Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban

I think the true purpose is to legalize what they have already been doing. With the News Corp problems in the UK now spreading into the US they are changing the rules in order to keep them out of trouble. And it will also allow them to continue. Don't forget Dana Perino sits on the board of propaganda agents. link And she worked for Bush and now works for Fox News. Im sure she has a password for this site. link

A BILL
To amend the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to authorize the domestic dissemination of information and material about the United States intended primarily for foreign audiences, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012’.
SEC. 2. DISSEMINATION ABROAD OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNITED STATES.
(a) United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948- Section 501 of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1461) is amended to read as follows:
‘GENERAL AUTHORIZATION
‘Sec. 501. (a) The Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors are authorized to use funds appropriated or otherwise made available for public diplomacy information programs to provide for the preparation, dissemination, and use of information intended for foreign audiences abroad about the United States, its people, and its policies, through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and other information media, including social media, and through information centers, instructors, and other direct or indirect means of communication.
‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors may, upon request and reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling such a request, make available, in the United States, motion pictures, films, video, audio, and other materials prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated abroad pursuant to this Act, the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et seq.), or the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.). The Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall issue necessary regulations--
‘(A) to establish procedures to maintain such material;
‘(B) for reimbursement of the reasonable costs incurred in fulfilling requests for such material; and
‘(C) to ensure that the persons seeking release of such material have secured and paid for necessary United States rights and licenses.
‘(2) With respect to material prepared for dissemination abroad or disseminated abroad before the effective date of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012--
‘(A) the Secretary and the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall make available to the Archivist of the United States, for domestic distribution, motion pictures, films, videotapes, and other material 12 years after the initial dissemination of the material abroad; and
‘(B) the Archivist shall be the official custodian of the material and shall issue necessary regulations to ensure that persons seeking its release in the United States have secured and paid for necessary United States rights and licenses and that all costs associated with the provision of the material by the Archivist shall be paid by the persons seeking its release, in accordance with paragraph (3).
‘(3) The Archivist may charge fees to recover the costs described in paragraph (2), in accordance with section 2116(c) of title 44. Such fees shall be paid into, administered, and expended as part of the National Archives Trust Fund.
‘(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to require the Secretary or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to make material disseminated abroad available in any format other than in the format disseminated abroad.’.
(b) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section may be construed to affect the allocation of funds appropriated or otherwise made specifically available for public diplomacy.
(c) Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987- Section 208 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987 (22 U.S.C. 1461-1a) is amended to read as follows:
‘SEC. 208. CLARIFICATION ON DOMESTIC DISTRIBUTION OF PROGRAM MATERIAL.
‘(a) In General- No funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States. This section shall apply only to programs carried out pursuant to the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et seq.), and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.). This section shall not prohibit or delay the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors from providing information about its operations, policies, programs, or program material, or making such available, to the media, public, or Congress, in accordance with other applicable law.
‘(b) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors from engaging in any medium or form of communication, either directly or indirectly, because a United States domestic audience is or may be thereby exposed to program material, or based on a presumption of such exposure. Such material may be made available within the United States and disseminated, when appropriate, pursuant to sections 502 and 1005 of the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1462 and 1437), except that nothing in this section may be construed to authorize the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to disseminate within the United States any program material prepared for dissemination abroad on or before the effective date of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012.
‘(c) Application- The provisions of this section shall apply only to the Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors and to no other department or agency of the Federal Government.’.
(d) Conforming Amendments- The United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 is amended--
(1) in section 502 (22 U.S.C. 1462)--
(A) by inserting ‘and the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ after ‘Secretary’; and
(B) by inserting ‘or the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ after ‘Department’; and
(2) in section 1005 (22 U.S.C. 1437), by inserting ‘and the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ after ‘Secretary’ each place it appears.
(e) Effective Date- This Act shall take effect and apply on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Sorry had to just post the text without the title and the explanation in this post. The above is the text of HR 5736.

I had a difficult time finding it since the articles all parroted the source and failed to do the obvious step of giving the text.

Originally posted by JBA2848
I think the true purpose is to legalize what they have already been doing. With the News Corp problems in the UK now spreading into the US they are changing the rules in order to keep them out of trouble. And it will also allow them to continue. Don't forget Dana Perino sits on the board of propaganda agents. link And she worked for Bush and now works for Fox News. Im sure she has a password for this site. link

I think it is so they can legitimize propaganda movies like the Apollo moon landings lol

reply to post by silent thunder


Wait.. since when has there been a ban on propaganda?? I hear it every time I watch the news on tv or read a newspaper.

"‘SEC. 208. CLARIFICATION ON DOMESTIC DISTRIBUTION OF PROGRAM MATERIAL.
‘(a) In General- No funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States. This section shall apply only to programs carried out pursuant to the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (22 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465 et seq.), and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465aa et seq.). This section shall not prohibit or delay the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors from providing information about its operations, policies, programs, or program material, or making such available, to the media, public, or Congress, in accordance with other applicable law. "

I would like to point out the intent of the law, not the possible appication. "No funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States."

Busy reading then rest of the act.

BBG budget request 2013.
www.bbg.gov...

The implementation plan features a dozen key tactical steps that informed the FY 2013 budget
proposal.
 Unify the agency into one organization, many brands
 Launch a Global News Network
 Seize targeted growth opportunities
 Focus on the global democracy wave and pockets of extremism
 Rationalize program delivery
 Combat Internet censorship and jamming
 Elevate and expand social media innovation
 Employ leading-edge communication techniques and technologies
 Engage the world in conversation about America
 Nurture a dynamic, dedicated workforce
 Spur development through targeted media initiatives and training
 Sharpen understanding of impact through state-of-the-art research

This line stands out to me "Spur development through targeted media initiatives and training". Just like they have been doing all along. Take a look at all the countries involved in the spring uprisings and you will see where the BBG and USAID have been busy for a while.

Lets take a look at Egypt.
egypt.usaid.gov...

DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE
USAID supports Egyptian programs aimed at strengthening the administration of justice and improving access to justice for women and disadvantaged groups; promoting decentralization of fiscal, political and administrative governance; promoting more competitive and transparent electoral processes; and strengthening the organizational and advocacy capabilities of civil society organizations. USAID is proud to have helped the Government of Egypt achieve the following milestones:

Reduced opportunities for corruption and increased transparency and operational efficiency in 13 of Egypt’s 29 governorates through the successful piloting of court automation in eight courts throughout the country, and development of the software which allowed the Government of Egypt to independently automate an additional five courts;

Providing legal and professional training to 3,000 judges and staff, including a comprehensive training program for the first female judges ever appointed to the Courts of First Instance;

Improvement of mediation and counseling services through training for mediation staff and family court judges, and grants to local non-governmental organizations, collectively benefitting approximately 16,000 children and 8,700 families;

Training 600 of the nation’s 4,000 prosecutors on defendants’ legal rights and developing a legal data base and a handbook on the right to counsel for use by prosecutors nationwide, helping to ensure that new legislation is meaningfully implemented;

Production of a national strategy for decentralization, and implementation of pilot models in Assiut, Qena, and Beheira governorates to increase local revenues and citizen involvement;

Supporting more than 100 joint community-local government initiatives to solve local problems and providing civic education and leadership training to more than 47,000 women, students and youth across the country;

Protecting human rights through the establishment of Child Protection Committees in all 29 governorates across the country, a nationwide human rights education campaign and the distribution of 180,000 children’s books on human rights;

Provision of training to more than 2,000 media professionals combined with strengthening six media training institutions in Cairo;

Increasing access to local news and information, through launching of the country’s first weekly supplement in a national paper in Alexandria, and increasing readership of a local paper by 50 percent in Minya;

Developing a trained cadre of more than 13,000 local election observers nationwide and supporting the issuance of 1,250 national identification and voting cards to facilitate citizen participation in national and local elections.

Providing legal and professional training to 3,000 judges and staff.
Training 600 of the nation’s 4,000 prosecutors
Provision of training to more than 2,000 media professionals
Developing a trained cadre of more than 13,000 local election observers

They were deeply involved in everything about Egypt before the uprising.And now the BBG and USAID want to expand even more to rule the world and they even have eyes for the US itself? I thought they were supposed to be for the US not against it?

reply to post by Manalow


I'd like to add one thing. This is the election year in the United States. I could not really, as an outsider try to influence your hearts and try to influence a change. But...

After seeing the evidence of election fraud in my country, and the reference as to how it is done "the american way..." Keep your eyes open, report any suspicious behaviour and record it yourself, who you reported it to and when - always keep notes and wonder why they aren't there afterwards.. You are legally allowed to take pictures, practice your rights and make it so expensive for the man to take them away that they think twice.

No matter what, this whole website is about change - change we know is happening, an awkening of a sense as the truth becomes known, whatever that may be.

Also to add to the above post.

 Launch a Global News Network

You can't avoid the US when you lauh a global news network such as CNN or Fox News.

reply to post by JBA2848


Laughable actually, watched Baghdad get pounded in real time.

There are many more channels than Fox, some of them might have funny names like www.aljazeera.com... or www.haaretz.com... or BBC.

reply to post by Manalow


aljazeera and haaretz I don't think get broadcast the same as CNN, Fox or BBC. But BBC is one that I did not say. But when I say Fox I should really say News Corp.

reply to post by JBA2848

On Dana Perino:

Remember that part of the BBG strategy is to de-federalize, which means privatize. Here's my pick for private PR mega corporation with global output:

Dana Perino
Dana Perino is the founder of Dana Perino and Company, a strategic communications firm, a member of the Burson-Marsteller Global Strategy Team

Burson-Marsteller is a real piece of work.
Just a little of their prestigious award winning work.

Burson-Marsteller
Following the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre of East Timor protesters by occupying Indonesian forces, the Indonesian government retained Burson-Marsteller[133][134][135] "to help improve the country's human rights and environmental image,"
. . .
Burson-Marsteller carried out public relations work for the last Argentine military dictatorship (1976–1983), for which it received criticism.[139] The corporation accepted the military junta government of General Jorge Videla as a client with the full knowledge of and advice from the U.S. State Department,[citation needed] and the remit of attracting industrial investment, marketing Argentine bonds, promoting Argentine products, mainly wine, and improving the image of the dictatorship around the world.
. . .
At that time human rights organizations were denouncing state crimes against humanity including forced disappearances and torture that were taking place in what later became known as the Dirty War.

So under the revolving door doctrine of U.S. government/private sector relations, Dana Perino can vote to give the propaganda contracts to her own company, then resign her BBG position and reap the lucrative rewards.