Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau • Hacker News Board

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#51

Post by ajays » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:55 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.

Repeating this, once again: Criticism of the Israeli government's policies is not antisemitic. Criticism of the Israeli government's policies does not question Israel's right to exist.

One should not blindly support one's government. We all know how that turned out in Europe in the 30s.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#52

Post by felixhummel » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 4:57 PM UTC

swaits wrote: post #45

Is this Hacker News?

I would think so since censorship is a topic that "gratifies one's intellectual curiosity".

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#53

Post by pmorici » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 5:09 PM UTC

phlux wrote: post #47

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.

Why? Keith Olberman isn't a journalist by most objective measures, he's a partisan talking head.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#54

Post by talsraviv » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 5:12 PM UTC

ajays wrote: post #51

talsraviv wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Repeating this, once again: Criticism of the Israeli government's policies is not antisemitic. Criticism of the Israeli government's policies does not question Israel's right to exist. One should not blindly support one's government. We all know how that turned out in Europe in the 30s.

Asking someone not to generalize is not the same as claiming someone is an anti-semite. I appreciate your clarification that you're not questioning Israel's right to exist, I read too much into it. Finally, thank you for helping this thread comply with Godwin's law.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#55

Post by stevenbedrick » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 5:18 PM UTC

phlux wrote: post #47

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.

Let's see... he doesn't speak Arabic, so any "regular" journalistic skills he might have would be useless, and AFAIK he's not an expert on Egyptian culture and politics, so he doesn't have any special domain expertise that might be useful even without Arabic language skills. I'd personally rather hear more on CNN, MSNBC, etc. from actual Egyptian journalists.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#56

Post by phlux » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 5:18 PM UTC

pmorici wrote: post #53

phlux wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Why? Keith Olberman isn't a journalist by most objective measures, he's a partisan talking head.

My point was more;

"Wouldn't it be interesting if [big, well recognized american media personality] went to Al Jazeera"

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#57

Post by samwise » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 6:03 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…

The English arm of Al Jazeera is based in Washington DC

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#58

Post by electra526 » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 6:11 PM UTC

phlux wrote: post #47

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.

I think that's a fascinating idea - logistical problems (not speaking the language etc) aside. I'm NOT a Keith Olbermann fan. I think in America we have an incredibly luxurious journalistic class. They can whine and berate the powers that be all day every day without risking anything. Put someone like KO in an oppressive country with real stakes and it just might make him more responsible, thoughtful, thorough.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#59

Post by bbgm » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 6:18 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.

I don't disagree. While Americans never come across as remotely curious about global affairs for the most part, not unless it directly involves them, perhaps it is because they have just never been exposed to a globally focused media.

Re: Egypt shuts down Al Jazeera bureau

#60

Post by dantheman » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 6:23 PM UTC

phlux wrote: post #56

pmorici wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Keith Olberman isn't a journalist by most objective measures, he's a partisan talking head.

My point was more; "Wouldn't it be interesting if [big, well recognized american media personality] went to Al Jazeera"

It'd be bad because I want the news, I don't care who is giving it to me as long as its accurate and up to date. In fact I think media personalities are bad for the news.