘canonic’ texts are first and foremost Soviet fabrications". Prof. Georges-Elia Sarfati: “Most people think that language, and in particular speech, is transparent and that it serves to transmit information. All words have a history, which have an impact on their use, even if people are not aware of this. Rather than words being neutral, they serve to introduce a certain vision of the question one addresses. This is particularly clear in the case of anti-Semitism and its manifestations, including anti-Zionism. When analyzing the various phenomena of

Judeophobia, one discovers an archive of words used against the Jews over the centuries. It aims to criminalize all forms of Jewish identity: spiritually as religious anti-Judaism; culturally as anti-Semitism, and socio-politically as anti-Zionism.” Image from

Syria: A short snapshot of propaganda and false flags - Viktor Reznov, syrianews: "The opposition within Syria agreed to a dialogue with the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad already, but that have more or less brought this real opposition out of any discussions with the “opposition” based in Istanbul, Turkey. This 'Syrian National Council' is not interested in democratic dialogues or goals. These questionable Syrian expatriate circles have other goals behind the curtains of lies.

Such dialogue with the Syrian government does not serve the interests of the exiles, United States, AIPAC and other Western governments and organizations. They stick to their claims to overthrow the Syrian government and President al-Assad. Nowadays it also seems easy to spread lies and propaganda to destabilize a country and finally succeed in overthrow the government and leaders. Prejudices and stereotypes play into the hands of international press and finally into the hands of Western imperialism. It is easy to discredit another Arabic dictator by using the typically prejudices and stereotypes about the Middle East and its known systems. You see similar propaganda/purposes with the way Islam and Muslims are sometimes mentioned in Western press. It is not always in line with the true religion of Islam or backgrounds of events/behaviors." Image from: October 02, Propaganda and Lies: A Collector's Guide

Chen Wei sent to prison for nine years - Harold Mandel, examiner.com: Buddhists continue on a daily basis to fight the heavy handed propaganda machine of the Chinese in Beijing who insist that the human rights situation in China is fine. Syracuse

Buddhists have been terribly disturbed by recent news of a nine year jail term for Chinese dissident Chen Wei which is seen as a sign that the human rights situation in Tibet will not improve at anytime in the near future. Image from article, with caption: Imprisoned Chinese dissident Chen Wei

Local Communist Party Chiefs Amp Up Propaganda Before National Congress - Cheng Jing, The Epoch Times: It appears that a competition is underway, and the next generation leaders in China are using the Party’s propaganda apparatus to promote themselves before the 18th National Congress. In other words: business as usual.

This January Azerbaijan to launch active promoting tourist potential in Persian Gulf states - abc.az: Azerbaijan is intensifying propaganda of tourism potential in the Persian Gulf countries. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism reports that deputy culture minister Nazim Samedov received head of Atlantis Holidays with which the Ministry signed an agreement on ensuring promotion of Azerbaijan’s tourism potential in the Gulf countries and coordination of market relations in this area.

Candidates make ads work for them: Advertising plays on viewers' sense of history and on cultural themes - press-citizen.com:  The notion of propaganda in American democracy may sound shocking to people taught to believe it is the insidious tool of dictators, but experts agree it often straddles the line between truth and falsehood and can be used for bad and good purposes.

I’m Dreaming of a White Propaganda - airmaria.com: A distinction can be made between white and black propaganda. White propaganda is basically an informercial. You know someone is trying to sell you something and that they are going to spin the presentation in the interests of their sale. Black propaganda, on the other hand, is false information from a source that pretends to be friendly but is actually hostile. Leave it to the traditionalists to exploit Christmas for their anticonciliar views. At least no one can fault them in this for a lack of transparency.

Bishop Fellay of the Society of St. Pius X promulgated a Christmas pastoral that impresses upon the faithful why the mystery of Christmas reveals to us the evils of the Second Vatican Council. Merry Christmas everyone! Image from article