What is Digg?322 Comments
- monsoon86, on 10/12/2007, -24/+257I wouldn't be surprised at those results. A lot of Americans think Al Jazeera is some terrorist news source. Pretty pathetic. I would gladly watch it though.
- darkstar949, on 10/12/2007, -19/+187You must wonder if the name "al-Jazeera" is part of what drove the survey results. Regrettably there are quite a few Americans that think that anything Arabic (or that sounds Arabic) is associated with terrorism.
- awm4, on 10/12/2007, -10/+83BBC just says that a poll says this. What poll are they quoting from? What was the question asked that led to so many people answering in this way. I would hope that not this many Americans would actually ask our govt to ban Al-Jazeera.
I am a Christian and consider my self a conservative, my thoughts are that nothing press related should be banned by the govt no matter what or who it is coming from. Let the consumer decide if it is worth watching, not the govt. Anyone who believes that the govt should ban this is ignorant and needs to learn to think for themselves. - masamunecyrus, on 10/12/2007, -15/+77And that is why Fascism is generally created because people vote for it, not because there's been a revolution and overthrowing.
Same goes for socialism, as well.
/Vote Libertarian! - sapient45, on 10/12/2007, -13/+63if fox news can be aired i think al jazeera should get aired....
- julp, on 10/12/2007, -12/+60That is really sad. The majority of people in the country that claims to be the freest country on earth won't acknowledge free speech to anyone else than themselves. Al-Jazeera English finally has the power to bring us a TRULY balanced view of what's going on in the world, and most people dismiss it because it stems from a Muslim country.
- undersky, on 10/12/2007, -7/+51There is a very insightful article written by Hugh Miles from Foreign Policy.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3497&page=0
I will summarize some points here for you:
“Al Jazeera Supports Terrorism”
False, the network has never supported violence against the United States. Not once have its correspondents praised attacks on coalition forces in Iraq. The network has never captured an attack on the coalition “live,” and there’s no evidence Al Jazeera has known about any attack beforehand. Despite claims to the contrary, the network has never aired footage of a beheading. As for Alouni’s case, conclusive evidence has yet to be presented to the public. And there is nothing to suggest that the network’s funding is illegitimate. Allegations of supporting terrorism remain just that—allegations.
“Al Jazeera Is Anti-Semitic”
Wrong. Just as Al Jazeera has proven willing to present al Qaeda’s “perspective,” it has also devoted airtime to and welcomed another regional pariah—Israel. The network was the first Arab channel to allow Israelis to present their case in their own words, in Hebrew, English, or Arabic. This move was a major departure from past practices and truly shocked the Arab public. Until Al Jazeera arrived, most Arabs had never even heard an Israeli’s voice. Al Jazeera regularly airs clips of Israeli officials within news bulletins and conducts live interviews with six to 10 Israelis each month. The network covers Israeli affairs extensively and is widely watched in Israel. In fact, Al Jazeera gives more airtime to Israeli issues than any other channel outside Israel itself.
“Al Jazeera Is Biased”
True, but no more so than Fox News or CNN. Al Jazeera employs the same stringent editorial processes as the Western media, but it ends up with a different product. During the war in Iraq, Al Jazeera’s tone was notably sympathetic to the Iraqis and hostile toward the Americans. Similarly in Afghanistan, the Taliban was often presented as the noble underdog and America as the vengeful, colonial aggressor. A general cynicism about Arab regimes allied to America is detectable, and though Al Jazeera has employees from many religions, including Jews, the network is clearly sympathetic toward the Palestinians.
This bias in no way invalidates the network’s news. Knowing it is scrutinized more rigorously than any other news channel in the world, Al Jazeera is fastidious in presenting all sides of a story. Certainly compared to most other Arab news stations, Al Jazeera remains a model of professionalism and objectivity. Journalists around the world treat Al Jazeera with the same respect they treat news from any other major international news network. Al Jazeera has sharing agreements with CNN, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, Japan’s NHK, and Germany’s ZDF, all of which regularly use Al Jazeera’s footage and reports. - radu79, on 10/12/2007, -9/+51The freedom of press, means, I guess, the freedom to say nice things about the country.
- walkingdogs, on 10/12/2007, -10/+47I've got an idea... change the channel
- LecherousVenom, on 10/12/2007, -10/+46Speaking as someone who's actually watched Jazeera, I can say honestly they've really copied the CNN "Let's bore you to death with inconsequential news" quite well. Even those really cute Arabic women anchors have copied American anchor's to a tee!
Personally, I think it's quite healthy for America to have this channel broadcasting. Hell, I think we as Americans should be watching news from EVERY country on our TV's...I hear they have boobies in beer ads in Holland! YAAAY!
Right before I posted this - i read that Al Jazeera has a strict no-nudity policy. Well, I guess the terrorists have already won. - undersky, on 10/12/2007, -13/+45Whoa, I guess we Americans are not really much brighter than those in more closed countries such as China. 67% of Americans think a television station can be banned without even understanding it? Talk about accusing Google for compiling with Chinese censorship! These people support censorship themselves against ideas, even purely imaginary, that they don't feel comfortable with.
I thought censorship, blanket racism, stereotyping and persecution of the freedom of speech were things that characterized lesser developed countries. How wrong was I. - xtmno3, on 10/12/2007, -10/+36WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS POWER - karn, on 10/12/2007, -12/+37/Quote
You must wonder if the name "al-Jazeera" is part of what drove the survey results. Regrettably there are quite a few Americans that think that anything Arabic (or that sounds Arabic) is associated with terrorism.
/Quote
Yea, like Al-gebra, damn terrorists giving us math! - converge, on 10/12/2007, -12/+36I wonder what percentage of the 67% are idiots? Oh wait, 100%.
- Shayer, on 10/12/2007, -9/+30Once again, western style of reporting has completely destroyed your sense of what "news" really is. News is what's happening in the world, good AND bad. It doesn't matter if you "like" it or not. New's is news. You report it. The opinions of Bill O'Reilly, Geraldo Rivera, Sean Hannity, Neil Cavuto, Wolf Blitzer, Nancy Grace, Glenn Beck, and Keith Olbermann is NOT news. In fact, the words "hate speech" bring up half of those "reporters" in my mind. Closing your eyes, covering your ears and going "lalalala", and having those people TELL you what to think is NOT news.
- GuyHitByTruck, on 10/12/2007, -6/+25Exactly who is claiming that America is the most free country on Earth? Certainly not I. Anybody who openly proclaims their faith will agree with me, there are many things that cannot be done freely in America.
- tsf5000, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24Anyone that thinks that anything should be banned in the U.S. is a complete idiot. ITS SUPPOSED TO BE A FREE COUNTRY!! Just because you don't like or agree with something doesn't mean nobody else should have access to it. If anything, we should ban morons who don't understand what freedom means.
- NinjAlt, on 10/12/2007, -8/+25...They only want to get their propaganda from Foxnews.
- iceperson, on 10/12/2007, -7/+24"Americans particularly white americans are still biggots"
The other day the pot and kettle were headed to the store and the pot says to the kettle "You're black!" - masamunecyrus, on 10/12/2007, -11/+28Actually, after doing a Google News search and finding sites like this, maybe the poll really WAS correct.
http://www.aim.org/briefing/4992_0_5_0_C/
Blah, I'm getting sick of the damned ignorant, government-control supporting majority in this country. - Shayer, on 10/12/2007, -15/+31QTF. Fox News is propaganda at it's best.
- Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20Who controls the past controls the future: Who controls the present controls the past.
- exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16@karn: Actually, you're very right. From http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=a&p=9, it's "al gebr." Sorta figures- we do use arabic numerals.
- darkstar949, on 10/12/2007, -7/+18Regrettably, the beheading did in fact happen, and there are people in the world that do not like Americans. As such do you have a problem with the fact that they are reporting these things, or how they are reporting things? I personally have not has a chance to watch an Al-Jazeera news broadcast in English so I can't say one way or another as to if I think of their board casts. However, I do read their web page online (see link below( from time to time and I have found most of reporting to be fairly un-biased.
http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage - oxyrubber, on 10/12/2007, -7/+18Fox News IS propoganda. It is the only station allowed to be shown (for news) to the troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the only station that Cheney wants on any TV within sight. "Fair and Balanced" means TWO sides to every story and stories are chosen to represent both sides. I don't even know what your "bet on red" is in reference to... I know what I have observed on the channel and it's got as much bias and "spin" as any other channel out there. If you are a NeoCon Republican, you don't see the controversy with their content, but there is severe bias (i.e. Foley was marked as a Democrat during the first days of the IM scandal).
On the subject of Al Jazeera: Not many people in the US understand that it is an International Network and has not direct relationship with Al Quaeda(sp?). If they want to start a US Network, they have the right to try and do so. I don't think they will get much viewership so they might never make it out of satellite (maybe cable).
At least they will be able to cover the situation in Iraq with a little different viewpoint than the current crop of Americanized reporters (if it weren't for BBC, I wouldn't trust that we see anything other than Pentagon-approved footage). - Arkonnan, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16And in other news, an overwhelming majority of Americans only agree with freedom of speech so long as they agree with what you're saying!
Go back to France you free-speech-loving hippies! - NinjaBoy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12@GuyHitByTruck
Here is the million dollar question. Where IS the freest country on earth? - Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15stereotyping racism
all white americans are biggots
you cant attack any race.... exept whites because its perfectly fare
same as the 60s but twisted around - truspector, on 10/12/2007, -14/+22@4wheel
No, it is one group's free speech trying to suppress another group's free speech. See the difference. No, then go read your O'reilly and Coulter novels. - ahawks, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15ok, I give up, what does QTF stand for?
Internet acronym dictionaries said:
QTF Quadrature Transmit Filter
QTF Quake Team Fortress (online gaming)
QTF Triangulated Location (radiotelegraphy)
none of which fit your usage - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -14/+23The market is already saturated with 24-hr. news channels constantly telling us that we're idiots for voting for our current leaders, do we really need another one? I personally don't care whether they broadcast here or not, and probably wouldn't watch it anyway. But I at least think they should be allowed to broadcast. Let the market decide whether or not it floats here. I have a feeling Al-Jazeera will go the way of Air America if they don't change their name for our market.
Call it Freedom News Channel or something. - SugarShake, on 10/12/2007, -10/+19You don't think our stations do that now? We are the propganda masters. I am truly disappointed that 2/3 would want to "ban" anything. Let the free market take care of it.
- stan205, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15I don't fall in with the 67%, I personally would welcome a different News Channel then what's currently offered.
- exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -11/+19This is really just proof that the terrorists won. Terrorism isn't about a body count (that guerilla warfare); it's about creating terror, so much that people sacrifice freedoms, $$, etc. to combat the unlikely event that a terrorist strikes again.
- timla, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13@4wheel
The issue here is that 67% of Americans think that 100% of Americans should not be allowed to see this channel. If 67% decide they do not want to see the channel, then fine that is their right, but to tell the other 33% they cannot see this channel even if they want to is not their right.
I am with you from the point of view that I would probably not watch it, and would consider it extremely bias. I think in a matter of time it would go under from lack on revenue. But the folks trying to put it on the air have a right to try, without being banned by the government.
Some conservatives among us may not like it, but the "American President" was right:
"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours"
Campy and over the top, Yes. True, Yes. - autodata, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13Quoted For Truth, but Shayer butchered it in a number of ways
- vinny, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9It's stats like this that help explain how Bush was elected to two terms. How can ANY American support government censorship? Have people completly lost touch with what freedom means? It's really amazing to me.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Do you really want to see geraldo in HD?
- ZenMojo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Depends. According to the Frasier Institute and Heritage Foundation, it's New Zealand.
But common sense says it's actually Holland. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -15/+20Is the rest of the world as stupid as America? Maybe it's time to move =
- hamoodi, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12I wonder what is happening when The United States consistently falls on the list of Press Freedom. http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=639
Al Jazeera is no more or less bias than FOX and CNN. I watch them all--isn't that the point?--not to get your information from the same source all the time? - ZenMojo, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13"It's the devil, the devil," the elder's said,
"It's come to temp you with lies."
When it stepped in the light of truth,
The people covered their ears and eyes. - bennyboy371, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10Its kind of obvious, most American's DO believe its a terrorist news source or a terrorist organization. I mean, every time you hear about a new Bin Laden tape, you hear Al-Jazeera. Its name association.
This isn't a poll of people who know what it is, thats just the truth of it. - Krakn3Dfx, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14I would more likely believe anything coming out of Al Jazeera before I depend on U.S. news sources to offer up authentic stories. This proves just how ignorant as a nation we are that people aren't begging for a more unbiased side of world news than the lies and mis-information that Fox News offers.
- digimoat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8You really need a political science/linguistics/history lesson. Al-Jazeera != Al-Qaeda. The Nazi's were a political party. Al-Jazeera is middle-eastern news organization.
It's interesting though that you'd hate a group so much based on their religion and then choose to cite the Nazis as an evil organization. Jackass... - ryannerd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Okay, here's the thing. All news stations CNN, Fox, etc. need cash to operate. If Al Jazeera English is absolutely awful or offensive the following things will happen:
1. People will stop watching it (I hope, but people did watch Welcome back Kotter, so I may be wrong here).
2. No viewers = no advertising $$$
3. Even if Al Jazeera is funded from some other source other than advertising, IT DOES NOT MATTER (See #1).
If you think that the established news in America is not carefully regulated, censored and controled you need to read George Owell's novel. Democracy is a government where the public always distrusts those they place in power over them. If you hear the words: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." you are so screwed!!! - mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -10/+154wheel is kind of missing the point. 67% of Americans think Al Jazeera should be banned in the US. That's appalling. Trying to spin it around to your twisted point of view isn't going to work.
- kilofox, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7"That is really sad. The majority of people in the country that claims to be the freest country on earth won't acknowledge free speech to anyone else than themselves."
This poll polled how many people? maybe 1,000 people and its indicative of the whole country of 300 Million? Do you have any shred of evidence that this poll was done correctly? How many people were asked? Did they sample the country for just one region? State? City?
There's lies, damm lies and statistics... add polls to that. Someone has a "poll" that just happens to jive with your view of most americans and you eat it up. Are you that gulliable? - Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9As sad is it is to hear that so many people think it should be banned, it's actually a good sign for the channel's fortune here in the US. If that many people hate it that much, then you know it's got enough controversial enough that millions will tune in.
- Koosebane, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Actually, with numbers like these, most Americans won't watch anyway.
There is no need to ban stations who promote terrorists and their message of hatred.....the dismal ratings will simply cause most cable providers to drop the channel or simply decide not to offer it in the first place.
From observing Air America's woes, it is very apparent extreme leftists who enjoy blatant propaganda can't keep their stations afloat. -
Show 51 - 100 of 316 discussions
Check out the new & improved 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is