A better world in a bad way … so be positive, Mr Hague
A better world in a bad way … so be positive, Mr Hague
Be positive, Mr Hague
Decline of violence … better world
Better angels … better institutions
Reality: two deaths
A positive life in a positive history?
A negative life in a negative history?
Communication every day
Communication about two deaths
To be continued:
Reality and the distribution of world opinion … its production and communication … … self and other; positive and negative
Be positive, Mr Hague
The self is positive and the other is negative. The other is being negative and so the self must be negative in response. This is what I understood William Hague, former leader of the Conservative Party, to be saying:
“The next big battlefield will be in our minds. Cognitive warfare, as practised by Russia and China, could fatally weaken the West – we must step up efforts to combat it.” William Hague. The Times, October 15, 2024: 23.
It is the thinking which characterises the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Israel and Palestine: self and other, positive and negative; 2023
See, in particular: 2 Values (5 pages)
Locked into negativity, there is instead a need to be positive.
Decline of violence … better world
These last three weeks I have been using this year’s PRIO report in order to investigate Steven Pinker’s claim that there has been a decline of violence … and the more general claim that today we are living in a better world than it was in the past. Last week’s discussion broadened out into world politics in general, with a reference to the ‘European System’.
“Better angels” … better institutions
According to Pinker the world is a better place because of “the better angels of our nature”. A more specific argument addresses the question of economic development over the past five hundred years. Economic success over the past five hundred years has come about through better institutions. This argument has been challenged:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2024/10/18/world/beijing-nobel-winners/
Reality: two deaths
In the last couple of days two people have died: Liam Payne and Yahya Sinwar. Both deaths in completely different ways raise questions about whether the word is better.
A positive life in a positive history?
“Liam Payne and the dark side of fame.”
“Liam Payne and the ‘manic merry-go-round’ of teenage fame. The pop str who has died aged 31 in Argentina, opened up about the pressures of social media and the price of global superstardom
… the interview felt like talking to a shy, sweet-spirited relative … “We live in a world of constant chatter” he told me.”
The Times, Times 2, October 18, 1, 4-5.
A negative life in a negative history?
“Hamas leader is killed in chance shelling by Israel. War will continue despite death of mastermind of October 7 attacks, Netanyahu vows.” 1.
“ ‘Eliminated’: how Israel killed Hamas mastermind of terror. A chance encounter with a squad of rookies sealed the fate of Yahya Sinwar.” 26.
“Sinwar’s legacy is a new generation of Palestinian hate.” 26.
“Yahya Sinwar. Cruel and uncompromising Hamas terrorist known as ‘the face of evil’ who helped to orchestrate October 7 atrocities in Irael. He earned the soubriquet ‘the butcher of Khan Yunis’ for his brutality.” Obituary 49.
The Times, October 18, 2024.
1948 His parents flee Israeli city of Ashkelon during the Arab-Israeli wars
1962 He was born in Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza, under Egyptian control …
1967 … but Israel seizes Gaza.
1980s? He gains a degree in Arabic Studies at Islamic University of Gaza.
1980s He is arrested for subversive activities and is imprisoned for several months in the Far’a prison in the refugee camp.
1980s He joins Hamas and rises in the organisation. He is put in charge of the Majd security force whose role is to hunt down Israeli informers and collaborators.
1989 Aged 27, he is imprisoned for organizing the abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers and for the murder of four Palestinian collaborators. He became the leader of all Hamas prisoner in Israeli prisons.
2008 Israeli doctors remove a brain tumour or abscess, saving his life
2011 Aged 49, he is released as part of a prisoner exchange.
2017 He is elected Hamas leader in Gaza strip.
2023 Hamas attack kills 1,200 Jews, mostly civilians.
2023-2024 Israel fights Hamas in Gaza …
2024 … He is killed in an attack by Israeli forces.
Communication every day
Every morning world opinion is posted through my letter box. Every afternoon I survey the headlines on the newspaper stand in the Coop. Every evening we hear the news on the radio, see the news on the television and watch Newsnight. Occasionally when I am on the computer, I Google for a particular news item.
Communication about two deaths
On Wednesday Victoria Derbyshire interrupted the discussion with her panellists to announce breaking news. For the remaining minutes of Newsnight she gave a repetitive account that Liam Payne had died. On Thursday the news of Yahya Sinwar’s death reached us via radio and television. On Friday morning Yahya Simwar was on the front page of The Times and Liam Payne was on the front page of the Times2 supplement.
On Friday afternoon I surveyed the Coop newsstand. There was a clear division. The quality papers devoted their front page to Yahya Sinwar and all but two of the tabloids devoted their front page to Liam Payne.
[quality ; tabloid; the other two tabloids, Daily Star and Mornign Star]
I Googled the two deaths in the evening and the first page gave the following news sources
Liam Payne
Sky news Daily Mail Indep Yahoo News UK Telegraph
@ @ @
BBC NBC Good Morning America ABC News CNN Guardian CBS Forbes
Yahya Sinwar death
Top stories
BBC, Guardian
CNN Al Jazeera NYT Sky news Hindustan Times
NPR NBC News
News links from around the world were mostly concerned with other matters
UN News: https://news.un.org/en/
UN Security Council: https://press.un.org/en/content/security-council
UN General Assembly: https://press.un.org/en/content/general-assembly/meetings-coverage
USA: https://www.washingtonpost.com/
China: https://www.globaltimes.cn/
Russia: https://tass.com/
UK: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
France: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/; https://www.lemonde.fr/ (in French)
India: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Japan: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/
Nigeria: https://guardian.ng/
Brazil: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/; https://www.folha.uol.com.br/ (in Portuguese)
Finally I looked for other news sources. The facts of Yahya Sinwar’s life were much the same across sources. In some sources aspects were labelled negative that were in other sources labelled positive. Both the Times of Israel and the Tehran Times provided quite a thorough account. A minor detail provided an interesting contrast:
The Times talks about his parents fleeing the Israeli city of Ashkelon during the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948; and the Tehran Times talks about “Like hundreds of thousands of others, his parents were forced to leave their homes to make way for foreign settlers to occupy Palestinians' houses, streets, neighborhoods, towns, and cities”.
Times of Israel: https://www.timesofisrael.com/yahya-sinwar-islamist-ideologue-utterly-committed-to-israels-destruction/
Al Jazeera:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/6/who-is-yahya-sinwar-ismail-haniyehs-successor-as-hamas-chief
Tehran Times:
.(1) https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/505111/Israel-says-Yahya-Sinwar-martyred-by-chance
.(2) https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/502159/Who-is-Yahya-Sinwar-the-fluent-Hebrew-speaker
White House:
To be continued:
Reality and the distribution of world opinion … its production and communication … … self and other; positive and negative
The Times, October 14
“Xi cracks down on artists who mock Mao. The arrest of a dissident sends a warning to those who still dare to criticise their regime.” 14, 30
The Times, October 15
“Russia and China ‘fill gap left by BBC’” 15, Tim Davie.
“The next big battlefield will be in our minds. Cognitive warfare, as practised by Russia and China, could fatally weaken the West – we must step up efforts to combat it.” William Hague.
15, 23
“What suits? The BBC wants more money for the World Service while buying lame US dramas
October 15; 27; Editorial
The Times, October 16
“World Service plea” 16,26
Sir John Tusa, managing director, BBC World Service, 1986-1992
Peter Snow, former BBC and ITN journalist
“John Amos. Actor who played THE SLAVE Kunta Kinte in the award-winning television miniseries Roots, which helped to combat racism in America.” Obituary 47
“Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow. Self-assured but divisive and controversial general secretary of Unesco.” Obituary 49
THE END