Glenn Beck, Palestine, and the Streisand Effect

Getting caught in the 'Becksand' without a rope...
Sorry Mr. Beck, hate has no place in media.

'Becksand' by Tim King

(SALEM, Ore.) - Some people just don't know how to take a joke, and I'm one of them when it comes to a prejudice little media fascist named Glenn Beck. The other joke-challenged people I reference are those who freaked out over my recent article about Glenn Beck's support for the freedom of Palestine.

Read: Glenn Beck Promotes Freedom of Palestine - Cites Israeli Human Rights Abuse

No, Beck does not support the struggle for Palestine's liberation from apartheid Israel's Genocidal drive to steal every piece of Arab land left.

That would be like saying, 'Beck is good for kids' or something stupid like that, along those lines. In fact I suspect he, like other Zionists, simply want to wipe Palestinian families from the map, but it isn't so easy as the world continually comes to understand.

In fact this little reincarnation of all the bad fascist elements of the world would never do anything to help the people of Palestine, intentionally.

So I just thought I'd help him out by writing an article strictly based on Beck's verbatim comments. Yes, it is out of context, that is the point of a satire piece.

In his rant last week over the new song 'Freedom for Palestine' Beck mentioned that he feared he was actually promoting the song and cause, which he was, of course, by simply featuring it.

I assumed those reading the story would figure it out, particularly because I closed by saying:

I guess everyone isn't so quick at the draw. But I'm a good sport, and found the different complaints emailed to the newsroom interesting in their own way.

Gary 'The Prussian' wrote:

"I don't think you've lived that long. I am pretty old. I think your own prejudices have blinded you as to what is really happening in the Middle East. If you were really for freedom, you'd also be talking about liberating Kurdistan. And I haven't heard you even mention the Baha'is of Iran. The Baha'is of Egypt aren't much better off, and then there is also the Coptic Church of Egypt. Why do you suppose so many Assyrian Christians have left Iraq.

"I would guess by the title of your newsletter that you are from Massachusetts, and, if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that you may belong to the UUA."

Kuwait's 'Highway of Death' in 2008. Salem-News.com photo by Tim King

The Kurds? It is the first President Bush who did the Kurds in. I don't need to be as old as you to know that Gary. You want to know what makes me sick about that affair, besides the terrible Gulf War disease(s) that my friends suffer from? It is the Iraqi Army equipment still strewn along that road that leads from Kuwait to Iraq. The U.S. government slaughtered thousands of retreating Iraqi forces, the same guys that attacked Iran for the sake of American ego, after a diplomat told Saddam Hussein that the U.S. would not interfere with Iraq's business in Kuwait.

After all it was never necessary for the U.S. to enter that 1990/1991 Middle east affair because a particular Mujihadeen leader freshly home in Saudi Arabia, who had defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan with the help of a few other war lords, was more than willing to toss Saddam out of Kuwait. You might have heard of this guy, his name was Usama bin Laden, you know, the religious guy that the Americans killed in 2001, at Tora Bora?

It was a stupendous feat, because killing a man already dying of kidney failure that way allowed not one, but two U.S. presidents to create a 'bad guy' image for the world. They should however have stayed with just one 'bin Laden' for their CIA produced bin Laden video 'warnings' that were used to raise fear, justify the invasion of Iraq, (strangest aspect of all) and essentially drag the guy's image and recreated voice out any time they needed to take the heat down a notch, or defeat a Presidential challenger from the Democratic party, you know, that sort of thing.

Gary, you reference my being prejudice, really? I do exhibit strong prejudice toward state terrorism governments like Israel's and Sri Lanka's, the U.K. and the U.S. that perpetrate war crimes. In this regard I could care less what 'religion' the killers practice; it is a side issue at best and not one I take the time to engage in.

I have to say Gary lost me with, "You shouldn't be going to war if you aren't ready to live with the consequences of war." In fact that seems ironic given the circumstances. I say Gary that we just shouldn't be going to war at all.

What Gary is missing is that we write critically about all governments that subjugate people and particularly those that claim human lives in the name of religion- that is the worst. It just so happens that the U.S. funds Israel's internationally illegal acts and those of us with a conscience are troubled beyond by words over that.

Indeed, the Baha'i faith has taken a lot of grief for their religious open-mindedness; and no one suggests that all is perfect in Persia, however there is a strong protected Jewish population in Iran as there was in Iraq, and in no case did western or Israeli war benefit anyone in these nations.

If we want to play the "You didn't mention this..." game, Gary fails to note how our Muslim writer Agron Belica reinterpreted the Holy Qur'an and has suggested that no evidence exists to justify that the Jews killed Muslim prophets. He fails to note that we constantly publish Jewish writers and items out of Israel from the expanding number of human activists there. Funny, the people of every place that commits Genocide has their share of supporters. My recent articles about the Genocide in Sri Lanka have one person after another suggesting Salem-News.com is affiliated with the Tamil Tigers, just because I write about their tragedy, and then my favorite; when Zionists write S'alem-News.com and call us terrorist sympathizers because we know and understand that Hamas is the elected government in Gaza. Truth us a bitch for some people.

Amy wrote that my article:

... 100 percent misrepresents what Beck said on his program last week.

Your article takes his quotes completely out of context—-to the point that they are saying the OPPOSITE of what he actually said.

I don't follow Beck regularly, but I did happen to catch the show where he talked about this. And I can assure you, your article needs to be revisited.

(Unless what you're trying to say or imply is that Beck means the exact opposite of what actually comes out of his mouth with regard to all he says about Israel? If that is truly what you believe, you need to be clearer with readers, because they will certainly miss that nuance otherwise.)

I'm trying to save you from having something so woefully, factually incorrect on your newspaper's website.

Because for some people this very significant level of error would almost have to seem intentional and would necessarily bring into question the journalistic professionalism and the integrity (and hence diminish the value) of the entire Salem-News site/organization.

I'm a former newspaper reporter and editor; so I care about these things.

Your article simply needs to be better researched.

So Amy, you take that Glenn Beck seriously? I think you would have to in order to write this to me. I have been in this business since 1988 and I don't know how anyone who is driven in this field comes to be a 'former reporter', or how one who does feels qualified to talk down to a person like myself. Many of us have never stopped reporting for a second in our careers. You can go to the staff page and read about my working background, there is a bit to it.

I don't see Beck as anything more than a loose screw in a nation dominated by a disproportion of wealth and the ambitions of greedy religious fundamentalist zealots, regardless of how much money, or how many sheep follow him around the yard, he isn't real; Beck is a manifestation of everything wrong with America and his hate speech makes him an enemy of human activists, how about them apples? Let me be clear; we are a group of journalist who want to (quite literally) save the world.

Actual photo released by Beck

As educated and experienced as any that have ever lived, our team of 87 writers are not all from the same cut as the prim and proper journalists who sold this nation down the road and is not even a serious informational contender. (Your generation?)

Some are professors, some are combat veterans, others are doctors, others are lawyers, yet some have tattoos, some surf and ride motorcycles; we are friends with all people and we don't accept the labels of 'terrorism' placed on every resistance group that struggles to unwedge the foot of oppression that attempts to hold them fast to the ground.

We don't ever pause to acknowledge silly petty minds that distract and dishonestly persuade people again, for the sake of everything that is wrong, however we will rake them over the coals if they are a suspected danger to future peace, and Glenn Beck is Public Enemy #1 in this regard.

And possibly the most insulting aspect of this media shock jock is that he somehow is representing religion? Is there no end to the alliances Zionists are willing to have?

Here are some facts about Glenn Beck, who grew up right here in the Pacific Northwest. I list them because it makes sense that any person who experienced the following things, would not have a normal outlook on life and would be entitled to having a jaded personality:

• On May 15, 1979, while out on a small boat with a male companion, Beck's mother drowned just west of Tacoma, Washington in Puget Sound. The man who had taken her out in the boat also drowned. Tacoma police said Mary Beck "appeared to be a classic drowning victim", but a Coast Guard investigator speculated that she could have intentionally jumped overboard. Beck has described his mother's death as a suicide during interviews.
• In the aftermath of his mother's death, his stepbrother committed suicide.
• Beck divorced his first wife, Claire, after their daughter Mary developed cerebral palsy as a result of a series of strokes at birth in 1988.
• By 1994, Beck was suicidal, and imagined shooting himself to the music of Kurt Cobain.
• Beck said that he had gotten high every day for 15 years, since the age of 16, then stopped smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol when he attended his first AA meeting. (Just goes to show that marijuana makes people calmer and better- sobriety can be a curse for some)
• Senator Joe Lieberman, a U.S. politician who has a stronger vow to Israel than America is an influence in Beck's life, and at one point was a fan of Beck's show. (He probably still is)
• Beck is now a Mormon; the religious group that leans so far right that its whole party is getting ready to capsize. I've always had friends from the Church of Latter Day Saints and can say many good things, but I also know that this is the group leading the drive to create a hostile life for people because of their sexual orientation and that is all I need to know. Jesus told people not to judge others, I'm surprised the Mormons don't erect gavels on top of their temples.
• Beck announced in July 2010 that he had been diagnosed with macular dystrophy, saying "A couple of weeks ago I went to the doctor because of my eyes, I can't focus my eyes. He did all kinds of tests and he said, 'you have macular dystrophy ... you could go blind in the next year. Or, you might not.'" The disorder can make it difficult to read, drive or recognize faces. (Shouldn't have given up Cannabis Beck, it is good for people, unlike you, your mindset or your politics, and I'm not just pulling that out of a hat!)

Media credential from ISAF in Afghanistan

I mean maybe this guy has done what I have done, and if so, I give him credit. Perhaps he has spent time in Afghanistan and Iraq; going on combat missions, wondering if he is going to live or die another day in order to understand the nature of his nation's wars in the Middle east.

Surely anyone so pro-war and death would go and experience these things to know what they are all about in real time. However I can't find any accounts of his travels to the combat theaters, so perhaps one of his stalwart die hard listeners can educate me about that if I'm wrong.

Media credential from IMF in Iraq

I can just imagine how well Beck would get along overseas with all the guys. Every bus driven on Iraq bases that I visited had country music blaring from the speakers. Soldiers shout racial profanities at the Indian and Filipino drivers.

Everything during the day in the summer is stifling hot like few humans have ever imagined, and the Afghanistan winters on the mountain FOB's (forward operating bases) are so cold that you can never can even begin to forget it.

A final thought; for all of the Beck supporters who will suggest that people of his ilk, like politicians, do not need military experience in order to justify their pro-war positions, forget it, you're wrong.

If a politician or media personality is normal and doesn't cultivate hate and misinformation the way Beck does, then it is true that they require no military background, but if they take his position, they do.

That is when the bigger picture becomes entirely clear; there is not a single media pundit (except for the disgraceful criminal idiot Ollie North) that I can name who is pro-war, that has experienced war.

Even if there are one or two, they are insignificant as most people who have witnessed the horror of this, are against it by nature and seek a better way to manage world affairs.

(The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon
in which an attempt to hide or remove information
has the unintended consequence of publicizing the
information more widely. It is named after American
entertainer Barbra Streisand, whose attempt in 2003 to
suppress photographs of her residence inadvertently
generated further publicity.)

Wikipedia page on 'the Streisand Effect'

Wikipedia page on Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck Promotes Freedom of Palestine - Cites Israel's Human Rights Abuse Tim King Salem-News.com Entertainment Report

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Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

Break down the walls of oppression and while you do it, 'stay human'.

Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 82 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can write to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com