Hard News: Te Qaeda and the God Squad
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Robyn, you posted your response to my childish drinking joke when I was preparing my bad taste art debate joke.
They are in no way related . I hope your well.
PA System can be tough on the lolz timing. (And as it happens, I'm enjoying a cup o' peppermint tea.)
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3410,
It's going to be a long 12 months or so, isn't it?
Especially for those currently in prison awaiting (for at least six months, it seems) the chance to even answer the charges against them.
The headline of a Thursday 25th, New Zealand Herald article (in their “Crime Story” section) describes Omar Hamed as an “alleged terrorist” (Alleged terrorist's name revealed) despite the fact that he faces no charges under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, merely “three charges of illegal possession of a firearm.”The article further describes Hamed as “a Palestinian, born in Greece, but raised on the North Shore”. I’m reliably informed that Hamed has lived in New Zealand with his fifth-generation Kiwi mother (and not his Palestinian father) since the age of 12 months.
The following day, Friday 26th, this time under a “Terrorism Story” banner, the same story is slightly expanded, under the headline Suspect is member of Palestinian rights group.
The truth is, we’ve got a 19-year-old Kiwi guy whose only charges are that he “was twice in possession of a firearm in Tauranga between January 10 and January 14 this year, then in possession of a semi-automatic rifle in Auckland between September 13 and September 16”. Not "discharging", mind, "posession".
Just where do these pricks at the Herald get off, trying to paint him as some kind of “Palestinian” “terrorist” with the all of the obvious connotations that that carries?
NZH should be ashamed of themselves for peddling such blatant distortions.
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Especially for those currently in prison awaiting (for at least six months, it seems) the chance to even answer the charges against them.
How do you know it will be six months? Is this normal? Will this mean that because it is "before the courts" no information will be forthcoming except as leaks and fucking shoddy journalism as described above for the next six months?
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NZH should be ashamed of themselves for peddling such blatant distortions.
I still think the Dom-Post( 'Napalm Blasts!') are ahead on the blatant distortions.
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NZH should be ashamed of themselves for peddling such blatant distortions.
Quite.
Excellent post, 3410.
As it I understand, he's a very bright kid whose political opinions I don't really share. Depending on the evidence to be produced, I might feel more strongly about him down the line. But the way the Herald has framed it is something else.
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NZH should be ashamed of themselves for peddling such blatant distortions.
Quite.
Excellent post, 3410.
As it I understand, he's a very bright kid whose political opinions I don't really share. Depending on the evidence to be produced, I might feel more strongly about him down the line. But the way the Herald has framed it is something else.
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Oh, and by the way, Tamati Kruger's interview on Sunday tonight wasn't really helpful either ...
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Oh, and by the way, Tamati Kruger's interview on Sunday tonight wasn't really helpful either ...
No. Did he have to be quite so... mystical... vaguely threatening... threateningly vague...? I dunno...
Ugh. This shit is doing my head in. Had one of those horrid "well if they haven't done anything wrong they've got nothing to worry about" remarks from an acquaintance today. Too right.. nothing to worry about, apart from spending 12 or more months in remand waiting for a chance to defend themselves.
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The article further describes Hamed as “a Palestinian, born in Greece, but raised on the North Shore”. I’m reliably informed that Hamed has lived in New Zealand with his fifth-generation Kiwi mother (and not his Palestinian father) since the age of 12 months.
Why does everyone think his dad is Palestinian?
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And now Winston wades in, with reference to dangerous separatists ...
What really creeps me out is that Ron Mark is constantly allowed to get away with calling gang members "domestic terrorists" - if my memory serves, he did that three or four times on Agenda this morning.
I've very little time for the Maori Party - but listening to Winston pontificate about "dangerous separatism" make me want to puke.
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I mean does anyone know, or it just an assumption based on the fact that he was in 'Students Justice for Palestine', and has a middle eastern sounding name?
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Ben: I don't know. But I know that if someone were to libel me by saying "that Judd bastard, of course he's pushy and venal, his mother's Jewish you know", I don't want you to defend me by saying "oh no, his mother's not Jewish at all."
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Just where do these pricks at the Herald get off, trying to paint him as some kind of “Palestinian” “terrorist” with the all of the obvious connotations that that carries?
NZH should be ashamed of themselves for peddling such blatant distortions.
Well, 3410, the Herald (and pretty much every other media outlet around) shouldn't be ashamed of themselves. They should be on the receiving end of complaints to the Press Council or the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
I don't want to post my e-mail address here, but if you contact Russell he has my permission to pass it on. As they say in a certain Joss Whedon production I'm rather fond of, "I aim to make some mischief." And I'd prefer to make it clear that I'd rather patronise media outlets - and their advertisers - who give a fresh turd what a terrorist is.
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And I'd prefer to make it clear that I'd rather patronise media outlets - and their advertisers - who give a fresh turd what a terrorist is.
I am motivated enough to complain about this too. It will be the second time ever.
Truly disgraceful bullshit.
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Ben: I don't know. But I know that if someone were to libel me by saying "that Judd bastard, of course he's pushy and venal, his mother's Jewish you know", I don't want you to defend me by saying "oh no, his mother's not Jewish at all."
Taking your point, Stephen, but it would be the first step to asking "now, what would be the thinking behind that assumption being made in the first place?" So, this guy has a funny name, belongs to various pro-Palestinian name so he must be some kind of 'terrorist' - despite a total lack of any evidence, or even charges, suggesting any such thing?
If there's any justice in the world, a few media outlets are going to spending some serious time and money defending Press Council/BSA complaints and libel suits.
Oddly enough, I get almost the reverse - funny how often I've been told by people who know nothing about me besides my politics, or what I look like that I can't possibly be Maori or homosexual. Shits me off, to be frank.
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I am motivated enough to complain about this too. It will be the second time ever.
Truly disgraceful bullshit.
Yes. You don't have to buy into the Maori nationalist deal, or take seriously any political party throwing rhetorical red meat to the base, to have serious questions about whether the media haven't just crossed any number of ethical lines but totally obliterated them.
If nothing else, I was quite serious in my PA Radio piece two weeks back: IMO, it is (as Russell says frequently) less than helpful when the media and politicians are doing damn fine impersonations of the Little Boy who Cried Wolf. We all remember what happened to him, don't we?
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Stephen, I guess that depends on whether you're living in Nazi Germany at the time.
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Ben, Craig: I applaud having at the Herald. I just don't think we should buy into the very prejudice they play on.
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Ben, Craig: I applaud having at the Herald. I just don't think we should buy into the very prejudice they play on.
I do take your point too, but there are a lot of things that could be complained about in my opinion this one just makes an easy target because it is so sloppy. This part is enough for me:
he headline of a Thursday 25th, New Zealand Herald article (in their “Crime Story” section) describes Omar Hamed as an “alleged terrorist” (Alleged terrorist's name revealed) despite the fact that he faces no charges under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, merely “three charges of illegal possession of a firearm.”
Also being sloppy about his background is relevant because of people's prejudices. But I do very clearly see the point you are making.
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Stephen, what prejudice was I buying into now?
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Ben, Craig: I applaud having at the Herald. I just don't think we should buy into the very prejudice they play on.
The bio on Scoop, posted by his supporters, says he's "Half-Palestinian half Pakeha NZer, born in Greece but raised in New Zealand":
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0710/S00390.htm
I guess it's how you hold your mouth when you say it.
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Ben, I have to go to bed now so forgive me if I don't follow up further on what is really a minor aside.
I'm not saying YOU have a prejudice at all. I'm saying that it seems inconsistent to complain that the Herald is stressing Omar's Palestinian father on the one hand (presumably we're complaining about stereotyping) and on the other hand criticise them for getting it wrong (why does it matter who his dad is if we don't buy the stereotype). I admit a certain amount of squinting between the lines is required to construct the above series of posts like that - it just struck me as funny/weird.
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Stephen, fair enough, it was a curveball question. It would certainly matter to Omar if he was being accused of having family connections to some Palestinian terror gang and it turns out he's not the least bit Palestinian. But it does seem that his 'supporters' think he's part Palestinian - hopefully that's not just stereotyping on their part too.
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So the question re Herald coverage in this respect would be: what is the message conveyed by this choice of description ("Palestinian") rather than other more neutral possible descriptions ("Kiwi/ New Zealand Palestinian/ New Zealand raised"). And of course, it is a frame chosen to maximise news value (in this case, by maximising assumed relevance to assumed links to an assumed terrorist group).
The more important objection would be the problematic nature of all of those assumptions:
(1) the Herald has little if any basis for assuming that someone part-Palestinian by descent is more likely to be connected to terrorism than any other NZer. This assumption arguably reflects prejudice of the readership, so maximising the news value of consonance ("stories have more impact if they are interpretible in terms of expected patterns") -- but that doesn't make it correct;(2) the Herald has no basis for assuming that this individual has connections to terrorism, given that no terrorism charges have been laid in this case;
and
(3) until charges have actually been proven in court, the Herald can't have sufficient basis for assuming that there is any terrorist intent among any of the accused, even if there were any evidence available of any shared intent between other accused and this individual (which, again, there isn't).
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