Pro-McCain Group Dumping 28 Million Terror Scare DVDs in Swing States

[fascisthunter]

(UPDATE 9/13 - 70 newspapers in swing states have been paid to distribute Obsession this weekend and next, which means not all the DVDs have been delivered yet. Check the list at the end of this post to see if your newspaper is one of them, and let them know how you feel about their participation in this shameless propaganda campaign.)

This week, 28 million copies of a right-wing, terror propaganda DVD are being mailed and bundled in newspaper deliveries to voters in swing states. The 60-minute DVDs, titled Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, are landing on doorsteps in a campaign coinciding with the 7th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Funding is coming from a New York-based group called the Clarion Fund, a shadowy outfit whose financial backers are unclear.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erik-ose/pro-mccain-group-dumping_b_125969.html

[efhmc]

1. Too much money in campaigns. Man of Honor, believer in

campaign finance reform, where are you now? Doing and saying anything to win, that is where.

[leveymg]

2. IMO, the answer to who the mystery backer is here:

Silverstein's take on this seems persuasive: http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2008/09/14/did-sheldon-adelson-fund-anti-obama-propaganda-dvd/

Did Sheldon Adelson Fund Anti-Obama Propaganda DVD?
Sep 14th, 2008 by Richard Silverstein | 10
Raphael Shore: from Aish to anti-Muslim impressario

Raphael Shore: from Aish to anti-Muslim impressario

Here’s an update on last night’s post about the dirty tricks campaign involving the circulation of 28 million DVDs of the anti-Muslim propaganda film, Obsession, in U.S. swing states. In my last post, I noted that Obsession was produced by Raphael Shore with the financial backing on an anonymous backer.

Wikipedia reports that the film’s producer is an Orthodox rabbi.

The press has already reported that Sheldon Adelson personally distributes copies of Obsession to participants in the Taglit-Birthright Israel indoctrination tours he funds. Given this, plus his deep pockets support for neocon groups like Freedom’s Watch, it almost seems a no-brainer to guess that Adelson may be the sugar daddy.

The Republican Jewish Coalition has also distributed free copies of the film in promotional mailings to U.S. rabbis and other Jewish mailing lists.

Jews on First reports that Obsession has been distributed by other highly partisan neocon/Islamophobic groups:

Tom Trento, who heads www.watchobsession.org, the group that distributed the movie at the Democratic and Republican parties’ nominating conventions, told JewsOnFirst that their goal is to awaken the country…before the election so everyone can “see the insidious nature of radical Islam.” Trento said, his group’s website then directs viewers of the video to “a scorecard that shows how elected officials have voted” on terrorism-related issues so they can decide “how they can intelligently vote” in November.

The scorecard is on the website of Act for America, a group that says it has tabulated electeds’ “votes related to national security and the threat of Islamofascism.” Its Senate scorecard consistently favors Republicans over Democrats…

Brigitte Gabriel heads Act for America. In an interview last month with the New York Times about her anti-Muslim book They Must Be Stopped, Gabriel said “The moderate Muslims at this point are truly irrelevant.” The Times called Gabriel a “radical Islamophobe.”

Asked how he thinks the political parties compare on the issues raised by Obsession, Tom Trento said, “In my personal opinion, the Republicans seem to get it much better than the Democrats — and they get it that the problem is not a police problem, but a military problem.”

Joachim Martillo notes that Aish HaTorah is also involved in the propaganda campaign to promote Obsession:

NEW EXCITING JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT AISH HATORAH
……………………..

1. ONLINE ACTIVISM FACILITATOR: NY, JERUSALEM OR HOME-BASED

The Clarion Fund - a new organization dedicated to educating people about the threat of radical Islam - is seeking to hire an Activism Facilitator for a new website-based project.

Launching in conjunction with the new documentary film “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West”, this website will serve as a resource of historical and current information about the issue, and ultimately facilitate the transfer of people’s desire to get involved into organized, concrete action…

2. “OBSESSION” WEB AND RETAIL MARKETER: JERUSALEM

The Clarion Fund is seeking to hire a web and retail marketing professional for the new film “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.” This rewarding and exciting role requires an experienced web marketing expert with superior communication and writing skills.

Your primary responsibilities will include marketing “Obsession” over the web, which involves advertising on a variety of websites and generating links from other sites as well as promoting the film using e-groups and e-lists. You will be required to form retail deals with major stores, distributors, chains and websites for the purpose of maximizing exposure and public access to the film. You will also need to coordinate press with “Obsession’s” PR firm in the lead-up to the March 2007 launch of the film…

A Haaretz story about the film reveals Shore’s direct affiliation with Aish:

Shore, incidentally, was the director of both Aish HaTorah International and the Hasbara Fellowships, a pro-Israel advocacy group.

Aish Hatorah is making common cause with Jewish anti-Muslim activists. Several weeks ago the N.Y. Times . . .

[fascisthunter]

4. thank you for this... please read this DU

[stillcool]

3. Fear, hate and banking on the..

ignorance of the American people, but only in swing states?

[efhmc]

5. I wonder why???

[Solly Mack]

6. K&R