How Ghosts, Superstitions, and Vampires Are Used For PsyOps Warfare
io9 - Military psy ops aren't limited to leaflets, propaganda broadcasts, and Korean pop music. In the past, the US military has played on their opponent superstitions of vampires, ghosts, and astrology. Here are some strange examples.
In World War II, US forces exploited the Nazi's predilection to put stock in superstitions and the occult. The Rand Corporation's 1950 memorandum "The Exploitation of Superstitions for Purposes of Psychological Warfare" details how pseudoscience connoisseur Joseph Goebbels counteracted Allied attempts to strike fear into the superstitious strata of the German population.
Another curious incident noted in the Rand document occurs in Italy, where British military created a giant manikin to scare rural residents. A large, shambling creature was assembled to freak out superstitious locals.
It is worth noting that Jasper Maskelyne did have a penchant for embellishment. The US military however pulled a similar tactic in the 1950s, when Major General Edward G. Lansdale spearheaded the rumor that an asuwang was loose in the Philippines. In Filipino mythology, the asuwang is a winged, vampiric witch that has a hankering for unborn fetuses. The US military was battling Communist Huk rebels and concocted possibly the only covert operation in human history to stage a vampiric attack. Lansdale recalls:
To the superstitious, the Huk battleground was a haunted place filled with ghosts and eerie creatures. A combat psy-war squad was brought in. It planted stories among town residents of an Asuang living on the hill where the Huks were based. Two nights later, after giving the stories time to make their way up to the hill camp, the psywar squad set up an ambush along the trail used by the Huks [...] When a Huk patrol came along the trail, the ambushers silently snatched the last man of the patrol, their move unseen in the dark night.
They punctured his neck with two holes, vampire-fashion, held the body up by the heels, drained it of blood, and put the corpse back on the trail. When the Huks returned to look for the missing man and found their bloodless comrade, every member of the patrol believed that the Asuang had got him and that one of them would be next if they remained on that hill. When daylight came, the whole Huk squadron moved out of the vicinity.
Similarly, the US military imitated ghosts when fighting the Vietcong. Operation Wandering Soul was an attempt to rattle Vietcong by playing tapes of "ghost" soldiers who had fallen in battle. This propaganda campaign relied on the Vietnamese belief that if a body isn't interred near its corporeal home, the soul will wander the earth. US forces blasted eerie recordings of disembodied souls on the ground and air. A February 1970 account in The Tropic Lightning News described the recording as an effective means to shake up Vietcong forces:
If you were a Wolfhound of the First Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, and were at Fire Support Base Chamberlain on the night of February 10 you might have sworn the place was being haunted by poltergeists, ghosts that is. The moans, groans and weird sounds began at eight that night, a likely time for the cloudlike forms to reveal themselves. Of course, ghosts are nonexistent, or are they? In this case the ghosts and weird sounds were furnished by the Sixth PSYOP Team and the S-5 Section of the 1/27th Wolfhounds who were conducting a night mission at Chamberlain. With the help of loud speakers and a tape of ‘The Wandering Soul,' a mythical tale of a Viet Cong gone to Buddha, the mission was a success.
The Wandering Soul is a tape about the soul of a dead Viet Cong. It describes the wandering of this soul about the countryside. The dead VC tells his comrades to look at what has happened to his soul and that he will never be at rest, always wandering,' said Captain William Goodman of Philadelphia, the battalion S-5. ‘Buddhists believe very strongly that if they aren't properly buried and properly mourned, their soul will wander through eternity,' added First Lieutenant Peter Boni of Boston, the officer in charge of the Sixth PSYOP Team. ‘We play upon the psychological superstitions and fears of the enemy. The method is very effective," Boni said.
Those actually playing the tape were less sanguine about its efficacy. In fact, helicopter crews reported receiving heavier fire when playing the Wandering Soul tape and would even use it goad Vietcong ground troops on. One swiftboat reserve lieutenant even recalls how the Wandering Soul tape got their boat pelted with rockets, so they opted to blast Tina Turner instead — their boat didn't take fire when blaring The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll in the middle of the night. For a fascinating history of the Wandering Soul initiative, check out Sergeant Major Herbert A. Friedman's article on Psy Warrior.
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NYC ET Commission?
aolnews - New York City is home to practically every ethnic group under the sun, and if one UFO researcher gets his way, it will soon be host to every extraterrestrial species in the universe.
Michael Luckman, author of "Alien Rock," has shifted his time from writing books to writing ballot initiatives -- specifically one that, if passed, would create an ET Affairs Commission. The panel would consist of seven volunteers who would meet twice a year to gather the most compelling evidence regarding the existence of extraterrestrials and UFOs and post it on the city's website.
The initiative is almost identical to one being considered by Denver voters, but while that city's altitude makes it closer to outer space than New York, Luckman believes there's no contest as to which burg ETs should visit first.
"New York is the media capital of the world," Luckman told AOL News. "UFOs don't visit that often, but there have been some extraordinary sightings. Muhammad Ali was training for a fight with George Foreman and running in Central Park when he saw a UFO. It was a mother ship and out of that came a smaller ship.
"John Lennon saw one as well. He was with May Pang, his girlfriend at the time, and yelled at it, 'Stop! Take me with you!' "
Getting signatures for any ballot initiative isn't easy, but Luckman believes New York's large size will actually make it easier to collect enough to make an impact.
"Because New York is larger than Denver, I think it's an easier task to get signatures," he said. "The news media is extremely interested in this. Nothing says it better than the reaction to the recent UFO sightings in the Big Apple. Some may have been balloons set off by schoolkids, but there is something going on."
Assuming the initiative passes and a commission is formed, Luckman says one of the first duties will be considering sites where alien spacecraft might land. Although the New York Jets and the New York Giants both play in New Jersey, he doesn't think having ET go there is a good idea.
"It has to be in New York. If they landed in New Jersey, it would be like 'War of the Worlds,' " he said with a laugh. "I think Central Park is the most natural spot and I'd like to see space set aside as a landing site."
Luckman says another duty of the proposed commission would be appointing a liaison to act as go-between for the city and visitors from other worlds.
To that end, Luckman is concurrently working on another project called the Committee of 1,000 Humans to Welcome Extraterrestrials to Earth ("I know. It's long," he said).
The world leaders Luckman would like to serve on that committee include Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, but he also has other folks in mind.
"Muhammad Ali has had 22 sightings and is the most recognized person on the planet," he said. "Also, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Steven Spielberg, Larry King and [British pop star] Robbie Williams."
If Michael Jackson were still alive, he would presumably be on Luckman's short list. The author says the King of Pop once asked him to serve as a consultant on a project to build a high-tech alien landing pad in the Nevada desert.
Although the Denver initiative would require its commission to be funded by private sources, Luckman hasn't made a decision on how the New York panel would be funded. But he is still confident his initiative will pass muster in the Big Apple.
However, political experts familiar with the ways things are done in New York City are skeptical about the chances of the initiative ever getting to the voters.
Republican consultant Gerry O'Brien says the truth is, Gotham is "as unfriendly to its own constituents as they are to ETs."
"Unlike Western states, where voters can get initiatives on the ballot if they collect enough signatures, the only way that initiative could make on the New York ballot is if the mayor or a commission who answers to him places it there," O'Brien said.
Luckman isn't worried, possibly because Mayor Michael Bloomberg is already on his list of 1,000 people who should meet the ETs first when they land.
"The campaign will initially seek the support of the mayor," he said. "I have people inside City Hall who have expressed serious interest in the Extraterrestrial Ballot Initiative, but, right now, I can't comment more specifically. I wouldn't attempt this if I didn't think it was feasible.
"However, this is an opportunity for Mayor Bloomberg to promote extraterrestrial tourism in the Big Apple."
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Russia Has 800,000 Non-Traditional Healers
UPI - Russia has more occult healers, sorcerers and wizards than it does professional doctors, an official said.
World Health Organization data indicate there are some 800,000 alternative healers in Russia, RIA Novosti reported Monday.
Andrei Yurevich, a spokesman for the Russian Academy of Sciences, said Russia has about 640,000 professional doctors.
The independent polling agency Levada said an August poll discovered about 20 percent of Russians use the services of non-traditional healers.
Russia saw an explosion in the belief of the paranormal and occult in the 1980s, with psychic healers Anatoly Kashpirovsky and Allan Chumak drawing audiences of millions, the report said.
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Police Given Advice on Witches and Pagans
telegraph - It is Hallowe'en and the witching hour is drawing nearer, but don't be alarmed – police officers are on the case, having been issued with official guidance on how to deal with witches.
The advice is contained in a 300-page "diversity handbook" which gives officers a range of "dos and don'ts" when approaching followers of a range of religions and other beliefs, from atheism to Zoroastrianism.
Instructions include avoid touching a witch's "Book of Shadows", which contains their spells, or handling their ceremonial dagger.
The online handbook also advises officers not to jump to conclusions if they encounter a situation where a blindfolded, naked person is tied by their hands – they could merely have stumbled upon a pagan ritual, where such activities are normal practice.
"Witches have a Book of Shadows, which contains a handwritten record or diary of their personal progress as a witch," says the guide.
"Often the books have ornate covers, some have the title Book of Shadows on the cover, some don't.
"Any book can be used, but this book is regarded as private and special and should not be touched by anyone but the author. If it is possible to avoid touching this book then it is best to do so."
The guide, drawn up by the Metropolitan Police, Britain's largest police force, warns against interrupting a pagan ceremony.
It adds: "Some ceremonies include a blindfolded, naked participant, whose hands may be bound. This is in accordance with ritual and has the full consent of the participant."
Officers are also given advice on the ceremonial dagger, known as an athame, carried by witches and some other categories of pagan.
"When entering a witch's home do not touch an athame without the owner's permission," it says.
"During the Beltane Bash that celebrates the festival of Beltane (around the end of April), it has become a custom for some to wear athames in various sizes, sometimes sword size, on a belt, as a visible symbol of their pagan faith and to wear them in the streets.
"These are not intended to be used as an offensive weapon but might be misinterpreted as such."
Also provided is a glossary of pagan terms including the traditional greeting of "Merry Meet" and an explanation of a "wickening", or child naming ceremony.
It explains the dates and significance of pagan festivals such as Imbolc, Lughnasadh and Samhain – also known as Halloween.
The handbook also states: "Pagans have no religious dietary laws. However, many, though not all, witches are vegetarians."
In nine pages relating to atheists, the handbook gives advice on places of worship, Holy texts and prayer, stating: "There are no designated places of worship.
"There are no prescribed texts. Atheists have no prayers."
It adds: "Atheists have no dietary requirements other than those of the individual."
It also gives officers a handy guide to key atheist philosophers, and famous agnostic thinkers such as Bertrand Russell, Robert G. Ingersoll and Thomas Henry Huxley.
It warns: "Be aware that Atheists might feel offended by an assumption of faith," it warns.
As well as religions and beliefs, the book gives officers advice on dealing with teenagers, including a guide on "teen speak", to allow officers to communicate with younger members of the population.
The guide explains that "Talk to the hand 'cos the face is in Spain" means "I am not listening", while "Da bomb" means "great" or "excellent".
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Witch's Hat Halts London Underground on Halloween
telegraph - Tube passengers had to walk through tunnels in the early hours of Sunday morning after the hat, which contained metal, was thrown on to the line at Chalk Farm, in North London.
A passenger is thought to have thrown the hat which cut out the power, halting four trains.
Hundreds of passengers were stuck on the trains for more than an hour before they were allowed to walk along tunnels to the nearest stations, London Underground said.
The four trains, three heading north between Camden and Belsize Park, and one northbound between Camden and Kentish Town, were stopped at 0040 BST.
"We apologise to passengers who were inconvenienced as a result of this incident, and would urge customers to exercise care and not to discard items on the railway," a spokesman for the company said.
"The metal part of a hat thrown on to the rails at Chalk Farm caused power interruption," London Underground said.
London Underground estimated that there were up to 90 passengers on each train trapped for between an hour and an hour-and-a-half.
