Hezbollah's Propaganda War - Part 1

[Mosby]

Hezbollah has built a multi-million dollar theme park celebrating its military victories over Israel. It's the latest PR offensive from the Iranian-funded Shia Muslim militia its followers call the "Party of God." Host Ryan Duffy heads to Lebanon to visit this bizarre tourist site to learn how this group that started as a ragtag militia in the 1980s has skillfully used propaganda to transform itself into a military and political force to be reckoned with, and how anti-Hezbollah groups are trying to compete in this war of words.

http://www.vice.com/vice-news/hezbollahs-propaganda-war-part-1

[leveymg]

1. OMG: The War of the Theme Parks

Convene a war crimes commission.

[azurnoir]

2. oh dear a propaganda war

I guess when it comes to Lebanon some here would prefer the real thing?

[holdencaufield]

3. "theme park celebrating its military victories over Israel.."

Can you say -- smallest theme park EVAH!?

[Alamuti Lotus]

4. have to check that thing out next time I'm over there..

possibly in the fall.

What a putz that commentator is, though;--"now that's IRAN, MUSLIM MILITIA, BIG GUNS" fucking hell, be a bit more obvious will you? Just the first few seconds of this faux-menacing, dumbed down tripe had me shaking my head and giggling sardonically. Real spooky stuff.

[shaayecanaan]

5. I wouldnt try and make a day out of it...

its pretty cheap to get in (2000 pounds), but quite out of the way and a pain in the arse to get to. You'd better take a car otherwise you will need to place your faith in the regularity of the South Lebanese bus services not once but twice. You'd think that the Iranians would be able to afford a courtesy bus.

The video pretty much shows the entire park. I expected to see some vaguely amusing kitsch in the gift shop, but it was just the standard keychains and stuff. If they had a giant inflatable Hassan Nasrallah I would have bought one as a joke, but no dice.

It reminded me of the time I travelled across half of Japan just to go to the penis shrine in Shikoku. There was a museum there that charged me 15 bones to get in that had some photocopies of old woodblock erotica, and then they told me that I would have to pay $300 to take photos. I got a photo of me riding the giant wooden dick out the front but that was about it.

[Mosby]

6. Part 2

http://www.vice.com/vice-news/hezbollahs-propaganda-war-part-2