Constructing Reality : The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
A Comparative Analysis of the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera
The aim of this study is to examine the mainstream media’s[1] representation of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and to test if the media sources under investigation are subjected to the filters of the Propaganda Model developed by Chomsky and Herman. In order to do this an analysis of Al Jazeera, BBC and CNN was carried out on articles published on their respective news websites for a period of two months [21st January - 21st March], a total of 137 articles were analysed. The main findings of this study were that each of the news sources, although similar in story coverage, differed significantly in content, specifically relating to humanitarian issues. The overall content of the articles was a clear indication of the ideological constraints of each of the news sources.
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social problems in media are always propaganda or counter propaganda. Even if it appears after scientific study.Real journalism for me it`s the counter propaganda,breaking stereotipes.
The Bombing of Democracy
Dr. Peter Abraham
Just reading the news and watching the TV one can not help witnessing an act of genocide being committed by Israel on the unarmed Gazan civilians, armed by the most sophisticated US weapons of mass distractions also financially supported by the US and other western governments. The entire “International Community” is watching silently this criminal Israeli massacre happening, which means a quite approval of the crime.
We should all ask ourselves some important questions:
• What Democratic Principles do we stand for?
• How Far do we Support State Terrorism? When done by friendly states such as the US or Israel?
• Why do we perpetrate crimes against humanity when we preach the opposite?
We have all joined hands to strive for democracy and pushed developing countries to follow our example so they may close the cultural gap between our nations.
We have worked many years to establish the United Nations and International Laws to protect the World human rights and freedom of speech.
We use to salute freedom fighters who have struggled to hold invading forces from destroying their countries.
Whilst our leaders in the western democracies are selling to their nations the idea that they also support democracies around the World, they were and still are supporting tyrannical and authoritarian governments in these parts of the World, which is a direct contradiction with whatever they preach.
The Palestinian people have elected Hamass (the Palestinian Islamic Political Party) under global supervision to become the democratic legal rightful elected government of Palestine, yet our western governments elected their own from Fateh party, a party otherwise lost the elections as known of his corruption and disrepute.
Moreover the western government’s stance lead by the US refused to deal with the Palestinian legally elected government, as it may have an Islamic connotation, and called Hamass a terrorist organisation! Instead they supported Abbas and his war monger Dahlan the killers of many thousands of innocent people, both Jews and Muslims, now and in the past.
Incidentally Palestine was not the first stop and will not be the last. The following are just few examples of these democratic rightfully elected governments refused by the western democracies:
• The Somali people elected their own Islamic government which was also refused by the western democracies, and a war was waged against the Somali population and their elected government supported directly by the US, followed by an invasion by a US backed neighbouring army.
• The Algerian people elected their own Islamic government but the west directed and paid for the largest massacre of Muslim civilians in North Africa for years to topple this elected government. This massacre was supported by mercenaries from different countries, known to most educated people.
• The Afghani people elected Taliban, an Islamic party who fought to free Afghanistan from the USSR occupation and previously supported by the western governments. Later the same western governments have collectively waged the largest war in Afghanistan to end the Taliban rule. To create a reason for this war, the US and their western followers unjustly accused Taliban of supporting the executors of 9/11 without any foundations, a similar lie to the “weapons of mass destructions” which was the reason to invade Iraq. This Afghani doomed war is still running to date leaving hundred of thousand civilian casualties, otherwise called by the western democracies “War Collaterals” or a price worth paying, call it as you wish, the situation in Afghanistan is “free for all” right now. However the great western economies have paid dearly and will continue to pay for this unjust war.
This is a different face to democracy; it is a specially tailored democracy to suit and pleases those war mongers controlling the western governments. Democracy may have more than one meaning to our western governments, good un-Islamic democracies, which really consist of tyrannical corrupt rulers; and “out of tune” Islamic democracies which are otherwise called “terrorists”.
Whilst we have in the past condemned the kidnapping and torture of innocent people, we are now watching quietly these crimes been committed by the US and their allies, such as the prisons and detention camps set up by the US in Abu ghraib, guantanamo bay and many other locations. Many crimes against humanity have been committed by the US and western allies at these camps.
Headed by the neo-nazi few extremists in the US, the west is leading the World irresponsibly to a global disastrous confrontation, the like of which has never been witnessed, even in the last two world wars.
It can not be right to destroy nations of unarmed populations and commit acts of genocides on the false pretext of protecting the western way of life!
Bombing other democracies is almost like shooting ourselves in the foot, but may also have devastating consequences.
• Have the American people forgotten what they suffer at the hands of the British?
• Have the Jews forgotten how painful it was to be subjected to the nazi treatment?
• Do the Western and Israeli soldiers, who posses the World most sophisticated fighter planes, tanks, submarines and weapons of mass destruction for the killing of innocent unarmed civilians have any left dignity or honour? Don’t they feel any ashamed when they kill elders, women and children?
• Is it not the case that we too lost our loved ones to fight these unjust illegal wars just to please Bush and other World fascist?
• Is it acceptable to us to kill and inflict extreme pain to others, but not to our children?
• Is it not a God given right to choose your religion and creed without fear of being subjected to torture and death?
• Is it not the right of other nations to elect their own governments and enjoy democracy?
• Who appointed George Bush and his mentally disturbed clan to be the Global judges and police?
• Haven’t we in the past supported nations struggle to have freedom and decent life?
• Is it not time for the western nations to vote to remove these war mongers before they drive us all on a roller coaster to a Global potential war?
• Have the Western media lost the sense of reporting the truth in full?
• Shouldn’t we know that a civilisation conflict will ultimately lead to a religious war that may have grave consequences to the entire World?
• Why do the western nations follow the US through every ditch and have to pay for it?
• How long will take us to recover from the man made depression that was caused due directly to these misguided wars?
• How much have we changed and how much uglier will it get?
It is the collective duty of each of us to keep this situation from escalation and push our political representatives to search for a just peace, rather than stir an otherwise an explosive concoction of lies.