Masopher’s Mind

When Masopher heard sky news suggest that red cross invade a soveriegn nation in order to distribute rice and supplies he thought it a rather ignorant bit of journalism wisely ignored by the redcross representative at the time. But as many bad ideas posited by the pinko media, it has gained momentum from a dim witted murmur to a ignorant shout. Innocuous has been and never will be politicians all of a sudden have a voice because they now have the cameras and microphones pushed in their face and some puppet anchorperson asking them to propogate a dangerous undemocratic and totalitarian concept.

Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded by knee jerk reactions to percieved military threat. Now somehow the media would try to rationalize invading a country for humanitarian purposes. One month ago many people in Myanmar were dying of starvation disease an oppressive government and international neglect. This week a few thousand more will die due to starvation disease and an oppressive government. Next month many people in Myanmar will die of starvation disease an oppressive government and international neglect. The only difference this month is that Burma is this months hype. Tibetians must be jealous.

No matter how it is spread, propaganda comes in four basic varieties, said Arthur Siegel, social science professor at York University in Toronto, whose 1996 book Radio Canada International examines World War II and Cold War propaganda.
“The first level is the Big Lie, adapted by Hitler and Stalin. The state-controlled Egyptian press has been spreading a Big Lie, saying the World Trade Center was attacked by Israel to embarrass Arabs,” said Siegel.
“The second layer says, ‘It doesn’t have to be the truth, so long as it’s plausible.’
“The third strategy is to tell the truth but withhold the other side’s point of view.
“The fourth and most productive is to tell the truth, the good and the bad, the losses and the gains.
“Governments in Western society take the last three steps. They avoid the Big Lie, which nobody here will swallow,” Siegel said.
— Beth Gillin, U.S. intensifies the war of words, The Philadelphia Inequirer, October 21, 2001
With this in Masopher’s mind we watch events ongoing in the Middle East, Africa, South America and the Far East. Propaganda has grown up a lot and evolved over time. In the more experienced countries propaganda is selective truth telling and distractions, parroting press releases, word association and deliberate ignorance. In other places it’s just saying what the people want you to say or think or outright falsehoods. Here in Masophers mind we watch numbers, cross reference sources on both sides of the real events and not the interpretation of events. Cynicism is not allowed to overtake Masopher’s mind. Propoganda in its most benign is a tool of winning support of getting people to see your point of view the point of view that ensures that co-operation and progress happens in a particular direction. When Obama says that he was “the only” voice against the Iraq war, when Hamas plunges Palestine into darkness and claims that Israel is harassing is oil supplies, and Israel in turn complains about the regular rocket attacks. When the western powers fail to acknowledge the immense pressure both factions face as they try to integrate millennia old enemies on a single piece of land; when two black tribes go to war and start using refined but ignoble words like genocide; when the British Government begins “losing” millions of citizens information; or attacks foreign governments in its media for harassing their spies. When scandals of blonde women with names reminiscent of European cities or countries attract more media focus than the actual scandals of the European cities and countries.
It is all propaganda; it’s not a bad thing, it marketing, spin, and impression management, telling a story in a world where people look for right in matters of two wrongs.

There is a catch phrase that has buried its meme little head into my mind. Leonidas my ancient namesake who undermanned with his 300 volunteers bravely faced down the greatest empire of its time. Chomsky says that propaganda is the “civilized societies” version of death squads and armies. I agree.

Newspapers: This is blasphemy! This is madness!

Masopher: This is PROPOGANDA!

The latest “mindfuck”. Until I think of a cool name like meme I will use mindfuck.

Gillian Gibbons a bleeding heart Liverpudlian arrested by Sudanese authorities for allegedly insulting Islam by allowing her class to name a teddy bear “Muhammad”. However, it was later revealed that an office assistant, Sara Khawad, had filed the complaint and was the key witness for the prosecution.

Office politics gone bad. Gladly (for me) it now got the more clownish tabloid politicians and British politicians involved as well as the hapless Sudanese politicians and Imams.

Section 125 of the Sudanese Criminal Act, for “insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs”. This carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment, a fine, or 40 lashes.

This is a maximum sentence. Only a real hangman judge bent on civil authority would have imposed that. This law covers everything from teddy-bear naming to writing the Prophets name and all his Sudanese Imams names in faeces and calling it a tasteful representation of the history and nature of this 1500 year old religion. In the British press this was carried as the actual sentence that she would have gotten. British Press and by reference, British people thought the worst of the Sudanese Justice system. Sudanese Judges disregard the implications of their actions outlandish grossly disproportionate sentences are handed out and little white ladies get their heads lopped off for using the name of the prophet inappropriately in front of impressionable little kids.

In December 1 it was reported that in Saudia Arabia a man was beheaded for murder. Around the same period, in war torn Afghanistan, several policemen were beheaded by the Taliban and in England and Sudan a teacher was almost beheaded for naming a teddybear. Actually no. In Sudan a few ignorant yokels with machetes and a intense hatred for British policy wanted a beheading. In England the entire civilized society was led to assume that this was more than remotely possible.

Gibbons was found guilty of “insulting religion”, one of the three counts against her, and was sentenced to 15 days’ imprisonment and deportation. The media hype on this guaranteed that, there was no way that Sudanese Imams and British Press could have left her in peace.

The press have a job, to totally blow everything out of proportion: To sensationalize stimulate and sell. And after British condemnation, the Imams have a job to protect their position as well, to allay their congregation and of course defend Islam from being attacked in the British press again.

Now let us look at the true barbarians just as Perseus looked at the Medusa with his polished shield.

Let us start with a quick history Lesson:

In the 19th Century soon to be EU member Turkey brought Islam to Northern Sudan.

In the 20th Century, Colonial Egypt began demarking the boundaries of Sudan in typical gerrymandering fashion noted with most of Africa and the Middle-East: Splitting up tribes, lumping ancient enemies together in a single country, landlocking potential threats and the like.

In the mid 20th Century Sudan became a military client of Britain and then the Soviet Union and began using the (credit) bought weapons to fight for power and autonomy from each other.

In the late 20th century Sudan played host to a young Saudi Billionaire fresh out of Jihad against the soviet empire and spoiling to take on the last remaining global hegemony. He reportedly set up numerous charities and organizations including Al-Queda.

In the early 21st century the Sudanese government was implicated being allied with militant Muslims in an ongoing civil war and extermination of the men women and children western province known as Darfur. Neighbouring (former French Colony) T’Chad then declared war on Sudan.

In the same year that Sudanese and Chadians went to war, December 2005, Tony Blair then Prime Minister of Britain attempts to hold innocent untried suspects for 90 days.

July 26, 2007 Alan Travis Home affairs editor of The Guardian reports that [P]rime minister [Brown] insisted that MPs will have to agree a new limit of anywhere between 28 and 58 days.

In November 2007, The Times reports that a young bookstore worker, Samina Malik, 23, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of possessing records likely to be used for terrorism by a majority of 10 to one. She was convicted of writing poetry sympathetic to and idealizing Jihad. The investigators found no plans to commit terrorist acts; she had no links to terrorist cells; she was a liberal Muslim, did not wear the hijab, used Hi-5 (the Facebook for the third world <my(nority) space>) worked in a book store.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000 she could spend 10 years in prison for being a Muslim that writes and fantasizes about what Muslim’s thousands of miles are doing in a real war between them and their enemy. No poetry written explicitly names a race class or nation. Like many young people and minorities she is fantasizing about fighting a nameless faceless foe.(that is probably a Jungian reference)

Compare this now to the videogames graphically expressing the murder of Russians, Muslims, Asians, Eastern Europeans, South Americans and Africans.

A quick wikisearch gives me a sample of what is ‘hip’:

America’s Army, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs series, Brothers in Arms series, Delta Force series, Hidden & Dangerous, Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, SWAT series, Rainbow Six series, Ghost Recon series, Soldier of Fortune series, Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, Vietcong series, Deadly Dozen series.

Surely a computer simulation program that rewards a young person for committing acts of war, murder and terrorism against ethnic minorities can also be construed as at least on par with a poem about chopping off an ‘unbelievers’ head.

I am 100% for the freedom of expression, whether it be by the skilled representations of game developers, or well crafted euphemisms of think tanks that advise world leaders to systematically slaughter and terrorize indigenous populations and to quickly lock away potential troublemakers for the regime. Most importantly I am 100% for the freedom of expression for an introverted Muslim girl and a kind hearted Liverpool teacher. I am not for the sensationalism and pandering to the public it makes us stupid and ignorant (HAHA! See how I tied it all together in the end!).

References:

‘Lyrical terrorist’ convicted for jihad poems Times Online November 8, 2007
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2831648.ece

Saudi authorities behead a man for murder The Associated Press
Published: December 1, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/01/africa/ME-GEN-Saudi-Beheading.php

Short History of Sudan, Dr. Mohamed H. Fadlalla, iUniverse, 30 April 2004

Sudan: The Criminal Act 1991 Arab Law Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1 (1994), pp. 32-80

Taliban behead 7 Afghan policemen Pakistan Dawn November 24, 2007 http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/24/top18.htm

Terrorism Act 2000 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/20000011.htm

Wikipedia First Person Shooter September 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-person_shooter