Palestinian "Rockets"

I've got two questions for you:

1. What is the difference between a submarine and a U-boat?

2. What is the difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut?

Think about these questions for a bit before reading the rest of this article.

 

The answer is: Nothing at all. They are synonyms for the same objects which were used in the media to designate nationality for political reasons. By giving them different names it created in the mind of the receiver of media stories different mental concepts for them. It kept the viewer or reader focused on the "them-and us" aspect of these objects. The word "U-boat" is derived from the German word "U-Boot" which is short for "Unterseeboot" which translates as "submarine" (It literally means "a boat that is under the sea" German is full of these logically-pure terms) However German used the word, and still does today, to refer to any submarine of any nation. The term "U-boat" was coined to discern mentally for English-speaking media receivers a false difference between the two. The word "astronaut" was coined in 1930 and derives from Greek where it literally means "star sailor". "Cosmonaut" derives from the Russian "KOCMOHaBT" which itself comes from a Greek word meaning "sailor in the universe". But of course, as with "U-boat", there's no practical need to use two separate words because both words refer to the same thing. The reason two separate words were used in the media was for the same reason as "U-boat": to keep people aware of the Space Race and Cold War "good guys" and "bad guys" situation. As the modern Chinese space programme steams ahead there's even a ridiculous new piece of media jargon: "taikonaut"; this embeds the word "taikong" which is Chinese for "outer space" and the Greek "vautnc" for "sailor". Official translations from China itself never use this word; in stead they use "astronaut" whereas Russian translations of Chinese use "KOCMOHaBT". I'd be interested to know if Russian made the same Cold War political distinction as English. If any HPANWO-readers know, please tell me.

 

The so-called "nation", this aberrant fiefdom of Israel, has begun another attack on its Palestinian neighbours; the same Palestinians who lived quite happily side-by-side with Sephardic Jews for well over a thousand years before 1947. The BBC has been covering this in a way that looks on the surface impartial, but this supposed fairness is superficial. A lot has been written on the media's refusal to use the word "genocide" although Israel's actions fulfill the United Nations Genocide Convention checklist as well as it can be, see: https://sites.google.com/site/palestiniangenocide/ (As for "holocaust", forget it! That's virtually hallowed ground; and definitely a trademark, with or without a capital H). What interests me is its current use of the word "rocket". Up until now, to the best of my knowledge, the Beeb has only ever used that word to describe an object that carries something or somebody (as astronaut or cosmonaut!) up into space. To describe similar devices that are designed to carry an explosive or other destructive payload, for warlike purposes, onto enemy territory during battle, it has always used the word "missile". So why has it changed now? The linked article describes this Palestinian ordnance as "not sophisticated", and it's true that some of them are amateur constructions made on the Gaza Strip itself, however the article also refers to the way Palestinians have acquired military surplus Iranian and Chinese missiles, yet it still uses the word "rocket". In a BBC TV news broadcast this morning it used the word "rocket" and "rockets" every time except on one occasion, and this was when something strange happened. BBC news' Wyre Davies was shown reporting from Gaza City and he used the word "missile" to refer to the weapons bombarding Israel and the transmission failed; the screen froze for a few seconds. Was the feed cut off in order to give Davies a hasty bollocking?

 

So with the word "rocket" we could be looking at another attempt by the media to colour our perceptions and opinions using language. I have to also question whether these "rockets" in fact do come from the Palestinian militants at all; are they instead false flag attacks by Mossad? I know this is the British Broadcasting Corporation, but it's important not to underestimate the influence the Israeli lobby has in this country. They make people comply in several ways. Firstly they throw accusations of anti-Semitism around the place like sweeties at anybody who criticizes Israel; 99% plus of those accused are innocent. In fact I'm bracing myself for such an attack as this article goes online! See:  http://hpanwo.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/how-anti-semitic-are-you.html Another method is to hold up the Holocaust as a human shield, which is a very cruel and disrespectful thing to do; yet they do it all the time, see: http://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/holocaust-memorial-day_26.html It's important we do not shy away from this kind of moral blackmail; that way millions of innocent lives in the Middle East, on both sides, can be saved.