June 10, 2010, - 3:27 pm
Saying “No” to HBO: E-Mail Exchange of the Day
**** UPDATE: FYI, HBO’s publicist, Kate Brunkhorst, asked me to remove her contact info from this post, which I agreed to do. ****
HBO’s publicists are apparently contacting certain bloggers and commentators, trying to get them to promote HBO’s program, “For Neda,” about the Iranian “democracy” protester who died. I was one of those contacted, but I’ll pass. You know my views on the protesters–they are radicals who support Hezbollah and are no different than those in office in Iran. Anyone–and there remain many, including their ignorant verbal Lewinsky, car loan fraud artists Scamela Geller–who thinks otherwise is a fool, an ignoramus, or on crack. Below is the e-mail I received from the typically anti-Israel HBO and my response. I think it fully explains my position on the Iranian “democracy” protester BS. Please note that in the last couple of weeks a number of these “moderate” Iranian “democrats” have sent me anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hate mail and have also similarly tweeted on Twitter and posted the same on their FaceBook profile pages.
I Refuse to Promote HBO’s Islamic Propaganda
From: Katlynn Brunkhorst
Date: Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 2:15 PM
Subject: RE: For Neda Premieres in HBO’s Documentary Films Summer Series
To: writedebbie@gmail.comHello Debbie,
This is Kate on behalf of HBO. I wanted to let you know about For Neda, an important and critical piece premiering this coming Monday, June 14th at 9 PM ET that is not to be missed. You can view the trailer in the link below:
http://www.hbo.com/#/documentaries/for-neda/video/for-neda.html
For Neda chronicles the life and death of Neda Agha Soltan during protests which followed the June 20th, 2009 protests of the presidential elections in Iran. Within minutes, Neda became a symbol of up-rise and hope for the Iranian people when the footage of her death quickly spread among social media lines. Soon, the world turned its eyes to the protest due to the testament and symbolic death of this heroic woman.
The film explores the Iranian struggle through interviews of those closest to Neda and the tragic incidents surrounding her death. It reveals the impact of an interconnected media world which includes the homespun authorities that brought her story to light. For Neda premieres as the third in the HBO Documentary Films Summer Series. A new documentary airs weekly on Monday nights through August 9th.
I encourage you to share news of the premiere with your readers. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Best,
Kate—
Kate Brunkhorst
Attention for HBO
***
My response:
From: Debbie Schlussel writedebbie@gmail.com
Date: Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 2:44 PM
Subject: Re: For Neda Premieres in HBO’s Documentary Films Summer Series
To: Katlynn BrunkhorstKate:
While I am interested in reviewing and promoting other HBO specials and movies (I’ve contacted the network, without success, asking for a screener of “John Adams,” way back when, for instance), I am not interested in this movie. I’ve gotten many anti-Semitic and anti-Israel messages from Iranian “democracy” protesters just like Neda, who are supporters of Hezbollah and hate Jews and Israel. I’m sure she felt just like them, embraced the same intolerance, and I don’t mourn her one bit. Moussavi, the candidate Neda and her ilk supported, was the architect and founder of Hezbollah, the terrorist group that murdered hundreds of Americans and Jews. The people who protested in the streets of Tehran were every bit as radical and extremist as the ones in office in Iran.Although you say this is a “critical” program, your promotional e-mail below makes clear that there is no such criticism or critical look at who the Iranian “democracy” protesters really were . . . as in, not much different from HAMAS “democracy” proponents. Contrary to your assertion, in truth Neda is a symbol for nothing more than one rival Islamic mob of hatred that is out of power versus another rival Islamic mob of hatred that is in power. Same difference. Whether or not she left Islam and wore a cross is a distinction without a difference, as the people and candidate with whom she associated are vicious anti-Semites and Israel-haters, most of whom embrace Islam and whose chosen candidate, Moussavi, was picked by the Ayatollahs who run Iran to be on the ballot in the first place. This is a total waste of film on HBO’s part.
When it comes to the Mid-East, HBO–the network which hired you to do PR–seems to have quite a bit of difficulty with the truth and giving it to its viewers. For example, HBO’s “Death in Gaza,” was a one-sided anti-Israel diatribe, er . . . “documentary.” And even liberal Washington Post critic Tom Shales took offense that HBO’s “documentary” on Helen Thomas, “Thank You, Mr. President,” skipped any mention of her hatred of Israel and the Jewish people and her open praise for Islamic terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, the same one that your newest heroine Neda’s fellow “democracy” protesters support.
I hope you will keep me in mind for other HBO programming (not just this one on Iran), but on this one, I’ll happily pass. Sorry, but HBO is propagating BS with this “documentary,” which appears to “document” only a fantasist mainstream media narrative. The real truth about the Iranian “democracy” protesters is not your portrayal of Neda, but, rather, their vicious anti-Semitic hate displayed in e-mails, tweets, and FaceBook posts and comments since last week, when Israel defended itself against a HAMAS terrorist flotilla. I don’t need an HBO documentary to whitewash the truth.
DS
Tags: Democracy, Documentary, Flotilla, For Neda, Gaza, Hamas, HBO, Hezbollah, Iran, Islam, Islamic propaganda, Israel, Moussavi, Neda, Neda Agha Soltan, publicist
Glad you brought the truth home to them Debbie
ebayer on June 10, 2010 at 3:37 pm