O'Reilly calls for shutting down of Al Jazeera; like yeah, that'll help matters out there.

Bill O'Reilly called for the shutting down of ME news outlet Al Jazeera tonight citing the recent video of Margaret Hassan as evidence of how the network is a "terrorist organisation".

O'Reilly also went on to claim Al Jazeera should be turning in the "terrorists it works with".

IMO -

Given that Al Jazeera has a perfectly reasonable reputation (outside of the hard-core of US right-wing zealot nutters) I can see no reason for anyone giving O'Reilly the time of day on this.

Closing down Al Jazeera (even if it were easily possible) would not IMO stop anything from happening, the various terrorist groups would simply make greater use of their various web-sites (as they have previously).

Sticking ones' fingers in ones' ears and loudly repeating "la la la la la" ad infinitum does not make anything unpleasant go away and I find his claims that Al Jazeera is a 'terrorist organisation' grossly unfounded, rather pathetic and, of course, utterly without evidence or reasonable basis.

One has also to wonder how come if he feels so strongly about this matter now. Having had various incredibly outrageous attrocities aired by that station in the previous several months he chooses to get so (theatrically?) upset over the current kidnapping of the terribly unfortunate Margaret Hassan.

That strikes me as something pretty weird on top of this wrong attitude.




[edit on 22-10-2004 by sminkeypinkey]

How about everyone else calls for the shutting down (or shutting up ;-) of O'Reilly. I'd go for that.

O'Reilly is a TROLL. His schtick is controversy and it pays well. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING O'Reilly says matters.

I have always had this odd feeling about O'Reilly that he is a pedophile secretly addicted to child porn. I've always had the feeling that this would be discovered.

think about it, how common are beheadings, kidnappings, etc by muslim extremists where al jazeera has no access, like israel, yea there are hardly any, even in chechnya it was barely done, by their broadcasts terrorists get notice and can effect their cause, broadcasting these videos helps them, they ARE aiding terrorist acts.

Originally posted by namehere
think about it, how common are beheadings, kidnappings, etc by muslim extremists where al jazeera has no access, like israel, yea there are hardly any, even in chechnya it was barely done, by their broadcasts terrorists get notice and can effect their cause, broadcasting these videos helps them, they ARE aiding terrorist acts.

The only beheading I saw was of a Russian soldier in Chechnya. I DO NOT EVER WISH TO SEE ANOTHER.

I wonder why he would want to shut it down? Its the Fox Network of the Arab world, fair and balanced

I guess anything to get the publics attention on something else

If al-jazeera aids terrorist's agendas....then what is fox news doing for bush's terrorist agenda? It works both ways, IMO they both need to be censored, since o'reilly seems to be all about censoring things that he doesnt like why should he be the judge of everything and still be able to pull off his biased agenda on a daily basis. I hope guy gets fired for the sexual harassment of his co-worker. Won't happen but I can wish can't I?

Originally posted by namehere
think about it, how common are beheadings, kidnappings, etc by muslim extremists where al jazeera has no access, like israel, yea there are hardly any, even in chechnya it was barely done, by their broadcasts terrorists get notice and can effect their cause, broadcasting these videos helps them, they ARE aiding terrorist acts.

Beheadings are very common in the Midddle East. Governments like Suadia Arabia do it all the time to crimminals. It's part of the justice system. These beheadings are only shocking to us because we are from the West, What if the terrorists shot the hostages? Would that feel different to you? It wouldn't in the Middle East, it's just another form of punishment. What the al-jazeera airs is shocking to us, because we have a different culture. Does that mean we shut close it down?

You know, I heard that he was at an Al-Jazeera office once getting a tour and was goosing and talking up all the veiled female reporters and there are more lawsuits coming. He figure's if they're off the air...

I stated in a different thread that in my opinion Al-jazzera is a HUGE propaganda machine for the bad guys. I think Al-jazzera not only provides information, but 'breeds' enemies of the U.S. and the west. IMO

Now, Do I think Al-jazzera should be censored? Well, thats a tough one...I don't believe in censorship of ANY kind. I believe strongly in Freedom of Information......but.....I sure in the hell don't want someone or some news orginazation helping my enemies to destroy me.

So I say OFF with their HEADS

Al Jizz-era is terror scum. It supports the terror agenda. A well aimed bomb at its broadcasting studios would blow to bits the scum that broadcasts the killer videos. They deserve to die far far more than the hostages.

Al Jizzera = Nazi scum

We're not using this thread to discuss killing members of Al-Jazeera. Saying that they should be shut down is fine, but I think we're starting to cross the line.

Originally posted by crossfire
Al Jizz-era is terror scum. It supports the terror agenda. A well aimed bomb at its broadcasting studios would blow to bits the scum that broadcasts the killer videos. They deserve to die far far more than the hostages.

Al Jizzera = Nazi scum

If they do that, it's not the first time.

The US forces in Iraq have allready done that, and they also killed a spanish reporter.

First, I'd like to congratulate the first handful of members who contributed so much to rational discussion. I hope the sarcasm was clear.

O'Reilly has a point. Enemy lines of communication are always a target, and all Al-Jazeera is good for in this time of war is passing on info for the enemy and keeping enemy morale high, not to mention act as a recruiting device.
Why wouldn't it be a logical target? Because if we hit it, the militant Muslims are going to get mad at us and do something like highjack our planes and fly them into buildings full of people?

It all boils down to 2 culters not understanding each other. I think Curme summed it up pretty well. In a place where children are taught to use AK-47s and death is commonplace, a beheading can't be that unusual. In some countries nudity on public TV is not unusual, while here it would be unimaginable. To them our news would probably be seen as hiding the truth, aiding the infadels, and just as bad in their eyes.

[edit on 23-10-2004 by Creepy]

Snoopy, there is a reason why they are shown, there is a reason why they do it in a particular way, and there is a reason they want the victim to beg for his life. It isn't the same as the local news reporting the onsgoings at the local Kiwanas club. Also, the entire region is NOT Palestine, and not every family over there puts an AK-47 and an explosives belt on a three year old. While there is certainly many differences between our cultures, the fact still remains that that alleged news outlet intentionally works to boost militancy and militant morale and passes on intelligence for our enemy.

Originally posted by crossfire
Al Jizz-era is terror scum. It supports the terror agenda. A well aimed bomb at its broadcasting studios would blow to bits the scum that broadcasts the killer videos. They deserve to die far far more than the hostages.

Al Jizzera = Nazi scum

The Americans already killed one of their reporters in Iraq, it was shown on a documentary a year or so ago. This documentary gave an impression that they were a good group just doing their job.

[edit on 23-10-2004 by TPL]

I see a lot of assumptions are made here.

What I would like to know, before judging anyone, is how does Al-Jazeera get those videos? O'Reilly's comments do not count as valid source of info on this, cause he is a moron.
There is a strong possibility that these videos are anonymously sent to Al-Jazeera. Just because they show it, doesnt mean they are colaborating with terorists. I've seen footage of hostage situations on western TV stations. Does that mean they are involved in it?

Al-Jazeera is doing what every other news station is doing: broadcasting news. It is clear that they have more access then CNN to whats going on in that part of the world, the same way CNN has a LOT better sources of info in USA then Al-Jazeera.

Media as a propaganda tool is, of course, a very important issue in any war. I think that it would be very difficult to find an unbiased news source these days. Some try really hard to just present facts, but people are people, they take sides, so every report will, more or less, reflect the personal view of those who made it. It is a thin line reporters are walking on.

I would be careful though with acusing someone of aiding terrorists, just because they show the horrible sides of war. Beheadings won't go away if you don't show them on TV. Their exposure in media is not fueling hate towards americans, hundreds of bombs that fall on Iraq every day are doing the job just fine. I would say that showing these videos actually influences westerners to hate arabs more.

Al-jazeera is not a propaganda tool of terrorists, Al-Qaeda has other means to further their cause.

Without Al-Jazeera a lot of things that are going on there would not be known to the rest of the world. You would not get a complete picture. I can see why Al-Jazeera might bother hard core Bush worshippers, the ugly side of war is not exactly what Bush wants to present to the voters before the elections. It could go both ways, people could vote for him cause they want him to fight the extremists, or they might vote for Kerry because they believe Bush is responsible for the horrible situation there. Control over information is sometimes crucial for a certain cause.