oaf@mit-vax.UUCP (Oded Feingold) (08/19/85)
ABSTRACT: A short time ago I uttered the opinion that Don Black
is a KGB operative, deliberately uttering partial (2nd-level)
misinformation in order that (certain) people believe the exact
opposite, hence re-misinform themselves by over-reaction.
There are many impressive things about Mr. Black's methods and
personality, not least of which is his ability to bull ahead and state
his case with scarcely diminished effectiveness, even when exposed. A
very hard man to bring down.
THE CHARGE
<< I happen to think you're a KGB agent, hired to spread >>
<< second-level disinformation under guise of a Klansman and >>
<< neo-Nazi. Said disinformation, when exposed, will lead to >>
<< more favorable perceptions of Soviet intentions... >>
------------------------------------------------------------
[Oded Feingold]
A SAMPLE PROVOCATION
>> I see the Communists had a big parade in Washington
>> yesterday (Monday, 12 August). Mayor Koch was there, Jesse
>> Jackson was there, Coretta Scott King was there---what a
>> crowd!
------------------------------------------------------------
[Don Black]
THE INEVITABLE RESPONSE
> Mr. Black, why is everything a communist plot? You sound
> like the little boy crying wolf. If this is a communist plot
> submit evidence. Remember what happened when the little boy
> cried wolf too many times? I AM AFRAID THAT DUE TO PEOPLE
> FROTHING AT THE MOUTH OVER COMMIES UNDER EVERY TABLE I CAN
> NO LONGER TAKE CLAIMS OF COMMUNIST THREAT SERIOUSLY. Quite
> frankly there is so much disinformation spread by right-wing
> fanatics that the truth can't be discerned.
------------------------------------------------------------
[Stephen(?) Kurtzman]
(Caps mine -- oaf)
THE CONCLUSION
Mr. Black's propaganda really works! How many people quietly get
more cynical about "commie plots" because of his postings, and don't
post their feelings? True, not EVERYthing is a Soviet plot, but the
diminished watchfulness Mr. Black engenders is self-delusionary and
dangerous. Consider: His selected audience includes people creating
and possessing technical information, both military and industrial.
By the way, be careful how you define "right-wing fanatics," Mr.
Kurtzman. Some are not what they appear to be.
SIDELIGHTS
> Lastly, your implication that Koch, Coretta Scott King, and
> Jesse Jackson are communists is beneath contempt.
------------------------------------------------------------
In a sense, Mr. Kurtzman, Comrade Black is correct: Consider the
following news item, regarding Nelson Mandela's daughter:
Her father, commander in chief of an armed
political wing of the African National Congress,
is serving a life sentence for treason. _Under_
_South_ _African_ _law_, any organized opposition
to the system of segregation known as apartheid IS
DEFINED AS COMMUNIST and therefore treasonous.
------------------------------------------------------------
UPI (8/17/85)
Caps mine -- oaf
Where's the logic here, beside invoking bugbears? With every
passing day, by dint of tireless Soviet proselytizing and frank US
hostility, the ANC is more influenced by the SU. Eventually, the
Marxists will dominate the ANC, and when they take over South Africa,
it will be solidly in the Soviet camp. Black's (and the rest of the
KGB's) long-range goal is to make sure the ANC has time to "mature"
and "resolve internal contradictions" to become a true "vanguard of
the dictatorship of the proletariat." If the US changed tack and
supported them they might reach power before being sufficiently
Sovietized. Hence this obstructionism. [Speculate on Jesse Helms for
an instant -- now THERE's a dupe.]
By tarring Koch, King, and Jackson with the Communist brush, Don
Black intends to provoke the same abreaction to the concept of such
conspiracies, the smug complacency that if decent people support the
ANC, and they're called commies by the likes of himself, clearly
neither they nor the people they're trying to help could have anything
to do with the SU. He's setting us up for a nasty surprise, five,
ten, twenty years down the road. He's neither foolish nor impatient.
Soviet operatives are carefully selected, and their leaders consider
the long haul. Mr. Black's smear is not "beneath contempt," it is
merely deliberately, cleverly, extremely irritating. If it isn't true
now, he'll make sure it becomes so later.
> Why didn't you say that these people were calling for the
> government of South Africa to adopt the principles which
> Thomas Jefferson called self-evident? (Remember? "We hold
> these truths to be self-evident ...).
------------------------------------------------------------
In light of previous revelations, need you ask?
--
Oded Feingold MIT AI Lab. 545 Tech Square Cambridge, Mass. 02139
OAF%OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA {harvard, ihnp4!mit-eddie}!mitvax!oaf 617-253-8598gdvsmit@watrose.UUCP (Riel Smit) (08/23/85)
In article <667@mit-vax.UUCP> oaf@mit-vax.UUCP (Oded Feingold) writes: > In a sense, Mr. Kurtzman, Comrade Black is correct: Consider the >following news item, regarding Nelson Mandela's daughter: > > Her father, commander in chief of an armed > political wing of the African National Congress, > is serving a life sentence for treason. _Under_ > _South_ _African_ _law_, any organized opposition > to the system of segregation known as apartheid IS > DEFINED AS COMMUNIST and therefore treasonous. > ------------------------------------------------------------ > UPI (8/17/85) > Caps mine -- oaf Careful now (did I hear the word misinformation?). Under the above definition the official opposition party in South Africa (the Progressive Federal Party) is communist. While I agree that some of them have been called commies by the government (as some Democrats have been called by some Republicans), IN NO WAY does ANY South African law states that any organized opposition to apartheid is communist. (Yes I know you did not say it, but it still remains a blatent lie.) > Eventually, the >Marxists will dominate the ANC, I am not so sure about the "eventually". I think they already do - at least if judged by the literature they distribute in South Africa (which is not quite the same as that which you find here -- here it has been "cleaned up" for western consumption).