Cass Sunstein

Cass Sunstein: Still Plagued by his Imaginary Conspiracy Theorists

A story had came out the other day, based on a study published in JAMA, about how lots of Americans believe in nutty medical conspiracy theories (i.e., flouride is bad, cell phone radiation is bad, etc) --

You're Not Alone: Medical Conspiracies Believed By Many
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/18/us-medical-conspiracies-idUSBREA2H22K20140318

I found it nauseating to read and ending up commenting on multiple locations out of frustration, wasting time. But then I noticed that Voice of America was running the story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_america#VOA_as_a_propaganda_tool) and that Cass Sunstein was also writing about it, and it was even more nauseating, yet also, made sense. They are trying so hard to hold onto their control of things that their propaganda is practically glowing.

The good news is that about half of Americans see through it. The comments on these news articles indicated the views went about 50-50 -- half the people understood that being skeptical of every official claim is healthy and normal, and half the people were automatically defending authority without question

Tom Secker : 7/7 - The London Bombings

http://TheMindRenewed.com

Tom Secker Interview

Interview published on January 17, 2014

MP3 and Link to Show Notes: http://themindrenewed.com/interviews/2014/406-int-38

Writer, researcher and film-maker Tom Secker joins us for a detailed interview on 7/7 (the July 7th 2005 London bombings). Drawing upon his several years of research, Tom shares with us many of the problems with the official story, delves into the backstories behind the alleged suicide bombers, and uncovers layer upon layer of suspicious information suggesting that 7/7 may well have been a false-flag terror event instigated by British Intelligence.

Tom also discusses how, in the run-up to the attacks, predictive programming in popular culture may have shaped public perception of 7/7, and how cognitive infiltration as a double bluff has negatively impacted the quest for 7/7 truth.

Is the Government Holding Back Crucial Documents?

Is the Government Holding Back Crucial Documents? Would you like to know what the government really knows about the death of JFK? About 9/11? Other big mysteries? It’s “eat your broccoli time!” Here’s why you should pay attention to federal policy on releasing—and not releasing—documents.

By Russ Baker on May 30, 2012

Next year will be a half-century since the death of JFK. And the Obama Administration thinks we need to keep secret the records on the matter….a little longer yet.

Believe it or not, more than 50,000 pages of JFK assassination-related documents are being withheld in full. And an untold number of documents have been partially withheld, or released with everything interesting blacked out. But why?

Since the government and the big media keep telling us there was no conspiracy, and that it was all Lee Harvey Oswald acting on his own, why continue to keep the wraps on?

We don’t have an answer, but in understanding this and any number of other mysteries, we can begin looking for patterns in the way the administration handles information policy.

Obama Information Czar Cass Sunstein Confronted on Cognitive Infiltration of Conspiracy Groups

Posted by on May 1, 2012

In a rare public appearance, The Obama Administration’s Information Czar Cass Sunstein gave a lecture at the NYU Law School in NYC yesterday, prompting Luke Rudkowski of WeAreChange to attend. Watch as Luke confronts Sunstein multiple times on an academic paper he co-authored back in 2008 entitled “Conspiracy Theories” in which he called for cognitive infiltration of conspiracy groups by the government.

http://youtu.be/4OIiOztc52g

You can download the paper for free here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1084585

SALON article that appears in video: http://www.salon.com/2010/01/15/sunstein_2/

http://twitter.com/lukewearechange

Join WeAreChange or Start a Chapter or Donate to WeAreChange!!
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Slate magazine hit peice

Warning: This Site Contains Conspiracy Theories

Does Google have a responsibility to help stop the spread of 9/11 denialism, anti-vaccine activism, and other fringe beliefs?

In its early days, the Web was often imagined as a global clearinghouse—a new type of library, with the sum total of human knowledge always at our fingertips. That much has happened—but with a twist: In addition to borrowing existing items from its vast collections, we, the patrons, could also deposit our own books, pamphlets and other scribbles—with no or little quality control.

Such democratization of information-gathering—when accompanied by smart institutional and technological arrangements—has been tremendously useful, giving us Wikipedia and Twitter. But it has also spawned thousands of sites that undermine scientific consensus, overturn well-established facts, and promote conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, the move toward social search may further insulate regular visitors to such sites; discovering even more links found by their equally paranoid friends will hardly enlighten them. Is it time for some kind of a quality control system?

Another Peer-reviewed Publication: “Conspiracy Theories and Stylized Facts”


Conspiracy Theories and Stylized Facts
Journal for Peace and Justice Studies 21.2 (Fall 2011)
Kurtis Hagen

ABSTRACT: In an article published in the Journal of Political Philosophy, Cass Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule argue that the government and its allies ought to actively undermine groups that espouse conspiracy theories deemed “demonstrably false.” They propose infiltrating such groups in order to “cure” conspiracy theorists by treating their “crippled epistemology” with “cognitive diversity.” They base their proposal on an analysis of the “causes” of such conspiracy theories, which emphasizes informational and reputational cascades. Some may regard their proposal as outrageous and anti-democratic. I agree. However, in this article I merely argue that their argument is flawed in at least the following ways: (1) their account of the popularity of conspiracy theories is implausible, and (2) their proposal relies on misleading “stylized facts,” including a caricature of those who doubt official narratives and a deceptive depiction of the relevant history.

[NOTE: I have included extended excerpts below, believing this to be within the scope of fair use.]  

America.gov, Cognitive Infiltration, and Obama appointee Cass Sunstein

Includes interviews with John Judge and David Ray Griffin:

"I first became aware of Cass Sunstein’s ideas for controlling conspiracy theories after seeing several ads for a web site called America.gov run by the State Department. It’s a complex, well-funded site with more avenues than I’ve cared to examine, but what caught my attention was the section under International Relations: Peace and Security called “Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation” with the astounding caption: “Conspiracy theories exist in the realm of myth, where imaginations run wild, fears trump facts and evidence is ignored.”

Read entire article here: http://dailycensored.com/2011/11/21/america-gov-cognitive-infiltration-and-obama-appointee-cass-sunstein/

Book Review of Griffin's 'Cognitive Infiltration'

A Noble Lie: http://tiny.cc/4828d

NIST's Evasion, Infiltration, and another Mainstream Publication

I was recently interviewed on a public access TV show called "Vermont Today" (for 90 minutes). We discuss an exchange of letters between four concerned citizens (including myself) and NIST. Credit for the revealing NIST correspondence goes especially to Wayne Coste of AE911Truth for drafting our letters for us, and to Jerry Carpenter for taking initiative locally.

The discussion may seem to start off a bit slow, as we were trying to get some legal analysis from a local prosecutor who is now running for Mayor of Burlington. He takes a very diplomatic position, and then excuses himself. In the later parts of the interview we discuss Cass Sunstein's paper and my critique of it, as well as "foiled terrorist plots" led by informants. Near the end I also discuss Barry Jennings. The most significant part--the only part where really new information is presented--is the discussion of NIST's response to our letters (which starts around minute 25). It is the particulars of NIST's evasions that I think are very telling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79cre4wcJzE

9/11 Truth Isn’t Going Away

Alissa C. Johnson
Intercept

As 9/11’s tenth anniversary approaches, the issues surrounding that seminal event are just as relevant today and a lot more urgent. Despite the change of management, we still bomb, still rendition, still torture, still illegally wiretap, still detain indefinitely without habeas corpus and without counsel, among other international crimes. These days we can add a few more items to that list like irradiate children, feel up grandma at the airport, and throw people in jail for not paying their credit card bills. Another thing we still do in America: obstruct the truth when it conflicts with the official 9/11 storyline.

Article: “Is Infiltration of ‘Extremist Groups’ Justified?”

Another article supportive of the 9/11 Truth Movement is published in a mainstream academic journal:

“Is Infiltration of ‘Extremist Groups’ Justified?” International Journal of Applied Philosophy 24:2, pp. 153-168. (Fall 2010). By Kurtis Hagen, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, SUNY Plattsburgh. (Yes. That would be me.)

Website for the International Journal of Applied Philosophy: http://secure.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/journal?openform&journal=pdc_ijap

Unfortunately the article is not freely available, but here are some highlights:

ABSTRACT: Many intellectuals scoff at what they call “conspiracy theories.” But two Harvard law professors, Cass Sunstein (now working for the Obama administration) and Adrian Vermeule, go further. They argue in the Journal of Political Philosophy that groups that espouse such theories ought to be infiltrated and undermined by government agents and allies. While some may find this proposal appalling (as indeed we all should), others may find the argument plausible, especially if they have been swayed by the notion that conspiracy theories (or a definable subset thereof), by their nature, somehow or another, do not warrant belief. I will argue that Sunstein and Vermeule’s proposal not only conflicts with the values of an open society, but is also epistemically indefensible. In making my case, I will adopt their favored example, counter-narratives about 9/11. (p. 153)

It should be noted that, according to [Sunstein and Vermeule’s] definition, the notion that the Nazis were systematically exterminating Jews would have, at some point in time, clearly counted as conspiracy theory—one that turned out to be true. This is an important example. It shows that one cannot simply reject a conspiracy theory because it seems too extreme in the brutality it attributes to powerful figures, or because of the scale of complicity that would be required, or because of the industrial efficiency with which it is said to be carried out. Shocking though a theory may be, so too are known precedents. (p. 155)

Guns and Butter - "Cognitive Infiltration" with Tod Fletcher

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/67100
Guns and Butter - "Cognitive Infiltration" with Tod Fletcher
January 26, 2011

Guns and Butter -
Guns and Butter - "Cognitive Infiltration" with Tod Fletcher

We discuss David Ray Griffin's newest book, Cognitive Infiltration, which is a deconstruction and debunking of Obama appointee, Cass Sunstein's, paper, "Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures", in which Sunstein proposes a new government COINTELPRO type infiltration of groups which research and promote ideas and explanations that run contrary to US government narratives, most specifically about the events of September 11th. First aired in part on fund drive, today we air the entire show.

Excellent New Reviews of "Cognitive Infiltration"

Although many people read the reviews of new books at Amazon.com, it's likely that most people stop reading reviews of a book after it has been out for a few months. But sometimes some of the best reviews have appeared late. I have here reposted three excellent recent reviews of David Ray Griffin’s “Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee’s Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory.”

http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Infiltration-Appointees-Undermine-Conspiracy/dp/1566568218/

A Case for the High Court, January 14, 2011
By Rev. Dr. Ronald David

Cass Sunstein is a highly regarded, pedigreed constitutional scholar and lawyer. He graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude, clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and taught at arguably two of America's most prestigious law schools, the University of Chicago and Harvard. Mr. Sunstein is now the Adminisrator in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for President Barak Obama.

Pentagon's Cyber Command seeks authority to expand its battlefield

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010; 12:41 AM

The Pentagon's new Cyber Command is seeking authority to carry out computer network attacks around the globe to protect U.S. interests, drawing objections from administration lawyers uncertain about the legality of offensive operations.

Cyber Command's chief, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, who also heads the National Security Agency, wants sufficient maneuvering room for his new command to mount what he has called "the full spectrum" of operations in cyberspace.

Offensive actions could include shutting down part of an opponent's computer network to preempt a cyber-attack against a U.S. target or changing a line of code in an adversary's computer to render malicious software harmless. They are operations that destroy, disrupt or degrade targeted computers or networks.

Review of David Ray Griffin's New Book: Cognitive Infiltration

Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee's Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory

Review of David Ray Griffin's Book

 

David Ray Griffin, Cass Sunstein, Harvard, U of Chicago, and Neocons

link: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2010/09/30/david-ray-griffin-v-cass-sunstein

David Ray Griffin v. Cass Sunstein

September 30th, 2010  

by Stephen Lendman

Griffin is Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Theology, Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA where he's still co-director of the Center for Process Studies.

He's authored and/or edited three dozen books, mainly in his field, but notably and heroically on 9/11 truth, Osama bin Laden, and his newest titled, "Cognitive Infiltration: An Obama Appointee's Plan to Undermine the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory." More on it below.

Cass Sunstein is a well-known University of Chicago and Harvard Law School Professor before being appointed Obama's Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, in charge of "overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs," among other duties.

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