TIME US Edition TIME Europe, Middle East & Africa TIME South Pacific
Aside from the oddness of the cover of the magazine on the left, if you looked at these three covers you would probably think "oh, they're just three different editions." Well no, these are the exact same edition (May 21) but the covers had to be altered because some countries would not allow the US edition cover to be displayed. This is not the only reason why certain magazines publish different covers for different regions. Sometimes certain stories have a bit more significance than others due to the regional preference of the readers. If you notice the edition on the far right has a cricket player to appeal to the readers in that region. The stories and content in these three magazines are exactly the same, the stories have just been "reprioritized" according to region. This occurs many times by many different magazines; some even change the content itself to suit other cultures; Cosmopolitan, for example is known for giving women sex tips and advise, but Cosmopolitan Middle East puts a limit on how much sex can be talked about in the magazine's content. It is especially interesting to get two different magazines of the same edition, same name and compare the content or covers of the two. I would advise those who are living in Dubai, to go to Giant or Carrefour's magazine sections and try to find two regional versions of the same edition, it can be quite a lot of fun.
There are so many events covered by the media these days it becomes hard to keep up with all the world updates. But one issue that has been consistently priorities for years is the Iranian nuclear issue. Senators, congress members, presidents and kings have been standing strongly against Iran for some time now, all with their own political interest, but let's leave that aside shall we? I am not a supporter of Iran having nuclear arms, but I do not see any reason to panic over it. Israel, Pakistan, India, the US, Russia and many other countries have nuclear bombs and they don't seem to be using them quite often. So why is it fair to assume that Iran will strike the moment they develop this massive weapon?
What do we see in the picture above? It isn't rocket science to try to figure out the language of this photo; in fact it is multi lingual. Typical American fantasy has the "bio hazardous" clock reaching the last minute before Iran is apparently going to blow the world up. The famous mushroom cloud is another sight feared to be seen if Iranians get their nuclear arms; funny how it resembles the ones America dropped on Japan. Even down to the last detail, an empty desert is feared to become of one of "the allies of peace," which I'm assuming is Israel.
This is not the first time the United States uses images like these to promote their propaganda, and I'm sure it won't be the last; it is just sad to see that media outlets, which are supposed to be objective, fair, and balanced, amplify the government's propaganda by drawing little pictures like this one and misleading the masses.
Obamaville: An Attack Ad by the Rick Santorum Campaign
Attack ads are always carried out in political campaigns by each candidate against the other. Obamaville is particularly interesting because it contains two types of attacks: blunt, and subliminal. Before My analysis of Obamaville, I would recommend you watch the minute long ad below.
Firstly, the narrator in the video states the class of people the video is addressing. the "small American town" represents probably the majority of the Republican party's base; so the video starts off by saying that these small towns are in danger if President Obama remains in office. The video also puts a time frame of two years. Why? Well this deadline is completely random and has no factual basis whatsoever.
Suddenly, they show a glimpse of Main Street, cold and quiet with no population around it. Which is an odd thing for Republicans to be doing, seeing how they tend to make Wall Street a priority.
The next few moments are extremely dramatic and unrealistic. It is something one would expect to see in a horror film; all intended of course. If anyone can be described as fear mongers, it is the Republican party.
Suddenly, there's a flash of many images at once! What are they? Well, the first one is an eye, then a group of men who seem to be mobsters smoking cigars, then a man in prison. These are more subliminal than blunt messages really, which is probably why the producer of this video made those pictures so fast. But the message had to be delivered, so they just added a person's lips saying "Shhhh." Attacking Obama for surveillance is quite odd for Republicans, considering the most horrific and illegal law that was passed called "the patriot act" was passed by Republicans. Right.. Spying on American citizens is OK as long as one of your own is in office, huh?
The video goes on to talk about businesses shutting down, but the Republicans have been talking about that since the beginning of the recession, which they virtually blamed it on Obama before he was President! And they seem to neglect the fact that unemployment went from over 10 % to 8.3 %.
Another quick attack on Obama was his views on health care, by saying "the wait to see a doctor is ever increasing." of course in my personal opinion, I think Americans are ridiculous for not already having free health care for all its citizens, but they have started picking up the habit of being behind; and health care seems to be something they still need to debate for a while.
I cannot explain how hard I laughed when I saw the image of the man holding the gas nozzle to his head! But back to the point, Obama is being blamed for high gas prices; again the prices were going up under the Bush administration, and Obama was being blamed by some Republicans since then! It is a free market, and in a free market, gas prices go up. If you want to defend the free market so much, deal with the consequences,
"Freedom of religion under attack." Coming from the party that has called Islam a cult, Atheism a sign of the devil, and science witchcraft; attacking Obama on restrictions on religious freedom is not such a good idea.
While the video was showing Iran and Ahmedinijad, there was a quick clip showing the Iranian President's face transform into Obama's face. What are they trying to say? Are they implying that Obama is a secret agent for Iran? Are they implying that Obama supports Iran "attacking the US and its allies"? Ridiculous!
Then there's another quick subliminal meaning showing the men in suits marching, then it quickly switches to Wall Street; implying that President Obama wants to introduce Socialism and take over businesses. The video even ended with a red colored filter to say that Obama and his government are left wing socialists! Believe me, I would love a Socialist president in the United States, but I don't thing that will happen any time soon.
Symbols have been very influential images throughout history in art, archeology, and astrology; but perhaps they stand out most in the political arena. From left to right, parties usually choose the most significant symbol that would appeal to their audience. These symbols are never just for the sake of design or art, but rather give an overview on the values and beliefs that the party represents. Let us look at a few symbols that various political parties use to promote their ideals.
The Hammer & Sickle of the Communist Party or Movement
The Hammer and Sickle symbol has been used for decades by the various Communist movements throughout the world. Why? Simply because they are symbols that relate very strongly to the working class. The Hammer represents the factory workers, while the sickle represents the farmers. These two are the key base of Communism. Often, one would see a star above the hammer and sickle which represents the "Communist Utopia" described by Karl Marx; which is the utopia that the Communists would want to achieve.
The Fist & Star of the Revolutionary Socialists in Egypt
The Fist is a symbol of resistance and revolution. These are very Communist and Socialist principles; and the fact that the fist is red and star is yellow makes the symbol even more obviously Communist/Socialist. It is interesting to see that unlike the hammer and sickle, this symbol appeals to the Communist idea rather than just the working class. The movement itself has been in opposition since its foundation, which makes the fist even more relevant to the supporters of resistance.
The Green Earth Symbol of the Green Party
This symbol is very obviously aimed towards environmentalists. The color green represents nature and the globe represents the desire to spread environmentalism to the world.
The Red Rose of Prosperity: The Socialist International Party
It's difficult to see this symbol as a socialist symbol. Aside from the color red, one does not see "typical" socialist symbolism here. But this symbol represents a more centrist socialism that aims to turn struggle into prosperity; which is seen through the rose growing out of the hand of a worker.
Flying Bird of the Liberal Democrats
The flying bird almost always represents freedom in its purest forms. The liberal democrats are supporters of both individual and economic freedoms, which makes this symbol very appealing for those who believe in absolute freedom.
The Dollar Symbol of Capitalism
This symbol relates to those who believe that pursuing profit is the key factor of life. Incorporating a dollar sign to a symbol is probably the best way to depict "perfect capitalism."
The Quran and Two Swords of the Muslim Brotherhood
One look at this symbol and it is very obviously a religious (Muslim) party. The two swords aiming upwards showing that the party is ready to defend its principles, and the Quran in the middle gives the party religious authority. The green background represents what is thought to be the color of Islam.
The Crown of the Monarch
The crown in this symbol obviously refers to the monarch. But by looking closely, one could notice that this symbol was probably very important during the middle ages up to the 19th Century CE in Europe. This is because the crown has a cross on top, which gives the King (or Queen) more religious authority along with being the head of state.
One should never assume that the symbol of a political party is merely a symbol for decoration or imagery; on the contrary, it is probably what most represents the ideals of that party. Whether leftists, centrists, or right-wing parties, symbols are very important to attract the desired base. This has been going on for centuries, and I predict that symbols will always tell a story about any political movement.
