Contents
Public Relations, Control of Information, and Fossil Fuels Companies
Rise of Authoritarian Rule: Hett’s Book on Hitler’s Control of Institutions
Mother Jones Covers the Right-Wing War on Democracy
VFP: No War with Russia: Spend Money on Climate Emergency
Fossil Fuels, “Public Relations,” Edelman. Why Fossil Fuels Companies Have Been Able to Continue Extracting Oil, Coal, Gas From 350.org
For decades, fossil fuel companies have used public relations (PR) firms to fabricate their image, protect their reputation, greenwash their activities, and spread disinformation to the public.
These PR firms operate in the shadows, but they are a key element of Big Oil’s success in deceiving the public and stopping any progress on climate action. It’s time to bring them out of the shadows and put a face to their deception.
The world’s largest PR firm, Edelman, is one of the top offenders – taking $439.7 million from the American Petroleum Institute (the U.S.’s largest oil and gas trade group) all while claiming they promote ‘climate-friendly values.’ , , , ,
.We need to increase the pressure on the PR giant in order for them to drop their oil and gas industry clients. Sign our petition to Edelman today? Sign the petition »
Danger of Death of US Democracy Increasing:
Big Oil’s success in deceiving the public and stopping any progress on climate action is one force of many undermining the essential needs of people. We can learn from a glance back at Hitler’s success.
Hitler’s right-wing Nazis destroyed the democratic Weimar Republic by taking over its institutions. By late summer of 1934, all effective political opposition to Nazi rule had decisively failed. The political parties, the labor unions, the corporations, the Reichstag, the cabinet, the federal states, and the SA one by one had been brought under Nazi control. The remaining source of resistance, the army, was made content by its expansion and Hitler’s shredding of the Treaty of Versailles. From August 1934, “the switches were set for war” for Germany to become an economic superpower “by seizing a massive land empire in Eastern Europe.” (Benjamin Hett, The Death of Democracy, 231).
Mother Jones reported the war by the right-wing against US democracy in its March-April, 2022 number:
Monica Bauerlein. “Break the Glass: It’s Time to Cover the War on Democracy like the Emergency It Is.”
Ari Berman. “The Coming Coup.” “The insurrectionists failed to topple a fair election. But Republican legislators are succeeding at seizing control of how—and if—votes are counted.”
Kathryn Joyce. “Holy War.” Militant right-wing are seeking to remake the Catholic Church.
Dan Friedman. “The Influencer.” Guo Wengui, the fugitive Chinese tycoon, Steve Bannon, and other MAGA luminaries have joined forces to blanket the web with far-right propaganda.
And a chapter in a book: Bill Fletcher Jr.: “Trump and the Danger of Right-Wing Populism in the U.S.,” New Polarizations, Old Contradictions, eds. Greg Albo, et al. 2022.
RELATED FROM VETERANS FOR PEACE: WAR AND WARMING
“CLIMATE JUSTICE AND THE NEED FOR PEACE” VFP Weekly E-News (2-9-22).
Allies joined Veterans For Peace on Saturday, February 5, the national day of action to say No War With Russia! Sixty concerned citizens gathered in front of Senator Wyden’s office building and along nearby Lloyd Boulevard. Wyden, along with Senator Merkley, is a co-sponsor of the “Rush and Crush” Senate Bill 3488, to rush $500 million for weapons to the Ukrainian government and crush the Russian economy with sanctions. Where’s the urgency about the billions of dollars needed to deal with the climate crisis? Read More!—
OMNI Peace Newsletter | OMNI Facebook | OMNI WebsiteDick Bennett
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