Darkness, light and journalism

матрациAbout a month ago I had a strange experience. Reading a certain interview published on the Jerusalem Post’s website, I had the impression that the person interviewed was explaining to me very clearly the reasons why I had been so depressed for the last 17 years (at least) – even if I am not Jewish and my personal history, at first sight, would not seem to be connected at all to the recent history of Israel (which was the topic of the interview). His words relieved and encouraged me. In other words, and as the saying goes: I finally saw a ray of light. But the ray of light suddenly disappeared again when I read the last interview “question”:

Achtung Wikipedia-Umma: Alarmstufe Rot!

Unter http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belagerung_von_Sarajevo findet sich die Aussage (Hvhbg. von mir):

Streitkräfte der bosnischen Serben bombardierten zivile Ziele der jeweils anderen Volksgruppe in Sarajevo. Darunter auch das Haupthospital, Moscheen, Kirchen und viele weitere Ziele.

Wenn man schon auf Hobbyhistoriker zurückgreift, die noch wissen, dass rund die Hälfte der Einwohner der Stadt Serbinnen und Serben waren, dann ist doch wohl mindestens dreifaches Redigieren unerlässlich!

Das “jeweils” bitte schnell streichen! Die Kirchen vielleicht besser auch. Könnte verwirren.

Danke!

Freiwillige Wikipedia-Faktenabgleichstelle Südost

“Kosovo Light” in the UK

Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and ‘pray to Allah’ during a religious education lesson.

Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting to take part in the practical demonstration of how Allah is worshipped.

They said forcing their children to take part in the exercise at Alsager High School, near Stoke-on-Trent – which included wearing Muslim headgear – was a breach of their human rights.

From “MailOnline”, 4 July 2008. Thanks to EuropeNews!

Fischer für Konfrontation am Persischen Golf

Joschka Fischer, der natürlich nicht so ein “Faschist” und nicht so ein US-Vasall wie dieser uneuropäische Berlusconi, ja noch nicht einmal ein Medienzar/-magnat, sondern, mnäää, vielleicht eher immer noch ein Medienmagnet und außerdem auf seinem langen Lauf zu sich selbst zu einem ausgesprochen geschulten Signalgeber geworden ist, Joschka Fischer hat, wenn wir seine vielfach in nahezu kreisrunden Sätzen gefunkten Signale zu den Kernfragen der Zeit Montag dieser Woche in der “Zeit” richtig verstanden haben, ein sich dank den Präsidentschaftswahlen in den USA bald eröffnendes Machtvakuum am Persischen Golf ausgemacht, in das die EU, die mit Friedenspolitik (wir denken hier insbesondere an die Anerkennungspolitik und die Kriege zwecks Zerstörung Jugoslawiens) schließlich schon ganz tolle Erfahrungen gemacht habe, den Irak (USA-Domäne) umgehend, mittels Assoziation mit den Diktaturen am Persischen Golf flink reinstoßen sollte.

Bitte überprüfen Sie selbst in der “Zeit”, ob wir mit unserer Fischer-Exegese Recht haben, und geben Sie uns kurz Bescheid, falls nicht! Wir haben nämlich selber eigentlich recht wenig Zeit. Danke!

Mnäää… dies vorausgeschickt, finden wir jedenfalls fürs Erste: Continue reading Fischer für Konfrontation am Persischen Golf

A fresh European recommendation on “the way journalism should be practiced”

has just been posted under the category “Europe and the world” of A fistful of Euros – European Opinion.

There, the author lauds a Dutch video “on Iran” that

shows normal people instead of foaming-at-the-mouth politicians or clergy. Watch, for instance, the Iranian skaters. What a familiar sight they are to our Western eyes. I also have to mention that this video is NOT apologetic of the Iranian regime. A good journalist simply needs to show, as best he can, the diverse reality on the ground […].

That’s right, journalists should always stick as closely as possible to the “diverse reality on the ground”, for the diverse reality above it, like here:

Iran hangings

is in most cases not elevating enough for shaping unapologetic European opinions. Even if the hoists may have been made in Italy.

Watch, for instance, the Iranian skaters in the background instead. Yes, there! under the tree!… All in all, quite a familiar sight, n’est-ce pas?

“Israel must respond, what else?”

Quando i terroristi sudtirolesi cercavano di ottenere la secessione dall’Italia con bombe ai tralicci ecc., nel nome di una supposta “identità nazionale” diversa, l’Italia “si ritirò” dall’Alto-Adige? Eppure quei terroristi non pretendevano nemmeno tutto il territorio nazionale italiano per “i tedeschi”, come fanno invece, con riguardo a ‘la nostra Palestina’, i gruppi terroristici palestinesi il cui leader più famoso, l’egiziano Yassir Arafat, ottenne i suoi primi addestramenti militari da un ex ufficiale della Wehrmacht nazista (cfr. Karl Selent). Al “diritto all’autoderminazione dei popoli”, qualcuno ci si richiamava forse anche in contesti meno esplosivi, ma non bisogna dimenticare che esso fu sempre un’importante carta vincente della Germania (nazista) nel Kulturkampf per attentare alla sovranità degli altri stati nazionali, per annettere degli spezzoni dei loro territori, renderli vassalli, e comunque renderli judenrein. La storia della Palestina e poi quella di Israele insegnano che, costantemente incoraggiati dai regimi tirannici degli stati arabi circostanti nonché dagli “antiimperialisti” autoritari di tutto il mondo, gli arabi palestinesi (almeno la maggior parte di quelli politicamente organizzati) non si sono mai rassegnati a rinunciare a ‘convivere’ con gli ebrei riducendoli come minimo allo status di “dhimmi”. Come minimo. Continue reading “Israel must respond, what else?”