Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau • Hacker News Board

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#41

Post by nir » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 3:57 PM UTC

yequalsx wrote: 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…

Qatar's dictators don't fear Al Jazeera at all.

(I like AJ's role in Egypt, but not the naivete of these comments. Standing up to one dictator doesn't make you a freedom fighter if you're funded by another)

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#42

Post by jdp23 » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 3:59 PM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #39

jdp23 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was surprised to see this downvoted. I don't agree with the first paragraph, but I didn't think it subtracted from the conversation. And I thought the second paragraph was a valid point. What were people reacting to?

What were people reacting to? Probably the short length for a first post, lack of substantiation (just stating an opinion), conclusion from a sample size of one (Obama == ruling class), and the other posts made by the same throwaway account.

Makes sense, thanks!

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#43

Post by yequalsx » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:06 PM UTC

nir wrote: post #41

yequalsx wrote: 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…

Qatar's dictators don't fear Al Jazeera at all. (I like AJ's role in Egypt, but not the naivete of these comments. Standing up to one dictator doesn't make you a freedom fighter if you're funded by another)

Why are the comments naive? I don't expect AJ to be critical of Qatar's dictator.

The royal family of Saudi Arabia owns a fair chunk of Fox news. Big companies/wealthy people control much of the news media in the U.S. Likewise for AJ but they appear, at least in some instances, to be better than other news outlets.

It says a lot to me that AJ has been attacked by Rumsfeld, Bush, Mubarak, and others and it's something worth pointing out.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#44

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:21 PM UTC

talsraviv wrote: post #40

enry_straker wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True. How can you compare a nation and it's minions who are conducting a terrible subjugation of an entire group of people who made the mistake of being born there. Silly.

As an Israeli I was really hoping Hacker News could be the one online forum where I didn't have to hear generalizations about my country's right to exist. I respect your opinion and I'm sure there's more complexity and historical awareness to mutually discuss, but please keep the snarky one-liners to Reddit.

[deleted]

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#45

Post by swaits » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:32 PM UTC

Is this Hacker News?

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#46

Post by btilly » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:37 PM UTC

ck2 wrote: post #36

While this is a really bad sign, another really bad sign is they are flying F-16s low over civilian crowds right now, for no other reason than to intimidate them. Just saw it on CBS and it's pretty freaky and scary. I'm starting to think this is going to end really really badly. Are democratic revolutions even possible anymore today, given the technology and sheer firepower the small number in power can wield against…

How quickly we forget. Tunisia, earlier this month.

In fact that example was the impetus behind the Egyptian protest movement. If (as seems likely at this point) Egypt falls, expect to see several other governments fall as well.

This is as momentous a time for the Middle East as the fall of the Iron Curtain was for Eastern Europe. (Incidentally said fall gives several more examples of how military might doesn't prevent democratic revolutions.)

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#47

Post by phlux » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:40 PM UTC

mixmax wrote: post #35

Around a month ago a good journalist friend of mine was taken prisoner in Algiers because of his reporting. After a few days of heavy pressure from the embassy he was released unharmed. A lot of friends were worried and continually asked if he was OK and whether his profession was really worth it. I congratulated him on his new status as a real grown-up journalist, whose reporting was so good that he scared regimes e…

Wouldn't it be interesting if someone like Keith Olberman went to Al Jazeera.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#48

Post by JonnieCache » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:41 PM UTC

jbrechtel wrote: post #34

c3o wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"When you're young, you look at television and think, There's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That's a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give peo…

Statements like this are a result of our innate desire for everything to be black and white. Unfortunately, that's not the way things work. While the news networks are indeed in the business of providing what people want, they also have a hand in shaping their audience's desires. To lay the blame of crappy news solely at the feet of the audience is about as short sighted as the conspiracy notion IMHO.

>While the news networks are indeed in the business of providing what people want, they also have a hand in shaping their audience's desires.

Yeah. It's a classic feedback loop. Surely this is obvious?

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#49

Post by shareme » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:43 PM UTC

nir wrote: post #41

yequalsx wrote: 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…

Qatar's dictators don't fear Al Jazeera at all. (I like AJ's role in Egypt, but not the naivete of these comments. Standing up to one dictator doesn't make you a freedom fighter if you're funded by another)

finally someone who understands that in all Media there will always be those groups who use finances as a way to manipulate to supply bias..

Qatar's dictators have some real Oil income reasons for pitting one Oil country against another..

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#50

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:45 PM UTC

raganwald wrote: post #20

yequalsx wrote: 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.

[deleted]