From: spike66 (spike66@ATTBI.com)
Date: Thu Apr 11 2002 - 00:55:15 MDT
>
>
>>On Wednesday, April 10, 2002, at 12:20 am, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
>>
>>>Damien, I can only speak for myself, but I've finally reached the point
>>>where I trust the press less than the military - whether it's US or
>>>Israeli.
>>>
>>Harvey Newstrom wrote: This surprises me.
>>
>>There are hundreds of examples where military claims were later shown to
>>be false by the press...
>>
The term lie and false may not be perfectly applicable to
either the military or the press. Is camoflage a lie? It
makes something look like bushes. The Confederates
held off a division of union troops with a Quaker cannon:
a log painted black to look like an artillery piece. Lee
had a few men start a large number of camp fires then
walk round all night so that observing union troops would
see the fires wink off for a second, and thus assume a
large number of rebs were camped there. Was
General Lee a liar? In Desert Storm, a small force
feigned an attack, distracting the Iraqi forces, and placed
a solid punch elsewhere. Lie?
Is the term lie even applicable here? We have bluffing
in a poker match, fake left run right in football, feigns
in boxing, gambits in chess. These kinds of maneuvers
are all fair game. In war one must use all resources at
one's disposal, including keeping the opponent in
doubt as to ones intentions.
With the press, I see what appears not so much
out and out lying as a more or less constant spinning
of the news to favor one's political viewpoint. It is not
clear that this is lying exactly, more like campaigning.
Treat news reporting as a political advertisement, treat
the words of military leaders as a battle tactic, and
always keep the bullshit filters set on high. spike
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