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Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

english.aljazeera.net

11–20 of 104 posts

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#11
post #5

I guess this is a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera. It's the network the dictators fear. I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. It's nice to have a news network that doesn't suck so bad. It's shocking that this network does better (in my opinion) at news reporting than American news networks given that…

I doubt that Ahmadinejad or Bashar elAssad have anything to fear from al-Jazz. In fact, I'm pretty sure that those two would agree with your glowing assessment of their activities. President Obama has expressed his disdain for Fox News on several occasions. Wouldn't that make Fox a network that is hated by the ruling class?

Fox is a Republican outlet.

Al-Jazeera does indeed endorse certain "causes", if that's what you're hinting at. Usually that cause is the freedom of the people. They don't support the governments of Syria or Iran nor run any of their propaganda. They regularly interview opposition figures.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#12
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt that Ahmadinejad or Bashar elAssad have anything to fear from al-Jazz. In fact, I'm pretty sure that those two would agree with your glowing assessment of their activities. President Obama has expressed his disdain for Fox News on several occasions. Wouldn't that make Fox a network that is hated by the ruling class?

Fox is a Republican outlet. Al-Jazeera does indeed endorse certain "causes", if that's what you're hinting at. Usually that cause is the freedom of the people. They don't support the governments of Syria or Iran nor run any of their propaganda. They regularly interview opposition figures.

Have you seen any criticism of the Iran or Syrian regimes on al-J? Have you seen any criticism of Hamas or Hezbollah? Are these guys really beyond reproach?

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#13
post #5

I guess this is a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera. It's the network the dictators fear. I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. It's nice to have a news network that doesn't suck so bad. It's shocking that this network does better (in my opinion) at news reporting than American news networks given that…

I doubt that Ahmadinejad or Bashar elAssad have anything to fear from al-Jazz. In fact, I'm pretty sure that those two would agree with your glowing assessment of their activities. President Obama has expressed his disdain for Fox News on several occasions. Wouldn't that make Fox a network that is hated by the ruling class?

You made an account for that? Wrong site buddy.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#14
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fox is a Republican outlet. Al-Jazeera does indeed endorse certain "causes", if that's what you're hinting at. Usually that cause is the freedom of the people. They don't support the governments of Syria or Iran nor run any of their propaganda. They regularly interview opposition figures.

Have you seen any criticism of the Iran or Syrian regimes on al-J? Have you seen any criticism of Hamas or Hezbollah? Are these guys really beyond reproach?

> Have you seen any criticism of the Iran or Syrian regimes on al-J? Have you seen any criticism of Hamas or Hezbollah?

All the time.

> Are these guys really beyond reproach?

What?

Have you seen anything of Al Jazeera? probably not.

Now, does any western media channel regularly host speakers from Hamas? I doubt it.

Al-Jazeera always interviews people from the Israeli side (and they get a lot of heat for it).

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#15
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen any criticism of the Iran or Syrian regimes on al-J? Have you seen any criticism of Hamas or Hezbollah? Are these guys really beyond reproach?

> Have you seen any criticism of the Iran or Syrian regimes on al-J? Have you seen any criticism of Hamas or Hezbollah? All the time. > Are these guys really beyond reproach? What? Have you seen anything of Al Jazeera? probably not. Now, does any western media channel regularly host speakers from Hamas? I doubt it. Al-Jazeera always interviews people from the Israeli side (and they get a lot of heat for it).

> Have you seen anything of Al Jazeera? probably not.

Please do not make any assumptions about me, I have seen plenty. For example, when al-J threw a birthday party to Samir Kuntar and called him a hero. Samir Kuntar is a guy who was doing time in Israel for killing a 4-year old girl by bashing her head with a rock.

> Al-Jazeera always interviews people from the Israeli side (and they get a lot of heat for it).

You're comparing guys like Samir Kuntar to Israeli government ministers?

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#16
post #5

I guess this is a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera. It's the network the dictators fear. I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. It's nice to have a news network that doesn't suck so bad. It's shocking that this network does better (in my opinion) at news reporting than American news networks given that…

> I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense.

"pure nonsense" is exactly what it is :)

The only reason it seems that way from the western perspective is because:

1) They interview Islamist figures 2) They don't portray them as evil

But they also interview people from every color of the political spectrum.

> given that it comes from a part of the world where free speech isn't a concept rooted in law.

I was shocked that most channels in North American report mostly on local news (e.g. man bitten by a dog), and if they ever report on global events, it's usually brief. And that's when they run any news at all; most TV is focused on entertainment 100%. From where I stood, it sounded like some sort of a conspiracy to keep the people ignorant about what's going on in the world around them.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#17
post #16
post #5

I guess this is a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera. It's the network the dictators fear. I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. It's nice to have a news network that doesn't suck so bad. It's shocking that this network does better (in my opinion) at news reporting than American news networks given that…

> I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. "pure nonsense" is exactly what it is :) The only reason it seems that way from the western perspective is because: 1) They interview Islamist figures 2) They don't portray them as evil But they also interview people from every color of the political spectrum. > g…

From where I stood, it sounded like some sort of a conspiracy to keep the people ignorant about what's going on in the world around them.

It's a conspiracy where the people are a part! The media influences expectations. The expectations shape the market. The market holds the purse strings of the media.

With a cycle like that, all it takes is small corrections, which can be undertaken by organizations with sufficient resources, to maintain general control.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent:_The_Poli...

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#18
post #5

I guess this is a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera. It's the network the dictators fear. I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. It's nice to have a news network that doesn't suck so bad. It's shocking that this network does better (in my opinion) at news reporting than American news networks given that…

I doubt that Ahmadinejad or Bashar elAssad have anything to fear from al-Jazz. In fact, I'm pretty sure that those two would agree with your glowing assessment of their activities. President Obama has expressed his disdain for Fox News on several occasions. Wouldn't that make Fox a network that is hated by the ruling class?

Why do you doubt that Bashar has anything to fear from Al Jazeera? Mubarak apparently does and I can't think of why Bashar would be given better treatment than Mubarak. Do you know why this would be the case?

Perhaps because of Syria's pro Hezb Allah stance and Hezb Allah's affiliation with Iran. But Al Jazeera is an Arab, Sunni company based in the Persian Gulf. In that region there is a very strong anti-Iranian stance.

On the surface it would seem that Bashar would have more to fear from Al Jazeera than Mubarak.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#19
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you seen any criticism of the Iran or Syrian regimes on al-J? Have you seen any criticism of Hamas or Hezbollah? All the time. > Are these guys really beyond reproach? What? Have you seen anything of Al Jazeera? probably not. Now, does any western media channel regularly host speakers from Hamas? I doubt it. Al-Jazeera always interviews people from the Israeli side (and they get a lot of heat for it).

> Have you seen anything of Al Jazeera? probably not. Please do not make any assumptions about me, I have seen plenty. For example, when al-J threw a birthday party to Samir Kuntar and called him a hero. Samir Kuntar is a guy who was doing time in Israel for killing a 4-year old girl by bashing her head with a rock. > Al-Jazeera always interviews people from the Israeli side (and they get a lot of heat for it). You'r…

See, the thing is, you're obviously biased towards Israel and you're endorsing the Israeli side of the story. Now, I don't know anything about this guy, but clearly the Lebanese side of the story is that he's a resistance figure.

> You're comparing guys like Samir Kuntar to Israeli government ministers?

No, you are. You're also implying the Israeli government ministers are "the good guys", which they are not. To put it more objectively, Al-Jazeera is an Arabic channel, supposed to be supporting Arab causes, like Palestine. Israel is the enemy here. So, network X is supposed to be endorsing a cause where A is the hero and the victim, while B is the evil aggressor. Yet, X interviews people from the B side all the time and gives them a chance to voice their views.

I've yet to see any American media outlets do the same. I remember a long time ago, a Hamas spokesman appeared on CNN for a few minutes, and the title was reading "Spokesman of Terror?".

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#20
post #5

I guess this is a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera. It's the network the dictators fear. I can see some people saying they are being shut down because they are supporters of radical Islam but from what I've seen of them this is pure nonsense. It's nice to have a news network that doesn't suck so bad. It's shocking that this network does better (in my opinion) at news reporting than American news networks given that…

Saying that US Networks do a poor job of reporting because their coverage sucks is exactly like saying that Wal-Mart does a poor job of retailing because they sell plastic junk. It's what the people want.
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