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Israel's public diplomacy efforts are called hasbara in Hebrew.^[1] Hasbara (Hebrew: הסברה‎), also spelt hasbarah, is a noun that literally means "explanation".^[2][3]The term has been used by the State of Israel and by supporters of Israel to describe their efforts to explain Israeli government policies, and to promote Israel to the world at large. Detractors view hasbara as a euphemism for propaganda.^[4][5][6] —WIKIPEDIA

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Internet killed the hasbara star

by Adam Horowitz on June 8, 2010 · 87 comments

One of the most striking trends following the flotilla attack has been how quickly Israeli hasbara has been exposed and discredited by internet journalists. Robert Mackey has a post on the Times Lede blog highlighting some examples today - Max Blumenthal's reporting on the doctored IDF audio of the attack and Noam Sheizaf's work on Turkish photos of the Mavi Marmara attack which contradict IDF claims. To these two I would add Lia Tarachansky and Blumenthal's work disproving the IDF's claim that the flotilla was linked to Al Qaeda, Jared Malsin's work confirming the doctored audio, and Ali Abunimah, who has been in the lead on many of these stories and lately has been reconstructuing the path of the Mavi Marmara to show it was actually fleeing at the time of the Israeli attack. All of this has appeared on the internet and are helping to shape the story, despite the Israeli Foreign Ministry's best efforts.

These efforts are helping to fill a crucial void around the narrative of the attack, as Israel still refuses to share the entirety of the video and still footage it confiscated from flotilla passengers. Israel has released snippets of the footage which they believe support their version of events, apparently believing that by limiting access to the footage they could control the story. This has clearly not been the case. Instead they are on the defensive, busy issuing clarifications and apologies. The one "success" in their hasbara effort has been the racist "we are the world" knock off which really only confirms how absolutely tone deaf many Israelis are right now to feelings around the world. The fact that this embarrassment is viewed as a success in Israeli circles has been termed "Hasbara Derangement Syndrome" by Israeli blogger Didi Remez. They ended up having to apologize for that one as well even though Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev "thought it was funny." 

It seems that Israeli hasbara is getting a bit tougher in the age of the internet. I mean, who's going to believe "a land without people, for a people without a land" when there are ten YouTube videos to prove you wrong?

A Breakdown of Sorts: Deepwater Horizon oil spill

{liberatormagazine.com exclusive feature}

{image via Treehugger}

A Breakdown of Sorts: Deepwater Horizon oil spill
by Angus McLinn

The Deepwater Horizon blowout off the Gulf Coast this April has demonstrated, if anything, the truth of the old adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Or in this case, an ounce of prevention is worth somewhere between 210,000 and 2,520,000 gallons per day of cure. And we’re on day 35. So if that’s one ounce of prevention per day it would be more like two pounds and three ounces of prevention being worth... well, let’s not get caught up in the math, BP certainly hasn’t. Regardless, we’re facing an oil spill that is likely to be of a greater magnitude than even the infamous Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 which, as anyone who has seen a picture of an oil coated seagull being cleaned with a toothbrush knows, can’t be good on a number of levels. As has become clear in the aftermath of the disaster, BP received an environmental waiver for the Deepwater Horizon rig, just as 19 more have been granted for Gulf drilling projects since the explosion, making strong efforts towards prevention officially unnecessary. The fact that the very sort of exemption that contributed to this disaster continues to be granted at such a rapid rate even after the fact seems to fly in the face of all reason, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise; the Mineral Management Service has a checkered history of adhering to its duties regarding the monitoring of petroleum companies. In fact, the MMS was found to be trading sex, drugs, and financial favors with oil company executives in a scandal that made headlines just a few months before the Deepwater Horizon rig was put in place.

Unfortunately, as with many sad stories about disasters, it gets worse. As Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins points out in her recent article for the Huffington Post, this disaster is disproportionately affecting low income communities and communities of color; roughly half the fishing industry of greater New Orleans is Vietnamese, the same New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and to a lesser extent Rita in a sort of natural disaster one-two punch five years ago. Now these fisherman are losing their incomes and being forced to accept contracts from BP to help clean up the mess they made, despite being woefully unprepared as far as both training and safety equipment are concerned, in order to continue to make ends meet. In effect, BP is strong arming these fishermen into not seeking damages by requiring them to sign waivers protecting BP from further liability in the future in order to be employed as hazmat workers in cleanup efforts.

What we have here is a portrait of a disaster that could have been prevented by the proper consideration of possible environmental hazards related to economic activity, increased government oversight regarding such activities, and simple common sense regarding risk management. Of course, we can all take some comfort in Rand Paul’s observation that “Accidents happen”, and hopefully he will have some similar words of wisdom in the event of an analogous preventable natural catastrophe, such as climate change.

Indeed, climate change has already caused a rise in sea level that has resulted in islands sinking beneath the sea off the coast of Bangladesh, where 36% of the population lives below the poverty line and 18% of the coastline may be under water by 2050, displacing 20 million people. This is all contingent on sea levels continuing to rise as predicted by climate models, which climate skeptics loudly proclaim is extremely unlikely and insist that no action, especially draconian socialist measures such the regulation of greenhouse gas pollution that is putting developing nations such as Bangladesh at risk, need be taken.

Which brings us back to the situation pre-Deepwater Horizon blowout, when the skeptics won over regulation and it was decided that a detailed analysis of the possible repercussions of an accident that would enable informed risk management and provide contingency plans for disasters was unnecessary because disaster was unlikely. It begs the question: do we want this kind of lax regulation applied to a potential environmental catastrophe that would make the Deepwater Horizon blowout look like a walk in the park and would devastate developing nations and subsequently the world? Or do we want to gain more from this catastrophe than learning how Nigeria feels when foreign oil companies enter the domestic picture with less than tranquil results? If we are to have a socially just world with a secure future, the answer is clear. Although we may not be able to see the direct repercussions of climate change that are already happening in places like the Bay of Bengal, it is the responsibility of developed nations such as the United States to begin responding, whether or not we are absolutely certain catastrophe is imminent. BP certainly saved money and time by not taking the proper precautions, and undoubtedly it was easier for the government to avoid having the gumption to ensure these precautions were taken, especially after the MMS was forced to end its aforementioned inappropriately close relationship with oil and gas companies. Anyone can see how that turned out. Now regulators and lawmakers need to take this lesson and learn it.

The Grub Street Book Prize is awarded three times annually to a writer outside New England publishing his or her second, third, fourth (or beyond...) book. First books are not eligible. Writers whose primary residence is Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut or Rhode Island are also not eligible.

 

Each winner receives a $1000 honorarium and a reading/book party at Grub Street's event space in downtown Boston. The reading and party are co-sponsored by a local independent bookstore, which will sell books at the event. Fiction and Non-Fiction writers are also invited as guest authors to the "Muse and the Marketplace" literary conference.

Winners will lead a craft class on a topic of his or her choice for a small group of Grub Street members. Grub Street will provide accommodations for one or two nights in Boston and cover all travel and meal expenses.

Though Grub Street's top criterion is the overall literary merit of the work submitted, the award committee especially encourages writers publishing with small presses, writers of short story collections, and writers of color to apply. We also want the award to benefit writers for whom a trip to Boston will likely expand their readership in a meaningful way.

Application requirements: (1) one copy of the author's most recent or upcoming book (Note: the publication date must be in either the year of the prize due date OR the year the winner is to visit Boston; in either case, the hardcover or paperback original must be available to booksellers by the time of the visit). (2) Curriculum vitae (3) 500-word synopsis of the proposed craft class (4) $10 tax-deductible donation/reading fee made out to Grub Street, Inc.

• FICTION (story collection or novel): app. postmarked by October 15th, 2010 (notification by January 15th, 2011; Visit Boston for the Muse and the Marketplace conference, April 30-May 1, 2011). NOTE: Books published in 2010 and 2011 are eligible, as long as 2011 books are available in bound galley form by October 15th, 2010 and in hardcover or paperback by April 30th, 2011. We will not accept submissions in manuscript form for the fiction prize.
• POETRY: applications postmarked by March 15th, 2010 (notification by 6.15.10; Visit Boston in November 2010 or January 2011) NOTE: Books published in 2009 and 2010 are eligible. Galleys and Manuscripts for 2010 books are acceptable as long as the book is available for purchase by November 2010.
• NON-FICTION: applications postmarked by July 1st, 2010 (notification by 9.15.10; Visit Boston for Muse and Marketplace Conference, April 30-May 1, 2011) NOTE: Books published in 2010 and 2011 are eligible, as long as 2011 books are available in bound galley form by July 1st, 2010, and in hardcover or paperback by April 30th, 2011. We will not accept submissions in manuscript form for the non-fiction prize.

For more information about Grub Street and this year's Book Award, call 617.695.0075 or send an email to info@grubstreet.org. Please send all postal mail applications and inquiries to 160 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116.

Greeting Card Writings

Blue Mountain Arts is interested in reviewing writings that would be appropriate for publication on our greeting cards. We are looking for highly original and creative submissions on love, friendship, family, philosophies, and any other topic that one person might want to share with another. Please note that we do not accept rhyming poetry.

To request a copy of our writer's guidelines, please send a blank email to writings@sps.com with "Send Me Guidelines" in the subject line.

To submit your work, send to editorial@sps.com (no attachments, please) or write to us at:

Blue Mountain Arts, Inc.
Editorial Department
Post Office Box 1007
Boulder, CO 80306

 

 

 

The Chelsea Awards for Poetry & Short Fiction | Guidelines 

Manuscript requirements
Manuscripts must be typed. Fiction must be double-spaced with standard margins; poetry must be single-spaced. The writer’s name should not appear on the manuscript itself. Instead, include in a single, separate cover sheet with title(s), name, address, telephone number, plus email address. No submissions or queries will be accepted by phone, fax, or email. Only previously unpublished work is eligible, and the manuscript should not be under consideration elsewhere, or scheduled for book publication within eight months of the competition deadline. Manuscripts cannot be returned. Manuscripts that do not conform to the guidelines will be destroyed unread.

For the Poetry Competition: Submit 4-6 poems. The entire entry should not exceed 500 lines. The editors look for overall excellence; it is not necessary that the poems be related thematically.
Annual deadline: postmarked by December 15.

For the Fiction Competition: Send only one work of fiction. The manuscript should not exceed 30 typed pages, or about 7,500 words. The editors welcome both traditional and experimental fiction.
Annual deadline: postmarked by June 15.

Entry Fee
An entry fee of $15 is required, for which entrants will receive one copy of Chelsea. Please make fee payable to Chelsea Associates, Inc. (N.B.: be sure to notify editors promptly about any changes of address, since the post office will not automatically forward copies of the magazine.)

Announcement of winners
Winners will be announced about two months after each deadline. Include an SASE for notification of competition results.

Mail entries to:
Chelsea Awards Competition
PO Box 773, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276-0773

What is a Caribbean Classic?: Opal Palmer Adisa

Defining a Caribbean Aesthetic: The Making of a Caribbean Classic

By Opal Palmer Adisa

When we think about Caribbean literature, we must include the oral literature that was shared with us in the tales and folklores and which many contemporary writers revise, update, and incorporate in their poems, stories, and drama. To discount this tremendous body of work is a mindless disregard of our ancestors and we stymie our literary evolution as a people, creating an aborted trajectory.


Similarly, as we look to define and erect a Caribbean classic, we must be mindful that the whole notion of classic in the modern sense is erroneous because the Greeks are cited as the stamp. However, as educated people, we know that the Egyptians are the forerunners; their formidable library at Alexandria was raided and destroyed by the pillage of war--much like what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then, of course, there is Timbuktu that also served as a foundation. History aside, or rather, history as cautionary guide, a classic is a work that sets the standard, serves as a archetype and is not restricted to a certain era --in other words, the work can be said to be timeless because regardless of how much time has passed or how things have changed, the work serves as a light allowing us to see,  understand, and make inferences not only about the time period in which the work was set, but how it continuously references and illuminates our understanding of the present moment in which we find ourselves.


Of course, with regards to the Caribbean, a classic would have to speak to the socio-political conditions of the people and be dogged in its revelation of hope and viable alternatives. It must demonstrate, to the nth degree, the Caribbean ethos, delineate our cosmology, excavate a self that is so often hidden from us, and speak with authority to the possibilities of new realities and self-determination.


Most importantly, a Caribbean classic should give us a protagonist that represents and/or identifies with the seemingly ordinary Caribbean person, yet who in someway leads an introspective life and strives to rise above her/his socio-physical surroundings.


While it can be argued and debated that such criteria for a classic, favors a specific agenda, which it does, and which all classics do, I believe as Caribbean people we have to forge an identity and standard that speak to the specifics of who we are, and even more importantly, where we want to go, even if that path is not yet defined – machete in hand, we clear the path as we go along. In addition, to the above, a classic work of literature should have literary merit: assiduous mastery of language, unique and representational characters, descriptive details, multiple layers of meanings, and for me, very personal and, I strongly believe essential for the Caribbean, a sense of hope. 


Given our young history as producers of literature, we hold our own: two Nobel laureates, Neustadt International Prize, Guggenheims, and many Commonwealth prizes. Equally as impressive is the larger number of recognized writers who continue to produce excellent work despite our economic straits, access to higher education in the region, our total population, and median age. Still, we accomplish and compete, and can say with pride we have literary works that are part of the Euro-American canon, and which also set the bench-mark for the Caribbean canon.


Consequently, I offer the following four texts as Caribbean classics, and will go so far as to say they should be included in any survey course on Caribbean literature. The History of Mary Prince serves as the first account of the life of a black woman to be published in England. Its historical merit is unprecedented, but the details and vigor of the telling is also impressive. Then, we have another autobiography, by yet another intrepid woman, Mary Seacole, the Caribbean’s own Florence Nightingale--a herbalist, and shrewd business woman whose financial acumen allowed her to travel to the site of the Crimean War and where she became a beloved caregiver to soldiers on both sides. Her explorations and brave story are chronicled in the Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands (1857).


Moving to the 20th century, we have Edgar Mittelholzer, the first professional novelist to come out of the English-speaking Caribbean, and the author of twenty plus novels. My favorite from among his body of work and I think one of his best is, Corentyne Thunder (1941). Who can read that text and not root for Ramgolall, an empathic protagonist, if ever there was one. Lastly and noteworthy, is Sylvia Wynter’s Hills of Hebron (1962), in which Wynter speaks to and for the nation of Jamaica.


These are some of the seminal Caribbean classics that shimmer still today, and which will captivate and send future readers on a quest to learn more about Caribbean writers, culture and its people.

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About the author:

Jamaican born, Dr. Adisa is a poet and prose writer who brings extensive editorial experience to the anthology. She has published 14 books, and her writings have appeared in over 200 journals and anthologies. She is also a much sought-after speaker and has traveled throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean.

She has been recognized for her work in the form of many awards and honors, among them the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award for her poetry collection Tamarind and Mango Women and the Master Folk Artist Award for Storytelling from the California Arts Council. She has also received awards for both poetry and fiction from The Caribbean Writer and has served as an Advisory Board member of The Caribbean Writer since 1998. Her interview with renowned poet Kamau Brathwaite appears in Volume 23 (2009). Dr. Erika J. Waters, founding editor of The Caribbean Writer said she was "delighted the magazine was in such capable hands."

Adisa, who has a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, most recently was a professor at California College of the Arts. She previously taught both graduate and undergraduate courses at several universities including Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University.

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Sam Greenlee Talks Black Cinema

By Tambay, on June 7th, 2010

Sam Greenlee (The Spook Who Sat By The Door) speaks candidly on a variety of cinema-related topics. Respect the elder… the man is speaking my kind of language (thanks Rodney):