Creative recycling, or how Ken uses the FCO

On September 4th, I posted on how an Islamic adviser to the Foreign and Colonial Office in a confidential memo had virtually quoted verbatim Ken Livingstone's specious attempt to defend Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi by attacking the MEMRI translations of his speeches as suspect on the grounds that this organization was founded by a former Israeli intelligence officer.

Now here's a thing. Ken Livingstone has a letter in today's Guardian which recycles this so that he presents the Foreign and Colonial Office as a reliable source which supports his view of MEMRI.

Here's Ken at his sententious best:

Leon Collins (Letters, September 7) suggests the Middle East Media Research Institute provides an impartial selection of what is being said and published in Arabic. Many reliable sources would dispute this. A recent Foreign Office memo, leaked to the Observer, stated: "The founding president of Memri is retired Colonel Yigal Carmon, who served for 22 years in Israel's military intelligence service. Memri is regularly criticised for selective translation." Using Memri as the source for information on Islamic leaders is like using the Conservative press office as the only source for information on Labour. At the very least, the nature of the source should be made clear. Better, journalists should have their material translated independently.

To which one might say, using recycled quotes from your own press releases presented in a confidential memo by an Islamic adviser to the Foreign Office to present the Foreign Office as a reliable source endorsing your own PR is like using Ken Livingstone to endorse Ken Livingstone.

Comments

[Juan Golblado]

Very interesting. Great blog. Eric did us a favour by recommending it.

[Judy]

Thank you, Juan!

[Grandma Lausch]

"...journalists should have their material translated independently".

Indeed. An independent translation would have made redundant Livingstone's efforts to pass al-Qaradawi as a 'moderate' and MEMRI reports as 'Zionist propaganda'. Clearly, the Mayor knows that MEMRI is a highly reliable source and uses insinuations and circular references to exonerate his Islamist cronies

[Cynic]

"Memri is regularly criticised for selective translation."

It is amusing to read this as MEMRI offers the full video, transcript or press article along with the translation to those requesting it.
Israeli TV makes use of MEMRI and it transmits the audio/printed image with subtitles/translation and it would be immediately obvious to a large segment of the population fluent in Arabic.

[Judy]

Oh, Cynic, let's not spoil the fun with devastating evidence like that shall we? I mean, those poor conspiracy theorists are only trying to make a killing.....

[michael last]

Is Livingstone making the suggestion that MEMRI is selective in the articles it translates from arabic to english or is he claiming that the translations themselves are suspect and inaccurate?
He may have a point if it's the former.
MDL

[Judy]

Michael, Ken claims the translations are inaccurate. That derives from a claim by Juan Cole that one key word in one article was misleadingly translated:
http://www.juancole.com/2004/11/bin-ladens-audio-threat-to-states.html

However, no other evidence has been published of similar mistranslations. Harry's Place has repeatedly demonstrated that the translations published on Qaradawi's own English language site are equally damning.

But he also makes use of the attack by the Guardian's Middle East editor, Brian Whittaker, who claims that (a) MEMRI is an Israeli intelligence led operation and (b) it cherry picks atypical articles to give the most negative possible impression.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,773258,00.html

However, no-one has yet produced any convincing body of counter evidence, ie lots of liberal let's-be-friends-with-Israel, let's-develop-more-pluralist-Palestinian-political-culture articles. Brian Whittaker runs an "Arab Gateway" web site, Al-Bab, which is partly paid for by the Yemeni government.
http://www.al-bab.com/arab/about.htm

Whitaker in January published a story stating that Hizb u'Tahrir and its journal Al Khalifa were harmless objects of fun. Did he know that his then colleague Dilpazier Aslam was a member of HuT who was writing for Ak?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1386985,00.html

[Tracy]

Well at least you've been a loyal Labour man Luke unlike the ghltsay mob at Harry's Place. Disagree with your analysis about triangulation, the local elections in the rest of the country had that and we got smashed, far, far worse than in London.