War / Peace

Trijicon to Stop Putting Biblical References on Gun Sights

Trijicon, which manufactures gun sights used by the U.S. Military, responded to international outcry and Pentagon concerns by saying it will immediately stop engraving biblical references on gun sights it sells to the military, and will provide the military with 100 free kits to remove existing biblical codes from guns it has already purchased. Guns in the military that currently carry the religious inscriptions may number in the tens of thousands.

Secret Jesus Codes on U.S. Military Weapons

ABC News revealed that Trijicon, the company that provides high-powered rifle sights to the U.S. military, inscribes the sights with coded references to biblical texts about Jesus Christ. The company inscribes the codes immediately after the model number, in the same font and type size.

From "Star Wars" to Darfur

Qatar has signed a $2.47 million contract (pdf) with Robert McFarlane's lobbying firm, McFarlane Associates to "sponsor and organize a peace process to resolve the conflict in Darfur and secure peace throughout Sudan." Under the contract, McFarlane is required to assis

U.S. Drone Strikes: A Propaganda Bonanza for the Taliban?

A recently-released study from the New America Foundation finds that after inheriting the drone program from President George W.

The Pentagon's New Multi-Lingual Web

The U.S. Special Operations Command awarded General Dynamics Information Technology a $10.1 million contract to build the "Trans Regional Web Initiative." The project will include "a minimum of two and no more than twelve websites" in languages such as Arabic, French, English, Chinese, Farsi, Russian, Urdu and Malay / Indonesian, in support of U.S.

Propaganda Versus the Power of the Purse

The U.S. Congress is alarmed at the Pentagon's "information operations" programs, including efforts to win "hearts and minds" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Pentagon Propaganda Gets a Pass

Is there a difference between covert propaganda and secretive campaigns to shape public opinion on controversial issues? The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) apparently thinks that there is.

The GAO recently ruled that the Pentagon pundit program did not break the law against taxpayer-funded domestic propaganda. The program involved some 75 retired military officers who serve as frequent media commentators. From 2002 to 2008, the Pentagon set up meetings between the pundits and high-level Department of Defense (DOD) officials. The Pentagon's PR staff not only gave the pundits talking points, but helped them draft opinion columns and gave them feedback on their media appearances. The Pentagon also paid for the pundits to travel overseas, following carefully-scripted itineraries designed to highlight successes in Iraq and humane measures at the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Spinning Israeli Settlements

The Israel Project, "the organization spearheading Israel's public relations efforts in the United States," recently released its 2009 Global Language Dictionary, authored by Republican pollster Frank Luntz.

Israel's PR Crisis

"Six months after Israel launched a 22-day offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip that killed more than 1400 Palestinians, the country has faced one of the worst public relations crises," reports The Age.

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