Thursday, August 17, 2006
Peace, Propaganda & The Promised Land
| Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported. Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics. | |
Monday, August 07, 2006
Israel's Occupation of Palestine
Which is worse, war mongering for profit and arm sales or the selective "reporting" across the board in the media?
The current war between Israel and Hezbollah is crushing Lebanon and its citizens.
An occupation is still an occupation.
And Israel is the occupying force in this conflict.
Israel has ignored the U.N. repeatedly. Leaving the U.N. to appear toothless.
The U.N. resolution 242 called for Israel to pull out of what they deemed as occupied territories the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights.
Israel has continued their choke hold over the Palestinians building a system of settlements and roadways that make everyday life for the Palestinians nearly impossible.
The construction of these "Jewish" only settlements on Palestinian land is hard for me to comprehend. They destroy the homes and farms of the Palestinians, then rebuild their own settlements on the Palestinians lands.
This appears to be a gradual ethnic cleansing process.
Isn't is obvious to the rest of the world? What's wrong with this picture?
And why can't the U.N. get Israel to comply?
Maybe it has something to do with Israel's alliance to the U.S..
After all isn't that where they get their economic and military aid?
Why is it that the media fails miserably to report the facts?
The U.S. media is apparently under the watchful eye of AIPAC(a special Jewish interest PR and spin machine).
They consistently report when the Israeli army(IDF) defends their position,
but the "position" is an occupation of Palestinian land.
They only defend Israel's position as the land grab continues.
The Israeli occupation is horrific but so is the Palestinian response.
Often in the name of resistance they employ the most heinous tactic, a suicide bomber in a city surrounded by civilians. These resistance moves that grow from the frustration of a people whose rights and freedoms having been stripped from them, only feed the hate and violence.
It is said "One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist".
People driven out of their collective minds by the occupation that leaves them feeling there is no way out, then turn to violence.
Hezbollah is referred to as a resistance movement and as Islamic fascists.
Backed by Syria and Iran, Hezbollah lobs rockets into Israel and Israel continues to bomb Lebanon in an attempt to take possession of more land and drive Hezbollah out.
After a month of fighting; all the death and destruction; how is that strategy working out for you?
The U.S. and Israel are both presently engaged in an illegal occupation on foreign soil.
So where are the "world police"?
Oh yeah, that is a role usually undertaken by the U.S..
In the words of George W.Bush, "If you're not with us, you're against us".
The current war between Israel and Hezbollah is crushing Lebanon and its citizens.
An occupation is still an occupation.
And Israel is the occupying force in this conflict.
Israel has ignored the U.N. repeatedly. Leaving the U.N. to appear toothless.
The U.N. resolution 242 called for Israel to pull out of what they deemed as occupied territories the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights.
Israel has continued their choke hold over the Palestinians building a system of settlements and roadways that make everyday life for the Palestinians nearly impossible.
The construction of these "Jewish" only settlements on Palestinian land is hard for me to comprehend. They destroy the homes and farms of the Palestinians, then rebuild their own settlements on the Palestinians lands.
This appears to be a gradual ethnic cleansing process.
Isn't is obvious to the rest of the world? What's wrong with this picture?
And why can't the U.N. get Israel to comply?
Maybe it has something to do with Israel's alliance to the U.S..
After all isn't that where they get their economic and military aid?
Why is it that the media fails miserably to report the facts?
The U.S. media is apparently under the watchful eye of AIPAC(a special Jewish interest PR and spin machine).
They consistently report when the Israeli army(IDF) defends their position,
but the "position" is an occupation of Palestinian land.
They only defend Israel's position as the land grab continues.
The Israeli occupation is horrific but so is the Palestinian response.
Often in the name of resistance they employ the most heinous tactic, a suicide bomber in a city surrounded by civilians. These resistance moves that grow from the frustration of a people whose rights and freedoms having been stripped from them, only feed the hate and violence.
It is said "One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist".
People driven out of their collective minds by the occupation that leaves them feeling there is no way out, then turn to violence.
Hezbollah is referred to as a resistance movement and as Islamic fascists.
Backed by Syria and Iran, Hezbollah lobs rockets into Israel and Israel continues to bomb Lebanon in an attempt to take possession of more land and drive Hezbollah out.
After a month of fighting; all the death and destruction; how is that strategy working out for you?
The U.S. and Israel are both presently engaged in an illegal occupation on foreign soil.
So where are the "world police"?
Oh yeah, that is a role usually undertaken by the U.S..
In the words of George W.Bush, "If you're not with us, you're against us".
