“Psychological Operations”
“Planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. The purpose of psychological operations is to induce or reinforce foreign attitudes and behavior favorable to the originator's objectives. Also called PSYOP. See also overt peacetime psychological operations programs; perception management. (emphasis added)
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.”
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/psychological+operations
“Astroturfing”
“The need to protect the internet from 'astroturfing' grows ever more urgent
The tobacco industry does it, the US Air Force clearly wants to ... astroturfing – the use of sophisticated software to drown out real people on web forums – is on the rise. How do we stop it?
Every month more evidence piles up, suggesting that online comment threads and forums are being hijacked by people who aren't what they seem.
The anonymity of the web gives companies and governments golden opportunities to run astroturf operations: fake grassroots campaigns that create the impression that large numbers of people are demanding or opposing particular policies. This deception is most likely to occur where the interests of companies or governments come into conflict with the interests of the public. For example, there's a long history of tobacco companies creating astroturf groups to fight attempts to regulate them…
It now seems that these operations are more widespread, more sophisticated and more automated than most of us had guessed…
As the Daily Kos has reported, the emails show that:
- Companies now use "persona management software"…
- This software creates all the online furniture a real person would possess: a name, email accounts, web pages and social media…
- Fake accounts can be kept updated by automatically reposting or linking to content…
- Human astroturfers can then be assigned these "pre-aged" accounts to create a back story, suggesting that they've been busy linking and retweeting for months…
- With some clever use of social media, astroturfers can, in the security firm's words, "make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise … There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to fictitious personas." (emphasis added)
“The need to protect the internet from 'astroturfing' grows ever more urgent”
George Monbiot’s Blog, guardian.co.uk, 2/23/11
“The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in "psychological operations" to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war, Rolling Stone has learned – and when an officer tried to stop the operation, he was railroaded by military investigators.”
“Another Runaway General: Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators”
Michael Hastings, rollingstone.com, 2/23/11
“The world is awash in dollars and that is being reflected in the USDX, which are six major currencies versus the dollar. The loss of value is being loudly trumpeted as the IMF says a replacement must be found. This is the same IMF that has been foisting non-gold back SDRs on us since 1969… professionals and investors see right through it. Another batch of fiat currency is not going to solve the world’s currency crisis, which can only be saved by gold backing. Needless to say, the mainstream media will never talk about this in realistic terms, because the elitists control them. The denigration of currencies versus gold and silver are advancing apace, as the elitists day after day try to suppress gold and silver prices.
The major media is as complacent as ever because they are totally controlled. It is not ignorance or incompetence. It is control. The media tells us the stock market is headed higher, but fails to tell us why. The reason is manipulation by the US government, and those who control it, and funds swamping the market via QE2. This is an economy where few jobs are being created, unemployment remains steady and we are told that a rising stock market means recovery, which is far from the truth… There is no truth for the American people and the people of the world, it is all controlled and capsulated for consumption and control. There is no real recovery; it is all smoke and mirrors to mislead the public. Government and the media declare there is no inflation, but yet it abounds…
The psywarfare plan is to force down gold and silver share prices and gold in order to destroy silver prices so that JPM and HSBC can cover their shorts…
As Americans overlook these developments and the fact that anyone who criticizes government is a terrorist, price inflation is destroying their purchasing power and it’s being done deliberately, as a result of saving a broken banking system that only catered to the wealthy and connected. Loans are available, but generally only to AAA corporations and fellow elitists…
Our studies and intelligence tells us that the elitists running the show deliberately planned a collapse so they can form a world government. For them everything is on the line. If they lose they’ll lose everything. If we lose the same could be true…
The stock market in Dow terms is about 12,400 due to trillions of dollars being poured into the economy via the Fed and QE1 and QE2 and via the manipulation of “The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.” The insiders know what is going on but investors and the public do not have a clue. How is it that denizens of Wall Street get richer and the poor get poorer? It is because Wall Street and banking control the government…” (emphasis added)
Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster, 2/26/11
“It's recently been revealed that the U.S. government contracted HBGary Federal for the development of software which could create multiple fake social media profiles to manipulate and sway public opinion on controversial issues by promoting propaganda. It could also be used as surveillance to find public opinions with points of view the powers-that-be didn't like. It could then potentially have their "fake" people run smear campaigns against those "real" people. As disturbing as this is, it's not really new for U.S. intelligence or private intelligence firms to do the dirty work behind closed doors.” (emphasis added)
“Army of fake social media friends to promote propaganda”
Darlene Storm, PC World, 2/23/11
Important to note at the outset is that a Coordinated Multifaceted PSY-OPS Operation is more, much more, than mere Monofaceted disinformation. Compare “Disinformation” with “PSY-OPS” above.
“Disinformation”
“Deliberately misleading information announced publicly or leaked by a government or especially by an intelligence agency in order to influence public opinion or the government in another nation
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.”
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/disinformation
One Great Difficulty with Considering PSY-OPS (Psychological Operations) whether in the Arenas of National Defense, Investing, or elsewhere, is that it is quite challenging to demonstrate that a given Fact Situation is a PSY-OPS Deception, rather than a Genuine Reality.
That is because PSY-OPS creates an Intended Multifaceted Covert Deception.
Therefore, we do not intend to try to prove, or even conclusively demonstrate, that PSY-OPS are in fact employed to affect Investment Decisions.
Instead, we merely offer a few Items of Evidence to suggest that PSY-OPS are likely Employed to affect Investment Decisions.
Therefore, Awareness that a Congeries of Apparent Facts are possibly, or likely, a PSY-OPS Deception, is sometimes Important to Wealth Protection and Profit.
Consider some “Candidates” and “Techniques” for ongoing PSY-OPS Operations and Possible Antidotes with Profit Potential.
Astroturfing – Already occurring, and likely with increasing frequency. Astroturfing, Like Other PSY-OPS Operations, reflect a certain “Polish” and Clear Consistency” of Message which, considered as a whole, does not ring true.
Among the antidotes are acquiring multiple Independent sources of information and performing independent research.
Generally, Antidotes in the Investment Universe involve focusing on tangible assets in Relatively Inelastic Demand, because Tangibles have a Tangible Reality. (see below)
Official Data Manipulation and Manufacturing
It is already Apparent to Many Sophisticated Investors that Much Official Economic Data cannot be relied on.
Some Distortions are blatant and ridiculous, such as the Fed’s using as a definition of Inflation “Core Inflation” which excludes Food and Energy.
Also Potentially Damaging is Official Data manufacturing by Government Agencies.
Fortunately, Shadowstats.com calculates Key Statistics the way they were calculated in the 1980s and 1990s before Official Data Manipulation began in earnest. Consider
Bogus Official Numbers vs. Real Numbers (per Shadowstats.com)
Annual U.S. Consumer Price Inflation reported February 17, 2011
1.63% / 9.07% (annualized January, 2011 Rate)
U.S. Unemployment reported March 4, 2011
8.9% / 22.1%
U.S. GDP Annual Growth/Decline reported February 25, 2011
2.70% / - 2.21%
U.S. M3 reported February 12, 2011 (Month of January, Y.O.Y.)
No Official Report / - 2.21%
An important Characteristic of Bogus Official Data, is that its manufacture is typically not a PSY-OPS Operation in and of itself. Instead, the data is typically used as one Element of a larger PSY-OPS Operation.
Fed-led Cartel* Suppression of Precious Metal Prices
Knowledge of Ongoing Cartel* Precious Metals Price Capping is becoming widespread. This increases the demand for delivery and personal possession of physical Gold and Silver. Of course, this Trend Makes the Cartel* Price Capping Regime increasingly difficult for The Cartel*.
*We encourage those who doubt the scope and power of Overt and Covert Interventions by a Fed-led Cartel of Key Central Bankers and Favored Financial Institutions to read Deepcaster’s December, 2009, Special Alert containing a summary overview of Intervention entitled “Forecasts and December, 2009 Special Alert: Profiting From The Cartel’s Dark Interventions - III” and Deepcaster’s July, 2010 Letter entitled "Profit from a Weakening Cartel; Buy Reco; Forecasts: Gold, Silver, Equities, Crude Oil, U.S. Dollar & U.S. T-Notes & T-Bonds" in the ‘Alerts Cache’ and ‘Latest Letter’ Cache at www.deepcaster.com. Also consider the substantial evidence collected by the Gold AntiTrust Action Committee at www.gata.org, including testimony before the CFTC, for information on precious metals price manipulation. Virtually all of the evidence for Intervention has been gleaned from publicly available records. Deepcaster’s profitable recommendations displayed at www.deepcaster.com have been facilitated by attention to these “Interventionals.” Attention to The Interventionals facilitated Deepcaster’s recommending five short positions prior to the Fall, 2008 Market Crash all of which were subsequently liquidated profitably.
Generally, the Potentially Profitable Antidote is to Monitor Price Capping Interventions via Deepcaster or other sources, and to buy Particular Forms of Precious Metals and Interests in Precious Metal companies, with the right timing. Indeed, some forms of Physical tend to carry and maintain a higher value premium than others. Similarly, there are more and less propitious times to purchase Mining Shares.
Cartel Manipulation of Other Markets
It is important to study the Interventionals as well as the Fundamentals and Technicals, as does Deepcaster.
An excellent example of such a study is Graham Summers “The Only Reason Stocks Rallied This Month”, September 29, 2010 by Graham Summers writing in SeekingAlpha.com. He chronicles the daily multi-billion Dollar Fed POMO Injections into the Equities Markets via their primary Dealers, as “The Only Reason” stocks rallied that month POMO Injections continue.
Significantly, Traders at Several of These (Fed Primary Dealer) Mega-Banks went many weeks without having a losing Trading Session. Just Great and Flawless Traders… If you believe that, we have a Bridge to sell. Could they possibly have had ‘inside’ information?
Deepcaster has written comprehensive Overview of Cartel Market Manipulation and potentially profitable Antidotes (“Profit, Protection, Despite Cartel Intervention” , 12/22/10) in the ‘Articles by Deepcaster’ Cache at www.deepcaster.com.
Quasi-PSY-OPS Fed Manipulation
In the week ended March 2, 2011 the private for-profit Fed’s Balance Sheet expanded by $12 billion from the week before, to a record $2.526 Trillion.
This is public Information, but the “Quasi” PSY-OPS aspect of it is that U.S. Stock Markets have tracked the size of the Fed’s Balance Sheet with an 86% Correlation, according to Bank of America Economist David Rosenberg has shown.
As GATA Director Chris Powell has wisely concluded “There are No Free Markets Anymore.”
But while the aforementioned, POMO-Pumping, Q.E. Monetary Creation, and exploding Fed Balance sheet maintain the Mega-Profits of the Mega-Financial Institutions some of which are Fed Shareholders, they have Seriously Negative, or even Catastrophic, Consequences for the Middle Class and Poor around the World.
Recent Huge Price Increases in Energy and Basic Foodstuffs are diminishing living Standards around the world.
And continuing Q.E. continues to diminish the Purchasing Power of the U.S. Dollar and Euro thus confiscating the Wealth of Investors, Savers and Retirees.
So what are the Potentially Profitable Antidotes?
Obtain Information from Multiple Independent (non-Main Stream Media) Sources, and conduct Independent Research.
Buy Real Inflation Assets such as the Monetary Metals Gold and Silver and Foodstuff and Energy Producers with the right timing.
Because these Real Assets are in Increasing and relatively Inelastic (within the Increasing Trend) Demand they are an Essential Antidote to the Deceptions of PSY-OPS Operations in the Investment World.
Indeed, there is one Extraordinary Investment Opportunity, still a “Sleeper” Sector to some degree, which, some would argue, is, at this time, even better than Gold and Silver.
Indeed, we are among those who agree that Gold and, with the right timing, Silver are Two of the Three Best Investment Opportunities for the Next Decade.
But we must also agree that this “Sleeper” Opportunity may at this time be the Best of All, because there are still several companies in this Sleeper “Foodstuffs” Sector which are quite undervalued.
Indeed, Deepcaster recently recommended two -- One Trading at just over $5/share and the Other at just under $2/share in his most recent Alerts.
And recently, we recommended a third ‘Sleeper’ Sector Industry leader, which has a huge and expanding Asian Market and a recent P/E Ratio of about 3, and which trades under 70 cents/share (in $U.S.) and has Tremendous Appreciation Potential.
To Consider these “Best of the Best” Sleeper Sector Investments, read our latest Letter – “Main Gold, Silver & ‘Sleeper’ Sector Price Movers; ‘Sleeper’ Buy Reco.; Forecasts: Gold, Silver, Equities, Crude Oil, U.S. Dollar, and U.S. T-Notes & T-Bonds; March 2011 Letter”, and Alert -- “Golden Green Opportunity Buy Reco.; Forecasts: Commodities, Gold, Silver, Equities, Crude Oil, U.S. Dollar, and U.S. T-Notes & T-Bonds” in the ‘Alerts Cache’ at www.deepcaster.com.
And especially consider Deepcaster’s “Opportunities to Escape Paper ‘Wealth’ into 2011” (10/7/10) in the ‘Articles by Deepcaster’ Cache at www.deepcaster.com.
PSY-OPS Deceptions in the Investment World are much less likely to be effective in the Universe of Real Assets, than in the World of Financial Assets such a “Paper” Stock Securities, where Fed Buying or POMO pumping can create the Illusion of Equities Markets Health and Wealth.
