Media Double Standards Against Israel

OpEd by: Ronn Torossian

Israel is so constantly subject to obscene double standards by the media, it reminds me of a touching scene from the movie Defiance, about Jewish partisans during the Holocaust where the prayer leader begs of G-d “Please, choose another people! We’ve run out of blood, so please choose another people.” When incidents which portray the truth about Israel – as the victim – they are often ignored by the media.  Two incidents this week which occurred in Jerusalem received zero mainstream media coverage, outside of the Israel/Jewish related media. If the shoe had been on the other foot there would have been wall-to-wall media coverage, United Nations condemnations, and who knows what else:

At the holiest Jewish site in the world, Jews dared to sing Hanukkah songs and pray – and for this were attacked by Muslim worshipers on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Sunday.  In Israel, which is often falsely condemned for “oppressing” Arabs, Jews were banned from praying at the site after the Muslims attacked them.  No media coverage surrounding any of this. (No calls from world leaders about this Palestinian Arab action creating a crisis for peace talks, or as an obstacle to peace.)  Imagine if Jews attacked Arabs while they were praying?

A two year old toddler, Avigail Ben-Zion, sustained serious head as the result of Arab terrorists throwing a three-pound rock through the window of the car her mother was driving in Jerusalem Thursday night.   A complete black wall of silence. Both of these incidents occurred in Jerusalem – and there was literally not one foreign or International news organization which covered either of these stories. Imagine if Jewish teenagers threw rocks at Arab toddlers?

Jews pray and Jews drive cars – and are attacked and the media ignores it. Media ignoring these incidents is simply insane. 

Bob Dylan wrote a song in 1983 called “Neighborhood Bully” which is a perfect description of today: “He's criticized and condemned for being alive. We are supposed to turn a blind eye while millions of Israeli citizens are in danger .He's not supposed to fight back, he's supposed to have thick skin, He's supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in.” “The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land - He’s wandered the earth an exiled man - Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn -  He’s always on trial for just being born - He’s the neighborhood bully.”

Everything in Israel attracts undue media attention – except when Jews are harmed. A Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky had the answer when he wrote “Instead of Excessive Apology” in 1911: “We constantly and very loudly apologize…. Instead of turning our backs to the accusers, as there is nothing to apologize for, and nobody to apologize to, we swear again and again that it is not our fault… Isn’t it long overdue to respond to all these and all future accusations, reproaches, suspicions, slanders and denunciations by simply folding our arms and loudly, clearly and calmly answer with the only argument that is understandable and accessible to this public: ‘Go to Hell’?”  

This PR Agency owner says Israel needs to act in its best interest always and regularly – and sometimes forget about negative PR.

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading independent PR Firm.

A Lesson for the Road

“Anything you can do, I can do better.”Those are the famous lyrics to the Broadway hit, Annie Get Your Gun. Too bad those lyrics don’t apply to anyone when it comes to texting and driving. No matter how you look at it, texting and driving isn’t done better by you or the next person. It’s a deadly action, no matter how you look at it and no matter who is doing it. So why do so many teens and adults alike do it anyway? Is it the cool thing to do? Is that text message so important that it can’t wait to be read or sent until you arrive at your destination? Well just think: what if you never make it to your destination because you just had to read or send that message. Was it worth it? 

Kars for Kids, the nation’s leading car donation charity, recently launched their own campaign to combat the deadly action of texting and driving. If you’ve been to their web page, you’ll find it quite informative, providing a nice infographic with information about texting and driving, and just how dangerous it can be. It also gives tips for parents about how to speak to teens about stopping. And yes, it’s not only teens who text and drive, parents do it too. But teens learn from their parents before they learn for themselves. So do yourself, your kids, and other drivers a favor; take the pledge to stop texting and driving, and teach your children and others the safe way to drive.

Kars for Kids Begins a Program to End Deadly Practice o Texting and Driving

Texting and driving is just a stupid thing to do.

Whenever someone does something just because your friend does it, the famous question, if your friend told you to jump off a bridge, would you, gets asked. Well the same goes now; if you’re friend is texting while he/she is driving, does that mean you should, too? The ideal answer is, no, of course not. The realistic one, however, is don’t worry, I’m a good driver, I can handle doing both at once. But in truth, that’s just not the case. In fact, about 13% of car accidents where teenagers are involved resulted from drivers using their cell phones while driving. 

The dangers are so obvious, yet most teens don’t stop to think about them. They think they’re invincible; that nothing can happen to them. But they couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, research shows that over 3,000 teens are killed every year from texting and driving. Kars for Kids, a national car donation charity, doesn’t take these numbers lightly. As the organizations name shows, both cars and kids are dear to their heart and to lose so many, annually, because you just couldn’t wait to send that one text message, breaks their heart. And recently, they rolled out their own initiative to stop teens from texting and driving. Hopefully one day soon, teens will stop thinking, it can’t happen to me, and the world will be 3,000 smiles brighter.

Summer Driving and Pets

With Memorial Day but a memory, most of us are looking forward to summer vacation and long lazy days at the beach. Websites vie with each other for coming up with the most interesting tips on summer driving. What you don’t see are a lot of articles on the dangers of leaving your pet in your car. That’s a shame because every summer dogs and other pets die in hot cars. It’s time a spotlight was shone on the problem.

Sometimes pets are left in a car unintentionally, as in the time a car donation intended for the charity Kars For Kids was picked up from an industrial yard only for the towing people to discover a litter of kittens in the car. A mama cat probably climbed in and had her litter there without anyone realizing. But often, pets are left in a parked car while the pet owner runs errands. People just don’t realize how hot it gets in a parked car over time and what a low tolerance pets have for the heat.

If you’re thinking of running errands with your pet in the car, stop and plan it out. What are you going to do with your dog while you’re shopping? Whatever you do, don’t leave your dog alone in the car. Even when it’s not that hot out, your car can become dangerously hot for your pet. A car left in the sun in 72 degree Fahrenheit weather can heat up to 117 degrees Fahrenheit within one hour which is much too hot for your pet.

Pet-Friendly Destination

It’s a good idea to ascertain ahead of time that your destination is pet-friendly, so you can bring your pet indoors where there is ventilation or air conditioning. If you must leave your dog outside, find a spot with shade. Bring water along with you and a weighted drinking bowl for your pet friend. Offer your dog small amounts of water, frequently, on the hottest days.

Do you have a long-haired dog or cat? Groom your pet to rid him of some of that hair. A haircut early in the summer and one more later on is a good idea.

Dogs need exercise, but don’t take him for walks in mid-afternoon when the sun is high. Instead, take your dog out early in the morning, when the sun isn’t so strong, or in the evening. Like humans, dogs are susceptible to sunburn. Ask your vet about sunscreen for pets.

Be on the watch for signs of heatstroke in your dog:

·         Heavy panting

·         Copious salivation

·         Rapid pulse

·         Reddened tongue and gums

·         Lethargy

·         Sudden absence of coordination

·         Prostrated

·         Loss of consciousness

·         Vomiting

·         Diarrhea

If your dog shows signs of heatstroke, move him to a cool and shady place immediately and phone your vet. Gradually, lower your dog’s body temperature. If you can get access to a hose, soak your dog with cool water. A spray bottle or a shower works just as well. Don’t use very cold water, since this can cause shock. After you get your dog wetted down, put him in a breezy spot or in front of a fan to help cool him down.

Give your dog small amounts of cool water to drink. Keep wetting down your dog with the cool, not cold water, until the panting slows and your dog’s breathing settles down. Don’t allow your dog to cool to such an extent that he begins to shiver. As soon as your dog is cooled down, bring him to a veterinarian.

Hot cars and dogs just don’t go together. If you see a dog in a parked car, do the right thing. Call 911.

Follow Kars For Kids on Twitter here.

      

Brain Differences in Stuttering

There has long been disagreement about the causes of stuttering. The Stuttering Foundation of America states on its website that, "There is no reason to believe that emotional trauma causes stuttering." Additionally, the National Stuttering Association website states that, "We do know that stuttering is not caused by emotional problems and is not a 'nervous' disorder. We also know that stuttering is not the fault of the family or the person who stutters."

However, many psychologists disagree with this assessment and some still claim that psychological and other supports, such as the afterschool programs underwritten by the car donation charity Kars For Kids can make a difference. Anyone who has watched the film The King’s Speech, about King George VI’s stuttering issues sees that with emotional support stuttering can improve. Clearly, the King’s vocal coach didn’t know a thing about speech therapy. It was all about getting Bertie to vent.

But maybe that’s not the whole story, especially now that there has been hard data around for a few years now to support stuttering as a physiological disorder. A 2010 study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that those who stutter manifest abnormal brain activity even while engaged in passive activities such as reading and listening. These results suggest that people who stutter have impaired speech because of brain circuit irregularities that impact on several language processing locations and not just those devoted to speech production. The study was presented at Neuroscience 2010, a once yearly meeting of the Society for Neuroscience which took place in San Diego.

Lifelong Struggle

One in 20 children is affected by stuttering. While most grow out of this speech impairment, one out of every five children continues a lifelong struggle toward fluid speech. While no one knows the exact cause of stuttering, earlier studies have shown reduced activity in brain centers linked with listening along with increased brain activity in those areas responsible for movement and speech. The new study focused on whether this type of irregular brain activity would also be apparent during a stutterer’s silent reading.

Kate Watkins, PhD, the University of Oxford-affiliated author of this study felt that if the brain patterns during silent reading were also abnormal, this would show these anomalies to be typical for a stuttering brain and not a separate byproduct of speech production issues due to stuttering. To this end, Watkins and her colleagues used functional resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare brain activity in 12 stuttering adults with 12 adults who do not stutter.

The scans were conducted during three separate trials. During the first trial, the volunteers listened to spoken sentences. In the second trial, the participants read sentences silently. In the third and last trial, the subjects read the sentences silently as another person read the sentences aloud.

Distinct Differences

The authors discovered that the brains of those participants who stuttered showed distinct differences from the brains of the non-stutterers in each of the three tests. Only during the silent listening phase did the stutterers exhibit greater activity in auditory areas of the brain. While reading, activity in motor areas of the brain decreased, in particular that involving a circuit needed for the sequence of movement.

"Our findings likely reflect that individuals who stutter have impaired speech processing due to abnormal interactions in brain circuits," said Watkins. "In future studies, it will be important to examine changes in these brain areas in young children to find out if these interactions result from a lifetime of stuttering or point toward the cause of stuttering itself."