Amid the universal refusal by all of the candidates we are told are "electable" to commit to ending the Iraq War debacle as a solid majority of Americans want them to do and the daily positioning and finger pointing and scandal du jour that has too often dominated so much political discourse of late, including I have to admit at times my own, that sometimes those of us who think and write politics lose sight of big picture issues.Like the fact that 9/11 was caused by Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden and not by Iraq and Saddam Hussein. And that the Arab world remains a very troubled and troubling place and one which we Americans seem to pay insufficient attention to, busy as we are desparately defending civil liberties, watching our jobs and incomes off-shored and just trying to survive in Fortress America that the flurry of attention once gained by the then upstart Arabic cable news network Al-Jazeera has largely faded and much foreign affairs coverage related mostly to the posturing of politicians in Washington and Arab global neighbors ignored or treated as a football in the politicos' own complicated game plans.
Which made this 2005 history of the Al-Jazeera news channel that passed under my scanner today timely. A reminder that while we are making a mess of things in Iraq we have made pitifully little progress at coming to understand the huge chunk of the world for whom Al-Jazeera is a primary source of information, a base understanding which I believe is pre-requisite to any serious discussion of addressing the terrorism issue, which would benefit enormously by losing the hyperbolic "War" rhetoric and a shift to focus on effective law enforcement, reasonable rather than excessive security measures, and a serious effort at brokering a workable and lasting peace among the the diverse peoples of the Arabic world and their global neighbors.
It is worth pointing out that had the security measures that were in place and on the books on 9/11/2001 actually been followed, none of the four hijackings would have been successful. The fact that boarding an airplane is now very nearly as invasive and unpleasant an experience as being booked in to jail has made us no safer than had we merely followed the procedures we already had in place. But I will likely be accused of treason for saying so, and never mind that it is an obvious fact.
If you do not speak Arabic, there is an English language version of Al-Jazeera, although I was unable to find specifics about cable/satellite system availability and pricing. There is also an English language version of Al-Jazeera online. It is worth checking out from time to time so as to be aware of how global events are perceived and reported in the Arabic world. For similar reasons I also strongly recommend reading news of the United States in the International coverage of the UK Guardian.
9 comments:
I've been a big fan of Al-Jazeera's English Language website for years. It's always good to see what is going on on a news site without the interspersion of Britney Spears or Brangelina "news stories".
Have you seen Control Room? If not, I highly recommend it.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,
I am a Malaysian citizen, and I am a subscriber of ASTRO Satellite TV Broadcast here in Malaysia. Recently I have subscribed to the ASTRO News Package which contains Al Jazeera and other foreign news media.
I was highly looking forward for the international news broadcast on all of the stations provided by the package when I had shocking news from our local news station claiming that the foreign news broadcasters are lying and making stories without properly acquiring the real facts and they are very good actors !!! Furthermore these claims were also made by our government's politicians.
Now, this is rather disturbing and disappointing for me as I have only subscribed for the service for just a few days and I'm being bombarded with such claims. This eventually made me to think:
Am I an IDIOT to subscribe, pay and end up watching acts and lies
OR
Is there is any conspiracy going on here????
I clearly understand the fact that Al Jazeera has a strong principal called the Code of Ethics and you strictly follow it. But the claims by the politicians and local media here make me to think otherwise.
The claims below were broadcasted on 27-November-2007 in TV3 news station. Similar claims were also made in other local newscasters. This is just a few of the claims.
1. TV3 news station claimed that the foreign media cannot be trusted as they do not report the actual news.
2. YAB Datuk Sri Samy Velu claims that there were only 4,600 demonstrators on 25-November-2007 and NOT 50,000 or any other number as claimed by the foreign media.
3. TV3 news station said that the questions thrown at the Information Minister of Malaysia by Al Jazeera (Al Jazeera's name was mentioned) was to purposely create a scene to show that Malaysia is in kiosk situation and Al Jazeera purposely built up the story from the real one. They also mentioned the criticism made by the Information Minister to Al Jazeera.
(Prior to sending the mail, I did some research on the net and actually found the video clip of the above Interview in Youtube. And I actually laughed myself out listening to the reply given by our Minister. Pity him for his language. But in the Malaysian news channel TV3, they only provided the "CLEAN" version of the transcript and the actual call was not aired. This makes me even more confused!!! Who is telling the truth here???)
Now, if Al Jazeera is telling lies,
It is high time for Al Jazeera to review back their Code of Ethics and provide the truth for the people. If you can't do it then don't cheat the entire world. And don't broadcast your news at all. I am not a fool to keep paying for acts and lies.
And if Al Jazeera is NOT lying,
Well, what the heck. The damage has already been done. No one in Malaysia is going to listen to your news anyway due to the "VERY GOOD" publicity done by the Malaysian politicians and the local media. By the way, did I mention that our local media could also be received by our neighboring countries like Singapore and Thailand?
FINAL CONCLUSION
It is not my intension to insult Al Jazeera, other foreign media, our local media or the politicians. If you feel offended by this email, I sincerely apologize to you. Whatever the scenario is, all that I want (and the rest of Malaysian citizens who are in my situation want) is the truth. Since Al Jazeera's and other foreign media's names have been badly damaged here in Malaysia, Al Jazeera and the other foreign media's SHOULD do something to fix it back or you may start loosing your viewer in Malaysia.(and its surrounding countries too)
I hope you could keep my details confidential and properly investigate on this issue (just incase if you don't trust me) and find out the real truth behind such a drastic claims by our local media. That is if you still follow your Code of Ethics.
Yours truly,
A concerned viewer.
PS:
1. i am also forwarding this mail to other foreign media for their response.
2. i will be posting this transcript in the internet via blogs so that the viewers around the world will be aware that this matter has been brought to your attention and for them to express their views.
MG: First, have you ever seen unbiased evidence of Al Jazeera falsifying reports? I have not. Second, have your politicians ever lied to you before? In my case in the USA, I cannot say yes.
So far for me, Al Jazeera has a better track record for honesty than the US Government.
dear Techfun,
thank you for your comment. i wish to state that I am not claiming Al Jazeera is falsifying news.
All i want is the truth.
Now, let me give you a sample of what i mean.
This is what Al Jazeera has claimed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glaXc34K3bY&feature=related
and now, this is what malaysian media says(watch till the end)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wcG0QT1TUc&feature=related
Clearly someone is telling lies here.
If Al Jazeera is not liying, they better start defending their point. else i would be forced to sue Al Jazeera to get the real truth out of everyone.
please note that i still have faith that Al Jazeera follows their Code of Ethics. But the whole country of malaysia has declared them as liers.
so tell me, how am i to accept, trust or use any information from Al Jazeera if my country declared them as liers ?
MG: You never answered my earlier question. I am not a citizen of Malaysia. Does the government and state media there have a perfect track record or have they been caught spinning the truth the way the US media and government has?
well, that is a million dollar question that is yet to be answered.
Provided Al Jazeera could give me and its fellow viewers a respond.
but i think the question can be answered through this little conversation below in another blog.
Posted by: Steve [TypeKey Profile Page] | November 29, 2007 11:58 AM
Sivaji:
BN just wouldn't care about how international media, other governments and foreign investors will look at Malaysia when they made those twisty statements. What's important for them is to make sure that they will continue to be the master of this country(and the people).
Posted by: JacknJill [TypeKey Profile Page] | November 29, 2007 04:12 PM
With regards to Al-Jazeera:
I wonder what made the Malaysian govt invite Al-Jazeera to our shores in the first place. Was it because they gave a balanced report on Iraq? Now Al-Jazeera is giving us a balanced report and look who's complaining?
Posted by: Sivaji The Boss [TypeKey Profile Page] | November 29, 2007 05:40 PM
Then it is time for me and all the astro news package viewers to sue Al Jazeera as they failed to defend their own claims.
i hope this answers your question. Unless Al Jazeera takes action on this issue, i will definatelly going to take action against Al Jazeera for putting me into this situation after paying so much of money to get their news.
MG: i watched both videos and I don't see any conflict. I did notice that on the second one, BEFORE the English portion, the footage was all of cheerful peaceful protesters with no evidence of the people sprayed with water or soap or whatever that was. And the person from the government kept contradicting himself about allowing protest and the protest being illegal. He seemed to refuse to give a clear answer.
Not speaking whatever language was being spoken on the early part of the video its hard for me to judge, but nothing in the Al Jazeera coverage seemed to be at odds with the video footage shown on both videos. The second video just seemed to stay away from that whole part of the protest where the police intervened.
good, now have a look at this news.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/11/13/nation/19453633&sec=nation
quote :
Describing the coverage as biased, unfair and confusing to people living overseas, he said he would write to the station stating that the Government was aware of what the station was trying to do.
now thats what i call as a hard slam impact right on the face of Al Jazeera.
And being a fan of Al Jazeera you are now marked as a fan of Al Jazeera, the satellite television station that is biased, unfair and confusing the people.
they make use of Al Jazeera, took their video, edited it (with or without authorization), made the demonstration to look calm, and finally claim Al Jazeera to be a big lier and actors.
Kudos.
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