#White Helmets

[runawaycarouselhorse]

Lifting sanctions won't help the Syrians in the Free Zone (NW Syria), as Assad's regime actively blocks aid. To make sure it truly reaches them, donating directly to volunteers on the ground who are actually saving people! These are all legitimate and recognized non-profits.

They're in the recovery phase now, no longer the rescue phase, as chances of survival are very low, but some children and even babies are still being found miraculously alive. Don't lose hope!

Most videos you see of rescues are White Helmet videos. ^^

White Helmets -> http://www.twitter.com/SyriaCivilDef

MolhamTeam -> http://www.twitter.com/MolhamTeam

They both have Paypal.

https://whitehelmets.org/en

https://molhamteam.com/campaigns/439

As for Turkey…

AHBAP https://ahbap.org/disasters-turkey

AKUT https://www.akut.org.tr/en/donation

Are both considered more trustworthy than the Turkish Red Crescent.

"When the bombs rain down, the White Helmets (also known as the Syria Civil Defence) rush in. In a place where public services no longer function, these humanitarian volunteers risk their lives to help anyone in need – regardless of their religion or politics. Known for their distinctive headwear, the rescue workers operate in the most dangerous place on earth and have saved more than 100,000 lives over the past five years.

Former bakers, tailors, engineers, pharmacists, painters, carpenters, students and many more professions besides, the White Helmets are volunteers from all walks of life. Many have paid the ultimate price for their compassion – 252 have been killed while saving others..."

[academiccockroach]

Hello hi if donating is your thing (and you have the funds ofc) may I politely slide this link over? White Helmets helps survivors of the recent devastating earthquake in Syria. The organisation is suggested and vouched for by my Syrian friend, it is entirely legitimate!

<3 Ty so much for any support you can give even if it's only a reblog!

[thistabithahope]

“To save one life is to save all of humanity.”

If you are financially able, please consider donating to the White Helmets. They are on the front lines of the earthquake response in Syria and desperately need support for their work.

Donate here

Photo credit: SyriaCivilDef

[dougielombax]

Just leaving this here.

[tilos-tagebuch]

🇸🇾 Syrien: Kontroverse über manipulierten OPCW-Bericht zu angeblichem Einsatz chem. Waffen in Douma

Hochrangige ehemalige UN-Offizielle und Wissenschaftler, die seit 2021 als „Berlin Gruppe 21“ (BG21) zusammenarbeiten, haben Abgeordneten des Europaparlaments ihre Untersuchung des OPCW-Berichts über einen angeblichen Einsatz chemischer Waffen in Douma, Syrien, im April 2018 vorgelegt. Gefunden haben sie Beweise für Manipulation, Voreingenommenheit und Zensur.

🎧 https://www.0815-info.news/Web_Links-Syrien-Kontroverse-ueber-manipulierten-OPCW-Bericht-zu-angeblichem-Einsatz-chem-dot-Waffen-in-Douma-visit-11282.html

[sadanandaom]

[plitnick]

Cutting Through: Knives Out For Roger Waters Again

In a new edition of the Cutting Through newsletter on Substack, I examine the latest attacks on former Pink Floyd singer/songwriter/bassist Roger Waters. Accusations of antisemitism have dogged Waters since he first came out in support of BDS more than a decade ago, but this time German authorities are investigating him on charges of promoting antisemitism through his anti-fascist stage show. You…

[immaculatasknight]

Callous hegemons

[martamdxcontextualstudies]

Propaganda: The Big Con

Propaganda. What is it? Where has it come from? How do we change social norms for profit? How do we manipulate public opinion to benefit the interest of the few? How does propaganda shape our world? And who shapes it?

Before World War One, the word propaganda was not commonly used in the English language and when it was, it was mainly used by social activists. The word propaganda often resided with Catholics before it was changed into a political term in the 19th century. This term had then been associated with secret organisations spreading opinions and often lies in order to influence public opinion and to create a bias. This is also when the word started to get a negative connotation surrounding it. 

Although, many believe propaganda is mainly spread through posters, it is much more versatile in which media it presents itself in. Many other ways it is used include: speeches, radio and film. Nowadays, it can be hiding anywhere and affect a much larger group in a shorter amount of time. Especially with the use of social media and influencers, many can now simply voice their opinions and sway a large audience in one sitting. Many politicians also use social media to spread slander and dishonesty, in hopes of swaying the public and winning their votes. And another common way is through advertisements and consumerism.

In 1928, George Washington Hill, president of an American tobacco company, wanted to find a way to persuade women to smoke. In a day and age where World War One had just ended (10 years ago), and women finally had the right to vote, Hill craved for more than he had. At the time it was socially taboo for women to smoke and only permitted for men to do so. A woman smoking at the time was often seen as immoral or as a prostitute. This was until Hill reached out to one of the pioneers of propaganda, Edward Bernays. 

Edward Bernays, an Austrian-American publicist and nephew to Sigmund Freud, is considered to be one of the first to develop the idea of Public Relations. He often used social sciences in order to shape the way the consumer saw a certain product/situation. In order to encourage more people to invest into the tobacco company, Bernays decided to target a demographic that craved something they didn't have for a long time. Freedom. And thus the campaign “Torches of Freedom” was born. This way Bernays linked a product to an idea, an idea of freedom. He used the statement “Torches of Freedom”, as a way to empower women, free themselves and be equals to men. He proceeded to then hire attractive women to march and light their “Torches of Freedom” another way he exploited women’s hopes of a better life at the time and encouraged more to join. Although this stunned many, and many men saw it as a threat,  it was one of the ways women were able to fight against emancipation and to change social norms. It finally became a symbol for rebellious independence, glamour and seduction.

We can often see propaganda in most of the products we use. Consumerism is generally often used to control society. In this day and age where inflation is through the roof. We are all often attempting to save every penny, every dime we can. This is when big deals such as black friday and cyber monday can strategically not only encourage people to spend more money, but also to distract from everything else going on in the world. Black Friday in particular doesn’t have one of the best origins. Although many people correlate the day with thanksgiving and christmas shopping, the origin actually has a little less in common. One of the first times we’ve ever heard this phrase was in 1869, it was created by a severe plummet in gold prices that eventually caused a market crash and affected the American economy for a long time to come. In later times, it then had many correlations with other negative events such as in Philadelphia when people crowded the streets in hopes of finding post thanksgiving deals, ultimately leading to mass chaos. Police had to deal with traffic jams, accidents and shoplifting. Because of the negative implications surrounding black friday, it was attempted to be renamed to “Big Friday”, something that seemed more joyous. However, that didn’t stick as many companies referred to the day as red-to-black profit. Nowadays, events such as black friday are often used to feed into capitalism. People fight over items that might have not even been reduced too much, over spend on things they don’t really need and usually because of the mass chaos it ensues, many are often scrolling through social media to see footage of the chaos, ultimately distracting them from real life situations. Another example of consumerist propaganda is the pink tax.

Pink tax markets universal products specifically to women, often at a much higher price point. From razors, hairbrushes, personal care to even face masks. Products marketed for women are at a much higher price point than those for men and are often labelled as more sensitive or fragile and state that “women are more concerned about personal care, so they’ll be willing to pay more”.

Other than capitalism, one of the most recent instances we have of political propaganda, comes from the Russian v Ukraine war. Disinformation such as: manipulated photographs, state propaganda and deep fake videos are all used to intimidate and gain advantage over the other country. Another fairly recent example of propaganda and mass disinformation surrounded a first responder team in Syria, the White Helmets. This group was known to save thousands of lives everyday as they worked on the first aid frontline of the civil war and even had a Netflix show. The information around the White Helmets is quite messy, many believing they have been nothing but a PR stunt to paint the western world as heroic when in fact it was all staged (this claim was more often made by the Russian and Syrian government in hopes of painting them as the good guys). Some believed they were real but intensified their videos in order to gain more of a shock factor. Others were shocked that they had decided to film a video surrounding the mannequin challenge, where whilst pulling a boy out of rubble they are frozen mid-rescue, this creating a surge of more people questioning the truth. 

A lot of the time propaganda is filled with ill intent, often benefiting the organisation/individual behind the disinformation over the viewer. We see it everyday. We see it everywhere. But we are rarely ever able to recognise it. From distractions, emotional manipulation and self-guilt these are all tactics used by those behind the creation of propaganda.

Referencing:

Dedaić, M.N. and Nelson, D.N. (2003) At war with words. Reprint 2012. Edited by M.N. Dedaić and D.N. Nelson. Hawthorne, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110897715.

Delgado, J. (2022, May 9). Propaganda today: how has it been transformed to continue manipulating us? Psychology Spot. https://psychology-spot.com/propaganda-today/

Beck, A. (2022, November 15). Platforms of Propaganda: How Social Media Sites Facilitate and Spread Disinformation. MIR. https://www.mironline.ca/platforms-of-propaganda-how-social-media-sites-facilitate-and-spread-disinformation/

Dirty British propaganda war against Syria exposed. (2020, October 16). The Communists. https://thecommunists.org/2020/10/16/news/dirty-british-propaganda-war-against-syria-exposed/

Wesolowski, K. (2022, April 28). Fake news further fogs Russia’s war on Ukraine. dw.com. https://www.dw.com/en/fact-check-fake-news-thrives-amid-russia-ukraine-war/a-61477502

Hadjimatheou, B. C. (2021, February 27). Mayday: How the White Helmets and James Le Mesurier got pulled into a deadly battle for truth. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-56126016

Vaughan, D. (2022). Why Is It Called Black Friday? [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-it-called-black-friday.

HuffPost UK. (2019). You Probably Don’t Know The Dark Reason ‘Black Friday’ Got Its Name. [online] Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/black-friday-history-why-is-it-called-black-friday_l_5d951322e4b02911e1154386.

Highsnobiety. (2016). How Consumerism Is Used to Control Society. [online] Available at: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/consumerism-social-control/.

Edward Bernays | American publicist. (2019). In: Encyclopædia Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Bernays.

[russianreader]

Honor the Holidays by Helping the White Helmets

Honor the Holidays by Helping the White Helmets

Make an end of year donation to support the White Helmets’ work saving lives and serving communities in Syria: whitehelmets.org As 2022 ends, I want to pass on my deep gratitude for your support for the White Helmets and the communities we serve. It is as important today as it has ever been. It pains me to see the images coming out of Ukraine – of fleeing civilians, bombed-out ambulances, and…

[kagooleo]

the gangs all here!!!

[thistabithahope]

Donate to the White Helmets

More than a week ago the White Helmets announced that they had not found any earthquake survivors since the previous day. That search and rescue efforts would now transition into search and recovery.

For so, so many in Syria, it’s too late. It’s been too late for a long time.

Founded in 2014, the White Helmets have been on the frontlines of Assad’s attacks and, now, of the earthquake response in opposition-held areas.

Their motto: To save a life is to save all of humanity.

If you are financially able please consider donating to the White Helmets as they continue their life-saving work.

If you can, donate here.

(📸: The White Helmets)

[itsonlycomic]

darkstar (commission on twitter)

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

Hibou Khan, Seeker of Atonement

[yesloulou]

Daniel trains in the sim with McLaren | July 13, 2022