Community | September 22, 2008 | 37 comments

Newspapers in swing states are delivering anti-Islam DVDs to voters

source: http://www.alternet.org/election08/99767/newspapers_in_swing_states_are_delivering_anti-isla...

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goldenways
The New York Times alone distributed some 145,000 copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West to 11 markets.

Millions of voters in U.S. states crucial to this fall's presidential election received DVD copies of a controversial documentary film as advertising inserts in their morning newspapers over the past week, with more expected to be sent out over the upcoming weekend.

The 2006 film, Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, which has been accused by critics of encouraging Islamophobia, was reportedly delivered, or slated for delivery this weekend, into tens of millions of households in states such as Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri and other "swing states" that don't vote consistently for either party and usually decide elections.

Republicans and their candidate, Sen. John McCain, have made battling the threat posed by radical Islamists a central platform of their campaign, while presenting their Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, as being weak on the issue. Obama has also fought off persistent smear campaigns, particularly among Jewish voters, that he is a closet Muslim.

Gregory Ross, the spokesman for the Clarion group, which produced and is distributing the DVD, told the Harrisburg Patriot-News that the movie was being delivered to 28 million homes throughout the month of September and that the intention was not to sway voters to either candidate.

The Clarion Fund is a shadowy non-profit group created to "educate Americans about issues of national security," according to its website. The staff and organizational information of the group is not listed on the website.

Clarion Fund was founded by the writer and executive produce of Obsession, Israeli-Canadian Raphael Shore. The group also runs the website Radicalislam.org -- an educational site which implores its readers to "take action against radical Islam" by exploring its resources under four headings: "fueling terror," "Sharia law," "vote 2008," and "radical Islam overview."

Because of Clarion Fund's non-profit, tax-exempt status, it is not permitted to sway voters in a partisan manner. But Radicalislam.org reportedly was, until it was recently pointed out in the media, carrying an article that explicitly endorsed Sen. John McCain.

IPS telephoned the Clarion Fund and its reported contact and counsel, Eli D. Greenberg of the New York law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman and Herz. The calls were not returned.

The documentary, despite an initial disclaimer that the material covered applies only to radical Islamists and not all Muslims, has drawn fire from critics for conflating mainstream Islam with violent and militant tendencies of a smaller subset of the religion. Critics argue that it makes little distinction between the religion of Islam and the political realities that inform terrorism.

Among the film's stable of experts are "reformed" Palestinian Liberation Organization terrorist and convert to evangelical Christianity Walid Shoebat, self-described terrorism expert Stephen Emerson, and another evangelical convert from Islam named Noni Darwish who runs a website called Arabs for Israel.

An investigation by IPS last year revealed that the production and promotion of Obsession was tied to several right-wing Zionist groups in the U.S. and Israel. Raphael Shore's brother, Rabbi Ephraim Shore, heads up the Israeli group Aish Hatorah, which helped form HonestReporting, an organization which, the IPS investigation revealed, had ties to the film despite the apparent denials of the relationship.

Several of the newspapers that ran the advertising insert were contacted for interviews by IPS, and those who responded all gave similar responses that, though the material may or may not agree with the editorial positions of the papers, the DVDs met the standards for advertising. The newspapers said they did not want to participate in censorship.
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37 comments // Newspapers in swing states are delivering anti-Islam DVDs to voters

  • JaetheFirst
  • nufsenuf
    • 0
      nufsenuf  

    • Yikes! I got one of these in the paper, maybe a week or so ago - and today, in the mail, I GOT ANOTHER ONE! These guys are spending HUGE bucks to spread this garbage! Wow, for a non-profit, The Clarion Fund seems to be in better shape that most! Holy Bankroll! These guys are really the worst. As already noted, the piece is such a blatant attempt to inflame further anti-Islamic sentiment, and instill fear. It's so ironic that this is also terrorism, a far more insidious kind.

    • 3 years ago
  • Denica_Cassandra
  • CleftAsunder
    • 0
      CleftAsunder  

    • Why Why Why are people so mislead!

      It is unbelievable!!!!

      Hey why doesn't Zietguest get the same exposer?

      Democracy is a shame and greed funds terrorism.

      Peace Out Cc*

    • 3 years ago
  • FahadArman
  • csmonut
    • 0
      csmonut  

    • I recently priced the cost of having our movie duplicated onto DVDs.
      If I wanted a 1,000 or more, I could get them as low as 48 cents each. (I doubt we'd sell that many in two lifetimes)
      The price I was quoted appears to be about industry standard. So, unless the makers made their own copies the cost to have these Obsession DVDs made would be around 65,000 bucks, give or take a few.
      And the distribution cost has to be really high. Who has that kind of money?
      Hmm...

    • 3 years ago
  • csmonut
    • 0
      csmonut  

    • Wait a minute. The city of Baghdad, Irag has what, around 6 million people living there, right?

      If only 1 percent of these people protest against America and burn the American flag and scream death to Americans, that makes for REALLY good news feeds.

      What they don't show is the the 5,440,000 people going about their lives and really wanting peace among all peoples.

    • 3 years ago
  • JaetheFirst
    • 0
      JaetheFirst  

    • The smell of bullshit coming from this administration and the private meetings of the McCain Campaign is so palpable I'm surprised there's been no investigation on this matter; or maybe there's a commission out there "working" on the smell issue as we speak, which means we probably won't hear the results for another 444 days...:) I surprise myself sometimes. lol

    • 3 years ago
  • csmonut
  • rvmedia
    • 0
      rvmedia  

    • This is really interesting, since I have shown this video personally as part of a campaign to raise awareness of anti-Islamic conservative movements in the US. This is a classic, and I do mean classis, but totally hi-tech and really well polished piece of high scare propaganda worth of the greatest Disney anti-German rhetoric of its period. They skillfully and cleverly take the MOST insidious and MOST offensive examples of radical Islam and turn them into a paradigm for the entire Islamic movement, especially the stuff with the Hamas mouse and anti-Zionist stuff.

      Why in the hell the NYT ever agreed to spread this shit with their papers is totally beyond me. Anyone want to help me start a fundraising campaign to get the film Arabs and Terrorism by Bassam Haddad inserted into 28 million local news dailies? This would be a fitting counter-offensive and might actually wake a few people up in the process! It would only cost us $560,000,000 assuming we could get a bulk rate of $20/a piece (+distribution costs). Which makes me wonder, who the F*** is funding this insert shit? Assuming no wholesale (which is impossible for an effort this big), this would be costing somebody $420,000,000 to hit 28 million homes-and that is just purchase costs, not distribution!!

      If you haven't seen the film (Arabs and Terrorism), here's more details. It's awesome!!
      http://www.arabsandterrorism.com/project.cfm

    • 3 years ago
  • asherp
  • GrandKnow2
    • 0
      GrandKnow2  

    • This is completely believable I have come to expect anything from this current administration, no level is too low and no sleaze is to dirty.

      **for those of you familiar with ESPN.com's "the Sports guy", the Republican administration has entered the Mike Tyson Zone.

    • 3 years ago
  • PaliNadia
    • 0
      PaliNadia  

    • The movie trailer above.

      The Clarion Fund is a shadowy non-profit group created to "educate Americans about issues of national security," "Our primary focus is on the most urgent threat of radical Islam."

      um, no.
      The most urgent threat are the brainwashers of this kind of propaganda.

    • 3 years ago
  • dkincheloe
    • 0
      dkincheloe  

    • Here is my letter to the Chairman/Publisher and to the President:

      Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Chairman & Publisher

      Scott H. Heekin-Canedy, President, General Manager

      Mr. Sulzberger and Mr. Heekin-Canedy,

      I am a Jew. I hold a Ph.D. I am a regular reader of the New York Times, in print and online. And I am outraged by your behavior in disseminating this anti-"Radical Islam" DVD. First, because it will incite hatred. Second, it will not resolve the problem, but will inflame it. Third, because it is not accurate, but is, rather, highly exaggerated and therfore dishonest. Fourth, because it will incite fear in those Americans who will watch it, without the necessary information to intellectually process it. Fifth, because even those of us who DO have a far more accurate view of Islam and its followers, it still poisons one's feelings and "gut" reactions. Sixth, because your purpose in distributing it is NOT to make me safer, but to incite Zionistic and militaristic sentiments, and to manipulate us into voting for Republican or pro-war candidates in the upcoming election, assuming all the while that we are gullible, ill-informed and easily manipulated. Seventh, because this DVD assumes (quite falsely) that "radical" Islam is somehow different from your brand of Zionism, or Dick Cheney's type of "patriotism," or Sarah Palin's sort of Christianity. They are all of an ilk.

      I'm confident that this email will have little effect on your "ethical principles," which apparently dictate a lack of respect for your fellow Americans and others who will see this DVD, which allow you to be comfortable in manipulating elections and voters, which allow you to needlessly and dishonestly frighten other citizens.

      Although there will probably be no effect on your future behavior, or your ideology, I am writing and sending this so that you will know that I do not tolerate zealotry -- whether Zionist or Islamic or American or Christian. Although you are content, perhaps, in your ideological distortions, you should be ashamed. And you should be castigated.

      Consider me one who will continue to read the New York Times online for free, but who will not give you, through the purchase of your printed paper or any other New York Times' publication or product, another of my coins. I am mortified and appalled and disheartened. I actually thought better of you and your company. I am deeply disappointed.

      Regards,

      [Name]

    • 3 years ago
  • csmonut
  • dkincheloe
  • Chrisdawg90
  • neocongo
  • fountaingoats
    • 0
      fountaingoats  

    • The statement that "The New York Times alone distributed some 145,000 copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West to 11 markets" is misleading. This was not the New York Times's doing, it was an advertiser with the NYT.

    • 3 years ago
  • asherp
  • CleftAsunder
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  
    • fountaingoats:

      Well the thing is, they don't HAVE to advertise for anybody they don't want to.

      They can't pull the excuse that "well, we're just selling advertising space, we don't care about what the content is so long as they give us enough money..."

      Adbusters has tried to buy full page ads and has been refused, even though they had enough money to pay for the space.

      Either they are complicit in xenophobic electioneering, or they aren't, but they can't have it both ways.

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
  • onechance
  • goldenways
  • curiously_strong
    • 0
      curiously_strong  

    • Obsession is a movie will generate the public fear about the Islamic religion, besides the movie is a one-sided story ( i saw the movie) and the fact that it was made by a bias group is even worse. It is not right to market this out to the general public like that, its like using 9/11 to make people vote in fear all over again like in the 2004 elections.

      And i am ashamed the New York Times did the marketing.

      I bet that if a similar group were to make a documentary about other radical religions then the New York Times would censor it.

    • 3 years ago
  • fountaingoats
    • 0
      fountaingoats  
    • curiously_strong:

      NY Times did not "do the marketing." NYT allows political advertising, as we've seen in the past with the controversial moveon.org ad.

      NYT also isn't in the business of censoring such advertisements. From the article:

      "Several of the newspapers that ran the advertising insert were contacted for interviews by IPS, and those who responded all gave similar responses that, though the material may or may not agree with the editorial positions of the papers, the DVDs met the standards for advertising. The newspapers said they did not want to participate in censorship."

    • 3 years ago
  • curiously_strong
    • 0
      curiously_strong  
    • curiously_strong:

      "The New York Times alone distributed some 145,000 copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West to 11 markets. "

      is from what the current description posted said, however it is my mistake because i didn't read the real article thoroughly. thank you for pointing that out

    • 3 years ago
  • huntre
  • nufsenuf
    • 0
      nufsenuf  

    • HA! Got this the other day - haven't watched it yet, but will absolutely do so and comment - I'm sure it's "fair and balanced", though, so no worries! PFFFFFFF!

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  

    • By the way, I'm watching a BBC documentary right now that takes a pretty non-partisan look at the shitstorm that America has turned Iraq into.

      It's called "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED".

      You all should give it a look.
      Available on Netflix etc etc.

    • 3 years ago
  • onechance
    • 0
      onechance  

    • A Republican inlaw of mine handed this crap to me. I told him it was a scare tactic and he had no reply. I will still watch it if only to poke holes in it.

      Update:
      SHIT IS PURE PROPAGANDA

    • 3 years ago
  • aswift1
    • 0
      aswift1  

    • This is most definitely a scare tactic!

      I have to quote Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, when the actual terrorists are telling them that "Americans are too stupid to see what their government is doing to other countries..." and we keep electing those people who are the cause of the problem in the first place... When will we learn?

    • 3 years ago
  • F7
    • F7  
    • This comment has been hidden for review.
  • goldenways
  • goldenways
    • 0
      goldenways  

    • This is another terrible attempt (that may very well be succesful) to mis-inform the public and sway voters.

      “Minds Focused - Eyes Open”--Ankh Amen Ra

    • 3 years ago
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