Engineering Perception

The power of the imperialist is not due to its military and economic superiority. These criteria only enable the superpower to maintain its authority over its colonies or "client states" once they have already been subdued. The real power of the imperialist comes with its ability to shape, mold, and shape public opinion. As world-renowned intellectual Noam Chomksy states, "public opinion is the imperialist's greatest obstacle."

Adolf Hitler's Third Reich was the paragon of "legitimacy through propaganda" type rule. Joseph Goebbels was pronounced the Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightement and was in charge of literature, art, music, radio, film, newspapers. Hitler's "Mein Kampf" states how propaganda must have a holistic property that should permeate throughout the whole of society:

All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Consequently, the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be. But if, as in propaganda for sticking out a war, the aim is to influence a whole people, we must avoid excessive intellectual demands on our public, and too much caution cannot be extended in this direction. (Mein Kampf)

Furthermore, he also states that propaganda must harp on the major points often and repeatedly in order to make an impression either directly or subliminally. More importantly, propaganda cannot be objective for such a strategy would prove counterproductive:

...all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan. As soon as you sacrifice this slogan and try to be many-sided, the effect will piddle away, for the crowd can neither digest nor retain the material offered. In this way the result is weakened and in the end entirely cancelled out...its task is not to make an objective study of the truth, in so far as it favors the enemy, and then set it before the masses with academic fairness; its task is to serve our own right, always and unflinchingly. (Mein Kampf)

Now it would be ingenuous to directly parallel Hitleristic propaganda with that of the US. For one, the American media is not state-run and the competition between networks forces one media outlet to present issues in alternate angles, tones, and perspectives. However, some of the basic criteria of Mein Kampf are still prevalent.

For example, take the color coded terror threat levels that are supposed to indicate the "level" of state security. The simplistic nature of this mechanism is laughable to say the least. But to the common blue-collar worker in southern Mississippi, these threat levels are probably serious ways to decipher whether him and his family will wake up alive the next day. ---> All propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to.

More often than not, two opposing sides will be presented (more often on CNN) that argue about a certain issue to provide the viewer with an objective analysis. However, there are instances where this "objectivity" is merely an illusion. The former show "Crossfire" on CNN was taken off air amid controversies stirred up by political comedian Jon Stewart. He maintained that the hosts did not ask the hard hitting questions and were guilty of "partisan hackery".---> its task is not to make an objective study of the truth, in so far as it favors the enemy, and then set it before the masses with academic fairness; its task is to serve our own right, always and unflinchingly.

Reptition has also been a crucial success of propaganda. Lo and behold, CNN is the first network to offer headline news that repeatedly attempts to dent the human psyche with facts that they want you to believe.---> ...all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand by your slogan

Another example is the repeated play of the collapse of the twin towers in order to elicit an emotional response (patriotism), thereby justifying wars on Afghanistan and subsequent attacks on oil-rich states in order to maintain supreme hegemony. Playing on the emotion of the populace is a key component of propaganda because pragmatism and reason are thrown out the window when any type of emotion is brought into the equation. Playing on fear is a favourite of the US media, "we must attack first, because if they do, we'll be destroyed".

This results in a general acceptance of whatever stories the government concocts to further its hegemonic goals (ie: Saddam (secular nationalist) in cahoots with bin Laden (religious fundamentalist)). The US also engineers perception by villainizing regimes before any potential invasion, also referred to as "character assassination". This is done to "soften" public opposition against a potential war by arousing anger within the population against that particular regime. The media is currently practicing this very character assassination against Ahmadinejad and the Iranian government. Similarly, the filming of coffins of US soldiers coming back from Iraq is prohibited to prevent domestic outcries against the war. They want to control what we see and what we hear.

Further to this was the demolishing of Saddam's statue. Camera angles were zoomed in to prevent the viewer from seeing the the limited support that was there. The symbolism of the US soldier climbing up and wrapping a US flag around the statue's face spoke volumes which fomented a feeling of superiority, relief, and immortality among the US populace. The effective use of drama, theatre, and heroism in collaboration, further ingrains the "we are good, they are evil" type attitude and harnesses greater support for imperialist actions.

From a general perspective, this play on emotion goes beyond any news or issue. Most news anchors are generally attractive, because a certain message from an appealing point of view is more likely to be internalized by the masses. US media is looking more and more like some hollywood production with catchy music, and names like "The Situation Room" gives the interactive feel of watching some sort of army command centre. It is safe to assume that emotion is the way perception is engineered ---> The art of propaganda lies in understanding the emotional ideas of the great masses and finding, through a psychologically correct form, the way to the attention and thence to the heart of the broad masses.

As the general public, it is up to us to look beyond the media and think critically. To take the media at face value is highly credulous. We must look beyond our television sets and begin to think for ourselves, or become pawns of our government, which sadly, most US citizens have already become.

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

Germanic Excellence

There are those people who work hard, reach a certain level of accomplishment and maintain their position. Then there are those that reach a certain level of accomplishment, lose everything they have, then work their way up again. The German's are the quintessential example of just that.

In the 17th century, Germany was a mix of smaller states often engaged in dispute. The Thirty Years War which eventually restructured the power balance in the area, turned Germany into nothing more than a French client state. However, shortly after the Peace of Westphalia, two German kingdoms in particular sought to build themselves up: Prussia and Austria. Although constantly at odds with one another, the conflicts did not prevent some notable accomplishments major areas:

"...new universities were founded, some soon considered among Europe's best. An increasingly literate public made possible a jump in the number of journals and newspapers. At the end of the seventeenth century, most books printed in Germany were in Latin. By the end of the next century, all but 5 percent were in German. The eighteenth century also saw a refinement of the German language and a flowering of German literature with the appearance of such figures as Gotthold Lessing, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller. German music also reached great heights with the Bach family, George Frederick Handel, Joseph Haydn, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." (http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/history/bl_smaller_states.htm)

The French Revolution spearheaded another war which resulted in the defeat of Prussia. However, in true German fashion Prussia sought heavy military and adminsitrative reforms which eventually resulted in the defeat of Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo. Prussia was the chief military powerhouse in Europe. Under Bismarck, the German's united under the banner of German nationalism to defeat the French in the Franco-Prussian War and declared Wilhelm I as the emperor of the German Empire.

Fast forward to WWI where Germany was unfairly targeted at the Paris Peace conference as the chief perpretrator that caused the war. Still, Germany rose from the ashes and gave rise to Adolf Hitler (who was democratically elected and could have done much more for Germany if not for his ridiculous ideology). Again, Germany was defeated but they rose again slowly building themselves up to a position of power after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Today, is Germany is the largest economy in Europe and third largest in the world in real terms, placed behind the United States, and Japan. According to the World Trade Organization, Germany is also the world's top exporter, ahead of the United States and China. (Wikipedia)

Perhaps this excerpt from a paper by Pakistani Nobel Laureate Dr. Abdus Salam explains why the German's have been so successful despite the obstacles they've had to endure. It is definitely a lesson for us all:

In 1947 I was a student at Cambridge University, Germany had lost the war and the entire German nation was feeling the distressing effects of this crushing defeat. The American control commission invited students from Cambridge and other European universities to visit Germany and see the plight of the German nation. Around 500 students from all over Europe arrived in Munich. Not a single building structure was left intact in the city and it seemed that the inhabitants of Munich were living in pigeon holes.

We were to stay in huge tents in a city park. I had learnt from someone that a German scholar was looking for me. One day I met this scholar who was just a human skeleton. He was employed in a German war camp where there were some Punjabi prisoners as well. He learnt from these Punjabi soldiers that I had arrived in the city. He was learning the Punjabi language from these soldiers as he was compiling a German-Punjabi dictionary in 1947. The books he had in his possession were Meer Warith Shah and an old copy of ***** Bhatti published from Lahore. As he was experiencing difficulty in understanding some verses from these books he decided to meet me so that I could explain to him some of the different passages. Unfortunately those passages were rather difficult for me as well and consequently I could not be of much help to him.

Now think about this incident for a moment. I don't know whether that dictionary was ever published and if it was then how many people made use of it but this is a story of knowledge loving people. A nation whose total G.N.P. is but knowledge of science, technology and languages. The people of such a great country know that compiling a German/Punjabi dictionary may be fruitless but they will not waste time in playing cards or going on strikes or watching useless movies. They consider their time during university years to be extremely valuable, they learn and teach others, perhaps there is a great lesson for us.

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge, is there anything more inspiring?

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

Canada Tarnishing its Peacekeeping Legacy

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn't take long to make his mark on Canadian foreign policy. We suddenly find our military in the midst of a guerilla warfare in Afghanistan that the mighty US couldn't handle, or in other words, we find ourselves slaving to American interests. Leading an international coalition of occupiers who claim that they are "rooting out terrorists" is not peacekeeping by any stretch of the imagination.

A report from CBC is as follows:

The Department of National Defence has also admitted that Canada's secret special forces, Joint Task Force Two, has been operating alongside the American and other special forces units in Afghanistan but no details have ever been released.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/afghanistan/canada.html

What are they hiding? Do they really need secret forces for peacekeeping purposes? I don't think so.

Brigadier-General David Fraser says "...But in fact what we're doing is we're going into their yard," he said. "We're going to start kicking them." (CTV.ca)

He's right, the troops are going into their yard, but Canadian soldiers are apparently getting axes to the head and getting blown up rather than gaining the sympathy of a populace who are said to be "reaping the fruits of democracy."

He also states: "I've seen what the Americans have done, I have seen what the British have done to prepare their troops and we do not take a back seat to any other nation in the world," (CTV.ca)

How is slaving to the American imperialistic agenda not taking a back seat? In fact, its not just taking the back seat, its being blindfolded, gagged, and being put into the damn trunk. Furthermore, who are we trying to kid here? Canada is no military powerhouse so what are we doing fighting a guerilla war that even the US could not compete with? But then again, practicality is a foreign concept to conservative ideology.

Already tarnishing its image as a true peacekeeping nation, Canada is also risking an attack on its own soil, something we have avoided due to being "an independent nation who makes its own decisions" as former Prime Minister Jean Chretien stated after making the bold decision of not sending troops to Iraq. Canada was not part of the US imperialistic grand strategy, which is why it has avoided retaliatory attacks. The intervention in Afghanistan has the potential to change that. Lets change our government before that ever happens.

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

Pakistan - A Minority's Paradise?

Pakistan made huge strides in the treatment of its minorities by officially commissioning Hercharan Singh, a Sikh, into the Pakistan Army on April 15th, 2006. Often thought of as only limited to Muslims, the army is opening up its recruiting methods and giving minorities a chance to contribute to the nation's most prestigious entity. Minorities are also prevalent in sport where Danish Kaneria, a Hindu, is the premier legspinning strike bowler in the Pakistan cricket team. The domestic cricket arena also features the likes of Rajesh Ramesh, Arun Lal, and Stephen John. In fashion, Deepak Parwani, also a Hindu, happens to be one of the top designers in Pakistan. However, things weren't always this rosy.

Probably the greatest tragedy occurred when Qadiani's (muslim minority) were officially declared "non-muslim" under Zia's Islamization era. This was followed by savage attacks directed at the minority which continues to this day. The madness resulted in the expulsion of Nobel Laureate Dr. Abdus Salam who made great advances in the area of physics. Right-wing, ignorant, and backward mullahs decided it was best for the state of Pakistan to do without the services of such an accomplished individual who was willing to contribute to the Muslim cause. I can only refer to such madness as institutionalized racism and nothing less. One can only imagine the things Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan (Father of Pakistan's Nuclear Bomb) and Dr. Abdus Salam could have accomplished for the state of Pakistan. Why have the white portion on the flag then? Who are we trying to fool? The Abdus Salam fiasco is hypocritical to say the least.

Those who have the audacity to suggest that minorities should not play a role in the functioning of a Muslim state should remind themselves that Coptic Christians fought alongside Salahuddin Ayubi and Jews were given the highest office under the Ottoman Sultans. Salahuddin went on to become one of the greatest Muslim warriors of all time and the Ottoman Empire was the envy of all at its peak. Tolerance and practicality has its own rewards.

It seems though that Pakistan may have turned a corner. Tolerance and acceptance are virtues only held by the educated and in a state like Pakistan, education is given a back seat to defense spending. As a result, molding archaic beliefs will take time and much patience. The recruitment of Hercharan Singh may well be the turning point that will allow the state to fully realize its potential and what the people of Pakistan, including minorities, have to offer.

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

Terrorism Defined

The definition of "terror" is one based on perspective and defined by those in the position of power. Terrorism is a word many of us have heard primarily from those who feign victimization such as the Israeli and American leadership. The very label of "terrorism" is one used to discredit, isolate, and stigmatize a group of individuals who battle the forces of imperialism. Such a strategy works well for imperialist powers and exonerates them from blame for oppressive actions.

The so called "first world" has, through their media, successfully limited the definition of terrorism to include non-governmental entities or groups that act on their own. Conveniently, democratically elected governments who committ terrorist actions (ie: launch unilateral attacks on another state) are excused on the premise of "promoting democracy", "liberating the masses", or "bringing freedom". When these very states face the consequences, it is referred to as "terrorism". What more? not only does the label of "terror" discredits those who fight against them, but also excuses the actions of the imperialist by prolonging their colonial agenda. Things cannot work much better can they?

A true slap on the face of these imperialist powers came when Hamas became the democratically elected government of Palestine. The same powers who spew their vitriol on democracy and freedom are the same ones who are now withholding aid for the democratically elected government of Palestine. Russia, in an attempt to flex its muscles and be seen as a superpower is the only state to have some level of diplomacy with Hamas. Does this mean that these powers have gone back on their official view of terror? Does this mean that even democractically elected governments can now be viewed as terrorists? Only if you're not the one in power, because those in power control reality, perception, and definitions of what is right and wrong even if they are the biggest hypocrites on the face of the earth.

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

The New Fascism

History often repeats itself in funny ways. Oppression and injustice will always be a part of our society whether we like it or not. Those in positions of power will always oppress those who are not - hence power becomes the common denominator. Perhaps what is shocking is how we as a society begin to view this cycle as legitimate. What is shocking is how we fall prey to media that spins similar scenario's as "exceptions". What is shocking is how we become the slave's of our governments due to fear. What is shocking is how this keeps us politically stagnant.

We as a society gasp in horror at any mention of Hitler, gulags, and totalitarian rule. Are US practices any different? Guantanamo Bay and Camp X-ray are holding detainees who are being detained indefinitely without access to lawyers. Is this a reflection of the so-called "land of the free"? In Seymour Hersh's "Chain of Command", he proves the torture that is carried out by US soldiers in these modern day gulags. However, the public stands idle constantly being fooled by the media that proclaims these prisoners are all terrorists, they don't deserve POW status, they are a threat to our freedom, our liberty, our way of life. BULLSHIT! American propaganda today would make Hitler proud.

Remember reading about Stalin's secret army? The one that would go into houses and abduct people based on suspicion? Remember the Macarthyism era where every second person was labelled a "commie", spied on, and interrogated? Remember when Americans learned a couple of weeks ago that the NSA was spying on them? catch my drift? But its all okay you see. The government and our media are spying on us for "security reasons". We're frightened and they obviously know what's best for us right? WRONG! They tell you what's best for you and what isn't. Those who don't conform are "unpatriotic", "not American", "terrorists" etc etc etc. The formula is simple, use fear to force conformity and isolate those that don't. Because democratic states cannot coerce a population to do its bidding, a fear tactic is implemented to force conformity because a fearful population is pliable, agreeable, and easy to influence.

Have I said anything new here? of course not. This reality is prevalent in today's intellectual literature and movies. However, is it really having its effect? Are the American people going to stand up to their government? Will the American public see through their sham democracy and acknowledge the existence of a fascist core? This I cannot answer as only time will tell.

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

Mainstream Hip-Hop Destroying Black America

Today, mainstream hip-hop has become the musical equivalent of redundancy and insignificance. The endless references to sex and materialism coupled with the horrendous lyricism only begs the question of what happened to a musical genre that was the artistic rebuttal to oppression and injustice.

The current fixation on subject matter such as “booty”, “bling bling”, and “thug-life” is beginning to border on the ludicris (pun intended). However, it would be naïve to assume that hip-hop is based only on lyrics, it isn’t. The beat has always been an integral component of hip-hop and was also taken into account in the political rap of the 1970’s and 80’s. Naturally, one is more prone to listen to a message when it sounds appealing.

However, the problem arises when the beat becomes the only criteria of judgement. This is exactly the case today, resulting in trash lyrics involving “female humps” and “diamond encrusted teeth (grills)” become the norm. The absolute nonsense these “artists” propagate is degenerative not only for the genre, but for the entire culture that looks up to it.

These artists are only part of the problem. The real problem is the entity that has turned hip-hop into the joke that it is today, namely, rogue entities of the US government. Similar to how the CIA sold drugs to black neighbourhoods in the early 1980’s to undermine the African-American community, it has filtered hip-hop of its political undertones and has replaced it with messages of commercial materialism, sex, and thug-life to maintain the status-quo. It is no wonder that major labels only sign those artists who will conform to its demands. The artists that do conform are merely pawns working for the elite structure. As a result, African-Americans are losing their most effective vehicle of political dissent due to capitalistic greed. Slavery still exists, albeit in a subtler form.

Those who have the audacity to suggest that political hip-hop was a “fad” of the past and now irrelevant only have to look back a couple of months ago where thousands upon thousands of African-American citizens were left out in the cold in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Other than an inarticulate and crude display of protest by Kanye West on a live on-air telethon on NBC, where was the hip-hop community? Probably too busy trying on their new “grills”.

I am reminded of a quote from one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century. Definitely the perfect message for those who have lost all connection with history and reality.

"If we don't stand for something, we may fall for anything."

-SHEIKH EL HAJJ MALIK EL SHABAAZ (Malcolm X)

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006