Some might call it a sacrilege, but one of the world's most ancient religious sites has fallen victim to the modern internet phenomenon Twitter.

Jewish pilgrims wanting to pray at the famous Western - or Wailing - Wall can now stay at home, put their feet up and tweet their prayers via Twitter and have them printed and delivered to the wall in Jerusalem.

In recent years Jews could email or fax their prayers to the wall but now they can "tweet" them in short, 140-character messages via the micro-blogging website.

The man behind the idea, Tel Aviv-based Israeli Jew Alon Nil, says his site has been overwhelmed with thousands of prayers from around the globe.

"The beautiful thing about Twitter is I think now there's about 60-70 million users and there's nothing easier than to tweet a prayer, to send a message by Twitter," he said.

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Twitter moves in mysterious ways... see toon at top...

News that Christian churches in Australia are about to start an advertising blitz to persuade people to bring Jesus into their lives, once again shows how naive and uninformed businesses, government, and people are generally when they believe that advertising has some magical power to persuade people to behave the way they want them to.
It seems that thousands of churches across 15 Christian denominations in NSW are behind a project that aims to promote the message that the teachings of Jesus are still relevant. The campaign, based around the slogan, "Jesus. All About Life" begins in three weeks. Unfortunately, those with faith have probably placed too much of it in the ability of an advertising campaign to convert non-believers, and even lapsed Christians.
Yes, advertising does have some influence over attitudes and behaviour, but the reality is that it can only really work
as a "nudging" tool. In other words, an advertisement will incrementally move you toward a decision, but there are a
whole bunch of other variables that will determine your final behaviour or decision. In reality, one-way advertising is a relatively weak motivator when it comes to consumer behaviour (although the ad agencies wouldn't tell you that when you are about to give them $1 million).
It's quite a romantic notion to think that advertising is powerful. It is a myth partly propagated by the advertising
industry, and partly supported by our experience as consumers. We see a lot of ads, we know that businesses spend
millions on it, so it must work... mustn't it? We see hundreds, even thousands of advertisements every day, but when you think about it, what do we do? Mostly nothing in response.

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See toon at top... you know my posie...

I am disappointed Gus.

To argue that advertisement (controlled information - propaganda) does not have any persuasion is so indefensible that it makes me feel that perhaps there is another motive?  A diversion? But then if “advertisement” (controlled information) has no effect what would be the purpose?

If you are right Gus then Goebbels had no effect on the German people?

And the Americans could not have used propaganda to excuse their multiplicity of crimes against humanity?

G.W. Bush deserved his media led election?

The media had no effect on the disgraceful dismissal of the Whitlam government? And yet paid out of court settlements?

The crimes of the Zionists in occupied Palestine would never have been revealed except for independent Journalists – and even now there is a censorship at work. How do I know? By the duplicity of the US foreign policies regarding any real or imagined threats to the Zionists - which suits the US objective to destabilise?

And now Gus, we are told by the US so-called intelligence, that after Afghanistan and the disgusting destruction of Iraq, they must consider the Zionist claim to destroy Iran.

When a Government of Communism or Socialism succeeds in throwing off the shackles of the propaganda spewed out by the US over many years, they have flourished in the universal scheme of things – because of people power!

How do you muster “people power” Gus?  By the American Revolution without a horseman? By using military power to control the lesser peoples? And what is different in that than the Monarchy which the so-called revolutionists abhorred?

I cannot argue that the Nazi years didn’t at first give a new life to the German people – but I can argue that the continued successes when reported had an enormous effect.

I believe, like most everything, that the people will eventually decide by sometimes crazy means – to throw off the shackles – no matter what their controlled information reports – whether it is Capitalism; Communism or Socialism.

The Romans forcefully prevented demonstrations of people – and nothing much has changed.

To me Gus, the claim by the Zionists to the Palestine lands is really frightening, since the ramifications of the US overbearing military/corporate providing the weapons to a radical group of “square pegs in a round hole” merely demonstrates the major problem that the world faces today.

Cheers mate.

NE OUBLIE.

Oi! Dear Ernest...

I did not write the piece (when I quote a piece I place it in italics)... and I stated at the end of it "You know my posie [position]"

I have written on this site about advertising. I worked in advertising, amongst many many other things... I have the books by the grand daddy of modern advertising : E. T. Gundlach.

Advertising is propaganda. Propaganda is advertising that controls all (most) outlets and eliminates competition.

Thus what I wanted to do here is expose that "experts" such  as Dr Paull Harrisson — senior lecturer in consumer behaviour and advertising at the deakin business school — was talking a little Scheiße — Pardon my german. Sometimes I am too obtuse for my boots. But I did not want to say this directly. I wanted readers to see for themselves the subtle aspect of advertising — especially in a pluralistic competitive market system...

Even the great Gundlash proposed in 1928 that he hope governments would not grasp the medium of advertising as it would create extraordinary polarisation of politics.

Yet advertising is complex and can sometimes be counter-productive when not properly targetted to the most 'liberated" of spirits.

Advertising as evolved with media such as newspaper and TV are designed to resonate with our desires, our angsts and our needs, and our deviations. Some work mostly on the converted, some are designed to entice new consumers, some are designed to retain one's part of a dwindling market...

For example, as less new cars are "consumed", many insurance companies have changed spots and advertise new car insurance product on TV, and this advertising confuses the market with a variety of ways to sell/buy the same bloody thing (but is it?). All are fighting for the same "limited" dollar. NRMA (IAG) shareholders are nervous... Their un-adverts may have stopped the bleeding but have not helped write much new business for example. And other insurance companies are doing fancy footworks — including one that advertise unashamedly you're dealing with a computer on the phone!! Easy. Then there is the other insurance company that preys on the ME-me-me generation for which the car "is their most prized cherished possession"... then there is the one that tells us that YOU are the most important person for them... etc. And did I mention the Frrrrench gal who talks about boooodddgey... All this is designed to grab market share in a very very competitive confused market. No-one is going to write 50 per cent increase in business. They all are nervous... But they will stick at it until they have enough consumers to be in the black... It won't be huge business, but enough to "make" money and pay for the advertising. (Note: most of the new "small" insurance companies are part of, and underwritten by, huge insurance multinationals, even banks or other large businesses "branching out"... On this site, too I did mention that some insurance companies work hard at limiting the number of contracts entered with under-25s... as the pay out from under-25s' accidents are not compensated, even with double-premiums).

So the message is that when the market is "confused" in a pluralistic environment it's time to pray or prey... retain consumers or gain new ones that is the question...

But in the end someone like Dubya (our modern dummy Goebbles) would not have been able to sell the war in Iraq via his own government spruiking... He had to have had the media on side, which he did... That was the machiavellian bit. In here I did exposed the trick but then "as usual" it was erased... I will have to dig deep into my defunct computer...

Cheers.

Keep spurring me on, mate...

ps: ...and on this site too, we "promote" opinions... But we're minnows and we're here for the love — and hopefully the exposition of the value in our beliefs — of it... Preaching to the converted?... who knows...

see toon at top....

G'day Gus,

I missed the italics in my haste to repudiate what I thought was your 180 degree about face on that issue - sincere apologies Gus.

Is it lateral thinking to consider that the Zionists in Palestine may rue the day they accepted the same terms required by all previous dictatorships which seek to obtain U.S. Military/Corporate support? American history seems to demand this undertaking.

Regarding the argument that the Zionists - who I understand are the "whatever it takes" activists for a Jewish land of their own, have an historic entitlement to Palestine, is not borne out by most records of that ancient era.  Nevertheless, most peoples would sympathise with a race that aspires to that goal.

However, the ever-present spectre of religious bigotry raises its ugly head as it always seems to do.

I draw your attention Gus to an article I quoted in Gaza Holocaust some time ago: September 21, 2003 We know from the Bible and from experience that God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. The Bible tells us that again and again. A question I’ve been asked is, “How could a good God command the Israelites to slaughter every man, woman, child, and even animal in the cities of the Canaanite nations? Is this the same God that listed ‘Thou shalt not kill?’ in the 10 Commandments?” In Deuteronomy, God gives these instructions to Israel:In the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them — the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites,Hivites and Jebusites — as the LORD your God has commanded you.

Source: www.SusanCAnthony.com.

I wonder if religion is not necessarily an accepted description of a race of people - except contemporarily exaggerated in the case of Arabs, (including the Hebrews) and due to circumstances in an area not quite controlled by the US.  We hear a lot from the American propaganda machine that “we don’t hate all Arabs or their Muslim religion – just the extremists!” 

But I will not support the sacrifice of a people for the benefit of another – and may I say that even Solomon, in his wisdom, would agree with that?

Cheers mate.

NE OUBLIE.

God (or other beliefs) is a stylistic invention of mankind, evolved from early grunts to language, mostly to allay uncertainty of cosmic angst (why are we here? etc.), then applied to control the populace's fears and possibly its madness (human degeneration —see on this site "the usual suspect" line of comments)... These beliefs have been expanded to excuse and to justify the personal and social ugly behaviours through "God's purpose"... Of course, in this soup, we mix in the added flavours of "love" and forgiveness like salt and pepper...

In humans, the mechanics of nature have been "complexed" into the realm of stylistic deceit. I have suggested before (long clumsy philosophical discourse) that this is due to our memory size (read all comments from thereon) that through evolution has become larger that what we need for basic survival as a species. Thus "blank spaces" (they are not truly "blank" spaces but regions bathing in uncertainty*) have been created in our brains — spaces that cannot be filled by reactive experience or learning alone but regions that place us in the ambiguous position of multiple choice solution with equal value to a singular problem. Hence the STYLISTIC choice instead of a reactive solution...

This flexible ability evolved into "improvements" of behaviour in which we can do what we decide — mostly from what we know (experienced or learned from others) but also from the complex influence of uncertainty — yet strongly influenced by the social environment we live in. Many (most) of our "stylistic" choices though are reactive to what we have been manipulated to learn via formal education, advertising, social interactions and the comfort of our environment (natural and constructed).

Most people are still infantile about our ability in the management of uncertainty and they need the guiding hand of a supreme pizza deliverer to guide them through. Thus if things go bad or good, the pizza deliverer can be blamed or be praised while we reap the sorrows or the benefits. Of course, some people will abuse others by corralling masses into beliefs systems — either to create their own comfort in the safety of numbers, or for profit, power and control.

Thus any mention of god as a justification for any behaviour is anathema to me. It proves to me (and I may be wrong, who knows...) that either the person is lying to me or has not grasped the natural relativism of our existence, in which we individually have more consciousness that the entire universe (Gus' paradox). Our stylistic responsibility is our own.

In general and in particular we have no clue about what we're doing in relation to our real natural origins, thus we have invented this framework of supreme pizza deliverer beliefs that muddles and controls at the same time our behaviour.

That people kill in the name of god is the worst of crime.

That we're reducing the ability of this planet to sustain its veneer of life is a tragedy in the making.

But in the scheme of things it is only a relative tragedy relative to this planet and relative to ourselves and all other species that are "travelling' with us — species that have not had the good fortune of greater memory. We owe them their survival even if we wish our own Armageddon.

Yes Gus,
We must all learn to free ourselves from the fear meme woven by the peddlars of false security & spiritual salvation, if we are to have any chance of truly comprehending the meaning of our fragile place in the universe.
Cheers,
John.

The creators of an Aids awareness advertisement that shows a woman having sex with a series of dictators, including Hitler and Stalin, defended it today, amid growing criticism.

Das Comitee, a Hamburg advertising agency, said the advert's shock value was aimed at highlighting the dangers of unprotected sex at a time when public awareness about the risks was diminishing. "We knew the face we gave to the illness could not be a pretty one," said Dirk Silz, the creative director.

The advert was trying to "show the ugliness of the illness, not of aids victims", he added.

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Advertising is a funny beast... From E. T. Gundlach, 1931:

"The fundamental fact is this: all people wear pants, at least most of them, they live in heated houses and their daily meals, except from here and there a little caviar, are made up to a marked degree of much the same food, especially as to branded food. All of them, all alike, have certain desires, tendencies and emotions. There is love and hate, generosity and greed, kindness and brutality, anxiety, caution, haste, vanity; all these and other feelings are found with practically no distinction in beggars and prince. Particularly in the emotions about making, saving and spending of income, we cannot distinguish by "classes". One man is wasteful, another is stingy, one is gullible, the other suspicious. But they all want their money's worth. No matter whether you were thrown in the street an orphan newsboy saving every penny, or if you had a fortune to spend while getting an "education" at Harvard and Heidelburg, you will spar when you face the man who offers a trade."

One of the key point of advertising is to spruik value for money... another tactic, like in this German "advert" — more a government warning though — against AIDS, is to prey on fears... Yet who knows... There could be some women ready to have sex with the dictators... The grim reaper advert could be more effective... but controversy, ahead of or during showing, alerts people as much as the message...