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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Israel's propaganda war


Israel's ability to shape public opinion regarding the flotilla massacre is intimately linked to its long-standing campaign to manipulate global public perceptions of what has been happening in Palestine all along since Israel's birth in 1947. Its policy remains consistent. It is a successful strategy always focusing on Jewish victimhood. The success is rooted in a political reality. Where knowledge is limited, and the desire and means to learn and understand the complex reality or issues doesn't exist, public opinion can be manipulated and shaped by whoever generates the most powerful symbols. The precise truth or falsehood of this portrayal hardly matters. For most of the world thus far, the Palestine issue is poorly understood and not a matter of immediate concern. The manipulators intend to shape the perceptions of a global public with limited interest in or understanding of the issues, filling in the blanks with their own narrative. Their use of the media is a powerful political weapon designed to define perceptions. Using an amalgam of incidents and images to display, a propaganda war is being waged to create sympathy. The moral question has been made ambiguous. What seems to matter is the ability to identify the victim as victimizer through obfuscation and confusion thus helping form global opinion that would lead members of the international community to adopt political stances advantageous to the opinion managers. Israel's success in establishing its own narrative in the public sphere as the dominant one is in no small measure due to the excellence of the Jewish community in the media field. Moving stories made into movies like the "Exodus" and many others are poignant accounts of Jewish suffering. It is equally important to recognize the Palestinian/Arab inability to offer their own narrative in a coherent constructive way Times have changed. Because of plethora of technologies now there are opportunities for many to present alternative ideas and counternarratives and be heard across this planet...   The ground seems to be shifting.  The flotilla incidence has gotten the State of Israel in a pickle. Though all its faithful propagandists are out in public arguing that there was nothing wrong with the raid on the ships carrying aid to Gaza, and the American media are straining every which way and even very much against their better instincts, to cooperate, they are not succeeding in making a dent in the public perception. There remains in the minds of most people across the globe the perception that things truly shocking and fundamentally unacceptable took place out there on the high seas.  Eyewitness accounts have begun to come back from those arrested on the ships.  With all clarity it is apparent that the Israeli forces did their best to pre-empt the account of the story, giving thereby prima facie evidence of careful planning for exactly what happened. They took care to cut off all communication from those ships at sea except their own. All cameras, electronic devices that could hold any pictures or video were confiscated and have not been returned. That was an accomplishment, as practically everyone on board had cameras and recording devices. It was only by hiding away a few of those tiny memory cards that passengers were able to retain any of the horrifying pictures and video that are now beginning to emerge. Even now, few people have seen those other than on Internet postings. Our America media are not publishing them.

PM Gilani enjoys liking of 67% Pakistanis: US survey

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani enjoys the liking of 67 percent Pakistanis, as shown in the global attitudes survey by the Pew Research Centre, Washington. People in public circles see this support by a majority of Pakistanis for Prime Minister Gilani as a compliment, as generally the rating for a sitting prime minister declines. “No doubt it is a compliment for Prime Minister Gilani and the PPP government, as generally the support for the leaders in government declines”, viewed Azmat Ilyas Rana, a student of International Relations in Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. “I think it is the reconciliatory approach of the government and flexible attitude of Prime Minister Gilani, which has earned him liking by 67% Pakistanis,” Ali Raza, a political analyst commented. Most of the people, asked by this agency to comment on the rating as depicted in the survey, were of the view that Prime Minister Gilani owing to his philosophy of political accommodation and the way of handling the crises, make him a leader favoured by majority of people in the country. The survey conducted by a leading US research group also depicted views of Pakistanis on various issues like terrorism and extremism, relations with India vis a vis Kashmir issue, Pak-China relations etc. Eighty-nine percent Pakistanis surveyed by the US research group say they think of themselves first as Pakistanis, rather than as members of their ethnic groups. As many as 70 percent Pakistanis have unfavorable view of the Taliban and 61 percent reject Al Qaeda openly. Crime and terrorism are seen as major problems by virtually everyone. Long-running concerns about India are also reflected in the poll. The dispute over Kashmir is cited as a major problem facing Pakistan by no fewer than 88 percent. Pakistani’s express overwhelmingly positive opinions about Asian giant - 84 percent have a favourable view of China and 80 percent consider China a partner to their country.

Iranian activists to ship aid to Gaza


An Iranian ship carrying 3000 tons of humanitarian assistance will depart for Gaza this week, the director of the Iranian Red Crescent Volunteers Community announced on Friday.
“The ship will be carrying 3000 tons of food, clothing, and medical supplies, and 20 people will be on board. The ship will set sail for Gaza by the end of the week,” Mashallah Portolouei said in a press briefing in Mashhad.
“So far, 150,000 people have voluntarily registered to head to Gaza,” he added.
The volunteers are not connected to any political group. Like other activists around the world they are seeking to help Gazans.
Three weeks ago the Israeli forces attacked a Turkish flotilla of ships trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza, killing 9 activists.
Following the assault which provoked widespread outrage, many countries have prepared tons of aid to send to Gaza.
In attempt to break Israel's four-year blockade of the Gaza Strip a group of dozens of Lebanese women activists also said earlier this week they would set sail for Gaza with an aid ship loaded with medical supplies. The women insisted, however, that they were not affiliated to any political organization, and said the ship would carry 30 Lebanese activists as well as 20 foreigners including several Europeans .

Kyrgyzstan crisis a threat to China's influence

Bustling trade between China and Kyrgyzstan has slowed to a trickle since deadly violence broke out in Kyrgyzstan, and experts say the crisis could diminish Beijing's economic clout in the country while bolstering rival Russia's already dominant influence. Most days, as many as 200 trucks loaded with televisions, apples, T-shirts and other Chinese goods enter Kyrgyzstan at the Yi'erkeshitan Pass. On Thursday, however, no trucks and just four people crossed at the pass high in the Tianshan mountains in far western China's Xinjiang region, according to an official with the border crossing administration. "The entry is still open, but what happened in Kyrgyzstan really had an impact on the flow of people and trade across the border," said the man, who like many Chinese bureaucrats would give only his surname, Wang. Hundreds and maybe thousands have died in rampages led mainly by ethnic Kyrgyz against Uzbeks in the country's south. Before the violence, China had sought to exert primarily economic influence on its neighbors to the west, in what has been called a 21st century iteration of the "Great Game" — Russia and Britain's fight for power in Central Asia more than 100 years ago. Rather than cavalry troopers and spies, however, China has deployed intrepid traders who have established a thriving commerce in everything from fruit to car parts, electronics to textiles. While Russia and the U.S. traded barbs about the presence of the others' troops in the country, China's professed noninterference paid great dividends: Bilateral trade jumped to $9.3 billion in 2008, according to Beijing's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, up from just a few hundred million dollars at the start of the decade. But now, Beijing finds itself shut out of the primarily political and military solutions being offered by the Russia and the U.S.

China, Pakistan discuss defence ties

Visiting Pakistani Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie have pledged to strengthen military ties during their meeting in Beijing on Thursday, Xinhua reported. "Cooperation between the Chinese and Pakistani armed forces is exemplary and has been fruitful," Liang said at the meeting in Diaoyutai Guest House. He said the two sides should make continuous efforts to strengthen ties.  Kayani said Pakistan values its defence and security cooperation with China. The Pakistani general also met Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu and Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Guo Boxiong, among others, on Thursday.