Free Republic

... China’s programme to build a Navy and formulate its doctrine was initiated by Deng Xiaoping in 1979. The pace of construction of warships and submarines picked up in the past decade. By 2000, China had a Navy of 19 large surface combatants and 63 small surface combatants like frigates and corvettes. Construction was accelerated and in 2016 alone the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned 18 warships, including destroyers, corvettes and guided missile frigates. The PLAN plans to have a total of 60 “light missile frigates” in its inventory, with one missile frigate to be launched every three weeks.

How do grossly unqualified individuals like Barack Obama become President of the United States? Why is the Second Amendment under continual attack? The root cause is, in both cases, conservatives’ failure to understand psychological warfare and failure to understand the concept of the Propaganda Man.

Sevastopol, September 14, Interfax - Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested founding a Christian historical-cultural center not far from the Khersones reserve. "We have an idea, and I said to Mr Berlusconi yesterday that a Christian historical-cultural center [can be founded] somewhere not far from here in order not to interfere with Sevastopol," the president said during a visit to Khersones. Putin reiterated that he means a center that will comprise "all Christian denominations, not just Orthodox Christianity." The president said such centers do not exist anywhere in the world. He believes that "we will need to come together and...

The takeaway is that images are the most powerful means of communication. The human brain is designed to process images rather than words, and it may even be instinctive for us to accept any image as the truth. This was certainly the case until our ancestors learned to draw pictures. Images can also fascinate us and hold our attention in seconds, in contrast to words, in which the Propaganda Man may lose interest. Psychological warfare, therefore, involves the planned and scientific use of images to win the Propaganda Man's support. The purpose of these images is not, like a Charlie...

North Korea 'finishes missile launch preparations' and warns foreigners to evacuate South NORTH Korea has completed preparations for a mid-range missile launch from its east coast, officials in Seoul have revealed just hours after foreigners living in South Korea were warned to quit the country. North Korea's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee said in a statement monitored in Seoul that foreign nationals should find out in advance where they can take shelter as well as examine evacuation plans to leave the country. "We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war," said the KCNA news agency,...

All citizens in a free society need to understand psychological warfare to protect their property, their freedom, and possibly their lives from tiny self-serving minorities and even lunatic fringe organizations. "Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideas" explains how a handful of Nazis could gain control of an advanced, civilized, and educated nation like Germany. "Researchers have found that minority rules; when only ten percent of the public holds a firm opinion, the majority will always follow." Linebarger, however, set the figure at two percent: The Communists had shown that an organization calling itself a party, actually a...

If there was ever any doubt that Sarah Palin is a fool, she has removed it. Once the governor of Alaska and a vice presidential candidate, Palin has left the confines of public office for the more sympathetic offices of Fox News. She has also been acting as something of a de facto leader of the Tea Party movement. Unfortunately, her new roles have not lent her the gravitas she was lacking as a politician. ... Palin has consistently shown herself to be thoughtless, uninformed, impulsive and opportunistic. If these are the qualities people look for in a leader, then...

ALSO: # BULLETIN -- NORTH KOREA ABANDONS KOREAN WAR ARMISTICE.6 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters # BULLETIN -- NORTH KOREA SAYS IT WILL "USE ITS MILITARY" TO RESPOND TO SOUTH KOREAN DECISION.9 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters # BULLETIN -- NORTH KOREA CALLS SOUTH KOREAN DECISION TO JOIN ANTI-PROLIFERATION PROGRAM A DECLARATION OF WAR.10 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

December 2, 2003The Honorable Mr. Ryozo Kato Ambassador Extraordinary and PlenipotentiaryEmbassy of Japan2520 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 Dear Mr. Ambassador: It was very shocking and saddening to learn of the untimely deaths of two Japan Foreign Ministry personnel stationed to Iraq in order to assist in reconstruction. It must be a great loss for the Foreign Ministry not to mention for the bereaved families and for all of Japan to have Third Secretary Masamori Inoue and Counselor Katsuhiko Oku brutally stolen away by an act of unforgivable and unfathomable violence. It is still inconceivable--if not an outrage--that...

THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO INSTRUCT FELLOW FREEPERS ON HOW TO CONTROL AND INFLUENCE LIBERAL MEETINGS. The election is upon us. Lets get into the various election groups undercover, and employ these techniques in order to win. Lynn Stulter -- The Delphi Technique was originally conceived as a way to obtain the opinion of experts without necessarily bringing them together face to face. In Educating for the New World Order by Bev Eakman, the reader finds reference upon reference for the need to preserve the illusion that there is "Lay, or community, participation in the decision-making process, while...

The Nexus of Culture and Foreign PolicyBy Herbert London In policy disputes culture – however ambiguously defined – trumps most other characteristics including money, enthusiasm, even courage. By culture I’m referring to the habits of mind that are cultivated by the institutions in a given society. If one relies on a Tocquevillian interpretation of national character, the U.S. he observed was a nation that encouraged liberty and individualism, but it also fostered associations and communal ties. More recently, David Putman argued that Americans have been so seduced by television viewing they are accustomed to watching alone and “bowling alone”....

Mon, Mar 31, 2003   Middle East - AP U.S. Troops Kill at Least 7 Civilians 1 hour, 24 minutes ago NEAR KARBALA, Iraq - U.S. troops shot and killed at least seven Iraqi civilians — some of them children — in a vehicle at checkpoint Monday in southern Iraq (news - web sites) when the driver did not stop as ordered, U.S. Central Command said.   The soldiers involved were from the 3rd Infantry Division, the same unit that lost four soldiers Saturday at another checkpoint when an Iraqi soldier dressed as a civilian detonated a car bomb. On...