Thread: Aljazeera in English in America

As you know I have a few rather unusual jobs, and one of them is sub contracting with the Pentagon. I was there recently, mostly just to have lunch with some friends, but also to answer some questions about some internal changes happening with the renovation and resignation of Rumsfeld. Turns out the latest craze in the Pentagon is giving everyone aljazeera TV in english, the video will be encrypted but available to anyone in the Pentagon who wants it. Along with the Pentagon, any digital cable company can carry and broadcast this channel. I understand the desire for it for intel purposes, but it sickens me that those people have the balls to start broadcasting in English purely for recruitment and propaganda purposes.

I share your revulsion in principle.

Nonetheless, I'm glad I live in a country where there's the freedom to openly do that... in many countries the only "news" is what the Govt wants you to see/hear. At least in the US we theoretically have the choice. I say theoretically because, in my opinion, there is no unbiased news source available, let alone one that covers the world news.

I hardly read the newspaper or watch network/cable news anymore... I'm tired trying to figure out what spin they've added to sensationalize everything with the hope of increasing their viewership numbers. The local news is even worse. Hmmm... my satellite tv setup used to allow me to get some international and alternative news programs, but Rupert plugged that hole, lol. Maybe it's time to re-investigate the FTA stuff. Then again, maybe I'm just kidding myself and there is no unbiased news available... after all, at least in the US, news is a business (ie, profit motivated).

I think they are just trying to tell the story to the rest of the world from their perspective, not to recruit terrorists. In a world where spin is more important than reality, that's perfectly legitimate.
Look at my former country for example. There was a 3-sided civil war. All 3 sides, the Serbs, the Croats and the Muslims commited war crimes and attrocities but only the Serbs drew international criticism, most of the military action and economic sanctions because the Croats and the Muslims created a better spin world-wide.
Then there was the conflict in Kosovo. After 50 years of quiet ethnic cleansing and displacement of Serbs, the Albanians finally got the courage to attack the police and the army. Once the army went in to deal with the rebels and to ship the illegals back to Albania, the media started screaming about the mass graves and ethnic cleansing. Serbia got bombed into the stone age by NATO, and then they spent the same amount of effort and more time over a smaller area searching for those mass graves in Serbia as they did searching for the chemical weapons in Iraq, without finding anything. However, most North Americans still believe that those mass graves exist.
These examples prove that today's world is all about marketing so I don't blame the Arabs for trying to market themselves.

The real irony is that al-Jazeerah has been criticised in the Muslim world as showing too much pro-American propaganda. Al-Jazeerah International obviously caters to a Western audience as well and includes among its talking heads, former U.S. Marine and CENTCOM press officer, Josh Rushing.

Originally Posted by JLStorm

Turns out the latest craze in the Pentagon is giving everyone aljazeera TV in english, the video will be encrypted but available to anyone in the Pentagon who wants it. Along with the Pentagon, any digital cable company can carry and broadcast this channel. I understand the desire for it for intel purposes, but it sickens me that those people have the balls to start broadcasting in English purely for recruitment and propaganda purposes.

How about people want to hear non-US coverage?
I mean, fox news and CNN are hardly unbiased.
I have never seen aljazeera, but US news coverage is propaganda as much as coverage by aljazeera, only from the opposite pov.

Edit: you cannot have freedom of speech, while at the same time restricting people from having, hearing or speaking an opinion different from yours.

I'm often stunned by the Americans I actually meet face to face as you're usually nothing like your media portrays you. Homogeneity in the media is a very bad thing. Another viewpoint, especially a dissenting one, can only be healthy in developing debate and advancing public thought. Hate messages aside of course.

X

direct all inquiries to lord Lerch and Ilija... they are the ones with all the answers.

And the spin is always the same:

-Those evil bastards are:
a) burrying poor muslim Albanians in mass graves
b) stockpiling chemical weapons

-Ooops, we couldn't find any, but the reason we really came is to liberate them from:
a) Slobodan Milosevic
b) Sadam Hussein

-Now that we've liberated them, we'll help them out by:
a) rebuilding everything that was destroyed by the NATO bombing [at badly marked up rates, profits going to US businesses]
b) developing trade [pumping oil for next to nothing]

Therefore please don't tell me that the US media is unbiased. Now you have two choices:
1) To prove that you're really in favor of free speech and leave them be
2) Act like Clinton and his Democrats who bombed TV stations and transmitters in Serbia.

Speaking of the media I have a funny little
story.

In early 2000, shortly after the ISP that I'm part
owner of opened up an employee of the local
weekly newpaper stopped by to interview me.

Well I wasn't there but he took a picture of an
employee and left.

A few days later when the paper hit the stand
there it was.... Local Internet Provider....

It was one hell of an interview, this clown
made me sound like some sort of a techno
god.... HE MADE THE INTERVIEW UP......

After this, I take any strory that runs in The Coal Valley News
with a grain of salt. And Mr. Keeney the author of this
work of fiction is still on staff, no doubt dreaming of
the day when he can go to work for the Weekly World News.


Terry

Originally Posted by Bruno

How about people want to hear non-US coverage?
I mean, fox news and CNN are hardly unbiased.
I have never seen aljazeera, but US news coverage is propaganda as much as coverage by aljazeera, only from the opposite pov.

Edit: you cannot have freedom of speech, while at the same time restricting people from having, hearing or speaking an opinion different from yours.

There are plenty of other news agencies who dont pander to terrorist organizations begging for exclusive interviews so that they can laugh at all the destruction they have caused in the world. I only read international news, which still has a spin on it, but certainly is not pro USA, so that I can get a better picture of the world. The decision makers at most news agencies such as Fox and CNN, etc are leftist liberal wastes of flesh, and while they love stories about violence they certainly dont attempt to cause more through their spin on the news they procide. Aljazeera on the other hand does not do this, and puts a spin on their news as well, I have unfortunately had to watch a bit of it, and its just sickening.

Originally Posted by azjoe

Nonetheless, I'm glad I live in a country where there's the freedom to openly do that... in many countries the only "news" is what the Govt wants you to see/hear. At least in the US we theoretically have the choice. I say theoretically because, in my opinion, there is no unbiased news source available, let alone one that covers the world news.

I too am happy that we live in a country with this much freedom, even though our "freedom's" are dying by the day, since most refuse to fight for them and live with their heads in the sand. However, it disgusts me that anyone would pander to this type of media, not that we would allow it in our country.