Understanding Soft Power: Western Journalists Use Bangkok For Regional Agitation

November 24, 2017 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - The so-called Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) is located in downtown Bangkok and includes the regional offices of many of the United States' and Europe's largest media organizations. It also includes a large, swank clubhouse complete with a restaurant and bar, where events are held.

The FCCT on its website offers a lengthy, self-aggrandising and somewhat incoherent explanation as to what function it actually serves, claiming:

The FCCT moved into a penthouse floor with access from a corridor already filling up with foreign media offices. The Maneeya today houses AsiaWorks, the BBC, ABC, ITN Channel 4, NBC, InFocus, Al Jazeera and the Financial Times, among others. This guarantees the FCCT constant journalist traffic, imbuing it with the feel of a genuine press club. It has a good bar and decent enough kitchen but makes no pretensions to emulating the grandeur of its counterparts in Hong Kong or Tokyo - nor the fakeness of the "FCC" in Cambodia, a bar and restaurant with one of the best views in Asia but no hacks. 

In reality, it is a regional hub where US and European lobbyists and agitators, posing a journalists, coordinate events, programmes and propaganda campaigns targeting not only Thailand itself, but Thailand's Southeast Asian neighbours.

Image: FCCT aiding in political stunt on behalf of ousted regime.

It was at the FCCT, the club proudly boasted, that former education minister and political lieutenant of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Chaturon Chaisaeng held a press conference to grandstand while turning himself into the military after the 2014 coup. It was organised specifically to have the cameras of the West's biased media machine capture the moment soldiers arrested him, depicting Thailand as a state overwhelmed by a brutal military dictatorship.

The FCCT claims that by hosting the army's spokesman the next week, the FCCT is "doing something right" by playing an impartial and unbiased role. Those familiar with Thai politics and the absolutely biased nature both events were spun in favour of the ousted Shinawatra regime and the interests in Washington, London and Brussels sponsoring him, and at the cost of the new government's credibility, know otherwise.

A Hub for Agitation 

The FCCT had recently scheduled an event with the US State Department-funded Virginia-based Boat People SOS organisation. The FCCT admits in its announcement that the event was intended to:

...discuss the overall human rights situation in Vietnam, the imprisonment of at least 165 prisoners of conscience with heavy sentences, and the recent launch of the NOW! Campaign, an initiative by 15 human rights organisations around the world, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of these men and women.

The FCCT claims that the event was cancelled after several meetings with the police and military.

How Modern Empire Uses "Awards" to Keep Servants Loyal

November 21, 2017 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - Nineteenth century French military and political leader Napoléon Bonaparte once said, "a soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon," recognising a fundamental aspect of human nature he readily exploited to bolster his now famous campaigns of European conquest.

Human beings value recognition. Today, it drives the addictive nature of social media platforms. Facebook co-founder Sean Parker recently admitted that the ubiquitous social network platform was designed intentionally to exploit this and become "addictive."

In the Guardian's report titled, "Ex-Facebook president Sean Parker: site made to exploit human 'vulnerability'," Sean Parker would describe what he called a "social-validation feedback loop," explaining that:

“How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?” It was this mindset that led to the creation of features such as the “like” button that would give users “a little dopamine hit” to encourage them to upload more content. 

“It’s a social-validation feedback loop … exactly the kind of thing that a hacker like myself would come up with, because you’re exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.”

This social-validation feedback loop utilising the "like" button is merely the most recent innovation in social engineering, and the latest iteration of Bonaparte's "bit of coloured ribbon." 

Keeping Servants Eager and Loyal 

Combining traditional methods and modern innovations in social engineering, modern day empires extend their influence through media, activist, political and business circles around the globe. In addition to boosting modern social media accounts of their handpicked proxies, facilitators and agents, they also maintain an impressive network of organisations that both manage and direct "soft power" efforts as well as reward eager and loyal functionaries.

Thailand Pushes Back Against BBC Propaganda

December 8, 2016 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - Thailand's government has opened an investigation into BBC's "BBC Thai" and its recent activities. It is accused of maliciously slandering Thailand's newly appointed head of state, King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a recent "profile" published in both English and Thai on its website and across social media.

The BBC, known for misleading the public globally, has helped justify devastating wars, political conflict, and the socioeconomic division and destruction of entire nations. While the Western media attempts to portray the BBC's row in Thailand as merely a Thai issue - it is in fact the latest in an extensive global backlash against the monopoly the West has - until now - enjoyed over the media.

The BBC in Thailand 

While the BBC has maintained an office in Thailand for years, "BBC Thai" was created only in 2014, just after the US-backed regime of Thaksin Shinawatra - headed by his own sister Yingluck Shinawatra - was ousted from power amid massive street protests and a subsequent military coup.

Since then, the BBC has worked ceaselessly toward undermining the government, the military, as well as attacking the nation's ancient and revered institutions in an effort to bolster Western-backed opposition fronts.

This includes several notable stunts including the BBC's Jonathan Head visiting the 2015 Bangkok bomb blast scene to tamper with evidence in an effort to undermine the investigation and humiliate investigators as well as the government. Head would confiscate evidence from the scene and carry it to a near by police station - all on camera - in a very public and staged attempt to depict investigators as incompetent. Despite what is a chargeable offense in even the most liberal nations, Thai police attempted to downplay the incident.

During the deluge of leaked documents and emails over the past year, information regarding the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) of which the BBC's Jonathan Head is a senior figure, revealed ties to convicted financial criminal George Soros and Open Society.

Head would flatly deny the accusations first published by Bangkok-based alternative news site "The New Atlas," before admitting to "a one-off media seminar in Myanmar." However, further investigation revealed that the FCCT included in its Bangkok office, and headed by the FCCT's own president - Dominic Faulder - "The Indochina Media Memorial Foundation" (IMMF) whose actives were indeed funded for years by Open Society.

Ukraine to Ferguson: America Reaping What it Sows

August 25, 2014 (NEO Journal) - What is happening now in Ferguson was inevitable. You cannot allow the killing of civilians across the globe by those you've elected and then go home and watch TV. If such barbaric acts are allowed somewhere else, they will be allowed everywhere.

People are saying: "how could this have happened, is it even real?" Surely certain German citizens were feeling the same when Hitler turned out to be a monster. It was coming, everybody knew that, but nobody cared enough to actually do something about it.

You can't leave politics alone, since it has no intention of leaving you alone.

NOTE: The Neo-Nazi militants featured in the video above raiding eastern Ukraine (wearing orange armbands) are of the Azov Battalion, featured in Al Jazeera's article, "Driven by far-right ideology, Azov Battalion mans Ukraine’s front line."

Nazism: History is Repeating itself in Ukraine

Russia vs. NATO: Containment 2.0

April 30, 2014 (Cross Talk - RT) What does Washington's "containment" policy mean? What threats does it pose? Will it work against today's Russia? And does this mean Washington has declared a new Cold War? CrossTalking with Stephen Cohen and John Mearsheimer. 

Easter Greetings...

April 17, 2014 (New Eastern Outlook)

The world is what we make of it.

Regardless of our differences, we have many similarities, including our desire for peace and prosperity. Understanding our differences and our similarities allows us to move forward together, creating a vibrant, colorful tapestry made by the very best we have within.

Happy Easter from the editorial board of New Eastern Outlook.

Audio: The song is "We are singing to you," composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Performed by the Dzvinochok Boys Choir.

May Syria Prevail (VIDEO)

April 7, 2014 (New Eastern Outlook)

New Eastern Outlook

Since 2011 the Syrian people have been fighting against a long-planned foreign conspiracy to violently reorder their nation.

Fighting off tens of thousands of foreign-backed sectarian militants for 3 years, the Syrian people are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. For those that have stood with Syria these last 3 years, we must keep standing strong.

For those just becoming aware of the Syrian crisis, join hands with the Syrian people and raise your voices to end this war.

For more news and analysis on Syria and across the Eastern World, please visit New Eastern Outlook http://journal-neo.org/