Helen and Journalism

Media and the use of words

Helen Thomas, a long time White House journalist, retired on June 7 following 'controversial' remarks about Israel and Palestine. Thomas' response was to a question by Rabbi David Nesenoff about the seizure of the Gaza aid flotilla and the killing of nine activists on the ship by Israeli commandos.

The question was: "Any comments on Israel? We're arresting everyone today. Any comments..." But, before the questioner could finish, she looked straight at the camera and said: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine."

"Ooooh," he replied, in shock. "Any better comments on Israel?" Now it is not clear what he meant by 'better', but could either mean something more favourable to Israel or something more spicy that would stack up popularity on youtube. Whatever his intention, Thomas took the latter path.

Laughing at his response, she continued: "Remember, these people are occupied, and it's their land. It's not German, it's not Poland..."

"Where should they go?" Nesenoff asked. "They should go home ... Poland, Germany ... and America. And everywhere else."

Robert Fisk, The Independent newspaper's Middle-East correspondent, had said once "More and more today, we journalists have become prisoners of the language of power... this isn't just about clichés - this is preposterous journalism.  There is no battle between power and the media. Through language, we have become them... Yes, when it comes to history, we journalists really do let the presidents and prime ministers take us for a ride. "

Often we are told in many anlysis features to deal with Middle-East's competing narratives. He adds "There's no justice, no injustice, just a couple of people who tell different history stories." It was Goerge W. Bush's secretary of state, Colin Powell, who told U.S. diplomats in the Middle-East to refer the occupied Palestinian land as 'Disputed land' and now it is more commonly known as 'settlements'.

When the Oslo accords were signed at the White House, it was referred to as a "moment in history". This was how the term 'peace process' came into existence, and now Tony Blair, "in an obscenity of history" as Fisk put it, is referred to as the peace envoy. Mr Arafat had called it (Oslo accords) "The peace of the brave". But I don't remember any of us pointing out that "the peace of the brave" was used originally by General de Gaulle about the end of the Algerian war. The French lost the war in Algeria. We did not spot this extraordinary irony.

Coming back to to Helen Thomas' remarks. If viewed contextualy and factualy, it is not factualy incorrect or 'controversial'. It is a known fact that Israel was created on occupied Palestine with the help of Britain, the U.S. and the UN. It also a known fact that the Palestinians have been severely oppressed under the Israelis and the West have been turning a blind eye to it all these years.

Most media organizations have left out the part where she says 'these people are occupied', and directly went to 'Germany..', and gave the whole incident a different angle. The whole picture of Palestinians as the ones sufferring was completely neglected, as we often see with Israel's PR campaign.

What might be considered controversial could be the fact that a journalist has been asked to apologize and quit over airing an opinion that is factually right. Secondly, it seriously questions the freedom of the press- has the media turned into mouthpieces for the governments?

Breast Cancer Vaccine

No. Not There Yet. Ain't sure either.

The media seems to be going into a frenzy after a recent publication over a paper in Nature Medicine, in which US-based researchers described a series of experiments they had carried out with specially bred mice. Let's be clear here- mice. Although most media clearly pointed this out, some were complacent in showing the actual progress of the study.

The tests carried out involved introduction of a new vaccine that prompts the immune system to attack cells containing a protein called Alpha-lactalbumin (LALBA), which is found in most breast cancer cells. This protein is an important protein in milk and is found in breast tissues of lactating mothers. For their potential BC vaccine, the researchers selected LALBA as the protein to be targeted. Further tests needs to be done to confirm whether this protein is the main cause of BC. This point has been left out in most mainstream media outlets and covered in detail in the new media. Similarly most of the negative aspects of the research has been omitted from the reports which raises flags here about the impartiality and fairness of the reports.

Tests were conducted on two sets (six each) of mice: one set of mice that were normal and the second set injected with the breast cancer (BC) virus or tumor cells. The researchers first assessed the immune response that occurred when mice were vaccinated with a-lactalbumin. They found that mice did mount an immune response against this protein, and that this caused inflammation of breast tissue in lactating mice but not in non-lactating mice (a-lactalbumin is found in breast tissue that is producing milk).

They then tested the effect of the a-lactalbumin vaccine in a strain of mice that have a high risk (a 50% chance) of spontaneously developing breast tumors by the age of 205 days. Injections were given either 13 days before, or 5, 13 or 21 days after the mice were injected with the tumor cells. The researchers also found that the a-lactalbumin vaccine given either 5 or 13 days after, or 13 days before injection with breast tumor cells reduced the growth of tumors in the mice. The tumors of mice injected with a-lactalbumin vaccine had been infiltrated by 'immune' system cells. But the injection of mice with a-lactalbumin vaccine 21 days after the tumor cells injection did not reduce the growth of the tumors.

Alpha-lactalbumin is type of protein found in the breast milk of all mammals. It is a source of essential amino acids (building blocks for protein) to support baby's growth, easy to digest, helps to support healthy kidney functioning, a rich source of the essential amino acid trytophan which involves in sleep etc.

The study hasn't come towards any definite finding, as in, they haven't unearthed the root cause of the problem- what causes breast cancer? The study revolves around the fact that LALBA is found in the breast cancer tissues and hence attacking that will kill all cancer cells. Its like saying terrorists have guns, and all with guns are terrorists. The converse is not always true.

Vaccination is a preventive measure, i.e. the immunization is taken before the visibility of any real symptoms. In such a scenario women would be required to take the vaccine at a young age and this might affect their child bearing capabilities or motherhood. The current results only shows the discovery of a potential cure for an ailment- not a vaccine for breast cancer, with side effects that are yet to be discovered.

The current research is in a very premature state and any definite or concrete solution towards breast cancer is not likely in the near future, especially for trials on humans. The fact that the vaccine did cause the immune system to respond to lactating breast tissue means that (should this type of vaccination ever reach human testing) it would probably be appropriate only for women unlikely or unable to become pregnant.

Indeed, no vaccine against cancer has successfully been developed so far. Gardasil and other 'cervical cancer vaccine' has been tested and approved by the US department of Health and Human services, its side effects include epileptic fits, blood disorders, arthritis, neurological problems and seizures. Furthermore, the well-known 'cervical cancer vaccine' isn't actually a cancer vaccine in this sense – it protects against a virus, HPV, that can lead to cancer in certain women. These researchers are very much in uncharted territory.