POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, ADVOCACY AND CAMPAIGNING Essay

POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, ADVOCACY AND CAMPAIGNING - Essay Example In his autobiography, Decision points, Bush looked back at his role in those events with pride and no regret despite the controversy surrounding his decisions and the ensuing consequences (Bush 2010). This essay endeavors to look at the Bush’s controversial plan to attack the International news channel Al-Jazeera revealed in the Daily Mirror in 2005, as part of the American administration war against terrorism and Al-Qaida. A decision which surprised many international political observers when it was revealed, but which Bush has not denied in his autobiography. Founded in the 1990s, run by Qatar Media Corporation, and intended for Middle East viewers, Al-Jazeera is an international, initially Arabic, news and current affairs channel. Its headquarters are maintained at Doha in Qatar. Over the years, Al-Jazeera extended its network to cover many specialties. Its TV channels and the news are now broadcasted in many languages (Buzzle.com 2010). Unlike other government channels, Al-Jazeera is the only independent channel in the Middle East. It has always broadcasted unorthodox views and shows in crucial times such as live videos of Osama Bin Laden, especially after the 9/11 attack on the twin towers and during the exclusive and live coverage of the Afghanistan war. Its broadcasting policy owned it an international reputation and a wide range of audience. â€Å"It has earned the reputation of being notorious among the critics due to its inclination towards giving coverage to terrorists groups and showing violent footage from war-zones† (Buzzle.com 2010). The channel broadcasted videotapes of Muslim radicals that included Osama-Bin-Laden, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Hoever, its broadcasting policy was not to the â€Å"taste† of many political observers however. For some it was perceived as â€Å"a propaganda machine and Osama bin Laden’s mouthpiece† (Miles 2006). Donald Rumsfeld for example objected that the channel

Torah History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Torah History - Research Paper Example This paper discusses the probable history of Torah, a holy book of the Jews. In Hebrew, Torah means to demonstrate belief or decree. In general, terms â€Å"Torah† means Judaism written law and oral law. Torah first originated with Moses when God first spoke to him from the mount of Sinai, 50 days after their escape from Egyptian slavery. Jewish tradition believed that the book was dedicated to Moses except the last eight verses of Deuteronomy that talks of Moses death. According to Telushkin (2008), Torah shows how God wants Jews to live, and it contains 613 commandments that guide Jews way of life. Torah is written in Jewish language, which is the oldest Jewish language. It consists of the first five books of the Jewish bible also called the Pentateuch. However, some scholars believe that Torah has multiple authors, and it is a blend of four separate sources. It is believed that it was written in the 450 BCE and its sources include the Jahwist, Elohist, the Deutronomist and the priestly source. There is no deduction for this since many other authors have come up with their hypothesis of the evolution of Torah with no one consensus reached for it (Telushkin, 2008). ... Between fourth and second BC unknown authors came up and wrote about some prophets who had preceded them in many centuries. For instance, the book of Psalms, Jonah and Proverbs could not connect to the prophets they ascribed. Thus, the oldest part of Manual dates back 916 AD. In the second century Ad, some Jewish leaders incorporated all the materials they could find and prepared a Jewish bible. The Jewish oral laws remained unwritten until the third century Ad when Yahudah committed them into writing with a title â€Å"Mishnah.† Jews believed that together with the Torah Moses received from God as written law, he received some unwritten law that Jews needed to move from generation to generation. They called it Torah She bal Pei or Torah from the mouth. In Hebrew language, Pei numerically stands for 80 years, which is the age that Moses was when he led the Jews out of slavery. Torah from the mouth helped Jews to understand the method to observe the written law. According to Rh odes Jewish Museum, the oldest written Torah is about 800 years old. A comparison of the oldest Torah in the world with the current Torah reveals the following differences. First, the 800 year-old Torah has 45 lines per column while the present Torah has 42 lines per column. Secondly, the 800 year-old Torah consists of elongated letters while in the present Torah only certain letters are elongated. Thirdly, the 800 year-old Torah was written using an clear style that was last used about 400 years ago called â€Å"Petuhot.† Current Torahs use closed system between words called â€Å"stumot.† Fourthly, the primordial Torah has the word â€Å"yud† with an extra point or protrusion, which is absent in the current Torah, (Rhodes Jewish Museum, 2012). To establish a Torah, one needed to