Fake Social Media Messages Led To War Against Libya on 22 Aug. 2011, by Marinella Correggia

The mother of all lies was sent to the world through a twitter message by Al Arabiya, February 23th. A message which makes Qadafi out to be a Hitler, and even more outrageous and cruel: "the repression in Libya has already claimed 10,000 dead and 50,000 injured."

It may be a ballon d'essai to check if the world was able to swallow it; it did: Even the progressive people in Europe said:

"We must stop the genocide."

"Bengazi is like Guernica."

But who is the source of this news? It was the terrorist rebels indeed (who kept repeating it): Al Arabyia says it received the news from "Sayed al Shanuka, Libyan member of the International Criminal Court, who was interviewed from Paris"

February 24th, just one day after the "genocide news," the International Criminal Court dismisses that man: "A clarification on media information regarding the ICC position on the Libyan situation is necessary. Various media sources have published information regarding the situation in Libya attributed to Mr Sayed Al Shanuka (or El-Hadi Shallouf), presented as a "member of the International Criminal Court" (ICC).

The ICC wishes to clarify that this person is neither a staff member nor counsel currently practicing before it, and by no means can he speak on behalf of the Court. Any declaration he made is given solely in his personal capacity.

The only official position to date is the ICC Prosecutor's statement, published on 23 February 2011. The decision to seek justice in Libya should be taken by the Libyan people. Currently, the Libyan State is not a Party to the Rome Statute. Therefore, intervention by the ICC on the alleged crimes committed in Libya can occur only if the Libyan authorities accept the jurisdiction of the Court, (through article 12(3) of the Rome Statute).

In the absence of such a step, the United Nations Security Council can decide to refer the situation to the Court. The Office of the Prosecutor will act only after either decision is taken."

But nobody seems to notice this official statement.

A few days later, March 3rd, it is Ali Zeidan's turn, a self-appinted spokesperson from the Libyan League for Human Rights which always, only from Paris, presents more terrifying data: 6,000 victims (3,000 in Tripoli, 2,000 in Benghazi, 1,000 elsewhere). But Zeidan's denunciation is not published in the LLHT website, and by the way Zeidan is not the president nor the director: another fake source. Zeidan is indeed a spokesperson of Benghazi terrorists. And he is the same Zeidan who, on March 23rd, stated: "In future oil agreements, we will remember those who helpd us" (by bombing more!).

It is indeed this data, 10,000 or 6,000 victims in a few days of protests, plus those allegedly "injured by Qadafi," which is taken as gold by the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

(But when in June the chief Prosecutor Ocampo issues a warrant for the three, the figure is no longer 6,000 but 208).

No matter, it is the huge figure which is used as the basis for the UN resolutions and for the war. The assumption is that if, in few days, "Qadafi killed so many people, what will happen if Libyan tanks enter Benghazi?" Indeed Dennis Ross, the White House political advisor, then stated: "Up to 100,000 people could be killed and everybody will blame us if we don't intervene."

This is what the UN resolutions and the war are based on... a tweet from a fake source.

(By the way, even in former wars in the past 20 years, there were fake smoking guns: incubators switched off in Kuwait City by Iraqi soldiers; weapons of mass destruction, mass graves and girls crying in front of a camera that they escaped death or rape).

About Marinella Correggia - Ecopeace activist since 1991, author, committed now against the awful NATO war against Libya

Around 100 civilians killed in increased NATO bombing of Tripoli, Libya, Africa (22/08/2011)

Around 100 civilians killed in increased NATO bombing of Tripoli, Libya, Africa

21.08.2011

"Tonight NATO carried out heavy bombings of several districts in Tripoli. As a result, about 100 people were killed, civilians among them. Rescuers are still working, which is why the exact number of the dead and wounded is still unknown.

Right after the bombing, gunfire was heard in the outskirts of the Libyan capital. Western media immediately reported that rebels had entered the city, and civil war started", said a representative of the Libyan Embassy in Moscow.

According to him, "some of the gunmen were arrested. Close inspection of the site showed that the rebels had been imitating clashes with the army and the police. Some of the rebels were wearing police and army uniforms. The recordings of the action made with professional cameras, were later to be sent to Western media. Some of the recording media were seized. The backdrop commentaries leave no doubt that it was only an imitation".

The Libyan Embassy representative also said that "there are still some "sleeping cells" in Tripoli at the moment, acting against the government".

"Records showing dead bodies were also seized from the arrested. Voice over contends that those are the participants of anti-Gaddafi demonstrations in Tripoli, supposedly killed by the "bloody regime". The dates at the recordings, however, are the 22nd and the 23rd of August. The background clearly indicates that the recordings were made in Benghazi, but not in Tripoli", added the Embassy representative.

Meanwhile, according to a Russian military-diplomatic source, the operation aimed at Gaddafi's elimination and forming of public opinion by NATO special forces "is about to start any moment".

"Our data show that there are 15-17 small diversionary groups acting in Tripoli and its outskirts. Most of their members are employed by private US and British military companies. There are also saboteurs from the Foreign Legion. The acts of sabotage committed, there will be a helicopter landing in Tripoli airport, NATO special services troops onboard in order to [do so under the excuse to] protect civilians", he added.

He also said that this information has been forwarded to the Russian government.

About ElenDorado

Born on 12.11.1978, researcher, teacher, translator, Ph.D. in Linguistics, specialize in Sociolinguistics

By Alexander Grigoryev

Dr. Moussa Ibrahim August 21st Press Conference on NATO Massacre in Tripoli

When NATO has lost the war and the west has collapsed from the falsehood it is built upon, clear documentation will show the media war, never clearer and with more proofs than Libya. Another reason NATO does not want to stop so as to hope to avoid future prosecution for crimes against humanity.

Tripoli (mathaba) -- The world is responsible and witness to the crimes being committed against Libyans in Tripoli, with NATO increasing bombing on and around Tripoli to offer support to rebels entering the previously peaceful city. The death toll last night 20th August was 376 dead and almost 900 injured. This includes NATO attacks on check points, army, soldiers and streets and neighbourhoods, others committed by rebels.
Confirmation from Libyan General People's Committee for Health has meanwhile come to light with statistics showing that since midday 21st August up to 11pm, during 11 hours of violence, with now 1300 have been killed in Tripoli alone and 5000 injured and the hospitals cannot cope.
The world can see that a peaceful city where journalists were living for many months is being attacked by NATO and attacking the heart of a peaceful civilian city, an army that is in defensive positions, and is attacking volunteers who came out of their houses, leaving their mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers,
to defend their city and NATO gives direct air cover to these armed gangs who have no political project.
The rebels want revenge, filled with hatred, supported by tribal conflict and bitterness from recent years, to destroy this city, especially the tribes, citizens and neighbourhoods that are well known for supporting Muammar Qaddafi.
We expect the death toll to rise beyond anyone's imagination. Supported by the might of NATO, without which the armed gangs would not be able to move a meter, face our army and tribes and families and volunteers, but because NATO kills anything that moves in front of the rebels, the rebels are able to advance.
We appeal to the world, to the heart of this world. People in my city are being killed, day in and day out, without any way out without any possible way for negotiations. We have talked before that you cannot condition peace, you have to sit down, talk and then discuss everything. Who has the right to take an agenda outside the peace talks, and say you cannot discuss this.
We said before we have accepted the African Union road map, we accept negotiations and talks, we can sit down with all parties, achieve peace and agree how to move forward for Libya, but no one wants to listen because all NATO cares about is to destroy the Libyan political system so that it can have a political system that will fulfil its own desires, not the desire of the Libyan nation, but the desires of NATO.
A most significant proportion of the Libyan people made their views very clear when they came out on the streets [with green flags and photos of Muammar Qaddafi], in their millions. Should these people not be heard, listened to and believed?
1300 dead, 5000 injured, in just 11 hours, our hospitals are unable to cope with such a disaster, the red cross is here in Tripoli while hoping to help, but the security situation is quite difficult.
We are very resilient and still very strong, we have thousands and thousands of fighters still remaining, who have nowhere to go but to fight, so this will increase and increase and the death toll will increase because each side is terrified of the other side if they will win. So let us suspend all military operations and violence.
NATO can order the rebels to stop immediately, we can order our troops and volunteers to stop immediately and then we sit. And the same as the rebels have their leader or leaders who will lead their negotiations and without them the rebels would be lost or destroyed, we too have our leader, Muammar Qaddafi. We need him to lead us for peace and a way out of this. If you take Muammar Qaddafi out of the equation a whole side will collapse and become an easy pray for the other side. That is why people are fighting for Qaddafi.
You cannot deprive millions of people of the leader they choose and they want and let them be easy pray for a vengeful, hateful side, disorganized, without a proper leadership, you saw them they killed their own commander of their army, they are penetrated with Al-Qaida elements, they are very tribal.
So we hold the world responsible. They have already committed crimes in Tripoli, they have burned houses in Tajoura, in Souk el Juma, in Tashnoun, in Al-Arada, they have kidnapped people, they have killed people walking in the streets who were ordinary citizens just because they were well-known supporters of the government, not military people but just normal civilians, they have attacked shops they have taken money from shops, and the fight is not over.
We are really fighting them and defeating them in many neighbourhoods, and yet although they haven't suffered yet, they have already started their wave of crimes. If burning houses, burning cars, kidnapping people, killing people in the streets is not crimes, then what is. The world cannot claim that it did not know.
Since early morning you know you need to stop this disaster from taking place. As for us, we will fight, we have whole cities on our side, they are coming en masse from everywhere to protect Tripoli to join the fight, people have the right to fight for themselves, and their families and their property and their future.
People will not give up. I talk to people and ask why are you fighting and the answer is always: I have no other way out. I would want peace, to sit down, negotiate and stop this madness, if I don't fight I would be killed, because I belong to a family that supported the government, or I belong to a tribe that made its voice clear, or I belong to a neighbourhood... so people are terrified and fighting out of fear, and the other side (rebels) are fighting out of fear as well.
NATO should not provide immediate and direct support for one side in a civil war. This is illegal and immoral. One side is killing and NATO is giving them support.
NATO will be held responsible, morally and legally, for the deaths taking place in Tripoli, this night, last night and in the coming nights. They cannot say that this was not expected to happen. They are rocketing our city and they have indeed killed many children, many men and many women. We will fight because we have the right to. We have the leader Qaddafi, he led us in this confrontation for dignity and our freedom from NATO's agendas. Qaddafi should lead us for our peace, our democracy, and our negotiation. -- mathaba #

http://www.mathaba.net/news/libya

The Ideology of the Loser is Not a Winning Strategy (Obama loser)

The more that we observe our fellow man, the more obvious it becomes that humanity is unable to understand the problems that it causes for itself. If humans do not have the intellectual capacity to recognize most of their problems as being self-generated, then they are obviously incapable of correcting any of these life-threatening obstacles to the progression of mankind’s advancement, on their own. Leaving intellectually inferior beings in charge of the safety of the human race in the middle of an epochal historical confluence of multiple calamities is an existential form of negligence. The survival of the race requires that ways be found to institute a more capable decision-making process in the halls of power.

"The truth is: we are not telling the truth about these wars. America is not winning these wars."

No better example of our intellectual shortcomings could be found than in the recently concluded battle in Washington over raising the debt ceiling. Instead of solving the problems between the contrasting prevailing political opinions, the negotiating heads preferred to fight-out an opinion battle in the national press, proving that American government has degenerated into a “three-ring circus,” or a never-ending soap opera. Despite the threats, no real damage was done to the veterans, the elderly and the disabled, other than increasing their stress levels. The damages that have been done to our already mud-stained reputation are only helping to accelerate the global economic crisis.

The nature of the unfolding world crisis is one of an endless series of overlapping crises, with each crisis compounding the effects of previous blow-ups. An overwhelming global economic interruption is underway, but all of its negative effects are being made worse by endless military adventurism, which is heaping debt upon the center by the trillions. Before Obama got his way, most of us had never even contemplated what a “trillion dollars” actually meant. Now we toss the word around like it is really just business as usual, and not the most obvious signal that the whole thing has blown-up in their faces.

We are witnessing the outcome of a failed political system, which allows our Nation’s fate to be subjected to political considerations. By allowing government policy to be set by a dialectical see-saw, where the latest “winner takes all” politician jerks the decision-making process to either the right or the left, regardless of the fact that the correct answer would be a steady hand on the tiller, holding it like an anchor to the center.

Despite the fact that the losing party understands precisely the damage being done to our Constitutional Republic by their actions or inactions, it is usually the losing party which is the most vicious in its knee-jerk political actions. Invariably you will find, that it is the losing party which wages war upon the Republic itself as the means to correct the policies of the “treasonous” opponent. Instead of proving their wild ideas, they would prefer to hold their opponents to task, no matter what the human cost.

In this ideology of the loser, no actions taken to rectify the serious “errors” of their opponents can be considered to be as severe or as harmful as the opposition’s rhetorical attacks. It seems that terrorism is an acceptable form of battle in the war against seditious ideas. Knowledge that those entrusted to lead us attach greater importance to discrediting their opponents’ ideas than they do to validating their own (that the political battle is more important than the ideas being fought over), provides us a key to understanding the inadequacies of the human mind.

Vanity is the racial guarantor of our species’ stagnation. We have to make an effort to rise above our pride and accept new ways of thinking which make room for some sort of decision-making mechanism which relies upon intellects greater than the minds of individual men. Whether this new intellectual force is to be AI, cybernetically-enhanced human minds, or some computer-aided mechanism for tapping into the collective intellect of the greatest living minds, the human race must find some way to inject intellect into the governmental decision-making process. Stupid decisions are killing us. Individual personalities in control, like we have now, produce not just government gridlock, but the situation which we face, where every effort made to improve the situation as determined by the greatest political minds, only serves to make matters worse.

Human potential is equal to the total mass of all human “prodigies” added together, even the overlooked ones locked behind the barriers of poverty and the great class divide. Our potential to overcome our problems is limitless, if our potential were ever really tapped-into. This tells us that a true human renaissance awaits our children, in the very near future, dependent only upon us to make the changes which set their positive future into motion. The key to its unlocking it lies dormant, unused, because it has been hidden by hands which have a monetary stake in preventing a great awakening. Our civilization will either dead-end in the great ash heap of history, or we will step onto a new track to a better destination, together. The decision will either be made at the highest levels to do what is best for the American people and for the human race, or we will drink deeply of a deadly dose of apathy, but only if we lose the will to live.

Once the world of money and politics is revealed as a great parasitic infestation, that is sapping the life out of the human race, with its vapid political/military solutions to every problem that comes our way, then the popular support for tyranny will simply fade away. The time will soon come when all the emperors will stand naked before us, after they have been completely discredited the political/economic system that has nurtured them and their evil ways, overwhelming them with rivers of profits. The great injustice is that the economic tsunami which they have let loose upon the world will not focus solely upon the wave’s creators, but will dispense injustice equally to us all. Those at the top who are holding-on so tightly to the reigns of economic power (trying to squeeze every drop of profit out of the bankrupt systems in vain attempts to save themselves as well as their ill-gotten possessions) are strangling the lifelines for us all. Breaking their death grips will not spare anyone from the deluge that is coming, but it will open the supply lines that should already be flowing from a “humanitarian” government to the people, before the emergency hits, making survival easier for someone.

So you see, we are faced with two constants, which, when added together, reveal that our world is headed full speed to a great collision with the overtaking new world. It will either be the “New World Order” that many of us dread, or it will be a new world of our own making, a world that can only be discovered through experiments in collective “pulse-taking” (lessons to be learned from in place social networking), or other efforts to find the paths to democracy. When our worlds collide, visions of Empire will go up in smoke, but some new order will arise from the ashes, none the less. When the constant of the inevitability of the failure of political government is realized, then that is the moment when our greatest opportunity will arise. It will be the great moment of hope for all mankind, when genius is given the opportunity to provide the answers which human guile could never supply.

How do we steer away from the corporate New World Order, and set a course for freedom and universal human rights? Look toward our leaders and compare their words with leading thinkers–how do they compare? The recognized leaders all speak with one voice, even though they claim to be from different political parties. They project an aura of self-assurance, righteousness in the cause of justice. Yet their actions consistently contradict their words. Activists from both the right and the left spend their time trying to make the corrupted leadership eat their own words. In this ideological struggle, truth is the only weapon. He who possesses the most verifiable truth wins the war.

The truth is - we are not winning this war; we are not telling the truth about the war; we are not the good guys this time.

Social agitators, activists and other agents for change are people driven by their own vision - seeing into our negative future binds us all to a compulsory moral duty, to work for positive changes. If we see that our species, that our children will one day in their future, reach the point of losing all hope, then we would not be “fit parents,” allowing that to happen. If their last real hope was in us, that we would NOT let that happen to them and to their world, then who, or what force could stop us from throwing ourselves into the gears of the Imperial war machine? This is what makes us so dangerous to the powers that be. We who foresee the need to stand-up for something greater than ourselves, will willingly give-up our lives to stop them, once we understand the gravity of the situation. The knowledge of what has been done to America and the darkness that is still planned for us are powerful testimony of the loyalties of the people who have been running this country. It is irrefutable. Making more and more people aware of the true connection between our government and world terrorism will light political fires that no corrupted system could withstand. The power of the people will be an awesome sight to see.

Our great despair is that we are among a growing minority, those who can see where we are heading, including the unfortunate timing of our births. We have been privy to the birth pains of the coming Great Changing of humankind, aware of the great things to come, even though many of us will not be parties to the joyous event itself. The best that we can hope for in the here and now is to find all the truth that is within our grasp and then use it as the ultimate weapons available to us, in order to knock-down the walls which conceal the greatest truths from us all. The politics of money is a process of creating divisions and building walls. The impending human awakening will come when we either learn how to rise above all the walls, or acquire the means to tear them all down.

When the political path collapses before us, reducing all the walls that have been erected to enforce the man-made divisions, into great piles of rubble. The cost of recovery will be set by the amount of time required to set humanity upon a new, better path. The longer that we remain on the negative path to destruction, before turning around to begin the reconstruction, the greater the amount of limited funds that will be wasted in the fires of war—the less that will be available for the time of building.

At that time, it will become clear to all, that the true revolutionary is the man or woman who can see a better way, NOT he who is a journeyman at committing political violence. The violent radical who fancies himself a true “revolutionary,” is merely someone who is taking credit for the inevitable collapse of a failing Empire, at best, they may have helped to speed-up parts of that collapse.

It turns-out that the most revolutionary act is one of simple persuasion, trying to convince the men who have the most to lose, to turn the machinery onto the path of creativity, away from the road to our destruction. The problem with this approach is the futility of the task, the utter impossibility of convincing the ultra-wealthy to give-up the very thing that has given them all of this power. (Shoving a camel through the eye of a needle might really be easier). In order to convince lesser mortals to work towards turning humanity around, you must first persuade them to give-up hope in the great capitalist dream. The power of that dream maintains a terrible grip upon the minds of mankind, breaking it will necessarily require a series of individual awakenings, until the weight of that awakened minority is felt by the whole mass of humanity. We increase our numbers of aware individuals until we affect, or infect the whole.

This line of thinking reveals three tasks before us - giving credibility to the negative vision, giving form to the new direction, and creating the conviction of inevitability. We have already covered the first task to a great degree by covering the conspiracies that are guiding the chaos. The collapsing economy and the perpetuation of persistent conflict are both products of ineptitude and deception. Proving incompetence and that we have been lied to on a grand scale will help to convince the people that our leaders are idiots and their solutions are merely prolongations of the problems nothing more than political theater and propaganda. The second task will be a bit harder, in that it is far more difficult to bring substance to a vision out of thin air, painting an image of a better way to invest in mankind. The third task of communicating the abstract quantity of “inevitability” to a church filled with the under-educated faithful could border on the impossible.

Democracy is NOT a “two-party system.” Our glorious political system is a formula for manufacturing divisions, if not a template for outright civil war. Pushing this upon the world is a criminal act. What our “trusted” leaders have done is to strangle the American Republic to the point of near death, in an organized scheme of mass-extortion and bribery, focused on the perpetuation of power and the subjugation of an entire Nation. Pushing this arrangement upon other countries under pretense of helping is a formula for taking-over the political system of those countries.

Not being satisfied with the mass-rape and looting operations which have destroyed the American economy, these same leaders and the political factions which they represent, are mid-stream in the world’s greatest plot to seize control of the entire planet. Waist-deep in a raging economic river of their own making, our fearless leaders are also being swept away by the forces that they have helped to unleash and by those that they should have worked to contain. Instead of working to control the uncontrolled flood, they are content to roll with it, pouring endless sacks of money into the torrent, never once stopping to fill any of those same canvas bags with sand. Why build dams or levees in hopes of containing the destruction, when half of your men are busy dynamiting other levees?

The insanity of political man will continue to prevail until men and women of reason stand-up and show us a better way. The parade of idiots will continue and the dead weight of their archaic political beliefs will override common sense for as long as we let them. Until we fully realize the great genetic gifts that we have been blessed with, we will continue to follow the crooked path that leads us to the “idiot nation.” Until we utilize the greatest computer ever built by the hands of God, or at least dedicate the best computers built by man, to the task of preserving our species, we will continue to flounder on the rocks of ignorance.

What could be worse than total idiots leading the blind?

 

By Peter Chamberlin

Carta (nunca divulgada) de Jonas Savimbi aceitando os resultados das eleições de 1992

UNIÃO NACIONAL PARA A INDEPENDÊNCIA TOTAL DE ANGOLA

U.N.I.T.A.

Huambo, 17 de Novembro de 1992

Ao

Secretário-Geral Adjunto da ONU

Para a Manutenção das Operações da Paz

Senhor Marrack Goulding

Excelência,

Queiram aceitar as minhas calorosas saudações.

Informo Sua Excelência que o Comité Permanente da Comissão Política da UNITA, reunido no Huambo nos dias 15 e 16 de Novembro de 1992, chegou às seguintes conclusões:

1. A UNITA aceita os resultados das eleições legislativas de 29 e 30 de Setembro de 1992, reconhecidamente fraudulentas e irregulares, para dar seguimento ao processo de Paz acordado em Bicesse no dia 31 de Maio de 1991.

2. A UNITA considera de importância capital que as Nações Unidas (ONU) se envolvam cada vez mais no Processo de Paz e de Democracia em Angola, tomando as seguintes posições:

a) Participação efectiva na consolidação do Cessar-fogo e da manutenção da Paz através do envio dos Capacetes Azuis para Angola o mais rapidamente possível.

b) Maior envolvimento das Nações Unidas (ONU) na organização e verificação da 2.ª volta das eleições presidenciais.

c) Assegurar imediatamente que todos os Dirigentes, Quadros, Militantes e Simpatizantes da UNITA, presos em Luanda, sejam libertos como a UNITA o fez noutras Províncias.

d) Garantir a integridade física dos Dirigentes, Militantes e Simpatizantes da UNITA, bem como das suas instalações, para não se repetirem actos de puro genocídio que ocorreu em Luanda, Malange, Benguela, Lobito e Huíla.

Reitero as minhas calorosas saudações.

Com alta consideração,

Dr. Jonas Malheiro Savimbi

Presidente da UNITA

 

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||| – Perguntas –||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Epa, sejamos realistas. Em Novembro daquele ano a guerra era ja um dado de facto, centenas de pessoas em varias provincias ja tinham perdido a vida e a UNITA ja tivera oucupado militarmente muitas zonas. E tem mais, aonde esteve a carta até hoje? Porque a UNITA nao divulgou o teor da mesma naquelas dias? Se fosse verdade que o MPLA queria a guerra, a UNITA nao fez nada ao contrario. De qualquer maneira sao muitas as perguntas que restam sem respostas. A pergunta mae: se UNITA buscava a verdadeira a paz para Angola, porque era armada ate aos dentes? Porque comprava novos armamentos durante o processo eleitoral? E' cedo para termos uma idea geral da guerra angolana, mas uma coisa é certa: a verdade esta' no meio.

Politics News & Analysis: White House, congressional leaders reach debt-limit deal

Monday, August 01, 2011 Top Stories White House, congressional leaders reach debt-limit deal Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane President Obama and congressional leaders sealed a deal to raise the federal debt limit late Sunday that includes sharp spending cuts but no new taxes, breaking a partisan impasse that has driven the nation to the brink of a potentially disastrous government default. Winners and losers in the debt deal Who got what? A huge victory for the GOP Timeline: Debt-ceiling debate Debt problem solved? What happens now? PostPolitics Headlines Assessing Obama's moves Congress puts faith in committee Make-or-break moment for tea party The Huntsmans: 'Nice guys in a nasty business' Interest groups report big contributions College affirmative action back on Supreme Court's horizon Coburn's cuts target special tax benefits A pious plea to resolve political gridlock The Fix Debt ceiling deal: What Nancy Pelosi is up to 2012 Fix Face-off! 2012 Fix Face-off! 44: Politics & Policy Obama promises to fight on taxes Comedians lambast 'Armadebtdon' Obama reenters fray over debt plan Ezra Klein The trigger that ended the impasse Democrats will lose now, can win later Why any debt-ceiling deal will squeeze the states More Headlines Pentagon contracts go global Big boon for Asian markets Netanyahu pressured by protesters Egyptian activists suspend sit-in Opinions The 'hobbits' have it Next: A populist uprising? A Tea Party 'fragging' Declaring independence An Arab Spring shadow Decline still ahead Behind the showdown Newsletter | Click here to sign up for the Behind the government showdown newsletter. Congressional votes database Browse every vote in the U.S. Congress since 1991. Explore the database House votes Senate votes

10 Top Facebook Pages and Why They’re Successful By Amy Porterfield

Does your business have a Facebook page? Have you ever wondered what successful Facebook page owners are doing right? Well, look no further.

This article examines 10 of the top Facebook pages from brands you’ll likely recognize. Regardless of the size of your business, you’lldiscover great ideas that will help you take your Facebook experience to the next level.

Each of these pages has incorporated unique features that have attracted hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions!) of fans and attracted the notice of major media publications. That’s a pretty big feat, considering there are thousands of new pages popping up on Facebook daily!

There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, check out what others are doing and tweak these strategies to make them your own!

#1: Red Bull

The team behind the Red Bull page is extremely in tune with their target audience. This is evidenced in their custom apps and unique content throughout their page.

Red Bull knows what their audience will respond to best and they deliver it.For example, they’ve created a series of online games for their fans, aptly called the “Procrastination Station.” The games are geared toward sports and high-impact competitions.

In addition, Red Bull created a web TV program that’s highlighted on their Facebook page. There are multiple segments, many spotlighting the lives of their sponsored athletes. Not only is the web TV show a great way to align with celebrity athletes, but it is also a way to incorporate video into the page, thereby giving the audience another way to interact.

Another smart feature of Red Bull’s page is their welcome tab. When a non-fan lands on their page, he or she sees the image below. Red Bull creatively encourages fans to “Like” their page with an attention-grabbing image. Also, they only put one thing on their welcome tab, making it very clear what they want to happen. When you add too much to your welcome tab, your fans will get confused and likely not take any action. Less is more. Stick to one call to action.

Tip: One area you might want to consider spending a little money on is creative design for your page. Design, when done right, makes a great first impression for non-fans. Also, when you design your Facebook page, pay close attention to your call to action, specifically for the “Like” button. What can you do to grab the attention of your new viewer and encourage him or her to click on your “Like” button quickly? Red Bull’s creative design on their welcome tab does just that!

#2: Burt’s Bees

One of the best features on the Burt’s Bees page is their use of photos and video. They use the photos and videos to give a behind-the-scenes view of their company and products.

In the image below, notice how Burt’s Bees not only mentions the type of ingredients used, but they also suggest their ingredients are safe and they welcome all visitors into their lab. This is a great example of a way to promote your company and products, while adding value in the form of interesting details.

Tip: We all have something unique about our products or services and Facebook is one of the best places to highlight this. How can you incorporate video or images to help you stand out from your competition?

#3: Uno Chicago Grill

Uno Chicago Grill has taken full advantage of the Facebook app FBML to highlight their menu options in an extremely appealing way. They have many tabs dedicated to specific areas of their menu and use imagery to entice their fans. In addition, on their welcome tab they link to the most important areas of their website, including locations and online ordering options. When non-fans come to their page for the first time, they get an instant snapshot of Uno’s offerings.

In addition, Uno has incorporated a Fan of the Week conteston their Facebook page. Fans get their photo posted directly on the profile image of the restaurant’s wall.

This is great exposure for the fan, making it a fun activity to participate in.

To take it one step further, Uno does something unique with their Fan of the Week contest—they ask fans to post photos of themselves while at an Uno restaurant, thereby encouraging fans to come in and dine.

This is a great way to bring their online fans into their brick-and-mortar establishment!

Tip: If you have a brick-and-mortar establishment, think of creative ways to entice your fans to visit in person. Contests, promotions and special offers are all great ways to invite new fans to come in and check things out!

#4: LiveScribe

LiveScribe has incorporated two features into their page to help them sell more products and cut back on support calls.

First, they’ve created a savvy storefront as one of their tabs. Not only can you buy directly from the Facebook page, but you can also tweet about their products and post about them on your Facebook wall. These two options help create greater exposure for LiveScribe’s products. When your friends see that you’re posting about a new product, it’s natural for them to want to know more.

In addition, LiveScribe has incorporated a support desk directly into their Facebook page. As you can see below, you can ask a question, share an idea, report a problem or even give praise directly from their Facebook page. What’s even more important is that others can see these posts. Fans and potential buyers can then go to this tab to get answers or see what others are saying about the products.

It’s another great way to educate fans about your products and services. In addition, this tool can cut down service calls when executed correctly, saving your company time and money.

Tip: If you’re providing a product or service, consider incorporating a support feature to your page. It’s common for customers to use social media sites to post questions or complaints. If you provide a designated place for support, you’re likely to keep your customers happy and turn them into repeat buyers!

#5: Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 has done an exceptional job of making their page both fun and functional. The fun factor is expressed in their new application, Toy Creator, where you can turn yourself into an animated toy. Both kids and adults can get in on the action and thenshare their new creation on their Facebook wall (yet another viral exposure opportunity!).

To make their page functional, they’ve built a tab where you can purchase movie tickets without ever leaving Facebook. This makes ticket buying easy and fast for their fans.

Tip: Keep your fans inside Facebook as much as possible. Bring your content, unique experiences and buying opportunities to them instead of making fans leave the site to interact with your business. Your chances for greater interactions and a bigger return on investment will dramatically increase the longer you keep them on your page.

#6: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has secured their spot at the top of many best-of-the-best Facebook page lists due to their innovative promotions and fun, interactive features.

Their latest promotion is the Summer Snapshot contest, where they encourage their fans to take photos with the summer Coca-Cola cans. Not only does this get fans involved with their page, but the contest also incorporates photos of their products with fans.

Photos are viewed more than anything else on Facebook. They go viral quickly because when a fan posts a photo, that photo is then sent out to the news feeds of all of their friends. Hundreds of thousands of potentially new fans will see these photos.

Here’s an example of a photo a fan posted for the Coca-Cola contest. Notice how others can vote on the photos? This allows everyone to get in on the fun.

Tip: When creating a contest, keep it simple. The less your fans need do to enter, the better. Make it easy, fun and make sure to incorporate a sharing component so your contest spreads virally.

#7: Oreo

Oreo does a fantastic job of creating unique experiences for their fans. Oreo knows that their cookies have been part of many people’s lives since childhood and they use this angle to create nostalgia with their fans. And it’s working for them because they have over 8 million fans to date!

One of their latest campaigns is their “Back to School Memories” campaign where they ask their fans to share their memories and photos directly on their Facebook page. By offering unique experiences like Oreo has done with their back to school campaign, brands create a connection to the fans, who become loyal followers and keep coming back for more.

Tip: You’ll get a much greater response when you ask your fans to share something about themselves. Ask them their thoughts, opinions and feedback and you’ll be pleasantly surprised how quickly they start talking!

#8: Jones Soda

Jones Soda does a great job of incorporating many different ways for their fans to interact with their page. Not everyone communicates the same way, so providing multiple options is a smart strategy.

Specifically, Jones Soda does a weekly poll directly from their welcome tab. Polls are a great way to learn more about your audience as well as a fun strategy to get them to interact with your page.

Tip: Think of different ways to get your fans to engage with you. Polls, contests, questions, iPhone apps and videos are just a few different ways to reach your fans. All fans are different; make sure to provide options.

#9: The Twilight Saga

No matter if you have seen the movies or not, you can’t deny that the Twilight Saga is hot. There are two strategies they’ve launched on their Facebook page that you can model for your own page.

First, they’ve created a “Tweet Sweeps,” where they encourage fans to tweet about the movies for a chance to win movie tickets. The best strategy with this type of contest is to tell fans specifically what to tweet so there is no confusion and they can take action quickly. Check out how they’ve done this in the image below:

In addition, the Twilight Saga page has taken advantage of the “Discussion” tab where fans can post topics of discussion and all fans can join in and comment. The discussion tab creates a great sense of community and dramatically increases the engagement on the page.

Tip: To encourage more conversation among fans on your page, start a few discussion streams to get people talking. Once this takes off, your fans will continue to post discussion topics on their own and the page engagement will grow organically.

#10: Travel Channel

The Travel Channel has done something unique on their page that’s worth checking out. They’ve created a space for their fans to share how Facebook has played a part in their travel experiences. You can post your own story or just read what others have posted. It’s a creative way to get people with similar interests to engage with your page.

Tip: Facebook Stories can be incorporated on your page as well. Go here to see how it works and check out the different story themes offered.

What do you think about the above Facebook pages? Have you tried any of these techniques with success? Let us know! Please leave your comments below.

 

10 Top Facebook Pages and Why They’re Successful By Amy Porterfield
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/top-10-facebook-pages/